Square Enix has come out to provide an official explanation for the plot hole present in Final Fantasy VII Remake that poses implications for Rebirth, the second part of the trilogy.
- Read more: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – News & Updates
This explanation comes in the form of a tweet from the official Japanese Twitter/X account for Final Fantasy VII Remake. Siliconera provided a translation.
Note: the below content contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
When Cloud and Aerith have their first meeting in Remake, she notes that he is an ex-SOLDIER and assumes he is a mercenary, judging by his possession of the Buster Sword. The Japanese version has her calling him a jack-of-all-trades.
Regardless of specifically what she said, there’s no clear way for Aerith to know as she’s never met Cloud up until this point in time.
- Read more: Final Fantasy VII Remake – All Story Changes
Some theories suggest that Aerith recognizes Cloud because of her prior relationship with Zack (from CRISIS CORE), another ex-SOLDIER member with a similar outfit.
Aerith Remembers The Future
Despite this, the new tweet from Square Enix says that Aerith holds vague memories of events from the future. This means that she is well aware of Cloud and others prior to even meeting him. Aerith calling Cloud a jack-of-all-trades/mercenary is unintentional because she already remembered this. The same correlation can be made when Aerith knows Tifa is going to request she save Marlene.
Whispers of Fate
Furthermore, any time the Whispers of Fate touches Aerith, her memories are being stolen. These creatures are struggling to keep the characters in line with the original story, but Aerith is seemingly able to change the course of fate with memories of the future.
Rebirth Implications
At the moment, Square Enix is not only retelling the original game’s narrative but is using the plot of Remake as a commentary on the nature of destiny through the distortion of familiar story beats. This likely means that Rebirth will follow the outline of the original but, like Remake, offer new twists.
We already know Rebirth is going to be a huge game to the point that it was confirmed to be on two discs.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an upcoming open-world action RPG developed by Square Enix and is to be released sometime in 2024 for PlayStation 5.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a 2020 JRPG developed by Square Enix and released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, the enhanced version of the game, was released in 2021 for PlayStation 5 and PC.