New Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer teases story changes

Reclaim the world from what Sephiroth?

Square Enix published a new Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer, and while the video is just one minute long, it tucks a few potential story changes inside. It opens with Midgar on fire and Zack carrying an unconscious Cloud along a dusty road, both of which raise enough questions in themselves about where the FF7 story is going, but a few stray scenes and comments are what catch our interest.

At one point, we see Tifa falling into what looks like a pool of mako, something that definitely doesn’t happen in the original game. This short scene doesn’t seem like part of Cloud’s Nibel reactor flashback either. For one thing, Tifa’s outfit matches her present-day FF7 gear, and in the original narrative, she confronts Sephiroth inside the reactor – not outside near raw mako.

Then there’s the marketing copy that punctuates the trailer: “Those destined for rebirth do not fear the unknown.” Rebirth is, obviously, the game’s name, but the concept of physical or spiritual rebirth is absent from the original Final Fantasy 7. 

If a person joins the Lifestream, they become one with the world’s energy – not resurrected or reborn. Sephiroth wants to remake the world in his image, but he’s the only one experiencing a rebirth in this scenario.

Speaking of Sephiroth, the magnificently coiffed villain closes out the trailer by saying he wants to reclaim the world. What from? Well, that’s anyone’s guess at this point. Even his twisted desire to rule over the world as a god never included a drive to “reclaim” anything from anyone.

The trailer also briefly shows Cloud and Sephiroth fighting with Buster Sword and Masamune, something that shouldn't be happening until after the point where Square Enix said Rebirth ends.

Plenty of mystery surrounds Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, in other words, but we don’t have long to wait before the FF7 Rebirth release date. It launches for PS5 on Feb. 29, 2024.