Final Fantasy VII Remake, One Year Later

[cold_spirit]

It’s been one year since the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. One year since its ending sent shockwaves through the community. I can recall a post from the time: “I feel bad for those still playing through the game. They’re having so much fun. They don’t know the train wreck waiting for them”. I love this.

I’m not going to mince words here. Final Fantasy VII is better for having the Whispers. They are good actually.

Since first completing Remake, I’ve continued to process its message and look over my shoulder at how everyone else is doing. Gotta say, there’s been no shortage of Nomura jokes or Kingdom Hearts comparisons (seriously, please think of some new material). This day, however, is mine.

Aerith, at the end of the Midgar expressway, delivers a speech on destiny. Fearful at first, the tone of her voice shifts. She's in awe of the potential freedom in front of them. A famous FFVII melody begins to play. That melody’s name? Opening. This is the start of a new story. Aerith then asks the main cast (and by extension, the player) to help her, but the speech is more than a plot point. It’s a plea from the developers. Anticipating the vast differences between people that will play and scrutinize Remake, the developers are stating their case. "Let us create." "Let us surprise you." This is the beating heart of Remake.

Final fantasy VII has always been a playground of tropes to convey a message. The Whispers add a possible multiverse element, but they’re ultimately just another plot device. Their purpose is to expand one of the original game's core themes: memories. Our real world memories specifically. And I've heard it said from all around the web: “Meta commentary has no place in FFVII.” Yet we admit our memories of the original game, our passion to revisit this world and its characters, are what pushed Remake into existence. Of course the developers have something to say about that.

Remake is quite possibly the most requested remake of all time. To live up to that anticipation, every plot point from the original game has been expanded. The unused Honeybee Inn lobby? Reinserted. The summon Leviathan? Included as a reference to the original game’s demo. However, never ones to play it safe, the developers have taken it a step further. They've chosen to expand the original game’s themes as well. In Remake, memories of the original story are pushing the characters forward. In that sense the main cast is like us, re-experiencing events with nostalgia. Remake is a meditation on FFVII, more so than any straightforward remake could ever hope to be.

Without the Whispers, what more does Remake say that isn’t already covered by the original game? What further insight do we gain on anything? There's new events, like visiting Sector 7’s plateside, but does that really deepen the story's meaning? What's more interesting is truly new content that pushes the boundaries of FFVII. That's what keeps us thinking. I've read critiques that the Whispers are bad because they don't fit the source material. I mean, Spider-Man certainly didn’t start with the Spider-Verse. The One Ring had no corrupting powers originally. But now? We can’t imagine those stories without those elements. FFVII needs to be given its chance to push its boundaries as well.

The Whispers have given us disagreements, new appreciations, and ongoing debates. They've given us discussion, the most important component of any online forum.

It had to be this way. The collective fandom wasn’t going to let Square Enix create anything but a remake of FFVII. For years the message we were sending was clear: “We're not interested in progressing the story. Give us what we know.” No one looked forward. We only looked back. We focused on the idea of a perfect remake, on resurrecting the past. We stagnated ourselves. Remake is the antithesis of that sentiment. Remake looks forward for us.

I know this group in particular has vivid memories of the original game. Some go all the way back to '97. Those memories connect us to our past selves, to each other in the fandom, and to the creators themselves. We share the experience of having been changed by FFVII. But time marches forward. We grow. We change some more. We may even outgrow FFVII. But the memory persists. Each memory its own revelation, whispering to us from the past. Perhaps it’s time to let FFVII outgrow itself.

 

[Makoeyes987]

This is going to be a rough thread.



I'll keep it simple. I'm agnostic to the overall worth of the Whispers for now. I'm not utterly offended by them or waiting to sign up for their super PAC. I'm just content to wait and see the overall picture of this. It could be interesting with how I think it can be. But that's only if I understand it.

 

[a_apple 2.0]

It’s been one year since the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. One year since Chapter 18 sent shockwaves through the community. I can recall a post from that time: “I feel bad for those still playing through the game. They’re having so much fun. They don’t know the trainwreck waiting for them”. I love this.

I’m not going to mince words here. The Final Fantasy VII community is better for having the Whispers. They are good actually.

The last post I made like this was six months ago. In that time I’ve continued to process Chapter 18 and look over my shoulder at how everyone else is doing. Gotta say, there’s been no shortage of jokes on the Whispers or Nomura (seriously, you guys need some new material). This day, however, is mine.

Aerith, at the end of the Midgar highway, delivers a speech on destiny. Fearful at first, the tone of her voice shifts. She's in awe of freedom and possibilities. A famous FFVII melody begins to play. That melody’s name? Opening. This is the start of a new story. Aerith then asks the main cast (and by extension, the player) to help her, but the speech is more than a plot point. It’s a plea from the developers. Anticipating the vast differences between people that will play and scrutinize Remake, the developers are stating their case. "Let us create." "Let us surprise you." This is the beating heart of Remake.

Final fantasy VII has always been a playground of tropes to convey a message. The Whispers add a possible time travel / multiverse element, but they’re ultimately just another plot device. Their purpose is to expand one of the original game's core themes: memories. Our real world memories specifically. And I've heard it shouted from the rooftops: “Meta commentary has no place in FFVII!” Yet we admit our memories of the original game, our passion to revisit this world and its characters, is what pushed Remake into existence. Of course this game, of course these creators have something to say about them.

The development team is keenly aware that they’re building the remake to FFVII. How could their minds be anywhere else? This is the most requested remake of all time. To live up to that anticipation, every plot point from the original game has been researched and expanded. The unused Honeybee Inn lobby? Reinserted. The summon Leviathan? Included as a reference to the original game’s demo. However, never ones to play it safe, the developers have taken it a step further. They've chosen to expand the original game’s themes as well. We are once again seeing how memories, which are in equal parts fallible and resolute, are pushing the character’s forward. Remake is a meditation on FFVII, more so than any straightforward remake of FFVII could ever hope to be.

Without the Whispers, what more would Remake say that isn’t already covered by the original game? What further understanding would we gain on anything? There's new content, like visiting Sector 7’s plateside, but is that enough to sustain a community? Probably not. What we need is truly new content that pushes the boundaries of what we think of as FFVII. That's what sustains a fandom. I've read critiques that the Whispers are bad because they don't fit the source material. I mean, Spider-Man certainly didn’t start with the Spider-Verse. The One Ring had no corrupting powers originally. But now? We can’t imagine those stories without those elements. FFVII needs to be given its chance to push its boundaries as well.

The Whispers have given us disagreements, new appreciations, and ongoing debates. The Whispers have given us discussion, the most essential component to any internet forum.

It had to be this way. The collective fandom wasn’t going to let Square Enix create anything but a remake to FFVII. For years the message we were sending had been clear: “We are not interested in progressing the story. Give us what we know.” No one looked forward. We only looked back. We focused on the idea of a perfect remake, on resurrecting the past. We stagnated ourselves. Remake is the antithesis of that sentiment. Remake looks forward for us.

I know this group in particular has visceral memories of the original game. Some go all the way back to 1997. Those memories connect us to ourselves, to each other in this community, to the greater FFVII fandom, and to the creators themselves. We share the experience of having been changed by FFVII. But time marches forward. We grow. We change some more. We may even outgrow FFVII. But the memory persists. Each memory its own revelation, whispering to us from the past. Perhaps it’s time to let FFVII outgrow itself.

time police sucks balls

 

[Obsidian Fire]

*picks at nails*

*looks at SE*

You guys are aware the PC people want to play this game right?

*crosses fingers that it'll come out on PC sooner rather than later*

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

The Whispers don't expand on the theme of memory. They convolute it, without adding any meaning to it. If it's true that these characters are now being driven forward by subconscious memories of a past they have already lived, then how can any real human being relate to them? Nothing like that happens to real people in real life. In the OG, the characters were living in a fantasy world, but they weren't fantasy beings; they acted and reacted as real human beings do.

I have seen this concept - of lives continuously re-lived - done very well, for example in "Years of Rice and Salt" in which the same core cast is constantly reincarnated in different relationships to one another, and as different ethnicities and genders, while history moves forward in a alternative world in which Europe was completely eradicated by the Black Death. That book offered much to ponder on the nature of identity and relationships. So far, the Whispers don't offer the same quality of content.

If the whole purpose of the Whispers is to defeat the player's memories so that FFVII can set forth on a new course, then all I can say is, yawn.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

In the OG, the characters were living in a fantasy world, but they weren't fantasy beings; they acted and reacted as real human beings do.

I will say... I have begun to doubt this is the case with FFVII more and more. Especially with the Early Material files taken into account. And what Jeova was back then... It was later essentially split in two into the current Jenova and Cetra. But the point was... everyone could theoretically *use* Jenova. Aerith was just the only person who could do it naturally.

Even in the OG there was a lot of "fantasy beings". Everyone is linked to this giant repository of memories that they can all interact with (and where they go when they die). Tifa fixes Cloud by quite literally going into his head and fixing his memories. That's... not true to life at all (except maybe as a metaphor?). Aeirth's entire arc is about her embracing her heritage *as* a "fantasy being" who has a special connection to the Planet. Sephrioth is a fantasy being full stop. Vincent... same thing really. Cloud himself has a mental link to someone who... basically can direct what he is subconsciously thinking from a long distance. Never mind how Sephrioth can make anyone see illusions so long as they're somewhere near him.

Like... the OG had plenty of fantasy in it... and people just rolling with it and not thinking it was weird because they live in a fantasy world filled with plenty of fantasy beings. Compilation just doubled down on that reality. It's like how the characters in Scott Pilgrim vs the World don't think any of the video-game mechanics in their life is weird because that's just... how life works for them.

Also... even fantasy beings often act react as real humans do. Other Final Fantasy games are full of such characters. It's part of why we tend to empathise with them even when they've got very different life experiences than "real humans" do. "Real humans" vs "fantasy beings" isn't a dichotemy as far as the Final Fantasy franchise is really concerned. You've just got a whole bunch of characters all over the board. And... sometimes the least human characters are the ''real humans" and the most human ones are the "fantasy beings".

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

It's hard for me to put this into words, but I'll try.

I don't think it's fair to use material that was rejected; that's like including chapters an author deliberately cut from their final draft of the novel.

Tifa physically journeyed into Cloud's unconscious, but in real life, through conversations, we can also journey into the subconscious of another and help them heal, while at the same time making discoveries about ourselves. So that experience, though presented in a fantastical way, aligns with the lived experience of human beings and we can relate to it.

Vincent possible committed a major error by being too hesitant/respectful of other's choices, and he blames himself. Vincent works as a metaphor for guilt and the sense many people have of being "monstrous" in some way, and living in fear that their "monstrousness" may become perceptible to other. Here, too, the character aligns with real lived experience.

We could indeed all be more in touch with nature if we tried. Our own planet is trying so hard to tell us what it needs, and we're not listening hard enough because we don't know how to let go of our comfortable lives. One doesn't have to look far to find an analogue for Aerith in real life. Greta Thunberg?

Even Sephiroth's motivations are relateable for real life human beings. He's an avatar of Frankenstein's monster.

Fantasy and science fiction has a long tradition of being essentially metaphor for the way we live now, for our human experience. The OG does that beautifully.

But people re-living the same life over and over, trying to defeat their memories of a life that hasn't happened yet but which they've already lived, so that they can be free to live in some other way... The only way one could relate to that is if one sees oneself repeating the life one's parent lived, when you swore you'd rather die than let that happen. If that were the context, it would be a neat contrivance. However, that doesn't seem to be what the Whispers are about.

 

[looneymoon]

The more I know about the FF7 expanded universe, the less I care, and the less interesting I become to people with passing knowledge at parties.

(By that I mean discord parties ofc)

I'm so full of useless information for liking you guys on this here forum so much

 

[Odysseus]

I've probably argued enough on this forum by now that my opinions are pretty clear, but yeah, I still think the remake is really good. The whispers implementation into the story was admittedly pretty clunky and frustrating at times (though I think that was at least partially the point) but overall I think they serve their function well enough. It's up to future games to decide how necessary they were, though. From my perspective, an FF7 remake would not exist without them, because Nomura, Nojima, Kitase, and whoever else never would have been interested in making an FF7 remake if it had to be the same, and lately I've become a lot more sympathetic to the plight of creatives than I am to the plight of bitter fans who didn't get what they wanted.

There are parts I don't like, like the multiple sewer visits, the drum, the bad plate fall cutscene, etc. But overall I think they did a fine job.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

I don't think it's fair to use material that was rejected; that's like including chapters an author deliberately cut from their final draft of the novel.

I usually don't either. But there's enough stuff from the Early Material files that keeps getting put back in in the Compilation (sometimes without any changes) that it seems Nomura, Kitase and Nojima don't mind going back to it for ideas. So given that we *do* know some of what that stuff is... it's worth paying attention to. Particuarly when it's stuff that hasn't been retconed by FFVII canon yet...

I feel like you can make any story a metaphor for our human experience if you push it... so to me... that was never what made the OG interesting. It's like how you can metaphorically frame almost any conflict in a story as the "trying to get out of purgatory" plot.

Instead the interesting stuff in FFVII *was* the fantastical stuff that intersected with the bio-chemistry and how that all came together in mess of terms. And how all the characters dealt with it... which mainly followed along the lines of a lot of anime tropes... if subversions of a lot of those tropes. (More like, FFVII *made* a lot of anime character tropes famous for the rest of the 2000s going forwards).

You've literally got a bunch of people saving the world by killing an alien-hybrid. With magic. That's what the plot of FFVII is. I don't really know how you can get "how people in real life" act from that unless you get deep into saying everything represents something that it isn't actually is in the story.

You don't get people really dealing with any trauma in a healthy way until... the "Case of" novellas at the earliest. Instead... they deal with their trauma by killing the thing causing them trauma. Which... really isn't the best message to send people about how to cope with bad stuff that happens to them... if your goal is to make characters that are supposed to act like "real people" do anyway...

IDK... it just feels like FFVII has to be warped quite a bit to make it feel like it applies to real life in a meaningful way.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Possibly, but then again, it's possible that different people find different things in it. I hadn't really been exposed to anime tropes or video games in general before I encountered FFVII, so I may well have "read it" through the lens I'm most familiar with, as literature.

 

[Odysseus]

Art is inherently open to a degree of interpretation, and I don't think everything needs to be taken entirely literally all the time, but on some level you have to give that FF7 is not exactly a realistic story where the characters deal with their problems in normal ways. I think there are good messages to take away, but I wouldn't settle your next argument by setting the other person on fire.

 

[Eerie]

Are the early files really rejected, or were they not implemented due to limitations of the system and lacking time before the release of the OG? Those are two different things. We can tell that them killing everyone but the current party was clearly rejected. But it's very possible that they'll use some draft ideas, in a new form, in the future now that the tech is live, and the time is here.

For FFVII, personally, I'd categorise it as "techno-magic", aka technology based on magic, the magic being the Lifestream. There's plenty of magic, Aerith is semi-divine, Jenova somehow cannot die, etc. And to me, it seems that the devs are more embracing the magic side of FFVII this time around, probably because they know that after FFVII, in its own timeline I mean, the magic gets reduced by a lot to focus on a more normal world, that uses way less magic than it did before.

 

[Torrie]

We share the experience of having been changed by FFVII. But time marches forward. We grow. We change some more. We may even outgrow FFVII. But the memory persists. Each memory its own revelation, whispering to us from the past. Perhaps it’s time to let FFVII outgrow itself.

This is a beautiful post with a solid conclusion that you've come to, cold spirit.

One year later, I'm incredibly grateful to FF7R for reigniting my love for this universe. I can't imagine what my life would be like today if the Remake hadn't appeared in the spotlight and I hadn't met so many wonderful fellow fans all around the world. This forum, Twitter, a tiny Discord server I've been part of for a while. All of this means the world to me. I may outgrow it someday but I'm going to hope the day will never come. It's hard to let go of something that has literally accompanied you since your younger days and has left such a significant emotional impact.

Nowadays, I'm able to appreciate the entire FF7 phenomenon much more and analyze its components and tropes much deeper than I could back then, and again, this appreciation was partly formed thanks to the heated discussions on TLS. Now that I'm older, I'm able to project some of my own experiences onto the characters and have them reflected back in one form or another. I'm able to find comfort in this universe, however convoluted it may be, and the complicity of its plotlines and the characters' interactions will never cease to amaze me. I'm not good at theorizing and don't enjoy it much, to be honest, so I prefer to keep waiting for the progression of events and prepare myself to be mind-blown.

At the end of the day, I just... I want to spend more time with you, dear FF7. I don't really care if the solutions made for the Remake were not successful enough, or too far-fetched, or played with our expectations, which they definitely did. I can't wait to play it on PC as soon as it's available, and despite having watched numerous playthroughs with and without comments and having seen tons of fanart and gifs, I'm positive I'm going to be sitting down and blinking my tears away, stopping by every corner and inhaling every bit that the game has to offer.

 

[Smoothie King]

One year in and I'm all in on the project. Whispers, crazy shit, whatever. I'll always have the original and I am very much a fan of the idea that this is a new thing. Just as I'm not the same guy I was when I was in 7th grade. Think about it. None of us have any idea of what's going to happen next. I love that.

 

[ultima786]

I’m also all in. Remake was magic. Never have there been more endearing characters in gaming. Nostalgia up the Wazooo. Amazing combat. They’ve setup mysteries that I have confidence they’ll resolve and I think the devs are self-aware in they they are shaking the fan base a bit. It’s all going to plan and remake was so good that I have faith they’ll stick the landing.

 

[Smoothie King]

I’m also all in. Remake was magic. Never have there been more endearing characters in gaming. Nostalgia up the Wazooo. Amazing combat. They’ve setup mysteries that I have confidence they’ll resolve and I think the devs are self-aware in they they are shaking the fan base a bit. It’s all going to plan and remake was so good that I have faith they’ll stick the landing.

Yup. Singularly unique experience in my gaming life.

 

[Mayo Master]

I know this group in particular has visceral memories of the original game. Some go all the way back to 1997. Those memories connect us to ourselves, to each other in this community, to the greater FFVII fandom, and to the creators themselves. We share the experience of having been changed by FFVII. But time marches forward. We grow. We change some more. We may even outgrow FFVII. But the memory persists. Each memory its own revelation, whispering to us from the past. Perhaps it’s time to let FFVII outgrow itself.

I agree. I personally appreciated the intent from the devs to create a new evolution of the game. While I loved OG FF7, I never considered at as something perfect, or holy, or something better left untouched.

I'm agnostic to the overall worth of the Whispers for now. I'm not utterly offended by them or waiting to sign up for their super PAC. I'm just content to wait and see the overall picture of this. It could be interesting with how I think it can be. But that's only if I understand it.

That's exactly how I feel about the whispers.

One year later, I'm incredibly grateful to FF7R for reigniting my love for this universe. I can't imagine what my life would be like today if the Remake hadn't appeared in the spotlight and I hadn't met so many wonderful fellow fans all around the world.

I know what I would have been doing: 3d modelling for Team Avalanche's "FF7 remastered" project! Given the amount of free time I had over the past 3-4 years, I don't think this project would have gone very well

At the end of the day, I just... I want to spend more time with you, dear FF7. I don't really care if the solutions made for the Remake were not successful enough, or too far-fetched, or played with our expectations, which they definitely did.

Very much this. Personally I was very thankful to be given the opportunity to reconnect with these characters and this universe.

Amazing combat.

Indeed. While what drove me to FF7 remake was the characters, the universe, the visuals, the atmosphere, I was amazed by how much of a good job they've done with the combat system. Personally, I find that FF7 Remake offered one of the most entertaining gameplays among PS4 games.

 

[Prism]

Can't believe it's seriously been a year already. Time flies.

I've gone through many ups and downs on the whispers, but I've always had a "wait and see" approach. I've recently settled on this: any opportunity to have more experiences with the gang of FFVII I'll enjoy, particularly when they feel pretty close to the original characters as far as execution goes. If the whispers ended up changing things dramatically, I'll be here for whatever Square's got for me.

All of the OG FFVII staff members are most likely nearing retirement, so they'll go out with the biggest of bangs.

 

[Stiggie]

I hated the whispers 1 year ago, and I hate the whispers now.

Biggest impact is that because of them I've been mostly worried while speculating about the future entries rather than excited.


I really have 0 good words to say about them, and stand by every single criticism I've given about them, and I've developed more of them as the year went on.
At best I could say that I hope they're supposed to indicate, not that the games' story will change, but only that they'll need to do some things differently because the original story doesn't work in remake format, and that they're approaching it from the standpoint of "what if we made this game in 2020". I agree with that approach, since I also don't think that you could do a shot for shot remake of FFVII, and think that the rest of the game lends itself even less to a 1-on-1 remake than Midgar.
However, even then I don't think that doing that required the absolute travesty that was the whispers.

The most positive things I've heard about the whispers have all been variations on "they might not actually change much", which by itself is the biggest indictment.

 

[Prism]

The most positive things I've heard about the whispers have all been variations on "they might not actually change much", which by itself is the biggest indictment.

I can feel that. One of the best pieces of news was that one soundbyte from when Ultimania came out - that "the game will go as you expect it," apparently.
The worst possible scenario is that the story is radically different AND a bunch of gibberish, which it came kind of close to being near the end. If it's radically different but competent, I'll be happy to go along for the ride.

 

[Misterbadguy]

Loved it, still do. It has its share of problems for sure, some more glaring than others, but it was overall a really satisfying package and a very solid foundation on which the next games can build, in more ways than one.

The Whispers fascinate me in a positive way - I totally get why they're a turn-off for most (I'm the only one in my close friend group who likes them so I've heard it all), but for me they have this fantastical, almost beyond imagination feel to them that really clicks with me. Their musical motif is also by far my favourite new piece of music in the entire OST, and the OST overall is a VERY heavy hitter so that says a lot.

Really excited to see where things go next, although I'll admit I'm certainly a little hesitant over Deepground in Intergrade and what that means in the wider context of things. That's all I've really got to say, kinda boring but I suppose it would be considering I don't really have anything overly critical to say.

 

[crazyrabbits23]

*picks at nails*

*looks at SE*

You guys are aware the PC people want to play this game right?

*crosses fingers that it'll come out on PC sooner rather than later*

still sitting in my room

day after day

hoping

waiting

steam mods

next-gen experience

full optimization for high-end cards

it's all right there

waiting for us

 

[OWA-2]

If they can give a good explanation that connects the Whispers with the concept of souls and memories, then I'm good. Because that's what the world of FFVII is all about, and it should stay that way.

 

[Clement Rage]

I haven't replayed it since, so my opinion hasn't changed.

I was fine with the Whispers, I thought they were completely hilarious as the physical incarnation of the angry fanbase. And they're sort of a necessary plot function in making the player think 'don't take this story for granted'. We're now going 'will they or won't they follow the story' instead of settling in to a comfortable groove.

Slums were excellent, characterwork excellent. I think Shinra Inc itself was botched and the Turks' story no longer makes sense, but everything else was done quite well.