Final Fantasy 7 Remake: 9 MAJOR Changes We Can't Believe

3. Shinra's Involvement In The Reactor Detonation & The War With Wutai

-- More light spoilers --

On par with how much Sephiroth is being changed, the opening Bombing Run now ends completely differently, making it so although Jessie was planting a bomb to disable the reactor itself, Shinra go one further and blow the whole thing sky-high.

Why? To frame Avalanche as Wutai-originating terrorists and enemies of Midgar, in an attempt to stoke another war. We see the Shinra owned news networks brand Cloud and the gang as criminals, and this aspect of "trusting the media" when it's controlled by corporate interests is a brand new thematic element.

Overhauling the nefarious Heidegger so he appears through drone swarm holograms as a slimmer, more menacing individual; taunting the team and speaking to the people, is also a great touch.

As for Wutai itself, the war against this isolated populace took place many years before the original game, but was fleshed out in 2007's Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

It's noted that this conflict is where Sephiroth became such a legendary soldier, where Zack cut his teeth as a member of SOLDIER, and where Cloud enters the picture as a combatant near its end.

Bringing Wutai back into the picture ties Crisis Core directly into its main counterpart, is a brilliant way to expand on the corporate interests of the warmongering Shinra, and even gives someone like Yuffie a greater reason to oppose our heroes when she eventually steals their materia in the story.