New details about Square Enix's ongoing Final Fantasy remake were released at New York Comic Con, as voice actor and Critical Role dungeon master Matthew Mercer revealed he will be returning to the franchise to voice the popular gun-wielding charater Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Technically, Mercer was involved in the Final Fantasy franchise previously, voicing various NPCs, but a return as Vincent Valentine sent the live audience into an uproar.

In addition to his Critical Role performances, Matthew Mercer has a wide-ranging array of voice acting credits, including anime like Attack on Titan and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and video games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Marvel's Midnight Suns. Mercer mentioned he reached out to previous Valentine voice actor Steve Blum to request his blessing and bring the same energy, and Blum said there was no one he'd rather have do it. Said Mercer, "Thanks to all of you for making this little nerd boy's dream come true."

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second chapter in Square Enix's planned trilogy of remakes for the 1997 Playstation classic video game, and is scheduled for release on the Playstation 5 in February 2024, approxiately 4 years since 2020's original remake was released. Vincent Valentine was an optional character in the original Final Fantasy VII, nearly cut from the game due to time constraints, but has since become one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

Read more of Popverse's coverage of Final Fantasy right here!

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