This past week, Square Enix provided a generous douse of details on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Not only did they reveal new character details about Cait Sith, Yuffie, and Elena, but the studio even showed off yet another trailer. As excitement builds to a fever pitch ahead of the game’s imminent February 29th release date, the latest dose of information also revealed a major change to an early section of the game.
In the original Final Fantasy VII, Cloud and friends head to Junon where they sneak aboard a Shinra cargo ship. However, in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the development team has replaced the cargo ship with something a bit more stylish.
While Cloud will still infiltrate Rufus Shinra’s parade, this time he’ll use it as a ruse to climb aboard Shinra-8, a luxury cruise. In a press release, Square Enix describes the new vessel as “a Shinra cruise ship that ferries travelers between the planet’s eastern and western continents. After departing the port of Junon, it heads for the resort town of Costa del Sol. As part of the on-board entertainment, the ship plays host to a Queen’s Blood tournament.”
Based on this description, it sounds like Shinra-8 will fulfill the same traversal role as the cargo ship did, and so players will still go to Costa del Sol after Junon. It makes more sense for a cruise ship to take people to Costa del Sol, since it is a vacation destination in the game. Notably, one difference is the tournament for Queen’s Blood, a new strategic card game added to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. But that’s not the only major departure.
The remade game will also feature the new character of Captain Titov there. Voiced by Jonathan Lipow of Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Young Jedi Adventures, the captain of the Shinra-8 oversees the journey between Junon and Costa del Sol. Square Enix describes him as earning “a sterling reputation amongst his crew, thanks to his unerring devotion to his duties. This is most evident during the various festivities held aboard his vessel, which he personally—and passionately—emcees.”
This last line suggests that the Queen’s Blood tournament won’t be the only minigame for players to take part in on board Shinra-8. We’ll see what the “various festivities” are next month. Either way, it sounds like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will have a much more extravagant ship section than the original.
As for other character details shared, Cait Sith and Yuffie will have a joint-attack called “Moogle Pinwheel.” New Turk Elena is noted as “pursuing the black-robed figures” on a mission with Rude, returning from Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Find out how Final Fantasy VII Rebirth reimagines the ship section of the game on February 29th, when it arrives for PlayStation 5.
