There aren’t really games likeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth,as the wholeRemaketrilogy sits in a strange place as both a retelling and a sequel to the original smash success. Occupying that place creates an interesting dynamic forFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthplayers: some of the audience knows what to expect, while others don’t.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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 theRemakeproject. In particular, they spoke about their approach to the biggest spoiler in gaming history withFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s ending.
THAT Moment in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
This particular narrative space isn’t untrodden territory for Kitase and Hamaguchi–Rebirthis 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, theWhispers exist to try and preserve the originalFinal Fantasy 7story.
While some players could be seen as Whispers themselves, keen to maintain the original tale, others also thoughtFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwas a chance to change it.Remakeset forth this possibility, whichFF7 Rebirthcarried forward. This approach gives fans of the originalFinal Fantasy 7a sense of nearing dread as it progresses to the inevitable conclusion:Aerith’s deathand 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 withRebirthand 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 originalFinal Fantasy 7.
As theRemakeproject 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 thatFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s endingmay further fuel these themes in the final installment of the project. But this dramatic moment isn’t the only wayRebirthconfronts and expands on the past version ofFinal Fantasy 7.
Bringing the Threads of Final Fantasy 7 Together
Zack Fair and Cissnei
InRemake, players could see nods to the larger Compilation ofFinal Fantasy 7likeDeepground fromDirge of Cerberus.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthcontinues 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 inCrisis Core, a prequel toFinal Fantasy 7, as a member of the Turks and a SOLDIER First Class, respectively, in the employ of Shinra. By the time ofRebirth, 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 wholeRemakeproject, our goal was to incorporate elements of the different titles that are spread out in theCompilation of Final Fantasy 7in general. It’s good.
Zack Fair is another addition to this particular moment intheFinal Fantasy 7timeline. Zack is mentioned obliquely in the originalFinal Fantasy 7by Aerith and appears as a cameo in some of the most intense moments of the game, butZack Fair’s role was mostly developed inCrisis 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 broaderFinal Fantasy 7universe.
The Gold Saucer is Kitase’s Proudest Change
Beyond Cissnei and Zack, there were plenty of other ways the franchise-wide focus ofFF7 Rebirthand nearly thirty years of technological evolution helped create a richer experience for fans ofFinal 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 theRemakeproject. 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 theopen-world elements ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthand 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.
