It wasn’t too long ago thatFinal Fantasy 7 Remakelaunched. Initially a PS4 exclusive, this title adapted the Midgar portion of the originalFinal Fantasy 7into an expanded HD format. With new visuals, new action mechanics, and even an altered script, the game became a wild success. The changes made inFinal Fantasy 7 Remakehave proven to be divisive, but many are still excited to see where theFF7 Remakegames are headed. The only question on fans' minds for a couple of years was when they would get to hear more about further installments.
With the advent of theFinal Fantasy 725th Anniversary livestream, all that and more was answered. Not only are previously announcedFF7projects continuing, but there will also be aCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7remake titledCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion. Fans had been theorizing that future installments in theFF7 Remakeseries would go by other names that begin with the letters “Re,” and whileReunionhas been taken,Rebirthhas not.FF7 Remake Part 2has been announced for Winter 2023 asFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and one more installment is coming after it. It’s nice to finally know the full scope of theFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeproject, and a trilogy seems like the right approach.
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A Defined Trilogy Will Speed Up Development Time
Back in the first days of theFF7 Remakeannouncement, no one knew how to take the news that theRemakewas being split into an unknown number of parts. Fans quickly deduced that the first part would cover Midgar, but what this meant for these games’ content is still unclear. Things were even further muddled whenRemake Part 1actually came out, as the title had been expanded to the length of a 20-30 hour RPG experience.FF7’s original Midgar only lasted six hoursat most. The idea of two installments was dismissed by most fans, but if every game shared the pace of the firstRemake, then the series could last four or more entries and potentially take over a decade to finish.
Thankfully, Square Enix has decided to keep things contained. There is still a lot of uncertainty as to how much of theFinal Fantasy 7world will be adapted inRebirthand the third entry, but that will be the end of it. The news thatFinal Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3is already in production means that the wait for the full series may just be as long as what fans contended with forFinal Fantasy Versus 13.Square Enix moving past its long delaysand indefinite development cycles during seventh and eighth console generations is great to see. The company now has a slate of huge titles lined up for the next couple of years, and fans couldn’t be happier.
Three Games Should Be Able to Adapt What the Remakes Need From FF7
With the wide-open field shown in theRebirthtrailer, fans are still wondering how theRemaketrilogy plans on adapting all ofFinal Fantasy 7. The answer is that it probably won’t, and what will be there will not be as fleshed out as inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake. There’s a good chance that the world map has been done away with in favor of larger, more open play spaces that are segregated by chapter. For example, the area surrounding Midgar may be inaccessible, as players startthe second game in the Kalm flashbackand may revisit Midgar later via airship. It’s also likely that certain places that were visited multiple times in the original like the Golden Saucer or the Northern Crater will only be visited once.
This cuts down on content that needs to be adapted, while also making room for an altered script. TheFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy will not have the same story as the original game, so there needs to be plenty of room for deviation. The ending ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeand the subsequentIntermissionexpansion hint that there is a lot of new story content on the way, so merging it with old locations will definitely be a priority. Fans will be able to see this in action onceFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthcomes out, and in the meantime will be able to get a taste ofFF7’s expanding universe fromFinal Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis.
