Final Fantasy VII Rebirth creative director hints at secret about Aerith in Part 3 of the FF7 Remake Trilogy 

In a recent interview, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s creative director Tetsuya Nomura hinted that there was something he couldn’t reveal yet about Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Remake’s hotly awaited final part. Be warned that this article contains spoilers for both the original Final Fantasy VII and the Remake trilogy. 

Speaking to Young Jump about his character design philosophy and the direction of Kingdom Hearts’ story, among others, the topic turned to player feedback. Specifically, Nomura was asked to what extent he thinks players’ opinions should be reflected in games’ stories. Nomura starts out by replying that “I think I often look at players’ impressions because their perspectives are very interesting and often make me realize things. I don’t think the opinions need to be reflected in the game at all, but at the same time, if there is something that should be implemented, then it’s better to do so.” 

Nomura further weighs in on the two approaches, describing the extremes, “If the scenario goes in the completely opposite direction to what the fans want and popular characters suffer, then this is not good for players emotionally. However, that doesn’t make it right to say ‘Yes’ each time someone says ‘Do this,’ either. The point is that we should consider the scenario thoroughly with a clear intention in mind, and not just cater to players’ opinions. As for Aerith (in part 3 of the FF7 Remake trilogy), I can’t talk about that yet.”  

It is unclear what implications this has for Aerith. The popular character’s abrupt death at the end of Disc 1 in the original Final Fantasy VII shocked a generation of players. In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second part of the remake, she dies at the end of the game. However, there are some key differences in how the remake has been handling the classic 1997 RPG’s story. 

The Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy has implied many times that a multiverse exists- as in multiple realities and timelines are playing out at the same time. This explains the apparent survival of Zack Fair, who died way before the events of the original Final Fantasy VII even began. Even Aerith’s famous death scene where she gets stabbed by Sephiroth while praying in the Forgotten City contains notable differences from the original.  

At one point, Cloud seems to parry Sephiroth’s sword aside, saving Aerith. The scene skips between Aerith being alive and Aerith being stabbed by Sephiroth. The blood beneath her body also disappears and then reappears. The flickering throughout the scene also implies that we keep hopping between different versions of reality- one in which Cloud saves Aerith and one in which she dies. 

While many Aerith fans are likely hoping that Nomura’s words mean that she will somehow survive- it could simply be that some aspect of her sacrifice and its impact on the Planet has been altered from the original. One of the FF7 Remake Project’s directors, Motomu Toriyama, already explained that part 3’s ending will tie up all the story’s loose ends and be much more comprehensive than the original 1997 game’s final cutscene.