Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Hands-on Preview – The Calm Before Kalm

In less than four weeks, players will be able to play through the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy on PlayStation. Rebirth does away with the PlayStation 4 release, something that players would have expected after Remake Intergrade and the introduction of Yuffie Kisaragi was exclusive to the latest Sony console generation. At the moment, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth remains a PS5 console exclusive but certainly has the possibility of coming to PC by way of Epic Games Store and/or Steam in a matter of months.

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During our preview event, Square-Enix allowed us free reign to explore the first two chapters of Cloud Strife’s adventure, first beginning with a flashback to his time in Nibelheim five years prior when he was still a SOLDIER on assignment with Sephiroth to investigate issues with the local mako reactor. We weren’t able to capture any footage from these parts, but players will certainly get to experience that narrative for themselves before too long. It’s such a pivotal moment in the narrative that provides a backdrop for Sephiroth’s motivations and his gradual descent from role model to primary antagonist in Final Fantasy VII.

Square-Enix spared no expense in the cutscenes and story pacing in these opening moments. In the span of an hour, we have Sephiroth turning from the calm and refined swordsman known for calling Cloud a puppy to the bloodthirsty villain that torches a town to the ground. During that hour, players will have the opportunity to take up the Masamune in combat and try out Sephiroth’s unique fighting style. By and large, this was similar in scope to the earlier preview we experienced with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth last year, expanded to provide a significant amount of story to flesh out Cloud and Sephiroth’s mission together and changing the open world segment from Junon to Kalm.

Truth be told, Kalm is a much more narratively