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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Crisis Core expand the remake universe

Summer Gaming Marathon Feature Image
This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

During Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII 25th anniversary stream, the company revealed Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It’s the second part of the remake series, and it’ll launch next winter for PlayStation 5.

Square Enix also confirmed that the remake series will be a trilogy, with the third game coming later. Rebirth has entered full production, and some of the development staff are already working on the third entry. Also announced was Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion, a remaster of a 2007 PSP game that will release this winter for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH – First Look Trailer

Square Enix also took some time to show off Final Fantasy VII games on mobile and PC. On the mobile front, we saw the new season of Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier and learned that Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis will get a closed beta later this year. Meanwhile, PC players can expect it on a new storefront. Final Fantasy VII Remake was previously a PlayStation console exclusive but came to PC late last year as an Epic Games Store exclusive. Thankfully, Square Enix announced during this stream that Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will finally come to Steam on June 17. It is also verified to work on Steam Deck for those who prefer a portable experience.

It’s currently unknown whether Final Fantasy VII Remake or Rebirth will ever launch on Xbox or Nintendo platforms, as they weren’t brought up during the livestream. Those games were all the highlights of the stream, but Square Enix also highlighted that there is some merchandise available to order, such as a Buster Sword alarm clock. It’s certainly an awesome time to be a fan of Final Fantasy VII.

George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
How long is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
Cloud and his friends overlook a scenic field.

By expanding the Midgar section of Final Fantasy 7 into an entire game, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally takes us beyond the walls into the world beyond. This much larger swath of land to explore begs the question of just how big this game will be. Between all the open-world tasks, sidequests, and minigames awaiting in the Gold Saucer, could this game really be a 100-hour experience as was claimed? What if you just tried to focus on the main story to see what has or hasn't changed? We've played through the entirety of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and can give you a good idea of just how long it will take you to reach this chapter's conclusion.

Note: We will not be spoiling any story details, but will list how many chapters there are.
How long is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

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The best ways to farm Gil in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Cait Sith dances in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Some say it's the Lifestream that makes the world go round in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, but we all know the real answer is Gil. Cloud may be on a quest to save the world from Sephiroth, but he's still a merc who wants to get paid for his efforts. Plus, there are a ton of expensive items to gather up on your journey, such as Materia, Accessories, Armor, and Queen's Blood cards. You'll need some very deep pockets if you want to buy everything that catches your eye, but Gil isn't the easiest thing to come by. We've done all the odd jobs and activities around Gaia to give you the best ways to grind for Gil in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
Best ways to farm Gil
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth introduces a ton of new activities, minigames, and quests that didn't exist in Remake. That means there are a lot more ways to earn Gil than ever before, but also a lot that are a waste of time compared to others.
Get your steps in

Even when you get yourself a Chocobo to ride around on, there's no getting around how much running you will be doing. Whether it's in one of the dungeons or towns where you can't take your mount, part of a quest that keeps you on foot, or if you just like exploring the old-fashioned way, Cloud will be getting more than his fair share of steps in. So why not get paid for your efforts? The Pedometer Pin is an accessory that automatically pays you 1 Gil for every 100 steps taken. Now, that doesn't sound like a lot, but that number will build up fast when running around. Plus, it's free money you'd otherwise be leaving on the table. The best part is you don't need to sacrifice a valuable accessory slot on Cloud, or even anyone in your active party, to get the benefits. So long as the person who has it equipped is available to be in your party, not necessarily currently in it, you reap the rewards.
Sword for hire
Sidequests pay well in Rebirth for the most part. There aren't a ton of them compared to most open world games, so they all tend to be worth your while in one way or another. Visit every new town's notice board and snag all the requests whenever possible. You won't know exactly what reward you're going to get until it's said and done, but you should expect at least a couple thousand Gil for your efforts in most cases.
Get crafty

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Queen’s Blood tips and tricks
Queen's Blood

After Fort Condor arrived in Final Fantasy 7: Remake Intergrade, you may not have expected an entirely new minigame to be introduced in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. However, after the opening hours, when you're let loose in Kalm, you will automatically be given your very first deck of Queen's Blood cards. While this minigame is entirely optional after you play your first game to learn the basics, you would be missing out on a ton of content and secrets, let alone fun, by ignoring it. Still, we understand if you feel you didn't sign up for a strange new card game in your Final Fantasy adventure. Plus, there is a lot more depth to the game than is properly explained. If you want to rise up the ranks and be a Queen's Blood champion, but are unsure how to start, we'll show you the ropes.
The basics

The tutorial for Queen's Blood does a decent job explaining the basic rules of Queen's Blood, but it goes by rather quickly and may leave some things a little unclear until you play a few rounds.

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