Final Fantasy VII Remake has been out long enough at this point where the Cait Sith is out of the bag and the game’s big secret is out: it’s not a remake. In truth, Final Fantasy VII Remake was a pseudo-sequel of sorts, with Aerith herself evidently aware of the PS1 classic in some capacity.
With Remake Ultimecia diving deeper into Part 1’s story, it’s clear VIIR is a larger piece of a puzzle fans long thought left unfinished. Final Fantasy VII Remake is more than just a reimagining of the PS1 Classic, connecting to FFVII’s extended universe in big ways.
10 Fight Choreography (Advent Children)
If there's one thing Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children has going for it, it's the action. The best fight scenes play out like Level 99 characters fighting endgame super bosses. At the same time, the only reason the action resonates as well as it does is specifically because these characters– in an RPG context– would likely be max level.
Final Fantasy VII Remake notably keeps the same level of spectacle with its action, allowing the characters to pull off early Dragon Ball-esque feats essentially out the gate. All the same, it's hard to deny how good VII Remake's fight choreography looks in action. The transitions from gameplay to cutscene in boss fights are near seamless too. Even unearned, the spectacle is welcome.
9 Other AVALANCHE Factions (Before Crisis)
In the original Final Fantasy VII, all that's mentioned of AVALANCHE outside the context of Barret, Jessie, Biggs, & Wedge is that the organization was founded in Cosmo Canyon and several members of the group died getting the codes used at Mako Reactor 1. Final Fantasy VII Remake notably features other AVALANCHE factions outright, though they were introduced in Before Crisis.
Notably, Elfe, the leader of AVALANCHE, ends up being the estranged and amnesiac daughter of the leader of the Turks at the time, Veld– also Tseng's direct predecessor. By the time FFVII begins in earnest, though, she's out of the picture which is something VII Remake seems to be respecting as far as chronology goes.
8 Characterization For The Turks (Advent Children)
One of Advent Children's greatest sins is how much it focuses on Reno and Rude. They're charming and likable characters, yes, but Advent Children elevates the dynamic duo above most of the main cast. Worse yet, they're reduced to just a few traits– Rude, an even more silent type, and Reno, a slacker with no real regard for work ethic.
Funny enough, when these traits are applied to their original depictions, both Turks come off as very well rounded characters. Reno is a slacker, but he'll get the job done and well. When it comes time to buckle up, he takes things seriously. Rude, while very quiet, is plenty likable and full of quirks (notably his endless cache of sunglasses.)
7 Banora (Crisis Core)
Although Banora doesn't appear in the original Final Fantasy VII, it ends up becoming quite an important town in Crisis Core's backstory. Angeal and Genesis' childhood home, Banora is actually a cover for a series of monstrous experiments– though this doesn't stop the locale for being well known for its delicious Banora apples.
In particular, eating a Banora apple with Sephiroth is a dream of Genesis' and something he longs for desperately. He's never able to fulfill his dream, but Zack manages to serve as a stand-in for Sephiroth, allowing Genesis to– if nothing else– have a taste of his dreams.
6 Harbingers Of Fate (Advent Children)
Before fighting Sephiroth as the final boss of Final Fantasy VII Remake, the party has to fight the Whisper Harbinger. Notably, the Harbinger splits itself into three color coded Whispers: one red, one blue, and one yellow. At first glance, they seem to be analogous to Cloud, Tifa, and Barret– using a sword, their fists, and a gun respectively– but they're actually references to Advent Children.
The Harbingers of Fate are clearly modeled after Sephiroth's remnants from Advent Children, aka the titular Advent Children. Whisper Rubrum is based off of Kadaj, using a one handed blade like the Souba; Whisper Viridi is based off Loz, fistfighting ala the Dual Hounds; and Whisper Croceo is Yazoo, using a gun similar to Velvet Nightmare.
5 G-Type SOLDIER (Crisis Core)
Through the Jenova Project, Shinra's plan was to breed Cetra that would lead them to the Promised Land the President and the rest of the executives coveted. Instead, the Jenova Project ended up resulting in super SOLDIERs modeled after Sephiroth. Crisis Core notably retcons the Jenova Project considerably, revealing that it was far more complicated than FFVII let on.
Along with the Sephiroth super soldiers, now deemed S-Type SOLDIERs, were accompanied by G-Type SOLDIERs, named after Gillian– the first test subject and Angeal's mother. Project G of the Jenova Project would ultimately result in super SOLDIERs Genesis & Angeal, which Hojo references in Chapter 17 while referring to G-Type SOLDIERs.
4 Sephiroth’s Demeanor And Motivation (Advent Children)
Sephiroth is a very elusive character in the original Final Fantasy VII. He never actually appears in Midgar, even if it's clear he's an active character before the party even leaves. It feels as though Sephiroth is perpetually one step ahead of the player. Much of the journey is spent trailing him, seeing the afterthought of Sephiroth's path. It ends up building him up as a villain immensely well.
Final Fantasy VII Remake throws all that delicacy out the window, but in its defense, it's doing something very different with Sephiroth. Sephiroth acts like his Advent Children self, speaks like his Advent Children self, and his motivations feel like a natural extension of Advent Children Sephiroth's ideology.
3 Zack Fair’s Last Stand (Crisis Core)
Most fans are hung up on the notion that Zack survives his last stand in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but it's worth pointing out that the Remaking is abiding by Crisis Core's canon in this regard. In the original Final Fantasy VII, Zack is shot down in the rain, dying silently while Cloud himself is left for dead. Advent Children notably recontextualized this scene so that Zack died after passing on his last words to Cloud.
Crisis Core doubles down on Advent Children's reinterpretation even further by making Zack Fair a full blown hero. Protecting Cloud with his dying breath, Zack takes out Shinra infantryman after infantryman until he nearly drops dead with just enough willpower to pass on the Buster Sword to Cloud. As evidenced by Zack squaring off with a legion of Shinra forces in FFVIIR, Zack's last stand from Crisis Core is canon.
2 “Glimpse Of Tomorrow” (Advent Children)
Tempting fate more than they should, the party invites the Whispers' interference come Chapter 18. They're shown visions of a world to come– Sephiroth fighting Cloud, Meteor making impact with the planet Earth, and Red XIII with his children overlooking Midgar 500 years in the future. While that last scene originated in the original FFVII, Remake notably defers to Advent Children.
The brief flash of Red XIII running with his cubs is lifted right out of Advent Children, not the original Final Fantasy VII. While there aren't any major changes between the PS1 depiction and the Advent Children version, it's worth pointing out in and of itself how much respect is being paid to AC's vision.
1 Nibelheim Incident (Crisis Core)
The Nibelheim Incident is one of the most important and controversial moments in Final Fantasy VII. It is a narrative and thematic turning point for the original game, but Crisis Core's retcons turned into something very... different. And not necessarily better. While it's too early to tell if the Remake will abide by Crisis Core's vision, the pieces are there for VIIR to do so.
Regardless of which approach the Remake takes with the Nibelheim Incident, it's clear that it won't be remade 1:1 with the original game. For starters, Cloud remembers that he killed Sephiroth– a very important detail he's not privy to for most of the original FFVII. This will surely have narrative consequences come Parts 2 and 3.