Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Gold Saucer is going to financially ruin me, and I can’t wait for it to happen. The recent deluge of Rebirth footage showered us in details on the upcoming game, including our first glimpse of other characters and locations like Vincent, Cait Sith, Cosmo Canyon, Costa del Sol, and so much more. But it was our first look at the Gold Saucer that stood out to me most, and really solidified why Rebirth is my most anticipated game of 2024.
My personal relationship with FFVII I has been a strange one. Like a lot of folks, I immediately fell in love with the original PS1 release when I first played it as a kid. I couldn’t count the number of times I played through it back in the late ‘90s, breeding Gold Chocobos and acquiring every Enemy Skill like a true sicko. But as I grew older and more pretentious, I convinced myself that FFVII was overrated, and made the hipster move of chucking it down near the bottom of my personal Final Fantasy rankings. After all, I was someone with taste, so only your finest Vs, IXs, and XIIs for me.
Cut to 2020, and an older, slightly-less hipstery me sat down with Final Fantasy VII Remake, and immediately the flood of amazing memories came rushing back. Like Anton Ego in Ratatouille, I remembered that joy and magic from my youth, and fell back in love with these characters and their world. But Remake was just the tip of the Great Glacier, and I knew that the follow up would take us to all those places I loved far beyond the walls of Midgar. This includes the Gold Saucer, which has always remained my favorite location in a game filled with all of my favorite locations.
Midway through FFVII, your crew makes it to the biggest tourist attraction in all the world, built high atop the shantytown ruins of Coral. While I appreciate the societal commentary now, as a kid, all that mattered to me was that my favorite game somehow contained its own version of Disney World, filled to the brim with mini games, side quests, one-off oddities, and unforgettable moments between the characters that I was so invested in. It felt like an entire game inside of a game, and as we all know, nothing is better than bonus game.
Back to Rebirth, and sure enough folks, I am here to tell you that I have officially been Materia-pilled. I’ve watched every second of footage Square Enix has released so far, and I can safely say that for the thousand things I’m excited to experience in the 2024 game, Gold Saucer is at the top of that list. Square knows that one of FFVII’s defining features was the sheer number of things you could do off the beaten path, and Gold Saucer exemplifies that.
The theme park includes rollercoaster shooting galleries, live performances, romantic gondola rides, haunted houses to spend the night in, and an arcade filled with pretty much all of the mini games contained throughout the core story of the game. So much of FFVII’s world was oftentimes bleak and hopeless, which made the Gold Saucer stand out all the more. It’s a great spot to calm your nerves, digest what just happened, and plan your next move…all while breathing in recycled air and gambling your savings away.
We get a few glimpses of the Gold Saucer in the Rebirth footage that’s been released so far. This includes the gondola ride up to the park, with Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie in awe at the first sight of the neon dreamscape. And there’s a few shots of games and activities, all of which Square has said will be making a return. Seeing them rendered on modern hardware is a joy, and it’s clear that a lot of time and respect is being given to this iconic location. I particularly love that the 3D Battler arcade machine renders its fighters in the chunky, polygonal style of the original PS1. And of course, having confirmation that the iconic date scene will still be in Rebirth means that more folks will get to experience the joy of spending a romantic evening with best boy Barret Wallace.
I’ve always said that an RPG is only as good as its mini-games, distractions, and shenanigans. Let me enter an underground mech fighting pit in Xenogears to distract myself from killing god. Take me to your secret casino in Super Mario RPG. Torture me with your godawful Gummi Ship in Kingdom Hearts. Watch me try to date every man, woman, and Junes mascot in Persona. Tremble in fear as I conquer every square inch of Final Fantasy VIII via Triple Triad.
Now imagine if you took all of these, crammed them inside a single location, and vomited neon in every single direction. That’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Gold Saucer, and holy smokes am I excited to go back there in early 2024.
