Four years after its initial release, Square Enix patched Final Fantasy 7 Remake to modify one of Aerith's lines at the end of the game.
The update arrives ahead of Rebirth's release later this week and also makes a change in the Remake to Tifa's outfit seen in a certain flashback to ensure consistency across both games.
But why modify this specific Aerith line? Fans are now debating, as seen on reset era. The ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is discussed below.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Review: Free FF7 Rebirth Spoiler Review, New GameplayThe modified line is right at the end of Remake, after the group fights Sephiroth. We see Zack and Aerith cross paths, seemingly from different worlds or timelines, as the rain begins to fall.
Aerith looks up and says, “I miss it… the steel sky.”
The steel sky in question is the plate on which the city of Midgar is built, under which the slums are located. It's poetic, then, and recalls an earlier line from Aerith that also references the steel sky. Furthermore, it parallels both the group and the player's journey: the adventure will continue in Rebirth, in the open world and no longer under the “steel sky” of Midgar.
Except now that line has been changed to: “This sky… I don't like it.”
Apparently, the new line has the same purpose and a similar meaning. After all, Aerith still looks up and comments on the sky.
One fan theory is that this new line further references the prequel Crisis Core. When Aerith meets Zack in that game, she says that the sky scares her because she lived in slums most of her life. And, as mentioned, this line is spoken right after her path crosses Zack's path as the rain falls. Is this a memory that inspires her words?
However, a simpler explanation is that the line has been changed simply to match the Japanese word “Sora…kirai da”, which translates to “I hate this sky”.
The change is certainly less poetic, but is there a deeper meaning related to the Renaissance or beyond?
Fans won't have to wait long: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be released exclusively for PS5 on February 29.
Until then, read our review of Eurogamer's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: “an overstuffed but adorable reimagining.”
