Long before the release of FF7 Rebirth's changes to the Gold Saucer romance scenes, along with its more in-depth approval and relationship systems, hasn't helped the situation. Today, as almost thirty years ago, people still argue over FF7's love triangle.
But what they fail to consider is that Nomura himself put an effective end to the FF7 shipping wars - English-speaking fans just have to look in some pretty obscure places to find it. Nomura's words are as relevant today as they were when first spoken. And when you consider the sweeping changes that have already been made to FF7's story, they may have some serious implications for FF7 Remake part three.
Players Have Been Debating Cloud's True Love Since 1997
Team Aerith Or Team Tifa?
The Aerith vs. Tifa debate is as old as Final Fantasy 7 itself. Both characters have claims to fame: Aerith helps bring a traumatized, post-SOLDIER Cloud out of his shell, and seems to have access to parts of his personality he normally hides from the rest of the team. Tifa is his oldest friend, and while they weren't as close in their youth as Cloud might like to believe, she knows some of his deepest, darkest secrets he's reluctant to let on.
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Ultimately, most people's position in the debate depends on which romance in particular makes them swoon. Tifa's a source of comfort for Cloud in the early hours of the game, effectively serving as his caretaker by finding him a home and a job after he finishes his military service. Aerith is an anomaly in Cloud's life: bubbly, outspoken, and in touch with nature, she forces Cloud to consider things from a perspective he's totally unfamiliar with.
Now, we could sit here for hours and debate what makes a good romantic partner, FF7 characters' love languages, the unfair burdens often placed on women in relationships with men - but really, there's no wrong side to this love triangle. That's what Tetsuya Nomura has been trying to say for decades, even if some stubborn players still struggle to realize it.
Nomura Says It's Up To Player Interpretations
The Player Decides
What many players don't realize is that Nomura has already weighed in on the idea of a "canon" love interest for Cloud - in the Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Guide, of all places, per an English translation shared by the (apparently biased) clerithluvr on Tumblr, Nomura is quoted as saying that it doesn't matter - the choice is entirely up to the player.
By the additional quotes above, you can see that this is a sentiment Nomura has repeated multiple times. He doesn't really think about the character's romantic lives outside the confines of the FF7 story, and consistently refuses even to state his own personal preference of partner for Cloud. To take things further, he's often spoken at length about the validity of various fan interpretations, even if they completely differ from the writer's intent - a concept that Roland Barthes called "the death of the author."
It's Good That There Isn't A Canon Answer For This (Yet)
FF7 Remake Part 3 May Change Things
Romance, too, is ambiguous in FF7 - even the Gold Saucer date scene doesn't have to be interpreted as explicitly romantic. There's a reason Cloud doesn't kiss Aerith or Tifa in either of their date scenes in Rebirth: even at maximum affinity, each one ends in a hug. It's entirely up to the player and what they're reading into the characters' relationships to decide what they mean. And that's not even to mention that it's the player's decisions that choose which character Cloud spends that time with, and how far it goes.
Personally, I'm totally inclined to agree with Nomura. The beauty of FF7, to me, has always been in its ambiguity. The continued confusion about Cloud's background, Jenova and Sephiroth's true identity, the strange, haunting question posed by its epilogue - these aspects have boggled my mind and held my interest since the first time I played the original game.
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However, this problem is only complicated by video games - and story choice-based RPGs - as a medium. The trope of the love triangle is about as old as time itself, and fans have argued about the canonicity of various fictional couples since the days of Kirk and Spock. But only in games and in Choose Your Own Adventure books can each individual audience member decide which characters are in love with one another, and actually have that play out on screen.
Rather than see that as a limitation, an inability to be definitive, I consider it a unique opportunity afforded to video game developers. Only in interactive media can you create such an uncertain canon, allowing every player's approach to a game to determine their ongoing experience of it.
[Warning: The following section of this article contains spoilers for FF7 Rebirth.]Now, to me at least, Cloud and Aerith's relationship has all the trappings of a romance; it's easy to see why so many have interpreted it that way. It quite literally begins with her handing him a flower, and, especially in FF7 Remake, she's constantly flirting with him as they run around the Midgar slums - although that could just be part of her personality.
However, I also have to acknowledge that a Cloud-Aerith romance is undeniably doomed because of Aerith's unavoidable death at the end of Disc 1/FF7 Rebirth. That, along with the sexual connotations of the under-the-airship scene (which hasn't made it into the Remake trilogy yet) have led many to conclude that only a Cloud-Tifa romance could be canon.
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But that could change in the sequel, the way the Remake trilogy's changes to canon have been trending. FF7 Rebirth didn't let us transfer over our Remake saves, for one reason or another - but what if Part Three did? It could carry over Cloud's affinity with his various party , and continue tracking companion approval, eventually coming up with a canon romance partner in the ending based on his allies' opinion of him.
Of course, this is all just...whatever the opposite of wishful thinking is, but it is a fear of mine. I've often worried that the third part of the Remake trilogy would cheapen one of the more interesting, if ambiguous, plot points like this one by overexplaining it, as much of the first two entries' side content has been apt to do. I just hope that, whatever the sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth looks like, it keeps the romance as canon-resistant and open to interpretation as it's ever been.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
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- Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- February 29, 2024
- ESRB
- T for Teen
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
