Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth to end with a new playable protagonist

A potential end point for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the Northern Crater, which, without spoiling much, leaves room for another character to seize the narrative. This change is consistent with the development team's overall approach, which has been far from a 1:1 remake. The trilogy's co-director and the OG's lead character designer, Nomura, previously said that he was the only one who wanted a perfect replication. The rest of the team preferred a more dynamic retelling of the events and it's safe to say that democracy wins over Creative Business Unit I.

Make no mistake, Cloud would remain the cornerstone, but as fans of the original would remember, there's a significant arc where he's absent. This could translate into spotlight moments for other characters - like Tifa taking charge at Mideel or Zack Fair entering the equation.

Who knows? Maybe Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the third game, which started development last year, switches between the timeline where he lives and where he dies. It doesn't make sense for Square Enix to release a Crisis Core remaster and tease that a timeline exists where both Zack and Cloud are alive but Aerith isn't.

Given Nojima's penchant for narrative gymnastics, this isn't out of the question.

Even if we don't get a dual timeline, a temporary protagonist swap isn't unprecedented in the franchise - Final Fantasy 15 has entire DLCs dedicated for each of the game's three other playable characters. Tifa could helm the journey during Cloud's expected mental breakdown, a core part of the original's second disc. If, somehow, Cloud takes Aerith's place, we'd be staring down the barrel of a narrative where the two "new" timelines will try to return things to what it originally was. This would open the floodgates for Zack or any new character to assume control, even if temporarily, while the story resolves itself.

Regardless of how Square Enix shuffles the narrative deck, it's unlikely to stray far from the original story arc despite the new elements. The endgame will probably still see Cloud, or whoever holds the baton last, finishing things off to give the fans the closure that's been years in the making.

So, will Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth be the familiar tale we love, or a wild rollercoaster through alternate realities with a new set of protagonists? The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. But one thing's for sure: both the excitement and speculation is building up to a fever pitch, almost like the tension before a final boss fight. And when that battle comes, you bet we'll be ready, Buster Swords and all.

Speaking of Final Fantasy, Square Enix is reportedly working on the remakes of Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 9, and Final Fantasy X. Finally, a PC port and two DLCs for Final Fantasy 16 are in development.