Guessing Game: Where will Part 1 end?

[Wimbly]

Did anyone see the comment on Reddit from Steelers4190? If this 'leak' is to be believed, it seems November may be our time. What he describes sounds credible..

"
Okay so I will post it in this topic. To be clear this is not an individual that I am all that close with. Just a casual acquaintance that I attended HS with and share a similar taste in games with. So he is involved in game journalism with the majority of his content being Japanese games. He shared details with me about the trailer 3-4 hours before it dropped and was 100% accurate beat for beat. I mention this information just to share why I am even given this the time of day. Please understand that I cannot verify this information. I cannot claim it is 100% correct. This same individual also thought we would get information in March-April, but we did not. So either his sourcing is inconsistent, or he has located a new source in Japan that is much more in the know. AGAIN UNDERSTAND THAT IS ALL RUMOR UNTIL PROVEN CORRECT! I am not endorsing this as fact. That said I will now list the information given to me and some may be considered spoilers for those who have not played the original:

FFVII Remake is going to have a HUGE presence at E3. When people say information blowout this will be the definition of it. He says to expect a pretty lengthy trailer that will incorporate game play and story. There will be a game play demonstration as well. We will also get a release date. Not a window, but a date. Early November 2019. He would not give me a hard day. Now, this is stuff we could have all theorized ourselves to be honest.

He also gave me some information about how the game will be split. He claims it will be split into two parts. Part one will end with the death of Aerith. The wait between part one and part two will not be a very long wait in comparison to this initial wait. The games will have expanded plot points and locations with tweaks here and there, but the overall narrative will feel familiar to fans of the original.

Also tells me that the towns and cities feel much more real and organic. Real roads present and feel like they serve realistic functions. A world that feels living. Each location feels unique and feels like it exists for a reason. It makes sense that people put up shop there once upon a time when people were settling in Gaia.

Yuffie and Vincent will be much more organically tied into the story. Said that even though Yuffie is a mandatory character the window that you obtain her optional. Can range anywhere from Junon region to Rocket town. She is obtain via side quest early, but an automatically triggered event later if you do not have in her tow. I think we all figured the two were obviously going to be mandatory characters since they have been included in just about all FFVII related media since the OG, but I find the Yuffie stuff interesting if real and I am not sure how hard that would be to program something like that into a game.

Jenova will still be expanded on, but they are going to keep her origins a bit mysterious. She is going to be frightening with this new tech.

Also mentioned that the Sephiroth scene from the teaser is from the Nibelheim flashback in Kalm. Points to the fact that you can see the road lines to prove that it is not in a reactor like some fan speculation has been.

He also gave me some information game play mechanics:
Limits will be familiar, but different. For example the characters will retain the ability to use all their limit breaks from the OG, but they will serve in different functions. For characters that had the full tree of 7 limit breaks their first limit of that level will be a special attack as in one that you can use from the command menu more freely. Hence Braver in the shortcut menu he says. But Cross-Slash would be used as a limit break in the conventional sense. Bar fills up. Attack is used. Bar depletes after you select. So to simplify it further:
Cloud: Lvl 1: Braver - special attack from menu/ Cross-Slash - Limit Break
Lvl 2: Blade Beam - special attack from menu/ Climhazzard- Limit Break

He also states that Magic and Summon materia will be very familiar in their use. Attaching them allows for those options to show up on the command menu, but you will want to strategically attach materia as the characters will be a little less like "blank slates" than they were in the OG. They will have their niches in combat and constantly utilized them all will be beneficial for players. Trying to just spam one character will not get you very far in the game. You won't want to load your CQC guys with a bunch of magic and weaken their attack and HP stats since they have to be close to the enemies for melee attacks. Where as characters like Vincent and Barrett could shoulder a little more since they do not have to be up close and personal to deal melee damage.

This is the information I was given. Again a lot of it is stuff we could come up with if we sat and thought long enough, but I don't know what this individual would have to gain by making it up. He could have a bad source. He could have a good one as he was right about the teaser. Who knows. Please do not take this as gospel."

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

@Wimbly
Yeah, that was mentioned already, but thanks for making sure it got posted.

 

[Wimbly]

@Wimbly
Yeah, that was mentioned already, but thanks for making sure it got posted.

Gotcha, thanks. Exciting stuff!

 

[Castiel Strife]

Wimbly, that was a very interesting read. I love how he says two parts, because I’ve been trying to tell people forever that two parts makes more sense than three, given the way disc 3 was basically just clean up and final boss. I always thought that two parts would be very possible.

I don’t know how credible this rumor is, but if it is indeed two parts that means we should have this whole thing done rather quickly and hopefully those whining about how it’s broken up will suck it up and buy the games. Two parts would make each part extremely lengthy and definitely worth the $60 each. It would also be a perfect ending to the first part. We will see what happens, but either way this is very exciting and I think we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Suzaku]

what he describes sounds credible..

Just my two cents, but I don't find it especially credible.

To qualify, I've got friends in the industry who have leaked stuff to me, including high ranking people in QA, localization, and production, all working for different companies (unfortunately none at Square Enix). Like, I'm talking crazy shit, too. Concept art still divided into layers, pitch decks, photos taken in Japanese main offices with concept art laying around on desks, powerpoint presentations, design documents.

The part that is really suspicious to me is that their friend is "involved in game journalism," which presumably means a Western journalist covering Japanese games, rather than being a direct contact at the company. So they're at least already two steps removed from a direct source.

In my own personal experience, the employees are the ones who leak stuff, not the press. Especially since, for Japanese games, the company will usually have some sort of agreement with a specific Japanese publication (typically Weekly Famitsu) to have exclusive first crack at publishing announcements, interviews, and articles. Employees at the developer or publisher might know what's coming, and might share it with their own friends or trusted contacts, but spilling the beans to a journalist when there are embargoes and agreements in place to ensure they control who, when, where, and how the news gets published?

Sounds unlikely to me. Not impossible, but unlikely. Best case scenario it sounds like we're talking about someone involved in localization who probably went to a planning meeting or got some memos from the Japanese side of things, and then spilled the beans to a journalist friend, who spilled the beans to this guy, who posted it on Reddit. Even if it is true, the telephone game aspect severely diminished the reliability, in my opinion.

 

[Kain424]

I've said this elsewhere, but it's also little more than what one could surmise from the teaser and what is known for E3. If this guy had come out and actually dictated that teaser ahead of time, he might have some credibility. But instead it's just a guy saying he knows a guy who knew. It's ridiculous.

 

[Ariga]

I've said this elsewhere, but it's also little more than what one could surmise from the teaser and what is known for E3. If this guy had come out and actually dictated that teaser ahead of time, he might have some credibility. But instead it's just a guy saying he knows a guy who knew. It's ridiculous.

I agree with you.

As much as I would LOVE that leak to be true (2 parts, out november is a dream to me), It's just your average random guy saying stuff on the internet. Anybody could say what he said.

 

[Vyzzuvazzadth]

Wimbly, that was a very interesting read. I love how he says two parts, because I’ve been trying to tell people forever that two parts makes more sense than three, given the way disc 3 was basically just clean up and final boss. I always thought that two parts would be very possible.

In the case of 3 parts, it wouldn't be split up the same way the original way with the 3 discs. That indeed wouldn't make much sense. However, from a storytelling perspective, splitting after Midgar and the Summoning of Meteor makes indeed sense. 2 parts work, too, of course, however...

I don’t know how credible this rumor is, but if it is indeed two parts that means we should have this whole thing done rather quickly and hopefully those whining about how it’s broken up will suck it up and buy the games. Two parts would make each part extremely lengthy and definitely worth the $60 each. It would also be a perfect ending to the first part. We will see what happens, but either way this is very exciting and I think we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I commented on that subject in the other thread. For the sake of clarity, I'll repost it here:

"Aerith's demise happens at around 60% in the story and as a player, you lose a valuable party member in the middle of a single game. You spent time leveling her up, equipping her with better gear and Materia, had her heal and revive her team mates, had others do the same for her, she is an integral part of the story... the list goes on. Having to go on without her doesn't only hit the emotional strings but also lets you feel that loss in gameplay.

If any part ends just after she dies, that impact is lost. Sure, it would be a gut wrenching ending, but even more so if the game just keeps going, as it would be if part 2 starts with the Kalm flashback and ends with the Summoning of Meteor. The characters are in revenge mode and as they finally reach the real Sephiroth, everything goes to crap. That's an even better ending in my opinion."

Also, an expanded Midgar along with almost all other major locations on the Planet contained before Aerith's death require much more work compared to everything after that, since there are way less new locations (I didn't count them, but that's my best guess).
Additionally, starting with the trek to Icicle Inn in the next part constitutes as a very weak start, mostly because the emotional build-up to Aerith's unfortunate end is completely missing.

Curious about what you think of these point.

I've said this elsewhere, but it's also little more than what one could surmise from the teaser and what is known for E3. If this guy had come out and actually dictated that teaser ahead of time, he might have some credibility. But instead it's just a guy saying he knows a guy who knew. It's ridiculous.

That's exactly why I'm skeptical.

 

[Castiel Strife]

Curious about what you think of these point.


That's exactly why I'm skeptical.

I guess I should have clarified in my post that three parts could work fine, but yes, obviously it wouldn’t work if it were divided up the same way the original game was divided into three discs. I only meant that everyone clamors it will be three parts because it was three discs. Granted, they also expect it to be three parts since Square, themselves, said it will be like Final Fantasy’s XIII where each part is an entire game, and of course XIII was divided into three games.

The points you make regarding Aerith and beginning the game right after her death are valid, and I have seen them made plenty of times. I just have to disagree. For a new person who has never played the game and somehow has not been spoiled regarding the story, that would still be extremely impactful. “What happens next? Where do they go from here? Will Sephiroth pay for what he has done?” Those are all questions that new fans would be asking. It’s a bit of a cliffhanger, but it would also be an incredibly impactful ending to a game. That being said, who at this point doesn’t know about Aerith? I’d say it’s an overwhelming small amount of people that have interest in the game and have not been spoiled with that part of the plot.

Due to all of those reasons, I don’t see why they couldn’t end one of the parts with that. Still, I also believe that you could end the game right before that event and it would still be a good place to stop. I also agree that ending a part right at the end of the Kalm flashback is perfect. It sets you up for everything. You know what your goal is, you know who all is going, and you know what the plot is going forward. It’s a perfect ending as well, but it’s definitely a lot more of a “wrapped up” ending than the alternative. I don’t see anything wrong with either ending, I think they both could be great in their own right.

But my main reason for bringing all this up is that not many people have talked about the gaming being two parts. You hear an overwhelming amount of people discuss it being three, and some even four, but rarely does someone mention two. I think the game is perfect for being divided up into two parts, and I also think it would win back at least some goodwill for Square when right now they’re being taken to the shed by many fans for ever breaking the game up to begin with. As I’ve stated many times, though, I am as excited for this game as humanly possible. I don’t care if it’s 2, 3, 4, or hell even 5 parts. I just want it to release and I want to live long enough to play it to completion. I do prefer two parts, but only because I’d be able to play the entire story quicker that way. Other than that, I don’t have much of a preference especially when regards to how they divide it up. I don’t think ending with leaving Midgar is the right move, though, and I question how much content they’d actually be able to squeeze into one game in that instance.

Oh and one last thing - I don’t believe this “source”at all, though I find it possible. Any one of us could have went and stated all those things and labeled them as gospel. That being said, this is a very fun conversation to have and at the very least this “leaker” brought us that as we eagerly anticipate a release.

 

[JBedford]

I think the reason people suggest three parts is because (a) saying something is being released in multiple parts doesn't feel like something you say if there were only two of them, and 4 parts is definitely too much if each installment is meant to be game-size. And (b), because the narrative fits well into three segments. In Midgar your focus is taking down Shinra, then you decide Sephiroth is the real threat to the planet so you chase him, then after that's over Meteor is the definite real threat to the planet.

 

[Vyzzuvazzadth]

That being said, this is a very fun conversation to have and at the very least this “leaker” brought us that as we eagerly anticipate a release.

Indeed! I love discussing and debating anything FFVII related (or FF or gaming in general).

While I do agree with several of your points, I'm first and foremost concerned about storytelling when it comes to splitting the game, since that one's less malleable due to established story structures that should be upheld when trying to deliver complete experiences. Everything gameplay related is much easier to change without omitting or messing too much with the source material.

That being said, A complete story needs setup, hook, inciting incident, build-up, climax and resolution. If you start after the Kalm flashback, the setup, hook and inciting incident are gone and you're left with an empty beginning. Those 3 things have to be within the same game. If you relegate them to the end of the previous part, the storytelling falls apart. Same goes for starting the game after Aerith's burial. The reason why they're chasing after Sephiroth and the whole thing about the Black Materia has been established in the previous part and gets (mostly) resolved around 1/3rd into the game.

However, if you split it into 3 parts, you have 3 (mostly) self contained stories that are part of one greater whole. The Midgar segment sets up Shinra (the company and the president) as the bad guy and you "defeat" Shinra to a certain extent since Rufus wants to take the company into a different direction. The Reunion segment starts with the flashback, setting up the real bad guy and the motivation for Cloud and Tifa to chase after Sephiroth, which culminates at the Norther Crater where Meteor is summoned and everything goes to crap. While still a huge cliffhanger, it still does resolve several things (Black Materia, Reunion, Jenova-Sephiroth/real Sephiroth reveal, Cloud's fake persona to some extent etc.). The last segment then sets up Meteor as the ultimate threat which becomes the new goal. That's my main reasoning why 3 parts make much more sense and are beneficial as opposed to 2 or 4 parts. It also takes off pressure for the devs and makes each part/game more manageable.

For more reasons, see @JBedford's post below yours.

 

[Ite]

... because the narrative fits well into three segments. In Midgar your focus is taking down Shinra, then you decide Sephiroth is the real threat to the planet so you chase him, then after that's over Meteor is the definite real threat to the planet.

Yep! Classic 3-act structure.

 

[Tetsujin]

My bad! Fixed! You still think it's that far out, even after that teaser?

With Square Enix, I always assume everything is far out until they give me a concrete date.

 

[Mayo Master]

If I had to throw in a potential release date, I'd say September 2020 for part 1.
Likely to end up with a Final Fantasy VII Remake Remastered Complete Director's Cut edition around 2023 for the PS5 in 8K .

Joining in on the discussion about how FRVII:R episodes could be split: I personally thought that the ending of the "Temple of the Ancients" quest could also be a good break point for the story. It's actually the last time in the game that the party is actually complete, and it ends in a cliffhanger (ok, not much of a cliffhanger for most people, but at least it could leave many wondering whether or not SE will remain committed to the original storyline). That could work for a 2-episodes or a 4-episodes breakdown.
I agree that splitting the story right at Aerith's death would lessen the impact of it - imo it would fail to convey how difficult it is for the heroes to move on after an event that comes as a shock.
I also agree that the 3-episodes breakdown that was outlined by others earlier would be more suitable.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

While three parts could work just fine, I just really don't see it happening along the schedule @JBedford suggested for the reasons I mentioned the other day. Satisfying break point for narrative structure or no, Midgar is simply not enough content for a full game when it constituted such a small portion of the original game.

It was what? One-sixth of the original game? One-fifth at most? Just how many parts should this remake be? More than three is going to be too many.

I still don't expect the first part to go all the way to Aerith's death, but I also still don't know the best point prior to it to select as the break point. I will say, though, that I can see Aerith's death functioning just fine as a break point (possibly for part 2) depending on what tone the development team is going for.

If they want to have the player end one of these parts on a low point, then pick things back up after a period of digestion, they couldn't do much better than here. The only possible better choice would be after Meteor is cast and Cloud is left behind in the crater.

That second option could actually provide an really powerful narrative angle for first-time players.

At this point, the player has lost Aerith, resolved to avenge her, and pursued Sephiroth to the ends of the world -- into a locale that feels appropriate for a final showdown. To then add the even bigger failure of Meteor's casting shortly behind Aerith's death would be a juncture almost too cruel at which to leave the player. Which means they should do it.

This would, I think, really let the player identify with Cloud's sense of failure. Not only did he fail to save Aerith, but then he failed to avenge her or fulfill the task she was trying to accomplish when she died.

I'm getting chills thinking about it.

So I guess I'm ready to predict a three-part game, with the second ending after Meteor's casting and the first possibly ending with the cargo ship sequence. If the parade in Junon is played up enough, this segment could feel like a proper game-end set piece. Opening up part 2 with a new continent also feels appropriate.

 

[Kain424]

What if the opening of the game is drastically different, though. Like, what if it starts with Cloud arriving in Midgar, meeting Tifa, and then joining AVALANCHE? If the original structure of the plot is altered to such a degree, the first part could easily encompass Midgar alone.

I'm gonna go with 31 Jan 2020 the original was released on 31 Jan so why not

You may have to fight Vyzzuvazzadth for the 31st... though I suppose since he technically has called for December 5th, you could have it.

 

[Vyzzuvazzadth]

While three parts could work just fine, I just really don't see it happening along the schedule @JBedford suggested for the reasons I mentioned the other day. Satisfying break point for narrative structure or no, Midgar is simply not enough content for a full game when it constituted such a small portion of the original game.

It was what? One-sixth of the original game? One-fifth at most? Just how many parts should this remake be? More than three is going to be too many.

It's not that drastic. When measured using an any% speedrun, the whole Midgar segment takes up 25% of the whole playthrough. Additionally, traversal distances and times are way shorter in Midgar than in the rest of the game, meaning the story density in Midgar is higher compared to the rest. Assuming Remake Midgar receives more traversal distance and time, 33% for Midgar sound quite reasonable, especially because it has the most potential for expansions (AVALANCHE members, more lore and interactions in the individual sectors etc.).

So I guess I'm ready to predict a three-part game, with the second ending after Meteor's casting and the first possibly ending with the cargo ship sequence. If the parade in Junon is played up enough, this segment could feel like a proper game-end set piece. Opening up part 2 with a new continent also feels appropriate.

Still a very poor ending point. No matter how much they change, nothing set up prior is resolved on the cargo ship. Furthermore, starting at Costa Del Sol doesn't set up any story points, it contains no interesting hooks and there's also no inciting incident related to Sephiroth, the current main driving force of the story. To make that splitting point work, they'd have to either massively change story points to the point where it's hardly recognizable or make a hard to-be-continued cut. Both would be detrimental to the Remake in my opinion.

And the "New Continent" argument is also a weak one in my eyes, since traveling to a new continent doesn't really have any bearing on the story or plot, nor does it have any palpable impact on the characters. It's just another station on their pursuit for Sephiroth, albeit a quite important one.

As much as I'd like to play more than just Midgar and see the world outside and especially the Midgar Zolom, I still firmly believe that ending after Jenova Birth is a bad idea. But if SE somehow chooses that option and succeeds, then... I don't know. Praise them as gods I guess? xD


Edit: @Kain424: Doesn't Shademp also occupy Jan 31st?

 

[Gary Caelum]

It's not that drastic. When measured using an any% speedrun, the whole Midgar segment takes up 25% of the whole playthrough. Additionally, traversal distances and times are way shorter in Midgar than in the rest of the game, meaning the story density in Midgar is higher compared to the rest.

I would assume a lot of that is because you can skip through text and run between screens in Midgar quite quickly for a speedrun. Whereas you can't "skip" through running across a map and fighting random battles.

 

[Vyzzuvazzadth]

I would assume a lot of that is because you can skip through text and run between screens in Midgar quite quickly for a speedrun. Whereas you can't "skip" through running across a map and fighting random battles.

Exactly. And since I assume such travel time will relatively increase for the Midgar section in the Remake, its share in length compared to the other parts should increase as well. Also, we don't have to split the original game at exactly 33% and 66% for the 3 parts to turn out around equally in play time. Game content is flexible. Story is not, or much less so.

 

[Gary Caelum]

It might do, although you also have to account for how much more time it will take to cross the world map.
How long did it take to go from Midgar to Kalm in the original? 15 seconds with no battles?

That's gonna become a far larger part too. It's almost inevitable.

 

[SailorStarDust]

If each gameplay episode is 60-100+ hours, the batshit insane fangirl in me thinks Remake could easily fit Part 1. That'd leave plenty of breathing room and a tighter continuity of Crisis Core, & On The Way To A Smile/Advent Children Complete Remake episodes. (Or...whatever Squenix feels like doing.) I'm assuming most likely, Part 1 = Aerith's death with Part 2 wrapping up the story. Then, more Parts (or DLC?) ala the Compilation titles mentioned.

All that said, Holiday 2019 (December 5th—gotta get those Christmas gift sales in!) or early 2020 (January 31st is one heck of a nice throwback ) feel incredibly feasible for a Part 1 release. One can hope! There's a rumor on FFVIIRemake Reddit about a November release for Part 1, but I think December would be more likely.

 

[Theozilla]

Still a very poor ending point. No matter how much they change, nothing set up prior is resolved on the cargo ship. Furthermore, starting at Costa Del Sol doesn't set up any story points, it contains no interesting hooks and there's also no inciting incident related to Sephiroth, the current main driving force of the story. To make that splitting point work, they'd have to either massively change story points to the point where it's hardly recognizable or make a hard to-be-continued cut. Both would be detrimental to the Remake in my opinion.

And the "New Continent" argument is also a weak one in my eyes, since traveling to a new continent doesn't really have any bearing on the story or plot, nor does it have any palpable impact on the characters. It's just another station on their pursuit for Sephiroth, albeit a quite important one.

As much as I'd like to play more than just Midgar and see the world outside and especially the Midgar Zolom, I still firmly believe that ending after Jenova Birth is a bad idea. But if SE somehow chooses that option and succeeds, then... I don't know. Praise them as gods I guess? xD

I don't see how Cargo can't work as an ending point for first part out of 3. I think you're underestimating the significance of the Cargo Ship climax/boss fight, it's the first time the party sees "Sephiroth" physically in the present in the game and the party's first battle encounter with Jenova, that's plenty good for a climax both gameplay and narrative-wise. And it would make the opening for part 2 more than just landing on a new continent (which is still pretty significant in regards to the integrated plot IMO), it's the party's embarking with a major lead on Sephiroth and questions about why the "Sephiroth" they just encountered was acting so (relatively) strange, particularly when interacting with Cloud. Also having Jenova Birth as the final boss of Part 1 could make for a great parallel with Jenova Death as the final boss for part 2 (and the original final boss of the finale Part 3).

 

[Ite]

The cargo ship is a great climax *within* the second act of FFVII's narrative, but you can't deny that Midgar>Pursuing Seph>Meteorfall is the major structure of the story.

 

[Theozilla]

The cargo ship is a great climax *within* the second act of FFVII's narrative, but you can't deny that Midgar>Pursuing Seph>Meteorfall is the major structure of the story.

From a purely narrative standpoint/perspective sure, but FFVII is not just a narrative story, it's a video game which should have its own pacing and content structure considerations. Which, when those are taken into account, I think ending the first part at the Cargo Ship works just as well if not better than making the first part Midgar only.

 

[Vyzzuvazzadth]

I don't see how Cargo can't work as an ending point for first part out of 3. I think you're underestimating the significance of the Cargo Ship climax/boss fight, it's the first time the party sees "Sephiroth" physically in the present in the game and the party's first battle encounter with Jenova, that's plenty good for a climax both gameplay and narrative-wise. And it would make the opening for part 2 more than just landing on a new continent (which is still pretty significant in regards to the integrated plot IMO), it's the party's embarking with a major lead on Sephiroth and questions about why the "Sephiroth" they just encountered was acting so (relatively) strange, particularly when interacting with Cloud. Also having Jenova Birth as the final boss of Part 1 could make for a great parallel with Jenova Death as the final boss for part 2 (and the original final boss of the finale Part 3).

It's the first direct encounter with Sephiroth, yes, but it doesn't resolve anything, it doesn't conclude anything set up prior, it only confirms Sephiroth's existence and spurs the group on even more, seeing Cloud's Nemesis and the carnage he left behind. In short, that climax (both story- and gameplay-wise) feels much more like the end of an episode instead of a season. Nothing leads to the upcoming Jenova fight. It comes out of left field. If I remember correctly, Rufus wants to travel to the other continent because of intel of Sephiroth heading there. Nobody knew he was a stowaway. Compare that to Midgar where the Group sets out to rescue Aerith while the big goal is still to stop Shinra from sucking the Planet dry. In the end, they succeed, just not the way they imagined.

As for the Jenova end boss parallel, while cool in its own right, I think it doesn't warrant breaking up the story violating storytelling structure.

Furthermore, the start of part 2 needs to set the mood, set the stage, introduce the villain (not necessarily the ultimate one) and generally introduce the player to what's to come. The Nibelheim Flashback in Kalm does that beautifully. Costa Del Sol? Not at all, unfortunately. It also need the player to know what happened before as to not lose the connection to the story. Starting at Kalm is way less problematic in that sense, since it marks the beginning of a new arc and introduces the new villain. Moreover, the beginning has to set up the ending in some way. Midgar: Shinra sucks the life out of the Planet > President Shinra dies. Reunion: Sephiroth sets out to finish "Mother's" work > Receives the Black Materia, the last big step before succeeding. Meteor: Meteor looms threateningly in the sky > Save the Planet from Meteor (and Sephiroth).

From a purely narrative standpoint/perspective sure, but FFVII is not just a narrative story, it's a video game which should have its own pacing and content structure considerations. Which, when those are taken into account, I think ending the first part at the Cargo Ship works just as well if not better than making the first part Midgar only.

Exactly, and in my opinion, the pacing between the escape from Midgar and Junon is not a good choice for the last 25% of a game. It introduces things that either don't receive closure or have too little room to breath (Chocobos, Enemy Skill, Fort Condor, Sephiroth's Arc, the Reunion etc.) and proceeds on a pretty low note between Kalm and Junon. Even Junon feels much more like just some other major station on the way to the real goal. And it's VERY silly. In general, the segment between Kalm and Junon has a vastly different vibe and mood than the whole Midgar segment. It therefore fits much better in part 2, which gets gradually worse until Northern Crater happens. That's much better pacing in my opinion.

Another argument for part 1 being Midgar only: The trailers have only shown Midgar scenes thus far and not even that much into the Midgar segment (up until the sewers). There's plenty more to reveal. Also, from a project and resource planning standpoint, it's much easier and more efficient to handle Midgar as one unit. Extending part 1 to Junon would implicate the creation of many more new assets and systems which youls be better relegated to the next part which can make better use of that work. I don't know how to describe this properly in brevity. I hope you know what I mean.