It’s no secret that the battle royale genre has been taking the world by storm. What started with titles like PUBG and Fortnite quickly evolved and became a focus of even more franchises. Between Call of Duty: Warzone and new IPs like Apex Legends, it seems that the genre is everywhere now. Recently, Nintendo even hopped on board the battle royale train with Super Mario 35, an unexpected combination to be sure. Now, Final Fantasy is releasing its own battle royale game, this one set in the universe of Final Fantasy 7. Final Fantasy 7: The First SOLDIER is coming to Android and iOS sometime this year.
During Sony’s February State of Play, Square Enix revealed the PS5 version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but it quickly followed up with two mobile game reveals shortly afterward. Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis is looking to compile every piece of Final Fantasy 7 into one package, but Final Fantasy 7: The First SOLDIER is doing something entirely different. This battle royale style game will be unlike anything Final Fantasy has done before.
From the reveal trailer, the premise of Final Fantasy 7: The First SOLDIER shows the very beginning of Shinra’s SOLDIER program, and players will take up the role of candidates. By competing in a series of grueling battle royale style matches, they will aim to become the first SOLDIER in Shinra’s history. What makes this so interesting is the way it seems to mix typical gunplay from any battle royale game with melee combat, magic, and even Final Fantasy 7’s iconic summons.
Though most of the trailer is dedicated to player vs player action in a battle royale setting, there is a healthy dose of PVE shown as well. At one point, players are shown fighting a Bomb, and another scene shows them engaged in a battle with the first boss of Final Fantasy 7, Shinra’s Scorpion Sentinel. Since players are able to use summons like Ifrit, it could be that this is the source of these seemingly PVE encounters, but it could be that there will be more than just a standard battle royale game mode involved.
Final Fantasy 7: The First SOLDIER is set to release in 2021, though the exact date was not revealed. Fans should keep a close eye on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Twitter account, as this is where Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis and Final Fantasy 7: The First SOLDIER and were revealed in the first place. If more information does get shown, it’s likely to appear there first.
Final Fantasy 7: The First SOLDIER releases in 2021.
