During a recent reveal,Final Fantasy 7introduced a whole new wave of games in addition toRebirth, the second part of the main game’s remake. Unfortunately, this new wave ofFinal Fantasy 7games will probably not include remakes ofBefore CrisisorDirge of Cerberus.Before Crisiswas a Japanese-only mobile prequel toFinal Fantasy 7released in 2004. This Turks-based RPG never finished its localization, and remains the onlyFinal Fantasy 7anthology title never released internationally.Final Fantasy 7: Dirge of Cerberus, on the other hand, was a third-person shooter sequel released for PS2 in 2006 which focused on Vincent Valentine,a fan favorite character fromFinal Fantasy 7. Though it received mixed reviews professionally, it generated a significant cult following.RELATED:Final Fantasy Fan Accidentally Makes Real-Life Tonberry KnifeHowever, in a recent interview with executive producer Yoshinori Kitase and creative director Tetsuya Nomura, Famitsu discovered Square Enix did not have plans to remake either of these games alongsidethe upcomingCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, orFinal Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis. “The staff said that they would like to remasterDirge of Cerberus, and tried to calculate the cost ofBefore Crisis,” Nomura said, but it was not in the cards at present.
Players have been especiallyhopeful for aFinal Fantasy 7: Before Crisisremakefor a long time. Though it was originally going to be released internationally, the localizations were canceled during production due to technological problems. As the mobile game is no longer available,Before Crisis’story can no longer be played outside of emulations and fan translations.
WhileDirge of Cerberusis not on the schedule for a remake, its influence can already be felt withinFinal Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade.Weiss and Nero–two characters fromDirge of Cerberus–appear withinFinal Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade’s extra episode. “It is a common world where all the titles related toFF7are connected,” Nomura said, suggesting more elements fromDirge of Cerberus, and possiblyBefore Crisis, could show up in otherFF7remakes and games.
It is important to note that Nomura and Kitase stated there were no current plans for remaking these games at present. While it currently seems unlikely, it could still happen in the future.
While players are excited about theresurgence ofFinal Fantasy 7content after over a decade, many are disappointedDirge of CerberusandBefore Crisisdidn’t make the cut. The games each offered new perspectives and content to theFinal Fantasy 7universe, and players would be woeful to miss out on in a new generation of games. Hopefully theFinal Fantasy 7devs can continue to synthesize the story beats from those games into future titles likeFinal Fantasy 7 Remake Intergradedid, so they are not lost to the annals of history.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunionwill release this Winter for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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