Final Fantasy VII Rebirth hints at major character death in new trailer

final fantasy vii remake, sephiroth floats with his sword in hand amongst a ruined city
FFVII Rebirth hints at major death in new trailerSquare Enix

Final Fantasy VII and FFVII Remake spoilers follow.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth dropped a surprise trailer at the Summer Games Fest this week, not only narrowing the release window to early 2024, but teasing some of the story changes in the second part of the Remake trilogy.

2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake ended with the main characters destroying the Whispers (ghosts who tried to keep the story's events from following the same path as the original game), spurred on by Sephiroth.

It is heavily implied that Sephiroth knows how things should play out, or even be the Sephiroth from the original game/movie sequel Advent Children, travelled in time across dimensions.

final fantasy vii rebirth trailer
Square Enix

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This gives developers the opportunity to change the story while also playing on fans' knowledge of the original - judging from this new trailer, they are using that opportunity to create a sense of foreboding.

The main takeaway regards the Nibelheim Incident, which was shrouded in deception in the original.

We see Tifa admit to Aerith (also implied to have knowledge of the original timeline) that Cloud's retelling of the Incident doesn't add up, while Sephiroth tells Cloud that he killed Tifa at the Mako Reactor.

Couple that with lines about Jenova being able to change its appearance to mimic other people, and the villain plants the seed that Cloud's childhood love interest may not be who she says she is.

final fantasy vii rebirth trailer
Square Enix

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None of these things happened in the original, leaving fans with multiple questions. Is Tifa actually dead? Is Sephiroth just trying to manipulate Cloud again, and could he succeed this time? What's also going on with the news footage of Avalanche, sans Cloud, being wheeled out of a destroyed Sector 2? Is Cloud wearing the robes or is it just a vision?

Then there's the possibility of characters like Zack still being alive - even though that doesn't feature in the trailer.

final fantasy vii rebirth trailer
Square Enix

One thing is for sure, when the trailer refers to the "unknown future", Square Enix really isn't lying.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be release in early 2024 on PlayStation 5 (on two discs!). The previous entry, FFVII Remake, eventually released on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.


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