On January 12, 2021, Square Enix, through patent information platform J-PlatPat, published information on several trademarks applications: The Japanese Shinra Company logo, “The First Soldier”, and “Ever Crisis” – these are all terms related to Final Fantasy VII (PC, PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Mobile) (Thanks, Gematsu).
Now, Square Enix didn’t make any announcement yet. However, we can make several hypotheses with the information on hand.
First off, there are no guarantees these will be games, as the trademarks, as usual, cover a large range of applications. Secondly, even if The First Soldier and Ever Crisis are games, there are no guarantees Square Enix will ever release them. A game trademark doesn’t necessarily means it’s in active development.
Next, assuming these are game projects, it’s entirely possible they end up never being announced, or refurbished into another project. With a different name. It’s important to keep in mind remarks such as Yakuza producer’s Masayoshi Yokoyama tweets, when he stated the next Yakuza game is in development. Masayoshi Yokoyama explained that ultimately, if you’re wondering if developers or a studio are working on something, the answer is always yes. However, they wait for the right moment for announcements, and sometimes the time never comes, with projects never being released.
Moving on, we can make additional assumptions regarding “The First Soldier” and “Ever Crisis”.
These are both names that would fit perfectly with Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. These are sequels, prequels or side stories released after Final Fantasy VII. As of now, it contains, in release order:
- Before Crisis (2004)
- Advent Children (2005)
- Dirge of Cerberus (2006)
- Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode (2006)
- Crisis Core (2007)
- Advent Children Complete (2009)
The First Soldier could possibly be about Sephiroth, and Ever Crisis about Zack. One very likely scenario is a new mobile game focused on these characters. The mobile industry is by far the biggest market in Japan for over a decade now. Square Enix already has several Final Fantasy mobile games in operation. However, it’s entirely possible a mobile game purely focused on Final Fantasy VII gets released. Especially seeing the worldwide success of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Judging from recent words by Yoshinari Kitase, it’s possible Square Enix will keep expanding Compilation of Final Fantasy VII with side projects, not necessarily games, linked with Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Yet another possibility is how The First Soldier or Ever Crisis could be the subtitles for the next Final Fantasy VII Remake game. If The First Soldier refers to Sephiroth, this could be a Final Fantasy 7 Remake tied project reenacting the flashbacks from the original game where Sephiroth was playable.
It’s possible the upcoming PC version of Final Fantasy VII Remake will use one of these subtitles if it adds new content. FF7R on PC should be announced in April 2021. Square Enix confirmed Final Fantasy VII Remake is a one year timed PlayStation Exclusive.
The Square Enix English official Twitter is also seemingly teasing something with mysterious Cloud tweets:
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╭◜◝ ͡ ◜ ͡ ◜◝ ◜ ͡ ◝ ◜ ╮
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╰◟◞ ͜ ◟◞◟◞ ͜ ◟◞ ͜ ◞ ╯— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) January 11, 2021
Be careful when navigating these tweets and their replies as they can contain spoilers.
It’s also interesting to note the Shinra logo is the Japanese version of the logo. (Screenshots courtesy of 4Gamer). While it’s still used in Final Fnatasy 7 Remake, most instances of the logo is a newer one with alphabet letters. You can see details regarding Shinra and its HQ closely by checking out the analysis of worldwide renowned light designer Hiroyasu Shoji.
Lastly,this new trademarks concerns the Shinra logo itself. Square Enix already trademarked “Shinra Company” in 2004, with a game-related trademark filled in 2013.
The next game(s) following Final Fantasy 7 Remake are already in development. Square Enix stated so multiple times in the past. Asuka Yoshikawa, the motion capture actress for Aerith, mentioned working with Sephiroth’s motion capture actor recently.
The post Final Fantasy VII – What The New Trademarks By Square Enix Could Hint At by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.