There aren’t really games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, as the whole Remake trilogy sits in a strange place as both a retelling and a sequel to the original smash success. Occupying that place creates an interesting dynamic for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players: some of the audience knows what to expect, while others don’t.
Speaking with Game Rant at The Game Awards, director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase spoke about what opportunities, and challenges, being in that space affords the Remake project. In particular, they spoke about their approach to the biggest spoiler in gaming history with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‘s ending.
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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s success sets the stage for the Highwind, poised to redefine open-world exploration in the trilogy’s final chapter.
THAT Moment in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
This particular narrative space isn’t untrodden territory for Kitase and Hamaguchi–Rebirth is the second in a trilogy after all. Final Fantasy 7 Remake set certain expectations for the direction of the narrative, with the game introducing the Whispers to explore ideas of a brand new story versus the original. As players learn, the Whispers exist to try and preserve the original Final Fantasy 7 story.
Aerith’s Death Invited a Sense of Dread from OG Players
While some players could be seen as Whispers themselves, keen to maintain the original tale, others also thought Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was a chance to change it. Remake set forth this possibility, which FF7 Rebirth carried forward. This approach gives fans of the original Final Fantasy 7 a sense of nearing dread as it progresses to the inevitable conclusion: Aerith’s death and the desire to change that fate. Kitase recounted how fans reacted to the scene as one of the more mixed reactions the game generated, though not necessarily for the worse.
I think, for those who have played the original, we have gotten their interest going, speculating and whatnot. But at the same time, we have seen mixed reactions. Some people reacted differently to how it may be interpreted, so it’s very interesting to see people having their own interpretation with
Rebirth
and having that sort of struggle to try to speculate what’s going on.It’s very interesting to see these different reactions, and realizing that people do have different ways that they look at it and think about what has happened…we have a third installment waiting for us in our trilogy, so the way we depicted that series of scenes differs from the original
Final Fantasy 7
.
As the Remake project grapples with the notion of change and rewriting history, it pokes and prods at notions of where change may be futile or what consequences change can bring. Kitase hinted that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‘s ending may further fuel these themes in the final installment of the project. But this dramatic moment isn’t the only way Rebirth confronts and expands on the past version of Final Fantasy 7.
Bringing the Threads of Final Fantasy 7 Together
Zack Fair and Cissnei
In Remake, players could see nods to the larger Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 like Deepground from Dirge of Cerberus. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth continues this tradition, most notably with two characters: Zack and Cissnei. Hamaguchi was glad that Cissnei, in particular, was so well-received as an addition to the game by fans.
Cissnei and Zack appeared together in Crisis Core, a prequel to Final Fantasy 7, as a member of the Turks and a SOLDIER First Class, respectively, in the employ of Shinra. By the time of Rebirth, neither is actively working for the malevolent energy megacorporation, however. As Hamaguchi explained,
Those who are familiar with the universe might be very excited to see Cissnei showing up. When the game was released and I saw the players’ reactions, I was really glad to see that people were actually excited to see her…First and foremost with the whole
Remake
project, our goal was to incorporate elements of the different titles that are spread out in the
Compilation of Final Fantasy 7
in general. It’s good.
Zack Fair is another addition to this particular moment in the Final Fantasy 7 timeline. Zack is mentioned obliquely in the original Final Fantasy 7 by Aerith and appears as a cameo in some of the most intense moments of the game, but Zack Fair’s role was mostly developed in Crisis Core. That depiction of Zack is where most of his characterization comes from, and in turn, what made him such a loved figure in the broader Final Fantasy 7 universe.
The Gold Saucer is Kitase’s Proudest Change
Beyond Cissnei and Zack, there were plenty of other ways the franchise-wide focus of FF7 Rebirth and nearly thirty years of technological evolution helped create a richer experience for fans of Final Fantasy 7. Kitase, in particular, was proud of how the Gold Saucer scenes have changed since the original title.
If I were to list what I’m proudest of, one area would be the Gold Saucer and the theme song that we had Loren [Allred] sing,
No Promises to Keep
. Aerith and the Gold Saucer location, I believe, is a scene the fans of the original would be really looking forward to seeing in the
Remake
project. The date event and that whole sequence, as well as the stage play, was not as elaborately done in the original, so we tried to make it more of a spectacle, especially with acting out on the stage and that kind of theater experience. Having our setting and our stage, having Aerith there, and then having that theme song play as the characters take the stage really matched her emotions. And I think we were very successful in bringing that to life.
And Hamaguchi? He’s proud of how the team tackled the open-world elements of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the feeling of stepping out of Midgar into the overworld, an important stepping stone toward the total exploration freedom Part 3 will bring when the Highwind takes to the skies.
- Released
- February 29, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 40 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty