Big Brain FF VII Rebirth Theories with Maximilian Dood

Max returns to share his big brain theories for what's in store for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth with Brad and Damiani.
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[@SPACECOWBOY705]

I love how Max was like: "I need to get on Easy Allies so we can talk about this shit" and his chat went completely wild

[@MagmAlex]

When was that?

[@Cha.21]

I'm waiting for Coh and Strippin in the podcast with Max to talk about this cuz they man I tell ya....their levels in theories are insane.

[@CGASteel]

@@MagmAlex The day the trailer came out he was analyzing it and then he mentioned that he needed to get on Easy Allies to talk about it.

[@Nero_PR]

@@Cha.21 Sleepzi as well. The guy went hard on FFVII theories.

[@romanwagner8709]

@@Cha.21 Cohn and Max on an FF7 stream is an excellent idea.

[@KillerKowalski_]

I'm a simple man. I see Easy Allies and Max and I'm gonna watch the whole thing.

[@Dis2good]

Facts. I was waiting for this video!

[@neals2955]

Same!!!

[@yoboyryy1715]

100% 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽

[@dasilva2095]

You nailed it

[@TheDGBgamers]

unfathomably based

[@jonathanleiman4792]

"In FF15, you had, like 2 towns - the one on the cliff, and a story town. The rest was just gas stations and Denny's." XD

[@TheMasterOfCeremony]

I actually gave up on 15 because those drives were so boring. Not to mention the fishing and cooking. I love some whacky / quirky side quests but those things felt over the top. I promised myself I’d get back into it though to at least finish the story, I will keep my promise but I don’t know when

[@Qladstone]

Well we were supposed to have Fenestala Manor and Nilfelheim at least, and maybe pre-invasion Insomnia. But they decide to cut up stuff any put them in a separate movie and also ran out of time developing the game, so there ya go!

[@CLKiryu0331]

@@Qladstone Still depressed about that!

[@Paddict227]

​@TheMasterOfCeremony I've tried replaying ff15 3 different times and I can never finish them. It just feels like a slog.

[@B-K-Dubya]

I’m feeling “Requiem” as the game title for Part 3. The ending of FF7 is pretty dark and serious and Requiem fits the theme and the “Re” word play they’ve been going with

[@Mikey20117]

Bro, if this turns out to be true (sounds legit) I was here and will come back to comment to say holy crap you called it.

[@USDnobody]

"Reunion" my guess.

[@B-K-Dubya]

@@USDnobody I was thinking the same at first but they gave that name to the Crisis Core remake already

[@B-K-Dubya]

@@Mikey20117 that would be amazing lol

[@BigKieth420]

It’s rewrite.

[@Koustav_04]

Max's passion for FF7 is contagious

[@lookslikenik6931]

True!! I still have the theory that the Dirge of Cerberus Secret Ending is responsible for the FFVII Remake Trilogy. I think Weiss and Genesis brought somehow Sephiroth back to live and travelled back in Time. That explains at least why Deepground acting now so early because in this Time Weiss cannot be evil because Hojo is alive and didn’t possessed Weiss his body yet. So this Weiss could be that Weiss who traveled back in time . That’s why we already saw and fight Advent Children Sephiroth so…in Rebirth we probably also see Genesis that is why now we have Crisis Core Réunion.

[@Cetra29]

@@lookslikenik6931 Sephiroth does not need anybody but Cloud to live. Sephiroth's soul is bound to Cloud's memories. Which is why everybody should not be surprised if the Remake does not turn out to be literally about timelines but timelines of memories because Aerith wants to unlink Sephiroth from Cloud's mind so he can never come back while other memories are created the Remake of Memories. The whole time thing makes no sense in FFVII lore so if Square actually prefers that over what they already have then they butcher their own established logic.

[@lookslikenik6931]

@@Cetra29 Well you have a point. I think we just have to wait until Part 2 and maybe also Part 3 came out.

[@t0k3verse]

Yet he still gets a lot wrong when it comes to the games and their lore

[@Koustav_04]

@@t0k3verse Yeah. True.

[@Iybraesil]

6 months from now: Crisis Core Remake 6 months after that: FF16 6 months after that: New FF14 expansion 6 months after that: FF7R2 FF fans eating good over the next two years.

[@Anduril74871]

For those who don't know FF8, the game chunks with Laguna were not an alternate reality. What was happening was Ellone was using her power to send Squall and his teammates' back into the past to see Laguna's story.

[@LIGHTNING132YTG]

I rather liked FF8. It wasn't the most intriguing, but I still found it appealing and enjoyable. The Soundtrack had some bangers, too! *cues "Man With the Machine Gun"*

[@grimtwin5581]

I so badly want to see the Cloud/Tifa scene in the life stream. And it's gonna be painful to wait until like... 2027 to see that.

[@Mungusdofu]

Yea, It's upsetting that we will have to wait 7 years after the First Game but since its Final Fantasy *7* Ofc Nomura would want it to end at 2027 and also the 30th anniversary of FF7 original

[@iamthewalrus4998]

@@Mungusdofuon the other hand, the more time they have the better the game and by changing parts of the story they even added some sort of excitement I didn’t know I was going to have for this game. They completely did it the right way

[@brettd2308]

17:30 To add to this, FF7 was originally going to have playable flashbacks with Zack, but the idea got scrapped during development. Kitase liked the idea so much that he reused it for FF8, resulting in Laguna's playable flashbacks. So it wouldn't be surprising to see the concept brought back for this alt-Zack, since it might align more with the dev's original vision for FF7. Also, the 26:00 mention of the Godfather Part 2 as inspiration reinforces this idea, as that movie features two stories told in parallel, intercutting between Michael's life and the early life of his father, Vito.

[@husky7281]

YEap, Zack isnt alive, but the game will have some playable flashbacks about him.

[@heavyc4450]

@@husky7281 oh he Alive. Otherwise the ending of remake wouldn't make sense or the interlude ending.

[@alphafi1518]

@@husky7281 He is, heck even the Rebirth trailer emphasizes it, just the question "where" still isn't answered

[@cynicalidealist11]

@@heavyc4450 Maybe not, I heard this theory and it sounds interesting but I’m trying to poke holes in it to see if it stands or not: The way Zack is standing at the church entrance at the end of intermission with nothing but white light behind him is just like the ending of advent children, the main differences being that Aerith is missing and the people in the church are suffering. Has to be intentional. What if Zack is unable to enter the lifestream and can only return if Aerith dies like in OG and guides him. So when she dies she will then finally be reunited with Zack in the church where they will go to the lifestream together.

[@noneofyourbusinessfkr]

You know what i was thinking? in the latest FF7 EVERCRISIS traile they have shown multiple gameplay of combat and one in particular contains Zack attacking the same giant boss duo in wutai that was shown in the FF7CC reunion trailer. Because the FF7EC combat graphics use FF7R assets, it has to mean that Zack is gonna be playable within Rebirth.

[@rpghub6466]

Ending Rebirth at the Northern Crater makes complete sense in a gameplay sense because it would perfectly allow for all your equipment, materia, and leveling to be wiped at the start of Part 3 since most of the party is scattered and Tifa and Barret are locked up

[@cynicalidealist11]

It would be a perfect ending and the hype for part 3 would be unreal, hope they can actually fit that much stuff into rebirth though

[@randyali]

Yea the Northern Crater is the best spot to end i agree

[@jynxycats]

There just isn't a lot left after that though. Enough to make a whole game? Not unless SE adds a bunch of unrelated new content.

[@chazmiranda]

@@jynxycats considering they padded part 1 with Midgar. They’ll 100% do it again for part 3

[@DragovianCloud]

@@jynxycats There actually kind of is. There was the space launch, train going to corel, all of the weapons, underwater reactor, the key of the ancients, the Midgar revisit, Cloud's memory resolution, a bunch of stuff that was originally optional which could be included into the main game, and of course the northern crater. I don't think there's going to be any issue with making a full game out of the post-meteor summoning.

[@The_Bumblefreak]

They have gotta expand on the cetra and the materia caves. That will be so sick

[@dynodope]

If they make one about when Jenova came and tried wiping out the life on Gaea it would be epic. The Cetra and the "Promised Land" needs to be expanded upon for sure!

[@theinimitablejora522]

@@dynodope The Promised Land is simultaneously a lie (the Cetra religion's equivalent of Heaven and also the Lifestream itself) and also the Northern Crater, a spot where the Lifestream is very accessible in its entirety. Historical reports being muddied by time is why Shinra thought the Promised Land was a more real and mako-rich place.

[@JMartini810]

During the Shinra Building video about the ancients we see a Cetra in a Materia Cave !! Check it out!!

[@nerovipus6327]

I'm pretty sure that "materia cave" in the remake is supposed to be the Mythril Mines. Take a look they fit almost perfectl.

[@gozogo1233]

@@nerovipus6327 Banora underground is similar to it

[@Nekoboi22]

I cannot say enough how excited I am to visit the icicle inn in the remake...how damn cozy that place is going to look rendered new..is going to be incredible... and SNOWBOARDING!

[@MrLightlike78]

YES! this! only I hope i'm not doo doo at the snowboarding. I swear when I was a kid I was really good at that mini game, but as an adult I fail hard at it XD

[@Nekoboi22]

@@MrLightlike78 yea same.. I bet it will be awesome.. seeing it brings me back to being 12 again lol

[@SackMan039]

Im eating up these FF7R theories like Wedge eats those pizzas. Stuff is GOOD

[@77wolfblade]

youtube: how many Final Fantasy 7 theories you want? ff7 fans: all of them. youtube:what? fans: ALL OF THEM!

[@vollkerball1]

and ready for seconds

[@The_Mammal_Man]

Add thirds while you're at it

[@blowmanuts9584]

Love this comment for so many reasons, cuz it shows the remake really is doing exactly what they wanted, expanding the world to the point where a super minor character in OG actually has personality

[@MarxasThomas]

Another "Midger Special" please!

[@kingunited99]

When Max joins EZA you know it’s about to be a college level course on FF VII

[@dominiksledziewski]

Jesus Christ, this whole trilogy will be a fucking game of the century.

[@flameroad123]

This game will reset the bar in the gaming world. We're witnessing the end of gaming as we know it and the beginning of the new status quo of Gaming.

[@erickreyes7902]

So are we forgetting FF13 was also TRILOGY?...

[@flameroad123]

@@erickreyes7902 .....yes

[@rleeton1]

@@erickreyes7902 I think we can just forget FFXIII period

[@erickreyes7902]

@@rleeton1 bruh 13 was like a blueprint for whats in store for the future of FINAL FANTASY games...

[@MrTimHamilton]

Eerily accurate to look back on. Would love you guys to do commentary on this video once you’ve all completed Rebirth.

[@hjk3351]

I CANT wait to hear them talk after they finish rebirth. Should be soon. Ive already seen so many theories and opinions going forward

[@Sleepezi]

The first FF7R podcast was such an exciting watch, and to have it back is really exciting!

[@hisseosantiano1914]

The one and only Sleepezi! I hope to see you theorizing with these guys soon

[@captainkaiii]

Bro Sleepizi you and Max need to do a collab. Would love his take on your memories theory/video. Just finished it and it was amazing.

[@rossbenson3674]

Cant wait for your next video

[@Cetra29]

@@captainkaiii Riiiight, "his" theory. Not like there were videos about memories before that. And they were not 5 hours long and full of holes.

[@KJames2345]

@@Cetra29 If anybody knew how lifestream shit works then yes it's been around since day dot 1997. These kids need to catch up.

[@Arashi257]

The Laguna parts of FF8 weren't alternate timelines, but past events. Though I do like the Idea of it being similar to that, where the game fades to black and it switches to Zack's party.

[@Cybernetic800]

Laguna was Squall's father in FF8 if I remember correctly?

[@DragovianCloud]

@@Cybernetic800 I thought it was just that Laguna was in love with Rinoa's mother.

[@rayggron]

@@Cybernetic800 Yes, though it is never explicitly stated

[@Arashi257]

@@DragovianCloud He was, but then he was sent away on a mission in which he never came back, and eventually fell in love with Raine and presumably had a child with her that he never got to raise because he was busy in Esthar, and Ellone with Squall ended up in the orphanage.

[@alevanf]

@@rayggron Well, there is a song, whenever said the words wishing they would be heard, I saw you smiling at me, was it real or just my fantasy, you'd always be there in the corner of that tiny little bar?, the hotel night, etc.

[@ITSNICKMELLO]

I strongly believe Part 3 will be called Reprise. It's very close to Remake and Rebirth by definition, but different enough where it could play a part in the climatic conclusion of the story. Reprise means a recurrence, renewal, or resumption of an action. These titles are about Sephiroth. He remade, he was reborn, and now this is his reprise. Or… maybe it’s ours.

[@TomKloseMusic]

Max Dood speculating might be the single best way to hype yourself up for a video game release. He makes my gamer heart jump on a regular basis.

[@ChuckFukingNorris]

Max’s idea with the active PHS would also solve my biggest gameplay gripe with the FF7 remake, that sometimes you just didn’t have the right materia for battles and your best option would be to quit to restart with the right materia.

[@Jaimethepanda]

I’m not looking forward to the anxiety I’m going to feel watching every Aerith cutscene in Rebirth going: “Is this the part where it happens?”

[@vfhuu]

I played FF7R knowing what would happen to her, but I didn't play the original, so I didn't know when and how. Saving her from Shinra was.. stressful, to say the least

[@bboygenetics9882]

I doubt she'll die. It makes no sense for the plot any more. Her death has zero impact for the players since we're all expecting it and it doesn't progress the story since the whole premise of the remake is to change the future.

[@tehCostHD]

@@bboygenetics9882 maybe zack will sacrifice himself to save her or something but they will have to merge the timelines or whatever I don’t fucking know lol

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

@@bboygenetics9882 I expect that The Law Of Equivalent Exchange is going to be out in full force. If Aerith is spared, then we will lose someone or something that we cherish equally as much.

[@bibbumblebee]

One of the things I remember most about Godfather Part 2 is the flashback sequences with Robert De Niro playing a young Vito Corleone. It makes me wonder if what Kitase loved about Godfather part 2 was the flashbacks, and if so, if that’s how we’ll see Zack. Will we get his adventure going forward, or will we get his adventure going back? I also remember the tension between Fredo and Michael, and how Michael sees Fredo as a liability he has to watch carefully. Fredo is furious that his kid brother treats him like an idiot. He constantly claims that Michael “steps over” him …and Fredo ends up messing everything up for the family. Michael has that wonderful line: “Fredo, you’re nothing to me now. You’re not a brother, you’re not a friend. I don’t want to know you or what you do.” I wonder how that relationship will play into the dynamic in Rebirth. Is that Zack and Cloud? Is that Sephiroth and Cloud? Is it something else entirely?

[@shakbhaji]

Part 3: Revive. It goes along with Max’s idea that the subtitle is about Sephiroth’s intention. It also plays with the players’ desire to revive a fallen character.

[@BYUBOY33]

It's gotta be Reunion tho it just fits!

[@mako3197]

I could listen to the Allies and Max talk about FF7 for hours.

[@Nyla_emotes]

7 hours seems perfect to me!!!

[@reyenaldi4644]

2 hours less is not enough to satisfying me lmao

[@HondoJarrus]

Looks like you're in luck... 😁

[@glaive616]

It’s very easy to masturbate to.

[@cynicalidealist11]

I love that this has become a tradition for this series haha

[@parcival3016]

Alright who came back to see how it lined up with Rebirth post launch?

[@Oskivel]

A good way to explain/refine summons is to mention the summons in Remake were mass-produced replicas created by Shinra using combat data. Way inferior to the actual, original, summons which we find in the next coming games with more story tied to them.

[@PeachBootyPoppin]

There are 2 points in this video that sorta follow the theory crafting that I've personally had. 1. Max talking about the timelines bleeding into each other with Biggs and Jessie, etc. 2. Brad predicting that the final boss will be a corrupted Cloud, and the player will be using Zack. The biggest difference for me, is that I think the "timelines" already converged at the end of Remake. I think the Singularity caused a "reset" where the changes to Zack's Last Stand and potentially other important events around that area, permanently changed the singular main "timeline" and now Zack is "alive" there too. I think Rebirth will eventually lead to Zack meeting up with the main party, around the North Crater, which will be the final thing that breaks Cloud. So, you control Zack with the party to defeat Cloud as a final boss, which would obviously lead him to be found in Mideel in part 3.

[@NormalModeTV]

I thought this was gonna be highlights from the spoiler mode!! Holy shit brand new Max on Easy Allies. Life ain't all bad. That last talk did indeed blow my mind.

[@xyrots]

29:50 LMAOO HOLY SHIT

[@xia6942]

He is in lifestream, confirmed

[@biiyen8458]

Square Enix Employee: "Sir, they're all fully convinced that the trilogy will end the same way the original did." Nomura, who just finished writing Spider-Man into the story: "EXCELLENT"

[@Hudramshinzoffy]

Ff7 remake alternate title:Tetsuya nomura’s hobbit rebuild trilogy

[@zueszues9715]

Nomura dont do anything with story He is creative directer ,not writing LoL

[@eatmyass8997]

@@zueszues9715 yes he did read the interviews

[@loveaintfree1409]

@@zueszues9715 He did for the original ff7 along with Hironobu Sakaguchi

[@NoctLightCloud]

​@@loveaintfree1409not the remake though. It's Kitase.

[@umokay1991]

Dude having TheSphereHunter on Huber Syndrome the other day and also having MaxDood on your show is just awesome. I love seeing content creators I like come together to just chat excitedly about games they're passionate about.

[@Sackboy612]

I'm actually scared to listen to this, because I know Max will literally tell us exactly what's going to happen lol

[@AgentAika001]

Like Ben joked in the spoiler mode "you've ruined the sequels because now I know everything will happen" lol

[@rinaldus4512]

Max's prediction are what happens if we're in the good timeline. So look at the world you live in and consider this: Do you really believe we're living in the "good" timeline?

[@dalegleneagles5072]

He's very good at understanding story building and presentation, particularly in this media type, so I think what he does is take what makes most sense from that perspective rather than a conspiracy theorist/complicated approach. So that said, yes, his odds of calling things are good. But, they've gone to great lengths to emphasize how the party basically opened everything up to completely free themselves from the OG conclusion and the devs called Rebirth a whole new adventure. In that sense I hope his predictions are wrong and they offer us that - a whole new story. So long as it holds true to the spirit of OG.

[@Cetra29]

Max doesn't know anything about how the story plays out because he knows nothing about Final Fantasy VII and he does not look at the bigger picture. He hates the Compilation and it follows the Compilation, especially OtWtaS. You're aware they still have to defeat Sephiroth who has a memory link with Cloud and can return as long as that exists? Prepare for everyone being wrong with their timeline time change nonsense. The Compilation had doors it never closed and no need to bring in time nonsense it never was about. If in part 3 it turns out to be something like that and the Whispers are no literal time fate but something like memory guardians and the "survivors" are memories people should not be surprised. They will not ignore the stuff they established. That would make no sense and be a waste of money. Literally everything people think is about time can be about an event in the memories that's remade for Sephiroth to be locked out while they want to confuse those who know the original game but were never prepared by reading the book. Not saying it will happen. But it is lore consistent. Bringing in something new and convoluted where they have no space and material for it and they never resolved for it is completely against everything we have. If they do this time pop culture garbage that is completely inconsistent they are gonna cut themselves. Nothing except that it is a familiar concept speaks for that. And before anyone says "that all in the Remake is memories you have from Sleepi's theory" no, it is not because others, including myself, made videos about it months before he did, mine even 9 months before. Sleepzi is a jester like FF Peasant and Soldier 1st Class. Also his video includes a lack of understanding Jenova. And he is one of those who thinks "ore" automatically means Sephiroth is another one. This Dood worshipping is annoying as hell.

[@dalegleneagles5072]

@@Cetra29 I take what OtWtaS established to mean that either Cloud has to die, or maybe even more so, that he has to have his memories blown away to stop some weird, Cloud is a Sephiroth horcrux relationship. To me, this was the meaning behind Sephiroth saying "...but I will not end, nor would I have you end" - because he needs Cloud/Cloud's memories. It seems in Remake he's trying to appeal on a deeper level to Cloud's worst emotions: anger and weakness, only to dig the memories deeper.

[@kingcrow15]

I'm leaning toward Aerith not dying but instead going back with Zack to his timeline. Kind of like how they are together in the life stream at the end of advent children.

[@teyoru]

this is absolutely fascinating to rewatch post-release

[@hjk3351]

Im halfway or so in and max is right about a decent amount

[@heinz57channel39]

Makes you feel like they had inside knowledge but they were wrong about enough to say well maybe not

[@CHEESEPUFF_7]

If there's something I'm the most excited for, it's definitely the music

[@fearlesscheshirecat1411]

The music in Remake was god tier! I think the thing I’m most excited about is the character interactions, and the Gold Saucer with Aerith!

[@ChrisM_XP]

Brad, Damiani and Max? FF7? 1hr 44 mins? LETS GO

[@brainfreeze91]

I think Cosmo Canyon with the Elder might be an opportunity to talk about the existence of an alternate timeline? Or maybe just an explanation of how those Whispers worked and some idea of the impact the party had in Remake. In the original they explain how the lifestream and planet work but we kind of know that already.

[@JasonMcMullen]

I've watched this like 4 times now and its still so amazingly intriguing

[@obideniz]

The Dood is back LET'S GOOOO!

[@ijclnl48]

Big brain theory time: Death in the main timeline is birth in the other timeline. Zach died in the main and is in the other. Biggs, Jessie both died in this timeline and are alive in Zach's timeline. Aerith will die in the main timeline and meet up with Zach in his timeline. All of the people in the Church when Zach went in the post credit scene were dead people from the main timeline.

[@brandongullyes3868]

I kinda like that theory

[@theemms5288]

The counter to that is the scene where Zack is carrying Cloud to Midgar in the end of Remake and on the Rebirth trailer. Now to think of it, maybe they are consciousness of dead beings before they get dissolved in the Lifestream. You may say Cloud's conscious has been dead for some time now... Oh god. I think this is the way to do it if they want Genesis to be the final boss of the Zack part (again lol). If Zack by any way, would want to traverse to the main timeline, Genesis, being the champion of the Goddess now, might gatekeep him.

[@FVD]

Kinda like what we saw in Lost - and Narnia's 'The Last Battle' follows a similar story format as well if you take both endings into account.

[@cynicalidealist11]

I heard this theory and it sounds interesting but I’m trying to poke holes in it to see if it stands or not. The way Zack is standing at the church entrance at the end of intermission with nothing but white light behind him is just like the ending of advent children, the main differences being that Aerith is missing and the people in the church are suffering. Has to be intentional. What if Zack is unable to enter the lifestream and can only return if Aerith dies like in OG and guides him. So when she dies she will then finally be reunited with Zack in the church where they will go to the lifestream together.

[@DUES_EX]

Interesting

[@strongarm852]

Here is a crazy idea. Maybe in Zack doesn't go off to see Aerith immediately because when he first shows up in Midgar he gets dragged into the stuff going on with Avalanche instead of Cloud. So Zack getting involved with Avalanche leads to a timeline where Biggs and Jessie live. Because the thing is Biggs didn't just wake up in a random place. He's upstairs in the Sector 5 orphanage where he and Wedge used to help out with the kids. So what I think happens is, maybe in the Zack timeline Jessie and Biggs live, but Tifa and Barret die. And During the time when Zack was going threw his version of the main events of the game, Zack never actually gets around to checking up on Aerith until he works up the nerve to do it, and doesn't end up falling there during the events of the game, so he never meets Aerith until after his main story in Midgar is concluded. So in that timeline, Reno shows up and since Cloud isn't there to protect Aerith the Turks have captured her.

[@ps1497]

It's so impressive how many of these predictions turned out to be correct.

[@reyenaldi4644]

Man, I'm so happy, so excited watching and listening when people talking so much stuff about FF7. This is why FF7 is the most greatest game I ever played.

[@CDX7]

Part of the remake is remaking the /experience/ of the original, not literally the original. The reason Aeriths death is so impactful is because we didn’t expect it. I think they toy with this, give us hope, and take it away when we don’t expect it.

[@andyvulhop]

This whole collection of games/projects should be called the FFVII Recompilation

[@cn8299]

The Kaiju hunt is a great idea and I've always envisioned it being different and more involved this time. It can't be like how we did it in the original game. We're not going to chase Ultiima weapon and bump him to fight him 4-5 times around the world this time around. I hope we get to upgrade the Highwind to help us fight the Weapons. Imagine flying the Highwind and harpooning Ultima Weapon to knock it down so we can fight him. Imagine depth charging a wounded Sapphire Weapon out of the ocean if he survives Junon this time, and I say Sapphire because I still want to fight Emerald underwater somehow. Or imagine harpooning and having to drag Ruby Weapon to the surface out from the sands of Golden Saucer. God, if they can do this, Part 3 is going to be fucking amazing.

[@thezerowulf2046]

God I hope there's a new Weapon.

[@Fingleberrys]

@@thezerowulf2046 OMEGA TIME

[@MasterLittica]

Ohhh Cloud seeing into the other timeline and seeing the 'other him' with Zack could lead to him believing even more that he is a Clone

[@ClassyCrustatio]

This is good

[@BearInThaWoods]

Lets get even weirder. What happens when the party gets to the crater and instead of finding Sephiroth they find Zack being rebuilt because theyve fallen into a timeline where he was the one called by Jenova in Nibelheim.

[@MrHardrichard]

I feel like zacks "I've failed you" is addressing his Cloud who is still mako poisoned and sitting in a wheelchair because never crawled to zack as he was dying.

[@sdbzfan1]

Oh god thats so good

[@meghannhotmire3379]

Wait I thought that was cloud saying that

[@billionaeris1183]

@@meghannhotmire3379 It is Cloud saying that he's talking to Tifa about the Nibelheim incidient imo

[@billionaeris1183]

@@meghannhotmire3379 Funny thing is i make many good theories here and no ne thumbs me up this guy get's it completely wrong and get's 32 likes lol also no one cares if you are right or wrong unless you have a big following like Max and no offense to the guy i am just refering to the sheeple, lol

[@MrHardrichard]

@@billionaeris1183 hey there, thanks for the input my guy but it is zack saying the last line, mirroring clouds "I've failed you" line from the original FF7

[@ShavMythik]

I just love listening to these discussions , final fantasy has been apart of my life since like maybe my early teens ( I’m 29 now ) and I never really had in depth discussions with other people while I played each one ( 6-13) , so this was great 👍

[@Coyt415]

For me, I grew up playing final fantasy from 2-9 and have been playing Final fantasy Vii since it came out.

[@ShavMythik]

@@Coyt415 niiice , I’m actually thinking about replaying OG 7 before rebirth comes out. I only played it once back then , these videos with Max got me wanting to refresh my memory on the full story.

[@maninblack3410]

@@ShavMythik imo if you want to enjoy the remake trilogy, don’t go back to the original. Wait until after they come out. It’s actually depressing knowing what square used to make and the fact that we’ll never get that again. Even if you consider the remake to be as good as the original, we will never get a single game of that quality.

[@ShavMythik]

@@maninblack3410 lol yea they definitely don’t make em like they used to, it’s just my memory of the original events is foggy , just figured it would help moving forward but I see your point. We got a long road ahead until the end of this trilogy though but I’m fully invested. Hopefully FF 16 will be solid tho in the meantime.

[@maninblack3410]

@@ShavMythik I shouldn’t be so doom and gloom lol. I actually did really like most of remake pt 1, I just hate that the creativity that was shown there is still being massively overshadowed imo by the corp’s greed. There’s absolutely no reason to make a battle royale out of ff7, or a gacha game in the guise of a “true remake.” There’s no reason to split the game into 3 parts, no *good* reason anyway. You should play the original because it’s genuinely a good game. I went back through the ps1 FF’s recently figuring that they weren’t actually as good as I remember, but they hold up hard. Genuinely some of the best story telling in games. I remember a lot of people were like “the original 7 didn’t exactly have a masterpiece story” but it genuinely does lol. 9’s better imo but that’s a different story

[@ssaunders1122]

I love that I got to experience the saga that is ff7 from the beginning so I didn't need any of the subtleties explained.

[@BruHEEZ]

And when the world needed them most…. They returned.

[@adamhe3387]

Always a pleasure to ascend through the levels with the Dood/Allies, thank you gentlemen 🤓

[@marcus7984]

The videos with Max are the best things to watch after beating/100%ing part 1 & intermission. Great hold over as well! I love them

[@shanemcgee9641]

For the Weapon fights, I always thought that the party killing them was kind of ass backwards. They're biomechanical Guardians of the Planet. So they should have the same goal as the player. They are activated once Sephiroth fully taps the Lifestream to summon Meteor. But who do the weapons go after? Shinra. Sapphire attacks Junon, Diamond attacks Midgar, two huge Mako factories/refineries. Ultima floats in the air, Ruby hides in the sand, and Emerald just floats in the water. And since what's his name is a huge Horizon fan, a parallel can be drawn to Horizon's machines. The Doomhorns (triceratops) are weaponized gardeners. Maybe Ruby is under the sand trying to refertilize and Seed the sand to renew life there. Emerald may be cleaning the water and Ultima purifying the air. Diamond and sapphire may just be the more aggressive ones. And Sephiroth lays low in his Crater. It could then be assumed that maybe the weapons can be defeated, but not destroyed, and they flee only to later pick up on Sephiroth in the crater and show up at the end. Cutscene during Bizarro fight where the weapons climb over the rim of the crater and just fire a sick volley of energy beams that wreck Sephiroth's shit. But as far as Fighting them... Sapphire - During Junon escape. Sapphire blocks avenues of escape with his attacks. Barret fires, Cait Sith distracts and advises Tifa on what weapon emplacements can be used to clear the path. Junon cannon fires and drops sapphire in the road for the party to engage. Ultima - Final Fantasy - Ace Combat. Weaponize the Highwind, shoot it down near Ancient Forest, then battle it on the ground. Emerald - Final Fantasy - Subnautica. Fire torpedoes to drive it onto land or into an underwater cave. May or may not have an actual engagement with the party. Diamond - Shinra forces set up a blockade at the coast. Party arrives and agree there are bigger problems than Shinra soldiers just following orders. Party gets Mechs to run around and stall Diamond until cannon fires. Grappling hooks like the AT-ATs in Empire Strikes back. Stall until the timer runs down. And avoid dying. Ruby - Chocobos. Don't know how or why, but Chocobos. This is the only one I don't have a clue on.

[@battlemole8233]

This is just my thoughts but maybe in the rebirth sephiroth somehow corrupts the weapons so your team have to defeat them to "pyrify" them to fullfill wepaons original purpose which is to protect the planet. Think it this way. Weapons are in the crater near sephiroth. Through the years, sephiroth has slowly corrupted the weapons that they dont protect the planet but hunt people or anything that is threat to sephiroths plan. The junon Canon. Ultima searching cloud etc

[@BigKieth420]

And ‘beating them’ can be down to chadleys vr instead.

[@kcluna2187]

Damn, all good ideas. About Ruby and Chocobos: Maybe Ruby's ability to create quicksands make it difficult for the party to move on foot? So they have to ride chocobos.

[@shanemcgee9641]

@@kcluna2187 ooohhh yeah. Like the mini-bike game, but on birds! The idea of Barret on an angry chicken firing a mini gun at a kaiju is hilarious.

[@shanemcgee9641]

@@BigKieth420 yeah, maybe the weapons on the field just turn into a mini game or objective-based mission with no fight. But they appear in VR after the fact for a real fight.

[@jackop3ng89]

When cloud falls into the lifestream and discovers his true self, I'm betting this is when these 2 timelines will converge and cloud is going to interact with Zack on some level

[@SuperQueenV.]

That's an awesome theory!

[@BingBangPoe]

I think it is important to note that Zack has very little meaning in the original game. You only witness his final stand if you visit the basement of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim after Cloud regains his consciousness in Mideel; it's completely optional. Heck, his name only drops ONCE in the entire game, if you go to Gongaga and talk to his parents. Them expanding his role in the Remake trilogy makes a lot of sense given how important he is, and how much he has been developed over the years with Crisis Core and Advent Children. Aerith even "says" his name in the Remake during the playground scene with Cloud, and he is visibly shaken; that wasn't in the original. So yeah, I think Cloud will actually regain his memories of Zack, but project him _as himself,_ like, as the Shinra Infantry that didn't make into SOLDIER, maintaing their swapped roles. That purgatory theory makes no sense, though. It's a very "western" type of theory. "Oh they're all dead and went to purgatory". It doesn't make sense within universe. If they were dead, they'd simply go back to the Lifestream and "return to the Planet".

[@savann.sun1980]

the original FF7 seems unfinish and there is so many thing missing or incomplete here and there.

[@gloriousPCMD]

@@savann.sun1980 Nah fam, OG FF7 was a full story that Square saw potential in after it became a juggernaut in video game culture.

[@kei7540]

@@savann.sun1980 true Vincent, Yuffie, Zack barely had any importance

[@yesno5688]

@@gloriousPCMD nah dude, they literally reference cissnei in og ff7 but not by name only by something along the lines of "that girl", there's a ton of shit that never really gets answered. Hell there's even dummied lines of sephiroth talking abt how summons are made (which, funnily enough, is exactly how the fayth create aeons in ffx), they obviously had further plans for vincent and lucrecia because what was given in og ff7 didn't explain lucrecia nor Vincent's state at the time of the game.

[@yesno5688]

@@gloriousPCMD i do agree tho, I think square decided to add and explain these things because of how popular ff7 was, I mean ALOT of ff games just have a lot of holes that only get answered in sequels/ prequels/ spin-offs that get made due to popularity

[@KeziaTv]

What an amazing video...3 of my favourite people in my industry talking about one of my favourite games in my favourite franchise. This entire video is a chefs kiss

[@crazycubedude]

Waiting for rebirth, which is out tonight, I can't tell you how many times i watched these 3 discussions. Now we only have to go back just to say how right Max was.

[@gamehhh012]

Perfect for the 2 hour trip. Thank you as usual, Allies.

[@darkhero352]

FF8 didn't deal with alt timelines. It was a single time line shown to the player non-linearly. The Laguna segments were Squall and his party viewing events from the past.

[@ThepurposeofTime]

Squall is dead. which is why he renamed himself in kingdom hearts and said he lost his world to the heartless. we don't know when he died, could have died against Ultimecia or could have died at the end of Disc 1. also Rinoa was geared to be a sorceress but Squall saved her (alt timeline due to Ultimecia changing things). Rinoa is Ultimicia, thats why Ultimecia has his necklace as a GF and why Ultimecia has black wings in the same shape as the wings on Rinoas back. also her castle is floating chained to the place where they promised to meet eachother

[@seizerkb3225]

@@ThepurposeofTime this is entirely a fan theory lmao. Your confidence is unfounded.

[@ThepurposeofTime]

@@seizerkb3225 it's all speculation. who said anything was founded? I'm a film maker who knows how to read visual texts. this is what it says to me because I can read it. it can say whatever you want it to say yourself but I'm going by logical connections and motif used across film and art

[@Cetra29]

@@ThepurposeofTime Nothing about it is logical. You know what is logical? Believing the guys who made it when they say that is not what is meant which Y. Kitase flatout said to Edamame Arcade Channel. Why is that logical? Because it was made by Square Enix. No Death of the Author nonsense that people use when they do not want to accept things. That is all communication psychology. If I ask you "can you tell me what time it is" and you say "yeah" and walk away that was wrong and thus a disturbance of communication because while a legitimate answer it dud not actually respond to my intention and that leads to a wrong result, a disturbance. And video games, books, etc. are also reflecting an intention. And Kingdom Hearts has a completely seperate canon from VIII. And Ultimecia did not change anything because the game happens in a bootstrap paradox. She kills Seeds because she knows they killed her, resulting in her calling Squall the legendary Seed, leading to her being killed. She is evil because she is a victim of a paradoxical cycle that she wants to break by unifying time and getting the power of all sorcerers as her own enemy bio says, not because she is Squall's girlfriend. Technically she is even less of a villain than Adel is because she is just doomed. Btw. her wings look nothing like Rinoa's. You might as well say they are the same because they have breasts.

[@ThepurposeofTime]

@@Cetra29 this is very long for a subjective piece of story telling. Enjoy your limited perspective :)

[@jjzwak]

Game 3 subtitle prediction: resurrection!

[@ellispham4700]

Damn that was a great video! Appreciate their enthusiasm.

[@BirdieImagineeBCH]

These podcasts are genuinely so enjoyable to watch. The hype from hearing these guys talking about FFVII theories is so infectious!

[@bu8413]

I'm calling it now... the ending of Crisis core reunion will have a cutscene showing the whispers from ff7 remake being destroyed, thus allowing an alternate branch of reality to exist. It won't be much information (as in you need to play reunion in order to get what rebirth means) but just enough to tie the new events of Zac living at the end of remake.

[@JayJoe1984]

Since the remake was announced, I can't wait to see the Gold Saucer, Wall Market was beyond what I expected so if thats any indication....it will be epic. Sooooo many mini games/side quests, jist things to do, Chocobo breeding/racing....😁

[@CrossOutBryce]

I watched the video you guys did on the first game last August right when I finished PT 1, so getting this almost a year later is awesome 😁

[@koalasenor535]

Not even my favourite final fantasy but these three guys talking about anything is always a good time.

[@Jayrol3]

If I remember right aeriths father was professor gast right? And sephiroth respects his brilliance I wonder if they may touch on that for younger sephiroth shows an deeper connection to sephiroth and aerith

[@AlleluiaElizabeth]

Not only that, but Sephiroth, Aerith, and Ifalna would have been in the labs at the same time. I really hope we see if there was any interaction.

[@EricMcCloud83]

This has me so excited. I'm going to re-watch Max's playthrough and play it myself again.

[@Squared_Phoenix]

Sephiroth might even be an ally in Zack's timeline, on their way to take out the new antagonist. This could actually be amazing, Sephiroth, Zack and even Cloud maybe in the same party. Both sides having glimpses into each other's journeys, seeing the alternate decisions they've made and messing with their current ones. 🤯🤯

[@Space_Ache]

That wont happen, pal. Sorry.

[@charper1439]

I don't think it'll be Sephiroth- I think Genesis would be more appropriate. Zack sort of humbles Genesis by the end of Crisis Core, and if Genesis were to catch wind of the time shenanigans Sephiroth is doing, he might be inclined to assist Zack to stop him, even if it's just to assert himself as the "world's new hero" over the fallen hero Sephiroth.

[@Squared_Phoenix]

@@charper1439 Yeah you're probably right, I was just thinking it would be a cool dynamic. A good Sephiroth and a bad one. I didn't read the end of your comment just because I've been saving myself for Crisis Core Reunion. I hated the battle system back on the PSP and still haven't experienced the story. ^^;

[@snowrider9018]

37:42: i love how Brad is slowly putting together that Damiani is about to mention his FFX theory lol

[@EthanDeRose]

I just randomly started rewatching these vids from 2 years ago and getting hyped for part 2, then this drops! The whispers are still working!

[@nickburson6079]

Highly doubt the Whispers will be back in part 2 and 3

[@EthanDeRose]

@@nickburson6079 lol I was being sarcastic and referring to them working in my life to make sure I saw this video.

[@cephaloncurry834]

Yes yes yes yes yes, I was so looking forward to this podcast as soon as the latest news for FF7 reunion dropped!

[@bfancey8910]

I can talk about this stuff all day long. Love your guys ideas. Can't wait!!!

[@eesmareed]

Few things make me as happy as these videos. Thanks for keeping up what's basically a tradition now

[@Doug-uf4cs]

Around 1:15:00. Am I misremembering Fort Condor in the original FF7? I remember it being a desperate defense by a town to protect the giant condor on the reactor because ShinRa kept trying to kill it. It was a mini-game for the player, but in-world it was a freaking small scale war.

[@MeanSpread]

My theory is that Sephiroth has knowledge of the previous timeline. He’s actively trying his best to screw over the heroes. -Sephiroth saved Zack to try and prevent Cloud from becoming who he is. -Sephiroth actively tried not to kill the Shina President -Tried to kill Barret -Tried to gank the party after they left Midgar. In the original timeline, he left the party alone for the most part so Cloud could bring him the Black Materia. I think Aerith has some knowledge of what happened in the previous timeline (maybe the planet is telling her?) I don’t think Aerith will die this time around. Things will get really weird and start going off track once Zack meets up with the party. But Sephiroth WILL kill somebody. Everyone is going to be anticipating Aerith’s death. Somehow Sephiroth will over come the whispers and kill an even more iconic and beloved character than Aerith. He’s going to kill Cloud. And Cloud will be replaced by Zack in the third game. But don’t worry! Square Enix will eventually make a FFVII “Pure” version that will take all the assets of the three games and make a game that follows the original timeline. Mark my words they will milk this.

[@ThatBillmanGuy]

What if it's not a different timeline? What if it's actually further in the future (passed the 500 years later ending) and Sephiroth has manipulated the lifestream to "remake" the past?

[@mattkramer8426]

Part 3 will be called Rememberance or something like that. This game will follow the same story beats of FF7 but it will happen differently.

[@SirPigsworth]

Always love when these guys collab. They always have v interesting insights that they have for the new ff7 stuff

[@taymatosama]

Nice to have Max here for this

[@parttimechris]

I love how they talked about fighting the weapons on mechs which it’s exactly how one of the fights in XIV is. I’d love it again.

[@mechagurd]

I've been craving for more ff7 discussion so after watching this, I went back to the easy allies spoiler mode for part 1. I can keep listening to Max talking about ff7 all day. Having Brad and Damiani to throw ideas with makes the theorizing all the more engaging. I'm missing Ben and Kyle from tho. Maybe in the next spoiler mode haha

[@joshg.6315]

Laguna’s part in FFVIII was in the past. He’s Squall’s father and his sections were showing his adventures leading up to meeting Raine (Squall’s mother) in Winhill and leaving to go to Esthar.

[@sonofsparda1810]

Just wanted to echo the sentiment that I love how this has become a tradition now. Everytime Max and Allies get together to talk about FF7, you know it's gonna be hype as shit. I'm not a fighting game person, but I watch all of Max's FF stuff on YT, so it's especially sweet when he get together with allies to do these type of talks. Also wanted to say that I just love this more focused speculative type of discussions from allies in general. The anticipation talk about SGF that you guys did in a short notice was also really fun. So I hope we get something like this for FF16 and other big releases/events in the future as well.

[@sarab2583]

Thanks for mentioning the Gold Saucer music, now I've already got it running through my brain 🤣 I have such high expectations for that place!

[@Brittanyknuckles1427]

Lots of info out since this vid, praying for a new discussion between you three!

[@CaliRi0t]

Best FFVII collaboration! Love these discussions

[@pheezus]

When Max said that FFXV felt like you were driving to Arizona I laughed because that's exactly what that game feels like

[@CrossOutBryce]

Playing the game for the first time and having a decent time, but that's SUCH an accurate description 😂

[@HaruVibes_]

Not even that invested in 7 but listening to these guys just gush about it is always such a treat.

[@jazza6974]

You guys need to be on a Seal Team 7 chat. Those guys are a huge part of the community.

[@gfinnsson]

I wonder, once we reach Icicle Inn, whether they will play a bit with the Ifalna/Gast recordings. They might even include CGI flashbacks of Jenova infecting the Ancients and so forth there, since y’all mentioned how they could have more cool scenes with the Ancients in Rebirth. In the original game, the party had no reaction whatsoever to those recordings, so I hope they’ll at least improve on that in Rebirth.

[@skysetblue9578]

That is so true...

[@skysetblue9578]

Also wouldn’t it be cool to have Aerith in your party to explore as in her not running off alone and have her explain what the things in the light inside the shell houses are saying? I always wanted to know more about that City it is extremely interesting to me.

[@bardknight]

57:18 Dood, as soon as you mentioned the song, it automatically came to my head. I don't think I've even listened to that song since the game came out lol. Hope the snowboarding mini game is epic.

[@blackrosedragon88gm]

Imagine next year E3, during Square-Enix presentation, the Gold Saucer music that echoes in the hall before the Rebirth trailer or during the days of the event... xD My God, the Hype. >_

[@urekmazino6519]

Golden Saucer is going to be Wall Market cranked to a Million! Also, regarding the timelines, it was Cloud and his party that stepped through the portal, that beat the arbiter of fate. When they did that, there was that golden sparkling effect witnessed by Marle and Marlene also had a moment watering the flowers calling out to her dad. I'm wondering if maybe the entire party is no longer in their own world, if they're the ones that left. And they're all "dead" in their own timeline. Also raises the question of if Zack when he saw the whispers and got blown off his feet, was somehow pushed into their original timeline, which they're no longer in. And that's how he might team up with Biggs, Jessie, and maybe Wedge. Crazy how many possibilities and variations there could be.

[@nesaiamon8727]

These sessions are almost as good as the games themselves

[@Peh84]

Hmmm...listening to you guys talking about Aerith's death I got the following issue with your thoughts. I've always assumed that the death of Aerith was important for her to activate holy via the white materia and also kickstart the lifestream at the end of stopping the meteor, since she is seen in the end of that CGI sequence with the lifestream sparks. She knew that she had to sacrifice herself, otherwise she would get the gang with her and let her protect her while she spoke with the planet to activate it. So, her sacrifice is important to fight back against Meteor.

[@islandboy9381]

But that could be what Sephiroth was talking about with the "7 seconds" thing with Cloud he probably actively wants to keep Aerith alive through manipulating Cloud so they can't use Holy against Meteor

[@Catknight4444]

@@islandboy9381 Genesis will kill Aerith this time. Calling it now.

[@The_winds_of_change]

I think we can safely assume that there will be dlc for each game. My money would be on a vincent or zack dlc for part 2, and possibly an aerith or sephiroth dlc for part 3

[@resetbutton7982]

Don’t forget that in part 3 the party goes back to Midgar to defeat Shinra. And now since Intergrade Yuffie has a score to settle in Midgard as well. Vincent’s story conclusion with Hojo. Cloud’s coming back story with Tifa. There’s so much that part 3 will contain outside of fighting Sephiroth at the Northern Crater.

[@SiegahertzCarmin]

Rmeber also that there is several Sephiroth in this game right now. We know there is Sephi from the original game doing the same stuff he did back then: stealing Jenova, killing people but not Palmer, the usual. Then there is Sephi from Advent children. Doing the main fuckery with Cloud. And then there is the last one. The ??? in the official book: the one you fight at the Edge of Creation. Yeah...