FFVIIR Official Concept Art & Twitter Whatnots

[Chocobo Eater]

Hmm... Nibelheim is a not a bad idea for a final dungeon. If that happens, it'll be part of a major rewrite and we'll probably have visited all the other major towns by that point (Rocket Town/Wutai/Temple, etc).

Fully expecting Part 2 to play out a lot differently from the original. Maybe we'll get to the Temple early or something, and Sephiroth will torment Cloud right from the beginning. Who knows.

 

[Odysseus]

I think basing the progression of the remake solely on the structure of the original is probably a mistake. The dead air between Kalm and Junon is prime for expansion, so is Costa del Sol and Gongaga. I wouldn't be surprised if part 2 didn't even make it to rocket town, Nibelheim is probably a good place to end it. No way they do the temple as the ending and then leave Aerith's death for the beginning of the next one.

I'm thinking there's going to be 4 games at a minimum.

 

[Tetsujin]

I think basing the progression of the remake solely on the structure of the original is probably a mistake. The dead air between Kalm and Junon is prime for expansion, so is Costa del Sol and Gongaga. I wouldn't be surprised if part 2 didn't even make it to rocket town, Nibelheim is probably a good place to end it. No way they do the temple as the ending and then leave Aerith's death for the beginning of the next one.

I'm thinking there's going to be 4 games at a minimum.

#team4parts
#teamPart2EndsAtNibelheim

 

[Odysseus]

It really just makes the most sense to me. That way you get the Nibelheim mountains as the beginning of the part after, Cid shows up early on, and then Wutai becomes a much bigger location that takes up a decent chunk of the game. This means Sephiroth's brief appearance in Nibelheim probably becomes another big fuck off boss, but oh well.

 

[Tetsujin]

My guess is actually that the mountains serve as the final dungeon leading up to some sort of final boss at/inside the Mako reactor. Mt. Nibel's got that Mordor/apocalyptic final location vibe going for it so it'd be perfect imo

 

[Odysseus]

I was thinking the materia keeper would be a decent tutorial boss, but they could just move it somewhere else.

 

[Shademp]

The Mako Reactor at Mt. Nibel always felt oddly abandoned and ignored after the flashbacks in the original game. There was something teasing and humorously anticlimactic about the fact that you can re-enter the Nibel reactor at your leisure but there is absolutely nothing to find inside, not even monster encounters! The only thing that ever "happens" to it in present-day OG is that Shinra, off-screen, gathers Huge Materia from it.

(Heidegger)​

“Meteor will soon be​

smashed to bits!”​

“The plan is already in motion.​

We are collecting Huge Materia​

from each region.”​

...​

​

Heidegger​

“We've already collected​

Materia from Nibelheim.”​

“All that's left are​

Corel and Fort Condor.”​

Definitely nothing wrong with the reactor remaining a set piece of the past but it's ripe for the taking if new scenarios were to be built in. Even just fighting some Makonoids inside the reactor would be a nice addition.

 

[Odysseus]

It definitely seems ripe for "secret boss" material. If Nibelheim has sidequests tied to it, I could see "go kill the weird monsters that live in the abandoned reactor" being one of them. It'd be like the Type-0 Behemoth quest.

 

[Roger]

I dunno if it should be abandoned, Shinra built a whole new town there and had a lab running until very recently. They are clearly still drawing power, it would make more sense for it to get a refit after Jenova was relocated.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I just think returning to Nibelheim is when things just start to pick up in the story so there’d be a whole lot of padding needed to fill up the game if we end there, plus I don’t really see Wutai being as important as some think it will be

 

[Eerie]

I don't know, there's some poesy to it too. The game may start at Nibelheim with the flashback and end at Nibelheim, in a dashing parallel to part 1 where Zack and Cloud cross t he path of Cloud and company. Plus, I think Wutai has been *too* teased in Part 1 for it to not lead somewhere.

 

[Odysseus]

Remake 2 is probably not going to be paced anything like it's OG equivalent, so I'm hesitant to compare them like that. I really do think an all new plotline is going to be made that recontexualizes and plays into the events as we saw them in the OG. The whispers were already that for part 1, so I expect something similar in part 2 (though hopefully less clumsily implemented than the whispers were.) Nibelheim might feel like a climax in it's new context.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I mean I felt like all the Wutai namedropping was more of a result of fear mongering on Shinra’s part, less of a legitimate threat and more like propaganda

The whispers were already that for part 1, so I expect something similar in part 2 (though hopefully less clumsily implemented as the whispers were.) Nibelheim might feel like a climax in it's new context.

Perhaps but I just think it’s too soon in the story to cut it there to the point where even more of the game will be set aside for new stuff. Using part 1 as a reference, we’ll probably need a lot more to fill up time, and four games is a bit much for my liking (though let’s be honest, they already have my money).

 

[Eerie]

For Wutai, there's also Biggs who said Avalanche has made some pact with them or something - I don't remember exactly what it was. So we may find out what's going on there too - that's why I think it's going to be expanded on. Not necessarily because of Shinra - we may find if they were lying or not - but because of the almost casual info from Biggs. But if Wutai is more important, then it's going to make the story add a lot of layers there. I've been thinking that we may find Yuffie in Wutai rather than around Midgar. Both Yuffie and Vincent will be mandatory this time around, so I do expect their "discovery" by the team to have some heavier context (in Nibelheim it'll be the dungeon, in Wutai?). We'll have to see but that's why both locations - Nibelheim and Wutai - are going t o be a big focus, IMHO.

 

[Saven]

One thing I've been wondering that really doesn't matter at all is, do you think the chapter count will start over, or will it keep going? Will Remake 2 start on 19 or 1? I think I'd prefer it if it carried over between games, makes it feel more like a unified work that way.

I hope they do that for the sake of trying to make this whole project feel as connected as possible.

As for Yuffie, I won't be surprised if she is mandatory this time around, I think her and Vincent we're both optional since they were included pretty late into the original's development. Vincent himself became a lot more important to the FFVII universe as more Compilation stuff came out. If they are mandatory, I hope we are able to still have the option to pick them up early before they become mandatory so it's somewhat similar to the original where they are optional, but only for a brief period of time. It would be cool if I could pick up Yuffie on the first continent before she becomes mandatory after the Wutai side quest for example (if that becomes mandatory too, which I gotta say, will most likely happen based on what has been said here already).

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Remake 2 is probably not going to be paced anything like it's OG equivalent, so I'm hesitant to compare them like that.

But isn't that what you're basing your confident ends-at-Nibelheim prediction on?:

"No way they do the temple as the ending and then leave Aerith's death for the beginning of the next one."



I agree that there's only so much expectation we should place on the road map followed by the original, but it also seems rather obvious that -- if the next installment of the remake resembles the original game at all -- the only logical places the second part could end are Nibelheim (possibly coupled with Mt. Nibel) or the TotA.

Of the two, only one strikes me as readily lending itself to final dungeon status on the basis of its existing design and the plot developments that go down there. Nibelheim would require some heavy plot finessing -- not to mention drastically altering the existing tone of that visit and the quietly unsettling role it serves.

I mean I felt like all the Wutai namedropping was more of a result of fear mongering on Shinra’s part, less of a legitimate threat and more like propaganda.

Like, it could be meant to come as a surprise to everyone when they get there and find it's long-since been mostly submissive to Shin-Ra?

 

[Odysseus]

But isn't that what you're basing your confident ends-at-Nibelheim prediction on?:

"No way they do the temple as the ending and then leave Aerith's death for the beginning of the next one."



I agree that there's only so much expectation we should place on the road map followed by the original, but it also seems rather obvious that -- if the next installment of the remake resembles the original game at all -- the only logical places the second part could end are Nibelheim (possibly coupled with Mt. Nibel) or the TotA.

Of the two, only one strikes me as readily lending itself to final dungeon status on the basis of its existing design and the plot developments that go down there. Nibelheim would require some heavy plot finessing -- not to mention drastically alter the existing tone of that visit and the quietly unsettling role it serves.

I just don't think starting a part With Aerith dying would be great for pacing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's a tough tightrope to walk, since I both don't think the remake will so strictly adhere to the OG, but the OG is also my only real frame of refrence. I both think the major plot points will stay mostly the same, but the way to get there might be totally different. It's hard to make an educated guess right now, too many things are up in the air. The final area of Remake 2 might not be anywhere we're familiar with, and what happens there might be all new. There's really no telling. I'd personally rather Nibelhiem be the same eerie place it was before, not some bombastic set piece.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I just don't think starting a part With Aerith dying would be great for pacing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Ah, see, I think it could be.

I'd personally rather Nibelhiem be the same eerie place it was before, not some bombastic set piece.

We're definitely in agreement there.

 

[Eerie]

Starting a game with Aerith dying would be rather interesting, because you'd think you're going to have her around and "nope!" - it could serve as motivation for the player. However, I don't really think they expect players to not know about her death now - it may be moved further than the Temple of the Ancients to keep a little surprise. On the other hand, Aerith's death makes a really good end to the second part, which would allow the finale scene to focus on Cloud putting her in the lake plus a mandatory speech for everyone to be motivated towards an unknown future, after one death. This is why I've often thought it would end there. Because it would make an absolutely fantastic ending scene. And you'd have the comparison of Part 1 ending with Zack's fate, and part 2 with Aerith's fate. And in the same way, we may learn that somewhere in another timeline, Aerith is still alive, just like Zack may be. It's the best place to put this sort of "WTF" message, because we'd be left wondering just like in Part 1 with Zack.

Obviously though, I'm not against anything and will gladly see the devs prove me wrong lol.

 

[KindOfBlue]

For Wutai, there's also Biggs who said Avalanche has made some pact with them or something - I don't remember exactly what it was.

Biggs mentions Avalanche HQ promising all the materia in Midgar to Wutai but also makes a point to ask Cloud if he thinks it’s true. Considering Wutai’s already been defeated at this point, they’re in a pretty good position to be manipulated but I don’t know if they’ll have much to offer after being reduced to a tourist location. Maybe Yuffie decides to steal materia as a result of an unfufilled promise from Avalanche?

Like, it could be meant to come as a surprise to everyone when they get there and find it's long-since been mostly submissive to Shin-Ra?

Pretty much, we expect Wutai to be this great threat until we arrive and realize Shinra’s just using them as a scapegoat for Avalanche and by publicly linking the two factions (as they already have during the second bombing mission), it gives Shinra more of an excuse to villainize an already-weakened Wutai

On the other hand, Aerith's death makes a really good end to the second part, which would allow the finale scene to focus on Cloud putting her in the lake plus a mandatory speech for everyone to be motivated towards an unknown future, after one death.

Other than thinking ending at Nibelheim is too soon in the main story, ending with a downer ending at Aerith’s death just seems to me like the most obvious way to conclude part 2 assuming there’s 3 parts

 

[Theozilla]

How many Remake installments total there will be is currently definitely the biggest element for theorizing ending points for Part 2, as I stated before if there are three parts total I think there are realistically only 2 likely spots to end at (Aerith's death or Meteor summon), while a total of four parts gives about 2-3 points to end at (Nibelheim and right before or after the Temple of the Ancients).

If the Remake project actually does end up being in the 5-6 installments range, that points to future installments being significantly different in scale/content than the first part was, what with how big it was and how long it took to develop.

Anyways, while I doubt we'll know how many parts total SE is planning by the end of 2021, I do have hope SE will be able to state publicly the planned total by the end of 2022.

 

[Odysseus]

Wasn't there some comment about them talking more about the total number of parts once they start seriously talking about the next installment, or did I make that up?

 

[Theozilla]

Wasn't there some comment about them talking more about the total number of parts once they start seriously talking about the next installment, or did I make that up?

I'm not sure, are you thinking about the interview the first Remake Ultimania had (recorded with Kitase, Nomura, and Nojima, in March of 2020).
Here's two translations of the same parts where they discuss the number of parts and release schedule (first is from aitaikimochi and the other is from game8.com )

Spoiler: hidden for size

Spoiler: hidden for size

 

[Saven]

I do recall they were going to announce how many parts there were, but I think they were going to do that when they are ready to start talking about Part 2.

 

[Smoothie King]

Taking into account all of the ramifications of destroying fate and all that, the only place Part 2 should end is at the Forgotten City. That scene, with that music and that Jenova battle. The game ends with the party completely devastated and looking out towards the snow and cold mountains on the other side, just like they looked out onto the world after leaving Midgar in Part 1.

I really believe FFVII Remake is set up for the perfect 3 part structure. Midgar, Aerith, Sephiroth. Outside of Junon and Gold Saucer there is nothing even close to the level of Midgar from a design standpoint. It can be done. To me, it will be hard to justify a 4 part series.