Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Will Sometimes Restrict Gameplay Freedom to Prioritize Story & Emotive Immersion

In an interview with the outlet Automaton, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed that at select times throughout the game, gameplay freedom will become restricted to ensure that the tone and emotion of the cast and narrative remain intact.

To elaborate on this point, once a player reaches certain crucial parts of the main storyline, they will be forced onto that path and unable to deviate from exploring and completing side content. This temporary measure has been inputted to ensure that any potentially grievous sequences and such aren’t mitigated by the less severe or comic optional scenarios.

This notion is not a new thing in games whatsoever, as there are several titles that disable fast travel and other activities once particularly integral plot moments occur. Still, it’s reliving to see Rebirth embrace this practice, as it’ll ensure that player immersion remains at the forefront of the experience.

Given the substantially increased sense of explorative and gameplay scale that Rebirth will comprise compared to Remake, it’s neat to see that the development team took this relatively intangible facet into account.

• Thanks to @ShinraArch on Twitter for sharing this news.
• Check out Automaton’s full interview for additional details.

In case you missed it, check out our full preview of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the sequel to the first entry in this ongoing Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy effort. This new entry is far more ambitious than the first, set to occur until The Forgotten Capital from the original game.

Players can look forward to playable Cait Sith and Red XIII, with Vincent also revealed, though not extensively. Gold Saucer will be a prominently featured location with plenty of minigames.

Speaking of, the Junon infiltration minigame has been significantly enhanced, with Cloud directing soldiers to form specific compositions. Further, Sephiroth will be playable during the Nibelheim flashback. Combat has undergone a shakeup, with new synergy attacks utilizing multiple party members, and Red XIII has a unique revenge gauge mechanic.

Check out our coverage for additional details.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will launch for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024, on two discs.