Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3's Ultimate Weapon design may have just been shown off in a free-to-play spin-off

Our first look at Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 may have just been slipped into one of the franchise's free-to-play spin-offs.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy's finale is still shrouded in layers of mystery. We don't know the game's official name, even though there are a handful of convincing fan theories. We don't know whether it'll end up as a more faithful remake or continue diverting as an alternate timeline sequel of sorts. And, most obviously, we've not seen a single image, concept art, or design from the much-anticipated sequel. (We do know it's in a playable state, at least.)

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But this weekend, Square Enix released a trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis' next big anniversary event coming later this month. For those struggling to keep track of the series' never ending spin-off games, Ever Crisis is the free-to-play PC and mobile game that tells the events of a younger Sephiroth, occasionally dips into events from the mainline games, and sometimes even diverts from canon in wild ways.

The upcoming Weapon Showdown: Battle for the Planet event is one such example. "To gain absolute control of the planet, Sephiroth unleashes Weapons against all possibilities," the trailer explains. "In order to protect her friends, Aerith embarks on a quest to find a story that will stop Sephiroth."

While the bonkers multiverse storyline of Ever Crisis is unlikely to have any real effect on the mainline games, the trailer does show off an all-new look for Ultimate Weapon, the iconic super boss from the original 1997 JRPG. It looks buffer, more contorted, and less mechanical now than it did in the past. But what's notable is that Ever Crisis borrows from many of the aesthetics and designs seen in the FF7 Remake games, so there's a chance that its rendition of Ultimate Weapon is the new rendition of Ultimate Weapon we'll see whenever Part 3 finally comes out.

Square Enix isn't bound to use this new Ultimate Weapon design again just because it already showed up in a mobile-centric spin-off that's not exactly lighting the world on fire, of course. And even if this is the official redesign now, there's no telling what might change during Part 3's development. Still, I have to imagine the Ever Crisis team is in some kind of contact with the main FF7 Remake devs, and it's pretty funny to think our first look at the trilogy's finale might be hidden here, in all things.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 director says PC is the "highest-end gaming environment" and the "foundation" for the new JRPG's development, while the PS5 Pro is just "mid-range"