Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: developer interview reveals fresh gameplay details as new trailer debuts at State of Play
blog.playstation.com
Summons, Gold Saucer mini-games, side quests, and more discussed in exclusive Q&A as game's release date confirmed for February 29.

Some interesting things mentioned in the interview:

new mechanic allows the player to use synergy commands and abilities freely at any time by using up a gauge charge in a similar manner to Limit Breaks.

We’ve also added skill trees as a new element of character growth

Many new Materia with new abilities not seen in the first game are available as well, so players will have even more options to customize and build character loadouts to their own taste.

Red XIII doesn’t just have an ATB gauge but also uses his own unique “revenge gauge” mechanic.

[Red XIII] will become an official, playable party member starting from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

extended side content based on a summon who did not feature in the original Final Fantasy VII.

[added] a huge number of mini games on a scale that surpasses even the original

The world map is vast and expansive, so not all of the locations on it will be used in the main story alone.

a player’s levels and abilities will not carry over from one game to the next

If you played the original Final Fantasy VII, I’m sure you can guess which scene I’m talking about. You will be able to control Sephiroth in the same scene in this title as you did in the original.

    • HaruOPMEnglish
      3•1 year ago

      Can only speculate why;

      1. Not being shown so there’s a “surprise” character - not sure why they’d do that after revealing Vincent, maybe for later trailers?
      2. Or, being held back for DLC - I don’t think that would make sense given the story takes us up to Temple of the Ancients, even with multiverse shenanigans.
      3. Or, being held back for Pt.3 - Again wouldn’t make sense with story.