okay here are some thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Remake, specifically the stuff from the last couple chapters
keep in mind that these are my own thoughts because I haven't read anything anyone else has said so I might be way off base in some of my speculation in case some of this stuff has actually been confirmed or whatever
So the whole Whisper thing feels largely unnecessary for most of the game. Their only purpose is to completely bog the game down, and the fights against them are not fun. When they just interfered in cutscenes later in the game, I was more willing to tolerate them because it didn't slow the game down. However, I don't necessarily want FFVIIR to become a game about destiny. Leave that theme for the Final Fantasy VIII Remake where it belongs. FFVII's theme has always been about life, and it should stay that way.
That being said, I have to admit that I'm a little curious about what they're trying to do. If they can weave both of the themes together, I suppose I'd be all right with that, but I'm trying to figure out if the Whispers are trying to preserve the original FFVII timeline or trying to change it. My guess is they're trying to preserve it based on the "flash forward" to FFVII's post-credit scene with Red XIII at one point. Even so, I'm not 100% convinced because the timeline has seemingly changed because Zack is apparently now alive (for the record, his VA is way worse than the original. Most of the VAs sound pretty similar to their originals, but his is way off and not for the better). Of course, that begs the question of where he is now and how both he and Cloud can seemingly have the Buster Sword (unless he gave it to Cloud at some point other than when he did originally). It would also make less sense for Cloud to completely forget about him, but I suppose that's meant to be a deliberate tease to lure you in to part 2!
It also begs the question of what Sephiroth's role in the grand scheme of things will be. He offers for Cloud to join him in defying destiny, but I wouldn't exactly take his words at face value (especially since the original timeline is actually beneficial for him for the most part). I just don't want him to be replaced by something else as the main antagonist of the game. That would be dumb, especially if it's just some nebulous representation of "Destiny" or something silly like that. Don't lessen Sephiroth's importance or diminish his luster as one of the classic JRPG villains. It doesn't feel like they are since Aerith still plainly says he's the biggest threat to the Planet, but yeah.
Also, it's 100% rock solid certainty that the Whispers will have an impact on Aerith's death scene. I'm also starting to feel like there's a chance she might not die in the end (and maybe someone else will instead? Who knows) if Zack can still be alive. Part of me wonders if this is supposed to be an alternate reality or something rather than just a straight remake of the original. Regardless, Square has my attention for at least trying something novel with the franchise (I'm sure a lot of people wish they wouldn't, but whatever). There's a chance they botch it in the end, but the people working on the game clearly have a lot of love and respect for the original game (in my opinion, at least), so I don't expect them to completely rewrite the story.
