Final Fantasy 7 Remake is one of those video games that from the beginning made people discuss far and wide, generating reflections both on the real intentions of Square Enix towards this series of video games, and on what would have happened in relation to the original chapter . The general indecision was primarily inspired by the fact that it was a remake, a term that is all too consumed nowadays, especially in this specific sector. The decision to restore a legendary title like Final Fantasy 7 could easily have proved unsuccessful, given the delicacy of this game, its fame and above all its impact .which had not only on the life of the fans, but on the history of the medium himself. We are talking about a work that was not limited to only coming out on the first Playstatation, but of a real symbol that lent itself from the beginning to a whole series of extensions (sometimes mere commercial operations) that deepened certain aspects, complicating others . , however, always managing to bewitch those who believed in it, leading to the genesis of new “idols” and to a real independent saga , with a worldwide resonance.

It is precisely starting from the immense possibilities that Final Fantasy 7 has developed that, presumably, this new project has started , a project that obviously wants to leverage some specific emotional peculiarities , always taking into account the weight and the incredible story that is being manipulated. . From all this, we said, the very first discussions on the matter, both among the ranks of fans and among those of the layman. Final Fantasy 7 Remake has had to face many social obstacles , coming out following a wait that has been able to dose the details up to the last, details that later inevitably fedanother fire, another discussion, both lexicological and thematic, leading to a hope that, with the latest news on the subject, has flared up again.

The terminologies reboot , remake , remaster , are now an integral part of our daily life, having, through the current market, burned into the imagination that we all know. However, terms remain which at times present peculiar interpretative possibilities and an open reading that could easily lead to unexpected shores. This is one of the biggest complaints against the aforementioned title, especially following its completion. (I think it is obvious to specify that the article from here on will be tainted by the most varied spoilers, therefore, in the event that you have not completed the game, you are advised not to continue reading).

The Finale Fantasy 7 Remake project has been clarified from its inception. We all knew, more or less, how they would move , how they would divide and distribute the events of an undoubtedly vast title, reworking them through a photorealistic filter also impregnated with a particular reinterpretation that would be linked to today’s usable possibilities. We knew it. We knew it would be divided into chapters . We knew, more and less, what their pricing would be(many discussions still revolve around this particular choice today). We knew what aesthetic steps had been taken to restore the game. They knew that all this would undoubtedly affect some of its aspects, including its plot , given above all its temporal provenance and the fact that many of its aspects presented themselves as extremely typifying, anchored to a  totally different historical period for the medium. In short, we knew that something would happen. So it was.

The general comments were, however, almost all positive , even if the first changes, both in terms of plot and structure, had managed to strike without too much annoyance, with the last chapter of the game the anger of a part of the community has mounted up to the stars. Chapter 18 Final Fantasy 7 Remake explodes in a series of developments that go from the surreal , to the vague and cliché , upsetting everything we have seen so far. Indeed, perhaps it would be more correct to say that what happens in the eighteenth chapter has been telephoned to usthroughout the game, and that in the end, when the wolf under the rug comes out inexorably, leaves you breathless.

The finale of Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Throughout the whole Final Fantasy Remake, starting from the first developments, it can be easily noted that something is wrong , that we are faced with a story that does not limit itself to following the events of the past, but that passes through it in a different way. This is due to some narrative reinterpretations (which can also be pleasing) and above all due to the presence of some strange beings: the so-called Numen . These are the keystone and the main readingof the title, an indefinite, esoteric, disturbing and intangibly smoky element, at least until we arrive at the final developments. These Numen are described to us, at least for now, as “the guardians of destiny” . Obviously this is a vague and quite trivial definition, but their presence is somewhat delineated at the end. These hooded “beings” torment us throughout the adventure, forcing any attempt to get off the rails of the original story . It is a sort of “controllers ” capable of balancing events, ready to make sure, always and in any case, that everything goes as it should, and in order to succeed they will be ready tohinder us with any means at their disposal.

Why talk about it? Because it is precisely these Numen who open the most fascinating questions both in relation to what we have witnessed and in relation to what we will potentially be able to see. We see them, throughout history, intervene promptly for several times and then we come to the finale of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, where an infinity of things happen that still remain without an unofficial or direct explanation . On the highway leading out of Midgar, Sephiroth (or what appears to be one) opens a portal that immediately becomes a metaphor .of rebellion against destiny, against all the limitations that the Numen, in fact, have drawn up to that point. Once crossed, the situation falls into the purest interpretative , into the vague magmatic, with a clash that has made many turn up their noses, and fascinated all the theories that still feed the internet today.

The Numen want to prevent us from advancing and for this they use all the weapons at their disposal. The clash, with clear self-quote references to Kingdom Hearts , specifically speaking to a boss of that saga, is full of particular elements, visions that affect our characters, showing them some events of the future, events that, if you have played the original title , are immediately familiar for their narrative importance and centrality. Those hints, those “lightnings” are here interpreted as visions of a future that may not come true. This narrative fold between future, possible future, present and past becomes extremely fleetingunder the blows of our weapons and skills. All alternated with images in which we witness the last moments of Zack Fair .

These, currently speaking, are the details that have generated more discussions, fueling a hope that still remains vague, but almost tangible. Maybe .

The narrative centrality of Zack Fair, an important character from the beginning

All fans of the Final Fantasy series have heard of Zack Fair at least once in their life. It is a central character of the seventh chapter who, however, over time has managed to build his own legendary centrality, above all thanks to the spin-offs in which we see him appear, first of all: Crisis Core (title in which the player literally enters the his role, guiding him to the tragic epilogue that made him famous).

With Zack, however, we are not simply faced with a famous character, but a real narrative element that is central to the development of Cloud ‘s story . During the first part of Final Fantasy 7 the latter presents himself as a “first class soldier” and we see him extricate himself in combat showing a certain self-confidence alternating with strange moments of mental estrangement. This is because Cloud suffers from a severe dissociative personality disorder due to some severe trauma and experiments that he underwent in conjunction with Zack. It will be these events that bind them together and lead them to the gates of Midgar, with the consequent sacrificeof the latter and the survival of Cloud who, in a completely inexplicable way, will absorb Zack’s personality to the point of self-convincing himself to be him. This is the most important development of Final Fantasy 7, the most intimate and profound moment of its narrative, with a whole series of connotations that transcend the genre in which it develops to get to touch some particularly delicate chords.

With what we see in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, however, all of this seems to have the potential to vanish . In fact, there are some interesting theories about Zack and what we have seen about him that, at least for now, remain so. Let’s start by analyzing what we have seen. First of all we see Zack intent on fighting the soldiers who prevent him (with Cloud) from escaping to Midgar. In that particular scene, the direction and the visual display are precisely reminiscent of Crisis Core. Doubts come out with the last thing we see. We know that after the fight Zack is killed, but not everyone remembers and that there are tworepresentations of his death: the one in Crisis Core (the most famous) and the one in the original title.

The weight of Zack’s death and the various theories about it

In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 we see Zack perish at the hands of various attacks suffered. The sky is leaden, full of rain and lightning crashing into the surrounding area. On earth the body of our hero lying, stained with blood. Then the farewell, then the passing of the baton . If we were to rely exclusively on this ending, we could suggest that, at least from the point of view of the environmental composition, what we saw in the 7 remake is different , differs from it in a certain way. In the original
Final Fantasy 7 , however, we see Zack fight and then drag himself towards Midgar with Cloud under his arm(image identical to the one we see for a second in the Remake), only to be identified by some soldiers and finished once and for all.

In reality, in the current project they could easily have shown us both of these endings, indeed a very interesting theory would identify what we have seen as a sort of fusion between these two, capable of misleading .
The point is that in the footage in which Zack appears to have survived, some anomalous elements detach the action from everything we have witnessed in the past. In the Remake we see the soldier   still standing after the battle. Then a bag of chips lifts off the ground and flies into the foreground in slow motion. This, according to many aficionados, is a key detailin the reading and rereading of what we have before us. Assuming that in the course of this whole new adventure we were told that Shinra has adopted a specific mascot , a mascot that we see represented on several occasions, even on various foods (I’m talking about Stamp , the smiling dog with the helmet military), the fact that on the packet of chips there is a different mascot , another dog with a hat, with what appears to be the exact same name , could actually mean that we are in another timeline, another dimension, a dimension in which the Shinra is different from the one we know well and perhaps precisely for this reason defined by a mascot we do not know.

The theory of the other dimension , then, culminates with what we see later. Zack is caught by a sudden explosion that catapults him to the ground, far away, with a thrust that impresses him only to be kidnapped by what he has in front of him. We then see a Midgar pervaded by Numen who seem to run away. Many have read in this scene a sort of parallel reaction to what we have done in our dimension, as if the timelines were in a certain way connected to each other and the actions that took place against destiny had had a resonancegeneral, perhaps also freeing Zack himself from the limits placed on his destiny. If this theory proves to be fitting, obviously we will find a story on our hands that will touch unexplored shores, taking many risks and not easy interpretations.

Zack being fundamental in the narrative of Final Fantasy 7, many have excluded regardless of the possibility of his survival in the plot that we have played so far. We know very well how central his farewell is, especially in Cloud’s mental constitution and in the legacy , also material, of the legendary sword, wielded by the blond protagonist. Cloud’s dissociative disorder and the journey towards the shadows of his past, towards that “progressive definition”that we all know well would perhaps be lost with Zack’s survival. From all this another extremely curious theory: what if in this first chapter of the Remake they had actually explained to us that we are dealing with multiple universes , timelines or dimensions, and that the various choices made by all of us had not only impacted with our journey but also with that of others ? What if we had, with our challenge to fate, changed the past of a Zack who does not belong to our narrative line?

From all this the possibility, in the next episodes, to wear the clothes of the raven-haired soldier in a sort of prequel , to go back to looking at the world from his eyes again, eyes that have nothing to do with the Cloud that we have. driven to fight as far as we know. This theory splits the narrative into two different paths , two different realities but still parallel in the sense that they influence each other, with a writing that moves its pieces trying to build a sort of subtle continuum with a specific weight in which the player will play both the role of Cloud and those of Zack, without however ever seeing them meet directly, but still, somehow united in their travels. 

The “7 seconds” theory

In reality, the ending of this Final Fantasy 7 Remake did not see speculations flourish only against Zack, but also towards a handful of other elements that still remain fundamentally open, indefinite, magmatic. Among these, however, a specific phrase caught the attention of fans: “7 seconds’ till the end” (seven seconds to the end).

This is uttered by Sephiroth behind Cloud following their very personal confrontation alone. Here, starting from all this there are those on the web who have started to think about it, coming to calculate how many seconds the sequence in which Sephiroth falls from the sky on the young Aerith lasts , coming to the conclusion that in the Remake the 7 seconds named correspond precisely to the 7 seconds it takes “gray hair” to kill the girl. Curiously, this theory has found many positive results, even if like everything else it is pure speculation, even emotional.

The new hypothetical developments and speculations that will come with Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Recently Square Enix has formalized the registration of two brands , linked to Final Fantasy 7 Remake that from the beginning have given several thoughts to the most imaginative fans. Between these two a theory is specifically linked to the one named “First Soldier” . The majority identified in these two words the name of Sephiroth. It is hypothesized, in fact, that it will be an in- depth study linked to this famous and timeless villain , an in-depth study that does not differ from the corporate and commercial modus operandi of these years. The possibility of seeing Sephirot specifically could, in a way, enlighten us compared to what we have seen so far with this project in progress, also because Sephirot still remains one of the most indecipherable and undecipherable pieces of this remake. 

In the course of events we see him intervene , smoky talking, several times, we see him addressing Cloud following the style of the original chapter, up to the finale which, as we all know, shuffles all the cards on the table available.

Perhaps this brand will be nothing but the preamble to a narrative juncture in which it will be possible to finally understand the definitive goal of a Sephirot that has not yet shown itself in its entirety. We do not know if we will be able to take on the role of him, but the hope of the community, or at least of a part of it, would like to see clarified the elements that up to now have drawn the actions of this character, perhaps referring to the theory of parallel timelines.