Summary
The currently-unnamed third installment in theFinal Fantasy 7 Remakesaga will see the return of one of the original’s most popular elements: airship travel using Cid’s trusty vessel, the Highwind.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis set to finally launch later this month, and will pick up the story of Cloud Strife and company where 2020’sFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeleft off. Square Enix has confirmed that these two games are part of a trilogy, and the third and final installment is reportedly already being written as of this writing.
Airships are a common recurrence in theFinal Fantasyseries, andFinal Fantasy 7’s take on the trope remains one of the most fondly remembered in the franchise. Built byFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthparty member Cid Highwind, the Highwind is first commandeered by Team AVALANCHE when Tifa and Barret are captured by Shinra. After the subsequent rescue mission, the Highwind serves as a speedy way to travel across the planet. In the originalFinal Fantasy 7, the Highwind allows players to backtrack through the game’s World Map, and can even be used to challenge the dreaded Ultimate Weapon boss.
Some eagle-eyed fans say that they spotted theHighwind in one ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s trailers, but it might not be until the next installment that players will get to pilot the legendary airship for themselves.FF7 Rebirthcreative director Tetsuya Nomura recently spoke with Famitsu (as translated by Twitter user aitaikimochi) to discuss some of the challenges of bringing the world ofFinal Fantasy 7to life on modern hardware. One of the topics he discussed was how the size and quality ofFF7 Rebirth’s world map could make implementing airship travel in the next installment difficult.
The Highwind Could Take Flight In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Sequel
Sure enough,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthwill see Cloud and his allies journey through thelarger world outside of Midgar’s borders, and a recent trailer from this month’s PlayStation State of Play livestream demonstrated how players will explore the planet’s many different regions. Early previews forFF7 Rebirthhave commented on how much bigger the game is than its predecessor, and this is evident in the game’s massive file size.
There will beplenty to see and do inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but it looks like players won’t get to fly around the planet in an airship until the next and final chapter in the series. This makes sense, as the Highwind wasn’t introduced as a mode of transport for the party in the original game until after their fateful trip to the Forgotten Capital, which serves as the ending point forFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Fans will have to wait and see how the ongoingFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeseries implements airship travel in its finale.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
