The journey to the end of Square's absolutely massive Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is nearing its end. From whispers in the early 2000s, then the official reveal at E3 2015, the lead-up to the conclusion has been over two decades in the making. Between the launch of the original Final Fantasy VII in 1997 to the upcoming release of the third chapter, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, it will have been thirty years.
In the three decades since FF7, the franchise has explored countless other forms of media. Anime, spin-offs, mobile games and the mainline games have continued, but its entrance into the feature film industry has been even more fascinating. Despite how much I loved it, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was a disaster that nearly ended the imminent merger between Square and former rival Enix.
Square's other venture into film, however, proved to be much more valuable. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, which was a centerpiece of the Compilation of FF7, continued the events of the original PS1 game when it released in 2005 in Japan. It reached the US in 2006, and as the final chapter of the FF7 remake trilogy looms, its place in the franchise is a fascinating one.
A Post-FF7 World
After the global success of Final Fantasy VII in 1997, the franchise was launched into the stratosphere. It had already been popular within gaming circles, but FF7 turned Final Fantasy into a household name, and never being one to say no to free money, Square wanted to capitalize on its success. FF7 director Yoshinori Kitase spearheaded the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII alongside character designer and writer Tetsuya Nomura, which would debut a mobile game known as Before Crisis in 2004 that never reached the US.
The most exciting part of the Compilation series, however, was Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Described by Square as a direct sequel that takes place two years after the cataclysmic finale of FF7 at the North Crater, Advent Children was a film I was absolutely desperate to see back in the day. And seeing it wasn't that easy, to be honest, as it screened for one night only at the ArcLight Theater in Los Angeles and didn't hit North America's home video market until a DVD release in 2007.
Described by Square as a direct sequel that takes place two years after the cataclysmic finale of FF7 at the North Crater, Advent Children was a film I was absolutely desperate to see back in the day.
Opinions on Advent Children have been mixed over the years, but I've always found it to be a rather compelling film. Nomura and the team behind it have often spoken of their desire to create a Hollywood blockbuster with more of an esoteric, nuanced feeling to the quieter scenes. I believe Advent Children got fairly close to that, but it's certainly a flawed film, but one that is incredibly important not just to FF7's mythology, but the entire foundation of the remake trilogy's conclusion.
Not only that, but the entire trilogy has been making both small and overt references to the future that awaits the party in Advent Children. With Final Fantasy VII Revelation on the horizon, set for an April 2027 release date, the ultimate conclusion of the remake trilogy has a lot of work to do. There are a lot of signposts for what's to come, but exactly how Revelation will link up with Advent Children is one of the most exciting parts of the game.
A Destined Conclusion
Ever since the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi has been very adamant that the conclusion will involve Advent Children in some capacity. It's become far less about speculation on Advent Children, and more on straight-up confirmation. The events of Advent Children are not only still canon, a point of speculation for a little while, but will play an active role in the final chapter of the remake trilogy.
The long-running rumor is that the events of Advent Children serve as far more than the narrative follow-up to Revelation, but rather form as the entirety of the game's conclusion. Revelation is confirmed to cover the finale of the original FF7, including the enormous final battle with Sephiroth in the North Crater. The crater may indeed be where the game ends, but seeing that Hamaguchi has cited Revelation as the final game in the entire FF7 saga, there may be something more complex at work.
The long-running rumor is that the events of Advent Children serve as far more than the narrative follow-up to Revelation, but rather form as the entirety of the game's conclusion.
The concept of a playable version of Advent Children is something that's popped up in fan circles for the FF7 remake trilogy for years, but became even more prominent after the launch of Rebirth. When Advent Children first came out, it almost predicted the future of the games themselves, as the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth at the end of Final Fantasy VII Remake feels like a playable version of that. It almost feels like a full circle moment.
Despite some speculation about playable Advent Children also potentially being a DLC, I think taking Hamaguchi at his word is prudent. This project has been exhausting for Square, and Hamaguchi seems to be throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, into Final Fantasy VII Revelation. Having Advent Children be playable may be a complete fantasy, but no matter how things wrap up, all the roads in Final Fantasy VII Revelation lead to Advent Children.
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