Final Fantasy 7 fans have a new book to add to their shelves. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Dear Destiny is a new novel written by Kazushige Nojima, and it focuses on Tifa and Aerith in the days before their stories collide with Cloud's.
The English edition is listed for March 16, 2027, as a $26.99 hardcover and an ebook on Penguin Random House, and it is also available to preorder from the Square Enix Store.
What Dear Destiny Is About
According to the official description, Dear Destiny splits its focus between the two heroines. Tifa is haunted by memories of Nibelheim while running the Seventh Heaven bar and trying to keep Avalanche hidden from an investigation by the Turks. Aerith sells flowers in Midgar and worries about someone dear to her who is not by her side.
The description teases that their paths are heading somewhere big, saying that "an angel takes flight from a run-down church, leading to a reunion in the Sector 7 slums that will set the wheels of destiny in motion."
That line points toward the opening of Final Fantasy 7. Tifa's reunion with her childhood friend Cloud in the Sector 7 slums is what pulls him into Avalanche's fight against Shinra, and Aerith's church in Sector 5 becomes one of the most important places in the story. Dear Destiny appears to cover the run-up to those events from the perspective of the two women at the center of them.
A Bonus Cloud Story
The book also includes "a bonus short story set during Cloud's time as a Shinra trooper." Cloud's past as an infantryman is one of the biggest twists in the original game, since the version of events he tells his friends early on is not the full truth. A story set in that period could give fans more insight into who Cloud really was before he arrived in Midgar claiming to be a former SOLDIER.
Details on the bonus story are limited, so it is unclear how much of it ties into the events of Crisis Core or the Remake trilogy.
A Sequel To Traces Of Two Pasts
Dear Destiny follows Final Fantasy VII Remake: Traces of Two Pasts, an earlier Nojima novel centered on Tifa and Aerith. Traces of Two Pasts was released in Japan in July 2021 and reached English readers in March 2023. It explored the childhoods of both characters, filling in their lives in Nibelheim and Midgar with details the games only hinted at.
Readers who enjoyed that book will be getting more of the same pairing, this time pushed closer to the start of the main story.
Written By A Series Veteran
Nojima is one of the most important writers in the history of Final Fantasy. He worked on the story of the original Final Fantasy 7 and went on to write scenarios for Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X, and he has returned to the world of FF7 many times through games and books, including the Remake project.
That history matters for a book like this. Tie-in novels can sometimes feel disconnected from the games they are based on, but a story from Nojima carries more weight for fans trying to understand the characters, since he has been shaping them since the very beginning.
Something To Read Before The Finale
The Remake trilogy began with Final Fantasy VII Remake in 2020 and continued with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in 2024. Square Enix is now working on the third and final part, which will bring the retelling to a close.
With the wait for that finale still ongoing, Dear Destiny gives fans another way to spend time with Tifa and Aerith. Both characters played huge roles in Rebirth, and the ending of that game left many players eager for more of their story, so a novel focused on the pair should find plenty of interested readers.
Are you planning to pick up Dear Destiny, or would you rather wait for the final game in the Remake trilogy to see Tifa and Aerith again?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.