Highlights
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth could take a different approach than expected, potentially throwing surprise twists at players and flipping their expectations, similar to The Last of Us Part 2.
- The trailers show that Zack may play a larger role in the game's story, possibly working alongside the main party in the present. This could lead to a major twist where Cloud, like Joel in The Last of Us Part 2, dies instead.
- This twist, controversial among fans, could still provide a similar enough experience to the original game if players get to control Cloud for most of the game. It could also set up an interesting scenario for the third part of the remake trilogy with Zack as the main protagonist.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth may not be the faithful remake many fans are expecting, especially after Final Fantasy 7 Remake established that this remake trilogy would offer a different version of events from the original game. While it's likely that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will still hit most of the major story beats found in the original PlayStation title, there is a lot of room for the game to throw some surprise twists at the player. With this possibility in mind, the game could follow in the footsteps of The Last of Us Part 2 and completely flip player expectations on their head.
From what has been shown in the trailers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it appears that Zack will play a more prominent role in this game's story than in the original game. Rather than simply appearing in flashbacks, Zack could end up working alongside the rest of the main party in the present thanks to the game's deviation from the original's timeline. If this ends up being the case, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth could pull a major twist and have its iconic protagonist Cloud go the same way as Joel in The Last of Us Part 2.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Cloud Could Suffer the Same Fate as The Last of Us Part 2's Joel
In the original continuity of Final Fantasy 7, Zack dies at the hands of Shinra soldiers prior to the events of the original game as depicted in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. Cloud, who had become close friends with Zack, witnessed this death and the trauma of experiencing it causes his mind to warp some of Zack's memories and personality traits into his own persona. This chain of events sets up the Cloud players are familiar with and the one present in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth could alter how these events unfold.
It's possible that Zack will have somehow survived this attack and return in the new continuity of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. If this happens, the game could pull a huge bait-and-switch making Zack the new protagonist and having Cloud be the one who dies instead. Given that Cloud can be seen taking part in combat and other major story beats in the trailers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the most likely way this death would play out is to have Aerith swapped out for Cloud in the iconic scene from the original game where she is killed by Sephiroth.
This twist would likely be very controversial among fans of the original game, much like how Joel's death early on in The Last of Us Part 2 was controversial as well. However, if players get to play most of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as Cloud before he is killed off in the end, it could still give longtime fans a similar enough experience to the original title to mitigate some of the controversy. Ending Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth with this twist could also set up an interesting scenario for the third part of the remake trilogy where Zack becomes the main protagonist and gets a rematch with Sephiroth in the game's finale.
Going this route with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would be a very risky move, but Final Fantasy 7 Remake has shown that this trilogy isn't afraid to deviate from the original script. If this ends up being the game's twist, the trailers have done a great job at hiding it, similar to how the trailers for The Last of Us Part 2 made it seem like Joel would have a much bigger role in that game. Most of Joel's scenes in that game ended up coming from flashbacks, and the presence of the Whispers in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth means the scenes with Cloud could be coming from an alternate timeline.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be released on February 29, 2024, for PS5.
