Four years after its initial release, Final Fantasy 7 Remake received a surprise patch that made several changes to the game, most of which are presumed to help prepare it for the incoming launch of its sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
While most of the welcome tweaks and improvements are hardly noticeable, Square, for some reason, altered the game’s ending.
In an unexpected move, Square changed the final voice line of Aerith. Her previous line was, “I miss it. The steel sky.” Now, Aerith says, “This sky… I don’t like it.” This slight but possibly meaningful alternation has led fans to ponder the implications of the change, especially with FF7 Rebirth launching soon.
The original line spoken by Aerith was seen as poetic and reflective of her character’s feelings toward Midgar’s steel sky, encapsulating themes of comfort in the familiar and apprehension towards the unknown. The new line, by contrast, is more direct.
At the very least, Aerith’s new line is more consistent with her potrayal in the Crisis Core remake and in FF7 Rebirth. In both cases, she finds comfort in the metal plate above of Midgar yet she feels overwhelmed by the open sky. It’s also possible Square is making the English localization more faithful to the Japanese original, which didn’t mention a “steel sky.”
Successful localizations creative adapting content while preserving its essence. Aerith’s new line may be part of an effort to make the ending resonate better, although public opinion remains divided. Many see the change as a huge downgrade, lacking emotional and narrative significance of the original line, which tied together themes of departure, nostalgia, and the unknown. It’s reflective of Aerith’s complex relationship with the sky and Midgar, as well as mirroring players’ own uncertainties about the future direction of the series.
Moving on, the patch’s adjustments extend beyond Aerith’s line. Officially, the patch was made to apply “fixes to several bugs,” but it secretly updated Tifa’s outfit in a flashback scene in FF7 Remake for better continuity.
Nevertheless, the decision to modify Aerith’s final line years after the game’s release is uncommon if possibly unprecedented.
With the forthcoming release of the critically acclaimed sequel potentially offering more context, we won’t have to wait too long to find out if this change will be viewed in hindsight as a stroke of narrative genius or an unnecessary alteration.
