Before the game came out, Square Enix devoted a lot of its time to answering question about the canonicity of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Fans were desperate to know what narrative changes were coming in the revamped version of the classic JRPG. The game's producer, Yoshinori Kitase, had assured fans that each episode would not stray far from the original story. Things were inevitably going to change after all, considering Final Fantasy 7 is over 28 years old at this point. Most fans expected scenes like the Wall Market section to change in line with modern sensibilities, which they did. However, it wasn't just modernization efforts that were made to the remake.
In the wake of the events of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, there's a surprising amount of unanswered questions waiting to be resolved in the next episode. The interesting thing about the remake is it straddles a very fine line, by largely sticking to the original game's narrative beats whilst also introducing new ones. All of the expected events from Final Fantasy 7's Midgar section (the reactor bombings, Aerith's kidnapping by Shinra, escaping the city on motorcycle) occurred alongside new content. However, Final Fantasy 7 Remake opens up a whole new can of worms with Sephiroth, the Whispers, and a certain someone making an unexpected return.
Note: Full spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake ahead.
The Whispers, the Singularity, and Potentially an Alternate Reality
One of the biggest changes that rears its head immediately in Final Fantasy 7 Remake are the Whispers and the Singularity. These ethereal entities show up numerous times throughout Final Fantasy 7 Remake's runtime, and they also become the penultimate boss fight for the game's conclusion. They seem to appear only in specific portions of the game, specifically any narrative diversion from the original events of Final Fantasy 7. These Whispers appear from what Remake refers to as "the Singularity," some kind of shadow world, which by definition is a paradoxical rift in reality that signifies a potentially drastic and irreversible change.
Obviously that's a big implication for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which in many examples changes key factors of the game's story in direct opposition to the Whispers. Their otherworldly awareness of the goings on between Cloud's party, Shinra, and Sephiroth's plan is vexing and ambiguous. Discussions surrounding the Whispers in-game typically involve phrases like "arbiters of fate" or "destiny," but it's unclear what their true purpose is. It's hard to say for certain, but these "arbiters of fate" could be specters from a previous timeline or reality, potentially meddling in the affairs of Cloud's party to keep them on the same track for Final Fantasy 7's original story.
Aerith and Sephiroth Know... Something
Along those lines, the Whispers aren't the only ones that seem to have some kind of undisclosed knowledge of the future in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Various hints of knowledge throughout Final Fantasy 7 Remake seem to indicate that Sephiroth and Aerith also seem to harbor some kind of hidden wisdom. In the original Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth's presence was foreboding and mysterious, forcing Cloud, Aerith, and the rest of the party to investigate in order to discover his true intentions. Sephiroth is a wholly different beast in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, showing himself to Cloud and party quite immediately and seemingly guiding them along his predetermined path.
Aerith seems to know something about Sephiroth that the rest of the party, at least by the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, doesn't entirely know. In the original game, Cloud was really the only person who knew of what Sephiroth was capable of and how dangerous he was. Other party members just assumed he was some legendary war veteran before the death of President Shinra. Now, it seems, Aerith has some kind of previous knowledge of Sephiroth outside of public knowledge. She's the one who convinces Cloud and party to go after and stop him, something Cloud did in the original game. At this point, Aerith still hasn't shared what extent of knowledge she has.
Zack's Survival, and What it Means for Cloud's Character Development
Those that finished Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first episode defeated the Whisper Harbinger, which evidently seemed to have created an alternate reality. The basis for this? Apparently, Zack Fair is alive and well alongside Cloud in some kind of alternate universe Midgar, at least that's what seems to be implied. The "Stamp" character art change on the floating piece of trash really is the only evidence that this is true, but it's a pretty deliberate hint that something has changed. In the original Final Fantasy 7, Cloud's identity crisis and lapses of psychosis stemmed from PTSD that he suffered when Zack died. Now that he's supposedly alive, what does that mean for Cloud?
Cloud's entire character development in Final Fantasy 7 is dependent on his backstory with Zack Fair and the vents of Crisis Core. His death was meant to shape his trauma and turn him into the cold SOLDIER he is during Final Fantasy 7. Assuming Zack is alive somehow, whether in the current Final Fantasy 7 Remake world or some kind of alternate dimension, that could seriously jeopardize Cloud's original character development. Then again, Cloud's personality changes a lot in Final Fantasy 7 Remake already, so perhaps this is just another effort in softening his hard edge and making him more human.
There's a few additional, smaller changes made throughout Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Things like the expanded focus on the Avalanche crew, new characters like Roche, and of course the fundamental gameplay changes, but these are the biggest changes that will undoubtedly affect the next episode. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first episode teased a lot of perplexing new story elements, meaning the narrative progression in the next game could be surprisingly different from Final Fantasy 7.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake's second episode is in development.