Square Enix Says You Can Play Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Without Playing Remake

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth may be the second installment in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, but you apparently don’t need to play the first.

According to a tweet from Square Enix (below), Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players won’t need to play through the whole of Final Fantasy 7 Remake just to get up to speed.

“We have made preparations so that players who did not get a chance to play the first game can fully enjoy Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.”

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Developer comment number 4#FF7R pic.twitter.com/vsmJZvDljw

— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) June 5, 2023

What those preparations entail is currently a mystery, but some fans are already speculating that a short recap will give players all the necessary information from the first game.

“’Preparations’ is most likely a cutscene you can choose from the main menu to recap the last game,” commented one Reddit user. Meanwhile, others are concerned about the story if playing the previous chapter isn’t necessary.

“How well will the story flow if we don’t need any of the info from the previous game?” asked a concerned fan on Twitter. “I do have faith in them as storytellers and game creators, but I can’t help but feel apprehensive.”

Others wondered just how much information we’ll get at the start of the game… and whether it will mimic a TV serial flashback. “Previously on… Final Fantasy 7 Remake,” joked another tweet.

It was recently revealed that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be part of a trilogy, and not a two-parter as originally thought. Given that Final Fantasy 7 Remake strayed in certain ways from the original, a decent catch-up may be necessary for fans who haven’t played Remake, even if they did play the original Final Fantasy 7.

Notably, some players thought that suggesting you can skip Final Fantasy 7 Remake is an odd choice… especially as this is the second in a trilogy.

“It’s a direct sequel, and one that is available to play on the same platforms that [Remake] will be on,” said one Reddit post. “I don’t really know why they felt it necessary to appeal to players who skipped the first part.”

IGN’s review of Final Fantasy VII Remake gave it 8/10 and said: “Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s dull filler and convoluted additions can cause it to stumble, but it still breathes exciting new life into a classic while standing as a great RPG all its own.”

Want to read more about Final Fantasy VII? Check out Find out why the Final Fantasy series is struggling as well as when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be released.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.