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Published Apr 16, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT
Murillo Zerbinatto is a contributor from Brazil. He's a JRPG enthusiast who has been around the world of games and content creation for more than six years now. He has a particular love for Final Fantasy and has absorbed all the content this long-running series offers, including its obscure spinoffs such as Dimension I & II, Explorers, and My Life as a King. While playing JRPGs is already a time-sinking endeavor, Murillo doubles down by being a platinum hunter as well.
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If there is one word to define Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, it is controversy. The changes, especially in the story, are grounds for debate to this day. I, personally, am open-minded, simply accepting the novelties the games bring us, but I confess that even some changes left me a bit perplexed.
One of the biggest shifts from the original to the remakes is that each character received more depth. The characterization of many individuals naturally got a glow-up, reinforcing their personalities and fleshing out both what we love about them and their quirks. However, many of these characters are still familiar to the original game, they were just bolstered.
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The goal of this list is to focus on characters who underwent changes that make them feel different from their original selves in the game, be it because of new information or because those weird Whispers did something to them.
We have some characters that not only gained official names and backstories, but also the appreciation of fans, while others, perhaps due to story changes, didn't please everyone as much. Let's see which Final Fantasy VII characters feel completely different from their original counterparts.
10 Cloud
The Degradation Did Wonder For Him
When people asked me if I preferred Final Fantasy VII or VIII, I used to say the latter, simply because I liked Squall more than Cloud. The inner dialogues Squall had with himself made him more relatable, while Cloud just seemed like a conceited prick to me (at least until Disc 3). However, both Remake and Rebirth changed my view of the mercenary.
As I said, both remakes gave each party member more characterization, which is a given. While some members just received a glow-up, Cloud not only got more depth but also abrupt changes that make him almost a distinct protagonist. First, we see up close how the mako is degrading him from the inside and leaving him as hallucinated as any other failed experiment.
Then, we have the whole multiverse stuff, which is still a big question mark in the whole remake, but it has already changed some events. For example, Cloud remembers Zack earlier than in the original, and I confess it was refreshing to see how considerate he is of Zack's friendship, even though he thinks they were both SOLDIERS. The thing is, one of the highlights of the remake for me was making me care about Cloud and turning him into a likable protagonist.
9 Tifa
Helping Cloud Along The Way
One of the biggest questions in the plot of the original was always: "Why doesn't Tifa corroborate Cloud's accounts? Why does she stay quiet and not question him?" Much of that was tackled in Rebirth. Right after the events of Kalm, Tifa talks to Cloud, shows her scar, and tries to bring more clarity to his twisted version of events.
Our former SOLDIER's childhood friend has much more agency in the remakes than in the original, where she only seemed to assert herself when Aerith was around and in the final disc. Here, she is constantly trying to mend Cloud's mind and his memories, so much so that Sephiroth (or a version of him) tries to eliminate her by manipulating Cloud.
Luckily, while she does fall into the mako and fast-forward the Lifestream scene we would only see in Disc 3 of the original, she is saved by a Weapon. I know this seems more like a change in script and narrative than in character, but it also, consequently, changes how we see the fan favorite Tifa Lockhart.
8 Jessie
Psyche!
One wonderful thing about Final Fantasy VII Remake is that, for me, they managed to explore and expand the personalities of Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie in the exact same way I imagined they would be when they were in polygonal formats. Biggs is more rational, Jessie is sassy and upbeat, and Wedge is that big-hearted friend to everyone.
However, among all these, I feel the Remake gave more screen time to Jessie Rasberry, so much so that she is the only one with a surname (okay, stretching here, but it's true!). If it weren't for her, Cloud basically wouldn't have kept helping AVALANCHE. The mission to her house also delves deeper into her backstory, showing that her dream is to be a Gold Saucer actress.
Her entire flirting nature is also intriguing because she is one of the few characters who manages to lower Cloud's guard, something even Aerith and Tifa took a while to do. All this comes together to make Jessie's absence even more distressing after the destruction of Sector 7.
7 Rude
But Gentle
One organization that had much more presence in Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth was the Turks. All members were fleshed out further, had more scenes, and proved more annoying than expected. Some of these, like Reno, Elena, and Tseng, were portrayed exactly as I expected, but the one that had the greatest impact on me was Rude.
Not because Rude is the most interesting, far from it, but because he was the least interesting in the original, and here in the remakes, he gained a bit more presence and personality. At every moment, he seems reluctant about his mission, especially after Sector 7. Plus, he has a discreet crush on Tifa (who doesn't), as shown in his interactions with her.
The greatest exposure of Rude's personality comes upon entering the bald bar in Junon. This segment existed in the original, but it wasn't explored as much as in Rebirth, which shows a lighter side of the Turk and reinforces his human side.
6 Yuffie and Vincent
From Optional to Mandatory
I decided to put the two together simply because the arguments about them are the same: they went from optional characters to full-fledged, pivotal, important party members. That's pretty much all you need to know that totally changed my view of Yuffie and Vincent.
In the original, we only explored Yuffie's story if we recruited her first, something totally missable, and then went to Wutai, an optional area. In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the ninja joins us whether we want her to or not. In addition, we have the whole backstory in Episode INTERmission, which shows when she went to Midgar and her relationship with Sonon.
Vincent, on the other hand, hasn't had as much exposure as Yuffie yet, but I imagine that will change in Part 3. However, compared to the classic, it's already much more, since we could also go the entire game without him. Vincent "joins" the group (although he's not yet controllable) as soon as we go to Nibelheim, in addition to presenting one of the most badass and challenging boss fights in Rebirth, and as a Queen's Blood opponent. We will surely know more about the former Turk's past in the upcoming final remake part.
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5 Johnny
From Zero to… Some
Okay, I understand that Johnny wasn't exactly familiar, but he was present in the original, mainly around the Honey Bee Inn. In the Remake, the character becomes much more prominent and even helps Cloud in his endeavors in Wall Market to invade Don Corneo's mansion, and later becomes a hotel owner in the longest side quest in Rebirth.
The first encounter with Johnny comes when we save him from Shinra goons, and since then, he has begun to admire Cloud. In Wall Market, he helps Cloud and Aerith with their shenanigans just before leaving for Costa del Sol. In Costa del Sol, he takes ownership of a rundown hotel, which begins to rebuild with the player's help and the man's clones.
Johnny is a comedic character who shows that even those born in the slums can thrive given the chance. It's also a lesson in how remakes can expand a game's world without straying from the original work.
4 Barret
The Best Papa
Barret always gave me the feeling of being one of those tough guys, dedicated to doing what is necessary to save the world and give his daughter a future, while still passing as a caring father to Marlene and having a soft heart for his acquaintances. Much of his personality remained identical in Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, just more pronounced.
However, I didn't expect Barret to be a bit goofier than I imagined. When he started opening up to Cloud about Marlene eventually moving out, I felt a unique familiarity with the man (I'm also a father!) and related to him immensely.
Then, he started lightheartedly teasing the party members, especially when we first arrived in Cosmo Canyon. That whole tough-guy facade, wanting to take down Shinra all at once, almost faded. I mean, he still shows himself to be uncompromising with the corporation, but the remakes show there is a comic and magnetic side to our big guy Barret and we can't help but love him.
3 Cid
From Swear Machine to Doting Uncle
In the original Final Fantasy VII, Cid gave me the impression he was one stress away from a heart attack. The man was constantly swearing, fighting, with high blood pressure through the roof, and a cigarette in his mouth. Not a good way to live a life, I'd wager. Also, he was way too abusive to Shera, and even the Ultimania confirms he treated her way too poorly.
That changes when he discovers she didn't destroy his dreams for nothing, but rather saved them. Nevertheless, Square must have considered that Cid Highwind's attitudes hadn't aged well, because in Rebirth, he's a teddy bear compared to his classic version. No more cigars, only a tad of swearing, and a bunch of uncle-y advice for the crew.
Also, he even gets a brand-new backstory, in which he tells Aerith he knew her mother, Ifalna, which gives him extra motivation to help our dear Ancient. To be fair, I prefer this version of Cid to the original, but I'm waiting for Part 3 to see how they will explore the character even further.
2 Sephiroth
Way Too Much Screentime
One of the biggest mysteries in the Remake involves seeing those damn Whispers. I'm not sure how I feel about them and all the story changes yet because I'm waiting on Part 3 to draw a conclusion, but their mere presence changes everything we expected from Sephiroth.
Ultimately, Sephiroth apparently still has the same agenda as the classic. Still, while in the original we only found out about him after the bloodbath sequence in Shinra and later in the flashback in Kalm, the Remake introduces us to the silver-maned, gorgeous fellow right at the beginning, when Cloud is escaping the reactor. Is it really Sephiroth? Is it Jenova? Or is it something completely different?
This changes what we expect from the antagonist a bit. He is way more chatty (which I appreciate, as Tyler Hoechlin's voice acting is impeccable) and present in the central conflict. I like how this works as a script mechanism to show he is in Cloud's head while he slowly degenerates, but was it too much? Subjective, I guess.
1 Red XIII
18 Again!
The original Final Fantasy VII makes it very clear that Red XIII is considered young for his race. However, since we don't have voice-overs in the classic, I didn't feel much whiplash when we first reached Cosmo Canyon and learned Nanaki's backstory. All that changed with Rebirth.
First, we have Red XIII's introduction, with that deep voice and a wise countenance, offering measured answers. It was oddly fitting, and I accepted it gladly because it matched his demeanor. However, as soon as I got to Cosmo Canyon, and he ran towards his home, all youthful with that high-pitched voice change, I had the exact same reaction as Barret: "What the hell was that?"
Eventually, it grew on me, and narratively speaking, it made sense. It wasn't just Red XIII's voice that changed, but even the way he treats the party. He still remains wise beyond his 48 years, because let's face it, he is old, but he no longer needed to keep striking a tough guy pose and could just be himself, the Nanaki we love so much.
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