FFVII Rebirth at Tokyo Game Show '23 and media bonanza

[Jimmy XH]

I didn’t really want to watch the latest showcase stuff as not to be “gameplay spoiled” and to experience this for the first time when I’m actually playing it. However I’ve caved within what, 48 hours?

It just looks so good. We’ve got a proper PS5 glow up graphically, particularly those in-game character models and I’m just loving the opening tidbits of exploration.

Even Chadley’s self-deprecating put down (possibly based on fan feedback). Fair play, cyborg.

 

[Tetsujin]

People who haven't done the VR battles in VIIR: "Chadley's a WHAT now?!"

 

[Tetsujin]

60fps Jpn. Materia Keeper battle footage:

 

[cold_spirit]

Was thinking about Rufus and the "new episodes" he'll receive in Rebirth. Here's the Inverse quote again:

“With Remake, we went further in-depth into Avalanche in ways that were not done in the original,” Nomura tells Inverse. “This will be done for Rufus as well. He will have some sort of new episodes that do not exist in the original, where we will get to know more about him and dig deeper.”

One of the many things that Remake lodged into my brain was how Rufus can see the Whispers at the start of Chapter 18. The cutscene even points out how Tseng can not. Here's what the Remake Material Ultimania Plus has to say on it:

As for Rufus, he too gains the ability to make out the Whispers after coming into contact with them during his battle with Cloud.
...
However, contact alone won’t cause one to be able to see the Whispers; only those whom the Whispers have deemed influential to the fate of the planet can gain the ability to recognize them.

That last sentence in particular is striking. Being Nojima's golden boy, and considering his updated battle abilities in Remake, I've had an inkling that Rufus will be playable at some point. But when? And how?

Rebirth's press kit included this line:

That is hardly the only threat facing the world, however. The Shinra Resistance Committee, backed by Wutai's interim government, declares war on the company...

The Shinra Resistance Committee has yet to receive any other official mention. Or has it? The newest trailer features another mysterious man in a black cloak. He stands behind Rufus during his inauguration. Rufus looks up, the man chuckles, and a few unknown objects can be seen flying into the scene.



My current theory is that this cloaked man is either the leader or an agent of the Shinra Resistance Committee. The new episodes will then follow Rufus as he deals with this organization. Finally, whatever the Committee is planning, how Rufus handles it could be "influential to the fate of the planet", as the Remake Material Ultimania Plus puts it.

 

[roku]

When they say episode in Japanese I think they mean segment or event. For example they called the gold saucer date the dating episode.

 

[Suzaku]

When they say episode in Japanese I think they mean segment or event. For example they called the gold saucer date the dating episode.

Yes. In Japanese nomenclature "episode" means "chapter" or "section" and "scenario" means "script."

 

[cold_spirit]

Yeah, I knew saying he's playable would be pushing it, but then I thought "aww screw it, let's dream big".

Everything else on the Shinra Resistance Committee I'm sticking to.

 

[ultima786]

How is this game real?

Only flaws I saw are:
1) noticeable popin of small details
2) some of the lighting, especially in Junon Undercity seems incomplete. Really hope this improves

Other than that, I cannot believe how this looks better than what I’ve dreamed up

 

[Highwind]

How is this game real?

Only flaws I saw are:
1) noticeable popin of small details
2) some of the lighting, especially in Junon Undercity seems incomplete. Really hope this improves

Other than that, I cannot believe how this looks better than what I’ve dreamed up

I would also add the parkour animations, or lack thereof, to the list of flaws. Especially jumping off cliffs looks really janky. I've seen direct comparisons to FFXV and it's night and day. I hope they can make them look better for the final product.

But yeah, everything else about Rebirth looks and sounds amazing. It seems to be everything I've ever dreamed of and more. It's going to be a looong five months.

 

[cold_spirit]

I don't know why it's so difficult to find high quality footage of Rebirth. This is from IGN's upload yesterday, at max resolution with YouTube Premium's "Enhanced bitrate" enabled. These people should be locked up.



Anyway, this video actually contains good footage:

 

[cold_spirit]

Finally writing down some thoughts I had back in September:

From watching the various previews, it's clear that a lot of time was put into Sephiroth's animations and abilities. A bit too much for one chapter if you ask me.

It's often been theorized around here that Cloud will be the final boss of Rebirth. I want to invert that idea a bit. What I'm envisioning is that the player will control Cloud and Sephiroth as they fight against the party. In this way, the two will team up once again, just as they do at the start of the story.

The State of Play trailer ends with Sephiroth saying "the reunion - when worlds merge". Considering we have two worlds already, Beagle and Terrier, I don't think it's a stretch to say that he's attempting to merge them in some fashion that we have yet to understand.

Therefore, this hypothetical battle between Cloud and Sephiroth against the party could take place after this "reunion" has been initiated. Then, once Cloud and Sephiroth defeat everyone, Zack appears to turn the tide of battle in the party's favor. It sounds cheesy, I know, but Zack is definitely going to involved with the ending in some capacity. With his help the merging is prevented, but not without consequences.

So the big question, where does Aerith's fate lie within all of this? In Remake, "defying fate" is a new theme injected into the story, and the game does not shy away from showing her death in relation to it. The party defeated fate, and thus ensured the future is their own to define.

But no one truly owns the future. No matter how strong your willpower is, you can't control everything. Sometimes life is just unfair. In Aerith's case, she may still die needlessly. Maybe that's the angle the story will take. Her fate could also be tabled, left as a mystery until Part 3. I honestly don't know. I'm 50/50 on it, which is exactly where the storytellers want me to be.

 

[Roger]

Finally writing down some thoughts I had back in September:

From watching the various previews, it's clear that a lot of time was put into Sephiroth's animations and abilities. A bit too much for one chapter if you ask me.

It's often been theorized around here that Cloud will be the final boss of Rebirth. I want to invert that idea a bit. What I'm envisioning is that the player will control Cloud and Sephiroth as they fight against the party. In this way, the two will team up once again, just as they do at the start of the story.

The State of Play trailer ends with Sephiroth saying "the reunion - when worlds merge". Considering we have two worlds already, Beagle and Terrier, I don't think it's a stretch to say that he's attempting to merge them in some fashion that we have yet to understand.

Therefore, this hypothetical battle between Cloud and Sephiroth against the party could take place after this "reunion" has been initiated. Then, once Cloud and Sephiroth defeat everyone, Zack appears to turn the tide of battle in the party's favor. It sounds cheesy, I know, but Zack is definitely going to involved with the ending in some capacity. With his help the merging is prevented, but not without consequences.

So the big question, where does Aerith's fate lie within all of this? In Remake, "defying fate" is a new theme injected into the story, and the game does not shy away from showing her death in relation to it. The party defeated fate, and thus ensured the future is their own to define.

But no one truly owns the future. No matter how strong your willpower is, you can't control everything. Sometimes life is just unfair. In Aerith's case, she may still die needlessly. Maybe that's the angle the story will take. Her fate could also be tabled, left as a mystery until Part 3. I honestly don't know. I'm 50/50 on it, which is exactly where the storytellers want me to be.

Rebirth covers up to the events in the Forgotten City. I feel this means they have to tell us what befell Aerith there one way or the other. If we go there and she doesn't die, and then game ends and it's left like that for years until Part 3 I wouldn't call that leaving it up in the air. You've spared her and you've let the whole FFVII fandom come to terms with that knowledge. You can't just kill her off right away in Part 3 anymore at that point, the moment passed.

 

[Golden Ear]

Rebirth covers up to the events in the Forgotten City. I feel this means they have to tell us what befell Aerith there one way or the other. If we go there and she doesn't die, and then game ends and it's left like that for years until Part 3 I wouldn't call that leaving it up in the air. You've spared her and you've let the whole FFVII fandom come to terms with that knowledge. You can't just kill her off right away in Part 3 anymore at that point, the moment passed.

What about the other Aerith though? Will they leave that one up in the air?

 

[cold_spirit]

Rebirth covers up to the events in the Forgotten City. I feel this means they have to tell us what befell Aerith there one way or the other. If we go there and she doesn't die, and then game ends and it's left like that for years until Part 3 I wouldn't call that leaving it up in the air. You've spared her and you've let the whole FFVII fandom come to terms with that knowledge. You can't just kill her off right away in Part 3 anymore at that point, the moment passed.

Before Remake, no one predicted that the scene at the end of the Midgar Expressway, a straightforward story beat in the OG, could become as twisty as it did.

Likewise, I don't think Aerith's death will be straightforward. I think the storytellers are going to try and pull something, and ultimately the debate over the Remake Project's "remake" status will continue.