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2* AscendedFanon: Back in the day, a [[FanWank popular theory]] was that the holes in Cloud's Buster Sword were actually Materia Slots. In this game, that's exactly what they are.
3* CelebrityVoiceActor: Once again, the majority of the English voice actors involved are live-action actors, such as Creator/CodyChristian and Creator/BrittBaron (of ''Series/TeenWolf'' and ''Series/{{GLOW|2017}}'', respectively).
4* ChildrenVoicingChildren: Many of the child and teenage characters (including young Cloud, Aerith and Tifa) are actually voiced by people their age.
5* ContentLeak:
6** In late December 2019, word got out on social media that an encrypted build of the demo could be accessed on a Sony server, though those who were able to find the file weren't able to do much besides view some promotional images. On December 31, 2019, [[https://thelifestream.net/forums/threads/remake-demo-listed-on-psn-update-the-full-intro-is-on-youtube.22152/ gameplay of the aforementioned demo leaked]], comprising the entire opening and Bombing Mission in a manner similar to the demos for the original game.
7** The following day, on January 1, 2020, numerous images found by [[https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/comments/eirbrh/red_xiii_image_discovered_by_data_miners_much_more/ dataminers searching through the demo leaked online]], including unrevealed images of characters, locations, encounters and more. Files from the main game (that were stored in the demo) also leaked, including tutorial videos, ''the entire soundtrack'' and dialogue text files.
8** In late March 2020, several copies were leaked to the public. According to the official Facebook page for the franchise, copies of the game had been shipped ahead of schedule due to the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], and in Australia, the game was officially released on April 1.
9* CreativeDifferences: Between Creator/CyberConnect2 and Creator/SquareEnix. Originally, [=CyberConnect2=] was supposed to be helping Square Enix with the development. Due to unknown reasons, though, Square Enix took development completely in-house after just over a year of development.
10* CreatorBacklash: Creator/TetsuyaNomura has voiced his dislike of the decision to announce it in 2015, years before it was released, so this is more backlash against Square Enix instead of the game. He also wasn't informed of his role as director before the announcement.
11* CreatorCouple: Creator/KenichiSuzumura and Creator/MaayaSakamoto, the respective Japanese voices of Zack and Aerith, have been married since 2011.
12* DarkhorseCasting: Briana White, Aerith's English voice actor. She did have acting experience in a couple of short films and TV movies, but prior to this game, she was mainly known for being a video content creator (under the name [[https://www.youtube.com/@StrangeRebelGaming Strange Rebel Gaming]], which wasn't considered A-list either). Aerith was her breakthrough debut, and she compared booking such a major role to when she was accepted into NYU.
13* DuelingWorks:
14** It was released about a week and a half after the English version of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}} Royal,'' a new expanded version of a fellow critically praised JRPG, and a month and a half before ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1 Xenoblade Chronicles]]: Definitive Edition'', another expanded version of a praised JRPG.
15** With ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'', which came out exactly a week before. Both are heavily overhauled and modernized remakes of games from the original Platform/PlayStation.
16* GodNeverSaidThat:
17** Early translations of [[https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/05/01/final-fantasy-vii-remake-production-team-discuss-future-installments-were-not-drastically-changing-the-story/ an interview conducted with Yoshinori Kitase]] wherein he more-or-less states that future entries will adhere to the story of the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' have led many fans to accuse him of being a TrollingCreator or even a LyingCreator, given [[spoiler: the ways in which Part 1's narrative deviates from the plot of the original]]. Ultimately, Kitase's statement was found to have been mistranslated--[[https://twitter.com/TurquoiseHammer/status/1508146704272531458 the original Japanese]] reads:「リメイク版でも『FFVII』は『FFVII』のままだと思っていてください。」 ("Even with the ''Remake'' version [[note]]「でも」is ambiguous--in this context, it can mean either: "Despite [the existence of] the Remake version" or "Even in the Remake version"[[/note]], please think/assume that FFVII will remain FFVII"), with no mention of the story specifically (he could even be implying that ''[[ExactWords the original game will remain as is]]'', and that Part 3 and ''Rebirth'' may still deviate considerably from the plot of the original).
18** The ending spawned numerous fan theories postulating that ''Remake'' (along with the forthcoming entries) is set in [[AlternateUniverse a separate universe]] from the original game, and that [[spoiler: Zack's survival, as seen at the end]], is set in a ''third'' universe which would in turn be distinct from Remake's universe. This led many to believe [[WildMassGuessing that the series will be doing a "multiple timelines" plot]] wherein multiple versions of Sephiroth and/or Cloud and co. will potentially cross paths with each other. Such theories were amplified by [[https://twitter.com/TurquoiseHammer/status/1514756412324392960 a mistranslated quote]] from the ''Material Ultimania Plus'' in which co-director Toriyama states (in regards to whether [[spoiler: Jessie is alive]] or not) that a future wherein the protagonists all survive would be a different world. In the original Japanese however, the word which Toriyama uses for "different" (「違う」) more commonly means "wrong" or 'different from desired/intended.' In other words: a version of ''FFVII'' wherein every character survives would be at odds with what the developers intend (since [[CentralTheme a major theme of the story]]--according to Toriyama--is "loss"). Beyond that, the existence of "multiple worlds" has not been suggested by the developers [[note]]Writer Kazushige Nojima does allude to the Stamp seen on the bag in Zack's final stand being a terrier instead of a beagle, though he could merely be implying that it's a RippleEffectIndicator[[/note]]. The in-game proof alone seems more likely to be implying [[spoiler: [[AlternateTimeline a single, altered universe/timeline]]]] instead.
19* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: The game has ''five'' editions: a physical and digital base edition, a physical and digital Deluxe Edition, and a physical 1st Class Edition that's solely available on the Square Enix Store. Pre-ordering any edition nets you a special Chocobo Chick Summon Materia DLC. The Deluxe Edition has a steelbook game case (physical version only), an artbook (hardcover for physical, download for digital), a mini soundtrack (CD for physical, download for digital), and a Cactuar Summon Materia DLC. The 1st Class Edition has ''all'' of the content from the physical Deluxe Edition, plus a Carbuncle Summon Materia DLC and Play Arts Kai action figures of both Cloud and the Hardy Daytona motorcycle from the game.
20* TheOtherDarrin:
21** Surprisingly, all of the main English voice actors from the ''Compilation of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' (and most over crossovers including the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise) have been replaced -- according to [[WordOfGod Yoshinori Kitase]], as "part of the game's rebirth as ''Remake''". To name a few:
22*** Creator/CodyChristian replaces Steve Burton as Cloud.
23*** Creator/JohnEricBentley replaces Creator/BeauBillingslea as Barret.
24*** Briana White is the fourth in a long line of actors voicing Aerith[[note]]Music/MandyMoore in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Creator/MenaSuvari in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' and ''Advent Children'', and Creator/AndreaBowen in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIIIReMind''[[/note]].
25*** Creator/BrittBaron replaces Creator/RachaelLeighCook as Tifa.
26*** Creator/MaxMittelman replaces Creator/LiamOBrien as Red XIII.[[note]]Granted, O'Brien only voiced Red XIII for one line in ''Advent Children'', and the character has not made any other voiced appearance.[[/note]]
27*** Creator/TylerHoechlin replaces Creator/LanceBass[[note]]''Kingdom Hearts I''[[/note]] and Creator/GeorgeNewbern[[note]]''Advent Children'', ''Kingdom Hearts II'', ''Crisis Core'', the ''Dissidia'' series and ''Mobius''[[/note]] as Sephiroth.
28*** By the time ''Remake'' was released, Marlene's voice actress from ''Advent Children Complete'', Creator/ArielWinter, had aged out of the role. As a result, in this game, Marlene is voiced by Brielle Milla.
29*** Arnie Pantoja[[note]]He's better known for being the English voice actor of Kazuma Satou from ''Literature/KonoSuba''[[/note]] replaces Creator/QuintonFlynn as Reno.
30*** Vic Chao replaces Creator/RyunYu as Tseng.
31*** Creator/JamesSie replaces Creator/PaulEiding as Hojo.
32*** Creator/JoshBowman replaces Creator/WallyWingert as Rufus.
33*** Jon Root replaces Creator/JamiesonPrice as Reeve.
34*** William Christopher Stephens replaces Creator/CrispinFreeman as Rude.
35*** Caleb Pierce replaces Rick Gomez as Zack.
36*** Creator/SuzieYeung replaces Creator/ChristyCarlsonRomano[[note]]''Kingdom Hearts I'' and ''Advent Children''[[/note]] and Creator/MaeWhitman[[note]]''Kingdom Hearts II'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', and ''Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind''[[/note]] as Yuffie.
37** As for the Japanese release:
38*** For his brief appearance in ''Advent Children'', Red XIII was voiced by veteran film and television actor Masachika Ichimura. In this game, he is instead voiced by Creator/KappeiYamaguchi.
39*** Professor Hojo's voice actor Creator/NachiNozawa succumbed to lung cancer in 2010. He is now voiced by Creator/ShigeruChiba, who previously replaced Nozawa as Hojo’s {{Expy}} Vexen in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''.
40*** By the time ''Remake'' was released, Marlene's voice actress from ''Advent Children Complete'', Creator/SumireMorohoshi, had aged out of the role. As a result, in this game, Marlene is voiced by Otoha Umezaki.
41* TheOtherMarty: Steve Burton and Creator/BeauBillingslea originally reprised their respective roles as Cloud and Barret before being recast with Creator/CodyChristian and Creator/JohnEricBentley.
42* ProductionPosse:
43** Cody Christian, Creator/TylerHoechlin, and Creator/GideonEmery are all ''Series/TeenWolf'' alumni.
44** Creator/JohnDiMaggio, James Sie, and Creator/FredTatasciore previously worked together on ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' and ''Westernanimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness''.
45** Creator/MaxMittelman, Creator/ErikaHarlacher, and Creator/EricaLindbeck previously starred in ''VideoGame/Persona5''.
46** Many prominent voice actors from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' such as Creator/RayChase, Creator/DarinDePaul, Creator/RobbieDaymond, and Chris Parson return here, voicing various NPC's.
47* PromotedFanboy: John Eric Bentley has admitted to being [[https://twitter.com/JohnEricBentley/status/1161297387853189126 a longtime fan]] of the 1997 original.
48* RefittedForSequel:
49** Barret was considered as a potential victim of Sephiroth before the decision was made to kill off Aerith in the 1997 original. In ''Remake'', [[spoiler:Sephiroth does indeed kill Barret, only for the Arbiters of Fate to revive him]], making it a DevelopmentGag.
50** A cutscene that was cut for time was Tifa boarding the Chocobo Wagon to lead into her sudden appearance in Wall Market. This may have inspired the scene in the INTERmission DLC where the player can see her reunite with Avalanche after the Mako Reactor 5 mission, which ends with her deciding to investigate Don Corleone.
51* ReleaseDateChange:
52** In Australia, the game was released on April 1 instead of April 10 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
53** Earlier, the [=PS4=] version of the game was delayed from March 3, 2020 to April 10, 2020 everywhere else.
54* RoleReprise: With the exception of Creator/NachiNozawa (Professor Hojo) who died in 2010, Creator/SumireMorohoshi (Marlene) who aged out of the role, and Masachika Ichimura (Red XIII) who appeared as a CelebrityVoiceActor in ''Advent Children'', all of the original Japanese voice actors returned to reprise their roles for the game including Creator/TakahiroSakurai as Cloud Strife, Ayumi Ito as Tifa Lockhart, Masahiro Kobayashi as Barret Wallace, Creator/MaayaSakamoto as Aerith Gainsborough, and Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa as Sephiroth.
55* SavedFromDevelopmentHell:
56** The game was under development by an external creator, Creator/CyberConnect2, from late 2015 to 2017 before Creator/SquareEnix decided to bring it back in-house, with Naoki Hamaguchi from ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'' brought in as an additional project lead.
57** Comments from Creator/TetsuyaNomura reveal that he had been [[http://archive.is/hQLIR planning this remake]] since at least the mid-late 2000s, around the time the ''Compilation of Final Fantasy VII'' was still going strong:
58---> '''Nomura:''' "I started up the ''FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE'' project around the time of ''Compilation of FINAL FANTASY VII''. We’d gone through ''[[AlphabeticalThemeNaming Advent Children, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus]]'', and I was planning this by myself for about a year as [[GrandFinale the fifth and final entry in the compilation.]] Since that initial plan and my first ideas, [[AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder other projects took shape and I became very busy as they moved forward]], but I never stopped thinking about ''VII''. As such, I feel like I’m looking forward to the release as much as anyone, as I’ve been carrying around these ideas for a long time."
59* TeasingCreator: When producer Yoshinori Kitase came on stage at Square Enix's press conference to talk about ''Remake'' at E3 2019, he was asked when the audience would finally get to see the much-anticipated Tifa in action. His response? "Soon." Some ten minutes later, after footage of the Scorpion Sentinel boss fight, an extended version of the trailer dropped the previous day plays, and [[ExactWords it's not long before Tifa's shown in all of her high-definition glory]].
60* SerendipityWritesThePlot: ''Remake'' adds a metal container to Jenova concealing her neck where her head would be, and her blood is a bubbling dark purple substances instead of the bright red present in the original game. The reason is censorship to avoid the game getting a higher age rating; the developers weren't allowed to show her nude body in full (when she's seen held by Sephiroth, she'd wrapped in a sheet), couldn't show the stump of her decapitated head, and couldn't make her blood look realistic. Motomu Toriyama has said the appearance of the trail of blood through the Shinra building was particularly a pain to get through the censors and it had to be checked numerous times.
61* TrollingCreator: Square Enix comes on stage during the 2014 [=PlayStation=] Expo and announces a remastered release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', with 1080p original Platform/PlayStation graphics, to universal derision. Around six months later, at [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3]], after an even more derisory CuteEmUp [[VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy version]] of the ''Final Fantasy'' formula, they reveal that the 2014 announcement was, more than likely, to completely obfuscate leaks of this game.
62* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
63** Steve Burton and Beau Billingslea [[TheOtherMarty had initially reprised]] their respective roles as Cloud and Barret for the first trailer. However, in 2019, it was revealed that ''none'' of the original voice actors would return. It had even been initially planned for the ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'' cast to reprise their roles (with the possible exceptions of characters who played minor roles in the film like Red XIII), but somewhere down the line, it was decided to replace them. The reason cited was that Square Enix wanted ''Remake'' to stand apart as a separate entity from the ''Compilation'' and be its own thing.
64** Interviews with the big three (Creator/TetsuyaNomura, Kazushige Nojima, and Yoshinori Kitase) in the ''Ultimania'' revealed they wanted to add additional scenes into ''Remake'' to further expand on the original game but had to abandon them for time constraints. The only example that was elaborated on was a plan to add a cutscene in Chapter 9 showing Tifa boarding the Chocobo wagon from Sector 7 to Wall Market, which did not come to pass.
65** A ''Famitsu'' article released in July 2020 revealed that Roche was supposed to appear during the game's last fight, as well as having an additional boss fight in the slums during chapter 14. His appearance in the finale was cut to avoid a MoodWhiplash of having a comical character like him in the serious moments, while the second fight was cut because there wasn't a way to naturally fit him and his bike into any part of that chapter.
66** Kitase and Hamaguchi mentioned in a 2020 interview that, originally, the former wanted to go even further with many of the changes to the story, but the latter along with Nomura wanted the game to be more like the original as much as possible.
67* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
68** When the game was released nine days early in Europe and Australia, Square Enix issued a statement asking people who received an early copy to avoid spoiling the game -- and even locked the downloadable version to be unplayable until April 10. European and Australian Let's Players who started streaming the game on Twitch or uploading gameplay videos to [=YouTube=] prior to April 10 have gotten their videos -- and even their channels -- taken down by Square Enix for breaking the moratorium. In the end, it was all for nought, as the entire game was spoiled by the weekend, revealing some changes to the game that are controversial, to say the least.
69** Kazushige Nojima [[https://twitter.com/sgwr1/status/1482910660585398276 stopped]] talking about ''Remake'' specifically, apparently due to toxic fans.
70* YouSoundFamiliar:
71** Heidegger's English and Japanese voice actors, Creator/JohnDiMaggio and Katsumi Cho, previously shared the role of Kimahri Ronso from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''.
72** Creator/GideonEmery (ENG!Biggs) and Creator/YasuyukiKase (JP!Johnny) were previously Balthier and Rasler from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''.
73** Creator/KentaMiyake (Roche) and Creator/EijiHanawa (the Shinra manager) previously starred in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' as Gladiolus and Biggs.
74** Creator/TrevorDevall (Andrea) was previously Ravus Nox Fleuret from ''XV''.

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