At some point in the future, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is going to come out. Fans were shocked when the project was initially revealed, and shocked again when Square Enix staff confided that the game would not be limited to a single release. With the first installment of Final Fantasy 7 Remake adapting and expanding the opening few hours in Midgar, it feels like the next two or three installments could run for just about any length. What’s covered in those lengths is another matter entirely, and the subject of much debate. All that fans are reasonably sure of is that when they see the main party in Remake Part 2, they will probably be in Kalm.
That discussion brings up a lot of important questions on the content and pacing of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2. Part 1 stretched Midgar out a lot to make it fit the hour count of a typical JRPG, leaving Part 2 with a lot more freedom for how it adapts its source game. Final Fantasy 7 begins opening up after the player leaves Midgar, introducing segments of the world map until the player eventually gains vehicles that can reach every part of it. There's a lot of optional content on the way, including better-known quests involving the optional party members Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine. Yuffie's role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade suggests she will quickly join the party in Part 2, but the fate of the mutant Turk is less clear.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 Should Try to Complete the Party
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Between the options to go open-world, using a fragmented open field approach, or trying something completely different based on the new timeline, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 has an infinite number of possibilities. The June 2022 teaser may narrow that scope down to something more reasonable, but until then it seems like anything could happen in the upcoming game. The party could fully form and make it all the way to the City of the Ancients to experience a new take on one of the original game’s twists, or 7R’s remixed plot elements could send them in a completely different direction. Even the game's structure is up for debate, as the old chapter format may not be compatible with consistently nonlinear environments, assuming that’s what Part 2 goes with.
That brings the discussion back to the matter of optional content. It's been made clear that Yuffie will be joining the party, and likely near the beginning of Part 2. It's easy to surmise, then, that Vincent will also be a mandatory addition to the group. There is a case to be made for every playable character being introduced, if not playable, in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2. By the time players reach the end of the 7 Remake series, they will have spent entire games with Cloud, Barrett, Tifa, and some other characters. To facilitate new interactions and keep everything feeling fresh, FF7R Part 2 may want to prioritize getting every major player in the story present and accounted for. At the pace Remake Part 1 set, reaching Vincent in Nibelheim and Cid in Rocket Town may seem like an impossible task, but it could be done with less original content padding the journey.
Players Won’t Be Allowed to Miss Vincent in the Remake
The one issue with this is where Vincent is found. Vincent isn't on the road to story progress like Yuffie is, instead resting inside a coffin hidden deep beneath the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. It doesn't help that it takes a while to get from Kalm to Nibelheim, so unless Square Enix changes the order of events, it will be awhile before Remake players see the vampiric gunman. In the original FF7, the party briefly investigates the town after driving in from Cosmo Canyon and then sees a vision of Sephiroth in the Shinra Mansion's basement. After that, they hike up Mt. Nibel and fight the Materia Keeper. Nibelheim sees more action in flashbacks than in the present, hosting worldbuilding first and a small dungeon second. The Shinra Mansion is meant to be a prelude to the nearby Mt. Nibel, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Observant players will find notes describing a man who was scientifically altered and then sealed below the Mansion. They may then find codes hidden in the environment for the purpose of cracking a safe on the second floor. It contains the Lost Number boss fight, as well as an entrance to a secret sub-basement. The FF7 Remake party will need to be pushed into finding Vincent while they are in town, perhaps by a Sephiroth clone or a Shinra employee. The best way to justify Vincent being in the player’s path is by moving the safe into the basement. Sephiroth would be seen floating through the door, forcing the heroes to solve some Resident Evil puzzles to unlock it and fight the Lost Number. Afterwards, the party can meet Vincent in a cutscene and recruit him soon afterwards.
Incorporating Vincent Opens the Door for Interesting Storytelling
The fact of the matter is Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 clearly does not want to skip any content it can renovate. Intergrade has already made it clear that Yuffie and Wutai will be on the player’s path instead of serving as major side elements, and Vincent will likely be the same. For as optional as the majority of the Shinra Mansion is in the original game, it will likely be made more linear so that Vincent can join at that point in the story. Vincent brings a lot of good plot threads to bear, as he is a former Turk holding a deeply personal grudge against the major antagonist Professor Hojo. Finding his ex-girlfriend Lucrecia would also make for a great scene, especially if it's made a reunion for the characters and the player.
Vincent could serve as the Red XIII of FF7R Part 2, being an AI-controlled latecomer who may have some team-up attacks like Sonon did in Intergrade. An interesting twist would be Vincent becoming convinced that he should pursue his goals alone and leaving after spending some time with the party. After this absence, Vincent would be found in the Waterfall Cave with Lucrecia, neatly sidestepping the fact that it was also optional content in the original game. That way, Vincent can be a party member, but the third installment can properly introduce him as a new playable character.
Complete with more detailed interactions with Hojo and Sephiroth, as well as more conversations with the rest of the party, Vincent should definitely become a part of 7 Remake as soon as possible. The idea of exploring new sides to his character is too sweet to put off.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is in development.
