Square Enix has released tons of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth details, with artwork, screenshots, and even a trailer showing Cait Sith, Nibelheim, Junon, and many other additions and changes coming in the long-awaited sequel.
Huge blog post Square Enix has revealed a lot of new information ahead of Rebirth’s February 29 launch, which looks like one from November. It describes how new party members such as Cait Sith and Yuffie fight, Elena’s new look in the remake, the various pre-order editions of the game. , and more.
Battle
It’s unclear which of Cait Sith and Yuffie will be unlocked first, though fans got to play the latter in Final Fantasy 7 Remake: The Integration on PS5, so let’s start there. Yuffie focuses on speed (with a quick-recharge active time combat meter) and raw damage with her large shooting star.
Magic can be applied to his weapon via ninjutsu, made even more effective by chaining attacks together. Her Doppelgänger ability allows Yuffie to attack from two places at once and look for enemies’ weaknesses.
Cait Sith, the little cat that fights atop a giant moogle mountain, also quickly spins around the battlefield or summons a moogle for slower but higher damage attacks. These attacks will also fill up the Moogle Meter, which once charged can apply a buff to allies.
Retaining Cait Sith’s focus on luck from the original Final Fantasy 7, various abilities appear to deal random buffs or damage to enemies and allies. However, the Let’s Ride ability fuses Cait Sith with a moogle, boosting both her regular attacks and her unique abilities. Cait Sith can also kick enemies while riding a moogle friend.
Yuffie and Cait Sith also have their own Synergy Skills, which are essentially combo attacks called Moogle Pinwheel. Square Enix hasn’t shared much about what they’re doing, but has promised to attack the pair together with “secret ninja techniques.”
Symbols and Locations
Fans of the original Final Fantasy 7 were surprised to see Elena left out of the Remake, but the Young Turks member will be making her revamped debut in Rebirth.
“Even though he’s a teenager, he’s as skilled with his fists and guns as anyone in Shinra’s Turkish branch of the General Affairs Division,” reads his official description. His involvement seems to tie directly into the multifaceted machinations of the Remake Trilogy, but this time he and Rude are tasked with chasing black-robed figures.
One of the brand new characters is Captain Titov, who headlines a big change from the original Final Fantasy 7. In the rebirth, it’s not the cargo ship that Cloud and his friends used to sneak from Juno to the Costa del Sol, but a cruise ship called “Cruise” instead. Shinra-8.
“He earned a great reputation among his crew for his unerring devotion to duty.” Square Enix said. “This is most evident in person – and passionately – during the various parties held on board.”
Speaking of Junon, the trailer and screenshots show the Shinra parade that Cloud has to infiltrate, plus other iconic locations like The Golden Saucer and even new locations like the aforementioned Shinra-8 ship. It’s “a Shinra cruise ship that transports travelers between the eastern and western continents of the planet,” Square Enix said. “After leaving the port of Junon, she heads to the resort town of Costa del Sol. As part of the entertainment on board, she hosts the Queen’s Blood tournament.”
Publications
Rebirth will be available in several different editions for $349.99 / £349.99, including a Sephiroth statue, a steel book case, a mini soundtrack CD, a physical artbook and a physical version of the full game (which Square Enix likes to point out). the output goes through two disks). It also includes the Moogle Trio Summoning Materia, Magic Pot Summoning Materia, Reclaimant Choker, and Orchid Bracelet as in-game items.
The $99.99 / £99.99 Deluxe Edition includes the game, a steelbook case, a mini soundtrack CD and a physical artbook with no digital extras. The Standard Edition naturally only comes with the game and costs $69.99 / £69.99. Pre-ordering any of these also gives you access to the in-game Midgar Bangle item.
As for the full digital offerings, the Digital Deluxe Edition comes with the game, a digital mini-soundtrack, a digital artbook, plus in-game items like the Magic Pot Summoning Materia, Reclaimant Choker, and Orchid Bracelet. Pre-ordering also gives you access to the Moogle Trio challenge material.
Finally, the Twin Pack contains both games digitally, but no other extras. However, pre-ordering will grant access to the Moogle Trio challenge material.
Rebirth is the highly anticipated sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. A third game will complete the Remake Trilogy, and while no release window has been shared, it is already in development.
So Rebirth follows Cloud and his friends as they leave Midgar and enter the wider world of Final Fantasy 7, encountering locations such as Kalm, Mythril Mine, Junon and Costa del Sol, plus new ones created for the remake.
Square Enix also added new playable characters, plus a card game similar to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Gwent and impressive fast travel. The ESRB rating otherwise teased plunging cleavage, pools of blood, and a hint of Aerith’s fate.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He will talk about The Witcher all day.