Here Is Why Square Enix Will Remove Comedic Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Scene

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a much-anticipated game from Square Enix that will be released on 29 February 2024. However, instead of talking about this amazing game, a larger topic is once again stealing the headlines. It is a tale as old as time, and we all know it by this point. The censorship of modern video games. Square Enix, in particular, is one of the companies that is notorious for changing classic scenes. In fact, just last week, a Final Fantasy director stated that they were embarrassed by their original work. Thus, it comes as no surprise that they will be censoring more classic scenes for the remakes.

The truth of the matter is that the changes that the studios make to original work are often small. However, most often, people do not care about the individual change. Rather, it is what the change represents that agitates people. Because there has been so much atrocious censorship across all forms of media, people are no longer willing to move an inch. It has been revealed recently that in the Square Enix comedy scene within Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Cloud goes through Tifa’s underwear drawer to receive a certain item. It is a small comedy bit that, in all honesty, is considered a classic.

Why The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Change Matters

Now, if you think that this is about underwear, then you are not paying attention. I will be shocked if anyone cares about the scene. It is an old classic that we have seen many times before. I have seen it in anime like Dragon Ball and even in Spongebob on Nickelodeon. The truth is that the scene being removed does nothing to change the story. The game will likely still be great. People do not like this move because it is all drops in a bucket. When too many drops fall, the bucket eventually gets full and overflows.

It is not about the underwear scene but rather the willingness of Developers to make so many changes. They censor dialogue, they change clothes, they change the body types of characters, and at other times, they will even change the race, sex, and sexual orientation. This has happened countless times. Whenever it happens, those in support of the changes simply dismiss it and say that people are overreacting. Even in this case, there is an argument to be made in favor of it. Why is it so important that Cloud has to go through Tifa’s underwear?

It is a fair question, and the answer is it is not important. In fact, I did not even remember the scene, and if someone had not told me that they would be removing it, I would have never noticed. However, after all of the horrible changes that have been made to classic IPs, in games and in other mediums like movies, I do not want them to touch anything else because I know where it leads.

Conclusion

We are now forced to die on the underwear hill because we need to draw a line somewhere. You give an inch, and they will take a mile. In Final Fantasy, they complain about everything. They say the game is sexist for having beautiful women. The game is called ableist because of the previous dialogue. They say the game is racist because there are not enough people of color. The game is called homophobic because there is not enough representation.

Every time this discourse starts, Square Enix allows for changes. if they want to exclude or include some of these things in new titles, I think that is fine. However, for remakes, staying true to the original spirit of the game is probably for the best. Changes to improve the game is fine by me. Changes because some are offended by a joke is not. There is plenty of things that offend me. When that happens, I voice my displeasure and sometimes I even complain. However, we do not advocate for changes to fit our personal world view.

FAQ