Highlights

  • Whispers in FF7 Rebirth are more than just fate guardians, now split into opposing factions led by Sephiroth and Aerith.
  • The third FF7 Remake game will likely continue the meta-plot involving the Whispers, adding new gameplay possibilities.
  • Whispers may play a significant role in the trilogy's finale, potentially influencing timeline jumps and familiar characters.

This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth .

The second part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy has been released, and it's proving to be one of the densest Final Fantasy projects yet. Players chipping away at Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have reported anywhere from 30 to 100 hours of gameplay thanks to its pseudo-open world and abundant side content, so progress for many has been slower than expected. Having Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth follow the linear FF7 Remake has been a pleasant surprise, but it may be for the best as the new story elements and their arbiters in Remake weren't to everyone's taste.

Said arbiters aren't done yet, however, and FF7 Rebirth’s players will eventually contend with the ghostly Whispers again. These strange beings were the Remake’s most blatant deviations from the original FF7, despite apparently being dedicated to stopping further changes. It appeared they were defeated at the end of FF7 Remake, but Rebirth has not only revealed otherwise but implied that they may be under new management. Whether old fans like them drawing attention to the Remake’s differences or not, it seems Whispers will be present for the whole trilogy, and the third game could have their biggest showing yet.

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Regardless of the changes to the narrative implemented in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, the eventual third game has its path laid out for it.

The Whispers Are A Strange New Addition To FF7 Lore

To understand why, there's some background to cover first. FF7 Remake’s Whispers are essentially the arbiters of fate, trying to keep the story of Final Fantasy 7 contained in a single, static timeline. Their presence seems to be the Planet’s response to the original PS1 FF7’s Sephiroth traveling back in time via the Lifestream after the events of the FF7: Advent Children film, with Remake Aerith’s visions being the result of her original self doing the same.

A common reading of the Whispers is that they gently mocked Final Fantasy 7 ’s fans and developers’ resistance to the Remake changing things, but they may not be that anymore.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Has Split The Whispers Into Opposing Groups

Players defeat the Whispers at the end of FF7 Remake, but their resemblance to the Remnants of Sephiroth from Advent Children during that fight now reads as a foreshadowing of Sephiroth taking them over. By Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's ending, he has formed a faction of black Whispers to fight alongside him, while white Whispers opposing Sephiroth are being directed by either the Planet or Aerith’s fully-charged White Materia. As scarce as details are, it can be theorized that the original Sephiroth and Aerith are engaged in a multi-timeline war for control of reality, and the Whispers have become their footsoldiers.

Whispers Will Continue to Service The FF7 Remake Trilogy’s Meta-Plot

All of this timeline talk is a lot to take in, and the third FF7 Remake game probably won’t dive back into it right away. Wutai, Rocket Town, most of the northern continent, the Junon and Midgar revisits, and various side areas like the real Fort Condor have yet to be adapted, and the third Remake entry probably won’t skip them. Thus far, Remake and Rebirth have proven surprisingly faithful despite their new elements. However, the Whispers can't stay gone forever, and will likely creep back in once Sephiroth or an alternate timeline appears.

The Next FF7 Remake Should Involve Whispers In Gameplay

Besides physically pushing characters like they did in FF7 Remake, FF7 Rebirth shows that the black and white Whispers can shunt people to different timelines. Zack’s adventures will likely continue through this, but Aerith could also use their influence to remain playable after her ambiguous death in Rebirth.

Black Whispers could resume their role as enemies from FF7 Remake, potentially hijacking some familiar Weapons in the process, while white Whispers could help the party jump timelines for story, puzzle, or combat challenge purposes. After how prominent Whispers have been in FF7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there's no doubt that they'll play a role in the trilogy's finale as well.