Publishing a story in multiple volumes poses the problem of making it difficult to follow. If several years pass between each volume, it’s easy to forget key parts necessary to understand the whole story. Subsequent volumes. That’s why serialized stories have their issues, despite their charms. It’s a problem that Square Enix hasn’t wanted to deal with, opting for a simple and direct decision: creating a summary for those who want it.
Square Enix has released a video summarizing the story of Final Fantasy VII Remake in just five minutes. Why? Because many people might have some key moments a bit fuzzy in their memory. Not for nothing, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, its sequel, is coming out in just over three months.
Narrated by Red XIII, it uses footage from the original game to explain the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake for those who need a refresher, or even for those who haven’t played the game. But the beauty of it is that we won’t just be able to watch it on YouTube, on the Final Fantasy channel, it will also be included within Final Fantasy VII Rebirth itself. That way, those in need of a brief reminder before diving in can take it as a little appetizer. A welcomed refreshment for their memory.
All of this is part of the preparations for Rebirth that Motomu Toriyama, the co-director of the game, stated would be introduced for those who haven’t played the first part. In addition to this summary video, they’ve also included the Active and Classic battle modes, allowing players to choose between the gameplay style of the Remake and that of the original game. Moreover, there’s a new Dynamic difficulty mode that will automatically scale difficulty based on the player’s skill level.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is set to be released on February 29, 2024, exclusively—presumably temporarily—for PlayStation 5. Until then, you can enjoy Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.
