Just finished and I have questions...

[Calandir]

So... Am I to understand that we're in different future now? Where Zack didn't die and saved cloud? The whole chapter 18 seems to defy fate, fate that we all know from og FF7. So now in Rebirth we are in different path? I don't quite get it.

Also what are the whispers? is it the voice of planet? Og Fans attacking us to not stray from new path?

[Mr Fox]

I haven't started part two but maybe zack survived or maybe it isn't really zack, we shall wait and see. trying to avoid spoilers so i won't be back here.

[adie273]

I haven't played Rebirth. But i've just finished FF7: Remake for the second time, in preparation for Rebirth releasing on PC this month. But going by what Aerith says near the end, I think the whispers are the Lifestream. I think they are semi-physical beings, created from the lifestream, to make sure the fate of the planet remains the same.

By us defeating them in chapter 18, I also think this breaks us from the bonds of fate, and allows the remaining games, to deviate and play out differently from the original game.

Personally for me, I love the idea of this. A remake of FF7 was always going to be a good game. But the fact that this remake can take new paths, whilst remaining somewhat close to the original, makes the game much more engaging for me. Cause I genuinely can't say now, that I know whats going to happen next.

As for Zack, I think us defeating the whispers, not only broke how fate plays out during our time in game, but throughout the history of the planet. Thus, Zack survived, and the whispers couldn't intervene to correct it. He may still be alive, and be somewhere out there, where we could run into him.

[Calandir]

Originally posted by adie273:

I haven't played Rebirth. But i've just finished FF7: Remake for the second time, in preparation for Rebirth releasing on PC this month. But going by what Aerith says near the end, I think the whispers are the Lifestream. I think they are semi-physical beings, created from the lifestream, to make sure the fate of the planet remains the same.

By us defeating them in chapter 18, I also think this breaks us from the bonds of fate, and allows the remaining games, to deviate and play out differently from the original game.

Personally for me, I love the idea of this. A remake of FF7 was always going to be a good game. But the fact that this remake can take new paths, whilst remaining somewhat close to the original, makes the game much more engaging for me. Cause I genuinely can't say now, that I know whats going to happen next.

As for Zack, I think us defeating the whispers, not only broke how fate plays out during our time in game, but throughout the history of the planet. Thus, Zack survived, and the whispers couldn't intervene to correct it. He may still be alive, and be somewhere out there, where we could run into him.

I kinda want to think those whispers and boss of chapter 18 was another ''Weapon'' made by planet to protect it. Like a auto-defense system in case things are going bad.

It is interesting and I do wonder what they will do with it in Rebirth. Just few days and we can finally see it as PC gamers lol.

[adie273]

I kinda want to think those whispers and boss of chapter 18 was another ''Weapon'' made by planet to protect it. Like a auto-defense system in case things are going bad.

It is interesting and I do wonder what they will do with it in Rebirth. Just few days and we can finally see it as PC gamers lol.

You may be right, but I think like how the Weapons were made to protect the planet, the whispers were made to protect destiny.

[gn_fighter]

Originally posted by Calandir:

So... Am I to understand that we're in different future now? Where Zack didn't die and saved cloud? The whole chapter 18 seems to defy fate, fate that we all know from og FF7. So now in Rebirth we are in different path? I don't quite get it.

Also what are the whispers? is it the voice of planet? Og Fans attacking us to not stray from new path?

Different timelines running parallel to each other. the timeline where zack is alive is not the timeline you played during FF7:Remake which i expect us to mainly play during rebirth as well (based on the trailer ).

the hint that zack-timeline is not the remake-timeline is the doggo-picture. You may notice that the dog-mascot in zack's timeline is of a different breed than the dog of the remake-timeline.

As to what the whispers are.. there are different theory's out there some believe it is as Aerith said and its a defence-mechanism of the planet other believe that aerith is mistaken and the whisperers are actually agents of Jenova but in both cases they are task with ensuring that the story plays out as it did during the OG-Game.

Depending on the interpretation of who the whisperers work for, your interpretation of who the 3 sub-whisperer during the last bossbattle represent may also change. In case of the whisperer being agents of Jenova those would represent Kadaji and his gang ( from Advent Children ) while the interpretation of the Agents of Planet-theory would led you to believe we are fighting representations of Barret, Tifa and Cloud.

[Electric Cupcake]

They call Earisu "Aerith." It's clearly an alternate universe much earlier than that.

[Dixon Sider]

Originally posted by Electric Cupcake:

They call Earisu "Aerith." It's clearly an alternate universe much earlier than that.

ya the name change confused the hell out of me at first lol.

[Melodia]

Her name has always been Aerith. They just translated it wrong in the original FFVII. Pretty sure it's even Aerith in the PC release on Steam and modern consoles but I could be wrong.

[valium]

We in the multiverse baby, everything needs comic book continuity issues these days.

[BunnyBunny]

I don't think there are any logic. It was just mind f*ck and marketing preparation for ever crisis. Aren't Revenants just narrative tool to subvert the original story ? I'll bet a dollar their explanation will disappoint a lot.

[Iceprince732]

OK so imma explain this as best I can. This isn't a proper remake but a new story. Sephiroth as he was being defeated jumped into a new timeline. He knows he lost and wants to fix that. So the revenants, whispers, spirits whatever you want to call them are basically agents of the plot from the original FF7, they show up to make sure things go like they were supposed to in the original game, that is why sometimes they help (like helping Aerith escape Reno in the church) and sometimes they hurt (letting Rude drop the sector 7 plate) so there ARE narrative differences between this one and the first one. I am guessing in part 3 a lot of things that were in the original FF7 are going to be skipped as Sephiroth Speed runs his altered plan.

[BunnyBunny]

So the revenants are in charge to counteract Sephiroth action to prevent his defeat... But we don't see any action from Sephiroth in the first half of the game meaning all described events was bound to happens anyway.

THe most significant action from revenants is actually preventing CloudXJesse that could actually redefine the storlyline...

[Weltall8000]

They (apparently) want Sephiroth to be defeated, but in a particular manner. In their assumed goal of preserving the timeline, they work to force everything to work out basically the same.

The fact that they are doing this, and we the audience and to varying degrees the protagonists are aware of it, recontextualizes and changes the story. This isn't the same, even if the Whispers were successful by virtue of that alone. Even if it were hypothetically retconned that they were really there the whole time in OG doing the same thing.

The Whispers did multiple extremely impact full things in Remake. If they just let everything go, multiple things would have had ripple effects that very likely would have shot the entire trajectory off course.

[Krypto]

What I thought the Whispers were going to be was a meta narrative device Square was using to show old fans that things could change but they're going to keep the plot moving forward normally until the end where we fight fate and then change things anyway from our own actions.

Red XIII has an interesting line near the end where the crew sees meteor or something else. I don't remember which, and he goes "a glimpse of tomorrow if we fail here today" implying if they fail by not killing the Whisper Harbinger, that's the fate of the planet. However, WE old fans know the fate they're seeing IS the good ending where Holy and the lifestream wipe meteor out. They don't know that, but we do.

Turns out, it wasn't just some silly meta narrative device where Square was poking at the old fans going "ahhhh, you saw what we were doing there, didn't you?" but an entirely new wrinkle into the plot that will hopefully be fully resolved with part 3.

I'm of the mind that the Whispers are the will of the planet given physical form whereas in the OG, the planet is only ever heard crying out in pain.

[valium]

The weapons were the will of the planet given physical form, so that is a monkey wrench in that little theory of yours.