Awhile back I talked about my initial experience with the Final Fantasy series and how I was introduced to the series via FFIV and FFVII at the same time. When I saw the Knights of the Round summon, I asked my friend if the Knights seen during the sequence where the main characters of the previous games. Originally I thought of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot, but then I imagined that a video game series that has made it's way to a seventh sequel would have a rich backstory with complex character histories and whatnot.
Well, while that is true to an extent, it was a surprise for me when I learned that each game in the Final Fantasy series existed as a self-contained story. Being introduced to a totally new series in such an unfamiliar genre had my racing for answers:
Is there a reason why these games never get a direct sequel?
Are all of the questions you have answered at the end of each game?
Do they regularly kill off main characters?
Then my 10 year old brain solved the mystery:
These games never get direct sequels because there's no way to carry your save data between cartridges!
Well, maybe not. But it was a good enough reason in my head for me. Case closed mystery solved. (My ten year old self had seemed to have forgotten about Sonic & Knuckles)
25 years later and this topic comes back to me after revisiting FFVII Remake since Rebirth is releasing at the end of the year. The trend I notice for sequels these days: There's a short, yet indeterminate amount of time between the two games so there's a reason within the game's scenario for starting back at level 1. The previous trend was having your fully maxed out character lose all their equipment at end of the new game's intro tutorial (looks at Metroid and Jak 3), neither of those apply to FFVII's scenario.
I'm very curious what player progress (if anything) will be carry over from Remake > Rebirth. I can't imagine they'll let us bring a maxed out inventory, fully upgraded weapons, all of those mastered Materia, in addition to all the characters starting the game at level 50. For me, that sounds awesome since I've invested so much time into Remake. They could have Cloud and Company start Rebirth at Level 50 and have the cap at 100, then have the level cap for the final game be 150 (wouldn't be surprised if it was called FFVII: Reunion).
Additionally, I can't see a ton of new people flocking to FFVII: Rebirth without first playing Remake, so why not let us carry everything over? I guess in the rare case that someone played Remake on PC and bought a PS5 for Rebirth, there maybe some inconsistencies.
Hopefully Square will give us an answer for what carries over soon.
