Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been out for five days now, and it's surprisingly taken that long for players to start questioning what the heck happened to Moogles.
Moogles are a staple of the Final Fantasy series and have had a variety of roles over the years. One thing that usually never changes about these little guys, though, is that they're almost always adorable - until now. The small, floaty, balls of fluff have been redesigned for the remake and now look slightly unnerving.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes this version of Moogle feel so uncomfortable but there are a few theories. For starters, the little guys now look more like a koala - which would be fine ordinarily - but there's something strange about a koala with rodent-like teeth, extremely expressive eyes, and a teddy bear-style body. I'm not the only one who feels this way either.
- Monster Hunter Wilds director defends its freakiest new monster from players hoping to hunt it to extinction: "There are people who find Rompopolo cute, I just want to say!"
- The Making of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: "I thought: if we just reproduce the original game with no changes, it will feel nostalgic, but not exciting"
How do we feel about Final Fantasy 7 Rebirths Moogle redesign?A fun little fact: Every conceivable feature to the Mog House moogle was seemingly changed. Eye shape, head shape, ear shape, foot shape, body shape, wing shape, arm length, fur hue, and wing color. pic.twitter.com/qc3ryOpw3YMarch 4, 2024
As pointed out by @Genki_JPN and @tkn0801on Twitter, fans of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in both the US and Japan agree that the new Moogle is "super creepy" and "cursed af." Comparing the new Moogle to the design used in Final Fantasy 16, Japanese fans are supposedly saying it's like seeing someone's online profile picture and then meeting them in real life and realizing they're not the same person.
"How do we go from this Moogle in [16] to this in FF7 Rebirth?" one Twitter user has shared in the discussion. "I still find it cute but it having detailed facial expressions and rodent teeth makes it look off for me," another added, "my favorite Moogle design will always be the one in KH/Type-0/Dissidia, etc." This seems to be a theme amongst fans with many saying the Moogles you find in Kingdom Hearts is the best design we've had so far.
FF7 Rebirth Moogle has been trending in Japan with users saying it looks super creepy! Some users are comparing it to the FF16 Moogle and saying it’s like the one in the online profile picture vs the one in real life! 😭 #FF7R pic.twitter.com/NztPzTSb38March 5, 2024
I follow both Japanese and American ppl here, and I love how both cultures agree that Rebirth moogle looks cursed af pic.twitter.com/LvJe0kyt8xMarch 5, 2024
In other less cursed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth news, the latest game in the remake trilogy has managed to gain the series' highest Metacritic score in 23 years - which doesn't come as too much of a surprise considering our glowing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review.
Already enjoying Square Enix's latest title? Take a look at our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth hidden cactuars guide to complete that minigame quest.
28 years after Final Fantasy 7 introduced a generation to the concept of waifus, Tetsuya Nomura says Tifa's popularity is "not just about appearance"
Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"
