Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fans start movement to let the developers know how much they appreciate them after the original JRPG's veteran writer reports more harassment

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Sephiroth looking at their hand in contemplation — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 7 fans are spreading positivity on Twitter in 'thank you' messages to developers following harassment directed towards one writer.

Last month, we reported how veteran Square Enix writer Kazushige Nojima was asking Final Fantasy fans to stop bombarding him with messages. Demands were made from individuals that Nojima kill off certain characters in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Nojima promptly asked them to cut it out.

Now, Final Fantasy 7 fans are spreading messages of positivity towards both the original game and Rebirth's development team. 'ThankYouFFVIIDevs' was trending on Twitter earlier today, December 18, with tweets like the ones below seeing folk reminisce on why they love the series so much.

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Final Fantasy VII means a lot to me... I can't express how much joy, inspiration and strength it gave me. This game is like a good, old friend. Thank you so much for your hard work! ❤️ #ThankYouFFVIIDevs pic.twitter.com/Nuy7WsdQhADecember 18, 2023

#ThankYouFFVIIDevs #FF7RebirthStarted my art journey litrally ten years ago, after first watching AdventChildren I was in complete shock of how a beautiful world you guys brought us, today I am able to express my feeling thourgh digital painting, in order to keep the emotions of… pic.twitter.com/Cq7qqh8HUvDecember 18, 2023

#ThankYouFFVIIDevsFor giving us such amazing characters to be invested in for so many years. This story has stood the test of time in a way not many do. Thank uou for all the hard work you have put into this project. pic.twitter.com/ULIDlBwPxADecember 18, 2023

The trend appears to have originated from a Nojima tweet from roughly a week ago, where the writer reflected on internet messages. Nojima recalls how, ever since the days of the Japanese forum website '2channel,' he's seen messages criticizing his work as an inevitability, but messages these days frustrate him because they're instead directed at him as a person.

２ちゃんねるの時代から仕事への批判、批評は何を言われても仕方がないと思っている。それはその人の自己表現だから。でも個人の領域に対して、くたばれとか嘘つきとか言われると、それはやっぱり抗議したいし否定したい。モルモットの写真に汚いテキストを投げつけてくる奴には呪いの念を送っているDecember 11, 2023

So it would seem Nojima is still being bombarded with rude messages on Twitter, where he mostly just tweets about food and his guinea pigs. The responses to Nojima's tweet above are full of people decrying the messages and praising Nojima for his commitment to the Final Fantasy 7 franchise over the years.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is set to launch next year on February 29, 2024, exclusively for PS5. You can read all about what we made of the new RPG when we played it for ourselves in our full Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preview.

Read up on our guide to all the upcoming PS5 games for a look ahead at the other big-time exclusives Sony has slated for next year.

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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.