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FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 7: OG FINAL FANTASY VII

ELEMENTS ORIGINALLY SHOWED AFTER THE MIDGAR SECTION & VISIONS OF THE FUTURE

CAIT SITH

This character didn’t show up until the group reached the Gold Saucer. In the Remake he witnesses the plate fall.

YUFFIE

In the OG Yuffie could only be recruited after visiting the Mythril Mines and nothing hints she had ever been in Midgar before. Now she is the protagonist of Intermission, spending a whole day in Midgar, getting to see Barret’s cell and infiltrating in Shinra HQ thanks to Avalanche. Some main points of this character have already been shown like the rivalry between her and her father, some details of the Wutai war and even her motion sickness.

ROMANTIC RUDE

In the OG Rude confessed Reno that he liked Tifa. In the Remake, when he spotted her on the Sector 7 pillar, he deviated the chopper to prevent Reno from killing her.

Reno: Dammit! You wanna explain yourself, partner?

Rude: Uh... Hand slipped.

PALMER’S TEA

In the original, at Cid’s house, Palmer asked for some tea with “sugar, honey and lard”. In the Remake he walks in the corridor of Shinra HQ with a cup of tea, complaining that he ran out of butter (though in Japanese it’s still “lard”).

Oh dear, oh dear... A man of my refined tastes running out of butter! Shorn of its proper accompainment, this tea...might as well be boiled pond water!

BLACK-CAPED MEN

In the original there was just one clone in Midgar, in Sector 5, and he wasn’t wearing the black cape yet, while in the Remake they can be met also in Midgar. 

The Remake also confirms that also some former SOLDIERs can turn into caped men, something that the OG revealed only in an optional scene in Junon.

OG: I used to be in SOLDIER. Lately I’ve felt like dressing up like this...

Remake: My dad told me that that man, he used to be a SOLDIER when he was younger. I heard he came back because he got sick or something. Isn't that kinda weird? Can SOLDIERs even get sick?

This concept is further - more openly - reiterated also in Intermission:

Nayo: Mako poisoning. That's what happens if you don't make the grade as a SOLDIER...or when the military's done using you.

REUNION

When Cloud attacks Marco believing he’s Sephiroth he has a vision of the Reunion at Whirlwind Maze.

BARRET’S PAST

In the Remake Barret mentions the day he survived from the destruction of his home town, while in the original this happened one the group arrived in Corel.

Wouldn't be the first time I spit in destiny's eye. Whether you can see the seams or you can't...doesn't change that she's always trying to have it her way.

JENOVA

In the original game the first fight against Jenova took place on the Cargo ship, while in the Remake the group fights it in Chapter 17. 

Note: the first form of Jenova in the original was called Jenova∙BIRTH (followed later by Jenova∙LIFE, Jenova∙DEATH and Jenova∙SYNTHESIS). In Remake it is called Dreamweaver, referring to its ability to project illusions, while the Japanese sticks to the original calling it Jenova Beat, hinting to the prenatal heartbeat of fetuses. 

LIFESTREAM

During the presentation at Cosmo theatre (an allusion itself to Cosmo Canyion) the group can see a depiction of the Lifestream flowing throughout the Planet. In the original this only happened at the very end when Aerith summoned it. 

MATERIA

During the aforementioned presentation it was explained how the Ancients were able to create Materia with condensed Lifestream, while in the original it was explained during the flashback in Kalm.

7R: In the distant past, our planet was home to a people we call the Ancients. Many millennia before we discovered mako, these precursors were already pioneering its use. Somehow they learned of the great reservoir of energy pulsing beneath their feet. And once they had...the Ancients developed the means to harness this bountiful energy and bend it to their will. The fruits of their labors have survived to this very day in the form of certain kinds of materia.

OG: Materia. When you condense Mako energy, materia is produced. It’s very rare to be able to see materia in its natural state. (...)...the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia.

PROUD CLOD

During intermission Yuffie can see the Proud Clod still under construction stored in Shinra underground. Moreover, the Pride and Joy Prototype (in Japanese: Proud Clad Unit Zero) is a boss that can be fought in Shinra battle simulator.

MIND READER

During the second bombing mission Tifa jokingly asks Cloud if he could read her mind. This is a hint to Jenova’s ability to read minds.

7R:  I swear, your timing was perfect. It's almost like...you could read my mind. SOLDIERs can't do that, can they?

OG: Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa’s memories, creating you.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

In the Remake Cloud "remembers” two episodes of his childhood in Nibelheim, scenes that originally were included in the Lifestream sequence in Mideel.

BURNING TOWN

During the first vision of Sephiroth in Chapter 2, Cloud re-experiences the distruction of NIbelheim. This info wasn’t revealed in the OG until the flashback in Kalm.

TEST SUBJECT

When Cloud, Barret and Tifa discover the secret underground lab with specimen detained in mako tanks, Cloud starts remembering his captivity in the basement of Shinra Mansion. This was originally revealed only in the optional cutscene in the basement of the Mansion, after the Lifestream sequence.

MAKO POISONING

Mako poisoning is an element that in the OG was explained just in Mideel, while in the Remake Jessie’s father suffers of the same condition. A sector 7 NPC also witnesses one of Cloud’s Jenova headaches and suggests he may be Mako poisonesd (before the whispers intervene).

7R: [Chapter 3] What the—You okay, buddy? Mako junkie, huh? Figures...

[Chapter 4] Jessie's got a theory about it. Thinks her dad's spirit is stuck now—between his body and the heart of the planet.

OG: He probably has no idea who or where he is now... Poor fellow, his voice doesn’t even work. He is literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one’s ever been... All alone...

UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

Discovering that in reality Cloud never made it in SLDIER was a pivotal plot twist of the OG. In the Remake that’s hinted more than once, until Hojo openly reveals it. 

No, not quite. Oh, now I recall. My memory was mistaken. My boy, you weren't a SOLDIER...

SEPHIROTH’S DEATH

In Chapter 2 Cloud remembers he killed Sephiroth. This is surprising as in the OG, during Kalm flashback, he told the group that he didn’t know what happened to Sephiroth after Nibelheim incident, even pointing out that, in terms of strength, he couldn’t have killed him.

AERITH’S DEATH

Cloud has some visions of Aerith’s death: after falling in her church in Chapter 8 (pics 2 and 3) and at the beginning of Chapter 9 (pics 1 and 4). Moreover he and the rest of the group have a blurred vision of her death in Chapter 18, Aerith’s refers to death in her resolution scene and Sephiroth tells him he’s unable to protect people in Chapter 2 (while seeing Aerith for the first time) and in Chapter 13 (after she’s been kidnapped). 

METEOR

Cloud, and the others have visions of Meteor and the storm that destroyed Midgar at the end of the OG in Chapters 16 and 18. 

A question about Kingdom Hearts, but can be for other stuff too. Do you think some important context or subtext is lost in the translation process from Japanese to a second language, even if it's translated to the best of a translator's ability, and if so, do you prefer a more literal translation over an official dub?

Hello! Thanks for the ask.

To answer the first question, there's different points to be made given the case by case nature of the topic. Important or simply interesting (these are not the same thing) information absolutely can be lost in the process of translation, but there's a lot of things fans need to understand:

Per discussion, is it actually lost, whether in the specific line or that of the overall context elsewhere?

Is the meaning actually *important* or imperative for understanding context [subtext]?

If lost, is it something that could've been localized creatively within the limitations of its presentation (voice acting/lip-sync, text space, etc.)?

Was it something that couldn't even be translated literally within the corresponding localized language? And/or did it not naturally flow into the writing of the actual scene itself for the given language?

Keep in mind that some interesting nuances built within a language system is really tailored for THAT language, and doesn't have to (or can't be) be transferred to another language smoothly in the production process of localization—if it's actually important, they might have to find a way, and chances are a literal translation may not even be enough to accomplish this. So to the second question—it isn't really “literal” vs localization for me, because whether one or both of these things can get the job done is circumstantial. Ultimately, what I care about most is whether what is written makes sense and can still be seen to retain what matters contextually (and sometimes, this means you can even get MORE or something more direct from a localization as opposed to “literal”). I’m using “ “ because really, you don’t want literal, for the majority of the text, it just doesn’t work that way as smoothly as people think. But I understand sometimes literal is actually “close to definition as possible” for people. (sometimes, indeed)

Anyway, if there is an issue with what's written, I know a "literal" translation doesn't always solve the inherent factors dependent upon the specific nature of the JPN language. The "literal" definition doesn't always fully capture how the Kanji is contextually used in the writing for another language. If I ever felt something was completely missed within a localization, my instinct is to first check the nature of the JPN and how it's written contextually to see how it fairs.

Of course, if it's information that isn't really based on the nature of the Kanji and how it's used, that it's something just being misunderstood in translation, then that isn't even a matter of whether it was literal or not—it was just wrong, and could've been right in any form if the text was understood (meaning, I'd take it literal or localized as long as the information is correct). In comparison to the amount of important storytelling text actually localized in video game projects, this doesn't nearly happen that often, though.

To look at Kingdom Hearts:

There have been many, many examples, especially between #1 and #2 discussed within fandom over the last 20 years. lol The majority is very miniscule and inconsequential (if even non-existent of a difference with proper understanding)—in KH3 I tend to think of some scenes between Sora and Kairi that has been discussed. @phoenix-downer has some excellent JPN/ENG comparisons of Sora and Kairi's Paopu Fruit and Light in the Darkness scenes (plus more) that serve some examples—Phoenix might be more readily able to remember some things over the years than I. There’s also this line from Xemnas about finding the Ancient Keybladers in KH3—this one can reasonably create a misunderstanding, but at the same time we don’t exactly have all the information at this point in time anyway.

One thing I do tend to think of is the scene between Aqua/Terra/Ven and the Disney Passes—where the term hogosha 保護者 (guardian, protector, patron, parent) is used in JPN, while in ENG it was written as "grown ups". There's a subtext here that has been missed by some ENG speakers. Similar to #4 (about literal translations), this is one of those cases where contextually speaking, the ENG went with what made sense for the scene and all factors corresponding to it, while still retaining something similar to the concept context-wise. As you can see based on the definition, the term hogosha is very flexible in use due to its span of multiple different words, but in its usage, it always has the connotation of something "parental". But, translating it as straight up "parent(s)" doesn't always work because of the nuances of the word. e.g. From FFXIII, Lightning is a hogosha to Serah, but this isn't to say that Lightning is literally her parent/mom—the contextual nature of hogosha tells more than this but with the same connotation. Sometimes it can be directly "parents/legal guardians", like how it's used to refer to what is essentially PTA school meetings (hogoshakai 保護者会). There's a reason why hogosha is distinct from just more direct words for parent (like oya 親 or ryoushin 両親).

This flexible nuance isn't readily and neatly packaged in a single word in ENG, however, and while, say, “guardian” [parental] can fit in some situations on its own, the connotation of parental isn’t so readily available like it is for hogosha alone. (A good example is this post I made) So, contextually there are other ways to capture it, and that may have to be with a non-literal translation. But, its meaning was missed by some ENG speaking fans, so when they hear "Aqua and Terra are like parents to Ven", they have no idea where that's coming from. Of course, some people were able to understand how this is carried contextually by the word "grown ups" and the situation of the Disney Passes—otherwise, some people completely missed that parental nuance, which would be significant of representing the relationship between Aqua/Terra to Ven.

Sometimes it isn't a localization issue, but a perception one.

With that being said, if in the case of other fandoms/series? It's all over the place. I've seen it all, between something being lost (important or just interesting [unimportant]), something being a mistranslation, or something being retained and people are honestly just trippin' because of misunderstanding things. Straight up. #4 (literal translation/context issues) happens a lot, in that case.

For example, recently I made this post and a follow up post about functionalities of JPN pronouns for (I, me) and the differences that lay there—there's also an extra layer I think I didn't include, which is that between using a specific pronoun in the form of hiragana/kanji/katakana, sometimes it's a stylistic choice as well. (Don't worry about this if you're confused lol). Point is, in this situation I also talked about how this was something that only applies for the JPN language and not necessarily others (especially ENG).

But again, a lot of this is case by case and we'd have to consider the #1-4 above, and for me, I know that to get the job done, it doesn't even have to be literal in order for this to happen.

As an extra note, fans REALLY need to understand localization, if even for SE specifically, to really talk about it efficiently. A lot don’t, and don’t care to. There is a sea of information to gather to form a perspective, and if they had this information, it’d change what they think about the “changes” a localization will make. One of the most blunt translators I can think of (Tom Slattery) gave this thought towards this very topic, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. So I’ll leave it with this:

Vocal fans on the internet often complain about translators "changing" things in the English versions of games. This always amuses me, as we're very often working alongside the team to help name those things in the first place. For example, on Final Fantasy XIII, we were asked to help with the naming of the roles--Medic, Synergist, Ravager, and so on. We were intending to use different names in Japan and the US/EU from the start, and we (the English translators) brainstormed and proposed both sets. For the Japanese version, they needed English words that (A) sounded cool when rendered into Japanese, and (B) would be understood by non-English-speaking Japanese players, so we worked with the writers to come up with a set of consistent-sounding terms that met those criteria. For the localized version, our focus was on creating names that would have a more sci-fi feel to a native speaker's ear, and also abbreviate to three letters in a way that looked natural and made the short forms quickly and easily distinguishable from one another. We didn't "change" anything; we just generated two different sets of names for two different audiences.

Retroactive integration of the English translation into the Japanese version happens on projects quite often as well. For example, we were asked to come up with a translation for the names of the transporters in the Nautilus theme park. The Japanese name at the time was not something that really worked for us, so we went with "Nautilift." A few weeks later, that started popping up in the Japanese script. That kind of thing is always a huge compliment. It's a collaborative process. No one is going out stomping all over each other's work just for the heck of it.

The Unifying Theme of FFVII

So I recently got an ask that was very interesting and which I think I did a piss poor job answering. Republished here:

what is the biggest theme of FF7 that ties every character together to you? life? pro environmentalism? identity? connections?

My answer was, in a nutshell, "existentialism." It's broadly true, and was certainly an influence on the game (see: Martin Heidegger, Existentialist philosopher and known bastard) but it's a reductive and Western take overall.

So, here's the long version, and a disclaimer up-front that I'm a simple Western weeb doing internet research to the best of my ability; apologies to those who know more than me.

Square has always stated that the theme of the game is "life". This is wholly accurate, but comes off as a little twee to a Western ear. This is because "life" is a translation of the Japanese word "inochi" (命). It is a broader, more holistic concept than the English "life," with different nuances and connotations.

For a longer and much more informed read on inochi specifically, see The Concept of Life in Contemporary Japan by Masahiro Morioka. Otherwise, keep reading after the cut!

In addition to meaning life or lifespan, "inochi" also encompasses the idea of a "spirit" or vital force. It extends beyond referring to life in the general sense. Much like any one person's mind, spirit, and lived existence isn't interchangeable with anyone else's, one's "inochi" is unique and individualistic.

This concept extends beyond just human life. Animals, mountains, rivers, and trees all have "inochi" too. An illuminating quote From Aspects of Shinto in Japanese Communication by Kazuya Hara (and his primary source):

From the viewpoint of Shinto, nature itself is seen to have a spirit and life. For example, Japanese people have looked upon even a tree, a rock, or a river in nature as a figure of life. Kamata (2000) argues that the Japanese word inochi connotes the dynamic motion, flow, and circulation of all the universe.

That circulation also includes the idea that "inochi" does not refer to only a single individual life, but a chain of all the lives that have gone before. It encompasses the fleeting and finite life of the individual as well as the ecosystem in which they lived, and the influence and impact which will survive them and create the next link in the chain.

You'll recognize many of these concepts as being expressed through the Lifestream, and extant in the environmentalist elements of the game. Navigating the apparent paradox of a finite and infinite "inochi" also pulls our cast in, all of whom are characters struggling with their individual existence in the context of a greater, deeply interconnected crisis.

"Inochi" is also connected to FFVII's strong themes of navigating identity and uncovering the fundamental self. The word can also be used to refer to the core or fundamental part of something, its "most essential quality." This echoes Cloud's journey to rediscover himself, and it's noteworthy that he find again within the Lifestream, the manifestation of "inochi" itself.

"Inochi" is definitely a very accurate unifying theme. We've touched on how that connects to Shinto themes, but Buddhist philosophies of life and existence are just as culturally prevalent in Japan and influential on the themes of VII in turn. So, let's talk about Buddhism, with another disclaimer that I'm not expert by any means whatsoever.

A foundational concept in Buddhism is the Three Marks of Existence: Impermanence, the non-self, and suffering. We'll mainly focus on the first two.

The first, impermanence, is as it says on the tin. According to Buddhist thought, impermanence is inherent to the natural world, and failing to recognize this will bring suffering. The bad passes along with the good, the big as well as the small. The strain of Buddhist thought through the game is part of why FFVII's original ending is so appropriate, and Aeris' death so integral to the rest of its themes.

The second is the non-self. Related to the concept of impermanence, the idea here is that there is no permanent incarnation of the self, and there is no way to separate the self as an individual from its myriad pieces and its context. From What Are The Three Marks of Existence by Dana Nourie:

When you start to see how you aren’t a solid, unchanging self, but a impermanent, dynamic person, you also loosen your clinging to thoughts, ideas, emotions, and the idea of a “real you”.

The connection to Cloud's personal journey throughout the game is obvious - an abundance of attachment to an artificial self causes him to suffer until he is able to reconcile it and let it go. Sephiroth, meanwhile, faces a similar challenge to his own identity and slips sideways into Nihilism, unable to overcome (or even admit) his own suffering.

There's a connection between Buddhist and Existentialist/Existential Nihilist thought. While Buddhism incorporates the concept of suffering as an inherent and endless facet of life until nirvana can be reached, Existentialists struggle with a post-modern feeling of dread or anxiety fundamental to living in a meaningless and chaotic world. There's also been plenty of cultural exchange between eastern and western concepts here - Heidegger is one notable participant.

Another is Keiji Nishitani from the influential Kyoto University of Philosophy. Engaging with western Existentialist thinkers, he wrote Religion and Nothingness on the connection between the concept of the non-self and the western philosophy of Nihilism. He compared the similarities between the two, while ultimately refuting Nietzche's perspective. This quote (helpfully, from his Wikipedia page) seems particularly instructive, especially in returning back to some of the initial concepts expressed by "inochi":

"All things that are in the world are linked together, one way or the other. Not a single thing comes into being without some relationship to every other thing."

My original answer to this question was Existentialism because there simply isn't a word or a tidy concept in my vocabulary that can convey all of this disparate information. Existentialism seemed to me like the most familiar and broad concept to encompass these themes, always in the form of questions: How do we live? How do we separate subjectivity from objective truth? How do we preserve the sense that our lives are meaningful?

You must decide for yourself; you must remember your connections to other lives; you must let go.

Now I can officially say my birthday falls on Final Fantasy VII day 🥳

Here is the full translation of Nomura’s interview from the FF7R Famitsu feature! He talks about Jessie’s popularity, the decision to include the Masssage Parlour scene, comments about the next installment’s release, and more! 

Keep reading

This.

Aerith could survive, summon Holy, fight against Meteor, then summon the Lifestream and with a stretch of imagination even cure Geostigma and have the best happy ending ever seen. It's fiction after all.

Point is, why did they intruduce Aerith's death in the first place.

It's not about blasting a Meteor but explore the deepest existentialistic side of the story.

Death and life are the letimotivs of FF7, condensed in the main concept of the Lifestream and the research of the enigmatical "Promised Land".

Cloud's adventure chronologically starts the day Tifa's mother died - with her hopeless attempt to meet her again - and it ends at the Northern Crater where he finally understands the real nature of the Lifestream and the Promised Land aimed by the Cetras: death is not the end, it's the destination. They will really "meet again".

Aerith personal journey takes her to understand what it really means to be a Cetra, to rediscover her abilities and accept to be Sephiroth's counterbalance. Cetra vs Jenova. Lifestream White vs Lifestream Black. Holy vs Meteor.

Sephiroth, the fake Cetra, comes back to life thanks to the Reunion and aims to the annihilation of the Planet.

Aerith, the real Cetra, despite her death, still keeps representing life and spiritual enery at their highest levels, to the point to convey the whole Lifestream against Meteor.

Every other character could die instead of her, it would be emotional, sure.

But no one else could replace her in this duality.

Is it really true that Aerith has to die in order for Meteor to be stopped? I've always heard fans saying that she has to die because it's important for the plot and needs to happen so that she can summon Holy to stop Meteor, but if she really has to die to stop Meteor, then why is it that she had already summoned Holy right before Sephiroth killed her? I thought she died for shock value and as a symbol for one of the themes for the story. Whether she died or not wouldn't have mattered.

Well, it's a story, nothing HAS to happen, you can always write your way out of anything if you're willing to bullshit enough. If you're asking whether dying is a requirement for summoning holy in general, then no, Aerith doesn't have to die to summon holy. In FFVII, Aerith successfully summons holy before she dies, only the spell does not activate because Sephiroth is blocking the spell from activating from the lifestream. Hypothetically, holy could still be summoned if Aerith lives, all that would need to happen is for them to destroy Sephiroth in order to stop him from blocking holy, which is what happens in the original. Only, in the original, they're too late, meteor is too close for holy to fully stop it. The way it's eventually stopped is that Aerith rallies the planets lifestream from inside it, to help holy. That she can't do while alive as far as we know. The logical response of course would be to say that if Aerith didn't die, then she'd have been able to tell the party that Sephiroth is preventing holy from activating, and they might be able to activate holy sooner, meaning it wouldn't fail. Perfectly valid response....however. This is a story, and that is the biggest anti-climax I've ever heard. There is a reason that in no good story the plans ever "just work". Holy failing, and the lifestream of the planet joining in, is a core part of the story, if holy just works, then there is no drama or suspense there, no ups and downs, no lessons concerning humanity and the planet. And that's what really matters, Aerith has to die because she can't fulfill her narrative purpose while being alive. The mechanical purpose can always be fulfilled because you can always make up some bullshit excuse for why "now it's suddenly possible!", as we see in every bad blockbuster movie. This is why it's also technically possible to have Aerith fix Clouds broken psyche, just have her magic him whole again. But in reality, she can't, because there are narrative reasons for Clouds fake persona, and it's those thoughts and feelings that need to be addressed by the story, not the "affliction" itself. Might as well go all the way. "well, Aerith can not die, and then Clouds psyche doesn't break, so he wouldn't give the black materia to Sephiroth, so then Sephiroth can't summon meteor, and everything would be peachy"......that's not a story.

“I thought you would never come”

Over the course of the game, OG FFVII plays with the mystery of Cloud and Tifa’s childhood relationship. We’re primed to think that while they may have known each other as children, there was nothing particularly noteworthy or significant about their childhood together. The framing of the Promise is a great example of this.

The first time Cloud mentions the Promise is in Midgar, when he still thinks he’s an Ex-SOLDIER. When they recount the the story together, Ex-SOLDIER Cloud says he thought Tifa would never come.

Ex-SOLDIER Cloud: I thought you would never come, and I was getting a little cold.

We assume Cloud thinks this way because Cloud was like any other boy with an adolescent crush on a girl. Just an average boy being relatably nervous about an average girl. While the story of the Promise is cute, it’s only notable in that it seems to remind Cloud of their seemingly tenuous connection (or if the player is feeling uncharitable, it seems to force an obligation between the two).

Midway through the Lifestream, we discover why Cloud thought Tifa would never come: he thought Tifa hated him.

True Cloud: That night I called Tifa out to the well… I thought to myself Tifa would never come… that she hated me.

This twist changes how we perceive Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. In the first half of this memory, Cloud reveals that he had never been inside Tifa’s room, and we learn that the two “weren’t THAT close.” (There is also the regrettable mistranslation: where the line “I really wanted to play with everyone, but I was never allowed into the group” should have been translated to something like “I really wanted to play with everyone, but I could never bring myself to ask.”) This reveal in conjunction with the line “she hated me” makes us question the true nature of their relationship. Was Tifa a stereotypical popular girl and was Cloud an outcast? Did Cloud think he’d get stood up because Tifa, in a moment of childhood cruelty, arbitrarily considered Cloud to be beneath her?

While this is certainly a dramatic twist, it still paints a relatively mundane relationship. Sure, it might suggest that Tifa might have been unkind as a child, but this isn’t particularly unusual childhood dynamic. (Even if it is a regrettable one.)

But finally, we learn why Cloud thought Tifa hated him and why she might not have met him at the well…

True Cloud:  Tifa was in a coma for seven days. We all thought she wouldn’t make it. If only I could’ve saved her… I was so angry… Angry at myself for my weakness. Ever since then, I felt Tifa blamed me…

We learn that Cloud wasn’t afraid that Tifa hated him for an arbitrary, superficial reason. Cloud’s true fear was that Tifa would want nothing to do with him because she held him responsible for her near-fatal fall at Mt. Nibel. (And of course, we later learn that this is unequivocally false–Tifa never blamed him for this incident.)

With this final reveal, we learn how significant their childhood relationship truly was. 

On Cloud’s part, we learn how deeply he cared for Tifa–so deeply that his failure to save her makes a lasting impression on him. Cloud’s failure to save Tifa weighs so heavily on his mind that even five years later on the night of the Promise, Cloud worries that she might not show up. On top of that, this failure weighs so heavily on his mind that Cloud decides to become a SOLDIER so he can be strong enough to win her notice. Cloud’s failure to save Tifa is the reason why Cloud is the way he is–both his true self and his ex-SOLDIER persona. 

On Tifa’s part, we learn that she wasn’t a superficial girl who was arbitrarily unkind to Cloud. She herself was acting in good faith, and her lateness to the well was not out of cruelty. While they may not have been “THAT close,” Tifa still cared enough to get dressed up and go out to the well to meet Cloud. This speaks to how Tifa held Cloud in her esteem and never held ill will towards him.

And yes, this last part is confirmed:

As a small boy, he didn’t get along with others apart from Tifa. So when Tifa’s mother died and three of her friends decided to take her up the mountains where the dead were believed to go, Cloud wasn’t invited. But even so, Cloud secretly went after them wanting to cheer Tifa up. –Cloud profile AC prologue.

(Source: this excellent post) 

(Yes, poor Cloud really went through the better part of a decade thinking he lost the only person who treated him with kindness because he failed her….)

So through the context of the Promise, we slowly learn how important Tifa has always been to Cloud–and the answer is, she is really, REALLY important. But if you miss that final twist that ties in Mt. Nibel, then you miss this bigger story that the context of the Promise tells us.

What about Remake?

Interestingly, Remake removed the setup for the mystery of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. Ex-SOLDIER Cloud remembers the Promise on his own, and doesn’t comment on Tifa’s lateness at all! The player is given no reason to doubt Tifa’s good intentions towards Cloud, and thus no reason to doubt their importance to one another as children.

In a game that nails the small callbacks, this is would be a massive oversight… meaning that it’s not an oversight, but an intentional change. This seems to be yet another example of Remake clarifying Cloud and Tifa’s relationship, be it by removing OG’s red herrings or removing the ambiguous moments that generated confusion in the first place.

Cloud’s flashback in Kalm:

Cloud recalls the days before Nibelheim incident. 

Real-Cloud (the Shinra infantryman) patrols Nibelheim square and continuously stops to stare at the water tower and Tifa’s house. 

Since 1997.

Just saying.

“Tifa said to take you home, kid.”