8 Final Fantasy VII Remake Details That Completely Change The Way You See The Story Of Midgar
Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of the most notable achievements of the last decade or so, both from a graphics and gameplay perspective. It set the bar for the action-based JRPG that has never been higher 6 years later, and managed to reinvent the most important game of all time in a fun way.
Mainly because it wasn’t just a Remake, it was a sequel of sorts as well. Square Enix threw the kitchen sink at this thing with a story idea, and what was originally a very small part of Final Fantasy VII’s story became its own game.
We will explore the interesting details in Final Fantasy VII: Remake that have changed a lot from the original game.
8
The Cloud Sees the Sephiroth
Little by little, right?
In the original game, you actually don’t even see Sephiroth until the Costa del Sol ship. However, that wasn’t in the cards for this remake as Square Enix knew what the main event of Final Fantasy VII had always been. So it was shocking when, in the seemingly quiet moments of the first game, Cloud meets Sephiroth’s vision on the trail.
It completely changed the course of the story because, at this point in Midgar, no one, including Cloud, had any clue that Sephiroth was a current threat to be dealt with. It quickly changes the story of Midgar because while Shinra is positioned as the big bad from the first steps, it is clear that it is only a bump in the road, as whoever or whatever this Sephiroth is, it is far more than what any evil organization can do.
7
The cloud is directed to the Second Bombing Mission
A Ghostly Intervention
The cloud was not supposed to be on the second bombing mission and looked like it was small and made of AVALANCHE. That was until the Whispers showed the first signs of true aggression and attacked the Sector 7 plate, which of course, ended up injuring Jessie’s ankle and forcing the team to take on Cloud one last time.
This is different because in the first game, there are no Whispers to make that happen. Which means that the Whispers were forcing the story to match what happened in the first game. In fact, they played the role of fans who wanted nothing to be changed in the original story.
6
The Wedge Passes
A Great Man Does Much
Wedge dies in the original game when the Sector 7 plate is destroyed, but in Final Fantasy VII: Remake, he actually makes it. It seems like a fluke, but he’s one of the few who survive it, and what’s more, he even helps the team get inside the Shinra headquarters for the last part of the game. And that would be his biggest mistake.
Because Whispers is very strict, and that wasn’t part of the script, so what did they do? They rushed him out of the window. One of the specific scenes in the game that tells you to “don’t disturb the Whisper text.” But the fun part of it all is that the characters don’t know the script, only real game players do. Which left new players thinking “what the hell is going on?” and everyone fully understood that feeling. It added a third force to Midgar’s story that seemed unbalanced.
5
Hojo No
Not So Fast Mr Scientist
Hojo proves to be Shinra’s big bad guy towards the end of the game, and he likes to talk a lot. Unfortunately for him, he’s too quiet to like the Whispers, who have specific plans, and Hojo almost said that would put those plans in jeopardy. You see, Hojo knows everything about Cloud and is about to reveal the secret that Cloud is not the First Class SOLDIER he says he is.
Whispers realizes that this is too early for Cloud to learn the truth and decides to intervene. Now, does anything really change when Cloud finds out that he’s not such a bad military hero and was just a bad foot soldier? Not really in my opinion, but hey, I’m not a Gossip, and it’s clear that they need everything to stay as it is for some reason. Two games in and…we don’t know that reason yet, but it changes the story a lot here as Hojo was about to drop the bomb before they even entered.
4
Aerith’s fate is revealed
A Cloud Vision for the Future
Aerith’s fate is a well-known legend in the gaming world at this point and even players jumping into the game for the first time likely know a lot. However, there was no knowledge of this in the clouds or anyone else. That’s especially true during the Midgar section, which is much smaller in its story scope. We know nothing about the White Materia, praying to the Saint or who Sephiroth is.
That changes dramatically in Final Fantasy VII: Remake. Because Cloud finds his vision would be to love to pray and the White Materia falls in the final stage against the Whispers. Why? Again. Two games entered. There is no sense. But anyway, it changes a lot because Cloud now knows that time will happen and we are there knowing that time will not be stopped. Or is it possible? I think that’s probably what Final Fantasy VII: The Remake wanted you to contend with.
3
Sephiroth’s Blood Trail
Different Color, Different Story
The infamous scene in the last part of Final Fantasy VII: Remake has the party charge the Shinra tower to confront President Shinra, but when they get to the top, they are greeted by a horrific sight. A hallway soaked in blood. In the original game, that blood was red, signifying a massacre of some sort, but in the remake, it’s purple.
You might think that’s an escape from the slow growth rate, but in reality, it tells a different story. It reveals a twist that this is not really Sephiroth here, but rather Jenova. The purple blood is the dead life here as it is the same blood that Jenova would shed in the battles of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and this is just an indication of what is really going on here.
2
Barrett Meets the Pointy End
Surprising Death
Barrett gets a surprisingly scary story moment right after the team finds President Shinra’s body in Final Fantasy VII: Remake. While everyone in the cast expected to finally see Aerith’s tragic death at some point in the series, they certainly didn’t expect another character to be killed by Sephiroth.
And that’s exactly how Whispers feels too, as it fast-tracks the story so that Barrett can survive this vicious attack and while there were other moments in the story that showed Whispers’ influence and power, no other moment proves this more than this. They bring a man back from the brink of death and show the strongest character in the story really in charge here. It’s a tense moment and sets up the next epic battle against the Whispers on the highway.
1
Zack is alive
The Man Who Died
The biggest “Aha” moment of Final Fantasy VII: Remake happens at the end of the game, when we see the shocking revelation that Zack is alive. Now, most people playing the game for the first time probably have little idea who it is unless you’ve played Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core: Reunion, but for series vets, you know it’s changed.
That’s because Zack is who Cloud thinks he is, a real SOLDIER member of the First Class. That improves Midgar’s story a lot, because it means Zack is somewhere in the middle of all this chaos. While it remains to be seen what exactly happened next, this episode set the scene for what could be a buddy cop for years to come and was the talk of the gaming world when it first came out.
- Released
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April 10, 2020
- The ESRB
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t
- Engineer(s).
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Square Enix
- Publisher
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Square Enix
- Engine
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Unusual Engine 4
