In a tragic update to a story we brought you back in September, the coolest companions in the original and upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will not join Cloud and company on the battlefield after all. It was first thought that "accompanying characters" Cid and Vincent might lend a hand in an automated fashion as Red XIII did in Remake, but sadly, this will not be the case.
So why did we think these legendary characters would lend a hand in battle in the first place? Director Naoki Hamaguchi seemingly said so to IGN following the reveal of the final release date trailer. IGN asked whether Vincent would be playable in Rebirth, to which he replied: "In terms of whether or not Vincent will be a playable character, he will be more of an accompanying character to the party in terms of Rebirth. So this will be similar to how Red XIII was in Remake."
It's pretty easy to see where the confusion stems from as we read it the same way. Regardless, Hamaguchi set the record straight, again speaking to IGN and confirming that the chain-smoking pilot and slumbering edge lord would not be throwing hands until the next game:
"Both Cid and Vincent are accompanying the party on their journey, and they do help out, but they aren't actually featuring in battle as guest characters. So they're not really going to be involved in your fight."