Apex Legends' Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth crossover arrives on January 9th
A metaverse is born
Every game is Who Framed Roger Rabbit now - or, less charitably, a metaversal hellscape where canonical integrity matters far less than providing a platform through which to sell cosmetics.
Apex Legends is the latest live service game to take the plunge with its first crossover event. It's with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and it'll bring the Buster Sword, Aerith, and other elements from the JRPG to the battle royale on January 9th.
The crossover event was announced previously, but now there's a trailer and more details of exactly what it contains.
The Buster Sword R2R5 isn't only a cosmetic, but a new weapon that will appear on the map and in care packages. It grants players light and heavy attacks, a block for reducing incoming damage, and a dash move. Plus, by dishing out, taking and block damage, you can perform a Limit Break.
Materia - the items which fuel FF7's skill system - will also be added in various forms, each with a distinct effect on players and certain weapons. Blue Materia, for example, will let you absorb health by dealing damage to enemies, while Red Materia lets you summon Nessie, the in-game Apex Legends plush, to attack enemies.
Lastly, yes, the event adds 36 cosmetics, including skins for Apex characters Horizon and Newcastle. There's an Aerith skin - which, frankly, looks pretty odd in the trailer above - and a Buster Sword that is just a cosmetic.
You can find more information on everything included in the crossover event, which will run until January 30th, over on the official Apex Legends site.
I don't have a lot of skin in the game, here. I haven't played Apex Legends since its release year and I haven't played Rebirth at all. I do think crossover events have a corrosive effect on my ability to invest in a game, its world and its fiction, even when it's a multiplayer game; but hey, I'm also in my 30s, and I know that my kid gives not one crap about fictional boundaries as he runs around Fall Guys wearing a Spongebob top-half and a The Undertaker bottom.