Let’s be clear about something right from the start: nothing has been confirmed. This is taking a quote from Tetsuya Nomura, the creative director for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and speculating on its meaning after painfully processing his ominous words. After reading this, feel free to continue believing whatever it is you want to believe about Aerith’s fate in Rebirth because anything is still possible.
Now, with that out of the way, this is what Nomura had to say to Game Informer about that gut-wrenching scene.
“Beginning with the original Final Fantasy VII, when we had started working on it, it was already decided from the get-go that ‘life’ would be the central theme surrounding Final Fantasy VII.” He continues, “I knew that we had to depict life and death within this title. Prior to Final Fantasy VII, there have been other titles where characters have experienced tragedy, but many of them have come back or been revived in some way. But I believe that loss is something that happens unexpectedly, and it’s not something so dramatic or drawn out, but is something in which a person that you have just conversed with is suddenly gone and never to come back. I believe that the person who dies should not return in this title, and that is what we did with the original.”
If you felt your soul leave your body after reading Nomura’s words, you’re not alone. Many from Reddit and all corners of the internet have translated his statement as soft confirmation of every Aerith fan’s biggest fear: that history would, in fact, be repeating itself in Rebirth. But again, outside of that sinking feeling and sense of powerlessness, this is all emotionally driven speculation.
Just before the enigmatic quote, Game Informer also writes that Rebirth developers are confident that they would “shock even the players who have played through the scene in question multiple times.” Does that indicate a contrary result to one of the most powerful scenes in gaming history? You can read the 12-page article for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Until Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches in 71 days on February 29, 2024, speculation and theories are still all we have.
CORRECTION
A correction was made to clarify that Tetsuya Nomura is the creative director of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, not the game's director. We apologize for this error and any confusion it may have caused.