Have you seen the trailers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? Tifa has been quite the star, being one of the most focused characters aside from Cloud. This isn’t a surprise considering she has always been a fan-favorite since the release of the original game. Despite her popularity, there is a large fanbase who believe that she will bite the dust in Rebirth and whoever dies isn’t coming back just like in the original (unless they perform the Aerith glitch).
With that being said, I don’t believe Tifa will be getting killed this time around. Square has given her so much focus that I think they are trying to bait-and-switch us. We haven’t noticed who is actually going to die and it isn’t the character(s) you think.
Why won’t Square Enix kill off Tifa?
Tifa has been a fan-favorite character since the release of the original game. She is the reason for Cloud’s involvement with Avalanche and her personal backstory and character arc is one that has left a lasting impact on the fanbase. If you have seen the trailers for Rebirth, you have probably noticed a common theme: there is a lot of drama surrounding Tifa. For instance, they play out her iconic scene where she attempts to attack Sephiroth. Sephiroth even delivers the line “I killed her, but who is she?” after showing Tifa’s iconic scene where she falls down the stairs upon confronting him in the Nibelheim reactor.
For all those who predict Tifa will be killed, I have a feeling Square Enix won’t do it. The main reason is because of the trailers. With such a beaming spotlight placed on her and the uncertainty of her fate, I think Square is using it to draw attention away from who I believe will truly die; Aerith and Cloud. For those of you who are thinking I am crazy, hear me out first.
So why are Aerith and Cloud destined to die?
It makes sense that Aerith would die considering her death played a crucial role in the story of the original. For starters, she was capable of wielding the White Materia and summoning Holy. On top of that, her avoidance of death would mean that her soul doesn’t enter the lifestream. Her death played a pivotal role in the story because it was through those two events that she was able to plead to the Lifestream to stop Meteor. Plus, from a story perspective, what reason does Sephiroth have to kill any of the other side characters? He targets Aerith because of her lineage which is the only thing that stands in his way.
I don’t believe Square will have Aerith die in the same way, however. After all, goody-two-shoes boyfriend Zack is still alive even though she doesn’t know it. I believe Square will have this crucial moment play out in one of two ways. First, Zack will rescue his beloved as Sephiroth is bringing down the metaphorical hammer. Of course, Zack will probably appear in the timeline because of some break in the timelines. This will ultimately change fate once again. Since Aerith needs to die, the Whispers of Fate will make their return from Remake and correct the course of the timeline. This will happen because they were never truly defeated, but only suppressed by our actions in the Remake.
The second scenario, and the one I feel more strongly about, is that Zack will kill Aerith. We already know that Sephiroth can control others who have Jenova Cells. He could potentially use this ability to manipulate Zack during a vulnerable moment, turning him into a puppet and making him kill his beloved. This would add more shock to the story and give Zack a monumental reason to want that sonofabitch Sephiroth killed.
So what about Cloud?
Now that I have covered Aerith, let’s talk about the boy whose hair defies all gravity, Cloud. This golden child will die, but it won’t be him. Remember, we are working with multiple timelines and if Zack can crossover, that means another version of Cloud potentially could.
I desperately want Zack to be the hero of this tale, but he will most likely share the spotlight with Cloud as they both defeat Sephiroth in their own separate timelines. As it will hit hard for the audience, I believe Square will kill off Cloud, but it will be the Cloud from the “Zack’s alive” timeline. Zack will be brought to his lowest point after witnessing the death of the friend he was willing to die for (and in an alternate timeline did). This will set up the moment when our Cloud from Remake, or “Cloud Prime,” will appear to help Zack finish off Sephiroth once and for all. Bringing the duo back together from Crisis Core will be more meaningful than having Cloud be the solo hero since Zack is the one that Cloud looked up to and whose life was ultimately cut short.
So there you have it. I think that Aerith and Cloud are the ones destined to die while Tifa will remain very much alive and well. The weight of these characters dying has more of an impact on the story and killing off the one character that everyone believes could never die will make for one hell of a shocking moment. Now we just need to wait and see if Square Enix has the guts to kill off one of the most beloved characters of the franchise.
