Widely considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made, the original Final Fantasy VII ends on a note of uncomfortable ambiguity. Did humanity survive? What happened after the white flash? The planet is intact, but Midgar has been taken over by nature, suggesting that perhaps mankind did not survive. It was a beautiful, poignant ending that the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII spat on.
Years in the making, Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally here and it wants nothing more than to replace the original. Riddled with mysteries exclusive to the remake and plot holes that desperately need filling, Final Fantasy VII Remake has us anxious for Part 2.
10 Are The Main Cast In Another Timeline?
Final Fantasy VII Remake’s ending is in another league of its own when it comes to JRPG nonsense. After 30 hours of a more or less straight remake (albeit with some strange, major chances,) the Remake drops all pretense of being a remake and basically reveals that it was a pseudo-sequel all along.
The ending notably features quite a few characters alive who shouldn’t be, all accompanied by a golden glow. Worth noting, the main cast is not a part of this glow. Considering Sector 7’s damage is actually different from how it is in the main story (along with the nature of certain characters surviving,) Part 1’s ending might suggest that Part 2 will take place in another timeline.
9 How Much Does Aerith Know?
Aerith’s character has always had a cryptic, almost ethereal, quality to her, but the Remake capitalizes on that even further. Aerith clearly knows far more than she’s letting on, to the point where it’s not out of the question to assume she actually has knowledge of the original Final Fantasy VII to some extent (why else would the Whispers be present in the church unless she was trying not to meet Cloud?)
Her brief interactions with Marlene also suggest Aerith knows more than she’s leading on. Considering she ends up rallying the group against Sephiroth at the end of the game (instead of Cloud in the original,) it’s hard not to feel like Remake Aerith is hiding something quite important.
8 How Did AVALANCHE Survive?
Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie dying in the original Final Fantasy VII isn’t super sad, but it’s still impactful because these are named, memorable characters dying at a pivotal moment in the story where the party ends up failing catastrophically. With more time spent in Midgar, the Remake is able to build up to AVALANCHE’s death even better, really bringing out the emotion in their demise.
Only for the ending to reveal that Biggs survived, with Wedge and Jessie seemingly in suit. Time travel/multiple timeline nonsense aside, even alluding to AVALANCHE being alive in any scenario is a huge slap in the face to their deaths, the consequences present in the original FFVII, and Barret’s character arc.
7 Why Didn’t Tifa Have A Stronger Reaction To Sephiroth?
Considering the Remake goes out of its way to show Tifa reacting to Sephiroth killing her father in Nibelheim, it’s a bit strange that she doesn't have a more visceral reaction to seeing him. Granted, Tifa actually does visibly react– silently emoting and acknowledging some familiarity between them– but she doesn’t utter a meaningful thing after that.
Keep in mind that Sephiroth killing Tifa’s father is an integral piece of her character arc, and a huge natural motivator for her. Not helping matters is the Remake having Aerith of all people take the lead against Sephiroth instead of Cloud like in the original game. Which is baffling in its own right, but even worse when Tifa is silently standing right there with a stronger motivation to take down Sephiroth.
6 Will Cloud Meet Roche Again?
SOLDIER 3rd Grade, Roche blasts off on his motorcycle to terrorize Cloud during Chapter 4, Mad Dash. Between the motorcycle battle the two share, followed by one of the best one-on-one fights in the entire Remake, and Roche stands out as a real treat. He’s even set up as a rival of sorts for Cloud, but he disappears from the story after that.
Honestly, the Remake can satisfyingly approach Roche in two ways. The first, simply keep Roche out of the picture. Cloud fought him in Part 1 and he was a memorable way of showcasing how even SOLDIER 3rd Grades are dangerous. The second, however, could see Roche becoming a recurring foe. He certainly has the potential for it.
5 Is Zack Fair Still Alive?
At first glance, Zack Fair’s last stand as depicted during the Remake’s ending is clearly a nod to Cloud’s backstory, certain to be a focal point in Part 2. As the scene continues, however, it becomes clear this isn’t quite the Crisis Core finale fans are familiar with. Zack fends off SOLDIER, and carries a weary Cloud towards Midgar.
One could argue that Zack simply dies on the way to Midgar, but both Crisis Core and the original canon have Zack dying as a result of this fight. He doesn’t come out a victor, and Cloud is left to pick up the pieces. With the very real possibility of alternate timelines, Zack could easily be alive in Part 2.
4 How Will Cloud’s Arc Work If He Remembers Nibelheim?
Arguably the defining aspect of Cloud’s character in the first half of Final Fantasy VII is the fact that he’s “forgotten” what happened at Nibelheim. Between Cloud doubting his own identity, having to come to terms he adopted Zack’s, and finally coming into his own man, Cloud remembering that he killed Sephiroth is a monumental moment.
Which makes it extremely disappointing that Cloud not only remembers that he killed Sephiroth “five years ago,” he tells Tifa this more or less in passing with absolutely no significance given to the moment. Part 2 will surely do something with this, but Cloud’s still lost one of the most important beats in his character arc.
3 Can Part 2 Still Follow The Main Story?
With Cloud and company presumably in another timeline where Zack is alive, hot on the trails of deliberately breaking fate, it’s hard to tell if Part 2 of the “Remake” will actually be able to follow the main story. It would be extremely convoluted, but it’s not impossible for Part 2 to reasonably remake a decent chunk of the rest of Disc 1 without too many edits.
Nibelheim being rebuilt could be replaced with the main cast entering a Nibelheim from an alternate universe, for instance. Of course, eventually the party will have to deal with Zack, the fact AVALANCHE is alive, and Sephiroth’s desire to change fate even further. No matter what, big changes need to be made.
2 What’s The Deal With Sephiroth?
How Sephiroth has been treated by Square Enix after the release of the original game has never inspired much hope that his personality would be intact for the remake. Sephiroth has become a larger than life figure very much aware of his own iconography. The original Sephiroth was an actual character with human traits.
Remake Sephiroth is not only more present– appearing more or less from the beginning– his personality is more in-line with Advent Children Sephiroth. Here’s the thing, though: there’s a strong implication Remake Sephiroth knows much more than he lets on, to the point where he might not even be the Sephiroth Cloud personally knows.
1 Are The Whispers Friend Or Foe?
Arbiters of fate attempting to keep Final Fantasy VII Remake on course of the original story, the Whispers are key to understanding the narrative changes the remake has made to FFVII. Of course, they’re also the most complicated addition in the first part of an episodic pseudo-sequel, so good luck with that. On one hand, the Whispers are getting in the way of Sephiroth, Part 1’s main villain.
More importantly, they want to keep the story on course, which we know ends with the planet intact. At the same time, FFVIIR operates on the idea that destiny is something that should be changed, more or less challenging the Whispers’ ideology outright. It’s hard to tell what the party’s relationship with the Whispers will be moving forward (because we certainly haven’t seen the last of them yet.)