How far do you think Part 2 will go?

[Saven]

Since part 1 is ending where the first act ends in the original FFVII, I assume that the second part will end where Act II ends - Sephiroth summoning Meteor.

 

[AerithLives]

With Part 1 coming out only six months from now - still seems like an eternity, though - I was thinking about how far they'll go in the overall FFVII story in Part 2. Given how massive they've made Midgar alone, I could see them going as far as Junon and the Cargo Ship and starting Part 3 with the arrival in Costa Del Sol. Seems like there are plenty of things that we would do in Junon, especially if we get to control the other party members during the group's infiltration of the city and actually get to see how they all sneak aboard the ship instead of Cloud just finding them already there like in the original. Maybe seeing wanted posters of Yuffie in Kalm and other villages along the way before you actually meet her in one of the forests, teasing her appearance before you actually see her. Making the trip across the swamp into an actual minigame where you have to constantly evade the Zolom, and if it catches up to you, hit it enough times to slow it down so you can get moving again - but not be able to actually kill it at this time, to reinforce Sephiroth's strength when you find the dead one later. And making the Mythril Mines a lot bigger, with more passages to explore and items to find. What do you guys think?

It has to end at the Death of Aerith. What an ending to a game would that be? ?

 

[FFShinra]

Would rather it be the climax of the particular plot its in than a cliffhanger, if I'm being honest.

 

[Rydeen]

I would really prefer if they made it a trilogy. Midgar is their baby, so that's why I think they are expanding Midgar so much. Midgar is what people think of when they think of FFVII and of Shinra. The end of Midgar is also a good stopping point pacing wise, because post-Midgar almost feels like a different game anyway. I'd like for them to end part two at the Temple of the Ancients, and then have Aerith die at the beginning of part three, much like how she dies at the beginning of disc 2. Her death would be a good ending point to part two if it weren't the wait times between games - her tragic death at the beginning of part 3 would be fresh in our minds as we proceed through the rest of the game. If they exceed four games I think it will really whittle down the demographic to cult followers and "nostalgists," which is not desirable from a financial standpoint. I don't see how the games could be played alone or out of order, so more than 4 parts sounds like an impractical decision. If there is too much expanded content I would rather them just add an extra 10 hours to the last two games..

 

[Freki]

I really hope it ends at Aerith dying. One thing that was hilarious but awful in the remake is how broken Cloud was when she dies, and then 40 minutes later he decides to go snowboarding and does a bunch of wacky tricks.

If they stopped it at her death it would give a nice spacing between the two events.

 

[Roundhouse]

I had to look at some FF7 walkthroughs for a quick breakdown of the story material, which was helpful. Using those guides (their table of contents), I would go with:

Part One: Midgar, 2020.
Part Two: Kalm to Gongaga? [Releases around 2024.]
Part Three: Cosmo Canyon to Aeris' final moment? [Around 2028]
Part Four: Icicle Inn to Cloud's Recovery/Epiphany? [Around 2031]
Part Five: Junon stuff to the end? [Around 2034?]

NOTE: This is what I expect to happen, not what I want to happen.

 

[JBedford]

I really hope it ends at Aerith dying. One thing that was hilarious but awful in the remake is how broken Cloud was when she dies, and then 40 minutes later he decides to go snowboarding and does a bunch of wacky tricks.

If they stopped it at her death it would give a nice spacing between the two events.

They can leave the moogle sculptures and balloons for the Gold Saucer, but I thought the silent snowboard segment was a nice contemplative moment (as I remember it anyway), and definitely not fun. In the game the snowboarding is done because it's too dangerous on foot. The entire chunk of the game between Aeris's death and Meteor's summoning had this really great somber mood as the party trek through the most dangerous and untrodden parts of the planet to put an end to this.

Now the Elena scene...

The snowboarding could be improved by being a slower and simpler/more open path. And it would be cool to end with having a blizzard picking it up before it engulfs the screen, then picking yourself up in the Glacier. I don't know how they'd do snowboarding with an entire party though... I don't think they could capture the same feeling. Replace it with having the entire party sitting silently in a cable car?

On-topic: I was originally on board with Part 1 ending at Midgar (with Part 2 up to Meteor's summoning), but when they actually announced it for reals I thought that it was insane, especially with two BluRay discs worth of content. And then they said they weren't yet sure what the scope of the second part would be! Madness! So I'm kinda expecting them to end the second part with Junon.

As a side note I actually think they may prioritize Nibelhiem to make it an independent episode as a hold-over between part one and part two, largely operating on the exact same build as part one, and released in late 2021, with part two heading out in 2023.

That would actually be kind of a cool idea. On repeated playthroughs it would even allow players to easily skip the flashback!

 

[Solordinn]

just as leaving midgar ends the midgar arc of the story, sephiroth summoning meteor is the best place to end it.

 

[ChipNoir]

I really hope it ends at Aerith dying. One thing that was hilarious but awful in the remake is how broken Cloud was when she dies, and then 40 minutes later he decides to go snowboarding and does a bunch of wacky tricks.

If they stopped it at her death it would give a nice spacing between the two events.

But also lead to a really dull, and depressing opening for part 3. You need to start each game off with a bang of sorts. Starting part 2 off post Midgar has the excitement of a hugely impactful flashback featuring an indepth look at the main villain. Part three starts off with an execution and an attack by a fuck-off huge monster, and an escape on an airship. That's a hell of a way to start your finale.

Contrast that to...trecking through snow, snowboarding, then trecking through more snow, and then a very bizzarely dramatic premature climax given how quickly the events of North Crater would happen without any major events to cushion it.

 

[Alex Strife]

Actually, a smart choice would be to have "stop-gap" DLC's (I'd say for free but we know Square) in between games to keep people interested. As an example:

Part 1: Midgar (2020)
DLC 1: Nibelheim Flashback (2021)
Part 2: Until Temple of the Ancients (2022)
DLC 2: Wutai (2023)
Part 3: Endgame (2024)
DLC 3: Some new and original side story (2025).

Don't take the examples themselves too seriously. Rather, it's the idea of keeping people attached to the game in between parts, that I focus on. Considering what they did with FFXV and how KH3 is going to have some DLC one year after its release... I can see that happening.

 

[ChipNoir]

I had to look at some FF7 walkthroughs for a quick breakdown of the story material, which was helpful. Using those guides (their table of contents), I would go with:

Part One: Midgar, 2020.
Part Two: Kalm to Gongaga? [Releases around 2024.]
Part Three: Cosmo Canyon to Aeris' final moment? [Around 2028]
Part Four: Icicle Inn to Cloud's Recovery/Epiphany? [Around 2031]
Part Five: Junon stuff to the end? [Around 2034?]

NOTE: This is what I expect to happen, not what I want to happen.

You have to account for act structure, which those don't work well as.

 

[Tetsujin]

I hate the DLC idea, cease this

 

[Roundhouse]

Chip:

Sure, if I were to try designing my ideal structure, it certainly wouldn't look like that.

You make an interesting point in your earlier post about the negative aspect of starting a part with the aftermath of the loss of Aeris. I actually like the idea of that sort of opening, though. It should feel slow and melancholic. Gamers will be coming back to the story with the Aeris stuff in mind, and the mood will fit. That being said, not sure where that part should end...

 

[Tashasaurous]

I had to look at some FF7 walkthroughs for a quick breakdown of the story material, which was helpful. Using those guides (their table of contents), I would go with:

Part One: Midgar, 2020.
Part Two: Kalm to Gongaga? [Releases around 2024.]
Part Three: Cosmo Canyon to Aeris' final moment? [Around 2028]
Part Four: Icicle Inn to Cloud's Recovery/Epiphany? [Around 2031]
Part Five: Junon stuff to the end? [Around 2034?]

NOTE: This is what I expect to happen, not what I want to happen.

I think you might be right, except that I'm thinking Kalm to at least the Forgotten City at the most in the second part, and then Icicle Inn to the very end. Who knows what will happen, but maybe the Remake will be fully complete by either 2023 or 2024.

 

[Rydeen]

I had to look at some FF7 walkthroughs for a quick breakdown of the story material, which was helpful. Using those guides (their table of contents), I would go with:

Part One: Midgar, 2020.
Part Two: Kalm to Gongaga? [Releases around 2024.]
Part Three: Cosmo Canyon to Aeris' final moment? [Around 2028]
Part Four: Icicle Inn to Cloud's Recovery/Epiphany? [Around 2031]
Part Five: Junon stuff to the end? [Around 2034?]

NOTE: This is what I expect to happen, not what I want to happen.

Why do you expect this to happen, though? Not only is this not good for retaining new fans and sales and will result in a very disjointed narrative, the lead executives on the project will be in their 70s by then. I can see the DLC suggestion possibly coming to fruition, being that it pads out the content without adding even more full priced games while also providing holdover for the next releases.

 

[Cannon_Fodder]

I think there are a lot of good places to end Part 2. But, even as someone who likes FFVII and thinks the structure of the Remake is actually exciting, I'm not going to be interested in a hypothetical Part 4 or beyond. So I think they should end Part 2 in such a way that they can finish the project with Part 3.

 

[Alex Strife]

I hate the DLC idea, cease this

I'd rather free stuff and/or a game every single year but if I'm realistic, I don't expect them to be that good...

 

[Odysseus]

From a narrative standpoint, FFVII has three arcs: AVALANCHE vs Shinra in Midgar, The hunt for Sephiroth, and the Meteor Crisis. Each of those segments has their own self-contained three act structure. I've been trying to imagine how each part will begin, rather than just arbitrarily slicing up the games events to fit whatever "Size" it seems like each chunk of the game will require.

The Nibleheim incident makes for a good tutorial segment for the second part, seeing as part 2 is almost definitley going to start in Kalm anyway. The player could really be put in Cloud's shoes by learning combat from the older and more experienced Sephiroth. The rough Mountains would make for a good chance to show the player how to interact with the environment in various ways. And of course, seeing Sephiroth burn down the town sets up Cloud's motivation nicely and sets the stage for the remainder of the arc.

I think Tifa's waking up in Junon would also make for a good tutorial area for the beginning of the third part. It's a smaller self-contained set piece that gives the player a chance to run around and feel the game without being set loose in the open world, quite like reactor 1. The excuse for having to reteach combat again would be that Tifa is rusty and physically deteriorated slightly due to being unconscious for a week, Barret is there with her to explain the basic game mechanics to the player. the execution scene both sets the darker tone of the last arc of the story as well as shows the mini-game type elements with Tifa having to free herself from the chair in the gas room.

Those spots are the best moments of the original I can think of to act as opening areas for a given part, and they just so happen to be the openers to their respective arcs of the story.

 

[Roundhouse]

Why do you expect this to happen, though? Not only is this not good for retaining new fans and sales and will result in a very disjointed narrative, the lead executives on the project will be in their 70s by then. I can see the DLC suggestion possibly coming to fruition, being that it pads out the content without adding even more full priced games while also providing holdover for the next releases.

I was a bit over the top, maybe, with my cynicism. I just try to keep my expectations in check, especially because I'm so used to seeing FFVII fans having bizarrely optimistic ones, and I sort of shake my head at it. I understand hoping for things to be a certain way, but I try to separate my hopes and expectations. My hopes for a FFVII remake would be to see the full thing as soon as possible, of course. I wouldn't be surprised, however, to see the final part around the year 2030, but who knows? It could be that the team actually will speed up and cover more ground with each part. That would be great.

From a narrative standpoint, FFVII has three arcs: AVALANCHE vs Shinra in Midgar, The hunt for Sephiroth, and the Meteor Crisis. Each of those segments has their own self-contained three act structure. I've been trying to imagine how each part will begin, rather than just arbitrarily slicing up the games events to fit whatever "Size" it seems like each chunk of the game will require.

The Nibleheim incident makes for a good tutorial segment for the second part, seeing as part 2 is almost definitley going to start in Kalm anyway. The player could really be put in Cloud's shoes by learning combat from the older and more experienced Sephiroth. The rough Mountains would make for a good chance to show the player how to interact with the environment in various ways. And of course, seeing Sephiroth burn down the town sets up Cloud's motivation nicely and sets the stage for the remainder of the arc.

I think Tifa's waking up in Junon would also make for a good tutorial area for the beginning of the third part. It's a smaller self-contained set piece that gives the player a chance to run around and feel the game without being set loose in the open world, quite like reactor 1. The excuse for having to reteach combat again would be that Tifa is rusty and physically deteriorated slightly due to being unconscious for a week, Barret is there with her to explain the basic game mechanics to the player. the execution scene both sets the darker tone of the last arc of the story as well as shows the mini-game type elements with Tifa having to free herself from the chair in the gas room.

Those spots are the best moments of the original I can think of to act as opening areas for a given part, and they just so happen to be the openers to their respective arcs of the story.

Interesting stuff!

I like how you're addressing this from both a narrative and gameplay perspective. There is also a third perspective, though -- what makes business sense. That's the least enjoyable aspect to speculate on, though.

 

[OWA-2]

Idealy, the game should be 3 parts: Midgar, Reunion, and Meteor. But Reunion(from Kalm to the Whirlwind Maze) is practically the entire world of FFVII, and that's too much for a single game IMO. So I think they will divide Reunion in 2 parts. That way, I see the second part of the remake starting at 'fake' Nibelheim(the flashback in Kalm), and ending at the real Nibelheim.

 

[Ite]

At some point they’re gonna have to do the whole world anyway. If we are actually going to get the Highwind properly and do end-game content, they’ll need to render the whole world space for the last game. Why not just do it for Part 2, and then Part 3 can be the same physical locations but with the people and content changed because of Meteor’s approach. Seems pretty logical to me.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Nanaki is going to look AMAZING.

 

[Roger]

At some point they’re gonna have to do the whole world anyway. If we are actually going to get the Highwind properly and do end-game content, they’ll need to render the whole world space for the last game. Why not just do it for Part 2, and then Part 3 can be the same physical locations but with the people and content changed because of Meteor’s approach. Seems pretty logical to me.

It means we won't see more FFVII for most of the PS5's service life.

 

[mandelbrot86]

I agree with the 3 story Arcs line of thinking. The most natural narrative structure has part 2 ending when Meteor is summoned. That said, if it's not possible to create that much of the world due to the expansion of it, the next spot that would make sense to me would be Nibelheim. You could make it bookend nicely from Nibelheim to Nibelheim. You would have to alter it some to get that to feel like a good stopping point or to feel like you've accomplished something. (Maybe a Sephiroth fight in the reactor or something to bring it full circle). That said, this is not ideal because it would put Cid showing up in Part 3 and requires more story tweaking than stopping it after the Reunion.

 

[Ite]

I’m happy to wait, as long as it comes out before I die lol.