Sephiroth looks a little different in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but that may be a good thing. As a reimagining of the original game, the FF7 Remake trilogy makes a number of changes to its story, setting, and characters. Many of these are minor, like the gentle rearrangement of certain story events to make the plot flow better in a linear format. Others, however, are much more significant, adding a ton of depth to otherwise two-dimensional characters, and quite possibly changing other FF7 Rebirth characters’ fates entirely.
But sometimes, it’s the smallest changes that can make the biggest difference. FF7 Rebirth incorporates a lot of new mechanics, some of which simply couldn’t exist in the original version. The story tweaks required to make these mechanics sensible and functional may be minor, but they still have a noticeable impact. One tiny story change, recently confirmed by FF7 Rebirth‘s developers, may not be the most popular. But it allows for a new, interesting spin on one of its most morally fraught characters.
10 Biggest Questions FF7: Rebirth Will Have To Answer
FF7 Rebirth has a lot of pressing questions to answer, and a lot of timeline issues to resolve. Here are some plot points it needs to address.
Sephiroth Is Weaker In FF7 Rebirth
In an interview with Game Informer, FF7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase confirmed that Sephiroth is significantly less powerful in the upcoming remake than he was in the original game. FF7 Rebirth will include a flashback scene that also appeared in the original game, in which Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth ascend Mt. Nibel to check on a Mako Reactor. Sephiroth’s power puts the young Cloud to shame; it’s clear that he’s much stronger than his junior already, even before his attempted ascension to godhood. But while Sephiroth will still be stronger than Cloud in Rebirth‘s take on this flashback, he won’t be quite as powerful as in the original game.
A Less Powerful Sephiroth Makes More Sense As A Playable Character
Sephiroth Will Be Playable In FF7 Rebirth
But of course, it’s this very decrease in power that makes Sephiroth viable as a playable character in FF7 Rebirth. Gameplay previews for FF7 Rebirth have confirmed that Sephiroth will be playable, although that’ll likely only extend to this one flashback scene. An ultra-powerful, godlike Sephiroth would just be too easy to play – battles would last a couple of seconds at most. The turn-based combat of the original FF7 at least gives Cloud and the opposing monsters a chance to strike before Sephiroth wraps things up. With an all-powerful Sephiroth in a real-time combat version of the game, the Mt. Nibel chapter would quickly become a boring, cutscene-laden slog.
And that’s not even to mention the story implications that players could inflict with Sephiroth’s full power. He may not even be fully awakened by this point, but players could still probably wreak some havoc with his limited connection to Jenova. Summoning Meteor and destroying the entire planet is something that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players aren’t quite ready for at that point in the story, and so Sephiroth had to be nerfed slightly to make sense as a playable character.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and will see Cloud and his friends set off beyond the walls of Midgar to explore the world, stop Sephiroth’s machinations, and see the world outside their slum prison. Now that the whispers of fate no longer guide the characters along the pre-destined path set in the original PlayStation classic Final Fantasy 7, the heroes (and villains) will shape the future. The game will still visit prominent locales and revisit crucial story points, but it will be a more significant departure from the first game from the source material.
- Franchise
- Final Fantasy 7
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
- Released
- February 29, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix Business Division 1
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG , Adventure
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- T
- Prequel(s)
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake , Final Fantasy 7: Dirge of Cerberus , Final Fantasy 7 , Crisis Core -Final Fantasy 7- Reunion
