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After the momentous success of Final Fantasy VII Remake in April 2020, fans have been eagerly waiting for the next installment in the game’s sprawling narrative. While Square Enix found a way to temporarily abate fans’ hunger with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade in 2021, Yuffie’s side story ultimately doesn’t further the narrative in any significant ways.
However, one of the most discussed aspects of Remake‘s second installment is the elements that will be changed from the original 1997 game. While the first installment stays mostly true to the narrative, major deviations towards the end of the game suggest that fans could see a substantial shakeup to the future of the story they know and love.
10 The Order Of Events Is Set
Players of the original Final Fantasy VII are well aware of the game’s open-world mechanics, which don’t fully unlock until after the party departs Midgar for Kalm. Remake manages to sidestep this issue by solely focusing on the City of Mako with its first installment. However, the second installment won’t be able to avoid tackling this issue.
While it would be exhilarating for fans to experience an open-world setting for the game, this likely won’t become a reality. If Episode: INTERmission is any indicator, with the plot forcing Cloud and company to Kalm, then it’s likely that the second installment will continue the linear narrative set forth by its predecessor.
9 Hojo Spills The Beans At Costa Del Sol
One of the big secrets of the original game is that the protagonist Cloud Strife is lying about his entire backstory. The catch, however, is that he isn’t aware he’s lying about it, mainly due to a combination of trauma and mako poisoning. In the original game, it isn’t until Cloud falls into the lifestream and Tifa fixes his memories that Cloud reclaims his true identity.
Remake may intend to change this, though. A run-in with Hojo makes it clear that Shinra’s lead scientist remembers the ex-SOLDIER’s real identity, which he almost reveals before being interrupted by the Whispers. Now that the Whispers are gone, however, Hojo is free to drop the bombshell on Cloud when they cross paths again at Costa del Sol.
8 Biggs Makes Contact With Barret
Among the many surprises that in the epilogue to the first installment of Remake was the revelation that Biggs had actually survived the horrific collapse of Sector 7 during Chapter 7, which he perished in during the original game. While still heavily bandaged and injured, Remake makes it abundantly clear the Avalanche member is very much alive and kicking.
What’s less clear is how exactly Biggs will factor into future installments. Given the introduction of Avalanche HQ in Intergrade, it’s possible he’ll outsource communications across the planet to make contact with his rambunctious cell leader Barret.
7 Yuffie Has More Noble Motivations
Yuffie Kisaragi is one of two optional characters that players can recruit in their playthrough of the original game. However, the young Wutai ninja joins the party with rather selfish motives, outright stealing the party’s materia should the player choose to pay a visit to her homeland of Wutai.
While Yuffie is forced to reconcile with Cloud and friends after a harrowing encounter with Don Corneo, Remake seeks to portray Yuffie much differently. Though this Yuffie still plays the role of a thief, her aim to steal Shinra’s Big Materia is more justified due to the injustices the Shinra Electric Power Company has wrought upon her home country.
6 Barret Could Mention Shalua In Corel
One of the sequences that fans are likely to revisit in the second installment is Corel, where the outgoing Barret is forced to contend with his past and confront his former best friend, Dyne. While it’s nothing more than speculation about how these events will play out, it’s entirely possible that Barret name drops a familiar face from Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
The person in question is none other than Shalua Rui, a soldier and scientist who has a past history with Avalanche. While Sakaki is responsible for building Barret’s arm attachment, the rumor is that Shalua is the one to actually build his gun-arm. Mentioning Shalua would only further Square’s efforts to bring the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII into the fold.
5 Meeting Vincent Isn’t Optional
Based on Intergrade, it seems to be a given among fans that Yuffie will be an integral rather than an optional character to the story of Remake. If that’s the case, Square Enix will likely extend the same courtesy to the original game’s other optional character: Vincent Valentine. Vincent is a former Turk who harbors a deep hatred for Hojo.
In the original game, players are able to locate Vincent Valentine in a hidden room within the Abandoned Shinra Manor at Nibelheim. Given how likely it is for players to visit Cloud and Tifa’s hometown in the second installment, it’d make sense for the party to meet the immortal through a drawn-out mandatory encounter that is typical of Remake‘s narrative style.
4 Scarlet Could Get Deepground Involved
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises fans received with Intergrade was the inclusion of major antagonists from 2006’s Dirge of Cerberus, a spin-off title that only received a lukewarm reception upon release. Though their appearances are brief in Episode: INTERmission, Weiss the Immaculate and Nero the Sable certainly make their presence known to fans.
While this retcon certainly affirms Deepground as one of Shinra’s secret assets that had been active long before the events of Dirge of Cerberus, fans can’t help but wonder if Deepground will make its way beyond the City of Mako during the events of Remake. It’d certainly make sense for Scarlet to deploy such a powerful group in the face of Sephiroth and Meteorfall.
3 The Unknown Role Of Zack Fair
Zack Fair is alive. Not only is the 1st Class SOLDIER’s survival Remake‘s biggest twist, but it completely turns the ending of 2007’s Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on its head. To drive the point home, Intergrade follows up on Zack making it back to Midgar to see Aerith, only to find his flower girl missing and the Sector 5 Church overflowing with refugees.
It’s safe to say that Zack Fair is the true wild card going into the second installment—fans have no idea what to expect from his arc. If he’s in an alternate reality, does that mean Cloud never formed a party to stop Sephiroth? If so, where did Aerith go? Or has Zack somehow found his way into Remake‘s main timeline?
2 Genesis Makes A Return
If Remake intends to steal scenes directly from Crisis Core and lift characters from Dirge of Cerberus, the only major player still missing from the game is Crisis Core‘s main antagonist: Genesis Rhapsodos. Given that Zack now finds himself alive in Remake‘s story, it’d make sense for there to be a need to give the ex-Shinra mercenary a compelling story.
More importantly, Genesis never actually died in the Final Fantasy VII canon. In Crisis Core, he’s saved by Weiss and Nero (the same ones from Deepground), a favor which he returns by rescuing Weiss in Dirge of Cerberus‘ secret ending, which chronologically occurs after Remake. Remake, then, can fill in what Genesis was up to during the in-between time.
1 Aerith Doesn’t Die
What if one of the most prolific deaths in all of gaming was retconned? It’s the question that’s been on every fans’ mind since the twisty ending of Remake. While no one knows for sure where the second installment of the game will end, the iconic scene at the Forgotten City would make for quite the cliffhanger…if it were to happen.
What’s gotten fans speculating whether or not Aerith will die hinges on the theory that Sephiroth is aware of his defeat in the original Final Fantasy VII, which ultimately came about due to the brutal murder of the Cetra. If Aerith doesn’t die, however, the One-Winged Angel may be able to fully enact Meteor without Aerith manipulating Holy from the lifestream.
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