One of the things that makes Final Fantasy VII Rebirth interesting in the eyes of fans is that the game is building off of what the original “Remake” title did in 2020. We mean they’re not simply remaking the game graphically from top to bottom. Instead, they’re expanding everything that happens in the story and fleshing out moments and characters so that everything feels more robust and meaningful. The trick is that they’re doing this while also changing key moments in the key and rewriting the fates of known characters and their deaths. That “altering” will continue in the sequel.
As revealed in the latest trailer for the game, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will take the crew of Avalanche to the larger landscapes of Gaia. In the original game on PS1, gamers could travel the world after getting out of Midgar, but they were restricted with where they could go at certain times. However, Tetsuya Nomura, the game’s creative director, has said things will be ordered differently this time. On the PlayStation Blog, he noted:
“We have mentioned this a few times before, but the order in which you can explore the locations is not the same as the original Final Fantasy VII, and there are some shifts in the order. For example, Wutai, one of the major locations, is not part of the route in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and will be visited in the next one. Although there are some changes in the order of the locations, the locations depicted in this title extend up to The Forgotten Capital, where the greatest fate of Final Fantasy VII awaits you.”
We’re about to drop some significant spoilers here, so if you want to spare yourself from this “twist,” stop reading now. In the OG game, The Forgotten Capital is where Sephiroth stabs Aerith, killing her and changing things throughout the rest of the title. When the death happened, gamers were stunned, given how “connected” she and Cloud were. Fast forward to now, and many gamers wonder if the team will save Aerith to further “remake” the story. After all, Zack Fair is alive in the new timeline, as teased at the end of the previous title. How he’s alive is anyone’s guess, but he’s out there. So perhaps he might save Aerith? Or maybe they’ll still kill her and prove that fate can’t ultimately be changed?
Either way, we’ll find out the truth when the game arrives on PS5 on February 29, 2024.
