Summary
This article contains spoilers forFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
The second part of theFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy has been released, and it’s proving to be one of the densestFinal Fantasyprojects yet. Players chipping away atFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthhave 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. HavingFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthfollow the linearFF7 Remakehas been a pleasant surprise, but it may be for the best as the new story elements and their arbiters inRemakeweren’t to everyone’s taste.
Said arbiters aren’t done yet, however, andFF7 Rebirth’s players will eventually contend with the ghostly Whispers again. These strange beings were theRemake’s mostblatant deviations from the originalFF7, despite apparently being dedicated to stopping further changes. It appeared they were defeated at the end ofFF7 Remake, butRebirthhas not only revealed otherwise but implied that they may be under new management. Whether old fans like them drawing attention to theRemake’s differences or not, it seems Whispers will be present for the whole trilogy, and the third game could have their biggest showing yet.
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 ofFinal Fantasy 7contained in a single, static timeline. Their presence seems to be the Planet’s response tothe original PS1FF7’s Sephirothtraveling back in time via the Lifestream after the events of theFF7: Advent Childrenfilm, 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 mockedFinal Fantasy 7’s fans and developers’ resistance to theRemakechanging 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 ofFF7 Remake, but their resemblance to the Remnants of Sephiroth fromAdvent Childrenduring that fight now reads as a foreshadowing of Sephiroth taking them over.ByFinal 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 thirdFF7 Remakegame 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 thirdRemakeentry probably won’t skip them. Thus far,RemakeandRebirthhave proven surprisingly faithfuldespite 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 inFF7 Remake,FF7 Rebirthshows 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 afterher ambiguous death inRebirth.
Black Whispers could resume their role as enemies fromFF7 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 inFF7 RemakeandFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there’s no doubt that they’ll play a role in the trilogy’s finale as well.
