PlayStation Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part II: Rebirth

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is Game Informer’s Issue 362 cover story.

“We spent two days at Square Enix‘s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, seeing new sections of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and speaking to the legends of the team that made it,” reads the announcement. “This cover story, along with our exclusive coverage spread out over the next few weeks, should give you a good idea of what to expect when the game launches in February.”
 
On Cait Sith:

According to that game informer article

- Cait Sith can fight independently without the Moogle
- The Moogle must be summoned. It has its own HP/ Timer
- Moveset and Abilities change based on if the Moogle is present or not
- Has a ability that involves throwing landmines
- Luck is still a factor/ mechanic in Cait Siths gameplay
 
- Main storyline will take about 40 hours
- Over 100 hours with all side content
- Side content makes up 80% of the exploration-based content
- New towns and cities such as “Crow’s Nest”, that didn’t exist in the original
- Sidequests feature specific secondary protagonists alongside Cloud and completing them deepens the relationships between those characters
- Cait Sith has a unique battle system in which he summons the Moogle
- Freely Climb short cliffs and ledges in the open world
- Use specific Chocobos to climb tall walls or glide around
- Deck-building card minigame called “Queen’s Blood” Compete against various NPCs across the region!
 
- Main storyline will take about 40 hours
- Over 100 hours with all side content
- Side content makes up 80% of the exploration-based content
- New towns and cities such as “Crow’s Nest”, that didn’t exist in the original
- Sidequests feature specific secondary protagonists alongside Cloud and completing them deepens the relationships between those characters
- Cait Sith has a unique battle system in which he summons the Moogle
- Freely Climb short cliffs and ledges in the open world
- Use specific Chocobos to climb tall walls or glide around
- Deck-building card minigame called “Queen’s Blood” Compete against various NPCs across the region!

Glad to hear there will be new towns, always felt the world was empty in the original game.
 
Read from game informer:

The exclusive portion of my demo – the hands-off part – takes place in the Junon region approximately 10 hours into the main story. The area is mostly made of grasslands but features some mountainous areas with cliffs as well. Driving this hands-off demo is director Naoki Hamaguchi. He pulls up the world map to show just how massive the explorable area of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is.

While each section of each region – in this case, Grasslands and Junon – is labeled on the map as separate areas, you can seamlessly walk between them. "We thought that it would be easier for players to go to just one region, and so from a U.I. perspective, we have it separated – Junon and Grasslands – but in actuality, you can traverse, and they're all connected with each other," Hamaguchi says.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

In this demo, Hamaguchi shows me the Crow's Nest, a new town not present in the original Final Fantasy VII. This sister town to Under Junon shares the same anti-Shinra sentiment and serves as a hub for sidequests and, as I soon find out, minigames.
"In Rebirth, we've added these types of cities like the Crow's Nest – totally new cities that did not exist in the original to go deeper and create this whole worldview of Rebirth," Hamaguchi says. "We reach this area after completing a quest, and then this place unlocks. The residents already know Cloud and the party are a part of Avalanche."

Sidequests play a huge role in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but naturally, players will need to make the conscious decision to take them on. Making players seek this side content out was a mission the development team took on. "Part of our game design that we took on for Rebirth is that in the main storyline, you'll be saving Yuffie and Under Junon, and then from there, going towards Junon, and then go forward towards Costa del Sol," Hamaguchi says. "But for example, hearing the stories of the anti-Shinra people living in Under Junon, you could then feel like, 'What about this Crow's Nest area that I'm hearing about? Maybe I want to go over there and explore and go into a side adventure on my own to save people.' We want the player to be able to make these different adventures and go on their own journeys according to their interests."


Before diving into the minigame diversions, we decide to take on a sidequest. After talking to an NPC, we learn that there's a mercenary working out of a nearby lighthouse. During this conversation, we have a choice of what to say in response; I can ask for more information about the merc, ask about the lighthouse, or just outright agree to take on the task.
Sidequests obviously give you plenty of additional opportunities to learn about the world and its denizens, but one of their primary functions in Rebirth is to expand on the relationships between the characters. Sidequests feature specific secondary protagonists alongside Cloud; completing the quest will deepen and expand the relationship between Cloud and that character. For this quest, Red XIII is the secondary protagonist.


Making our way to the lighthouse, we encounter a group of enemies. Using a party of Cloud, Tifa, and new party member Cait Sith, Hamaguchi takes the fight to them. Cait Sith's battle system might be the most unique of any character in the game. Keeping in line with his original system in the PS1 title, Cait Sith uses a lot of luck-based mechanics. He can also summon a Moogle to change his battle style, but some moves can only be pulled off solo, so even while the Moogle is summoned, Cait Sith can dismount and perform those moves, with the Moogle continuing to attack as an A.I. party member. The Moogle has its own HP, which is shown next to Cait Sith's as a circle; if the Moogle loses all its HP, it will vanish, and Cait Sith will need to summon another.

While in the original Final Fantasy VII, players would need to find a way around the mountains, Cloud is nimbler in Rebirth, as evident by his ability to climb up and down the various short cliffs and ledges in this area of the map. Additionally, some chocobos have the ability to scale tall walls or glide around to give the party even more traversal options. With Fort Condor serving as the backdrop, Cloud scales down the steep hillside to get close to the abandoned lighthouse.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

As they approach the lighthouse, they're greeted by Kyrie, a woman who first appeared in the Final Fantasy VII novel The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, but has since appeared in Final Fantasy VII Remake. In Rebirth, she pops up in different regions across the world as her story develops. She's trying to get her mercenary business off the ground, but no customers have come by yet. It turns out the theme song she's blasting outside her place of business is attracting monsters and scaring away any potential clients. Naturally, she asks Cloud, Red XIII, and the rest of the party to take care of them, but not before she begs Red XIII to become her pet. Red XIII takes exception to this request, but the party decides to help her with her fiend problem anyway.

The fight starts off easy enough, with Flans stepping up to face the party. These baddies would be annoying enough on their own, but in this quest, Kyrie taunts you as you take them on. Cait Sith and his Moogle use a Moogle Mine ability, scattering mines across the battlefield and dealing a good amount of damage to several of them.

Eventually, the Flans are all defeated, but before the party can breathe a sigh of relief, the threat escalates to White Mousses. These massive enemies pose a much bigger threat, so Hamaguchi decides to call in backup in the form of Titan, one of Rebirth's summons. The giant beast, acquired through Chadley's questline, wails on the White Mousses, but Cloud isn't content with sitting on the sideline. Using Cloud's Synergy Ability with Cait Sith, I witness a very silly sequence where Cloud mounts the Moogle, the Moogle grabs Cloud's Buster Sword, and the duo attacks the nearby White Mousse for massive damage. Soon thereafter, the final White Mousse falls, and the mission is completed. Kyrie comes down and thanks the party for their help and makes one more plea to Red XIII to let her make him a pet. As she runs off to her next post, Red XIII looks to Cloud and says, "I wouldn't wish her on my worst enemy."

With the main thing Hamaguchi wanted to show me behind us, we're nearing the end of this portion of the demo. However, he wants to give me an idea of what to expect with one of his favorite sidequests. Back at the Crow's Nest, Hamaguchi guides Cloud and the party in the direction of a piano, but on the way, he walks past a man talking about a card game. While Hamaguchi remains tight-lipped about the mechanics, in talking with the team, I learn that it's a strategic card game that Cloud will be able to compete in across the region. Different NPCs provide varying degrees of challenge to players, but the team hopes players will enjoy the deck-building aspect of this minigame.
 
Translated by Siliconera:

Square Enix shared a recipe for the Final Fantasy VII inspired Mako’s Eye drink.

The base drink consists of the following ingredients:

  1. Blue Hawaii Syrup – 20cc
  2. Ice – adequate amount
  3. Carbonated Water – 140cc
The recipe also includes a separate syrup made by mixing 10cc of Pineapple Syrup with 0.1g of Yellow Food Coloring. When people pour this syrup into the drink, it will glow similarly to the Mako reflected on characters’ pupils in Final Fantasy VII entries. An optional pineapple cut on the glass can complete the drink’s presentation.

 
Translated by Siliconera:

Square Enix shared a recipe for the Final Fantasy VII inspired Mako’s Eye drink.

The base drink consists of the following ingredients:

  1. Blue Hawaii Syrup – 20cc
  2. Ice – adequate amount
  3. Carbonated Water – 140cc
The recipe also includes a separate syrup made by mixing 10cc of Pineapple Syrup with 0.1g of Yellow Food Coloring. When people pour this syrup into the drink, it will glow similarly to the Mako reflected on characters’ pupils in Final Fantasy VII entries. An optional pineapple cut on the glass can complete the drink’s presentation.


Looks tasty.
 
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