Hiya!

Well, that was a lot!

The most recent Sony State of Play closed things out with a bombshell of a trailer. Square Enix showed off a new trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. This new trailer showed off a ton of confirming a lot of stuff, such as open world exploration, new combat mechanics, all of the returning minigames, storyline elements and characters who will be joining Cloud and the party. This trailer made me and a lot of fans super happy!

Square Enix did show off so many elements Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth will have, however, they still didn’t show off everything fans of the original game featured. They also didn’t even tease some stuff which should be carried over from Remake to further continue the story properly. I’m not going to mention the smaller stuff, like how the Gold Saucer section didn’t show the snowboarding minigame or anything like that. What I’ll be focusing on are the bigger elements which I fully expect to show up in Rebirth. Let’s go through 7 of them right now!

#1 Cid and all Cid related stuff

As I mentioned just a few paragraphs earlier, the latest Rebirth trailer revealed new characters, namely Cait Sith and Vincent Valentine. These are party members from the original game so it was a no-brainer for them to return in Rebirth. These is, however, one other member of Cloud’s party who hasn’t shown up yet. That would be the gruff mechanic who can jump really high, Cid Highwind.

I kind of get why Square Enix chose to tease Cait Sith and Vincent now as they are generally more memorable characters from the game. I mean, a talking cat puppet on top of a deformed moogle and a gun-toting emo vampire kinda stick out. Cid Highwind is just a guy who jumps around a lot. Sure, he swears up a storm but that’s about it.

As Cid didn’t show up in the trailer, this had the unintended effect of Square Enix not being able to show off other huge elements that are connected to the character. Rocket Town wasn’t in the trailer as its Cid’s hometown. The Tiny Bronco, the weirdest vehicle you get access to in the original Final Fantasy VII, wasn’t featured as this is Cid’s private plane. The biggest and probably the most exciting feature which was excised from the trailer as this is also a big part of Cid’s character is the Highwind, the massive airship the party gets control of during the latter part of the game, making travelling the huge world a breeze.

I have no doubt Cid and the Highwind will show up in Rebirth in one form or another. They’re probably saving them for The Game Awards or something as the airship is something fans would definitely love to see as soon as possible. Still, Cid and all things connected to Cid aren’t featured yet so I gotta mention them.

#2 Fort Condor

As much as I mostly enjoyed playing the original Final Fantasy VII, there were a couple of segments which felt too grindy. The first one, which I talked about, would be the chocobo breeding section, which you need to do to get the Knights of the Round materia. The second, which I didn’t talk about would be the Fort Condor missions. I hated these because this strategy minigame was just super tedious and never really felt connected to anything in the story. Just saying Shinra is attacking because they want the Phoenix materia or something isn’t a compelling enough reason to sit through these monotonous battles.

Fort Condor does make a sort of spiritual return in Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade as Yuffie can play a board game based on this strategy minigame against other characters, such as Kyrie, Roche and Wedge. However, the actual Fort Condor location wasn’t shown in any of the Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth trailers.

It is possible Square Enix figured out this sidequest isn’t one of the more beloved parts of the original Final Fantasy VII and shoehorning into Intergrade is their way of incorporating it as quickly as possible. While this is a possibility, I don’t think this is just the extent of Fort Condor’s appearance in the updated games. I do believe Cloud and company will visit the real Fort Condor with Yuffie exclaiming it looks exactly like the board game. However, it’ll be revamped to be a more straightforward experience with the party facing off against Shinra’s forces head-on without all the strategic elements.

#3 Wutai

While I disliked Fort Condor as it was so disconnected from the rest of the game, I really loved Wutai, Yuffie’s hometown, as it was bursting with personality. The once proud warrior village turned tourist trap was just a breath of fresh air and gave me some of my favorite moments from the original games, like how the Turks don’t attack Cloud as they’re off the clock and gives us what happens to Don Corneo after he escapes Midgar.

Wutai is mentioned several times in Remake but we still haven’t seen what the nation or, more specifically, the village is actually like. We’re still viewing it through all the Shinra propaganda. So, I do really want to see whatever new spin they do with this location.

As this is where Don Corneo goes into hiding after the Sector 7 incident, I’m pretty sure he’ll also pop up here if Square Enix includes Wutai in Rebirth. We’ll also probably encounter Leslie or even Madame M here as the former is chasing after Don Corneo and the latter just fits into the entire tourist trap vibe of the town.

#4 City of the Ancients

Fans of the original Final Fantasy VII probably still have traumatic memories of the City of the Ancients. Probably 98% of those reading this now knows the significance of this location but, for the sake of the blissfully unaware 2%, I’m going to not spoil the biggest spoiler of the game as it is a pivotal moment in gaming history. Still, if you don’t know what happens here, shame on you! What kind of gamer are you? Anyway, here’s a compilation of people reacting to what’s going to happen. That way, I can circumnavigate the spoiler.

So, yeah. The City of the Ancients is a big part of the original game but I understand why Square Enix is hesitant in showing even a glimpse of the area as most gamers know what’s going to happen here. They want to keep it shrouded in secrecy as my best guess is it’ll be the final area of Rebirth. I mean, if they follow through with what happens in the original game, how else can gamers continue on afterwards?

Then again, there are rumors they’re going to shake things up, which they’ve been doing with the possible parallel timelines and such. So, who knows? Maybe what’s destined to happen in the City of the Ancients won’t happen or something else will occur. In any case, it’s wise to keep this area under wraps for now.

#5 Biggs

Speaking of Square Enix shaking things up with the new Final Fantasy VII games, probably the most shocking revision would be Bigg’s faith. In the original game, it’s all but confirmed he perishes along with the other Sector 7 AVALANCHE members when the pillar falls. In Remake, however, it’s shown Biggs survived and is recovering in the Sector 5 Leaf House orphanage.

As this is totally new territory, it’s kind of surprising none of the trailers feature Biggs in any way. I mean, we got to see Kyrie in the trailer talking to Zack and she’s just a bit player in the grand scheme of things! I’m really interested how Biggs’ story will unfold now that the AVALANCHE crew he knows has been decimated. How will this affect his personality and how will he figure out in Rebirth’s story in the future.

#6 Roche

Remake definitely expanded the entire Final Fantasy VII cast of characters. I already talked about Madame M possibly making an appearance in Wutai but she may also show up in Costa Del Sol as both locations would make sense for her to set up shop there. The latest trailer also reveal Kyrie and Andrea will show up one way or another. However, there is one particularly bombastic and unhinged new character who hasn’t shown up in any of the trailers yet. That would be the motorcycle riding SOLDIER Roche.

The manic Roche definitely leaves an impression as his totally unhinged and flamboyant personality is hard to forget. That’s why, save for his brief appearance in Intergrade as a Fort Condor enthusiast, it’s very strange Roche doesn’t show up again, even during the final freeway battle in Remake. I’m guessing Square Enix is saving him for Rebirth.

Now, there is a chance Roche is actually in the latest Rebirth trailer but you just can’t see his face. As he is a SOLDIER and prone to cellular degradation as well, it’s entirely possible he might be one of the cloaked figures getting treatment from Dr. Sheiran, who is the doctor from Corel. I hope not as I would want one more motorcycle battle with the man before that happens. Heck, have him race me in Costa Del Sol on a segway! I’m game!

#7 How to pronounce “Cait Sith” properly

You would think it would be so easy to say “Cait Sith,” right? Oh, you naive little gamer! It’s not as simple as just reading the word itself! Because, apparently, “Cait Sith” is derived from the Irish fairy creatures known as “cat sith” and they pronounce it as “cat shee.” In the original Japanese, I think that’s even how it written to be said. Then again, what do I know? I’m not smarter than Felicia Day!

I don’t think Square Enix can get away with any of the characters not calling this moogle riding cat robot by its name. So, finally, we’ll finally know how to say Cait Sith! They could’ve done it in the trailer but they probably think by not revealing its pronunciation will sell a few extra thousand copies from Final Fantasy VII fanboys finally learning how to say it correctly.

Byee!

What other things you wish were revealed in the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth trailers? Let me know in the comments section below!