The Final Fantasy VII Remake series can now go in a new direction, as its characters have broken free from their original fates, and can now explore a new story of their own making. Fans shouldn’t get too excited, at least not in the short term, as it’s likely that the story will play out in mostly the same way, at least until the party reaches Costa Del Sol. This is because certain FF7 storylines have been confirmed to appear in FF7 Rebirth.
The FF7 Rebirth reveal trailer also came with the announcement that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series will consist of three games. This means that the story definitely won’t play out in the same way as before, as there is far too much of FF7 left to cover within the space of two games. FF7 Remake only covered an expanded version of the Midgar section of the original game, which was only the first few hours of FF7‘s massive storyline. It’s unclear if there will be a huge derail at some point, causing the story to play out in such a different way that the events of FF7 never take place.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will pick up where FF7 Remake left off, which means that the group is still stuck in the events of FF7‘s first disc. It seems that the story of FF7 will be roughly the same, but it’s possible that things like Fort Condor have been cut from FF7 Remake‘s follow-up, or that Yuffie will be introduced early, as she was fleshed out in the INTERmission DLC. The trailer for FF7 Rebirth and some spin-off media has confirmed the next few events in the story, though they are unlikely to play out in the exact same manner as before.
Confirmed FF7 Rebirth Plots – Kalm Flashback & Nibelheim Incident
FF7 Remake ends just as the party is leaving Midgar, with the game saying that the characters are about to go on an unknown journey, as they are no longer bound to the storyline of Final Fantasy 7. It seems the story won’t be too unknown, as the ending of the INTERmission DLC shows the party hitching a ride to Kalm and looking for an inn. The first trailer for FF7 Rebirth showed footage of Cloud and Sephiroth during the Kalm flashback sequence, as Mt. Nibel can be seen in the distance. The trailer confirmed that the flashback will be playable and that the player will control Cloud, though it’s still unconfirmed whether Sephiroth will be playable in FF7 Rebirth.
FF7 Rebirth will feature the Kalm flashback, which means that the party will rest in the inn, and Cloud and Tifa will recount their past experiences with Sephiroth, explaining his downfall, and showing him destroying the town of Nibelheim. It seems that the events of the flashback will play out in the same way, as the FF7 Rebirth trailer features Cloud talking about seeing Tifa after being stabbed, which is something that happens near the end of the flashback. There’s a good chance that the flashback won’t play out exactly the same way as in Final Fantasy 7, as the Nibelheim Incident has been different in every one of its appearances (FF7, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Last Order), so fans should expect some differences this time around.
FF7 Rebirth Storyline – The Boat Ride To Costa Del Sol
The latest moment in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake timeline comes from a source outside of the games, but it’s as official as it can be. There is an FF7 prequel novel called Traces of Two Pasts that’s currently available in Japan and will receive an English localization on November 8, 2022. Traces of Two Pasts focuses on Aerith and Tifa, discussing their lives before the events of FF7 Remake. The framing device of the novel involves the two talking while on the boat ride to Costa Del Sol, suggesting that everything up to this point has been the same.
Traces of Two Pasts was written by Kazushige Nojima, who was the scenario writer for FF7, FF7 Remake, FF7: The First Soldier, and the upcoming FF7: Ever Crisis. Nojima also wrote the two FF7 novels: On the Way to a Smile and The Kids are Alright, and he managed to make The Kids are Alright canon in the events of FF7 Remake, by adding Kyrie and Leslie to the story of the game. If Traces of Two Pasts is canon, then Final Fantasy VII Rebirth should include the Kalm flashback, the Chocobo Farm, escaping the Midgar Zolom, the Mythril Mines, and Junon.
