Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Director Clarifies Comments on Cloud and Aerith Relationship

Summary

  • Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s director stated that his comments about Cloud and Aerith’s relationship were misunderstood.
  • Fans were surprised by Hamaguchi when he described Aerith’s relationship with cloud as “sisterly.”
  • Square Enix won’t comment on character relationships, potentially leaving the love triangle between Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa open-ended.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi recently clarified past comments he made about the nature of Cloud and Aerith’s relationship in the new continuity. For longtime Final Fantasy fans, the love triangle between Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Aerith Gainsborough is one of the most debated character dynamics in the series, with both the original Final Fantasy 7 and last year’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth giving Cloud plenty of tender moments with both girls. In the original Final Fantasy 7 continuity, Cloud seems destined to build a romance with Tifa, even if the series hasn’t made it clear if they are in such a relationship.

The rebooting of the Final Fantasy 7 storyline in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ignited the debate anew, with plenty of fans speculating about how Square Enix might alter both Aerith’s tragic fate and who Cloud would end up with. In December, FF7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi commented on the relationship between the game’s three leads and described Aerith as a “sisterly” character to Cloud. Fans who prefer to see Cloud and Aerith as a romantic couple were taken aback by this statement, even as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase seemingly left the idea of the pairing open.

Related

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Officially Steam Deck Verified

Square Enix confirms that the upcoming PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is officially Steam Deck verified ahead of its impending release.

Almost a month after his initial comments about Cloud and Aerith having a sibling-like dynamic, Naoki Hamaguchi told Automation that he was misunderstood, likely due to differences in language and culture between Japanese and English. He went on to say that nobody at Square Enix would comment on the nature of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s character dynamics outside the game itself. “As creators, we will continue to convey [the relationships between our characters] through our content […] For example, no one will make any official statements about who Cloud likes, who Aerith likes, and so on.”

Cloud and Aerith Might Still Have a Romance in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

As anyone who played through the original Final Fantasy 7 can attest, Cloud’s relationships with both Aerith and Tifa are complicated by both his shared history with the former and his own questionable memories. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth allowed players to shape the dynamics of the love triangle through dialogue options, with Cloud possibly going on a date with either his potential love interests at the Gold Saucer.

As creators, we will continue to convey [the relationships between our characters] through our content […] For example, no one will make any official statements about who Cloud likes, who Aerith likes, and so on.

No matter who Cloud goes on the date with, Aerith seems to meet a fate similar to what happened to her in the original game at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, though things are more ambiguous this time around. This will likely put a new twist on her relationship with Cloud in the third Final Fantasy 7 Remake game, but for now Naoki Hamaguchi and the rest of the team at Square Enix are staying tight-lipped about how the classic love triangle will play out in the new timeline.

Leave a Comment