I didn't want reflex-based battle; we wanted to combine all elements.
In the long conversation between tradition and innovation, Square Enix finds itself asking what a beloved game truly is at its core — and whether that essence can survive transformation. With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, creative director Tetsuya Nomura has answered not by choosing between thought and reflex, but by insisting both belong together. It is a design philosophy that treats the player as someone who wants to feel and to think at the same time — a rarer ambition than it appears.
- Nomura drew a firm line: Rebirth would not become a pure action game where survival depends on millisecond reflexes alone, protecting the strategic soul of the franchise.
- The tension lies in satisfying two audiences at once — players who want the immediacy of action combat and those who want the deliberate weight of tactical decision-making.
- New team combination attacks give each party member a distinct moment to shine, deepening character immersion while adding another layer of coordinated strategy.
- Early hands-on impressions suggest the balance is holding — the game feels evolved rather than unrecognizable, expanding the world beyond Midgar without abandoning what came before.
When Square Enix began remaking Final Fantasy 7, the central challenge was preserving what made the original series distinctive while making combat feel alive and modern. The 2020 Remake answered with a hybrid system — real-time movement and attacks layered over tactical pauses for commands and elemental strategy. It worked well enough that Rebirth, arriving in 2024, is pushing that balance even further.
Creative director Tetsuya Nomura has been explicit about his intentions. He never wanted Rebirth to reward pure reflex over thought. Identifying an enemy's weakness, choosing the right ability, coordinating a party — these decisions are not relics of an older design era to him, but the living heart of what Final Fantasy is. The Remake already showed that speed and strategy could coexist; Rebirth is designed to deepen both simultaneously.
Battle director Teruki Endo expanded on this by introducing team combination attacks, where characters merge their abilities into coordinated strikes. The reasoning is rooted in the series' identity: Final Fantasy has always been defined by its characters, and the new system is built to give each one meaningful, impactful moments that feel earned rather than incidental.
The result is less a compromise than a deliberate philosophy — one that Square Enix is doubling down on rather than softening. Rebirth also opens the world beyond Midgar, honoring the larger promise of the original game. Early impressions suggest the unfamiliar and the familiar are being held in careful balance, which is precisely the tension Nomura and Endo are chasing with every encounter they design.
When Square Enix set out to remake Final Fantasy 7, the studio faced a fundamental design problem: how to translate a turn-based combat system into something that felt modern and immediate without losing what made the series distinctive in the first place. The 2020 Remake found an answer—a hybrid approach that let players execute real-time attacks and dodges while still pausing to select tactical commands and exploit enemy weaknesses. It worked. But with Rebirth, the sequel arriving in 2024, the developers decided to push that balance even further.
Tetsuya Nomura, the creative director steering the project, has a clear vision for what Final Fantasy combat should be. In a recent interview, he explained that he never wanted Rebirth to become a pure reflex game—the kind where success depends entirely on your ability to dodge and strike at the right millisecond. Instead, he insisted on preserving what he calls the strategy element: the moment-to-moment decision-making where you identify an enemy's elemental weakness, choose the right ability for the situation, and coordinate with your party. "I thought this was truly vital to this game," Nomura said. "I didn't want it to be a game where it's a reflex-type action or reflex-based battle; we wanted to combine all of these elements."
The Remake already demonstrated this balance. Combat felt fast and physical—you were blocking, attacking, and moving in real time. But the game never let you forget that you were also making choices. You had to decide when to break from attacking to cast a spell, when to switch characters, when to use a powerful ability. It was engagement and thought happening simultaneously, which is harder to design than it sounds.
Rebirth expands this concept by introducing team attacks, where party members can combine their abilities in coordinated strikes. Teruki Endo, the battle director, explained the reasoning: Final Fantasy has always been a series built around its characters, and each one brings a distinct fighting style and role to the party. The new system is designed to let those characters shine and give them moments that feel earned and impactful. "Seeing that the Final Fantasy series has a strong focus on its characters, I believe the action enhances this and lets the players be further immersed into the characters as they play," Endo said. The goal was to weave together command-based strategy with the kind of real-time immersion that makes action games feel alive.
What's notable about this approach is that it's not a compromise—it's a deliberate philosophy. Nomura and his team could have simply made Rebirth faster and more action-heavy. Instead, they've chosen to deepen the tactical layer while keeping the action responsive. The Remake proved players wanted both. Rebirth is betting they want even more of both.
The game will also expand beyond Midgar, the industrial city that confined the original game's opening hours, letting players explore the larger world that Final Fantasy 7 promised. In a recent hands-on session, GamesRadar's editor Iain Harris came away reassured that despite all the changes, Rebirth won't become unrecognizable. "And now, I'm keener for the unfamiliar, what it brings," he wrote. That tension—honoring what came before while pushing into new territory—is exactly what Nomura and Endo are trying to strike with every combat encounter.
Notable Quotes
I didn't want it to be a game where it's a reflex-type action or reflex-based battle; we wanted to combine all of these elements.— Tetsuya Nomura, creative director
The action enhances this and lets the players be further immersed into the characters as they play, along with the strategic battles that are key to Final Fantasy VII.— Teruki Endo, battle director
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Nomura care so much about keeping the strategy element? Couldn't a pure action game sell just as well?
Because Final Fantasy isn't Final Fantasy without it. The series has always been about thinking ahead—about understanding your enemy and choosing the right tool. Strip that away and you've got a good action game, but you've lost the identity.
But doesn't real-time action pull the player's attention away from strategy? How do you think about both at once?
That's the whole design challenge. You have to make the pauses feel natural, make the commands feel urgent. In Remake, you're dodging and attacking, then suddenly you see an opening and you cast a spell. The action doesn't stop strategy—it creates the moments where strategy matters.
What's different about Rebirth, then? Why introduce team attacks specifically?
Because characters matter in Final Fantasy. Each one plays differently. Team attacks force you to think about who's in your party and how they work together. It's strategy, but it's also character. You're not just picking the optimal move—you're seeing your party act as a unit.
Is there a risk that adding more tactical layers makes the game feel slower, less exciting?
Only if you design it wrong. If the team attacks feel clunky or interrupt the flow, yes. But if they're snappy and satisfying, they become part of the rhythm. You're still moving, still engaged. You're just making smarter choices about when and how.
So the real test is execution, not concept.
Exactly. The concept is sound. Nomura knows what he's doing. The question is whether the game feels as good as it sounds.