Square Enix decides to 'censor' some scenes in Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake is an action role-playing game by Square Enix and released for PlayStation 4 in April 2020. An enhanced version, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows in 2021. The game is the first in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII. Set in the dystopian cyberpunk metropolis of Midgar, players control the mercenary Cloud Strife. He joins AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group trying to stop the powerful megacorporation Shinra from using the planet's life essence as an energy source. The gameplay combines real-time action with role-playing elements similar to Dissidia Final Fantasy.

After four years of no updates to the game, Square Enix unexpectedly decided to release a new update with a size of 4.5GB to change a dialogue at the end of the game and "censor" some of Tifa's past scenes in the Cowgirl outfit.

While these scenes don't appear frequently, Square Enix's actions raise questions in the minds of many, "If they don't appear often, why censor them?" This action raises concerns about censorship issues, suggesting that large developers like Square Enix could release games first, then update them to censor content.

Particularly with the later release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Febuary, which was previously advertised with provocative scenes featuring Tifa and Aerith, it has attracted attention from many fans in the community. Fans worry that the company will continue to introduce censorship into this version.

While this change may not be widely accepted by fans, the altered scenes involve Tifa's past when she was only 15 years old, so this action is somewhat understandable. However, a user named tifabro on NexusMods disagreed; they created a mod to "restore" the censored scenes and uploaded it to the platform. However, within just 24 hours, the mod was promptly disabled, leading many to believe it was at Square Enix's request.

Whether this action will continue in the latest installment of Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, titled Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, released on February 29, 2024, remains to be seen. If you're interested in experiencing both Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, you can use dLcompare's price comparison tool to get the best deals.