It ’s been a self-aggrandising year for Final Fantasy . That ’s on-key most years , as the long - running RPG series always has something new going on whether it ’s new installments or update to the mega - popularFinal Fantasy XIV . This year was a fleck unlike , though , and it was all thanks toFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth .
secrete back in February , the second episode of Square Enix ’s ambitious remaking trilogy adapted some of the most eclectic moments of 1997’sFinal Fantasy VIIwith panache . It ’s both unabashedly punch-drunk and a profound story about personnel casualty . It vibrate enough with players to land a Game of the Year nomination at this year ’s Game Awards . While it did n’t gain ground the big one ( Astro Botgot this year ’s top honor),Rebirthwas tell apart for its standout soundtrack , and Square Enix announced a PC port during the show . It was one need festivity for a series that ’s had its ups and down over the last ten . Now , it ’s metre for its Divine to look back on that success and acquire from it .
With a whirlwind class almost in the rearview mirror , Digital Trends spoke toRebirthdirector Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase about the project . It was a muted here and now after a busy twelvemonth to finally speculate onRebirthand how well the squad was able to action a vision it dreamed up back before it even was done making 2020’sFinal Fantasy VII Remake . Fans seemed to love it , but did it last up to its creators ’ dreaming ? That answer is yes — and they ’re even felicitous with debates over its polarizing ending .
Looking back
When I playedFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthearlier this year , I found myself wondering how much of it was dreamed up back when the squad decide to split the remaking into a trilogy . At times , Rebirthcan feel like it doubles back on some of the fortune - toss off implications ofRemaketo separate its own story . According to Hamaguchi , though , the reading ofRebirthwe got was very close to the vision the team had for it before it had even end up the first biz .
“ About one year before the finalization ofRemake , we had already determined what kind of game experience we would like to present withRebirth , ” Hamaguchi tells Digital Trends . “ When we had begin development onRemake , we had already decided on the overall biz design with the expansive humankind map filled with the subject that allow for a tumid amount of user exemption and alternative . ”
What ’s more surprising is how much the team ’s program forRebirth ’s story also went unchanged from its original vision . At least philosophically , Hamaguchi articulate that the narrative we see inRebirth — with all its oddball twists and turns — was always where the squad want to end up . He ’s not just tattle about how the story itself unfolds;Rebirth ’s thematic intention was set in I. F. Stone betimes on too .
“ Since we had initially announcedRebirth , we had always said that this deed of conveyance was going to observe the team ’s journeying up to Aerith ’s fate . This was going to adopt Cloud and his party ’s journeying and give much more of a aspect into their inner workings as well , ” Hamaguchi says . “ The core thematic component that we rivet on was the theme of bonds . In this way , we felt that by allow a deep tone into the relationships between persona , it allows for the thespian to further emphasise and immerse into the story . The Julian Bond theme is depicted in numerous ways , whether that be through the synergy attacks and within conversations that impact their affinity , the whole game design is center on around this stem . In this way , it allows the users to feel that these character are very tight to you , which further allows you to synchronize opinion when we approach Aerith ’s fate . ”
That fate would be a defining mo forRebirth , and the team was well aware of that . Midway through the originalFinal Fantasy VII , Aerith is shockingly murdered by Sephiroth . It ’s an unforgettable moment that sticks with the participant as they immediately feel her absence seizure in the game . After all , she ’s the party ’s primary healer , so the game instantaneously becomes much bad with her dead .
Rebirthwould have to bid its own rendering of play ’s most iconic here and now , which is no minuscule task . Even fans who knew the original game well were n’t sure ifRebirthwould repeat account or allow Cloud to save her this meter . That doubt — defence , even — was key to work up a more emotionally complex import that would makeRebirth ’s ending stand on its own two fundament apart from the original .
“ In the original , this mo is one where you have this unplumbed sense of red ink in both the supporter and the instrumentalist , ” Kitase tells Digital Trends . “ But inRebirth , it ’s perhaps a little before then , when both the protagonist and the musician are deal with the notion of loss . They ca n’t even accept what could possibly be happening . We want players to contemporize with Cloud ’s look at the clock time . This also leads into the musician ’s interest as we lead into the third installment . ”
While those emotionally heavy minute make an aroused crescendo , as Kitase puts it , they ’re only half of what makesRebirthspecial . The other side of the coin is its gleeful absurdity . Rather than shying away from the strangest consequence of the original , like its opulent amusement park digression or Cait Sith in general , it was crucial for the squad to keep the oddball comedy of the original intact . Rebirthexcels in that obedience , and that ’s no chance event ; it ’s thanks to a consecrated team of developers who had a deep regard for the original ’s funniness .
“ The reason I thinkRebirthis so successful , both in its serious and humorous parts , is because much of the dev squad were players and fans of the originalFinal Fantasy VII . That rubric had heavily influenced them as God Almighty . When you approach this claim as one lover ofFFVII , there ’s a sealed perspective that one has . That was a universal partake in view that was helpful in father these estimate . For lesson , that can be how Red baker’s dozen rides on a Chocobo or Aerith putting on shades . These are thing that were n’t directives that I told our teams to create ; they naturally were bring forth among our team thanks to their rage for the original . ”
That cerebration justify a follow - up : How many argument did the team have about how a Friedrich August Wolf should sit a Chocobo ?
“ There were several pattern that were proposed ab initio , like him sitting sideways on the Chocobo ! ” Hamaguchi say . “ But of course we had to make headway favorable reception from Nomura - san , who took a look and immediately said yes ! ”
“ Everything we hoped to achieve … we were sure able to deliver . ”
While picayune detail like this seemed to enrapture players , Rebirthhas lead players divided in the farsighted - term . That ’s thanks in part to itsbrain - deform conclusion , which replaces Aerith ’s straightforward death with a dreamlike odyssey complete with a surreal preliminary and an ambiguous conclusion . Some players have happen the moment to be a wakeless statement on grief . Others see it as an portentous rewrite of an graceful closing . And others still do n’t know what to make of it at all . Hamaguchi welcomes all of those reactions . In fact , the confusion is part of the percentage point .
“ As far as the end ofRebirthand Aerith ’s fate , we ’re mindful that there are a lot of interpretations from the fans , ” Hamaguchi says . “ But considering that this is taking the form of a trilogy and not just the end , we feel that by introducing that element that ’s not revealing all , we ’re create a sense of intrigue that carries exploiter into the third installing wondering what is happening next . This is what we had in psyche as well , so everything we hop to achieve , in that sensory faculty , we were certainly able to give up . ”
Rebirthmay differentiate a fib of impending loss that support on its own , but the team has a trilogy to finish . It does n’t weigh if you enjoy or hate where it end ; all that ’s important is that you ’re curious enough to see what ’s at the end of the unidentified journeying .
Final Fantasy VII Rebirthis uncommitted now on PS5 . It is coming to personal computer on January 23 , 2025 .
