Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally available, we have talked about it extensively in our dedicated review but, this time, we want to tell you about the differences that exist between this new version of the game and the original 1997 version. Some changes were only a side effect, others considerably heavier . the certainty, however, is that Square Enix has not been able to please everyone, and this article was created for both new and old players.
If you ended up on this article but still haven't finished Final Fantasy VII Remake, run away! The article will contain numerous spoilers that we recommend that you discover in the course of the game. So, as already mentioned, SPOILER WARNING !!!!
Avalanche
Immediately you notice how theAvalanche, the group they belong to Barret, Tifa and the other boys, is not just a small revolutionary bike, but a much more structured faction, divided into different groups and cells. That of Barret and his companions is very small but, during the story, the main nucleus is mentioned several times and their involvement in other activities.
This is especially noticeable towards the conclusion: during the climb inside the ShinRa, the mayor of Midgar, further introduction within this Remake, it turns out to be an infiltrator within the company that is helping our heroes. All this stems from the need to give a plausibility to what happens, given that the protagonists, despite being sought after, manage to wander around the building undisturbed. All this also allows us to give a profound psychological analysis to these activities, which are really well branched within Midgar.
Shinra and the reactor
During the first mission (as also seen in the demo), it is not the boys of Barret and blow up the whole reactor: we see in fact in the video that the explosion destroys only the generator. The rest is done by ShinRa, which uses all this to focus on war, certainly more profitable than other activities.
As you progress through the game you will see how ShinRa takes advantage of these episodes to blame Wutai and Avalanche, so as to feed propaganda in favor of war and hatred of those who want to stop this powerful company.
Additional missions
One of the things that immediately stands out are the added parts, among all, the one dedicated to the mission of Jessie, thus also contextualizing all the speech related to the bombs: the girl is in fact worried that it was her fault for the great explosion, and therefore invites her friends to recover a new bomb. Here starts a whole sequence that leads us to discover the girl's life outside the Avalanche, entering the intimacy of his real home and the relationship with parents.
Another large additional part is linked to the laboratory hidden under sector 7: which can be visited a couple of times in the game (towards the final parts), inside our heroes they will find creatures, experiments and much more, thus also contextualizing the Makonoids, that is of deliberately mutated creatures (probably by Hojo).
Wutai's introduction
The ShinRa is manipulating public opinion, so much so that it has convinced citizens that the Avalanche attacks are somehow connected to Wutai, a nation located in the northern part of the continent. Although in the original game this was an almost optional part, now it seems that it will become central to the purposes of the plot, perhaps just in view of the second episode.
Wutai had already had problems with ShinRa in the past, a war that had seen her come out defeated. The nation is very attached to Materia, which represent in all respects a power that ShinRa wants to exploit for its shady purposes. This aspect will certainly be deepened, probably everything will lead to a new war.
Jenova
The one present in the Hojo laboratory is undoubtedly Jenova, a figure that within the cosmology of Final Fantasy VII is a sort of Deus Ex Machina. This was probably stolen from the lab precisely from Sephiroth, although at present we do not know for what purpose.
In addition, the clash against this creature has also been added, which however seems to be a sort of dream or vision of the characters induced perhaps by Numen or by Sephiroth himself. At the end of the game we can see how Hojo laughs after Jenova's disappearance, as if he has calculated everything or is aware of what could happen if the Villain starts to exploit the ancestral power of this monster.
The Guardians of Destiny
The big change falls instead in the Destiny Guardians, Or the Numan: these beings, who seem to be the guardians of the history of the planet until its end, are inserted from the beginning without explaining what they are (up to chapter 17). It will be right Red XIII once he got in touch with Aerith to explain it: the Numen come into play when the story, that is the original one, is about to change (thus focusing on meta-referential content).
If 1997's Final Fantay VII ended in a certain way, it seems that 23 years later the Numen themselves are fighting to follow the natural destiny of the planet. There are many theories about these creatures, which we have already explored in this article.
Sephiroth
His appearance as the final boss is a bit unsettling: in the original game we had to play a little more to meet him, while now he comes out at the end ready to anticipate his plans. Also interesting is the fact that Aerith both the engine that pushes the party to continue the mission, suggesting to advance in the search and defeat of Sephiroth.
This choice, together with that of Jenova, serves to make this first chapter more palatable: otherwise, we would have had a poor game of good boss fights.
Zack
The real and big change: at the end of the game, when everything seems to have changed (we see it from the image of the mascot ShinRa), we see Zack shoulder Cloud towards Midgar, while something strange happens in the distance. Obviously this doesn't mean that Zack is alive (they could shoot him shortly), but hope is there, especially given the final text that highlights how the story is now unexplored.
Aerith also states, before the final fight, how this choice will not only change everything, but also themselves. Only the second chapter will be able to show us the truth.
Game theme
When the first Final Fantasy VII was released, the themes that colored the game concerned life, death and the much loved earth (Gaia): all this developed slowly, producing more and more contents and concepts in the second half of the game. Perhaps due to having to fragment the story, or for a simple change of management, now the themes seem to be closer to modern Final Fantasy: fate, destiny, history and fighting for one's life.
