Five Years Ago, FF7 Remake’s Gamble Paved the Way for Rebirth

As the industry continues to get bogged down by self-proclaimed remakes that are minimally remade and those that turn out to be little more than remasters, games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its successor, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, stand tall as giants. It has now been five years since the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the first entry in a trilogy aiming to reinvent the original Final Fantasy 7, and it set in stone not only what a video game remake could be, but also what its successors would be able to accomplish on account of its willingness to stretch itself beyond the confines of the original game.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s name is a bit of a double entendre, all things considered. Yes, it is the first of three entries dedicated to modernizing Final Fantasy 7‘s gameplay, visuals, and soundtrack, but it did something drastic that many might have seen as impossible beforehand: daring to reshape the original game’s story. In that way, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a true remake, as it introduces Final Fantasy 7 to a new generation of gamers with a fresh take on the original game’s story that still finds its roots there. Rather than making some of the biggest changes to the original game, however, Final Fantasy 7 Remake largely facilitated changes five years ago that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would later capitalize on, even to the point of controversy.

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Paved the Way for Rebirth to Change the Story

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Whispers Trivialized the Original Game’s Canon

While Final Fantasy 7 Remake did make some changes to the original game’s canon, many of them were minuscule in comparison to the Whispers. The Whispers in Final Fantasy 7 Remake are ethereal entities tasked with preserving the narrative events of the original game, and even intervening whenever characters deviated from the predetermined path of the 1997 classic. For example, when Sephiroth unexpectedly impales Barret in the game, the Whispers resurrect Barret in order to maintain continuity between the original Final Fantasy 7 and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

With the inclusion of the Whispers, Final Fantasy 7 Remake would ensure that the trilogy would remain faithful to the original game’s storyline, all while allowing it to explore new narrative directions, albeit temporarily. However, by Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s ending, the protagonists confront the Whispers and ultimately overcome them, thereby freeing the rest of the trilogy to make some bold choices regarding Final Fantasy 7 canon. This would most directly impact Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth when it launched nearly four years later.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Followed Suit With Altered Storylines

Since the Whispers were eliminated in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, reality was fragmented into multiple timelines — a wave that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth later rode with the concept of divergent realities being central to its narrative, characters, and worldbuilding. In these new timelines, characters experience massively different destinies than they did in the original game. Zack Fair, for instance, who died in the original game’s story, is still alive in an alternate reality in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Aerith is also presumed to still be alive in another timeline by the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, despite having died in the original game.

In other words, Final Fantasy 7 Remake took a bold leap of faith five years ago when it introduced the Whispers, and while it was ultimately the defeat of the Whispers that threatened the original game’s canon, had they not been introduced in the first place, Final Fantasy 7‘s canon likely would have remained intact inside the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. Whether that decision is a “good” decision is dependent upon who is asked, but it’s impossible to deny how innovative Final Fantasy 7 Remake was five years ago and still is today, and how it might influence future video game remakes.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Systems

Released

April 10, 2020

ESRB

T for Teen due to Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Developer(s)

Square Enix Business Division 1

Engine

Unreal Engine 4