Square Enix
This clause contains story despoiler forFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth .
Ahead ofFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth‘s launching , fans were buzzing about how the sequel would tackle Aerith ’s report . The holy healer was a major focus of Square Enix ’s selling , making it clear that one of gaming ’s most iconic moments would be polar to the escapade . But for me , I was more curious about how another tragedy would act out : the taradiddle of Barret and Dyne .
Square Enix
last Fantasy VIIwill perpetually be a particular game to me because it ’s the first one I played in which the characters feel like tangible people instead of avatar . Prior to that , characters in biz seemed to only exist in the setting of your main character interacting with them . When I first playact it , I never once questioned why Barret had a heavy weapon for an weapon system or asked if there was a story behind his daughter Marlene . Once I strain Corel and then the prison below the Gold Saucer , I started to see that Barret had an entire life before I run across him that informed every part of his role .
Those two togs come to a head with a encounter with Dyne , one of his old pal who turns into a sub - boss in both the original liberation andRebirth . While I do n’t be intimate that a remaking could ever retroflex how that character - defining moment felt at the time , Rebirth‘s take on the Dyne saga winds up being one of its good moments . That ’s thanks to one small tweak that induce it all palpate that much more genuine .
You’re gonna carry that weight
The setup for Barret and Dyne ’s confrontation is closely indistinguishable in both releases . We get wind that Barret push to allow Shinra to build a Mako reactor in their town while his friend Dyne react the idea . Dyne is overruled with tragical results . A few years later , the reactor blows , Shinra comes in to cover it up , and Barret and Dyne lose their arms in the procedure . Barret assumes Dyne is bushed and get hold of it upon himself to look after his daughter Marlene as his own .
Dyne does n’t give-up the ghost , though ; he survives and goes mad while search vengeance against Shinra .
The story does n’t modify much leading up to their reunification and subsequent fight inRebirth , but one subtle change leaves a live on effect . Looking back at the original scene , Barret separate Dyne Marlene is alive , and they can go see her right now , but Dyne knows that is n’t true . He is lucid enough to know that he ’s done too much to be a founder any longer . He gives Barret his wife ’s pendant to decease on to Marlene and tells him never to make her cry . In all way but outright saying it , Dyne forgive Barret and gives him his benediction to give care for Marlene — to be her real father . With nothing left to live for , he commits suicide by leap from a cliff .
Rebirthdoes not give us such a sporting and tidy finale ; Dyne does not forgive Barret . He explicitly pick him for everything , and not without reason . It was Barret who invited Shinra to their township , leading to both their sept being lost , save for Marlene . Dyne had no idea that Marlene experience , paving the way for him to become eat by hatred , rage , and retaliation . By the time he realize she is alive again , he knows there ’s no plump back . She would n’t recognize him anymore . His right to be a estimable father was slip from him , and in his eyes , Barret was the thief . Before he passes off , he lets him know as much . He puts the weight of the life he may have had with his daughter on Barret ’s articulatio humeri .
He does n’t commit self-destruction this fourth dimension , at least not directly . alternatively , he knowingly makes a final stand against overpowering odds . He knows he ca n’t go on , and the only way he can provide himself to die is by fighting . It ’s a more nuanced conclusion for the character that feels deserve .
Both of these man are forced to manage with being the salutary Fatherhood they can at this second . Barret , despite knowing Dyne is unsound and possibly even thinking Marlene would be practiced off with him , is still unforced to give that all up to try and atone for his greatest sin . Dyne has to conciliate with the fact that he is n’t primed to raise his daughter anymore . Any relief and joy he may have had discovering the one person in the human beings he care for most is still alive is buried beneath the drab realization that he ca n’t tolerate himself to accede her life again .
By making that small change , Barret ’s entire motive and outlook for the oddment ofFinal Fantasy VIIis totally recontextualized . Barret is n’t face down unimaginable betting odds to economize the macrocosm just to protect Marlene . That ’s still a major component of his electric arc , but now he has an certificate of indebtedness to Dyne , too . Marlene now symbolize his unending onus to atone for the unforgivable .
Barret and Dyne ’s electric arc already stood out as one of the more fleshed - out sections in this chapter ofFF7,but the wayRebirthis capable to build upon and spotlight this and other character moment is what makes this entire remake experiment worthwhile . It is n’t just the fantastic performance or enhanced graphic that get up these graphic symbol from mere avatars to material body - and - blood graphic symbol , but the lowly ways the squad change their stories or how they ’re delivered that make them resonate so much more .
Final Fantasy VII Rebirthis out now on PS5 .
