While Red XIII wasn't fully introduced in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first outing, he'll likely be redeemed in the next episode.

Red XIII unfortunately got the short-end of the stick this year inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake. While the red lion was one of the central characters players meet at the beginning ofFinal Fantasy 7, he was not playable in the first episode of the remake. Instead, he served as an additional AI teammate that players were unable to control or equip any materia. But according to the game's co-director Naoki Hamaguchi, Red XIII will almost certainly become a playable party member inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's part 2. NOTE: This article contains spoilers from the original FF7 that could appear in part 2.

Of course, for fans of the original game, this would've seemed obvious. Not only is Red XIII a very strong member of the main party in the originalFinal Fantasy 7, but his presence in the story is also arguably more important. The lineage of Nanaki and his connection to the overarching storyis central toFinal Fantasy 7, and will likely remain the same inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake. For fans who were disappointed by Red XIII's appearance in the first episode, his character will be far more prominent inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's second episode.

RELATED:Final Fantasy 7 Remake Devs Explain Why Red XIII Isn't Playable

At a bare minimum,Red XIII should absolutely become a core member of the party inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's next episode. While he was relegated to an unplayable teammate and assistant for a platforming section, Red XIII should join the roster with his unique four-legged fighting style. Some fans got a glimpse of how the character may play in the next episode through aFinal Fantasy 7 Remake save editor, but obviously the restrictive nature of an NPC means there's not much to him. The main idea behind making him a sort-of "guest" character was because Red XIII would've been introduced as a party member far too late into the story for it to reasonably make sense.

However, in the second episode ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, the fully designed and animated Red XIII should be a core party member for the rest ofRemake's story. Of course, designing a non-humanoid playable character comes with its own challenges, butRed XIII's original design in particular could be harder to adapt forRemake. Red XIII's battle characteristics functioned more as an all-rounder, similar to Kimahri fromFinal Fantasy 10. While Red XIII has a particularly high speed stat and strong magic builds in the original game, he was still very adaptable and could be successful in any combat role. Remakecould make him a fast brawler with solid magic affinity, but his balanced stat distribution from the original game may make his design a bit harder to realize inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's combat system.

Outside of his battle capabilities,Red XIII's origin story and his connection to the story ofFinal Fantasy 7are far more prominent in the events after the Midgar escape. While in pursuit of Sephiroth, Cloud and the party eventually end up in Red XIII's home of Cosmo Canyon. Here is where players learn off Red XIII's legacy, along with the history of the planet as told by the elder of Red XIII's tribe, Bugenhagen. Players learn all of the details about the Lifestream and how Shinra's Mako harvestation is destroying the planet from Bugenhagen's observatory. This is also where players learn about Red XIII's origins as a spiritual warrior, as Red XIII discovers things even he didn't know.

Initially, Red XIII resents his father Seto because he believes he died a coward who wasn't able to defend Cosmo Canyon from a rival tribe. This is where Cloud and the party learns of Red XIII's lineage, and how his father actually sacrificed himself to stop the rival Gi tribe from overtaking Cosmo Canyon. After exploring the Cave of the Gi, Red XIII discovers his dead father Seto, who has been immortalized in stone after being killed by petrified arrows. Upon learning Seto's true demise, Red XIII vows to protect the planet in the name of his father's sacrifice. It's a touching character moment that, while only tangentially related toFinal Fantasy 7's main conflict, is one of the best moments and character growths throughout the entire originalFinal Fantasy 7.

RELATED:New Party Members Likely to Appear in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2

Based on what's been seen of Red XIII so far,Final Fantasy 7 Remake appears to be emphasizing his more spiritual warrior personality.Red XIII's character adaptation is one of a calm and intelligent warrior, full of knowledge about the planet's spiritual entities like the Whispers. He's a tough warrior who doesn't mince words, but he does occasionally give off a subtle charm when butting heads with Barret. ThroughoutFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's subsequent episodes, Red XIII will likely be recurring source of information about things like the Lifestream and perhaps even more specific information like the Cetra.

Red XIII's appearance throughout the rest ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake should be fascinating, especially with how Square Enix's reimagining will tell his origin story. The iconic red lion has one of the most interesting character growths among all the other supporting cast members inFinal Fantasy 7. His knowledge of the planet and the Whispers will almost certainly come in handy later on.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2is reportedly in development.

MORE:Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2's Cait Sith May Be Another Red XIII Situation

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Not actually a distant relative of Bob Dole, Rob Dolen is a Features Writer for Game Rant. Big fan of expansive lore and game analysis, video games are cool. Freedom Fighters is underrated. Probably not good at competitive Halo anymore.

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Red XIII Should Have a Much Bigger Role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 - GameRant