Aerith and Tifa's roles as FF7's dual heroines are reflected in the choices they make at the story's most important crossroads.
After the Temple of the Ancients, Aerith chooses to leave Cloud behind and go to the City of the Ancients to pray for Holy, putting the Planet's survival above her personal desires. That decision ultimately leads to Holy and the lifestream stopping Meteor, thus preventing the destruction of the world.
In Mideel, Tifa is faced with a different choice. She can join the others in gathering the Huge Materia or remain with the near-comatose Cloud. She chooses Cloud. That decision ultimately leads to the Lifestream Sequence, where she helps him reconstruct his true identity and return to the fight, enabling him to defeat Sephiroth.
Nobody else could cast Holy except Aerith; she's the last Cetra.
Nobody else could help Cloud piece himself back together except Tifa; only she knew the real Cloud well enough to navigate his memories.
Neither one is more important than the other. Their contributions are different, but both are indispensable.
One heroine protects the Planet. The other heroine restores the hero.
FF7 needs both.
#FF7 #TifaLockhart #AerithGainsborough
The fact that the compilation exists ensures that Revelation cannot end the exact same as the OG and that's not what we've advocated for. When we say the story will be the same we are simply saying that it will remain faithful as it has through two games. That doesn't mean we don't acknowledge the additions. That doesn't mean we expect a 1:1 ending of the OG.
We will get an ending that acknowledges the compilation in some way. Be it an ending that ties 7's ending more directly to the world that AC and beyond live in or an ending that faithfully encompasses and resolves those ideas, narrative points, and character moments within 7 as a singular work.
Inherently it can't be the "ambiguous" ending some interpreted us getting in 1997. That's acknowledged. That's not what any of us claiming 7R is a retelling of FF7 through the lens of compilation have ever believed we will get.
FFVII Revelation
Interviewer:
What about the overall volume of content? Players are already commenting that it looks like a lot. How does it compare to Remake and Rebirth?
Hamaguchi:
In terms of overall volume, it's roughly on par with Rebirth, possibly even more. That said, we haven't fundamentally branched or altered the main story this time around. Rather than a multi-ending approach, we felt it was more appropriate for this game to say "this is the story we believe is correct" and deliver that clearly.
However, within the side content outside the main story, we've built in meaningful differences in player experience. Depending on your choices, the storytelling and even how you approach certain challenges can shift -- and the way individual characters are portrayed, their inner lives, can branch in some pretty dramatic ways.
Interviewer:
So similar to choices like the Aerith-or-Tifa moments we've seen before, but more of them throughout?
Hamaguchi:
Yes. At various key points throughout the game, players are given choices, and those choices affect the game experience and storytelling in ways scattered all throughout.
Interviewer:
So if you want to see everything, the volume really adds up.
Hamaguchi:
It does. For those who want to see everything, we're of course including chapter select after clearing the game again this time, so you can use that.
What's important to note is that "resolve" (決意) is the core concept of the game, and this is the end of the third installment. Each character enters the final battle carrying their own motivations and feelings, and how deeply you can understand their inner lives will vary from player to player, based on what you've built up through your gameplay experience.
There are a lot of characters, and each player's level of attachment to each one is different. For example, someone who loves Vincent, by having engaged with his content throughout the game, will hopefully feel more in sync with what he's feeling. That's what we're aiming for.
Interviewer:
So there's an opportunity to really understand the inner world of your favorite character?
Hamaguchi: Yes, exactly.
Interviewer:
Speaking of favorites... mine is Reno. It was mentioned in other interviews that his voice cast is changing. Does that mean there's a substantial amount of new dialogue recorded for him?
Hamaguchi:
The Turks, including Reno, play a bigger role in this game than in anything we've done before. They've had spotlight moments in FFVII spinoff titles, but this time the scale and detail of their presence has increased even further. I think fans are really going to enjoy seeing what they get up to.
Gamespark JP mentions that if FF7 Revelation deviates too much from the OG, there will be backlash. However, if it doesn't, then the meaning of "remake" will be lessened. As such, how did the team find a balance?
Director Hamaguchi says you'll just have to play the game yourself to see if it follows the OG or deviates drastically.
He goes on to mention that every character in this game has their own fans who love and support that character for nearly 30 years now.
This is why he wants to strongly deliver something to fans that makes them feel that following that character, this world, was worth it all this time.
Whether that feeling will come from the ending or the overall game experience, he just hopes you can enjoy the ride.
His main goal is to allow fans, whether from the OG or those who started from the Remake series only, to feel a sense of "I'm glad I have been supporting this series all along."
He is very grateful to have been given this opportunity to be involved in this project for nearly a decade.
Wait a sec…
Revelation would normally be written with レbut the official katakana used is リベレーション which also reads as Liberation. A secret secondary meaning in the title 🤯 this also allows it to keep it consistent with the first katakana character of Remake and Rebirth