Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth isn’t just remaking the classic game’s middle portion, it’s expanding every single aspect, including how much the iconic Sephiroth shows up in the world map.
The One-Winged Angel was already a surprisingly large presence in 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake, especially when compared to the original game’s opening act. The sequel supposedly takes things a step further. "Remake covers your encounter with Sephiroth, and now within Rebirth, we wanted to make Sephiroth this very clear antagonist and target for the characters to go and pursue through their journey in Rebirth," producer Yoshinori Kitase says in an interview with Game Informer.
Kitase explains that the main baddie “was not seen very much in the [original’s] world map” but the team decided to “put this element forward” for the upcoming sequel. The original game sends Cloud & Co. across the world map in pursuit of Sephiroth, but he’s rarely ever seen in the polygonal flesh. NPCs will instead whisper hushed words about him or you might stumble across the destruction left in his wake.
I’m curious to see how much more Sephiroth we’ll actually see. Part of his mysterious and dangerous allure came from his absence in the game - he didn't need to be physically present to make an impact and the villain has become iconic as a result. Following spin-offs and multimedia projects played up his rivalry with Cloud a little too much - particularly in Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts - but hopefully Rebirth can retain his appeal while still showing off more.
Sephiroth’s larger role aims to make the villain somewhat more sympathetic, too. “We felt it was necessary to have this very clear depiction of how he came to be the person that he is now in Rebirth," director Naoki Hamaguchi explains. "Even as a developer creating this game, seeing Sephiroth discover the truth and fall further and further into darkness – like falling from grace – and depicting this in his expressions, I could truly feel bad for him.”
To do this, the development team has kept the original’s flashback sequence that takes Cloud and Sephiroth on an expedition to Mt. Nibel, where their paths diverge and, more importantly, where Sephiroth receives his tragic origin story. Hamaguchi says the character’s sympathetic turn will continue across the adventure, though: “Throughout Rebirth, I believe players will not only grow to relate to and understand Cloud but also Sephiroth through this game much more."
