Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Has More Intimate Battles Than Ever Before, Square Enix Says [IGN]

Square Enix has confirmed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has new characters, obviously, as well as more intimate battles compared to its predecessor.

The game’s fifth developer comment was revealed on Twitter with the question: “Has the battle system changed from Final Fantasy V7 Remake?”

Battle director Teruki Endo responded: “In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, new comrades will join you in battle and you can cooperate with other party members in even closer ways than before.”

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Developer comment number 5#FF7R pic.twitter.com/qk5YShBnkN

— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) June 6, 2023

Many fans are speculating about which characters will join Cloud and his crew in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but the fan favorite is Vincent Valentine. Other potential new characters include Cid Highwind, Cait Sith and Red XIII. Endo’s response is rather vague, so it’s unclear what he means when players can cooperate with party members even closer this time around. Persona-like social meters to increase relationship levels? Intimate Fire Emblem Fates teammates face petting? Who knows?

In previous developer comments, Square Enix confirmed Rebirth will have a higher degree of freedom than Remake, and players can play Rebirth without worrying about playing Remake beforehand. Furthermore, Square Enix reassured fans Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will have stories and characters because apparently, we were getting worried it wouldn’t.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches Winter 2023 for PlayStation 5. Square Enix is yet to nail down a release date.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey