The FF7 Rebirth debut trailer and the longer trailer shown at Summer Game Fest 2023 have sparked some solid theories from FF7 fans about what’s really going on with Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth.
Theories about Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its sequel, FF7 Rebirth, have been swirling ever since players witnessed the world-shattering final moments of FF7 Remake. When words came up on screen that read, “The unknown journey will continue,” the brains of FF7 fans everywhere filled up with wild speculation about what that journey might entail. And thanks to the FF7 Rebirth debut trailer, and the longer trailer shown at Summer Game Fest 2023, FF7 fans have developed some very solid theories. Let’s get into it.
[Ed. note: This article contains full spoilers for the original Final Fantasy 7 as well as Final Fantasy 7 Remake.]ShinraCorp used fake footage in the news broadcast
Let’s start off with the first and most obvious “theory” — a reveal so obvious that we feel confident saying it’s going to be an early plot point of FF7 Rebirth. At the very beginning of the FF7 Rebirth trailer from SGF 2023, there’s an in-fiction news broadcast featuring many of the game’s main characters — members of the ecoterrorist group Avalanche — unconscious, loaded onto medical gurneys. Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII don’t just look unconscious in this broadcast; they look like they could be dead. But we all know FF7 Rebirth isn’t going to kill off its entire cast (except for Cloud, who’s mysteriously absent). What’s going on here?
The answer lies in the news broadcast itself. Take note of the logos on the screen: “Shinra Broadcasting Service” in the top left, and “SNNet News” in the bottom right. That’s right, Shinra News Network is a thing, and it’s the propaganda arm of ShinraCorp. It’s pretty logical to assume that this footage of dead-looking Avalanche members has been faked to mislead the public. It’s remotely possible that this footage depicts an alternate timeline where somehow all the main characters got hurt or even died, but more likely — given who’s broadcasting it — this footage is fake news.Sephiroth killed Tifa, and the Tifa we know is not Tifa
The end of the SGF ’23 trailer is a bit confusing — but slightly less so in the Japanese version, translated here by Audrey Lamsam, Twitch streamer and CEO of Aitai Japan. Check out the last few seconds of the trailer, and listen to Sephiroth’s words as he appears to mortally wound Tifa Lockhart.
