Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will let Cloud and co swim for the first time.
25.10.2023 - 12:39 / thegamer.com / Naoki Hamaguchi
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's director, Naoki Hamaguchi, has confirmed in a recent interview that there's a "big surprise" planned for the original game's most iconic death scene. You know the one.
Ever since Final Fantasy 7 Remake was revealed to be more of a reimagining than a retelling of the original game's story, every fan of the series has been wondering the exact same thing - will the same heartbreaking death scene take place after Midgar, or will there be a big twist that changes everything? I can't hold back from talking about it without saying who and what so if you somehow don't know who dies in Final Fantasy 7, watch out for spoilers ahead.
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I am, of course, talking about Aerith's death at the hands (or sword, to be more precise) of Sephiroth. Just a few months ago, it was confirmed by Tetsuya Nomura that Rebirth would end with that scene in The Forgotten Capital and while everyone assumed that it probably wasn't going to go down in the same way as it did 25 years ago, we now know for certain that a "big surprise" is planned.
As shared by Twitter user and reliable Final Fantasy news source aitaikimochi, Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi recently took part in an interview with Indonesian gaming site Gamebrott. During the interview, Hamaguchi is asked about The Forgotten Capital and if "that" moment has been changed, obviously referring to Aerith's death in the original game. In response, Hamaguchi confirms that there's going to be a "big surprise" in Rebirth's version of the scene
Hamaguchi said, "So, to that question and to all the gamers regarding the “you-know-what” moment, we can confirm that we will give you a “big surprise”. So you can look forward to that later in the game."
Although Hamaguchi obviously isn't going to give any more details about unarguably the biggest mystery there is for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it does at least confirm that things are going to be different in Rebirth and that our hearts are going to shatter in a whole new way than they originally did. Aerith fans must be giddy.
Putting my theory hat on for a second, it seems pretty obvious to me that Aerith isn't the one who's going to die in The Forgotten Capital anymore and that burden is going to be passed over to someone else. The most likely candidates are Cloud and the other-world version of Zack that's apparently floating around, but there's a possibility Square really goes for the jugular and kills of Tifa this time around. Dear god, I hope not.
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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will let Cloud and co swim for the first time.
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will arrive early next year, continuing the three-part reimagining of the original 1997 game. The Square Enix project began in 2020 with the release of, which offered a modernized and expanded take on the first part of the overall storyline. picks up where its predecessor left off, with Cloud and his party leaving Midgar for the Forgotten City.
One of the biggest questions of Square Enix’s “remake saga” with Cloud and friends was, “how much are they going to change things?” At first, it seemed like the changes would merely be cosmetic in the gameplay space. After all, the company had moved past turn-based combat for their mainline titles, and the remake took that and ran with it in a good way. But as players actually went through the title, they noticed not just a focus on the Midgar saga but fleshed-out characters and big changes. All this makes Final Fantasy VII Rebirth even more anticipated because of the changes that could come.
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The anticipation for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth grows with every week that goes by and every piece of news that gets put out for it. In the game, we’ll finally get to set foot outside of Midgar and see the world of Gaia for the most part. Square Enix has already highlighted certain cities and areas we’ll visit, including the final “fateful” location that will end the game. But there are still many mysteries surrounding the title that we won’t get answered until we play it. For example, there’s the issue with Zack Fair and his role in the remake saga.
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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's director, Naoki Hamaguchi, says there's a "big surprise" planned for the original JRPG's most iconic twist, and it's far from the first time fans – myself included – have been given reason to sweat over what's to come.