Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a grand retelling of the original PS1 story, packed with shiny new visuals and a fast-paced combat system. The game only covers the Midgar section of the original but expands the scope enough to be comparable to the length of other Final Fantasy titles.
While the Remake does hit the same general story beats, there's a surprising amount of new content or even just small changes to the narrative. In fact, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake is pretty much a brand new game, all things considered.
Some of the story changes made are bigger than others, and even past that a few of them have major implications for the future of the Remake project. Here are the six biggest story changes in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Jessie's Mission, Avalanche, and Roche
In the original game, Barret and his crew were the only members of the eco-terrorist group Avalanche. The Compilation of Final Fantasy 7, namely Before Crisis, would expand on this by making Avalanche a massive resistance organization. The Remake sticks with what the Compilation did, making Barret's crew just one small cell of Avalanche.
After the Bombing Mission of Reactor 1 the Remake splits off from the original for a new mission, where Cloud accompanies Jessie to steal materials for her new bomb. This is an entirely new segment that does a great job at fleshing out Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. It also introduces a brand new villain named Roche, a SOLDIER 3rd Class obsessed with motorcycles and speed.
The Fate of Biggs and Wedge in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The Midgar section of the original game only lasted around 10 hours, while the Remake lasts roughly 30 hours. Of course, in the original Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all die during the attack on the Sector 7 pillar, but that's not the case this time around. Wedge manages to survive the attack and plays a part in the Shinra building later on. Presumably, e's still alive, although players don't see him for the last few hours. At the same time, a short scene after the end shows that Biggs is still alive as well, recovering somewhere in Midgar.
The Hidden Lab Below Sector 7
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake puts a top-secret Shinra lab below the streets of Sector 7, where they're experimenting on citizens and create grotesque creatures. There aren't any major revelations that take place in the lab, but it only helps strengthen Shinra's image as a cold and uncaring company.
The Whispers and Destiny
Throughout the Final Fantasy 7 Remake the party encounters mysterious cloaked figures called Whispers. At times the Whispers try to help the party, while at other times they hinder them. As Red XIII and Aerith explain, later on, the Whispers are a physical manifestation of destiny, trying to keep events on their pre-determined track. This basically means the whispers are there to make sure everything plays out as it does in the original Final Fantasy 7.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Ending
After escaping the Shinra building, the party comes face-to-face with Sephiroth who cuts a hold in reality and encourages the party to fight their destiny. Cloud originally warned the party about the danger Sephiroth poses, but this time around it's Aerith that does so. At the same time, both Aerith and Sephiroth seem to have some knowledge of future events, at least how they played out in the original game. Players fight and defeat the literal manifestation of destiny, the Whispers, and end up changing their fate. What this means is that events no longer have to play out as they do in the original Final Fantasy 7, as nothing is there to ensure they do. The party has a final showdown with Sephiroth, who then transports Cloud to the edge of existence and gives him a cryptic warning, saying he'll have seven seconds to change things. This most likely refers to when he kills Aerith and the seven gut-wrenching seconds that play out.
Zack Fair Survives
Zack Fair is the old SOLDIER friend of Cloud's, who helped him escape from the lab in Nibelheim. Cloud ended up taking Zack's memories and personality on himself after Zack was killed by Shinra. After the climactic ending of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the game shows how events have changed the timeline of the original game. At one point it's shown that Zack survives the showdown with Shinra and hauls Cloud to Midgar himself. However, the scene also shows an alternate design for Shinra's mascot Stamp, implying that Zack might have survived in an alternate timeline, and not the one that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake is happening in.