Initially released in January of 1997, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy 7, and Square-Enix celebrated the landmark with a flurry of announcements in a 10-minute stream presented by Final Fantasy brand manager Yoshinori Kitase.
Ports and Remasters
We were treated to a surprise announcement of the Steam version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade, launching tomorrow, June 17th. Zach Fair finally reappears on all major platforms this winter in a remake of FF7: Crisis Core. This is a much-anticipated upgrade to the PSP prequel that many fans expected would never get touched again due to licensing challenges with JPop star Gackt, whose appearance was used and who voiced one of the primary characters in the game.
Mobile Titles
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Kitase-san also gave us a look at the current season of FF7: The First Soldier, but more interesting is a brand new trailer for FF7: Ever Crisis. The new trailer featured more snippets of cutscenes, hints at even more changes to the story of the Final Fantasy 7 compilation, and in-battle cosmetics like a samurai outfit for Cloud, a casual sweater look for Tifa, and what appeared to be a wedding dress for Aerith. This trailer also showed off our first look at the battle mechanics, which appears to be an active turn-based system. A closed beta for Android and iOS begins this year, but no further information was released.
Merchandise and non-games
In a rapid-fire slide show, Square presented several new items that are in pre-production or presale status. We were treated to a Buster Sword alarm clock, 4 new Play Arts Kai figures from 7 Remake, a new Static Arts figure of Cloud from Remake, and a ring and bracelet styled after accessories from FF7. On August 11 Square-Enix will release a Final Fantasy 7 Compilation vinyl album, and a new “arrangement CD” as well as playlists on various music streaming platforms.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Trilogy
Kitase-san ended the presentation with a trailer for the next part of the FF7 remake, titled Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. Picking up where Remake left off, the new trailer leans heavily into the ideas of changing fate that were introduced later in the first game. We get a glimpse of what is certainly the Kalm flashback, with Cloud and Sephiroth working together, and a tentative release window of “Next Winter”, or late ’23 early ’24. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is part 2 of the Remake Project, which has now been confirmed to be a three-part series.
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