Minor Spoilers for the Original FF7, FF7 Remake Ahead

Ahead of the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, many fans are likely curious as to how much of the original Final Fantasy 7 story will remain intact. Final Fantasy 7 Remake already established that the team at Square Enix was willing to play with fans of the original's preconceptions of what they expected to happen, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is picking up right after the bombshell of Zack Fair still being alive as the party leaves Midgar. Interestingly, these kinds of shake-ups are at the heart of what the team is trying to accomplish with the reimagining of Final Fantasy 7.

In a recent conversation with Game ZXC, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi and original Final Fantasy 7 mastermind Yoshinori Kitase were able to discuss some of the team's motivations behind retaining certain core aspects of the PS1 original while also shifting the need for what fans can expect from this game and the third one. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is embracing this bold new direction to provide some surprises for players, though it's not just for pure shock value.

cloud and party looking at grassland
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How the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Team Approaches Narrative Changes

Playing through Final Fantasy 7 Remake was tantamount to taking a stroll down memory lane for most fans who grew up on the original Final Fantasy 7. That is, until the Whispers show up and present the opportunity for the narrative to dramatically shift from what those same players might have expected. If anything, Final Fantasy 7 Remake's willingness to toy with fan expectations showed that the rest of the trilogy essentially had all avenues open to it. That continues to hang over the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as it deals with what is essentially the most important section of the original game.

When discussing these kinds of dramatic story changes with the minds behind Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Hamaguchi shed some insight into how the team goes about deciding on which aspects to retain from the original and which to change. Speaking on the potential for Final Fantasy 7's remake trilogy and specifically Rebirth to be the same, slightly changed, or completely different from what fans remember, Hamaguchi notes,

There are two elements that we considered. One, we wanted to consider certain elements that could not be expressed fully in the original title with the technology at that time that we are able to do now, today. We put effort into expressing this the way it was originally intended in all its detail.

Secondly, we wanted to include elements that slightly differ from the original storyline and maybe that were unique to Rebirth in the sense that they evoke a feeling of both excitement and almost like anxiety in a positive sense. I believe this makes for an appealing and attractive source of entertainment. These elements and points were something our team was very aware of and worked towards.

Given that almost 30 years have passed since the release of the original Final Fantasy 7, it makes sense for the team to address certain things in a modern context that were simply not possible with the technological limitations of the time. Further, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a grand challenge ahead of it, one that faces all remakes of classic games, in continuing to surprise even the most dedicated players of the original. The presence of the Whispers in the FF7 remake trilogy presents the capacity for things to be significantly different from the original, but as far as how different they end up being, players will need to wait for February 29 to find out.