THEORIES, THEORIES, THEORIES.
Right now I feel like Charlie Day in Always Sunny. I’ve spent days looking at Reddit threads, memes, and tin-foil hat wearing lunatics. All because of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Sounds like a colossal waste of time right? Well, that’s because, for the most part, it is. I’ve taken it upon myself to catalogue all the best, and worst, fan theories about the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
There are a lot of theories out there too! Some sound like they could actually happen, whilst others just sound downright idiotic.
It has Stamp the dog on it. He’s the dog that guides you to Mako Reactor 5 early in the game. The photo above is how he looks – a Beagle with a helmet on. However, in the Zack Fair scene the dog looks more like a Terrier with a cap instead. It’s a small enough, yet deliberate detail that starts raising plenty of questions.
If Zack Fair is somehow alive, then why is Stamp deliberately different in this scene? The prevailing theory… timelines. Couple this with the shot of Aerith and Zack walking past each other in some sort of void and you’ve got yourself the idea of multiple realities. Why would Zack be shown along with Aerith on the same screen? Well both these characters are instrumental to the Final Fantasy VII story. Zack is seemingly alive in some capacity and Aerith may yet survive herself. So does it seem too ludicrous to think that maybe them being alive plays a role in the sequel?
Will timelines come into it to support this idea? Who knows?
Sephiroth’s Changed Role
On the surface, this one goes without saying.
Sephiroth is present throughout most of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, taunting Cloud. This was not the case in the original, even the final fight with him isn’t present in its 1997 equivalent. With that knowledge one Reddit user guessed exactly what it is he might know, and how that will effect the story going forward.
They posit that when Sephiroth says to Cloud “7 seconds ’till the end” at the Edge of Creation he’s referring to Aerith’s death. They claim that in the 1997 original when Sephiroth appears there is a gap of exactly 7 seconds before Aerith dies. Proof is provided:
On its own that means little right? The ‘7’ might just be referring to this game as Final Fantasy VII. Well, buckle up because it’s about to get wild.
During their battle at the Edge of Creation, Sephiroth says “let us defy Destiny together”. Does he know that if Aerith dies he’ll lose? This theory believes that, suggesting through magic Mako movements, that this Sephiroth is the same one who dies in the original. Or he at least has knowledge of that ones failing.
Considering he operates in such a different capacity – torturing Cloud from the get-go, killing Barret (not really though) and fighting the group directly – this might be true.
Although Square Enix use Sephiroth in such a cryptic fashion that anything could just be a little nod here or there. Only time will tell if he actually knows more than he lets on.
Time Travel!
Oh yeah, you’d better believe some people think it’s time travel.
This is one of those theories that you can go round and round on. As this person did here.
Basically, after Advent Children both Aerith and Sephiroth go back in time to have another go of it. Even though in 2017 Nomura said the Compilation is no longer canon. But you know how these things go, he could’ve just been lying. Either way, it goes on to say that these are the same Aerith and Sephiroth from the original continuity, and somehow they’ve come back, fighting one another.
It couples this idea that both characters have foreword knowledge of what’s going to happen, as they heavily imply, with the whispers. As ‘arbiters of fate’ they may have gone back in time with these two not just to stop them. But to make sure destiny stays its course. Which of course doesn’t happen.
The theories ideas go further, saying that this Aerith is different because when she touches Red XIII he learns about the whispers from here. After all, they were attacking her when Cloud first meets her. Perhaps as a way to make sure she doesn’t do what she shouldn’t? It also suggests that Sephiroth and Aerith can’t change fate themselves, and need people from the past to do it. This being why Sephiroth gets the gang to defeat the whispers.
Considering both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts have lots of time travel, I wouldn’t put this past Tetsuya Nomura.
Final Fantasy Tactics
The last and, I’ll be honest, least likely theory pertains to Final Fantasy Tactics. Die-hard fans are probably smacking away at their keyboards furiously writing “THIS ISN’T CANON” before I even start. Nevertheless, here we are.
Most fans are probably unaware that Cloud actually makes an appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics. According to TheGamer.com “It’s suggested that Cloud is pulled from his own world at the same point as when he first fell into the Lifestream in Final Fantasy VII. Which is why his memories are still hazy when he arrives in Ivalice.”
If this is true, which it probably isn’t, it needs noting that Clouds appearance is never actually resolved in the game. Meaning in all likelihood he never returned home. If that was the case, Sephiroth would’ve won and ascended to godhood. However this theories believability stops there. As there is nothing to support how this actually links to Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Did Sephiroth start dimension hopping for some reason? We don’t have a clue.
