Square Enix has one last act left in its Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, which is currently in development. If series producer Yoshinori Kitase is to be believed, this final part should have a streamlined development process that will see the game release with less wait than the one between Remake and Rebirth.
After its announcement, Remake took five years to fully release, though in its case we know there were several issues including a change of developer and some struggles in deciding on gameplay direction. Rebirth managed to shave a year off its development life-cycle, something Kitase has attributed to having the same development team involved, which appears to be something that will not change moving into the third act of the series.
According to several quotes that have been translated from the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ultimania book, a series of art books with lore drops released by Square Enix, which has only been released in Japan thus far Kitase has illustrated a more streamlined development process for Act 3.
According to Twitter user Aubrey, who translated several statements in the book, she states:
Kitase mentions FF7 Rebirth was actually done within 3 years since about one year was developing the DLC, and he hopes to be able to stick with that schedule for Part 3 too.
This has placed most timelines for when the final part will be released at some point in 2027, a year less time than this most recent entry. This statement also implies that some additional content, similar to the Yuffie-specific DLC of the first game is also coming though there has been no word as of yet.
It is also important to note that Rebirth introduced the World Map, an element from the original Final Fantasy VII that played a significant role throughout the game. With this mechanic assumed to return, on the same development engine, the third act most likely already has a head start over its predecessors. The Gold Saucer, a location that appeared in Rebirth, also teased a snowboarding mini-game. This of course implies that the mini-game moment from disk 2 will return in Act 3 and the Gold Saucer will as well.
Tetsuya Nomura, for his part, has also hinted that the team may be able to begin recording voice lines soon. Aubrey also translated that Kitase:
proposed an idea to him about ‘something’ very important to include, even though it wasn’t in the original game, and Nomura is pondering how to deliver. He thinks it will surely make people happy if they can do it well.
This means there are still new ideas and concepts on the horizon for the franchise that returning fans and new ones can enjoy. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launched this year on February 29th with extremely positive reviews. I reviewed it, giving it a 9/10, and stated “A classic story reimagined beautifully from start to finish and a combat system that is both engaging and challenging with meaningful new additions that make the experience as diverse as the game’s cast.”
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