With the clock ticking down to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s launch a few months from now, Square Enix is ramping up the rollout of new details on the highly anticipated action RPG sequel, and has revealed several more tidbits on the game’s combat, locations, characters, and more (via Gematsu).
In addition to confirming a new Dynamic difficulty level that will use level scaling, where combat is concerned, another major addition has also been confirmed in the form of Synergy Abilities, which are described as “powerful attacks in which two characters team up to turn the tide of battle”.
Using abilities in combat will fill up your Synergy gauge, and different combinations will then be able to unleash unique attacks in tandem. More attacks will become available to you as you increase your party level, which is “a numerical expression of how closely-knit your team is”.
Additionally, two characters can also team up to unleash Synergy Skills that can be used without consuming ATB, and can have wide-ranging effects, from dealing damage to buffing allies. Synergy Skills can also be used when blocking incoming attacks.
Meanwhile, as previously confirmed, Red XIII will be a fully playable character in Rebirth, as opposed to Remake, and will slash at enemies using his claws for his basic attacks, while players will also be able to hold down a button to unleash an attack with wider range that will build up ATB more quickly. One of Red XIII’s magical abilities will be Stardust Ray, which “conjures an exploding orb of light that scorches all foes caught in the blast”.
Meanwhile, he will also have access to Vengeance Mode, which will buff up his evasive abilities and physical attacks, and allow him to use Siphon Fang, an attack that won’t expend ATB, and will siphon enemies’ health while also dealing damage. To activate Vengeance Mode, players will have to fill up a gauge by blocking attacks.
Aerith, who was obviously fully playable in the previous game, is also seeing some key changes in how she will function in combat. For instance, using the Ward Shift ability, she’ll be able to drop sigils anywhere in the combat arena and instantly warp to them, affording her much greater mobility.
New details have also been revealed on one of the summons that will be available in the game, namely Kujata, a massive pig-like monster with giant horns that is capable of also wielding lightning, fire, and ice attacks.
Square Enix has also offered some brief details on locations that fans of the original Final Fantasy 7 will remember all too well, like the hamlet of Kalm, or the once-bustling-but-now-abandoned Mythril Mines. In these locations (and others), players will also meet Broden, who owns an inn in Kalm and harbours a grudge against Shinra; Rhonda, the mayor and sheriff of Under Junon who will come to the aid of Cloud and co; Priscilla, a young girl who trains dolphins in Under Junon; Billy, a young ranch hand and the grandson of the owner of a chocobo ranch; and Chloe, Billy’s young sister, who sells items and crafting materials in the ranch’s shop.
As players travel the massive world of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, they will also be able to use intel about it by spending data points with Chadley to develop new Materia. You can also hunt down Protorelics, which are unknown artefacts that emit unique and mysterious energy signals and can distort space-time, or head to chocoboutiques in ranches, where you can apply various customization options for your chocobo mounts.
A hefty batch of new screenshots for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has also been released. Take a look through here.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches for PS5 on February 29, 2024.