What if the real Final Fantasy were the friends we made along the way? Final Fantasy VII Featuring one of the most memorable and beloved RPG casts of all time, fans even fell in love with the hard-to-recruit optional characters from the original 1997 game.if there is one thing Final Fantasy VII Reborn Yes, it’s doubling down on these iconic characters and crafting the relationships between each party member.These dynamic bonds is the core of everything rebirth, from side missions to combat systems.All that extra time to get to know everyone will ultimately pay off hugely later in the game, because reborn The most memorable scenes explore how past trauma brings the party together.
original FF7 It often feels gaudy and weird, but it balances those elements with some surprisingly dark storytelling, like the eradication of Barret’s hometown of Korell to cover up Shinra’s negligence, or the death of Tifa’s father. Each party member has experienced some kind of heartbreak and loss in the past, and these experiences have shaped the person (or dog creature) they are now.While each member had their time in the sun, the original FF7 Often these plot points are then abandoned, choosing instead to focus on the bigger picture.
This is not the case rebirth, which deliberately fleshes out the backstory of each character in the game’s 14 chapters and provides a clear thread that connects the entire team together. These are broken people who have suffered in one way or another, but the shared pain brings everyone closer and allows them to form meaningful connections. Cloud could understand Barret’s sadness for Dyne because he too had lost a friend. Tifa understands Aerith’s loneliness, as everyone she loved was also taken away from her. Even Yuffie and Red XIII have a lot in common, as both are teenagers with heavy expectations suddenly thrust upon them and the fate of their communities.
This all comes to a climax in the final hours of the story, as Cloud and his companions explore the ancient temple. There, each party member is forced to face the worst moment of their lives.It’s a harrowing sequence—and easily the most effective storytelling beat in all of the stories rebirth.
Short playable segments dive deep into each character’s psyche, using game mechanics to illustrate their greatest fears. Red Thirteen was captured by Shinra soldiers and dragged to the operating table for Hojo’s horrific experiments, which he couldn’t escape no matter how hard he pulled the trigger. Tifa discovers that Cloud has been stripped of her life, just like her father had been all those years ago. Yuffie is haunted by the shadow of her subordinate and big brother figure Sonon, and no matter what she does, she can’t save his life. Barrett had been immersed in the illusion of idyllic life, but everything was taken away in an instant, leaving only him holding the body of his wife Myrna.
But none is more moving than Alice’s trial. If you’ve ever been lost as a child, even for just a few minutes, this section is like a dagger to your heart. You’ll take control of a seven-year-old Aerith, wandering around the train station in Midgar’s Sector 7 slums, desperately begging everyone you see to help you take your mother to a doctor. But everyone either ignores you or outright tells you to beat it. It’s a heart-wrenching moment that perfectly captures through the story and game mechanics how cold and uncaring the world can be to young children.
So far, rebirth Spending dozens of hours making you fall in love with these characters, only to force them to complete the most daunting tasks imaginable. It sets a somber tone as each member leaves their respective trials and meets again, complete with silence and expressionless faces. The silence was deafening, but there was also an understanding in that moment. Everyone knows their friends may have just faced something as scary as them, and there’s an air of acceptance. As Barrett said, they’re not as alone as they felt during those horrific moments, and they have others to help “lighten the weight off their shoulders.”
This sequence drives home the core idea of ”finding a family” FF7.It’s an amazing change of pace from the absurd lore and goofy antics of the early days rebirth, and a standout moment in a game filled with them. It’s also a powerful reminder that while your personal trauma will never leave you, it doesn’t have to define you.