Highlights

  • Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth brings new complexity to the original narrative with its multiple timelines, hinting at a huge finale for the trilogy.
  • Locations like Gold Saucer and Temple of the Ancients are beautifully reimagined, adding depth to the original game's events, but the fresh multiversal elements are likely going to be a key aspect of the story in the trilogy's finale.
  • The introduction of multiple timelines creates a challenging narrative balance, requiring careful handling in Part 3 for impactful storytelling. However, even if the narrative gets messy, the mutliple timelines should make it a lot of fun.

As compelling as Final Fantasy 7's original narrative was, and still is, the Remake trilogy is taking things in a slightly different direction, introducing the concept of multiple timelines and several new narrative threads off the back of this major plot point. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth added multiple new layers of complexity to this narrative, and while they weren't all executed flawlessly, they have no doubt set up the trilogy for a huge finale. The third, as yet unnamed, part of the trilogy will look to finalize what Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth started, and this could see the game's story become a little bit of a hot mess, in the best possible way.

While the sheer amount of FF7 Rebirth's content can feel slightly overwhelming at times, the game is an incredible reimagining of some of the original title's most memorable locations and events. Places like the Gold Saucer theme park, Junon Harbour, and the Temple of the Ancients are brought to life with a level of detail that could only have been dreamed about when 1997's Final Fantasy 7 was released for the PS1. Despite faithfully sticking to the script (for the most part) when it comes to these big events and places, Rebirth's narrative deviates significantly with the introduction of multiple timelines.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth covered a lot of narrative ground, but if Square Enix is planning any DLC, there are still some interesting options.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Has a Wealth of Narrative Routes to Take

Adding a multiverse of sorts to a narrative seems to be something of a popular concept in current pop culture. Among others, Marvel and DC have dabbled with their own versions of a multiverse in recent times, but this isn't always a sure way to make a narrative more interesting, and in fact, can arguably make it worse if not used correctly. Both comic book titans have experienced a mixed response from fans regarding how their own take on this complex plot device has been executed. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's multiple timelines are no less complex, and it leaves the trilogy's narrative precariously balanced, an issue for developer Square Enix to ponder as it readies the final part.

Of course, if used correctly, the multiverse could prove a powerful driving force for the as-yet-unnamed Remake part 3's narrative, and fans could be in for a wild ride full of twists and turns. Zack Fair, a popular character who was presumed dead, but was reintroduced in Rebirth in numerous different timelines, surely still has a part to play, even if he is still an unknown quantity at this stage. It's easy to imagine characters from different timelines crossing over to Cloud's, either to lend a hand in his fight against Sephiroth, or even for other reasons that are as yet unclear. The prospect of several Clouds working together, similar to what was seen in the MCU's Spider-Man No Way Home, is also interesting.

Why FF7 Remake Part 3 Has to Handle Its Multiple Timelines Carefully

The downside of including multiple timelines in any narrative is that it can sometimes make writers complacent, and even lazy at times. It can render huge moments like the death of a key character almost redundant, as fans can never be sure if a different version of the same character will then pop up from a different timeline. This can make it tricky for the player to believe in the severity of the stakes and gives writers a cheap way of creating memorable moments without actually killing off a popular character. Aerith's death at the end of FF7 Rebirth was left purposely ambiguous, but if this is somehow retconned in Remake part 3, there's a danger that it could weaken her entire character arc.

There was a gap of almost four years between Remake and Rebirth, so it seems logical to assume a similar, if not slightly shorter, period of time before the release of Remake part 3. There are still some significant pieces of Final Fantasy 7 lore that Square Enix are clearly holding back for the finale, such as the huge mechanical Weapons that played such a big part in the original game, and the legendary Knights of the Round summon that has been referenced by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi in recent interviews. This leaves fans with plenty of time to speculate on how these things will be included, along with key plot points, and exactly how these multiple timelines will converge, if they do at all.