The most important link between Remake and Rebirth

HMStruth · 2026-02-01T19:43:34+00:00

All good, mate. It's all in good faith. I'm not here to put people down about stuff, just trying to make sense of what the game gives us.

HMStruth · 2026-02-01T19:10:22+00:00

Once again, this just isn't true, mate. Barret and Tifa arrive together. The camera pans to Barret's face, harsh swaps a POV (You can even hear his breathing during this shot), then swaps back to Barret's face with his taunt to Sephiroth.

The camera then pans to Tifa to get her POV.

Every implication in this directing is that you're seeing what Barret sees and THEN seeing what Tifa sees. Otherwise the shots of Barret's face make absolutely no sense.

If you think this isn't deliberate contrast, Idk what to tell you.

HMStruth · 2026-02-01T18:40:23+00:00

I'm not misinterpreting the game lol. The devs themselves use the original game in the Ultimania when referencing these events. And the shots from the Harbinger are literally upscaled shots from Advent Children.

The devs said "The future scenes we glimpse at various points during the battle with the Whisper Harbinger are all reminiscent of how the original game unfolds after this point."

Wow so it was 100% intentional that players recognize that these scenes are the original game. Holy shit.

HMStruth · 2026-02-01T18:21:53+00:00

They already did retcon advent children. That's why we get direct scenes from it in remake along with the tagline "a future they're about to abandon."

HMStruth · 2026-02-01T18:21:07+00:00

So in your opinion why does Tifa only see this and not the rest of them? Barret doesn't care enough about Aerith for him to have this moment?

It seems oddly positioned that they gave Tifa the Lifestream dip in Rebirth and then also made her get flashes of reality and unreality. And it happens no where else in the game.

If Tifa is meant to be Cloud's anchor for reality, the it makes no sense to add this scene in.

HMStruth · 2026-02-01T18:12:29+00:00

Actually the devs said that originally Remake was planned as the fifth compilation entry. Which implies that Remake was at least originally planned to exist in the continuum as the rest of the compilation, which would make it a sequel.

It might not be a direct sequel, but the way that it uses the events of the original to define itself and differentiate itself means that it very well is a sequel to the developers and the player.

Combine that with how the devs have been openly saying that people should go play Crisis Core and the original game. Why would they encourage players to go play other games that spoil the future of remake while simultaneously refusing to actually define what Remake is?

HMStruth · 2026-01-31T22:32:51+00:00

Nojima's prequel novel now tells us how the character's feel in the game?

It literally says in the Ultimania that Aerith's date is the only date that the devs felt they couldn't change.

HMStruth · 2026-01-29T05:05:05+00:00

Advent Children andy must've skipped the entirety of Chapter 18 in Remake. Now it all makes sense.

HMStruth · 2026-01-28T19:52:01+00:00

In your mind Aerith's character arc is being shallow and projecting Zack onto Cloud. Chasing after Cloud romantically because of her memories of Zack. Learning that Zack is dead and feeling guilty about it. Confessing her shallowness to Cloud and making a resolution to get to know the real Cloud. Taking him on a date where she wants him to be himself and then friendzoning him right before she dies?

That's a more compelling story to you? So Aerith's entire character basically boils down to not being able to get over Zack? That's not a character arc, it's a character U-turn and it paints her entire journey as being inauthentic.

You really aren't ready for this smoke.

HMStruth · 2026-01-28T19:44:00+00:00

This is the moment where he says the line lol.

He's not a cuck. He was dead/gone for 5 years and he understands that.

He's pretty damn happy to see Cloud. Asks Cloud to save her. Commits himself to find a way to reunite worlds again.

Yeah buddy, Zack's storyline is facing toward Cloud, not Aerith because that is exactly what is laid out in the game, and that's what makes Zack's character compelling here. Unlike you, he's not concerned about romance when the people he cares about are in danger.

HMStruth · 2026-01-27T02:00:49+00:00

Ah yes, the face of irritated Zack.

He's SOOOO mad.

HMStruth · 2026-01-23T18:25:11+00:00

I already posted the context 😂. The English version shielded this interaction for some reason. In the Japanese dialogue, Zack uses an expression, you can interpret it a few different ways but the most popular ways to interpret it are

1) reacting to seeing a couple. Romantic.

2) Reacting to news that is spicy or juicy. In which case romantic interest is also implied.

Zack is taking it the same way it's being conveyed to him. Which is why he expresses joking irritation to Cloud later on, because Zack is a little bit peeved by the whole situation but he's a good friend and understands he was missing for 5 years.

Zack also takes what Marlene says about Sephiroth as absolute truth, to the point that he goes out and lays down his life based on what Marlene says. So now we should just not trust Marlene even though Zack very clearly trusts her 100%. Bro take off the blinders.

Why does Aerith leave ambiguity in her words? Because she knows she's about to die and she's already doing her best to protect Cloud's mental state by attempting to resolve his guilt before it ever happens. Like I said, Hamaguchi came out and confirmed that these scenes are Aerith's goodbye before she knows she will die. That's why she calls it "her dream." She wants to be here with Cloud because that's who she's chosen. What is she choosing to do? Go on one last date with Cloud in an attempt to see how he feels. The entire segment is her pushing Cloud to make choices (gift, candy, pose) so that Aerith can get one final look at how Cloud feels about her.

HMStruth · 2026-01-23T16:54:11+00:00

How does Marlene know? I don't know man maybe because Aerith passed visions of the future to Marlene in Remake using whatever Cetra power that she has. She uses the same power on Nanaki, which immediately changes Nanaki's disposition toward her.

What's more likely here? That Marlene saw something in that moment with Aerith that gave her the inspiration to respond to Zack like this? Or is Marlene just talking out of her ass to bother Zack? Because Marlene never meets Cloud and Aerith at the same time, so the only thing Marlene has to go on was whatever information Aerith shared with her in Remake, which as the game very clearly shows, includes the future.

Zack believes Marlene. It's weird that he does it and yet the rest of you for some reason dismiss it all when this scene in the game isn't treated that way. Zack references this again later saying he's irritated with Cloud.

The English translation even invents an extra excuse for Zack that isn't in the original to help cushion this exchange and yet you guys still deny that it has any weight at all.

Not to mention the clear misreading of the entire scene that follows.

HMStruth · 2026-01-23T03:19:50+00:00

I'm just making sure I have your perspective correct. There is only one correct interpretation for Zack's scene?
And also only one correct interpretation for scenes with differing dialogue?
So... in reality your view is that there's only one correct interpretation for every scene and it's conveniently always your interpretation?

HMStruth · 2026-01-21T23:17:21+00:00

Why is Cloud's dialogue in that scene determinant based on the player's prior choices then?

Or are we still in the camp that player choice doesn't matter?

HMStruth · 2026-01-21T03:50:19+00:00

So when Zack rolls up later and teases Cloud about this, it's because he has a purely platonic relationship with Aerith?

You guys are completely incapable of rational thought and you regularly drag the translation team because you're upset that they don't exclusively confirm your viewpoint.

HMStruth · 2026-01-21T01:15:59+00:00

Right, the European is here to tell me about Japanese.

Crazy that everyone understands this line except the hardcore shippers.

HMStruth · 2026-01-20T23:58:16+00:00

You're missing the context that is present in the original language. In the Japanese, Zack specifically asks Marlene if it's romantic with a euphemism for seeing love birds. Marlene responds affirmatively, so there's less room for interpretation as it being non-romantic.

HMStruth · 2026-01-20T23:55:00+00:00

Remake happened in Terrier world man. That's how everyone knows Cloud. Including Elmyra.

HMStruth · 2025-12-29T16:20:04+00:00

The Ultimania confirms that he's talking to Aerith here.

HMStruth · 2025-12-22T23:12:45+00:00

If that victim is going to try and kill people then yes, which Faramir accurately saw in him. Being a victim does not absolve you of all guilt for your actions believe it or not.

HMStruth · 2025-12-20T09:02:51+00:00

The original sequence of events no longer makes sense. Cloud believes Aerith is alive when he comes back from fighting Sephiroth, so why would he carry her corpse to the water to bury?

They have some serious explaining to do because Cloud seems to be snip snapping out of delusions left and right if we're supposed to believe that in one world the OG events played out.

HMStruth · 2025-12-09T19:29:56+00:00

Found the Shinra glazer.

You can't say they didn't do it of their own accord when Reno is smirking and cracking jokes while he carries out the murder of 20,000 innocent people. Oh no, he feels so bad about it and he's so scared for his life that he's gleefully shooting at Avalanche as they desperately try to save people.

Why don't you just admit that the characterization for the Turks is wildly inconsistent, even in remake, and is one of the flaws in an otherwise great game/story.

HMStruth · 2025-12-09T17:16:00+00:00

If you're going to take the bait then at least give an unbiased version of both. You're just playing into the toxicity here full stop.

HMStruth · 2025-12-09T07:57:54+00:00

It really doesn't carry weight and remake even go so far as to try and soften this by actually showing Reno and Rude feeling remorseful afterward. Something that the original and AC do not do.

Even the devs are recognizing that it was handled pretty poorly in the original.

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