FORMAT PS5 / ETA 29 FEB / PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV SQUARE ENIX / PLAYERS 1
Remake was just the beginning. The ambitious 2020 ground-up reimagining of the 1997 classic tours through familiar story beats: eco-terrorist cell Avalanche’s bombing of the Mako reactor; the Shinra corporation’s retaliatory flattening of the main cast’s home; and why that ever-hungry energy company is obsessed with a certain flower girl. However, it was never intended to be a straightforward rehash of Final Fantasy VII, with Remake ending on a battle between Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and what may as well be fate itself. Now all bets are off for part two of what developer Square Enix is calling ‘The Unknown Journey’ – and we’ve played it.
Rebirth is the middle chapter in what will eventually be a three-part story, but before looking ahead (and asking the obvious question of where in the very well-known journey this instalment is likely to end), our hands-on looks back.
A playable flashback envisions Cloud in his earlier SOLDIER days with the Shinra corporation. His mission takes him to the small town of Nibelheim and the nearby Mount Nibel, in the company of local guide Tifa and silver-haired villain Sephiroth. This past state of play between characters is very different to the end of Remake, but the sight of them all working together is far from the only thing that feels ‘off.’ For instance, this younger Cloud is far less moody than the man we know, possessing such a happy-go-lucky demeanour that Sephiroth likens him to a puppy.
If this isn’t your first Final Fantasy VII rodeo then you already know what’s up, but we’re not going to spoil the mystery here – especially as Rebirth will introduce fresh twists to this familiar fable.
“THIS YOUNGER CLOUD IS FAR LESS MOODY THAN THE MAN WE KNOW… SEPHIROTH LIKENS HIM TO A PUPPY.”
LOSING THE PLOT
Environmentalism remains core to the Remake trilogy’s vision. In the first part of our hands-on, a beautiful crystalline structure reaching towards scant beams of sunlight stops Tifa, Cloud, and Sephiroth in their tracks. This
