Just like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the storyline of FF7 Rebirth has been changed a lot. And this legendary moment could have been enormously impacted. Beware of spoilers!!!
For several days, you have probably rushed to the PS5 exclusive FF7 Rebirth, the long-awaited sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Like the latter, the second part of this new trilogy had to make adjustments to enrich the story and also expand it. Compared to the original 1997 title, this new software has already made several major storyline changes. However, the game could have had an even more different ending than expected.
SPOILERS warning if you have not yet completed the adventure!!!
A different ending for FF7 Rebirth
Once again, beware of SPOILERS!
You’ll have already noticed, but these Final Fantasy 7 remakes are taking the bold step of splitting the original adventure into multiple games. Developers must therefore choose correctly where to stop each chapter. For Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it was quite simple, as the studio decided to stop when Midgar was released. On the other hand, for FF7 Rebirth, it was a different story, because the scenario changes shook everything up a bit. Last September, Tetsuya Nomura finally confirmed that the software ended in the Forgotten Temple. Without spoiling too much, this is a place where a very important event takes place for Cloud and his gang. For fans, this moment represents a climax in the story as well as a legendary moment. However, there too, everything could have been different.
FF7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed to Gamerant that he had no idea where to stop. The original storyline went through so many changes that it couldn’t just keep up with the PS1 game released in 1997. They finally decided based on simple logic: “Looking at FF7 Rebirth as the second title in the trilogy, which is the middle, I suppose, we felt it was necessary for the end of Rebirth to be the most dramatic part and climax of the story” we can read (via Gamerant). It goes to show that some elements are too important to be altered.
FF7 Rebirth is therefore not just a simple upgrade of the 1997 title, but a real new game. However, if story elements have changed, the developers are keeping the essence of the original game. Fans were able to notice this with several comparisons posted on YouTube. Obviously, the graphics have been improved, but the dialogue and camera shots remain very faithful. In Nibelheim’s flashback, even the smallest details, like Sephiroth’s laugh, were recreated.