How Final Fantasy 7 Remake Weaves Its Spin-offs Into a New Trilogy

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake project was never intended to be a one-to-one recreation of the 1997 PlayStation classic. Instead, the team at Square Enix chose a far more ambitious path: a full trilogy that reinterprets the original while pulling in elements from across the broader Final Fantasy 7 universe. This decision created a unique creative challenge for director Naoki Hamaguchi and his colleagues—how do you fold spin-offs, new characters, and expanded lore into a story that millions already know intimately, without losing what made it beloved in the first place?

This article explores that balancing act—how the developers approached spin-offs, why they didn’t want to make a simple remake, and what it means for both veteran fans and newcomers discovering Midgar for the first time.

The Remake Trilogy as a New Interpretation

From the outset, Square Enix framed the remake not as a singular game but as a trilogy. The first entry, Final Fantasy VII Remake, focuses on the Midgar section of the original, expanding it into a full-length experience. The second, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, continues the journey outside Midgar, with a third game still in development as the capstone of the project. According to Square Enix’s official materials, this trilogy structure was decided so the team could fully explore the story and world at a modern production scale, rather than condensing everything into one oversized title.¹

This trilogy format changes the creative calculus in several key ways:

• More narrative space: Three games allow for deeper character arcs, expanded locations, and entirely new scenes.
• Room for spin-off integration: Events from side stories like Crisis Core and Advent Children can be foreshadowed or referenced.
• Flexibility in pacing: Major plot revelations can be rearranged or reframed across the trilogy rather than confined to the original beats.

Hamaguchi has described the remake project as a way to unify the various pieces of the Final Fantasy 7 “compilation” into a cohesive whole, recognizing that the universe has grown far beyond the 1997 game. His task isn’t just to revisit nostalgia; it’s to curate decades of additions into something that feels coherent and contemporary.

What Counts as a Spin-off in the FF7 Universe?

Long before work began on the remake trilogy, Square Enix had already expanded Final Fantasy 7 through multiple projects—games, films, and written media—collectively known as the “Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.” These entries explore prequels, sequels, and side stories that extend the life of the original narrative.

The remake trilogy draws inspiration from this entire compilation, but it cannot simply retell every event or include every character outright without overwhelming players—especially those who never touched the spin-offs. That’s the core design tension Hamaguchi has spoken about: finding the line between rich interconnectedness and narrative overload.

Why the Team Refused to Make a Straight Remake

Key members of the development staff, including creative director Tetsuya Nomura and producer Yoshinori Kitase, have publicly emphasized that their goal was not to create a scene-for-scene recreation of the 1997 game. In official interviews, Square Enix has described their approach as a “reimagining” that respects the core plot while allowing for expanded and altered storytelling opportunities.¹

Several factors drove this decision:

• Technological and visual evolution: Modern hardware can depict environments, facial expressions, and cinematic sequences far more vividly than the original PlayStation. Ignoring that potential would waste a key advantage of revisiting the game.
• Audience expectations: Many players already know the original’s twists. To keep tension and surprise alive, the remake can’t simply repeat every beat in the same way.
• Expanded universe: Once the compilation existed, the original story no longer stood alone. A modern project needed to acknowledge and integrate that broader context.
• Creative maturity: The original staff have decades more experience. Remaking the game gave them a chance to refine ideas and themes with the benefit of hindsight.

From this perspective, integrating spin-offs isn’t fanservice—it’s a logical outcome of treating the entire Final Fantasy 7 canon as a living body of work rather than a museum exhibit.

The Central Design Question: How Much Spin-off Content Is Enough?

Hamaguchi has spoken about a recurring question during development: How much spin-off material should be visible to players who may have no idea these stories even exist? The team had to plan for several types of players:

• Veterans who played the 1997 original but skipped the compilation.
• Fans who consumed everything—games, movies, and books.
• Newcomers whose first Final Fantasy 7 is the remake trilogy.

To keep the story coherent for everyone, the developers employed several strategies:

1. Layered storytelling: On the surface, scenes must make sense even if you’ve never heard of Crisis Core or Advent Children. At a deeper level, specific lines of dialogue, visual motifs, or character cameos reward those who know the broader lore.
2. Selective incorporation: Not every spin-off event can be recreated. Instead, the team cherry-picks characters, themes, and story beats that strengthen the trilogy’s central narrative.
3. Timeline awareness: Because some spin-offs occur after the original game (like Advent Children), references in the remake have to be carefully placed so they feel like foreshadowing rather than continuity errors.

This measured approach echoes broader game design principles. Academic research on transmedia storytelling describes how franchises must balance accessibility with depth when expanding their universes across multiple media.² The remake trilogy essentially functions as a transmedia hub, recognizing and reframing stories told elsewhere.

Timelines, Multiverses, and Narrative Limits

Another major constraint is time—both within the fiction and in terms of how much story fits into a single game. When planning what to include from various spin-offs, the developers needed to consider exactly where each event sits along the overarching timeline and how that would intersect with the trilogy’s arc.

While Square Enix has not publicly committed to a full multiverse explanation, the presence of mysterious entities, altered events, and new characters in the remake suggests a more flexible approach to continuity than a straight retelling. This opens the door for:

• Recontextualized events: Scenes originally only in spin-offs can be repositioned or hinted at earlier.
• Alternative outcomes: Familiar plot points may unfold differently, creating a sense of uncertainty even for long-time fans.
• Structural symmetry: The trilogy can echo later works like Advent Children in tone or imagery, even though those stories occur later in the timeline.

Kitase has previously explained that the remake exists in close conversation with the original narrative, even when it diverges, and fans are encouraged to think about how post-game stories might connect back to this new interpretation.³ This kind of foreshadowing demands meticulous planning—especially when balancing multiple game releases, cinematics, and potential future spin-offs.

Bringing a “Fresh Feel” Through Spin-off Characters and Themes

One concrete way the trilogy draws from the compilation is by introducing or teasing characters who became popular in spin-offs but never appeared in the 1997 release. Doing so helps keep the story surprising while acknowledging how much the franchise has grown.

However, introducing new faces at the wrong time or in the wrong way could confuse players or derail the pacing. The design task becomes: How do you let beloved spin-off characters step into the spotlight without turning the remake into a crowded crossover?

Broadly, the team appears to rely on several guidelines:

• Character relevance: New or returning characters must have a clear emotional or thematic role, not just appear for recognition.
• Gradual introduction: Cameos and hints may precede deeper involvement in later entries of the trilogy.
• Focus on core cast: Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and the original party remain central; spin-off characters orbit around their journeys rather than replacing them.

This mirrors best practices observed in long-running franchises, where newer media must honor legacy characters while expanding the ensemble slowly to maintain narrative cohesion.²

Balancing Nostalgia, Accessibility, and Innovation

At the heart of the remake project is a three-way balancing act:

• Nostalgia: Long-time fans want iconic moments recreated—sometimes shot-for-shot—with modern fidelity.
• Accessibility: New players need a story that stands on its own, without requiring knowledge of late-90s JRPG design or decades of spin-offs.
• Innovation: Developers want room to surprise, explore new themes, and draw from the expanded universe.

Square Enix’s approach reflects trends across the broader game industry. Remakes like Resident Evil 2 and Demon’s Souls have shown that players increasingly expect remakes to be both faithful and forward-looking. The Entertainment Software Association notes that a large share of players engage with both older franchises and new releases, making remakes a key part of the modern gaming ecosystem.⁴

For Final Fantasy 7 Remake, this means:

• Retaining core story beats while reshaping the context around them.
• Using modern cinematic techniques to enhance emotional impact.
• Introducing new mysteries that keep even experts guessing.
• Carefully threading in spin-off lore as seasoning rather than the main course.

What This Strategy Means for Newcomers vs. Veterans

The decision to incorporate spin-offs has different implications depending on who’s playing.

For Newcomers

Players who meet Cloud and company for the first time in the remake trilogy experience a story that:

• Functions as a complete narrative on its own.
• Occasionally hints at a larger universe, sparking curiosity about older titles.
• Uses modern pacing, combat, and cinematic language that align with current AAA standards.

For them, the spin-offs act more like optional context—something they can dive into later if they want to see where certain hints or characters originated.

For Original Fans and Compilation Devotees

Veteran fans experience the remake on a different level:

• Recognizing altered scenes and questioning why specific changes were made.
• Spotting references to Crisis Core, Advent Children, or Dirge of Cerberus and imagining how those stories might now unfold.
• Speculating about whether the trilogy will converge back toward the original ending or diverge in a major way.

This layered experience is intentional. It acknowledges that the original game—and the compilation that followed—have become cultural touchstones, while still leaving room for reinterpretation. In this sense, the trilogy functions both as a gateway for new players and as a commentary on its own legacy.

Looking Ahead: The Final Entry and Beyond

Although specific details about the third entry in the remake trilogy remain limited, Square Enix has confirmed that the project is structured as a three-part narrative with a clear plan for how the story will wrap up.¹ The creative decisions made about spin-offs in the first two entries will inevitably shape the finale:

• If compilation characters and events have been heavily integrated, the last game may further fuse prequel and sequel threads into its climax.
• If the trilogy leans toward course-correction—steering back toward the original ending—spin-off references may serve more as thematic echoes than direct setup.
• If the story embraces divergence, the final entry might position spin-off events as alternate possibilities rather than fixed outcomes.

Whatever direction the finale takes, the guiding principle remains clear: this is not just a visual remaster of a beloved RPG, but a deliberate attempt to reinterpret Final Fantasy 7 in light of everything that has grown around it over nearly three decades.

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