Spoilers for the original FF7 (and possible FF7 Rebirth) Ahead

The tentative timeline of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has opened up all new paths for the upcoming title to take, with even the most important narrative moments of the original game. While this could mostly be a minor attempt at obscuring a previously revealed story, this could equally be an opportunity to make a major change from the original Final Fantasy 7 with the most iconic character moment this plotline has to offer.

This diversion would take place near the logical conclusion of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, a moment that has already been foreshadowed in several trailers for the game. However, even as this change might heavily alter the story of Final Fantasy 7, it could make good on a 27-year-old rumor involving Tifa and Cloud, should the player push their relationship to a breaking point.

Vincent Valentine on top of a building in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Related
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Companion Restriction is a Huge Drawback

Despite everything that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth seems to have going for it, its companion restriction is a massive drawback to its gameplay.

Final Fantasy 7's Most Notorious Rumored Death

How and Why Tifa Could Take Aerith's Place

final-fantasy-7-remake-cosplay-tifa-aerith

The original rumor from all the way back when the original Final Fantasy 7 released claims that if the player manages to tick the relationship status between Cloud and Tifa too far toward the negative, then Tifa will push Aerith out of the way when Sephiroth kills her. This was often supported by the fact that an internal affection system was always ticking away in the background, which is what led to the various date options in Final Fantasy 7's Gold Saucer. Additionally, there exists a final Limit Break for Aerith that can only be obtained after her death, implying that there was at least originally a plan for her to survive long enough to learn and use this final attack.

These hidden mechanics and unused items then fueled a theory from fans that there might be a way to keep Aerith alive after the encounter with Sephiroth in the City of the Ancients. However, since a character would still have to die, the theory then posits that the hidden affection system would require Cloud to have grown close enough to Aerith and distant enough from Tifa to change the outcome of the scene. While this never proved to be the case in the original Final Fantasy 7, the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a golden opportunity to subvert expectations by making good on this old rumor.

A Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Without Tifa

cloud and tifa final fantasy 7 remake

A change like swapping Aerith's death for Tifa's would have major consequences for the remainder of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy to come. Most obviously would be the fact that Tifa wouldn't be around to fill in Cloud's memories after he falls into the Lifestream anymore, but more important is how Aerith's death acts as a catalyst for the original's ending. This is because Aerith's death doesn't happen in a vacuum, with a random killing, and is instead framed by her leaving the party stemming from her need to pray for the activation of the Holy materia to stop Meteor.

As is shown in the scene when Aerith is put to rest in the waters of the City of the Ancients, it is her own death and return to the Lifestream that activates Holy and sets the course for the planet to defend itself from Meteor. So, her survival might prevent the activation of Holy, as well as leave Cloud's mind trapped in the Lifestream as he's unable to confront his true memories of the events of Nibelheim in Final Fantasy 7's history. These could then be exactly the consequences that were mentioned in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, as the protagonists spent the finale fighting off the Whispers that had been working to maintain the previous timeline.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Setting Things Right

final-fantasy-7-rebirth_aerith

If these major deviations are the type of direction that Square Enix is looking to take for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, then this could set the third game in the trilogy to be less about retreading old ground, and more about setting things right. In this case, players would be forced to play more of a hand in the death of Aerith and saving the planet. It could lead to a heartbreaking finale that would stay true to the original while hitting the necessary notes harder than the PS1 Final Fantasy 7 ever could. Of course, it remains to be seen if the game even goes in this direction.