In the '00s, everyone was making edgy spin-offs where the main character goes on a shooting spree. See: Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked, Shadow the Hedgehog, Jak 2, and Devil May Cry (while it didn't feature guns, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within certainly fit the bill). Not even Final Fantasy 7 was exempt, as Square Enix jumped on the trend with Dirge of Cerberus, centered on Vincent Valentine three years after the end of the game.
It wasn't the best-received, but there's a real Y2K charm in following up on an incredibly poignant and meaningful narrative with a game where you run down back alleyways with a handgun named after a three-headed dog from the Underworld. Still, with such a poor reception, it's hard to imagine Square Enix revisiting Dirge of Cerberus like it did Crisis Core, but don't lose hope just yet. In an interview with Famitsu, director Naoki Hamaguchi discussed the potential of incorporating spin-offs as DLC for Revelation, the third part in the remake trilogy.
"At the time of 'FF7 Rebirth', we received a lot of requests for DLC," Hamaguchi said (translated by DeepL). "However, rather than making the DLC at that...
