It wasn’t too long ago that Final Fantasy 7 Remake launched. Initially a PS4 exclusive, this title adapted the Midgar portion of the original Final Fantasy 7 into an expanded HD format. With new visuals, new action mechanics, and even an altered script, the game became a wild success. The changes made in Final Fantasy 7 Remake have proven to be divisive, but many are still excited to see where the FF7 Remake games are headed. The only question on fans' minds for a couple of years was when they would get to hear more about further installments.
With the advent of the Final Fantasy 7 25th Anniversary livestream, all that and more was answered. Not only are previously announced FF7 projects continuing, but there will also be a Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 remake titled Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion. Fans had been theorizing that future installments in the FF7 Remake series would go by other names that begin with the letters "Re," and while Reunion has been taken, Rebirth has not. FF7 Remake Part 2 has been announced for Winter 2023 as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and one more installment is coming after it. It's nice to finally know the full scope of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project, and a trilogy seems like the right approach.
A Defined Trilogy Will Speed Up Development Time
Back in the first days of the FF7 Remake announcement, no one knew how to take the news that the Remake was being split into an unknown number of parts. Fans quickly deduced that the first part would cover Midgar, but what this meant for these games’ content is still unclear. Things were even further muddled when Remake Part 1 actually came out, as the title had been expanded to the length of a 20-30 hour RPG experience. FF7’s original Midgar only lasted six hours at most. The idea of two installments was dismissed by most fans, but if every game shared the pace of the first Remake, then the series could last four or more entries and potentially take over a decade to finish.
Thankfully, Square Enix has decided to keep things contained. There is still a lot of uncertainty as to how much of the Final Fantasy 7 world will be adapted in Rebirth and the third entry, but that will be the end of it. The news that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 is already in production means that the wait for the full series may just be as long as what fans contended with for Final Fantasy Versus 13. Square Enix moving past its long delays and indefinite development cycles during seventh and eighth console generations is great to see. The company now has a slate of huge titles lined up for the next couple of years, and fans couldn't be happier.
Three Games Should Be Able to Adapt What the Remakes Need From FF7
With the wide-open field shown in the Rebirth trailer, fans are still wondering how the Remake trilogy plans on adapting all of Final Fantasy 7. The answer is that it probably won't, and what will be there will not be as fleshed out as in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. There's a good chance that the world map has been done away with in favor of larger, more open play spaces that are segregated by chapter. For example, the area surrounding Midgar may be inaccessible, as players start the second game in the Kalm flashback and may revisit Midgar later via airship. It's also likely that certain places that were visited multiple times in the original like the Golden Saucer or the Northern Crater will only be visited once.
This cuts down on content that needs to be adapted, while also making room for an altered script. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy will not have the same story as the original game, so there needs to be plenty of room for deviation. The ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the subsequent Intermission expansion hint that there is a lot of new story content on the way, so merging it with old locations will definitely be a priority. Fans will be able to see this in action once Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth comes out, and in the meantime will be able to get a taste of FF7’s expanding universe from Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be released Winter 2023 for PS5.