Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed fan-favourite characters Vincent Valentine and Cid will not appear in the upcoming game’s combat encounters. Speaking to IGN, Hamaguchi revealed both Cid and Vincent will join Cloud’s party of warriors in Rebirth, but only in smaller roles.
“Both Cid and Vincent are accompanying the party on their journey and they do help out, but they aren’t actually featuring in battle as guest characters,” Hamaguchi told IGN. “So they’re not really going to be involved in your fight.”
It was previously known that Vincent would be an accompanying character, but Hamaguchi has now clarified that he and Cid will not be used in battle in any capacity, unlike other characters. They will instead appear in “various parts of the story and scenarios” and will help Cloud and his friends in some manner, but “they’re not actually fighting as guest characters.”
Read: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth State of Play – News Roundup
Cid and Vincent do play important roles as party members in the original Final Fantasy 7, but they won’t be an active part of combat for now. Per Hamaguchi, the reason for this is to save some surprises for the final chapter in the modern Final Fantasy 7 trilogy.
With the next game likely to ramp up the tension and scale of battles, Cid and Vincent holding back in Rebirth should aid the stakes, and ensure the series conclusion still has some secrets. Given Vincent in particular has some world-ending attacks in his arsenal, it’s certainly a decision that makes sense.
As Hamaguchi told IGN, Vincent and Cid’s stories will go “deeper” than the original game through new side quests – but those looking forward to seeing them in battle will need to stay patient.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches for PS5 on 29 February 2024.
