The biggest decision in Final Fantasy VII Remake is not visible until the end: the Whispers, mysterious entities that appear throughout the game protecting the flow of fate, are identified as guardians of the original game’s timeline. Defeating the final Whisper boss — Harbinger — breaks fate and explicitly signals that the Remake will not follow the original story.
This decision was polarising at release and continues to divide the fanbase. Players who wanted a faithful remake received the most faithful possible version of the Midgar sequence, then a climax that announced nothing after it would be predictable. Players who wanted something new got a sequel hook of enormous scope and a deliberate divorce from safety.
The Remake’s most carefully hidden content is in its music: the OST contains arrangements of themes from parts of the game that do not exist yet — Nibelheim, Costa del Sol, the Forgotten Capital. These are not player-accessible. They are on the disc, arranged as they would be if the game had progressed there, confirming that Square Enix had the entire game’s musical arc completed before the first Remake shipped.
The Nibelheim theme arrangement in particular contains a harmonic addition that implies narrative context — a second voice in the melody that the original lacked. Someone arranged it with a specific scene in mind. That scene does not exist yet.
Found this by accident on my third run. Came here to understand what I was actually looking at. Great write-up.
Saved this article for my gaming reference folder. Essential reading for anyone serious about this game.