Famously, without getting bogged down in decades-old spoilers, in the 1997 classic Final Fantasy VII, a key party member dies halfway through the game in a violent, shocking turn. It's a stretch of the game that will be reborn in the ambitious Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, due out on PS5 in February. But if predecessor Remake taught us anything, all bets are off this time around, and players old and new are equally in the dark.
Director Tetsuya Nomura isn't making the wait any easier either. Following a fiery Game Informer cover reveal, the legendary designer sat down for an interview with the outlet, and we learnt just how big this Behemoth is. As shared by Genki_JPN on Twitter (thank TheGamer), the conversation eventually turned to the morbid, and Nomura revealed that fate will, unfortunately, still require a sacrifice:
"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. I believe that the person who dies should not return in this title, and that is what we did with the original".
One of the most exciting aspects of Rebirth is that things really might be different this time around. What do you think of Nomura's dire proclamation? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com, via thegamer.com]
Comments 47
If they ain't even able to kill those 2 filler characters from the starting city in the original who are they going to kill? It sure as hell won't be Tifa and Aerith. And if it's not those 2 then who cares?
I'm just being real this version of FF7 has no balls.
Just kill Aerith. What is the controversy here? I don't get it.
(And please don't get on my back here about spoilers. If you are on a PlayStation fansite then the identity of who dies in FF7 should be as clear to you by now as Luke Skywalker's dad.)
I was ok(ish) with the few tweaks in Remake, but I really feel changing something as major as this would be to the detriment of the story.
I get this is a sequel, not a remake, but some things just need to be left alone!
@Triumph741 I mean Wedge is definitely dead as far as it seems - he got pushed off of the tower. For Rebirth deaths, I'm almost certain that Zack will die at the City of the Ancients. Aerith might also die but Zack is an "easy" choice as his character was already supposed to be dead and overlaps with Cloud's archetype. Granted, I feel that the fact that we're unsure whether they'll actually go through with the original plot is actually a point in Remake's favor: we'll actually be playing through the game not knowing what will happen. We don't actually know, so the game has room to surprise us regardless of whether there's a change.
Now I know everyone will just say "I knew it" when whatever happens, happens - as always. But I have hope that Nomura wasn't allowed to just run rampant, and that they manage to make it interesting.
Sigh of relief. I don't care if they change the how or even the when, but I'm glad it still happens. It's what gave the original game weight, importance, a soul, and set the tone for a good chunk of the game. I'm hoping the new editions in rebirth also don't get into the way of the pacing. Ff7 remake was perfectly paced from start to finish. If I'm running around in a field doing minor quests for 3 hours for content that could have been just as easily woven into the main story, I'm going to be pissed. I miss the good old days were side quests were about finding the extra cool ***** that made you more powerful. Not some design philosophy about delusions of doing things when you want. Guess we'll see, but good news for ff7r trilogy. It's a relief that Nomura gets that importance. It seems like the who hasn't changed.
@Triumph741 wedge died in rebirth. There is every indication that Jesse has too. Seems those that live past when they should become subject to the whims of the whispers. So not sure where you get off saying it has no balls. Even the whole Zack situation is far more than "oh he's alive now?!" Pretty in order to save the planet they are going to have to set a few things right first before the opportunity to change the planets fate with omega and mankind's fate 200 years later will get reversed. We still technically lose at the end of ff7, regardless of what dirge and advent say about the outcome... it's a slow death.
@Cloud7794 I don't think that's how that's going to unfold. I think what is coming is going to blind side a lot of these theories. Ya Zack is alive, but not in the universe our heroes are in. Willing to go as far as to say that wasn't our cloud and Zack walking past aerith and the party. Think about it, why would a bag of chips change for a product that is a part of a series of events unaffected by sephiroths changing of fate. There will be some interaction, but it'll be about screwing with clouds head.
I don't think anyone will die at the city of the ancients, but our Zack is dead. Aerith will die at a different point. It can't be Zack in exchange for aerith. It closes too many doors including the life stream intervention of holy amplifying the effects of meteor. That was aerith, not the will of the planet.
@NotSoCryptic More people will cry if Aerith dies than Zack. There, I said it.
This is not a like for like swap.
Oh good more info to fan the flames of debatable theories for wuts about to go down
Nomura and team have balls for subverting expectations of fanboys and purists and has taken a fantastic approach so far.
He's probably talking about Zack. The first game of this remake trilogy had a bloated plot focusing mostly on Sephiroth vs Cloud for fan service and completely missing the message of the original.
Aerith surviving is fan service and it wouldn't surprise me at all if she remained alive at the end of this game.
I feel like everyone that does die will die. The road taken might be different, but it still leads to the same place.
Aetith’s death is one of the most iconic scenes in video game history. Why would you not try to recreate that?
Calling it now. CLOUD dies. Zack becomes main protagonist. Aerith lives and has the romance with him.
I think they will kill her. It's an important turning point in the story.
Though personally i no longer like the way death in stories make me feel. Life is short and i want to feel hope, happiness and joy. Overcoming strife and struggle is part of that, but grief and despair i can do without.
So, personally, i hope they don't kill her.
Sorry, i like happy endings.
@nookie_egg
My thoughts exactly... given they're kinda swappable as skill sets go, makes sense to me, and confusing as he'll to people who know FF7 OG but not CC 🤣
Then he and Seph will have a more fleshed out story... I'm in for this ride even if it's wrong though, as its been pre ordered since it was available!
Maybe the death won’t be a human one this time.
@Slideaway1983 the more I think about it, the more this makes sense as a path for them to go down lol. I'm very intrigued either way, bloody loved the first one.
@nookie_egg
As did I. Was trepidous after having loved OG back in the day (I borrowed my uncles ps1, he my n64, and hammered probably 10 hours a day into it over a summer holiday!), but pre ordered that expecting a same old, same old with shiny graphics, and then it slowly dawned... its different and by the end (admittedly on easy mode), I wanted the platinum, so went to hard mode.
Everything just clicked more; seeing bits of the story I didn't understand on my easy playthrough, and even the battles (Hell House for me was the hardest boss in the game and made me "git gud". It forced me to change stances and consider my loadouts and atb. It was a well developed game. Alas, I started again on ps5, and never found that love as I was burnt out, but same as you, looking forward to it immensely. 👌
Maybe we can choose who dies. So probably Yuffie.
@Fight_Teza_Fight People overlook that this is exactly what they've been saying. Advent Children fits into the timeline at the end of this trilogy, that can't happen if Aerith lives.
@JeongersGaming that's exactly what I was going to say. All the big moments need to happen or else it won't fit.
I could see them killing her, but then pulling some BS to revive her. The last game teased a massive subversion of this scene.
Considering there's two timelines , im guessing they'll keep them alive in cloud's timeline and just kill them in zacks timeline which we kinda see in the trailer.
Wasn’t the intent of Aerith’s death in the original to convey the same sense of disorientating loss that the director experienced when his mother passed away during development? I feel as though it would be rather disrespectful to tamper with that moment.
As a big fan of the original, who also doesn't care about Zack, the direction that they're taking really disappoints me. Really don't want to have to play Crisis Core to enjoy the next part. I bet they'll kill off Tifa though, which would suck.
My guess all along has been that the'll kill Tifa this time.
It would be super dumb, and not really jive with the lore surrounding Aerith's death and how it affected the quest to save the planet, but I just can't shake the feeling.
Swapping Aerith's death for Tifa's is superficially clever, but thematically stupid. It's Nomura bait all the way.
Ah no the aerith death scene I didn't like I heard the pc had a resurrection thing I hope there will be one here to.
As of right now, it feels like a genuine coin flip on if they'll kill her. And personally, I hate that it's even a question we're having.
The original VII wasn't this amazing story, but it did have a well-crafted beginning, middle and end. For the remake to change that pivotal event, which helped solidify the second half of the narrative, would fundamentally change everything. Change isn't a bad thing, but if what they change it for isn't as good or better than the original, what even was the point?
Kill her off. We all know it's coming, we all expect it. It'll still hit in a way, if not the same as in the original.
Probably gonna be Cait Sith, or Red XIII. A character that'll leave little impression, should you not get to play as them again...
Then again, if the game ships with chapter select, like in the first, any loss won't feel very permanent, as you can just warp back and say "hello" any time you like.
@Mattock1987 Wouldn't that be grand, haha.
Steal my materia, would you...
@nookie_egg that'd be damn wild lol
Pretty curious who it'll be. I feel like it could be Barrett, Tifa (the worst possible option) or maybe yuffie. Maybe they'll have aerith survive sephiroths attack but die another way later on? Man I can't wait
i feel so sorry for those who are new to ff7 and will have such a memorable moment ruined for them. nomura has no business talking about that scene prior to release which has only incited internet chatter and spoilers. i suppose ff7 and its impact wouldn't have been possible in the internet age because people cannot help themselves.
Yeah...I dont believe that for one second. Aerith will live somehow. Remake jacked up the story in countless ways but one of its biggest no-nos was breaking one of the cardinal rules of writing: when a character dies, they must stay dead or thier death becomes a cheap thrill rather than an impactful moment.
Oh no! Poor Wedge died with his big dreams and lovable personality! Nah, he impossibly survived for no reason.
Awww...Biggs died in the name of freedom. Nah, he's alive because Kingdom Hearts timeliness.
Wow...Zack gave himself up like a true hero would...fighting to the end. Nah, he's actually a playable character now.
Whooooa, they killed Barret?? Nah, sike! Gotcha!
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE FF7. But I think the PS1s limitations forced Nomura to keep his stupid ideas in check. I may be in the minority here and I really hate to be "that guy"... but the dude is a terrible writer. After getting burned so badly by Remake, I've been putting it this way: I've never been so excited to play a game I'm gonna hate so badly. Lol.
I've just mentally prepared to really enjoy the faithful stuff and pretend its what it should have been and get through the inevitable dumb changes as quick as possible.
@NinjaWaddleDee I'm right there with you man. You couldn't be more right. See my rant above. Haha
@NotSoCryptic "There is every indication that Jesse has too" you probably didn't pay attention to anything that was shown about FF7 rebirth
@invictus4000 Good job Nomura isn't writing the remake then.
Don't change a thing, just let Aerith die. Team Tifa for the win
Kind of tired of the coy Nomura ambiguity leading into this game. Like, seriously, just tell a good story. Mystery box storytelling is never a good sign, especially if the mystery overshadows attention to craft elsewhere. Wasn't a fan of the Kingdom Hearts, over-the-top anime cringe additions in Remake. Enough faithfulness was in there to keep me interested, but all of the extra tangents distracted from a story that didn't really need them. The Marvelization of the story with different timelines feels played out and derivative. So many eyeroll moments. If the basis of a story is time travel and alternate dimensions that's one thing. But to insert it into a classic that never referenced it is groan worthy. As soon as time travel is introduced into an established story with consequences then everything starts to feel meaningless. If you're going to change stuff, you better make sure it's as good or better than the original, otherwise you look like a hack, which is doubly lame when Nomura was heavily involved in the creation of the original.
She will survive the temple of the ancients but will get hit by a bus driven by the whispers in the closing sequence 😜
Complaining we get too many remaster and remakes - complaining if they are actually doing something new, some of you guys are really impossible! 🙈
The direction they are going is ballsy! I didn’t like the final segment of FF7 Remake (the way it was done - especially the big fight with the whispers - was too KH for me) but with Intergrade they really won me over, it seems like the know what they are doing, at least.
Aerith needs to die.
@InsaneWade I appreciate when sites are cautious of spoilers even with old games. I played FFVII for the first time last year and while it was still a very good game, I got spoiled on some of the major plot points because Sephiroth came to Smash Ultimate which took away from the experience.
@Drago201 That's part of the fun. It sucks they spoiled that Cloud rides a Segway since my big fan theory hinged on him trading in his motorcycle for a Vespa :/
@Cloud7794 lolz yes that was a major spoiler for sure 🤣
@InsaneWade Nomura gets scapegoated a lot. He has his issues for sure, but he's not even really a writer on this trilogy, yet gets all the blame for anything people dislike.
@JeongersGaming Yeah as much as it pains me both Zack & Aerith will die- as it doesn’t make any sense within FF7 lore if they don’t.
I’m just wondering how they’re going to pull it off.
If it ain't arith I ain't playing it, part one already ruined the story for me
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