The Gold Saucer is easily the highlight of Final Fantasy 7 (FF7) Rebirth, and for good reason too. It’s pretty much the one and only time you get to go on a date with one of your party members, so you need to make it count.
We’ve seen all of them, so here’s our ranking of all six Gold Saucer dates, from worst to best.
6. Cait Sith, Vincent, and Cid
On paper, a guys’ night out sounds great. But in FF7 Rebirth, not so much. The evening starts out fine with Cait Sith knocking on Cloud’s door and inviting him to hang out along with Cid and Vincent. As it turns out, this is just a recipe for disaster because Cait Sith is the only one making any sort of effort to keep things fun and lighthearted.
You’ve got Cid grumbling about how the Skywheel should’ve let you pilot the damn thing yourself, you’ve got Cloud straight up telling Cait Sith to shut up, and then you’ve got Vincent, who literally doesn’t say a single thing the entire date. It’s no wonder why this is considered the “loser” option if you don’t have enough relationship points with anyone else.
Painful, just painful.
5. Yuffie
As much as I like Yuffie, the Gold Saucer date with her is just a bit too cringy at times for my tastes. Things start off well enough, with Yuffie sharing a little bit of Tifa gossip with Cloud. She asks him about his history with Tifa, tries to gauge his feelings, and even attempts to wingwoman him for a little bit.
Things pick up when Yuffie confides in Cloud about how she’s not very good with feelings either, and also shares her experiences as a kid with Zack. Then, for whatever reason, she decides to kiss Cloud on the cheek. And I’m like, man, this could’ve been a very sweet bonding session between two pals, but because Yuffie thinks she needs “practice” she goes for the kiss, which was wholly unnecessary in my opinion.
You were doing so good, Yuffie!
4. Aerith
Surprised? Me too, to be honest. At the risk of sparking some serious controversy with this placement, Aerith‘s Gold Saucer date in FF7 Rebirth just wasn’t doing it for me. It’s strange, because she’d built up so much rapport in Remake, but all of that seems to have just vanished in Rebirth. Their interactions aren’t quite as endearing, perhaps because the game’s working so hard to push Tifa as the canonical love interest for Cloud. More on her later, though.
Aerith is adorable as always, but this Gold Saucer date just gets ruined by all the Zack talk. And look, nothing’s worse than going on a date with someone who can’t stop talking about their ex and clearly still has feelings for them, okay?
Aerith does kinda redeem herself later on by saying that she knows Cloud isn’t Zack, and right now, she just wants to be in the moment with Cloud. It’s sweet, but it still doesn’t make up for all that Zack talk. And maybe my biases as an Aerith/Zack shipper are coming into play here, but something about this date just don’t sit right with me. Sorry, Aerith.
3. Barret
While Barret’s Gold Saucer date was largely treated as a joke in the original game, it’s actually presented as a very sweet moment in FF7 Rebirth. While on the Skywheel, Barret opens up to Cloud by sharing stories about his past and what he was like as a kid. He talks about how he met Myrna and where they went on their first date. It’s a great scene, held up purely by the fact that we get to see a much softer side to Barret, who’s typically presented as the tough guy.
Then, Barret gives Cloud a bro talk. He’s like, look man, if you’ve found the one, you gotta make the first move or they’re gonna slip away. When you think back to how strained their relationship was at the start of Remake, it’s very heartening to see how far they’ve come.
I love Big Bro Barret. I love knowing that he cares about Cloud and is just trying to look out for him. And Cloud, of course, wants to act like he doesn’t care, but he totally does and appreciates what Barret is saying.
2. Red XIII
If there’s one thing better than going on a date with your bro, it’s going on a date with your doggo. I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, but watching Red XIII get so excited about the Skywheel was so endearing. It’s just everything about Red that does it for me: the badass-looking doggo with a goofy voice, him spinning the wheel so hard the Skywheel starts shaking… It’s great.
And if Barret was the champion of looking out for Cloud, it’s clear that Red XIII is the champion of looking out for Aerith. His budding friendship with Aerith has been such a joy to watch in FF7 Rebirth, and it’s so lovely to see Red go from being the goofy doggo to the worried, concerned doggo who just wants the best for her.
As if the date needed even more cute moments, this sequence ends with Red offering Cloud a paw and asking him to shake on it, on his promise to protect Aerith. Cloud takes his paw, pauses then says, “It’s soft.” Cute with a capital C.
1. Tifa
Y’all knew this one was coming. Was there ever any doubt?
Square Enix pushed hard for Tifa to be the main love interest in FF7 Rebirth, and it all pays off in this amazing Gold Saucer date. Everything just fell into place for the young couple here. I mean, alright, there was still a bit of Zack talk because it’s FF7 and we always need something to dampen the mood somehow, but hey, at least Tifa isn’t the one who’s in love with Zack.
For Tifa, it’s Cloud. It’s always been Cloud. This scene reveals to us that Cloud really does feel the same as well, and it’s just so satisfying to finally see them get together. The scene is made even more endearing when Tifa expresses a bit of insecurity about her feelings for Cloud again, and even asks him if it feels weird. The payoff comes when Cloud questions, “Is it?” And that’s all the confirmation you need that he doesn’t think it’s weird, he thinks it feels right.
Tifa wonders if she’s getting ahead of herself again, and this time, Cloud is right there to say no, she isn’t. And they kiss. Fireworks! Magic! Romance! It’s a very well-executed scene, and I don’t think there can be any argument that this isn’t the best Gold Saucer date in FF7 Rebirth, hands down.
