Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth gets spicy new gameplay trailer at Summer Game Fest

Summer Game Fest 2023 was a big night for fans of the biggest JRPG of all time. Not only was a brand-new entry in the Final Fantasy 7 universe, Ever Crisis, announced for mobile, but Summer Game Fest also showed us the first gameplay trailer for the much-anticipated Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth as well. There’s a lot to unpack within, so let’s get right down to it!

Breaking down Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth’s Summer Games Fest Trailer

Right off the bat, the new gameplay trailer showed us a fresh glimpse of the hyper-detailed version of Final Fantasy 7’s world that debuted in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, peeling back the curtain further to show us the verdant fields beyond the gray walls of Midgar. Gameplay looks to continue the action-oriented style imposed by its predecessor, as well as its free-roaming exploration.

Most exciting for long-term fans of the series will be the implications this new trailer has for the story, however. The Producer of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, Yoshinori Kitase, has been open in the past about his intention to switch up the story of the beloved classic in this series of remakes, and this trailer gives us some major hints as to how he’ll do so. The trailer ends with a character, who may be an interpretation of Yuffie or a brand-new addition, getting into a one-sided scrap with Sephiroth, then the line “You know that I killed her, so who is she?”

Image via Square Enix

Fans of the original will undoubtedly read this as a reference to Sephiroth’s murder of Aerith in the original, the most infamous plot twist in the game, and probably the entire Final Fantasy series. “Who is she?” teases the possibility that the key death will be reallocated this time around, which would certainly take the game’s story in a new direction.

Beyond its juicy story implications, the trailer also offered a vague release date of ‘Early 2024’, alongside the news that the game will be launching “on two discs.” Whether this is true, or just a nice nostalgic nod, remains to be seen, but the Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth gameplay trailer was stellar overall, and a fitting grand finale for Summer Games Fest 2023.