Even though Final Fantasy VII Remake came out just a few short months ago, it feels like we’ve been waiting centuries to see what happens next. Although Square Enix has not formally announced a release date for the second installment in the multipart series, the developer recently stepped in. FF7 Remake crossover with the long running mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, and has kept the hype members on the floor with a series of interviews about making Midgar. It is possible, if we are not very likely, we can hear more about the FF7 Remake Part 2 release date at Tokyo Game Show in September.
In the meantime, it’s the wild end of FF7 Remake still has turned our fan-theory gears, and it’s clear that the sequel will have to take a wildly different approach to one of the pivotal moments of the story – the Nibelheim incident. Interestingly enough, Rian Johnson’s exceptional (or divisive) installation of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Last Jedi, would perhaps be the perfect model for this critical aspect of FF7 lore. Here’s why.
Light spoilers for the original FF7 forward.
The Nibelheim incident takes place in the birthplace of Cloud and Tifa, roughly five years before the events of the main story, and we learn about it shortly after the party left Midgar in the 1997 game. (It has already been heavily referred to during cuts since Final Fantasy VII Remake.) It marks the beginning of Sephiroth’s demand for world domination and his fascination with Jenova. In essence, some Big Shit fell down at the Mako reactor, resulting in a very heavy sword and fire shenanigans, and Shinra covered it all. The incident also proves central to Cloud’s mental instability and strained relationships with Tifa, Sephy, Professor Hojo and Zack Fair.
Oh, and Vincent Valentine is there too. I guess.
The original Final Fantasy VII sees players visit the city of Nibelheim several times, both in flashbacks and in the present day. As the story progresses, we learn more about the events of five years in advance, we see them ourselves from the perspectives of characters other than Cloud. All these incremental versions of the story that we thought we were able to build into one of the most memorable narrative characters in the history of gaming, which for the most part plays out through cutscenes. Next-gen hardware can allow players to experience those jaw-dropping revelations in an even more immersive way.
Remember that moment in De Last Jedi, where does Luke attack Ben Solo while he sleeps? We see it from three perspectives – Luke’s version, Ben’s version, and Rey’s version. Each is a little different, in a way that reminds us that people are not always reliable narrators in moments of great stress. (It’s a storytelling technique best known for Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, but more people can probably remember this recent blockbuster scene.)
Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2 can explore multiple perspectives on ways that the 1997 game never could. The next installation should experience our Nibelheim as Cloud, Zack and Sephiroth. There is no reason to limit this game to cuts anymore. After all, if Square Enix can wring 40 hours of fun out of Midgar, we can definitely spend several hours in Nibelheim.
The end of FF7 Remake, which has a striking and ambiguous comeo of Zack, strongly suggests that director Tetsuya Nomura and screenwriter Kazushige Nojima bring elements of the “Compilation of Final Fantasy VII,“that’s essential games, movies and comics released to the original FF7 that form a kind of expanded universe around the game.
In an interview for the Japanese guidebook, Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania, Nojima sei:
I knew that even though this story is about Cloud, the works from the ‘Compilation of FFVII“Are greatly increased [over the years], and I wanted to create something that would take all of this work and combine it into one. Each person who played the original version also has their own vision of the world of FFVII, and I wanted to keep that, too. The results of those feelings are shown within the Remake ‘s story.
Spend more time unpacking what happened in Nibelheim five years earlier in the next installation of Remake would be the next logical step for uniting all the components of the FF7 story together into one whole. Have you ever wondered what the hell Sephy read in days in the basement of that mansion? Now you can find out. It would also be a great way to bring in story beats from Zino’s spinoff, Core Crisis. And why stop there? Players could moonlight like Tifa, Vincent, or even Hojo for a few short sequences. This means that part 2 brings elements of the cow Edge of Cerebus story too. Many of the FF7 spinoff games are not easy to play anymore, and there are no signs of any ports on the horizon.
Since Nomura confirmed somewhere else in Ultimania that Zack Fair lives (in one timeline or another) at the end of FF7 Remake, which opens up a whole host of possibilities for how Nibelheim’s role in the story could change. At the very least, Cloud might be forced to confront the inconsistencies in his memories much sooner than the original game. Given the wilder extreme of possibilities, Zack was able to play a much larger role in the whole story of FF7 Remake Part 2 and its sequel, as an ally or even an enemy.
FF7The story has been offered by gaming fans for decades because it gets under your skin. You share every step of the journey with Cloud – his heartbeat, excitement, frustration and triumph are yours too. Leaving players by navigating these events through the perspective of Cloud’s enemies and friends could be another step towards FF7 Remake darken the luster of the original – even if we have to wait years to experience the whole dang thing.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2 is currently under development.
