The Official "How many parts?" Thread

[Roundhouse]

Reminds me of an Avengers film, where the MCU comes together, with the compilation being part of this MCU equivalent.

 

[crazyrabbits23]

You purchase your copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2: Revengence, and open the disc case, eagerly awaiting the thrill of living your childhood once again. A rancid odor immediately fills your nostrils, your eyes tear up instantly, you recoil instinctively and drop the case on the floor. red matter splatters across your carpet, and once you wipe the tears from your eyes, you finally see the source of the odor. Several maggot-ridden rat corpses have been compressed in such a way as to fit inside the disc case. They leak black ooze, their bones surely powder mixed in with the rot. You had noticed the disc case had been heavier than you were accustomed to in the modern day, but you had supposed they might have included a manual just for old-times sake. No. Rats.

You're on the floor, the smell is so overpowering. Your pet bird isn't moving anymore. You claw your way across the carpet, dragging yourself through the refuse that had splashed out of the case. You have to close it, you can't take it much longer, you're going to pass out. You thrust your arm forward to close the disc case, but it lands right in the filth. You immeditaely retract your hand in disgust, but something clings to your finger. One of the rats is somehow still alive, and it whispers into your ear:

"Cloud tells the party about Sephiroth and how he burned down Cloud's hometown. This happens in a random field because Kalm is too expensive to render. Yuffie steals the party's equipment so they have to do sidequests to get more. The chocobo farm is a big dungeon, and the Zolom is a mandatory boss. The Mithril mine takes 5 chapters to get through. The game ends in Junon, with a battle against the gods of time who is then eaten by Sephoroth who is the real final boss again. He throws the cargo ship at you. Zack helps. Thank you for purchasing the game, please be excited for the next installment."

You blink. The smell is gone, you're on your feet again. You never owned a pet bird. You look down at the disc case you just opened. There's a Gackt CD in the disc slot, and a small pamphlet with the words the rat had just whispered on it. why are you crying?

Game of the year.

10/10;. delivers on all the thrills this franchise can deliver - IGN

 

[Fiz]

I interpreted those suggestions being for the characters, not us. I did say I don't blame people for thinking things are gonna drastically change though. I just think they want to keep people guessing, but for the most part, most of the things are gonna stay the same. Just done a little differently. Even with you know who surviving at the end, I don't think it is what other people are thinking.

I agree, I think the changes will be character fates rather than the overall plot and locations, and that the major change will be the obvious and how the feck Remake is even a thing. I reckon it'll probably end up being some kind of

Spoiler

"I see dead people"

type thing.

Spoiler

Girls unscannable

, which usually means something about them is unfathomable.

My bets are on it being largely the same but expanded with a few shock twists with character fates, but otherwise pretty much the same. But, it'll probably be going completely off the rails right at the end leading into a new ending.

Spoiler

My guess is Zack is still dead, or will be dead. I think his scenes will be flashbacks to before his final stand. Then by the end, we'll see him fight the shinra grunts again, survive, only to be gunned down by the 3 stragglers. Just like in Crisis Core and the OG.

[/QUOTE]

I think hes around and I think he will be playable, but end up dead. Remake seems to be leaning into Cloud + Tifa and will then have Aerith + Zack and end up capitalising on that for some character drama.

 

[Theozilla]

Also the final Rebuild of Evangelion film implicitly confirms

Spoiler

That the Rebuild films are just another reality/time loop that everyone has been going through, and that the original TV series and End of Evangelion were just previous loops that had occurred before, meaning they are the "past" of the Rebuild films, with Kaworu being the only individual who remembers each loop. Though the Rebuild films end the looping cycle so that no more will occur.

Which is not at all what the FFVII Remake and/or developers have indicated is happening or will happen, even with with weirdness of Chapter 18.

Spoiler

The FFVII Remake being a pseudo-sequel to the OG (like the Rebuild films are to the NGE TV series and EoE, would be a complete contradiction of what Kitase and the developers have stated what the Remake is or their described intentions for it so far. Weird stuff going on with time and destiny/fate in Chapter 18 doesn't equal or confirm time-looping.

 

[Roundhouse]

You know who may well end up dead by the end of remake, sure. I'm thinking a Tidus-esque fading scene.

 

[Fiz]

Pandemonium:

That sounds like the most appalling anti-climax I've heard in a long time. To throw that big twist in at the end of P1, and then have the character gunned down by the grunts after a few scenes in P2 sounds dreadful. I think people are so desperate for things to stay the same that even concepts like this sound attractive, because it preserves the original direction.

Theozilla:

The Kitase quote seems quite clear and straightforward, so not much room for argument. Maybe they really will include every location, and even add new ones like Banora. I still suspect that the actual specifics in terms of events and character elements may well have significant changes, though, because it kinda has to -- RemakeAerith is not OGAerith, and RemakeSephiroth is definitely not OGRoth, for example. No clue where they are going with those two characters.

God Sephiroth of darkness vs God Aerith of light.

Something like that is my bet. If we want to argue semantics about gods, switch "god" with whatever term takes your fancy.

 

[Roundhouse]

That is actually something that sounds valid. Like Sephiroth and Aerith are sort of demi-Gods with the other characters as the chess pieces. Cloud is the Queen piece.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Because once it's done, it's done. And the writers here are all going to move onto the next big FF goldmine of nostalgia and popularity waiting to be mined. FFX-3.

Spoiler

The FFVII Remake being a pseudo-sequel to the OG (like the Rebuild films are to the NGE TV series and EoE, would be a complete contradiction of what Kitase and the developers have stated what the Remake is or their described intentions for it so far.

How do their described intentions in any way touch upon that?

 

[Eerie]

God Sephiroth of darkness vs God Aerith of light.

That's kind of my bet too. I've said it here but Aeris is the White to counter Sephiroth's Dark. Which is also why she'll need to die, because all this fight really happens in the Lifestream, if you think about it. We may get snippets of Aerith int he Lifestream who's fighting too, this time? I don't know, I kind of hope so, since there will be one game at least without her - that's a long time.

 

[Theozilla]

How do their described intentions in any way touch upon that?

I think what Kitase has at least said in the Remake Ultimania is indicative of that (which I posted two pages ago).
And just the general content of their numerous interviews in general, sure there is going to be new stuff and modifications in the Remake, as the first part has already demonstrated. But nothing has been hinted that SE or the developers view the Remake is some meta canonical pseudo-sequel to the OG. At least that's how I've interpreted everything so far.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I also really don't think they'll care if this thing takes beyond 2030 to finish it. Where is there any evidence of that in their past behavior? lol

I mean there’s still the statement about them choosing to do the remake because they felt like they wouldn’t be able to if they waited too long. Even with this statement in mind:

And in 10 years time, 20 years time, it may need to be done again! So even if this is the only thing that I do in the rest of my career, I won't be disappointed."
-Yoshinori Kitase

These guys probably won’t even live long enough to remake FF7 more than once, and I’m sure they know that. These guys aren’t immortal, after all lol. I mean, saying that it “may need to be done” is a lot different than “it WILL be done.” Isn’t the remake supposed to close out the Compilation anyways?

I feel like that statement is more of a comment on how they’re doing things now that they couldn’t do back then because of technology. If they achieve their vision of FF7 with Remake, then I feel like only time will tell if it really needs to be remade again. And by that point, these guys will probably be long gone.

You purchase your copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2: Revengence, and open the disc case, eagerly awaiting the thrill of living your childhood once again. A rancid odor immediately fills your nostrils, your eyes tear up instantly, you recoil instinctively and drop the case on the floor. red matter splatters across your carpet, and once you wipe the tears from your eyes, you finally see the source of the odor. Several maggot-ridden rat corpses have been compressed in such a way as to fit inside the disc case. They leak black ooze, their bones surely powder mixed in with the rot. You had noticed the disc case had been heavier than you were accustomed to in the modern day, but you had supposed they might have included a manual just for old-times sake. No. Rats.

You're on the floor, the smell is so overpowering. Your pet bird isn't moving anymore. You claw your way across the carpet, dragging yourself through the refuse that had splashed out of the case. You have to close it, you can't take it much longer, you're going to pass out. You thrust your arm forward to close the disc case, but it lands right in the filth. You immeditaely retract your hand in disgust, but something clings to your finger. One of the rats is somehow still alive, and it whispers into your ear:

"Cloud tells the party about Sephiroth and how he burned down Cloud's hometown. This happens in a random field because Kalm is too expensive to render. Yuffie steals the party's equipment so they have to do sidequests to get more. The chocobo farm is a big dungeon, and the Zolom is a mandatory boss. The Mithril mine takes 5 chapters to get through. The game ends in Junon, with a battle against the gods of time who is then eaten by Sephoroth who is the real final boss again. He throws the cargo ship at you. Zack helps. Thank you for purchasing the game, please be excited for the next installment."

You blink. The smell is gone, you're on your feet again. You never owned a pet bird. You look down at the disc case you just opened. There's a Gackt CD in the disc slot, and a small pamphlet with the words the rat had just whispered on it. why are you crying?

Game of the year.

What the hell did I just read lmao

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I think what Kitase has at least said in the Remake Ultimania is indicative of that (which I posted two pages ago).View attachment 9433
And just the general content of their numerous interviews in general, sure there is going to be new stuff and modifications in the Remake, as the first part has already demonstrated. But nothing has been hinted that SE or the developers view the Remake is some meta canonical pseudo-sequel to the OG.

They're not going to spoil their plot before it's done either. At any rate, Nomura has already said that "remake" has a meaning beyond just being the title of the game that he can't talk about yet.

At least that's how I've interpreted everything so far.

I've interpreted everything the other way.

 

[Fiz]

I think what Kitase has at least said in the Remake Ultimania is indicative of that (which I posted two pages ago).View attachment 9433
And just the general content of their numerous interviews in general, sure there is going to be new stuff and modifications in the Remake, as the first part has already demonstrated. But nothing has been hinted that SE or the developers view the Remake is some meta canonical pseudo-sequel to the OG. At least that's how I've interpreted everything so far.

Right, but "not something completely different", "not drastically different" are not terms you use when somethings going to be close to the original either. There will be some shockers. Also, that last line... "please assume that FF7 will still be FF7 as usual". I saw the original Japanese and while the translation is correct the context I got was more like "it will still be" rather than literally "it will be exactly the same".

The BIB, "Remake will close the compilation", "The meaning of Remake will become apparent later", and then just taking what we've been shown, indicates that it is. It's not like they're going to explicitly say it at this point, generally creators don't want to spoil their stuff in advance. Of course they're going to be coy. But indications point at it being a sequel... I mean, we literally have future visions, Fate trying to preserve OG, AC Sephy running around and WTF is with Aerith. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck then its probably a duck.

That is actually something that sounds valid. Like Sephiroth and Aerith are sort of demi-Gods with the other characters as the chess pieces. Cloud is the Queen piece.

Yeah

That's kind of my bet too. I've said it here but Aeris is the White to counter Sephiroth's Dark. Which is also why she'll need to die, because all this fight really happens in the Lifestream, if you think about it. We may get snippets of Aerith int he Lifestream who's fighting too, this time? I don't know, I kind of hope so, since there will be one game at least without her - that's a long time.

As you know, I think shes with us until the end. Remake has seeded the groundwork for that to be, and I don't think she exists as a normal entity in Remake to start.

 

[Odysseus]

What the hell did I just read lmao

r a t s

 

[Roundhouse]

Half of the thread: Nothing big is going to change, VIIR will retain the core of VII.

Other half: Pointing to Genesis in the corner, who is singing Scar's 'Be Prepared' from Lion King.

'So prepare for the coup of the century
Be prepared for the murkiest scam
Meticulous planning
Tenacity spanning
Decades of denial
Is simply why I'll
Be king undisputed
Respected, saluted
And seen for the wonder I am'

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Right, but "not something completely different", "not drastically different" are not terms you use when somethings going to be close to the original either.

I'll also add that being sequel-y doesn't entail the original game's plot not more or less going the way it always did. It certainly adds an extra layer of plot on top of it, but extra plot is what we've been told to expect from the remake -- and boy howdy are they already delivering on it when we have a distinct, separate Sephiroth running around in the space of our classic narrative ...

 

[Theozilla]

They're not going to spoil their plot before it's done either. At any rate, Nomura has already said that "remake" has a meaning beyond just being the title of the game that he can't talk about yet.


I've interpreted everything the other way.

I don't expect them to spoil their own plot, I just think it's unlikely that something that they been advertising as "A' is actually going to turn out to be a "B". I don't doubt that there will be some additional time/reality and fate/destiny stuff sprinkled throughout the Remake, but I don't think its going to be done in a manner that's not self-contained and is implying the OG as some separate past/reality within the Remake's narrative itself.

Right, but "not something completely different", "not drastically different" are not terms you use when somethings going to be close to the original either. There will be some shockers. Also, that last line... "please assume that FF7 will still be FF7 as usual". I saw the original Japanese and while the translation is correct the context I got was more like "it will still be" rather than literally "it will be exactly the same".

The BIB, "Remake will close the compilation", "The meaning of Remake will become apparent later", and then just taking what we've been shown, indicates that it is. It's not like they're going to explicitly say it at this point, generally creators don't want to spoil their stuff in advance. Of course they're going to be coy. But indications point at it being a sequel... I mean, we literally have future visions, Fate trying to preserve OG, AC Sephy running around and WTF is with Aerith. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck then its probably a duck.

The unknown/??? Sephiroth has not been confirmed to be a future AC version of him, it's still some unknown/unrevealed version of him. I'm definitely expecting there will be some meta timey-wimey stuff further added to the Remake, but not in a way that implies its inherent nature to be a sequel to the OG. None of the stuff indicates or points to it being a sequel IMO, to

And maybe I have a different understanding of proper terminology usage but the terms "not something completely different" and "not drastically different" are things I would say to describe something close to the original, even when close to the original isn't the same exactly. Like if I said I was remaking my grandma's chocolate cake recipe, I'd still consider it pretty close to the original even I added additional ingredients and toppings to it. But if I changed it so much that it's an entirely different flavor of cake, and is now like a strawberry cake, I wouldn't say it was any longer "not something completely different" and "not drastically different", which I think making something a meta pseudo-sequel qualifies as.
And I would consider the Remake so far to be pretty close to the original, even with the Whispers and Chapter 18 stuff.


Anyways it seems like the fundamental difference in interpretation regarding the FFVII Remake hinges on whether one views the changes and new things as simply additive elements to the Remake, while others view the same changes and new things as elements that inherently change the nature/constitution of the Remake.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Exactly. We'd be getting a completely different ending to FFVII as a saga if it followed the path and end point of Rebuild of Evangelion.

I mean, completely different.

Funnily enough, that's exactly how some of us are expecting Remake to end up...

Half of the thread: Nothing big is going to change, VIIR will retain the core of VII.

Other half: Pointing to Genesis in the corner, who is singing Scar's 'Be Prepared' from Lion King.

Well played!

 

[ForceStealer]

Kitase:

 

[LNK]

You do paint a picture.


I mean, there's red herrings, but then there's just wastefully sabotaging the original Cloud/Zack reveal for nothing to come out of it either as a narrative device or within the narrative itself. What would that offer either new or returning players?

Also, what about the alternate Stamp design?

I wouldn't say its a waste. They could expand on the flashbacks, by using more stuff from CC. All the flashbacks could be playable like the Laguna scenes from FF8. I still think remake is a sequel to CC and a prequel to AC though. Having Zack live would not make any sense to the whole FF7 story.

When it comes to the stamp design, I honestly don't even remember my opinion on it. I definitely didn't think a whole lot into it.

 

[LNK]

That sounds like the most appalling anti-climax I've heard in a long time. To throw that big twist in at the end of P1, and then have the character gunned down by the grunts after a few scenes in P2 sounds dreadful. I think people are so desperate for things to stay the same that even concepts like this sound attractive, because it preserves the original direction.

I never said that he'd be gunned down after a few scenes in part 2 though. That could come towards the end of the game

 

[Roundhouse]

If they actually do a lot with his character throughout the game and he gets proper screen time, I could see him dying at the end, sure. Personally I think it would happen later in the remake as a whole, though, but hard to say.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I mean, him dying is fine. It's almost a foregone conclusion. But for them to say "Hey, remember arguably the greatest plot twist from the original? Yeah, we threw that out and gutted the presentation of the original story even while technically sticking to the details of its plot ... just to string along old players into momentarily thinking we were changing something. Uh-buh-buh burn"?

Not at my most Square Cynical would I believe that's what they intend.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I mean, him dying is fine. It's almost a foregone conclusion. But for them to say "Hey, remember arguably the greatest plot twist from the original? Yeah, we threw that out and gutted the presentation of the original story even while technically sticking to the details of its plot ... just to string along old players into momentarily thinking we were changing something. Uh-buh-buh burn"?

Not at my most Square Cynical would I believe that's what they intend.

Funny enough, the simplest way to have Zack to come back would be for SE to say “well, you all only THOUGHT Zack died, he was actually alive the whole time!” and I would personally dislike that a lot more than what they ended up going with even with all the Whisper stuff because at least he actually did die at some point, rather than them pretending like he never actually died

 

[Theozilla]

Like I don't doubt the alive!Zack (and alternate Stamp and the Cloud that's with him) thing will be addressed in some manner, but I doubt the manner in which it will occur in will involve Cloud (and others) somehow becoming aware of the OG's major twist before its intended spot in the Remake's narrative.
It will probably resolve itself independently of the main cast actually becoming aware of it (maybe Aerith subconsciously "feels" it or something), like Laguna in FFVIII but without it being "dreamed"/witnessed by any of the main cast. My guess is whatever meta/whisper stuff occurs in future installments will somehow cause alive!Zack to somehow be required to return to his original fate, like some Doctor Who/Booster Gold subplot where someone saves everyone without anyone in the world realizing it.