Cloud Strife

One of the most memorable moments from the original Final Fantasy 7 is the date scene at the Gold Saucer. There was no way that Square Enix would leave that part out of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. In the original, it was almost an Easter egg of sorts to learn that you could end up going on a date with almost every member of the cast, not just Aerith. That’s because the relationship system was hidden and almost impossible to manipulate without a guide. Thankfully, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth makes things much clearer with…

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth MSRP $70.00 “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a phenomenal second chapter of what's shaping up to be an all-time great game trilogy.” Pros Phenomenal story Strong performances Impactful combat tweaks Some excellent side-content A legendary soundtrack…

It’s time to start sharpening your buster swords and slotting your Materia because Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is right around the corner. This second chapter in the remake trilogy is one of the most anticipated games of 2024, so fans are no doubt eager to rejoin Cloud and Avalanche as they step out of Midgar to continue the hunt for Sephiroth. For an adventure this big, you need to be ready the moment the game becomes available so you don’t waste any time making space on your PS5 or get stuck waiting for a massive…

Square Enix When Final Fantasy VII Remake launched in 2020, tensions were high. Fans of the original Final Fantasy VII, both a genre- and childhood-defining RPG, were already skeptical about the project due to the fact that it would only adapt a very short slice of the 1997 release. Those frustrations would get compounded by some much more serious ones: Remake would launch weeks into the social isolation era of COVID-19. Despite getting a warm critical reception, the unusual remake would quickly become a polarizing…

Apex Legends has crossed over with various properties to some degree, but the current Apex Legends x Final Fantasy VII Rebirth event marks the most substantial crossover the popular battle royale has seen thus far. With tons of Final Fantasy VII-themed character and weapon skins, it’s pretty much exactly what fans need to get pumped for the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth next month. In addition to all of the cosmetics you can buy is the addition of the iconic Buster Sword that can be found and wielded against…

There are tons and tons of reasons people all over the world love the Final Fantasy series. Dating back to the NES, this JRPG series paved the way for games to grow into the medium we know them as today. Games of that era typically reserved their “story” for a small paragraph that was tucked away in the instruction manual and largely inconsequential to the actual game. Final Fantasy bucked that trend by creating worlds, stories, and characters that you grew to know and love, or hate, as the game went on. They were…

Growing up without a father leaves a mark. How deep and debilitating that mark ends up being will vary based on each individual and on the situation that caused it in the first place. For me, my father marked me by cheating on my mother and all but abandoning me for the majority of my adolescence. All I wanted was an escape from my new reality at that time, and games like Final Fantasy offered it to me. The theme of fatherhood is present throughout the RPG series, but is almost never the direct focus. The examination…

Image: Square-Enix CollectiblesWhen Square-Enix, one of the most famous games publishers in the world, announced that it was going to be delving into the world of NFTs—even as the world of NFTs crashed and burned around it—gamers were concerned about just how their games, everything from Final Fantasy to, uh, *checks notes* Various Daylife, could be affected. It turns out the first steps are infinitely stupider than possibly imagined.Square-Enix’s first tentative foray into NFTs has begun not with its games, but its…

Image: Running PressThis week marked the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII’s North American release—and a new book by Aidan Moher, out October 4, examines the game’s scope of influence, not just on its legions of fans, but on the realm of Western pop culture itself. io9 is pleased to share an exclusive excerpt from Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West, including a special introduction by the author.“Twenty-five years ago this week, Japanese RPGs…