Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Summer Game Fest Trailer Breakdown

During the Summer Game Fest showcase a trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth rounded off the show following a weird but kind of cool marketing event that they ran on their social media accounts. I was slightly surprised that they showed it off so close to the release of Final Fantasy XVI but I was incredibly glad. The trailer did not disappoint in the slightest. I haven’t done something like this before so I am a little anxious posting this but I hope you enjoy it regardless. I have used the video on the previous link and timestamped the sections below with my theories and impressions. This article will spoil some aspects of the original game, Crisis Core and Remake.

• 00:00–00:04 — Image flashes up. Looks like Midgar with a possible tornado in the background. The Shinra building may be in the distance on the right. It’s a blink-and-you-will-miss-it type image. I didn’t notice it the first few times I watched it and it was quite hard to pause the video to see a clear image of it. Could this be related to the end of Remake with the Whispers? However, the next scene refers to the tornado more directly.
• 00:04–00:08 — It’s a gutsy way to start the trailer. I find it quite impressive. Makes me wonder what the hell is going on. It’s a live TV news broadcast where the graphics say it’s being filmed from Sector 2, someplace we haven’t visited in the original or remake. With it being a new sector to the player I would guess this is a deviation from the original game in a significant way.
• 00:08 -00:19 — During this section, it says it is live from the Expressway which is the main highway where you drive the motorbike when leaving the Shinra building. The main cast is being carried out in stretchers onto helicopters. The first time I saw this I thought it was an alternative version of the plate falling, possibly even Shinra covering it up by saying it’s a tornado but the tornado does seem real if my interpretation of the image at the start of the trailer is correct. Red XIII is on a stretcher too and they met him after the plate fell. I guess it could be an alternative timeline where they met Red earlier in the story. Alternatively, it might be near the final events of the original game where the cast fights Diamond Weapon and then goes back to Midgar and fights Hojo. If we get that far in the original game’s story then I reckon that means the third game of the remake series will be focusing on the cast changing destiny. If that is the case, Aerith being taken away on a stretcher too, suggests she has survived what happened to her in the original game. An image of Sephiroth’s feather flashes on the screen to round off this segment

Image from PlayStation Store UK

• 00:19–00:46 — A graphic comes on the screen saying “The unknown story continues”. It is leaning into how the story is changing. Arguably more of a sequel to the original game. This section mostly just shows the beauty of the world with Red commenting on how the world is barely hanging on.
• 00:46- 1:06 — Set just outside Midgar, running around and even coming across animal life. It then transitions into a different area, inside some kind of forest, it’s a lot darker too. Maybe near Gongaga but could be a completely new section to pad out the world. It then transitions to showing presumably Chocobo Bill’s farm near Kalm. The cast is then riding Chocobos. Again it’s probably just to show the world, but could also be the characters trying to get around the Midgar Zolom from the original game. Not entirely sure either way because it looks visually very different. I do think this section is more about the visuals and gameplay. The most interesting thing is the voice-over conversation between Tifa and Aerith where Tifa tells Aerith that as far as she knows Cloud was never in Nibelheim 5 years ago. This dialogue will be set after the scene in Kalm where Cloud recounts in detail the events of what happened to their hometown when Sephiroth and Cloud came to investigate the issues at the reactor there. For those who have played the original or Crisis Core, Cloud was an infantry person, not SOLDIER so he was in uniform. Therefore he didn’t meet Tifa and he tries to hide from her but Zach was there. However, Cloud remembers the events as if he was Zach the whole time. It’s sowing the seeds that Cloud isn’t quite who he thinks he is which is a huge story moment in the original game. Multiple icons on the compass thing at the top show the direction of where to go. Suggests various types of side content.
• 1:06–1:18 — Red XIII’s hometown where in the original game you learn about his tribe and the impact humans and Shinra are having on the planet.
• 1:18–1:27 — Again this section is just showing various parts of the world. Interestingly again the voice-over talking about Hojo referring to Shadows of Sephiroth. For those who have played the original game, this is probably referring to Reunion and the people Sephiroth/Jenova are calling there. This could even tie back into Cloud’s neighbour in Remake as he was wearing the black hood which is what all the people who participate in Reunion also wear. I guess this would include Cloud too as he was the failed experiment based on Hojo trying to create a Sephiroth clone.
• 1:27–1:42 — This is almost certainly Cloud retelling the story of Nibelheim in Kalm.
• 1:42–1:46 — Showing the people in black hoods going to Reunion.
• 1:47–1:59 — Think this is a new boss that Barrett and Red are fighting. Interestingly it is just the two of them fighting. Suggests they are separated from the group. I think this could be the Mythril Mine, where you meet Elena for the first time in the original game.
• 1:59–2:15 — Speaking of which we meet Elena for the first time here. Think this is most likely at the Mine, but there is a building behind her so it could be Gongaga or Wutai. It’s not on screen long enough to make a proper judgement but Rude says she is new so it’s probably at the Mine. This leads to a boss fight with the 2 of them.
• 2:15–2:38 — Back in the open world now. Can see mountains in the distance. Suggesting we are heading to Nibelheim and fighting some monsters. We then see a massive canon built into the mountain. This is presumably Junon where Rufus’ coronation happens as you are playing with Cloud. When you come back later in the original game, you are playing with Tifa instead so I reckon it’s just before the coronation. At around 2:25 it looks like Aerith and Tifa are doing a combined attack together which looks like a new mechanic in the game. Yuffie has joined the party too at around 2:30. I would think with her introduction in the DLC, she is probably not an optional party member this time. Would make sense too, whilst the Wutai storyline is optional in the original game, I would argue it is important enough that it shouldn’t be skipped. There was also a war between Shinra and Wutai in the past which is more like set dressing in the original game but could be integrated more in this especially as Wutai is mentioned in Remake too.
• 2:38–2:59 — You fight Jenova again, Yuffie being scared and running away. Maybe this is in the North Crater as there is a lot of rock/boulders around. Yuffie also says “Keep it away from me”. This suggests the crew know it’s Jenova rather than Sephiroth by this point. I thought she said to keep her away initially, but the trailer’s subtitles said otherwise.
• 2:59–3:04 –This shows Reunion happening and it’s almost certainly Cloud in the cloak or at least someone who looks like him but regardless it is showing Sephiroth/Jenova are gathering everyone for it. With Cloud being an attempted clone of Sephiroth it would explain why he is here in the cloak. Exploring his identity issues in the original game was a weak point in its execution but an interesting theme so perhaps this is the way they will explore it this time by making Cloud take part in Reunion more formally. The voice acting sounds like Cloud too.
• 3:04–3:27 — This is where it gets really interesting. It’s showing when Tifa tries to kill Sephiroth in the Nibelheim incident but ends up getting hurt herself however the voiceover is Sephiroth saying presumably to Cloud, “You know I killed her so who is she?”. This is interesting. Is he talking about Tifa? Possibly, but then who is the Tifa with them on the journey? Is this in Remake’s timeline or an alternative one? Or is this all a misdirection as it could be referring to Aerith’s new position in Remake’s timeline? Either way, it’s all really open to interpretation but really interesting. Followed by the logo and other graphics.

A few thoughts I have about this trailer are that it was really interesting. In a short space of time, they showed off a lot and sprinkled enough in there to make the mind wonder what is going on. It established its tone early from the beginning in quite a prominent way. It is coming out in early 2024 which is exciting for me, I can’t wait but in the meantime, I guess I will have Final Fantasy XVI to play amongst many other things as 2023 seems to be an exciting but manic year for gaming. Let me know what you thought in the comments below and if you have a moment, please consider following us on here and Twitter/Mastodon.