While it was one of many games in recent years to “take its sweet time to get here,” Final Fantasy VII Remake was a triumph by Square Enix. It successfully remade the original PS1 classic, at least in part story-wise, and transformed it into something that fans could enjoy on modern systems. The updated graphics on PS4, mixed with an all-new battle system and other upgrades, made the experience feel just as good as before, if not better in some cases. However, even with a game this great, there were bound to be some “issues” that couldn’t be ignored, including a certain “plot hole.”
You’d think it’d be odd to have a plot hole in a game that’s being remade, as the plot should simply be the same, if not expanded a little. But Final Fantasy VII Remake changed the plot a little bit, much to the confusion of some gamers. Granted, some changes were welcome, like altering some scenes to flesh out the world or the Avalanche crew more. But then, there were key scenes with Aerith that confused many gamers.
Specifically, Aerith seemed to have “future knowledge” that she shouldn’t contain yet. For example, she noted that Cloud Strife was a “Jack-of-all-Trades” or a “mercenary” at a key chapter meetup, but she shouldn’t have known that given that she had just met him in the game. There was another scene where Aerith was talking with Tifa, and she very easily finished a sentence that she shouldn’t have been able to know the result of. So how is it that Aerith knew all of these things?
Square Enix answered this in a tweet after hearing fans demanding answers over the last few years. But whether the answer will “satisfy them” is anyone’s guess. We say that because the answer is that Aerith has a “connection” to her “multiversal selves,” and that has allowed her to have “vague memories” of the future.
That’s important because these “vague memories” lure the “Whispers” to her. These Whispers continuously touch her, and the result is that she loses many of these memories.
Is that a satisfying answer? No, not really. Many fans weren’t happy with these Whispers or the concept that the plot was changing beyond a few details. Plus, many are now wondering how much more the game will change in the future, given the shifts in the “timeline” that are already happening.
Only time will tell, and all eyes will be on Aerith when those “questions” arise again.