Summary

• FF7 Remake Part 3 faces challenges in balancing a complex narrative and juggling numerous characters.
• FF7 Rebirth included many returning characters from various sources, but keeping them all risks diluting the focus.
• FF7 Remake Part 3 should prioritize essential characters and avoid over-reliance on previous media.

A lot of memorable characters have appeared in various Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 games over the years, but when it comes to FF7 Remake Part 3, it's time to leave some on the cutting room floor. As the conclusion to the FF7 remake trilogy, FF7 Remake Part 3 has a lot of weight on its shoulders. Bringing a huge, expanded narrative home will be a tricky balancing act, especially considering how many complicated layers have been added to the story.

FF7 Remake set the model for the new trilogy by fleshing out the Midgar segment that opens the story, a process achieved by lengthening some gameplay sequences, adding others, and spending a lot more time with characters old and new. The deeper dives into Avalanche might be the best part of the experience, but some fresh faces also manage to make their mark. FF7 Rebirth doubles down on everything, bringing back more recurring figures than ever while spinning the game's midsection into an adventure that dwarfs the original game in length.

FF7 Remake Part 3 Has Too Many Characters To Juggle

FF7 Rebirth Is Already Filled To The Brim

As fun as most FF7 characters can be, trying to spotlight everyone could very easily be the downfall of FF7 Remake Part 3. FF7 Rebirth feels like an extravaganza, abandoning the relative focus of the original game to pack as much fun as possible into the world. When it comes to the climactic final third of the story, however, attempting to match or exceed this approach will make it much harder to give the elements that matter most the attention they deserve.

The problem lies in the fact that FF7 Remake Part 3 won't be pulling characters from a single source game, but from a dizzying array of predecessors. FF7 Rebirth obviously takes a lot of material from the original game, but it also features plenty of returning characters from FF7 Remake, adds one that Before Crisis, and devotes plenty of time to material most directly related to Crisis Core. FF7 Remake's InterMISSION DLC tied in with Dirge of Cerberus, and characters who returned there could very well show up again in FF7 Remake Part 3.

FF7 Rebirth also features a number of references to other games in the broader Final Fantasy franchise, but these are usually more in the realm of cute Easter eggs than significant inclusions.

FF7 Rebirth's approach to juggling all of this already feels a bit shaky, with too many denizens of Midgar's Wall Market suddenly deciding to take world tours. There's nothing wrong with touching on many of these characters again, and seeing those particular figures when returning to Wall Market in FF7 Remake Part 3 would be the kind of continuity that's more helpful than distracting. Familiar faces don't need to be everywhere, however, and attempting to repeat the FF7 Rebirth approach where no corner of the world is completely new wouldn't be ideal.

FF7 Remake Part 3 Needs To Focus On What Matters

Familiar Faces Aren't The Only Important Thing

At a certain point, it starts to feel like FF7 is running the risk of becoming Kingdom Hearts, where the reliance on increasingly precarious piles of previously created material starts to swallow the overall experience. The original FF7 is truly great, but that doesn't mean that all other games and media associated with it inherently are. FF7 Remake Part 3 doesn't need to pay homage to everything Square Enix has ever released with the FF7 name, and choosing some inessential characters to relegate to minor appearances or remove entirely could help it better stand on its own.

There's no way around the fact that FF7 Remake Part 3 will be huge, as some form of ability to freely roam around its massive world will be necessary to mimic the open-ended exploration that the original FF7 eventually allowed. Exploration is at its best when it embraces the unfamiliar, however, and FF7 Remake Part 3 needs to set aside some time to do that. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3's world should still be full of interesting people to meet, but ensuring that everyone who's had a role of any significance in the past makes a return isn't the best method.