Square Enix Answers 6 Burning Questions About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

I asked Tetsuya, the creative director, as well as director Naoki, Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori, some of my burning questions after playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. That includes how much narrative ground Rebirth covers, the decision behind splitting it between two discs, and if there’s any form of data transfer between Remake and Rebirth.

How did Rebirth compare to Remake in terms of development? 

Rebirth launches on February 29, a couple of months shy of Remake’s fourth anniversary. According to Hamaguchi, Remake’s development cycle was around four years, making the turnaround for Rebirth, a much larger game, seem relatively quick. It’s especially impressive since Square developed and released the PlayStation 5-exclusive Intermission story expansion and Intergrade upgrade in between. 

Hamaguchi credits working on Intermission/Intergrade for the smoother dev cycle, as it allowed the designers to become more intimately familiar with the PS5 (which Rebirth is exclusive to) and finish Rebirth within a similar timeframe despite its larger scope.  

“But at the same time, we were able to keep the development time [down] and be able to release in sort of this normal or standard time while having this immense volume of content,” Hamaguchi says through a translator. “So that’s something that we’re very confident about and very proud of.”

What is the story of Rebirth? 

When I asked what Rebirth’s stopping point will be, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed the story runs up to the end of the Forgotten Capital (a.k.a. The City of the Ancients). Nomura insists that Rebirth does not follow the events of the original in the exact same order as Remake. 

How do you transfer data from FFVII remake? 

Square Enix confirms that there is no sharing of progression between Remake or Rebirth. That means you won’t be bringing over the gear and materia earned in the first game. 

“While there is sort of this story that they are following throughout these different titles, [Rebirth] is sort of supposed to be a standalone on its own,” Hamaguchi explains. “So there’s no particular sort of growth parameters or abilities that you will be carrying over from the previous title.”

Hamaguchi reveals that Remake/Intergrade players who save their data in Rebirth will get an unknown summoning material. 

Why two discs? 

Square has split Rebirth into two discs because it is such a large game. Hamaguchi says that 150GB is the size of the game, 100GB being on one disc while 50GB are on the second. However, you won’t be swapping discs like fans did with the original. The PS5’s architecture requires that players install both discs to play the full game. Once that is done, one will suffice to run the entire game.

Hamaguchi explains the decision to split Rebirth in this way had less to do with rekindling nostalgia and more as a method to preserve the team’s lofty vision for it. Square had always envisioned Rebirth as a massive, highly detailed world more immersive than Remake’s revamped Midgar. To fit it all on one Blu-ray disc would have meant that the designers had to compromise on ideas and content. Therefore, the solution was to double up the discs.

What minigames are being expanded?

Final Fantasy VII’s lighthearted mini-games make up much of the game’s charm. The recent State of Play Trailer was a good way to see them all again, and I asked Square which mini-games they were most eager to return to. Hamaguchi mentions Rufus Shinra’s inaugural parade. 

Cloud, in the original game, disguises himself to be a Shinra Soldier and leads the parade through button pressing. Rebirth allows players to collect and arrange soldiers, which will lead to different variations of the parade. 

“So this time around, we’ve really changed some of the aspects of the original mini-game, kind of taking its elements but also really elevating that to match the standards of today and for this deeper, more fun, interesting experience,” Hamaguchi says. “And that’s something that we would like the users to experience as well.”

What’s Up With Vincent? 

Vincent Valentine’s brief appearance was an exciting highlight of the Rebirth story trailer at September’s PlayStation State of Play. We won’t reveal the character’s nature for newcomers, but he, like Yuffie, was an optional party member in the original game, so I asked Square if that would be the case again. Nomura confirms Vincent joins the group as part of Rebirth’s main story this time, but, unfortunately, he won’t be playable. 

Nomura explains that the warrior is simply a companion to the group, as Red XIII was in Remake. Nomura says this is because in the original story, Vincent joined the party at the end of the tale. Based on that answer, it sounds like we won’t be wielding Vincent’s power ourselves until the yet-to-be-titled third entry arrives. 

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be released on PlayStation 5 at midnight, February 29, 2019.