SPOILERS FFVII Remake Open Spoiler Discussion Thread

[KindOfBlue]

I think Yuffie's DLC has almost solidified for me that there will be four parts. It just seems like Wutai is in for too much narrative expansion on top of everything else going on for it to be contained to three -- but I do remain hopeful.

On the other hand though, maybe three parts for the main story and DLCs to fill in the gaps?

I guess bookending at Nibelheim makes sense but I kinda think that idea is overrated lol namely because the plot is mostly a lot of exposition and some occasional hijinks between the Nibelheim flashback up until the return there, so that means a fair bit of filler will be needed to pad out the plot…I dunno about y’all, but I’d be fine waiting until 2024 if it means we can go as far as the Forgotten City or the Northern Crater

They're having more fun with it than I am.

Hey now, ain’t no stoppin’ this train we’re on, might as well lighten up and enjoy the ride lol

 

[Roundhouse]

I'll start having fun when Genesis returns, reciting LOVELESS from beginning to end. If they do want a Laguna style approach for Zack with his own group, he should hang out with Genesis, Kunsel, and Cissnei. That would be a fun team to watch.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

My big thing is that Junon, Costa del Sol and Corel/Gold Saucer are all *ripe* for being vastly expanded upon. The one problem is... they are all one right after the other and are *very* linear. I feel like those *have* to be broken up somehow between two games.

Ending Part 2 at Costa Del Sol actually lets you do something interesting in Part 3: go from Gold Saucer to Gold Saucer. Your first big stop in Part 3 would be Corel and Gold Saucer... and then end with getting the Keystone at Gold Saucer, but before the date. That's the high point of the entire OG where everything looks like it could go right.

And then start off Part 4 with losing the Keystone and you have a very straight line of Temple of the Ancients, Forgotten City and Northern Crater...

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

If they stick to the original plot, is the route from Midgar to Junon sufficiently eventful to provide 40+ hours of gameplay? One of the joys of the OG was the way its pacing swept you along. I'll be happy for them to expand the Midgar-Junon section if the additions are interesting and meaningful, but not if they pad it with fetch quests and "helping out".

 

[KindOfBlue]

but not if they pad it with fetch quests and "helping out".

This is bound to happen either way but I think it’s even more likely with more parts, hence why I still prefer 3 parts but no more than 4

 

[Eerie]

I think they’re going to have a lot of changes in the last part personally. After the Lifestream scene, you have way too much grinding and the search for huge materia etc. going on, but in fact little is going on aside that. So they’re going to have a lot of work there, compared to stuff before that is largely writing itself.

Next part, we’re definitely going to have quests in Kalm and Junon added to breathe life in. The thing I really want to know is how many parts they plan, so we can have a rough idea of how much they are expanding. I do expect a “fun” chapter to take place in each part, ala Wall Market, allowing for the player to breathe and have fun. The GS date will definitely happen, but not in next part, so I kind of expect Costa del Sol to fill that part instead. But… if they want to expand too much, then isn’t it going to be complicated to even reach Costa del Sol? Here’s to hope that they won’t make a game centered only around Midgar’s continent.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I wonder how they're going to include the chocobo breeding and racing with any kind of realism at all.

 

[Odysseus]

They'd all be inbred and deformed if there was any realism involved in chocobo breeding.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I worded that poorly. I meant realistically within the time frame. The OG completely ignores the weeks, if not months, it would take for a bird of that size to grow to maturity and be trained for racing, and it works because the OG doesn't aim for realism. But for a bird to pop out of an egg fully grown and ready to race as soon as it had eaten some greens would be absurd - like leaving Marlene in charge of the bar, which they didn't do in the Remake because it wouldn't be believable. The developers put a lot of thought into the timing of events in the Remake. Cloud can't take half a year off to breed chocobos.

 

[Keveh Kins]

 

[Roundhouse]

Cloud can't take half a year off to breed chocobos.

*SE Lurker sees this and sprints into the VIIR writing room*

'Someone online just came up with a perfect way to pad out the games beyond what we planned! Forget the water filters, this is much better and will extend the series to 10 parts!'

*Everyone in the office starts shouting in excitement and they toast to LicoriceAllsorts*

 

[ForceStealer]

Cloud
"Meteor's gonna fall in about...."

Red
"300 more days, that's what Grandfather said."

Barret
"Three hundred?! Let's go nuts!"

Cloud
"Carob nuts!"

 

[Roundhouse]

Spoiler

 

[cold_spirit]

>casts Life2 on thread

Don't mind me, I'm just a big FF7 thinker and here are my latest thoughts. I don't mean to write so much, it just happens!

In short, the two main interpretations on Remake's ending are that Zack's scenes take place 1) in the past or 2) in an alternate reality. I'm in the latter camp. Below is a breakdown on why I don't think the past was changed.

Some of these I've posted before. Until a theory comes around that addresses all of them, I'll remain unconvinced.

1. Stamp's new design is spotlighted by the camera. If the past was altered, then showing Zack’s survival would've been enough to communicate that. Why present a new design for Stamp as well? Furthermore, the design is not shown to have been affected by the defeat of the Whispers. This suggests to me that Stamp is not an additional alteration, but rather a label of distinction (between Zack’s universe and the party's).

2. The story would have a very different starting point if Zack survived in the past. Consider all the character development that would be affected. Not just the interactions the party had with supporting characters, but also the supporting characters themselves, such as Jessie, Leslie, and Rufus. Consider Yuffie’s DLC story, which takes place before the Whispers' defeat, but released after Remake. All of this would be changed. Altering the past is narratively destructive because it separates the player from the story told so far. (Tommy 86 on Discord made this point, I’m just hijacking it)

3. The Whispers intervene to prevent major deviations from the original game's story. If Zack survived in an altered past, but events still led to the party meeting up and escaping Midgar, then why were the Whispers monitoring him at all? To have events play out similarly regardless of the Whispers' influence reduces their purpose and threat throughout the narrative.

4. Zack's survival scene in the ending is inserted between scenes of Shinra and the Sector 7 slums, both of which follow up on the story as it was told in Remake. It's not separated from the rest of the pack or given a visual effect to hint that it takes place in the past. Instead, it's presented straight and even features a new design for Stamp to boot. I'd argue that from this cinematic perspective, Zack's survival is shown to happen at the same time as everything else.

5. If the defeat of the Whispers altered the past, then why was Zack's survival the only thing that changed? Why weren't other events, such as the Whispers healing Barret's stab wound, changed as well? This issue is avoided if you view Zack’s survival as taking place in another universe. All of the Whispers’ influence on the party's past is retained, but their future is now free, as are other universes where the events of the original game have yet to transpire.

 

[Blue Dragonfly]

New party member Joined :
a deepground soldier

thought i am still pretty new here , i also have thought about zack scene.
first. i was thinking that means he will survive in Crisis Core. that is why i played the game so quick . and it was a disappointing moment when he died,
so what happened exactly? did they just trick us for Playing Crisis Core again ? that is unfair even to me.
so, what if it happened? so Wispers were defeated 5 years later by cloud but in same time in Zack ?
according to Red, wispers purpose is to make sure the destiny will happen. and probably they are acting as will of Gaya. but in original game, gaya survived. at least till 500 years later when NANAKi and his children were still there. And that happened because Zack died, he handed over his sword to cloud. cloud was found by tifa. hired by Avalanche. starting bombing the reactors, being dropped on the church during the mission and....
see , if you add zack, the process will show you a big : " "

it is pretty obvious that Sephiroth and Aerith were Aware of what was happening. and it is on my nerve.