Last year, the gaming world was taken by surprise when Square Enix showed a teaser trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The company said it was going to release this year, but with the release of the latest trailer, it looks like things were pushed back slightly. They are now saying early 2024, which could be March. Historically, Square Enix loves to release games in March.
Release dates aside, the finale of the Summer Game Fest showcased this aforementioned new trailer with a lot to analyze. Avid fans probably understood every location in the trailer, but for those that aren't as savvy, here is a breakdown of the latest trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
This list contains spoilers for the original Final Fantasy 7
10 Midgar
Midgar is the first thing shown in the trailer. It shows Tifa, Aerith, Red 13, and Barret getting carted away from the scene by Shinra soldiers. The city is in turmoil as a tornado apparently hit the city. At the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Zack is shown to be looking at Midgar, and it has a swirl around it. Was the beginning with Midgar a flash of this alternate dimension with Zack?
9 Kalm Inn
Kalm is the first town players will visit after Midgar in the original game. Here, Cloud will explain to the party how he came to be in SOLDIER and how he met Sephiroth. While the town is not shown in the trailer, the Kalm Inn is. Either Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will start at the Inn already, or players might get a short time frame to explore the open world before they get to Kalm.
8 Chocobo Farm
The Chocobo Farm is located just south of Kalm in the original game. Players have to purchase the Chocobo Lure Materia to win over a Chocobo in the wild. Players need a Chocobo to cross over the swamp wherein the deadly Midgar Zolom sleeps. The farm is shown in the trailer along with Cloud and the others riding the big yellow birds, but no Midgar Zolom was in sight.
7 The Mythril Mine
The Mythril Mine is on the other side of the marsh in the first game. It’s a pretty normal cave without a lot of intricacy to the design. There are multiple scenes shown throughout The Mythril Mine, including the finale, where the party has to face Elena and Rude of The Turks.
There are two changes to this scene. One, Tseng is nowhere to be found. Two, the party is only supposed to meet the Turks and not fight them.
6 Junon
Players are never shown what Junon looks like internally. However, there is one brief flash in the trailer that shows Cloud running towards the massive sea city. It’s easy to tell what it is thanks to the big canon sticking out of it along with the Highwind on top. Will Cid be in this game too, or will he be reserved along with other playable characters in the finale of this trilogy?
5 Shinra Cargo Ship
The Shinra Cargo Ship gives Cloud and the others safe passage across the sea to the other continent. The ship is barely shown in the trailer except for the part where Sephiroth arrives. In the original game, he throws a Jenova sample at the party for a boss fight. That happens in this Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer as well, so avid fans can piece together that this must be the Shinra Cargo Ship.
4 Cosmo Canyon
Cosmo Canyon is another location example that is not shown completely. There is a scene that shows Bugenhagen, Red 13’s grandpa, telling the party about the planet in his observatory.
The observatory is located at the top of Cosmo Canyon; thus, that area must be in the game. Golden Saucer is the stop before that, but it is not shown in the trailer, unfortunately.
3 Nibel Reactor
The Nibel Reactor is located north of Nibelheim in the original game. It doesn’t play much significance in the present-day party, but it is a big part of Cloud’s aforementioned flashback.
It is here that Cloud supposedly fought and killed Sephiroth while saving Tifa in the process. In the trailer, the only scene shown is the part where Sephiroth strikes Tifa down outside Jenova’s room.
2 The Sleeping Forest
The Sleeping Forest is the area Cloud follows Aerith into on the way to the City of the Ancients. It’s technically just an image of her, teasing Cloud to follow. Now, Cloud is shown running in a forest with Aerith in the trailer. This could be anywhere in the game, but since no one else is with them, it might be safe to assume this is a redesigned version of The Sleeping Forest. It also might be the part where Cloud meets Yuffie for the first time, who also appears in a forest.
1 The Northern Crater
The Northern Crater could be the finale of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It is shown in a flash in the trailer with Cloud and some other robed men chanting “Reunion” as they glide along a dark pathway. Once the party reaches this area in the original, Cloud is lost, Sephiroth's real body is discovered, and the Weapon bosses are unleashed. This would be a heck of a way to end the game, but it would also cause a lot of turmoil for the fans.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is set to release on PlayStation 5 in early 2024.