5 things you might have missed in Final Fantasy VII (Remake Part 2) 'Rebirth' trailer

The second game in the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is coming next winter, titled Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The trailer was released as part of the 10-minute Square Enix Final Fantasy VII 25th anniversary celebration with several other announcements.

While fans are no doubt excited for Crisis Core’s remaster, the big reveal is that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is on the way and will be arriving on PlayStation 5 in Winter 2023.

Though it is a long wait, the trailer has some genuinely interesting talking points that will keep fans talking. There are already quite a few changes that exist in the timeline compared to the original.

---

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming as part two of a trilogy

Tetsuya Nomura has gone on record to discuss Final Fantasy VII Rebirth specifically. The creative director of the game pointed out that it does not matter if people played the original games; they will still be able to enjoy this story.

“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being designed so that people can enjoy this game whether they know the original game or not. In fact, new players might even enjoy starting their Final Fantasy VII journey with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Cloud and his friends embark on a new journey in this game, and I believe that the scenes that they witness after leaving Midgar will give players a fresh, new experience.”

5 things fans may have missed

• Cloud's Nibelheim flashback will be in the game
• Zack Fair may be playing a bigger role in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• The trailer teases Aerith's death scene
• The story we know is not set in stone
• Is Tifa dead? An imposter? Interesting dialogue takes place in the trailer

This list is primarily speculative until there is official confirmation from the developers themselves. There is always a chance things in the trailer are not exactly what they seem, or become plot points that change somewhere down the line.

---

5) Cloud’s Nibelheim flashback will be in the game

A fair chunk of the trailer is devoted to this particular story point, so it is unlikely that this will change. Viewers of the Final Fantasy VII trailer saw Cloud and Sephiroth walking through a vast, mountainous wasteland, with jagged peaks of the Nibel mountains in the distance, as well as the planet-murdering Mako Reactor.

Fans can likely look forward to Cloud taking a trip down memory lane (Image via Square Enix)

The two characters walked side-by-side on their way to inspect the reactor. As soon as the team left Midgar in the original game, they went to the nearby town of Kalm, and Cloud Strife did a major exposition dump. In the extra scene that Final Fantasy VII Intergrade added, the team was on the way to Kalm in the rain, so it all sounds like it is all adding up nicely.

---

4) Zack Fair may be playing a bigger role in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Zack Fair is confirmed to be a live character again, thanks to Final Fantasy VII Intergrade. The character bursts into Aeriths’ church, only to find she is not there. The two are seeking each other out, considering the two were in a relationship in previous stories. In the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth trailer, fans will once again see Zack alive after the end of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

Zack Fair is still alive, and should play a bigger role in the upcoming game (Image via Square Enix)

It’s not a stretch to think that Zack Fair is going to play a bigger role in the game, considering he is alive. He may be in bad shape, filled with bullets as he is, but as much time as he received in the trailer leads many to think he’s going to be doing more than just wandering around and never seeing the party.

---

3) The trailer teases Aerith’s death scene

Though it is brief, after the tease of the Meteor smashing down onto Gaia, the planet the game takes place on, there’s another flash to the future. Aerith is praying in a temple, and long-time fans know exactly what comes next.

In the original FFVII, this is the Temple of the Ancients, where Sephiroth shows up and runs the last of the Cetra through with his blade.

Is Aerith's fate really to die? Can this be changed? Will players get a choice? (Image via Square Enix)

---

2) The story we know isn’t necessarily the story we will experience

“What we’ve done is set in stone. The past is forever, but the future, even if it has been written, can be changed. So focus on the future, not the past.”

This aligns with what Tetsuya Nomura said about the game as well. The story fans know may not necessarily be what happens. If it were a beat-for-beat remake of the original story, people would know exactly what was going to happen.

It sounds like Aerith knows that she is meant to die, but there is a chance that can be undone, that the future is malleable. Instead of worrying about what they’ve done in their collective pasts, it’s time to look to the future and stop what is on the way.

Will the meteor fall? Can it be stopped? What fans know about the original game may not matter much (Image via Square Enix)

This could also mean that the Meteor, which does smash into the planet in the trailer, is something that can be prevented. That’s what the team was working on stopping in the original game, after all.

---

1) Is Tifa dead? Is she an imposter? Interesting dialogue occurs in the trailer

During the FFVII Rebirth trailer, Cloud Strife does a bit of voiceover work as he is explaining the goals of Sephiroth and things that happened in Nibelheim. One very bit of interesting dialogue is between Cloud and Tifa. Cloud alludes to him thinking Tifa died during the Nibel Reactor incident, where Sephiroth struck the young Tifa.

“I saw you lying there. I figured it was too late.”

Tifa is not shown on screen during this as it takes place during the walk of Cloud and Sephiroth in the Nibel mountains.

“Wait. What are you implying? That I died? That I’m some kind of an imposter?”

How much of Cloud's memory is real? Is Tifa really some kind of imposter? (Image via Square Enix)

What’s interesting about this is that after the fact, the caption “What is fact and what is fiction?” pops up on the screen. It is unlikely that Tifa is dead or is an imposter, but it is certainly an interesting talking point about Cloud’s memories and his past.

---

Fans will have to wait until Winter 2023 to learn exactly what is happening in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but there are certainly interesting stories being woven into the latest trailer. The next stop in the FFVII Remake trilogy is on the way, and with it comes an exciting new story.