Square Enix has revealed if Final Fantasy VII (FFVII) Rebirth will have chocobo breeding — and I’ve got bad news for you if you were hoping it did.
In an interview with IGN, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said the game wouldn’t have chocobo breeding. However, the giant, rideable birds would play a big role in the game, with players using them to access otherwise inaccessible areas and traverse the map. There’s also a special feature that will allow gamers to capture chocobos.
As for racing chocobos at Gold Saucer, Hamaguchi explained, “For the Rebirth chocobos, each of them has their own unique name and they are able to enter the Gold Saucer races. There’s also equipment that is specifically designed for chocobos to equip that will enhance their stats and it will affect their performance in chocobo races…There are several race tracks that are available and just within the chocobo racing contest, there’s many varied courses that one could challenge. So, in terms of play hours that can be devoted, it’s quite, you know, copious amounts of hours that one could spend on chocobo racing.”
Related: Square Enix Reveals If Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Will Let You Use Remake Save Data
Breeding chocobos was a pretty major feature in the original Final Fantasy VII, though it was pretty optional. Still, for breeding a Gold Chocobo, players would be able to traverse the game’s world with ease and obtain some otherwise impossible-to-get items and Materia. Still, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is already a massive game, with Square Enix estimating it’ll take players around 100 hours to complete. Plus, Gold Saucer will still have tons of games to choose from so that your playthrough can stall for days on end while you decide it’s more important to beat Mog House than save the world.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is slated for release on Feb. 29 and will feature an epic — and expensive — Collector’s Edition with a massive statute of Sephiroth.
