Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth nearly had a different ending
The second part of Square Enix's remake trilogy is here, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is reborn. With it comes confirmation of the hidden details that have wrought fans for a very long time.
Fake-outs and switches have been all over Final Fantasy 7 since the process of its remake began, and players have wondered exactly what we can expect in the next chapter of what aims to be the grandest RPG and grandest remake in history.
Questions have finally been answered (and we'll get to them, no matter how confusing they may be), but it seems as though the final product of the game was almost very different.
SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's ending ahead
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth almost had a completely different ending
Click to enlargeSimply by being the second game in a trilogy of remakes of one game, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth had a lot of work to do in order to justify itself in terms of the narrative of Final Fantasy 7. This left players wondering where exactly the game would end - and it looks as though the ending that we got was almost quite different.
Speaking with GQ, original Final Fantasy 7 Director and Rebirth Producer Yoshinori Kitase has mentioned that the ending of the first game was a clear-cut and simple decision, but the second game in the remake trilogy came with more uncertainty.
"When we first started out we knew the first game was going to end with the escape from Midgar," he says. "The idea of where to cut off second part of the trilogy wasn’t actually decided. Then it naturally became apparent that the Forgotten Capital was going to be the best turning point in the story."
What happens at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, then?
Click to enlargeWe’re serious now. If you care about Final Fantasy, back off.
Finally, the secrets of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have been revealed, and it looks like THAT iconic death is still on the table. Kind of. Let us explain.
Trailers had us doubting that Aerith would get the chop at the end of Rebirth, with Tifa finding herself in serious danger and implying that she could die instead. That's technically still a possibility.
The abridged version of the FF7 Rebirth finale is this: Sephiroth tells Cloud that the multiverse exists (yes, it's a multiverse story now) and that each universe contains worlds to conquer. He then offers Cloud the chance to join him by his side as an all-powerful ruler.
Being the goody-goody Cloud is, he denies this offer, and we see Aerith suffer the same fatal wound she did back in 1997. As reality begins to twist and contort, it's implied that as Cloud continues to speak with Aerith, the pair have a more intricate connection with the multiverse itself.
Aerith in our universe is dead, but the Aerith that Cloud speaks to pledges to stop Sephiroth in her own universe - in which she survives. This leaves the door open for some bonkers storytelling in the upcoming finale game, as Tifa could still have taken Aerith's place in another universe, and all sorts of bizzaro scenarios could yet play out.
We're just going to have to wait to see what happens and just how willing Square Enix is to dedicate to a multiverse story right as they pass over their peak of popularity. But hey, at least we've got Aerith back...sort of.
Check out our full Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ending here
