Summary
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthwill raise the stakes for its heroes in a big way, as Tetsuya Nomura has stated that anyone who dies in this second chapter will be gone for good.Final Fantasy 7 Remakeexpanded and altered the storylineof the beloved 1997 original, and from pre-release promotional materials it looks like its upcoming follow-up will continue this. Picking up where the last game left off,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthsees Cloud Strife and the rest of Team Avalanche depart from the city of Midgar after battling Sephiroth and defeating the timeline-controlling Whispers of Fate.
This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 7
Defying the Whispers will have serious ramifications for the next chapter intheFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy, such as altering the fates of characters who previously perished in the original timeline. Zack Fair, who was famously gunned down by Shinra troops inCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7,was revealed to be alive at the end ofFF 7 Remake, while Avalanche member Biggs survived the destruction of the Sector 7 plate and is looking to avenge his fallen comrades inRebirth. Other supporting characters like Jesse Rasberry are shown to have escaped their original deaths, but anyone else hoping to evade the Grim Reaper might be out of luck.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthcreative director Tetsuya Nomura recently sat down for an interview withGame Informer, where he discussed various aspects of the game likeRebirth’s new explorable locations. During this interview, Nomura suggested thatRebirthwill have a permanent character death just like the original game. “I believe that loss is something that happens unexpectedly and it’s not something that’s dramatic or drawn out, but is something in which a person you have just conversed with is suddenly gone and never to come back,” he stated. “I believe that the person who dies should not return in this title, and that is what we did with the original.”
While Nomura didn’t specify who could dieat the end ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, many fans are naturally assuming that the game will end with the tragic death of Aerith Gainsborough. In a past interview, Nomura confirmed thatFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwill end in the Forgotten Capital, the place where Aerith died in the originalFinal Fantasy 7’s second disk. Additionally, the ESRB rating forFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthmentions characters being stabbed, which matches Aerith’s shocking murder at the hands of Sephiroth.
I believe that the person who dies should not return in this title, and that is what we did with the original.
However, it’s also worth noting thatFinal Fantasy 7 Remakehas changed the timeline of the original game a great deal already, and another mainFF7character could die in Aerith’s place. For example, some fans think that Tifa could be the one killed by Sephiroth due to the more recentFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthtrailers putting a stronger emphasis on her. Whoever meets a grim end inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwon’t be resurrected, though, and this will likely make things all the more tragic when the game launches on February 29.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
