“Driven by dreams. However amazing the dream is, if it remains a fantasy, it’s meaningless.” This quote adorns the beginning of the latest video for Square Enix‘s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second game in Square Enix‘s Final Fantasy VII Remake project. In what Square Enix describes as a “short film,” creative director Tetsuya Nomura, producer Yoshinori Kitase, and director Naoki Hamaguchi reminisce about the original Final Fantasy VII while driving… Porsche cars?
The three reflect on how they dared to imagine and create a new role-playing game in a market that had never seen anything quite like Final Fantasy VII. They relate it to the “creative power of Porsche’s designs.” Fluffy, albeit thoughtful, comparisons aside, Porsche cars don’t have much at all to do with Final Fantasy VII or the Final Fantasy series as a whole. Cars barely feature into the fantasy settings of the franchise, not even the more technology-based entries. The most noteworthy car in the series is arguably the Regalia from Final Fantasy XV, which protagonist Noctis and his “Chocobros” use to drive around the open world, and its real-life equivalent wasn’t a Porsche but instead an Audi.
Nevertheless, Square Enix‘s collaboration is with Porsche, and the three game creators seem like they’re having fun, so why bother giving them any roadblocks? The two cars featured in the video are a classic Porsche 911 from 1997, the same year that the original Final Fantasy VII debuted and the most recent 2024 model.
As part of the collaboration, the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles created a themed Porsche 911 featuring a Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Some of the game’s English voice actors Briana White (Aerith), Caleb Pierce (Zack), Suzie Yeung (Yuffie), and Max Mittleman (Red XIII) drove the customized car at the event.
The Porsche short film is not the only collaboration Final Fantasy VII has had. Just last week, the energy drink Red Bull gave Cloud wings so that he could face off the One-Winged Angel himself Sephiroth. Both Final Fantasy VII Remake and its sequel has collaborated with the Butterfingers candy, with the former offering in-game items and the latter giving customers a chance to win a gaming bundle. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth also has a collaboration with Insomnia Cookies with limited edition boxes featuring the game’s artwork.
The Final Fantasy VII series is so big that the Japan Anniversary Society, an organization that documents days of cultural importance, has officially acknowledged January 31 as “Final Fantasy VII Day.” The date commemorates the PlayStation game’s original Japanese release on January 31, 1997.
© Square Enix
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launched worldwide on Thursday on two discs for PlayStation 5.
Square Enix describes the game:
After escaping from the dystopian city of Midgar, Cloud and his friends set out on a journey across the planet. New adventures await in a vibrant and vast world – sprint across grassy plains on a Chocobo and explore expansive environments.
Square Enix is also offering a “twin pack” bundle including both Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Square Enix released the Final Fantasy VII Remake game on PlayStation 4 in April 2020 after a delay from March 2020. The game was a PlayStation exclusive until April 10, 2021. The game’s new Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade version with additional content launched in June 2021 on the PlayStation 5, in December 2021 on PC via the Epic Games Store, and in June 2022 on PC via Steam.
Sources: Press release, Final Fantasy franchise‘s YouTube channel
