Can you play as Vincent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

Vincent Valentine is making his way to the stage in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (to many fans' delight), but the question of whether he is actually playable in your party of three might lead to disappointment.

While the original game saw his Limit Breaks cause chaos in most scenarios and lead him to be a less-than-popular choice, he is still one of the fan base's favourite characters, and many have been looking forward to trying him out in the game once you return to Shinra Manor.

Is Vincent a playable character?

Vincent is not a playable character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, as revealed by the game's director Naoki Hamaguchi in an interview with IGN.

This is a fairly significant departure from the original game where Vincent, despite being entirely optional, is a party member from near enough the moment that you meet him.

We can only presume that the situation will be similar to how Red XIII was handled in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, where Vincent will appear in Rebirth but then become a playable character in the final instalment of the trilogy.

What do we know about Vincent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

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While it has been confirmed that you can't add the Vampiric former Turk to your party in Rebirth, Vincent does play a semi-significant role as a non-playable character.

In an interview with Noisy Pixel, Hamaguchi revealed that "despite being a non-playable character, Vincent has an original quest in Rebirth, where we’ll learn more about his background and character. I feel that fans of Vincent will find it quite fulfilling."

This will hopefully be a satisfying compromise for any members of the Vincent fan club out there - but don't get your hopes up for any Yuffie-style DLC either, as that has also been shut down by the director. We'll just have to hope and pray for a Dirge of Cerberus remake instead!

Regardless, I'm super excited to see how Vincent's story plays out once we return to Shinra Manor following the Nibelheim Incident, as I'm sure that there'll be plenty of surprises awaiting us as we meet him.

Check out more news and guides on our Final Fantasy homepage, where you can find our most recent preview of Rebirth, alongside whether the game has an open world.