Final Fantasy 7 Remake Changes One of the Original's Most Iconic Scenes, And Not for the Better

What Cloud's first meeting with Aerith says about the differences between the remake and the original.

[SegaSaturn669]

I agree 100% with the statement about how populated Midgar is here. In the original, it was like the city was locked down/ under martial law to deal with the terrorists.

[naruga]

i agree about the article s opinion...such artistic moments (Cloud /Aeris random but destined 1st meeting) are rare anymore and remakes tend to ruin them 90 % of the time ..

[Eamon]

Well, this is a reactor exploding. Even under martial law, there'd be rescue workers. Maybe reporters on the scene is a bit of a stretch. Midgar is far from a democracy.

I think we should remember that technological limitations would have played a role in the scenario brainstorming back then. Maybe we didn't see huge amounts of carnage because it was a PS1 game. Cutscenes were mainly simple low-polygon animations over pre-rendered backgrounds and voiceless speech bubbles.

I disagree with the author about Aerith flower scene being one of the most iconic. I didn't even remember who Aerith was after you meet her for the second time. Probably because the flower purchase scene was so brief as well as the low-polygon Aerith.

I'd say Cloud waking up in the patch of flowers after falling into the church is far more memorable. It occurs after a dramatic moment and properly introduces Aerith this time.

As for the 'dementors' in the remake, I'm also unsure about them. Kitase and Nomura have said that they're an important addition to the storyline but I'm still skeptical. My prediction is that they will make the 'Reunion' event a bit more realistic. When you're suddenly seeing hooded cloaks everywhere in Nibelheim, and Cloud's party are just reacting too normal around them, it felt pretty out of place.

[rainslacker]

In the first game, the attack had just happened, and in this game, the demo didnt show enough of the scene to really make a judgement about what is happening.

Oh, and midgar is a large metropolis. They can make it an active city now, whole on ps1 that was limited.

From what little was shown, it did look like the martial law was just starting. All those soldiers taking to the street and all that. Just like the original where you could farm these guys indefinitely if you wanted to

[franwex]

I think I’ll just refrain from reading about ff7 until I play it. I don’t care about nostalgia goggles and comparisons to the original game.

It’s gonna be a long month...

[CptDville]

This is a remake, not a remaster. Enough said.

[gold_drake]

i think people are really just trying to find every little detail andcomplain about it. i wont he reading these things anymore, cause they're kinda spoilery anyways. i play the original atleast once a year but if things change, i dont wanna be spoiled by someome trying to tear it apart.

[AK91]

Games journalists need those clicks for their websites.

[Spenok]

... every website in existence needs those clicks...

[rainslacker]

Clouds hair has more spikes in it. Game sucks.

That's basically how it goes...and of course if one person mentions it, it means "fans are furious"

[Tech5]

"What Cloud's first meeting with Aerith says about the differences between the remake and the original."

they changed that too. dang. :( remakes are hit and miss at times. hopefully they retain as much of the dialog options.
that was the most memorable part of FFVII to me.

[Spenok]

It's a remake, not a remaster. I.E. there WILL be differences. Hell, they have even confirmed many things have changed. Just the very fact Sephiroth is in Midgar is a huge difference.

[Shiken]

Midgar has been changed to a 40 hour section....this is a remake/reimagining. Think of it as watching the same events occure in an alternate timeline. There MUST be changes and twists, or would uou rather a 5 hour section be nothing but fluff and padding to make it 40?

There will be changes...embrace it. That is the only way this project works. I really hope die hards are not so full of themselves to see that, but this article and a few comments shows me that some people will never be satisfied.

[CorndogBurglar]

It can be argued that turning a 5 hour section into a 40 hour section IS adding fluff and padding. In this case, so they can make a multi-part game and sell them all separately...

[Shiken]

That depends on how they go about it. If they add meaningful content and reinvent the story, then it would be as deep as any other Final Fantasy. If they add fluff and drag the same stuff from the original one out, then it would be a cash grab with added fluff for multi release.

This is why the game needs to be a reimagining like I explained above, and we should expect changes and further depth added to the world. That is the only way this remake will work with multi release and be justified.

There may be retcons, there may be twists, but it would be for the better. If this is the case, die hards need to get over it and accept it for the reimagining it would be. Because of certain things did not change, it would turn into a dull experience overall just to have everything dragged out.

This is being treated as the next mainline FF in scope, and given just how big the leap is from the original, thats how it should be.

[Elda]

I enjoyed FFVII immensely,I don't see anything wrong with taking an iconic game & expanding on it especially making the game huge in 2 to 3 parts telling the story more in depth.

[AK91]

It’s fine quit complaining.

[SeanScythe]

Anyone complaining is doing it for attention. This game looks and play amazingly. It's doing everything right and is giving true fans what we wanted for so long.

[DerfDerf]

True fans wants FF7 as it was with new graphics. Nothing more.

[Larrysweet]

well to bad that's not how it works this day and age. cant just change graphic game is way way to old for that it all has be redone

[SeanScythe]

True fans? No true fans are extremely grateful we are getting this at all. It doesn't have to be 1 for 1, if you want that just go play the old game. We want this game to be given the justice it deserves, bring the characters to life and tell the story so it's even more incredible. You want new graphics, let me guess no voice actors, no longer more in-depth story, no livelier world to explore? Sorry you want a graphics update to a game I've played on PS1, PC, & PS3 several times over. I know that story but it has more to it and more to explore. How about we let the developers build off of the original story and make it special again.

I'm sure it's the same beginning and will be the same end. What's wrong with adding more in the middle if it works and makes it better?

[Enturax]

SeanScythe but you don't KNOW if it's going to end up being better.
If you're a fan of something, you fall in love with it for what it IS, not for what it COULD be.

[SeanScythe]

I'm not even, as a fan I loved the lore in FFVII. Thats why I own so much of the merch, own the games and support the developers. This has been long awaited by real fans, we knew changes would be made due to the original game being so long ago. Look at Doom, that game was amazing back in it's day and the new one is so much better with actual story and improved visuals. FFVII has a great story but there was a lot of just running around on backgrounds that had nothing but pretty scenery. The new game is adding to that world to expand it and make it more alive. Look at crisis core, that game was the first step to bring this one to the Moden age of gaming. The moment at the end we see Cloud with the buster sword it was all but assured. Zack's story wasn't in FF7 but with this new story maybe he will have a part to play in it. Nothing wrong with building on greatness and with the team they have I don't see any reason to doubt them.

[darkside4125]

This is why women shouldnt be journalists they write bs

[Blackcanary]

I don't really care if they chaged how they meet. Its a bloody remake. I've played the original version of the game 30 times. I have it on my PS1 classic I have it on my PS3 I have it on my PS VIta and I have it on my PS4. I am happy with the changes they will be adding it still has the same story thats all that matters to me. With all the extra stuff they are doing that they was never able to achieve on the PS1 bring it on give me the FF7 that looks like FF7 Advent Children that I always wanted and turn the Advent Children movie into playable content and my life will be complete. Let me have brand new emotional but good memories that I will get from playing this remake.