final fantasy 7

Square Enix This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Midway through 1997’s Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife walks up a small staircase and finds his companion, Aerith, kneeling on a small platform. She’s locked in prayer as holy-looking light streaks in through the windows around her. That serene moment gives way to a shocking tragedy. Aerith looks at Cloud and calmly smiles before the camera pans above her head. A black shadow bursts out of the light above her; it’s the…

Square Enix This article contains story spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Ahead of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth‘s launch, fans were buzzing about how the sequel would tackle Aerith’s story. The holy healer was a major focus of Square Enix’s marketing, making it clear that one of gaming’s most iconic moments would be pivotal to the adventure. But for me, I was more curious about how another tragedy would play out: the tale of Barret and Dyne. Final Fantasy VII will forever be a special game to me because it’s the…

In Final Fantasy 7: Remake, Cloud was usually alone or with just one or two other companions at a time. Aside from a few instances, mainly combat trails and VR missions, you never had to worry much about party management during the story. In Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, your crew starts out at five and only grows from there. As was the case in the original and Remake, only three characters can be active in a fight at a time, one of which is the leader. While playing as Cloud is great fun, you will be doing yourself a…

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…

Just one more hand. Just one more attempt to win at the card game, Queen’s Blood. In my limited preview time with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, weeks before the game is due to be released, I may have spent a little too long learning the rules of this companion card game, introduced relatively early into the game. And I regret nothing. (For one, because I most of the changes to the battle system a few months ago.)This early addiction bodes well for the wider game. It’s a sign that the team behind this sequel-of-a-remake is…

Bandai Namco. The Tekken series isn’t just known for its slick 3D fighting. Like the Soul Calibur series, Tekken has become just as celebrated for its excellent character customizer over the years. As seen with Street Fighter 6‘s create-a-character, if you give players access to a tool this powerful, then you can expect tons of designs ranging from jaw-droppingly impressive to just plain weird. In Tekken 8‘s case, players immediately began creating their own dream guest characters using the customization mode once it…

I thought I had my fill of gaming subscription services. PlayStation Plus’s price increase turned me off and the offerings of Xbox Game Pass never fit my fancy. While both of these have their positives, I’ve never been one to just drop so much money every month for a bunch of games I don’t really care about. That was until I jumped into my yearly Christmas-time RPG mood and discovered the bounty of classics that’s built up on PS Plus. Like the seasons, my gaming tastes change throughout the year. I get in a horror…

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…

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth just got a new release window. During the Summer Game Fest event, held early Friday, Square Enix dropped a gameplay trailer revealing some key plot beats, as our heroes continue exploring the wider world outside Midgar. The second entry in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project releases in early 2024, still sticking to the timeline producer Yoshinori Kitase originally set. The game also appears to be quite hefty in size, with the closing title card claiming that the physical edition comes in two…

The grand finale of Summer Game Fest 2023 went out on a high note with brand-new footage of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is now slated for an early 2024 release date. The game is so big that it’ll release on two discs. Square Enix Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is the second of three planned games in the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, starting with 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake. That game only covered the initial Midgar section of the game, though it expanded upon and added new content and features to flesh it out.…