FFVII Remake:
- 4/14 - 5/20 First play through complete
- Total time ~44 hours
Overall thoughts - major spoilers
With memories of the original in the back of my head, I definitely thought the highway part would be the end of the game. Especially after this image in the link below hit the internet. There was a part of me thinking that this would be the final shot of the game. https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/news/heroes-gather-new-final-fantasy-vii-remake-key-art I was actually surprised to be wrong. This shot isn't even in the game at all and it's a beautiful piece of art.
Concerning the Singularity, I can't say with a 100% certainty that everything made sense to me. IMO, the purpose of the Whispers was they had a certain amount of control over fate and they had the power to change it, so if they are now destroyed in the final battle what does that mean moving forward? Can future events be prevented or changed compared to what we know happens in the original? Or now that they're gone, are we truly on our own? Aerith mentions the future being a blank slate - is she correct? Red XIII says something like these visions from the arbiters of fate are of the future if we fail. Actually, the vision of him running through the canyon was after the group succeeded in saving Midgar and the planet, at least that's what I thought when we were shown the final shot of the original game that Midgar is covered in green plants and Shinra is no longer sucking up the life of the planet.
I watched IGN's explanation of the ending and I felt a little bit better as there is a lot of stuff left purposely vague for the sequel. Specially the "7 seconds" tidbit is up for discussion/debate. As the world opens up for this little branch of Avalanche in the sequel to this game, will they necessarily follow the same path as the original? It doesn't feel like it and that's okay. While I appreciate the backstory dump in Kalm post Midgar in the original, I think that could be done completely different in the next installment of the Remake and I hope it is.
As mentioned above, in the Remake, it felt like there was a lot more talk of Wutai, and a new element? of Avalanche HQ. I don't remember HQ being mention in the original; I definitely don't remember them being a presence in the original game for sure. In the Remake, they are mentioned to be more extreme than Barret's group, but what's more extreme than blowing up a reactor? Will we find out more about HQ? Also, speaking of changes, Mayor Domino seems to play more of a role. I wonder if he'll come back in the sequel. Also, is Jesse the only person in the game that actually died?
The IGN video also mentioned a parallel universe where Zack is still alive. I know a parallel timeline story arc was discussed when this game was first developed back in the 90s, but it was ultimately used in FF8 instead with Squall and his father IIRC. Also, if there is a universe where Zack survives, how will that affect the main story, if at all?
At the end of the day, it was great being back in this universe. It was fun to play and only slightly frustrating at times, but so was the original. I died to Sephiroth twice when I was given Aerith and then Tifa in the final battle. Out of frustration, I returned to the title screen, did all the arbiter stuff again, but then I got Tifa then Barret in the final battle and won. So I don't know if there's an element of RNG or if I did something different that affected who I was given. Either way, I look forward to revisiting some chapters now that I have that ability and maybe I'll dip into Hard mode over the long Memorial Day weekend.
The Unknown Journey Will Continue...hopefully in 2021 or 2022 at the latest [fingered crossed]!
