Relationship between Remake and the original? (split from the "How many parts?" thread)

[Makoeyes987]

Well, Sephiroth's past would most certainly have to come from the OG, because that's how he gains his character and motivations. His appearance, abilities, mannerisms, etc are all evocative of Sephiroth from FFVII to AC. He's simply incredibly old. Because he would have experienced "FFVII" lifetimes ago.

The events of FFVII aren't necessarily "caused" by Sephiroth, he's simply intruding on them because he can. But yes, that's what I'm speaking of. He's trying to avert the past to find an alternative where the planet doesn't leave him behind and he can exist immortally.

 

[Theozilla]

Well, Sephiroth's past would most certainly have to come from the OG, because that's how he gains his character and motivations. His appearance, abilities, mannerisms, etc are all evocative of Sephiroth from FFVII to AC. He's simply incredibly old. Because he would have experienced "FFVII" lifetimes ago.

The events of FFVII aren't necessarily "caused" by Sephiroth, he's simply intruding on them because he can. But yes, that's what I'm speaking of. He's trying to avert the past to find an alternative where the planet doesn't leave him behind and he can exist immortally.

Not necessarily, ???Sephiroth's past only "has" to be the OG, if the non-???Sephiroth in the Remake is directly aware of the ???Sephiroth's presence/existence. Because if ???Sephiroth is instead actually caught in/playing out a casual loop for himself, that would mean his past was the Remake's and he indirectly ensured his own past's self's defeat in the Remake but without realizing it until the end.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I say this includes AC because

1.) Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo are shown to exist.

2.) Sephiroth's battle and mannerisms are evocative of his previous AC appearance.

3.) The Planet seems aware of all time, which includes the events of CC to AC.

I don't think there's any reason to believe that the present Sephiroth is aware of the other, and that's kinda outside the scope of my question. I'm just strictly referring to the Sephiroth from Chapter 18. And I'm not even gonna touch any predestination paradoxes I'm just strictly speaking... If this Sephiroth is from the far future and has experienced all of his life from FFVII to the Compilation, would his clash with the present characters, justify calling it a "sequel?"

 

[KindOfBlue]

Does it really matter? All that I'm saying is that it's Sephiroth from the far future when the Planet's essentially dead. He has the memories and knowledge of the Sephiroth we've seen up until Advent Children and beyond but he's from the "Edge of Creation/End of the world."

For the FFVII-R characters, this is all happening in the present, so none of the "future" has happened yet.

Well, functionally it’s pretty much the same idea. But I think it would make a difference as far as what lens to view stuff like AC or DoC through. If the end of the remake ends up creating a future that is different from AC/DoC for instance, then the lens to view those stories through would be as a follow up to the OG but not the remake. And so with stuff like this:

Well, Sephiroth's past would most certainly have to come from the OG, because that's how he gains his character and motivations. His appearance, abilities, mannerisms, etc are all evocative of Sephiroth from FFVII to AC. He's simply incredibly old. Because he would have experienced "FFVII" lifetimes ago.

My question would be which version of FF7 would he have already experienced? The OG version of FF7 that the audience has already experienced? Or the remake version of FF7, which we haven’t experienced entirely but we can presume mirrors the events of the OG except for when it doesn’t?

I understand how this could be a nitpicky topic, it really does boil down to semantics. But strictly speaking, to answer your question, I would not consider this a sequel if the continuity of the remake is one that is specific to the remake and not connected to the continuity of the OG/Compilation. Which doesn’t seem to be the case yet even if one is a mirror of another. That to me is what distinguishes two parallel universes from one connected universe.

 

[Theozilla]

I say this includes AC because

1.) Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo are shown to exist.

2.) Sephiroth's battle and mannerisms are evocative of his previous AC appearance.

3.) The Planet seems aware of all time, which includes the events of CC to AC.

I don't think there's any reason to believe that the present Sephiroth is aware of the other, and that's kinda outside the scope of my question. I'm just strictly referring to the Sephiroth from Chapter 18. And I'm not even gonna touch any predestination paradoxes I'm just strictly speaking... If this Sephiroth is from the far future and has experienced all of his life from FFVII to the Compilation, would his clash with the present characters, justify calling it a "sequel?"

Okay when I say if the ???Sephiroth's (which is what I am calling the Chapter 18 Sephiroth since I think that's how the Ultimania categorized him) past is the OG, I mean AC/C and the other Compilation titles too. And the casual loop element is the key element for me on whether ???Sephiroth being from the future or not makes the Remake a sequel. Because if the ???Sephiroth (presuming he's from the future) experienced a past life that was only the OG+Compilation events, but if his traveling back in time takes him to the Remake version of events, meaning the Cloud and co. of the Remake are experiencing a different set of events play out than what ???Sephiroth had experienced in his own past, then yes I would consider that a sequel, because a different set of event has previously occurred in what is a flexible timeline than what is now occurring in the Remake.

However, if the ???Sephiroth from the future had a past that was the same stuff all the non-???Sephiroth's in the Remake are currently doing, then no I wouldn't consider it a sequel because the ???Sephiroth's past would still be the present of the Remake and not separate different version of events. Meaning he's unknowingly in a loop, even if ???Sephiroth believes he's actually "changing" the past.

 

[Makoeyes987]

My question would be which version of FF7 would he have already experienced? The OG version of FF7 that the audience has already experienced? Or the remake version of FF7, which we haven’t experienced entirely but we can presume mirrors the events of the OG except for when it doesn’t?

It would presumably be close to the OG version, since it would be all those events minus interference from the Arbiters of Fate, or influences created by his own hand.

if his traveling back in time takes him to the Remake version of events, meaning the Cloud and co. of the Remake are experiencing a different set of events play out than what ???Sephiroth had experienced in his own past, then yes I would consider that a sequel, because a different set of event has previously occurred in what is a flexible timeline than what is now occurring in the Remake.

But those "different set of events" are occurring because of Sephiroth and the Arbiters of Fate trying to make things stay on track to how they occurred in the OG.

if the ???Sephiroth from the future had a past that was the same stuff all the non-???Sephiroth's in the Remake are currently doing, then no I wouldn't consider it a sequel because the ???Sephiroth's past would still be the present of the Remake and not separate different version of events.

Well no, ???Sephiroth's past would be akin to the OG of FFVII without any of what happened in the Remake occurring. But none of the characters in FFVII-R are aware of that, because to them, this is how their lives have happened. They're living it. ???Sephiroth's past is technically in the Remake, because to his "past" self, nothing is amiss. He's simply going through his experiences as normal. But no, it's not the same thing to the audience.

Obtaining Jenova as he did in the Remake is not how it happened for ???Sephiroth since, Jenova awoke on its own, for example.

 

[KindOfBlue]

It would presumably be close to the OG version, since it would be all those events minus interference from the Arbiters of Fate, or influences created by his own hand.

I agree but I’m not really referring to the events themselves and how they play out, but rather how the events of the OG and remake relate to one another and whether they’re the same continuity or two separate but similar continuities

 

[Theozilla]

But those "different set of events" are occurring because of Sephiroth and the Arbiters of Fate trying to make things stay on track to how they occurred in the OG.

I know, but I'm saying my deciding factor of whether I consider it the Remake a sequel or not in your scenario is if those events already happened only to ???Sephiroth

Well no, ???Sephiroth's past would be akin to the OG of FFVII without any of what happened in the Remake occurring. But none of the characters in FFVII-R are aware of that, because to them, this is how their lives have happened. They're living it. ???Sephiroth's past is technically in the Remake, because to his "past" self, nothing is amiss. He's simply going through his experiences as normal. But no, it's not the same thing to the audience.

Obtaining Jenova as he did in the Remake is not how it happened for ???Sephiroth since, Jenova awoke on its own, for example.

Based on what you're describing in your scenario, I would consider that a sequel, because a different set of events in the ???Sephiroth's past already occurred to him.

Here I created an image that show's what I mean by how if ???Sephiroth's past is the Remake or not, and if it isn't then story is treating time travel as something flexible, but if the ???Sephiroth's past is what the non-???Sephiroth of the Remake is experiencing then the story is doing time travel where everything is predestination style, even if ???Sephiroth doesn't realize it.



If what you're proposing is the top version, then yes, I would consider the Remake a sequel; but if it's the bottom then no I wouldn't consider the Remake a sequel. And that's presuming ???Sephiroth is from the far future, which I am still not sure if that will be the case or not.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Okay, we're on the same page.

I'm proposing something akin to the top version of your graph, except the events of the Compilation in the future could still theoretically happen. You think it'd be a sequel then because of the differences now, given Sephiroth's past is now changed somewhat, despite him being unaware of it.

I just think it would still not really be a true sequel, maybe a thematic sequel or wraparound ending to the Compilation. But yeah, that's interesting...

So many different perspectives of what constitute a sequel versus not a sequel.

 

[Theozilla]

Okay, we're on the same page.

I'm proposing something akin to the top version of your graph, except the events of the Compilation in the future could still theoretically happen. You think it'd be a sequel then because of the differences now, given Sephiroth's past is now changed somewhat, despite him being unaware of it.

I just think it would still not really be a true sequel, maybe a thematic sequel or wraparound ending to the Compilation. But yeah, that's interesting...

So many different perspectives of what constitute a sequel versus not a sequel.

Actually the top version also has the Compilation occur in the Remake branch (past/future), as my color key says.

What determines my view on what makes the above a sequel and the bottom not, is what the blue line (???Sephiroth) has already experienced before his appearance in Chapter 18. If he experienced the green (OG+Comp) then yes I consider it a sequel, but if he experienced the magenta (Remake+Comp) I don’t consider it a sequel.
One keeps the Remake self-contained to its own continuity, the other doesn’t.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Yeah, I meant Chapter 18 Sephiroth's past being the original iteration of FFVII more or less, with the Compilation included. I don't really see the Remake as completely self-contained, at least in this temporal context.

It's self-contained to its own continuity within the context of its story more or less, but there is a deeper connection as seen by Chapter 18, Kadaj and the others having a hidden appearance, and more. It is considered the ultimate entry of the Compilation after all.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

I would say yes, it's a sequal.

This is like asking if Back to the Future II is a squeal to Back to the Future I when Back to the Future II *re-writes* the past of Back to the Future I at least twice (when Back to the Future I had *already* written the past)... before heading off for Back to the Future III where it re-writes some parts of the past *again*, but not others.

Asking if Back the Future II is a sequal to Back to the Future I is... boarderline stupid... even though both movies take place in the same time-frame at times.

Remake is like Back to the Future II. Where Doc Brown is Aerith (and Marty) and Biff is Sephrioth and both of them are messing around in their own pasts that is probably also affecting their futures in some way. That they themselves *came back* from and can remember the "orriginal" timeline. Even as other people will only have lived in the "altered" past/present/future.

The temporal nature of stuff in Remake gets... a lot eaiser... to order when you put it in terms of Back to the Future. There's a lot of similar character rolls and people figured out the "order" of Back to the Future timelines a long time ago.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I don't think or know if FFVII-R is going to rewrite the past of FFVII, though.

On a microscale, yes FFVII-R is rewriting certain specific events. For instance, Jenova awakening and busting out of the Shinra Building all on its own, versus being rescued by a Sephiroth Copy, and then fighting Cloud and the others itself via a Sephiroth Copy so that it can be escorted out of the building by another Sephiroth Copy. Certain individual scenes or moments are changed, but their overall outcome can remain the same, given the situations and lead ups that ultimately move towards a generalized conclusion.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

For the record, I don't think it is "rewriting" the past either.

But then, I also think Remake is... a sequal to the rest of the Compilation in the truest sense of the word. The OG already *happened*. That it happened isn't being changed. Otherwise... certain things like Sephrioth and Aerith being how they are would also be in flux, and they're not.

However, if you are thinking Remaking is happening *instead* of the OG, Back to the Future II is what I would compare it to.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Actually the top version also has the Compilation occur in the Remake branch (past/future), as my color key says.

What determines my view on what makes the above a sequel and the bottom not, is what the blue line (???Sephiroth) has already experienced before his appearance in Chapter 18. If he experienced the green (OG+Comp) then yes I consider it a sequel, but if he experienced the magenta (Remake+Comp) I don’t consider it a sequel.
One keeps the Remake self-contained to its own continuity, the other doesn’t.

What are your thoughts on whether it's actually possible for CH18Seph to have the magenta line as his past? Do you believe the Whispers exist simultaneously across all time (e.g. as with the Whisper dome being visible around both Beagle Stamp Midgar and Terrier Stamp Midgar), and thus could only ever be destroyed once?

I don't think or know if FFVII-R is going to rewrite the past of FFVII, though.

I don't believe Obsidian means to suggest it will; she's just using the template for illustrative purposes while focusing on the question of the sort of relationship that exists between a sequential series of events across eras.

 

[Makoeyes987]

My perspective is the Whispers are an existence that exists across all time/continuities. The only reason they've never been seen before, is because nothing has ever threatened or influenced time before so they've been inactive or behind the scenes.

They're a part of the Planet, just an unseen part that exists beyond the veil of reality.

 

[Theozilla]

What are your thoughts on whether it's actually possible for CH18Seph to have the magenta line as his past? Do you believe the Whispers exist simultaneously across all time (e.g. as with the Whisper dome being visible around both Beagle Stamp Midgar and Terrier Stamp Midgar), and thus could only ever be destroyed once?

I mean “possible” in regards to in-universe stuff isn’t really a question for me, it’s a question of what type of time travel story the developers are making. If the Remake is indeed bringing in time travel with Chapter 18 ???Sephiroth, and they are doing it with predestination rules (like the type of time travel in the Gargoyles cartoon or third Harry Potter book), then Ch18???Sephiroth inherently always had the magenta past.
If they are instead doing a flexible time travel story like Back to the Future or a splitting/multiverse theory one like Dragon Ball Z, then no Ch18 ???Sephiroth cannot ever have the magenta timeline (at least in terms of his own personal memories experience, because if it’s flexible time and not multiverse theory or Rebuild of Evangelion/Madoka looping, then the changed past just gets folded in/merged with the old timeline time traveler, like it did with Marty in Back to the Future, where he obviously still has memories of his old life where his family was kinda of a mess, but the new past is also his as he didn’t cause a time duplicate of himself to be created).

Of course this is still all based on the presumption that Chapter18??? is doing some form of time traveling, which as I said before I am still not convinced he is (and if he is I think it it’s the closed/predestination kind).

 

[Obsidian Fire]

I don't believe Obsidian means to suggest it will; she's just using the template for illustrative purposes while focusing on the question of the sort of relationship that exists between a sequential series of events across eras.

Basically this. Back to the Future is interesting as there's really *two* timelines of sequential events you can "follow". And they intersect in various ways...

The first timeline is Doc Brown and Marty's personal timelines, which they experience *in order* from their own point of view. They have a definite "past" that they can remember that made them who they are in the "present".

The second timeline is the "objective" timeline. Which keeps getting split off whenever someone goes back in time and makes changes. The people who are living in the "objective" timeline have no idea someone is going back and "redoing" things. There's just "one" version of events they can remember.

Sephrioth and Aerith have the first type of "timeline" going on. The rest of the cast has the second type.

The Whispers have... a bit of a different thing going on. They are like Doc Brown and Marty in that they have a "past" they can remember... but they're also at the whims of the "objective" timeline. They need the "objective" timeline to go a certain way to ensure they exist in the future, but... it doesn't look like that's turning out that way.

The Whispers would be like if... ghost versions of Marty's kids from Back to the Future II somehow showed up in the "present" once Marty makes sure he doesn't mess up his hand in Back to the Future III (where the "You're Fired" disappears). Because if the timeline doesn't go exactly like it did the "first" time, Marty's kids might not exist anymore in the future. And they really want to exist.

 

[KindOfBlue]

Yeah, I meant Chapter 18 Sephiroth's past being the original iteration of FFVII more or less, with the Compilation included. I don't really see the Remake as completely self-contained, at least in this temporal context.

It's self-contained to its own continuity within the context of its story more or less, but there is a deeper connection as seen by Chapter 18, Kadaj and the others having a hidden appearance, and more. It is considered the ultimate entry of the Compilation after all.

But whether or not that puts AC and the remake in the same continuity is a separate issue, you can still take elements of AC and include them in the future of the remake continuity without actually having AC itself occur in the remake’s continuity

My perspective is the Whispers are an existence that exists across all time/continuities. The only reason they've never been seen before, is because nothing has ever threatened or influenced time before so they've been inactive or behind the scenes.

They're a part of the Planet, just an unseen part that exists beyond the veil of reality.

See, I think my take would be a bit more straight forward: we haven’t seen them before because they simply don’t exist in the OG’s continuity

I would say yes, it's a sequal.

This is like asking if Back to the Future II is a squeal to Back to the Future I when Back to the Future II *re-writes* the past of Back to the Future I at least twice (when Back to the Future I had *already* written the past)... before heading off for Back to the Future III where it re-writes some parts of the past *again*, but not others.

Asking if Back the Future II is a sequal to Back to the Future I is... boarderline stupid... even though both movies take place in the same time-frame at times.

Remake is like Back to the Future II. Where Doc Brown is Aerith (and Marty) and Biff is Sephrioth and both of them are messing around in their own pasts that is probably also affecting their futures in some way. That they themselves *came back* from and can remember the "orriginal" timeline. Even as other people will only have lived in the "altered" past/present/future.

The temporal nature of stuff in Remake gets... a lot eaiser... to order when you put it in terms of Back to the Future. There's a lot of similar character rolls and people figured out the "order" of Back to the Future timelines a long time ago.

Back to the Future Part II actually is a sequel though, I think FF7R would be closer to being a Snyder cut to Justice League (how topical) or maybe a novel being adapted to a film series. Thematically, the comparison to Back to the Future seems to work pretty well but I don’t think the relationship that the movies have to one another in terms of continuity is the same as what FF7 and FF7R are to each other.

For the record, I don't think it is "rewriting" the past either.

But then, I also think Remake is... a sequal to the rest of the Compilation in the truest sense of the word. The OG already *happened*. That it happened isn't being changed. Otherwise... certain things like Sephrioth and Aerith being how they are would also be in flux, and they're not.

However, if you are thinking Remaking is happening *instead* of the OG, Back to the Future II is what I would compare it to.

In terms of rewriting the past, consider this. If the remake rewrote the past, it would be the past of the remake’s continuity, not the OG. Zack didn’t retroactively survive in the OG because the OG is literally on a separate continuity that is mirrored by the remake, but is still separate. Same goes for the future, whatever changes happen in the future of the remake, they won’t affect the future of the OG.

Basically this. Back to the Future is interesting as there's really *two* timelines of sequential events you can "follow". And they intersect in various ways...

The first timeline is Doc Brown and Marty's personal timelines, which they experience *in order* from their own point of view. They have a definite "past" that they can remember that made them who they are in the "present".

The second timeline is the "objective" timeline. Which keeps getting split off whenever someone goes back in time and makes changes. The people who are living in the "objective" timeline have no idea someone is going back and "redoing" things. There's just "one" version of events they can remember.

Sephrioth and Aerith have the first type of "timeline" going on. The rest of the cast has the second type.

The Whispers have... a bit of a different thing going on. They are like Doc Brown and Marty in that they have a "past" they can remember... but they're also at the whims of the "objective" timeline. They need the "objective" timeline to go a certain way to ensure they exist in the future, but... it doesn't look like that's turning out that way.

The Whispers would be like if... ghost versions of Marty's kids from Back to the Future II somehow showed up in the "present" once Marty makes sure he doesn't mess up his hand in Back to the Future III (where the "You're Fired" disappears). Because if the timeline doesn't go exactly like it did the "first" time, Marty's kids might not exist anymore in the future. And they really want to exist.

And that’s why I don’t consider FF7 and FF7R to be the same thing, to me there’s a difference between the OG and remake intersecting (which we haven’t verified yet) and the remake continuity reflecting the OG without actually being the OG

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

In terms of rewriting the past, consider this. If the remake rewrote the past, it would be the past of the remake’s continuity, not the OG. Zack didn’t retroactively survive in the OG because the OG is literally on a separate continuity that is mirrored by the remake, but is still separate. Same goes for the future, whatever changes happen in the future of the remake, they won’t affect the future of the OG.

...

And that’s why I don’t consider FF7 and FF7R to be the same thing, to me there’s a difference between the OG and remake intersecting (which we haven’t verified yet) and the remake continuity reflecting the OG without actually being the OG.

VII and VIIR verifiably aren't the same thing (Nomura said so shortly before the remake released), but that doesn't have bearing on whether Remake can be a sequel to the original. Being a sequel and being its own distinct line of time aren't mutually exclusive ideas.

I mean, for goodness's sake, we see the concept illustrated at the end of Remake quite succinctly. If Terrier Stamp Zack never crosses paths with the Cloud, Aerith, etc. who defeated Whisper Harbinger (making his survival possible) and goes on to have a new adventure now in his timeline (in a separate new game/novel/whatever), that game/novel/whatever would be a sequel to FFVIIR -- even though Zack being alive in the Terrier Timeline affected nothing in the past or future of the primary remake timeline.

That's the kind of relationship we're potentially (I would say certainly) looking at between the original story's continuity and Remake's continuity.

 

[KindOfBlue]

VII and VIIR verifiably aren't the same thing (Nomura said so shortly before the remake released), but that doesn't have bearing on whether Remake can be a sequel to the original. Being a sequel and being its own distinct line of time aren't mutually exclusive ideas.

I mean, for goodness's sake, we see the concept illustrated at the end of Remake quite succinctly. If Terrier Stamp Zack never crosses paths with the Cloud, Aerith, etc. who defeated Whisper Harbinger and goes on to have a new adventure now in his timeline (in a separate new game/novel/whatever), that game/novel/whatever would be a sequel to FFVIIR -- even though Zack being alive in the Terrier Timeline affected nothing in the past or future of the primary remake timeline.

That's the kind of relationship we're potentially (I would say certainly) looking at between the original story's continuity and Remake's continuity.

Well, whether it can be a sequel is different than whether it is one I think. But I don’t think what you’re saying isn’t even all that different from what I’m saying, just with different parameters. The OG continuity was never split into Beagle and Terrier, but the remake was. So whatever timeline split exists only does so within the remake’s continuity. It just so happens that the Beagle timeline of the remake is the one that more closely resembles the single OG timeline without actually being the OG timeline. At least, that’s my takeaway so far. That way, the devs can change as much as they want across both timelines without either of them retroactively changing the OG.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

That way, the devs can change as much as they want across both timelines without either of them retroactively changing the OG.

That isn't at all necessary to arrive at that endpoint, though. VIIR being a sequel to the original wouldn't retroactively change the original no matter what. No more so than Terrier Stamp Zack surviving in his timeline retroactively changed Beagle Stamp Cloud.

The very inter-timeline relationship mechanics I'm proposing are already in the game. Lol

 

[KindOfBlue]

That isn't at all necessary to arrive at that endpoint, though. VIIR being a sequel to the original wouldn't retroactively change the original no matter what. No more so than Terrier Stamp Zack surviving in his timeline retroactively changed Beagle Stamp Cloud.

The very inter-timeline relationship mechanics I'm proposing are already in the game. Lol

You’re not wrong but it’s also not quite my point either, what I’m saying is essentially that Beagle Cloud and OG Cloud are two versions of the same character. Both versions of Cloud are going to have two similar but also some different experiences on account of being two different continuities. Everything we need to know about OG Cloud is already done, while Remake Cloud is a new version of the same character. Not quite a reboot, but not quite a sequel, hence the word “remake”.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Everything we need to know about OG Cloud is already done, while Remake Cloud is a new version of the same character. Not quite a reboot, but not quite a sequel, hence the word “remake”.

It's not quite this either though. Everything about Cloud that happened *before* Remake "starts" happened as far as both the OG and Remake are concerned. Remake Cloud isn't a "brand new" Cloud. He's still got the same past as OG Cloud did. You just now have different events happening to the character once you get to the time of the OG.

In fact, it's that way for all of the cast. Anything the OG (and Compilation) goes into about their past can be safely assumed to have happened as far as Remake is concerned. It's not so much a "new take" on these characters, as it is... splitting timelines. They have the same "past" with a changed "present" from their OG selves.

Unless you're Aerith or Sephrioth... and then things get more mixed up because they seem to know something about how the other timeline turned out already. But that still don't change that their "past" was at one point the same as the past they had up until they got the knowledge of the other timeline.

 

[Theozilla]

It's not quite this either though. Everything about Cloud that happened *before* Remake "starts" happened as far as both the OG and Remake are concerned. Remake Cloud isn't a "brand new" Cloud. He's still got the same past as OG Cloud did. You just now have different events happening to the character once you get to the time of the OG.

In fact, it's that way for all of the cast. Anything the OG (and Compilation) goes into about their past can be safely assumed to have happened as far as Remake is concerned. It's not so much a "new take" on these characters, as it is... splitting timelines. They have the same "past" with a changed "present" from their OG selves.

Unless you're Aerith or Sephrioth... and then things get more mixed up because they seem to know something about how the other timeline turned out already. But that still don't change that their "past" was at one point the same as the past they had up until they got the knowledge of the other timeline.

I think you and KindOfBlue may be kinda talking past each other here. KindOfBlue I think has made it clear regardless of whether there is time travel occurring the Remake itself, he doesn't think the OG continuity is a part of the Remake continuity (but that doesn't preclude the past and future Compilation events happening for the Remake too).

Which I also already stated in the thread before.

I think what you're missing is that Tres is saying than many OG+Remake players (not necessarily a majority or even a plurality, but a decent amount) interpret all the weird mysterious meta stuff happening in the Remake as sufficient evidence that the Remake's narrative "occurs successively in a fictional continuity's sequence of events" in relation to the OG's narrative, which is why they feel its accurate to label the Remake as a "sequel" (like how the Rebuild of Evangelion films are to the TV show).
However, you and me (and also many others) disagree with that interpretation and thing all the weird mysterious meta stuff happening in the Remake is just something self-contained to its own canonical narrative and its more just thematic winks and homages from the developers.

Anyways, maybe we could try to get back to the original topic of theorizing how many parts the Remake will be, regardless of whether people fall into the "sequel" or "not a sequel" interpretations/camps. That topic is a lot easier to discuss in a text-based medium (and doesn't make my head get confused and make references to other time travel media).