Side content in the ending credits
Among optional side quests shown in the ending, only Aerith-related ones appear
Chapter 14 and Chapter 12 trophies involve a date with Aerith
In "A Date Full of Memories," Chapter 12, only the date with Aerith shows the front of the cable car
Chapter 13 trophy shows Aerith holding the black materia
English version: "I'm right here with you." Japanese and Chinese versions: "The Time of the Promise"
Chapter 14 trophy shows the two with fingers interlocked
The U-book states that the first Gold Saucer date is with Aerith
The Rebirth orchestral concert program booklet lists the Gold Saucer date as Aerith
Aerith has the most mandatory and optional side quests
In Rebirth, among the must-do affinity options (green), either-or options (yellow), and special options (gray), Aerith has the most must-do and either-or options of all。
The date partner and the Rosa actress are usually Aerith
Left: different Gold Saucer date partner routes; right: different Princess Rosa actress routes
In 4 of the 6 routes, the Princess Rosa is Aerith
True Love exists only in the Aerith route
In the OST, the LOVELESS section has a song called "True Love". This line only appears in Aerith's dialogue when she plays Princess Rosa. The Dragon King's weakness is also True Love.
Seeing Aerith in danger, Cloud recovered himself
After the temple collapsed, accompanied by a large number of black Whispers, Sephiroth appeared. Aerith, pressured by Cloud, who had been turned into a puppet, fled with the Black Materia. Cloud took the Black Materia from her and handed it to Sephiroth. After seeing Aerith being attacked by the Whispers, Cloud finally recovered himself, and tried to save her, but the two ultimately fell together into the abyss of hell.
OST booklet: a date with just the two of them
Gold Saucer only featured the date scene with Aerith
Concept art
Concept art from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth MATERIAL ULTIMANIA
Storyboard
Rebirth Osaka Fireworks Festival
Gold Saucer date branch with only the two of them
Rebirth worldwide tour concert
Princess Rosa is Aerith, and "No Promises to Keep" is for the Aerith route
The background of the official website introduction page is the two of them on the Gold Saucer date
In the official website screenshots, the date and Princess Rosa are Aerith
The Gold Saucer date PV was shown on the big screen in Shibuya
Gold Saucer date branch with only the two of them
U Disc Date
Cloud's introduction page features scenes of his dates with Aerith and Yuffie respectively.
The chapter introduction only includes the date scene with Aerith
Among the three possible female date partners, Aerith and Yuffie have high-affinity dialogue, while Tifa has low-affinity dialogue.
Is the world I want to protect one that includes you?
—In the previous installment, Cloud broke through the walls of fate, so many players likely predicted that Aerith's fate would also change.
【Kitase】: Indeed, some people may have imagined such a divergence. However, following the main content of the original story is also a core concept of our remake project...
【Nomura】: Honestly, to keep people from holding all sorts of expectations, we wanted to avoid having attention focus solely on Aerith's fate before release. So when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth first began its promotion, we deliberately avoided this topic. But the media in particular kept asking "What will happen to Aerith?", so I steeled myself for having to touch on this topic. The tagline was also centered on Aerith's fate，which became "Is the world I want to protect one that includes you?"
The Gold Saucer date directly conveys her fondness for Cloud
After completing her important task of the solo performance on the big stage, Aerith headed to the cable car while her excitement was still fresh. She reveals that when they first met, she saw Zack in Cloud, and then directly conveys her fondness for Cloud. Amid the fireworks, she rests her head on his shoulder.
Cloud and Aerith's Gold Saucer date is heart-stirring
【Hamaguchi】: Cloud and Aerith's date at the Gold Saucer will be heart-stirring. I don't mean just the two of them riding the cable car together, but everything that builds up to that scene.
To help listeners understand how impactful this moment in the Remake is, Hamaguchi used the first chapter as an example: "Just like the remake of the Honeybee Inn, it will be very memorable”。
Hamaguchi also mentioned that compared to the original, the Remake will offer richer "dating a certain character" content. Players will have more opportunities to build bonds with specific companions and explore the map together. Some things that were merely side content in the original will become part of the main story this time.
Cloud's dialogue performance at Aerith's death
—One more thing that caught my attention: in the original, in the City of the Ancients, there was the line "My fingertips are tingling, my mouth is dry, and the depths of my eyes are burning!" but this time it doesn't appear...
【Nojima】: For me, parts like "tingling" and "burning" could be expressed through the visuals, so I felt there was no need to express them through dialogue. Even without the dialogue, those who know the original should still be able to hear Cloud's voice in their minds from watching the visuals。
【Toriyama】: That series of scenes—we wanted everyone to interpret them in various ways, so I can't say much, but after discussing with Nomura, we included a flashback sequence showing what appears to be Cloud shouting the original line.
Cloud's Limit gauge
A scene where the companions and Cloud differ in their perceptions
For the companions other than Cloud, at the start of the battle against Jenova Life, their Limit gauges become full, driven by anger.
When departing from the Forgotten Capital, Tifa did not see the Aerith in front of Cloud's gaze.
Cloud believes Aerith is still alive
What fate awaits Aerith in the Forgotten Capital? This is one of the most attention-grabbing parts of this title. But it is still difficult to declare in a single sentence whether she lives or dies. The reason is that the companions believe "Aerith has perished," while Cloud feels "Aerith is still alive."The scene where Sephiroth attacks Aerith is also not directly depicted, so there may be various interpretations. Here, focusing on the difference in perception between the companions and Cloud, let us try to organize the information.
Aerith rushes in to the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. Where did she come from, and how did she get there? That is also worth wondering about.
The two standing back to back evoke Advent Children
The composition of Cloud and Aerith standing back to back in a pure white world brings to mind the scene in FFVII: Advent Children where Cloud is on his way to the Forgotten Capital
Cloud cannot accept losing someone dear to him
In the end, was he unable to stop it successfully?
【Nomura】: First, I think most players would want to defy fate — to have Cloud block the attack and avert that destiny. In the original, in order to portray the fate of "suddenly losing someone important," Cloud was powerless against Sephiroth, and parted without even being able to speak with Aerith. But in the real world, if you truly lost someone important, you couldn't accept it right away. This time, we decided to make "being unable to accept losing someone important" our creative principle.
Cloud's immense pain of losing a loved one
The ending of Rebirth recreates one of the most famous episodes in video game history, allowing new audiences to experience it. Some players, in their reactions after finishing the game, expressed confusion about how to interpret the new developments of this scene. What reaction did the staff hope players would have, and what message did they want to convey? Or, do you have anything to say to players who found this new version of the events confusing or unsatisfying?
Excerpt omitted…
[Kitase]: In addition, to supplement this and provide another perspective, when discussing this scene with Nomura and Nojima, we also talked about how, in the original, what is shown is Cloud's perspective, his pain at the loss of his loved one, like a hole left in his heart. When considering how to portray this in the remake series, we wanted to express not only the pain of losing that person, but also what a person experiences when going through a loss—being unable to force oneself to forget that person, being almost unable to accept reality—struggling against the possibility of having lost someone. So that is also something we wanted to present in Rebirth.
Regarding the original, its first disc ends with an enormous loss. I remember some people didn't even want to keep playing and simply switched to the second disc, because they didn't want to play anymore—precisely because of that feeling. It is a tremendous loss and despair, but I do think there was an emotional synchronization between players and Cloud, with everyone struggling with "how do I deal with this feeling?" The feeling of loss, and the process of how a person strives to bear it all, were both happening. We imagined that players of Rebirth would have that kind of emotional resonance as well.
In the promotional video, Cloud calls out Aerith's name twice
Cloud nearly calls out Aerith's name twice to Tifa
Someone dear (he loved)
[Kitase]: The most shocking thing in the original was Aerith's tragedy scene in the Forgotten Capital, and how to express it with modern techniques was a very difficult problem.
The original aimed to depict the loss and sorrow of having someone dear suddenly gone from before your eyes; however, I heard that because the sense of loss was so intense, quite a lot of people stopped playing after Disc 1.
In Rebirth, the sense of loss manifests itself in other forms, the protagonist Cloud's feelings of being unable to forget what happened to the important person before his eyes are expressed with great weight. It began with creative director Tetsuya Nomura's thoughts on life and death, and the game's production team and editing team actually recreated the idea wonderfully as a game scene.
In fact, the ending of Rebirth leaves a very strong impression, as people who saw it will have all kinds of thoughts and interpretations different from the original.
[Hamaguchi]: I believe this remake trilogy will become the most beloved and famous game in gaming history.
(Here the simultaneous interpretation rendered "important person" as "he loved")
A photo of the two's memories
A day in the beautiful garden
"Weekly Final Fantasy <November 28>"
"Weekly Final Fantasy": That Time ○○ Was... Edition
November 28 is "Beautiful Garden Day"!
Taking this opportunity, we will introduce the characters connected to the beautiful garden who appear in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Aerith Gainsborough is a flower girl living in the slums of Sector 5. Despite experiencing cruel things from a young age, she has maintained a cheerful and innocent personality, always full of positivity.
In Midgar, the land has withered because of the mako reactors, and real flowers have become rare items. However, there are still places where flowers can be grown near Aerith, and she lives off the flowers she cultivates in the Sector 5 slum church and her home.
One day, Cloud unexpectedly fell from the roof of the church, reunited with Aerith, and to protect the endangered Aerith, he took on the job of being her bodyguard.
Cloud successfully escorted Aerith safely home, thinking the bodyguard job was complete. But Aerith insisted that "this time it would be her turn to escort Cloud to the Sector 7 slums," and at her insistence, Cloud could only stay overnight before setting out.
The next morning, just as Cloud thought he could finally set out! He was asked by the Leaf House orphanage to help pick flowers together. Perhaps exploring this beautiful garden a little more wouldn't be such a bad thing。
Aerith pulling and guiding Cloud
[Hamaguchi]: "For each player, this scene (the dream date) may have many different interpretations. But Aerith has always been that kind of older-sister-like character, pulling Cloud forward and encouraging him. She senses what is coming and understands her own fate. Yet still in this way she pushes and guides Cloud forward, which shows her pure heart and inner strength.
Caption: Rebirth clearly deepened the relationship between Cloud and Aerith, as well as how they handle the game's ending.
Hamaguchi debunking rumors and foreign media translations
[4Gamer]: Have there been cases of "that's not what I meant to say"?
[Hamaguchi]: Ah... yes, there have been such cases. Especially when translation is involved, the nuance changes.
For example, Cloud's mother has a line, "I think a girl who is like an older sister and can lead you forward would suit you best." Summed up in Japanese, it has the nuance of "I think Cloud would be better suited to a proactive girlfriend."
However, in the overseas version, this line was not translated in detail, so when foreign media asked me about this line, after my answer was translated, the nuance changed, and as a result some overseas fans understood it as "the relationship between Cloud and Aerith is not romantic love, but a sibling-like affection"
Let me explain what happened. In the original Final Fantasy VII, there is a scene where Cloud's mother Claudia mentions that she hopes her son Cloud's lover would be "someone slightly older, who could guide Cloud." Overseas media once asked Hamaguchi about this scene, whether the "older woman who guides Cloud" referred to Aerith. Mr. Hamaguchi affirmed this question, and other media then interpreted this to mean that the feelings between Cloud and Aerith were a kind of "older sister and younger brother love"—that is, familial affection rather than a romantic relationship. This claim spread through the media.
Hamaguchi retweeted the CA high-five billboard
No Promises to Keep
① One of the most famous lovers in gaming, Aerith
Although she had never played Final Fantasy VII, as one of the most famous lovers in gaming, Aerith, the meaning of singing did not disappear for Loren. She said: It is truly an honor; these characters have been deeply loved for many years—even attaching my voice to a character people love is an honor:
② Aerith accepting and guiding Cloud
──The character Aerith, like "Aerith's Theme," gives the impression of being fleeting and ephemeral. On the other hand, she is a warm person who accepts and guides the troubled protagonist, Cloud. And this time, "No Promises to Keep" expresses Aerith's inner strength—what are your thoughts on this?
[Uematsu]: Well, "Aerith's Theme" has a melody like ♪dun dun dun~, dun dun dun~♪, and I think adding lyrics to this melody would seem too clichéd—no one would want to hear that, right? In "No Promises to Keep," I slightly incorporated that melody in the accompaniment.
I think the reason Aerith sings with such tone and such high notes in "No Promises to Keep" must be because she has very strong emotions. So while composing, I thought, "If Aerith can sing such high notes, everyone will surely be surprised," and "She must have something she really wants to express, and I believe everyone will understand it." Fans of Final Fantasy VII surely never expected Aerith's singing voice to be so powerful.
③ The lead vocalist spent a lot of time getting to know the two
Outside the studio, the process for Loren also included finding her own connection to the song, which meant she spent a lot of time getting to know Aerith and the protagonist Cloud, as well as the story of Final Fantasy VII.
④ Better portraying the relationship between the two
[Loren]: I wanted to understand Aerith better, and portray her relationship with Cloud better . I wanted to show her vulnerability and purity. To do that, I wanted to set aside my usual way of performing and become the character of Aerith.
⑤ Aerith and Cloud's relationship
──In the movie The Greatest Showman, you sang songs while playing a character in the story, and moved many people. Did you keep anything in mind when singing "No Promises to Keep" this time?
[Loren]: "Playing the character of Aerith well" was my top priority. Aerith's personality, her relationship with Cloud... her emotions have always been closely tied to the element of "love" . I love work like this where I can play a character, so this time was really fun! In any case, when I sang, I put playing Aerith well above everything else.
⑥ Aerith can bring Cloud a sense of reassurance
──Miss Loren, what kind of character do you personally think Aerith is?
[Loren]: I think she is free and independent, yet also very considerate, bringing the protagonist Cloud a sense of reassurance ... that's the role she plays in the story. She is a character who is deeply loved by those around her.
⑦The background of the official website introduction page is the two of them on their Gold Saucer date
Tifa's English voice actress loves the CA interactions
[Questioner]: How do you see that strongest, most wonderful character—I mean Aerith.
[Cody] : I love her to death, I really love this character. I think Aerith is one of the peaks of this series; without her, everything would be different . I mean, I don't want to spoil too much. But there's a lot in the third game that's that... a huge driving force. But if you think she's as strong as Cloud, you'd be wrong.
[Briana]: Yes, Aerith is amazing . And I think her journey... that character... God... really carries an incredibly heavy weight, considering the fate of so many other things rests on her shoulders to some extent.
[Cody]: While acting like it's no big deal, I'd add.
[Briana]: Just like that, very casually. So I think she's truly incredible, I love her 。I love the interactions between them, especially when she teases Cloud.
Queen's Blood
In the Queen's Blood card game, the Cloud and Aerith cards are together, and by combining the Aerith and Loveless cards, you can pull off a combo with the Cloud card.
Fireworks festival folder display
The four folder sets feature date scenes with Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, and Barret. But the venue only displayed the Aerith date version.
The TGA 2024 trailer's partners were only Cloud and Aerith
Golden Joystick for Best Supporting Performer
Briana White (English voice of Aerith) and Cody Christian (English voice of Cloud) win Best Supporting Performer voice acting awards; before the announcement, Hamaguchi campaigned for them
SE wallpaper contest
For Rebirth, only this image was chosen as a two-person piece
FF7RB × FF7EC collaboration
To celebrate FF7RB launching on PC on January 23, an FF7RB Loveless collaboration event opens on January 30
PS shares romance selected for Valentine's week
PS congratulates World Theatre Day
Yoshitaka Amano exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Player system test
①Cloud has been waiting for Aerith all along
When the Temple of the Ancients collapses and everyone escapes, the controlled character switches from Cloud to Aerith. Other party members flee ahead; when you control Aerith running back, companions will wait in place, but only Cloud, no matter what, stays close behind Aerith。
②Branching conditions for the dream date
Conditions for Cloud's answer "Of course" versus "Because we're companions" in the final chapter
If in Chapter 8 or Chapter 12you had a date with Aerith in either one, then in the Chapter 14 dream date, Cloud will say "Of course". If there were no dates at all, Cloud will answer "Because we're companions"
Therefore, the above result is unaffected by how high or low Aerith's final affinity is.
③Minimum affinity
With only minimal affinity tasks and choices, Aerith's affinity is 23%, Tifa's is 12%, Yuffie's is 13%, Barret's is 14%, and Red XIII's is 14%.
Because 4 of the 5 unskippable forced intimacy scenes are Aerith-related.
Yet in the final chapter, Cloud's answer still triggers as "Of course," not "Because we're companions"
Tweets from various countries
A golden date night
