Unlike Red XIII in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Vincent and Cid won’t participate in combat even as AI-controlled characters, though they will be accompanying the party on their journey nonetheless.

On top of bringing back the entire core playable cast of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, its upcoming sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, is also set to add new playable party members in the form of Red XIII (who appeared as an AI-controlled companion towards the end of the previous game) and Cait Sith- though not all major new characters that are being introduced are going to join the main party in combat.

Previously, it was confirmed that though both Vincent Valentine and Cid would be appearing in the game, they wouldn’t be fully playable party members, following which most assumed that they would appear as AI-controlled companions as Red XIII did in 2020’s Remake. However, speaking to IGN, director Naoki Hamaguchi has clarified that though Vincent and Cid will accompany the party on their journey after crossing paths with them, they won’t be involved in combat at all.

“Both Cid and Vincent are accompanying the party on their journey and they do help out, but they aren’t actually featuring in battle as guest characters,” Hamaguchi said. “So they’re not really going to be involved in your fight.”

“They’re going to appear in various parts of the story and scenarios where they play a role or they’ll help you out or assist you in some way, but they’re not actually fighting as guest characters in that sense,” he added.

Nonetheless, Hamaguchi says Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will still “go deeper” into their individual stories, primarily through the means of dedicated side quests focused on them. “We do go deeper into their characters, not through the medium of the battle system, but through side quests where they’re going to be the main focus and you’ll learn a lot more about those characters,” he said.

So is it safe to assume that Vincent and Cid will appear as playable characters in the third and final instalment of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake series? That certainly seems to be the case.

“If we used up all of the playable characters in the second part, then we would lose out on quite a lot of new surprises and new experiences for the player in the third game,” Hamaguchi said.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is launching for PS5 on February 29. A demo is available now, allowing players to play through the game’s first chapter, while an update on February 21 will also add new content to the demo.