Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will give fans a whole bunch of mini-games to play, thanks to the inclusion of the iconic Gold Saucer. Interestingly, the Rebirth version of this iconic section is partially inspired by the Manderville Gold Saucer in FFXIV, Square Enix’s popular MMO.
Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of the FFVII Rebirth, spoke with Thaigamewiki during the Thailand Game Show 2023. When asked about the Gold Saucer being bigger than the FFXIV version, Hamaguchi said he couldn’t really compare the two but promised that fans would have fun.
Hamaguchi says that they used the Gold Saucer from XIV as the basis to build Rebirth’s version. Mini-games have been hyped up quite a bit and Hamaguchi has also promised that the Gondola, a fan-favorite segment from the original PS1 classic, would be improved upon.
The inclusion of more side content seems to be the major appeal of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, especially when compared to its linear predecessor. Granted, there are going to be a number of linear segments for the main campaign, but fans will have more to do on the side. Whether it’s Chocobo Racing, boxing statues, or optional battles, fans will be swamped with mini-games.
In the past, it was teased that the dating scenes from the original game will be massively enhanced for the sequel. Instead of being just a joke, Cloud Strife will also be allowed to go on a real date with some of his boys.
Of course, Rebirth is more than just a mini-game extravaganza, as the JRPG will continue retelling the PS1 classic’s story. Considering how much effort is being put into Rebirth, we’re genuinely interested in seeing what they have planned for the third and final installment.
Side-content aside, there’s also plenty of meat in the main story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. There will be “flashbacks” to Cloud’s past, which will include some fun team-up attacks with Sephiroth. Some of the meta-narrative elements from Remake will also be addressed, including Zack Fair’s return and the fate of those Whisper enemies.
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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming to the PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024. A PC port of the game will likely come after.