Spoilers for the original Final Fantasy 7 and perhaps Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's creative director, Tetsuya Nomura, spoke about one scene everyone can't wait to see, saying that it “was able to do what I really wanted to show in this title.”
Obviously, we're talking about one of the most iconic scenes in gaming history – Aerith's death at the hands of Sephiroth – and while Nomura hasn't revealed how that scene will be implemented in Rebirth, he did share with Detective game Some thoughts behind the decisions in the original game and this remake.
“Starting with the original Final Fantasy VII, when we started working on it, it was already planned from the beginning that ‘life’ would be the main theme,” says creative director Tetsuya Nomura. “I knew we had to depict life and death within this title.
“Before Final Fantasy VII, there were other titles in which characters experienced tragedy, but many of them came back or were revived in some way. But I think loss is something that happens unexpectedly, and it's not something dramatic or drawn-out, but something that the person I spoke to goes through.” Just suddenly with him and never coming back. “I think a person who dies should not come back with that title, and that's what we did with the original.”
For Rebirth, Nomura is very proud of what the team has come up with and believes that “the way we shot it brings new emotions and a new feeling to both players who played the original Final Fantasy VII and newcomers.” As previously mentioned, Nomura also added that he “was able to do what I really wanted to show in this title.
Although we don't know yet if Aerith will make it to the credits in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it has been confirmed that this game will end with that fateful encounter in The Forgotten Capital. Along the way, as director Naoki Hamaguichi reveals, “players will see the characters interact and deepen their bonds with each other. This is the pivotal point.”
We don't have long to wait for the answer to that question, as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be released on PS5 on February 29, 2024. To help with the wait, take a look at our hands-on impressions of Part Two of the FF7 Remake Trilogy.
For more, be sure to check out seven reasons why Final Fantasy VII Rebirth might let you rescue Aerith, how the original Final Fantasy VII Remake is already starting to veer down its very meta path, and our documentary – Resurrecting Aerith – about the urban legends surrounding her death and the fans who spent 25 years trying to rewrite her fate.
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Adam Pankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Adam Pankhurst and on Twitch.
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