Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's new Moogle design is being called everything from "cursed" to "creepy"

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Is that a Moogle or a weird koala?

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Moogle
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been out for five days now, and it's surprisingly taken that long for players to start questioning what the heck happened to Moogles.

Moogles are a staple of the Final Fantasy series and have had a variety of roles over the years. One thing that usually never changes about these little guys, though, is that they're almost always adorable - until now. The small, floaty, balls of fluff have been redesigned for the remake and now look slightly unnerving.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes this version of Moogle feel so uncomfortable but there are a few theories. For starters, the little guys now look more like a koala - which would be fine ordinarily - but there's something strange about a koala with rodent-like teeth, extremely expressive eyes, and a teddy bear-style body. I'm not the only one who feels this way either. 

As pointed out by @Genki_JPN and @tkn0801on Twitter, fans of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in both the US and Japan agree that the new Moogle is "super creepy" and "cursed af." Comparing the new Moogle to the design used in Final Fantasy 16, Japanese fans are supposedly saying it's like seeing someone's online profile picture and then meeting them in real life and realizing they're not the same person.

"How do we go from this Moogle in [16] to this in FF7 Rebirth?" one Twitter user has shared in the discussion. "I still find it cute but it having detailed facial expressions and rodent teeth makes it look off for me," another added, "my favorite Moogle design will always be the one in KH/Type-0/Dissidia, etc." This seems to be a theme amongst fans with many saying the Moogles you find in Kingdom Hearts is the best design we've had so far. 

In other less cursed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth news, the latest game in the remake trilogy has managed to gain the series' highest Metacritic score in 23 years - which doesn't come as too much of a surprise considering our glowing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review. 

Already enjoying Square Enix's latest title? Take a look at our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth hidden cactuars guide to complete that minigame quest. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.