Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Director Won't Say Whether Cloud Like-Likes Aerith

Cloud's crushes and love interests are up to players to decide, not Square Enix. At least, that's according to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi after previous comments were construed to say that the protagonist's relationship with Aerith had a sibling vibe to it.

Speaking with Automaton, Hamaguchi clarified how a quote was taken by fans from an Inverse interview last month with the game director. "As creators, we will continue to convey (the relationships between our characters, etc.) through our content," Hamaguchi told Automaton. "For example, no one will make any official statements about who Cloud likes, who Aerith likes, and so on."

This explanation comes after Hamaguchi referred to Aerith as a "sort of sisterly character pulling Cloud along and encouraging him" in December. Fans apparently took this to mean the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director was officially chiming in on a longstanding discussion about the game's love triangle between Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa. But now Hamaguchi is saying that isn't the case at all.

"Again, I would like to convey to the fans that the characters’ relationships are portrayed through content," Hamaguchi told Automaton. In other words, it's up to players to decide who to ship with Cloud. Though keep in mind the story hasn't been completed yet, with the final part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy taking a big step forward recently.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth just launched on PC after previously only being available on PS5 since February 2024. The RPG is also part of a list of rumored Nintendo Switch 2 games on the way. For more, check out GameSpot's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review.