In the September 2001 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, a feature on Final Fantasy X brought in some familiar developers from Square for an interview. Yoshinori Kitase, one of the the key developers of Final Fantasy VII – and director of Final Fantasy VII: Remake – dropped an interesting comment.
I believe it would be fun to create another story with [FFVII’s] Aeris and Cloud in a ‘gaiden’ [sidestory] game. But for now, it’s more interesting for me to create new stories featuring new characters.
Yoshinori Kitase, Electronic Gaming Monthly (September 2001)
So what exactly is a “gaiden” story? In Japan, a gaiden (外伝) story is a spin-off that doesn’t necessarily fit into the “canon” or timeline of the original. It’s a popular term in anime, manga, and video games that refers to side-stories that aren’t directly an integral component to the original story. This includes “alternate universe” stories, stories from the perspective of different characters, or some other adventure that isn’t directly considered a full-on sequel or prequel.
Examples within the Final Fantasy series might include the Dissidia games or World of Final Fantasy, where the characters have an official appearance but without necessarily constituting a canon scenario to those characters’ actual games.
When Kitase mentions that he wants to do a gaiden game for Aeris and Cloud, most likely this would be some kind of alternate universe scenario – probably one where Aeris doesn’t die. Perhaps a world where they could finally be together, such as in Kingdom Hearts.
We can dream!
Check out the full magazine scan below.
Earth & Sky: A Cloud x Aeris Love Story 