The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth devs get it: it just wouldn't be the same without the JRPG's zany side content

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth aims to retain the original game’s zaniness with “a lot of gimmicks thrown inside like a giant toy box.”

In an interview with the Japanese website Den Fami Nico, translated by Redditor glowinggoo, the game’s developers shed light on Final Fantasy’s identity, and more pertinent to this game, Final Fantasy 7’s own unique flavour. Director Naoki Hamaguchi said that “putting in a ton of minigames and side content” is one of the game’s main goals, along with the epic fantasy shenanigans, of course. “Leaving enough space to immerse yourself in things beyond the main story lets you absorb the atmosphere of the original FF7,” he continued, “and it’s one of the goals of Rebirth.”

Producer Yoshinori Kitase compared the game and the series at large to a “giant toy box.” Kitase mentions that the old-school SNES and PlayStation 1 games had several “zany” elements, but these endearing quirks became harder to include as hardware advanced and “portrayals got more realistic.” That hopefully won’t be a problem with Rebirth, as Kitase says “We’re putting in gimmicks that felt like they belong in the old days.” Final Fantasy 7’s spirit is balancing the playfulness with the “sense of reality,” according to Kitase. 

Tetsuya Nomura’s answer harks back to the series’ granddaddy, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Apparently, Sakaguchi once had a saying that goes: “Final Fantasy is a series with everything and anything.” When a developer had a random idea, the team would “try our best to put it into the game.” That philosophy is something that Nomura says is still alive with Rebirth, which makes me very happy, personally.

Final Fantasy mini-games have always been great fun, full of personality, from Final Fantasy 9’s deck-building card game to Final Fantasy 10’s underwater football and beyond. The lack of mini-games (or general wackiness) was a major criticism of Final Fantasy 16, too, so I’m glad to see that Rebirth is showing off more personality. 

That loveable spirit has been on show in recent trailers. Cloud on a segway. 19 inches of Sephiroth. New Gold Saucer. Need I say more? Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth comes to PS5 on 29th February, 2024. 

For now, check out our ranking of the best Final Fantasy games.