Final Fantasy VII Remake Script Comparison: Chapter 14+15

The crew returns to Elmyra and Cloud is newly convicted of his desire to save Aerith after getting a stark reminder of exactly what Shinra is capable of. The question of whether Aerith is in fact the last Ancient comes up again, and both the Japanese and English confirm that Cloud is operating under the assumption that she is the sole survivor.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
クラウド
 神羅の地下施設で
 人体実験のあとを見つけた
Cloud
We found an underground Shinra lab where they’ve
done human testing.
クラウド
 俺の方が神羅という組織を知っている
Cloud
This wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.
クラウド
 話を聞いただけで
 エアリスを解放するとは思えない
Cloud
I know these people, and I know they’re never gonna
let Aerith go.
クラウド
 この世界で たったひとりの古代種となれば
 科学部門が黙っていないはずだ
Cloud
She’s the last living Ancient on the planet. Think
about what that means to Shinra’s scientists.

Also, “We’re all just meat and numbers to him” is such a good line. The Japanese is roughly just “(He) doesn’t think of people as people.” The way the English is phrased is so much more visceral, really hammering in Cloud’s contempt for Hojo while still getting the same sentiment across.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
クラウド
 科学部門には 宝条という
 人を人とも思わない
Cloud
Especially to that son of a bitch Hojo. We’re all just
numbers and meat to him.

Night falls and Cloud has a chance to talk with Aerith, Tifa, or Barret, depending on whose affection level is the highest. This is similar to the date mechanic from the original, which wasn’t triggered until much later in the game.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
バレット
 休めるときに 休んどけよ
Barret
You should rest up while you can.

In the morning, they resolve to set out to save Aerith.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
クラウド
 呼ばれている気がするんだ
 だから……
Cloud
She’s calling out to me. I can feel it.
ティファ
 私からも お願いします
Tifa
We all can. So please.
ティファ
「私も行くから」
Tifa
“I’m coming with you.”
ティファ
 助けたいんです 友達だから
Tifa
She’s our friend. We have to help her.

Barret has a conversation with Marlene, touching on a lot of the same points from his discussion with Elmyra in the original. He wants to stay with Marlene, but he can’t because he feels that he needs to put a stop to Shinra.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
マリン
 行っちゃうの?
Marlene
Are you going?
バレット
 すまねえな マリン
 そばにいてやれなくて
Barret
I’m sorry, honey. I wish I didn’t have to.
バレット
 父ちゃんだって
 いつもいっしょにいたい
 ホントだ
Barret
I wish I could be with you all the time. I really do.
バレット
「でもよ、答えはでねえんだ。
 マリンといつも
 いっしょにいたい。
 でも、それじゃあ戦えない」
Barret
“But you gotta understand somethin’…
…I don’t got any answers.
I wanna be with Marlene…
But I gotta fight.”
バレット
 でも それじゃあ戦えない
Barret
But if I stay here, I can’t fight out there.
バレット
 悪い奴らが星を壊そうとしてる
Barret
Some bad people are…trying to hurt the planet.
バレット
「戦わなければ星が死ぬ」
Barret
“‘Cause if I don’t…the Planet’s gonna die.”
バレット
 実はな 父ちゃん
 そいつらと戦ってんだ
Barret
And Daddy…Daddy and his friends are trying to stop those bad people.
バレット
 星やスラムのみんなを守るのが
 父ちゃんの仕事だ
Barret
The slums, your friends, the whole planet—it’s Daddy’s job to protect it.
バレット
 だから 行かねえと
Barret
And that’s why I’ve gotta go.
バレット
 マリンを助けてくれた
 お姉ちゃんを 今度は
 オレたちが助けにいくんだ
Barret
You remember that nice girl who came to find you? Well, now we have to go find her.
バレット
「エアリスを助けにいくんだろ?
 すっかり世話に
 なっちまったからな」
Barret
“You gonna go help Aeris, right?
She’s done so much for me…”
バレット
 助けてもらった お礼
 ちゃんと言わねえとな
Barret
And when we bring her home, you need to say thank you, okay?
マリン
 うん
Marlene
‘Kay!

Marlene starts to say something about Aerith, but stops herself and only asks them to save her. In the original, she told Cloud that Aerith was asking her about him, but the scene in Remake didn’t include anything like that so instead it seems to reference whatever vision Aerith gave her.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
マリン
 あのね あのお姉ちゃんね
Marlene
That girl… She was kinda…
マリン
「あのね、あのね、エアリスがね
 いっぱい聞いてたよ」
Marlene
“Guess what? Guess what?
Aeris asked me
lots of questions.”
バレット
 どうした?
Barret
What?
マリン
 ううん 助けてあげて
Marlene
Nothing. You should help her.
マリン
「とうちゃん、ティファ、クラウド!
 ちゃ~んとエアリス助けてきてね」
Marlene
“Daddy,
Tifa,
Cloud!
Please bring Aeris back!”

She then makes Barret promise that he’ll come back, like Elmyra does in the original.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
マリン
 帰ってくるよね
Marlene
You’ll come back…right?
エルミナ
「……そうだねえ。
 でも、必ず迎えにくるんだよ。
 死んじゃいけないよ」
Elmyra
“…You’re right.
But promise me that you’ll
come back to her.
Don’t get yourself killed.”
バレット
 ああ 絶対だ
Barret
Of course, I promise.

As soon as they’re out of the house, Barret gets excited to exact revenge on Shinra and Cloud reminds him that that isn’t their main goal. This is brought up a couple of times in the original, but we’ll be seeing a few more instances of it in Remake as the group infiltrates Shinra HQ.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
バレット
 よし 神羅ビルに乗り込むか
Barret
Aight! Time to get some payback.
クラウド
 目的を忘れるな
Cloud
Don’t forget why we’re doing this.
ティファ
「忘れないで!
 私たちの目的はあくまでも
 エアリスを助けだすこと」
Tifa
“Remember,
we’re here to save
Aeris.”
バレット
 わかってるよ エアリスの救出だろ?
Barret
I know, I know. To rescue Aerith.
バレット
「わかってるって!」
Barret
“Hell, I know that!”

They discuss how to proceed and settle on going to Wall Market, like they did in the original.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
ティファ
 でも 上までどうやって行く?
 鉄道は動いてないよね
Tifa
So, how’re we supposed to get topside? With everything that’s happened, the trains still aren’t
running.
ティファ
「神羅ビルにはどうやって?」
Tifa
“How do we get to the Shinra Building?”
バレット
「もう、上に行く列車は
 使えねぇ…」
Barret
“There ain’t no train
that goes up there anymore…”
バレット
 んじゃ 線路を歩くか
Barret
Well, we could walk along the tracks.
クラウド
 今は非常事態だ
Cloud
The city’s on high alert.
クラウド
 表立ったルートは
 封鎖されていると思った方がいい
Cloud
All the roads and public transit have probably been locked down by now.
バレット
 じゃあどうすんだ
 裏ルートがあんのか
Barret
So what’s the plan then? You know another way up?
ティファ
 そういうこと
 知ってそうな人って——
Tifa
No, but I think I know someone who might.
クラウド
 コルネオか
Cloud
You mean Corneo.
ティファ
「とりあえず、
 【ウォールマーケット】に
 行きましょう。 あそこなら何か
 いい手が見つかる
 かもしれないわ」
Tifa
“Well, let’s just go to Wall Market.
We might be able to find something there.”

As they leave Sector 5, they hear Kyrie drumming up hostility towards Avalanche. This is similar to an NPC line in the original, where it seems that there was a rumor going around that Avalanche’s anti-Shinra stance was only a cover for wanting to bring about as much destruction as they could. This time, though, the claim is that they’re actually working with Wutai: an idea that Shinra is trying to spread.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
キリエ
 反神羅なんて
 たいそうな看板を揚げてるけど
Kyrie
For all their claims about fighting for the slums…
「おもてむきは、
 反神羅がどうしたとかって
 声明がでてるらしいがよ。
 真相はな……」
“On the surface they say
they’re an anti-Shinra group,
but in reality…”
キリエ
 実際は ウータイの手先
 というか ただの使いっ走り
Kyrie
they’re nothing more than pawns of Wutai—puppets dancing to the tune of their foreign masters!
「無差別大量殺人が
 目的だってうわささ」
“they say they’re just out to kill
as many people as they can.”

Barret then talks about how they need to keep fighting Shinra no matter what, kind of like he does when he’s trying to console Tifa in the original.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
バレット
 こっから先は もう
 ただただ ひたすら前進あるのみ
Barret
All we can do is keep moving forward. Keep following this path we chose.
バレット
 何があろうと
 反神羅の火は消さねえ
Barret
Wherever, so we can say we did all we could.
バレット
「神羅を倒すまでオレたちの戦いは
 おわらねえ!!」
Barret
“Our fight ain’t never gonna be over
until we get rid of them!!”
ティファ
 うん
Tifa
I know.
ティファ
「……わからない」
Tifa
“…I don’t know.”
ティファ
 でも 今は……
 前だけじゃなくて 周りも見て
Tifa
But…right now…instead of looking forward, you need to look around.
ティファ
「ちがう……
 わからないのは
 自分の……気持ち」
Tifa
“It’s not that.
I’m not sure about…me.
My feelings.”
ティファ
 みんな おびえてる
 だから お願い
Tifa
Everyone here is terrified. So I’m asking you…don’t.

This time the trio goes to Corneo’s mansion to find a way to the top side of the plate, instead of buying batteries from the weapon store owner.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
ティファ
 私たちプレートの上へ行く方法を探してて
 コルネオなら何か知ってるかもって
Tifa
Well, we need to find a way to get topside as quickly
as possible, and we figured Corneo oughta know one.

Corneo is nowhere to be found, and the crew runs into Leslie instead. They agree to help Leslie, hoping that he’ll show them a way to get topside, but their alliance is an uncertain one. Towards the end, Tifa says 信じるよ? (shinjiru yo?), which is literally just a hesitant “Trust?” with no information on who is trusting who about what. I feel like this is one of those lines where you can’t really be sure exactly what is meant unless you ask the writer directly. I personally interpreted it as her saying “(I/We) are going to trust (you), okay? (So don’t betray us)” but E Remake took it as “Trust (Cloud when he says he will kill you).” To be fair, my interpretation has her ignoring Cloud’s grim statement completely, and it might make more narrative sense for her to hone in on that (like E Remake has her do in Chapter 3), especially because Cloud’s violent nature has clearly disturbed her in the past.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
クラウド
 裏切れば 斬る
Cloud
He betrays us, he dies.
レズリー
 それで かまわない
Leslie
Fine by me.
ティファ
 信じるよ?
Tifa
He means it.

Before following Leslie down, Cloud can explore the mansion some more and find Kotch trapped in the basement, like he was in the original. Kotch explains that Shinra raided the mansion. E Remake interprets Shinra’s complaints as being directed at Kotch specifically. This is probably because the このざまさ (kono zama sa ; roughly something like “and this is how it turned out”) now comes immediately after that statement and thus seems to imply that that was the reason Shinra imprisoned Kotch. The E PC translation, on the other hand, sees Shinra’s complaints as being directed more generally toward Don Corneo and his henchmen.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
コッチ
 てめえ……じゃなかった 
 あなたは 頼む 助けてくれ
Kotch
You mother— Uh, I mean… Hey, there. Would you mind helping me out? I’m kind of in a bind, as you can see…
コッチ
「あ!てめえ……じゃなかった
 あなたは!」
Kotch
“Hey! You’re…not them…
you’re…”
「たのむ、助けてくれ!」
   助ける
   放っておく
“Please, help me!”
  Help him
  Leave him
コッチ
 助かった!
Kotch
Thanks, you guys!
コッチ
「助かった!」
(1) Kotch
“Thanks!”
コッチ
 神羅の連中が
 ドガドガやってきた
 と思ったら……
Kotch
Man, these jerks from Shinra showed up outta nowhere!
「じつはあのあと、神羅の
 連中がドカドカやってきて
『情報をリークした』だの
『役立たず』だの……」
“You know what? After you left, some Shinra guys forced themselves in here saying someone ‘leaked information’ and we’re ‘good for nothings’.”
コッチ
 情報をリークしただの
 役立たずだの言われて 
 このざまさ
Kotch
Accused me of leaking information and called me “useless.” And, well the rest is history.
「ドンはむりやりどこかへ
 つれていかれて、
 それっきり……
 オレもこんなザマさ」
“They took Don somewhere and that’s it…
I’m still here.”
コッチ
 ふへへ……ふう
 それじゃあ あばよ!
Kotch
Well, anyway, thanks for helping me out. Peace out!
コッチ
「おっといけねえ!
 またあいつらがきたら……
 オレはいくぜ、アバヨ!」
Kotch
“Oops!
They’re here again…
I’m outta here! SEE ya”

While on their way through the sewers, Tifa asks Leslie why he helped her and Aerith in Don Corneo’s mansion earlier in the story. In Japanese, Leslie roughly says “(Because) I wasn’t able to put my life on the line that much,” referencing how he couldn’t save his fiance. E Remake makes this a little clearer by having him say “I couldn’t bring myself to let it happen again.”

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
ティファ
 聞いてもいい?
Tifa
Can I ask you something?
ティファ
 オーディションのとき
 どうして 助けてくれたの?
Tifa
Why did you help us out before? You could’ve lost
everything.
レズリー
 アニヤンに 頼まれたからだ
Leslie
Andrea. He told me to.
ティファ
 それだけ?
Tifa
That really it?
レズリー
 おれは あそこまで
 捨て身にはなれなかった
Leslie
And I couldn’t bring myself to let it happen again…
レズリー
 ほら 早く行ってくれ
Leslie
It doesn’t matter. Let’s go.

Later, Leslie reflects on how his fiance left him. During the flashback, his fiance references 花言葉 (hanakotoba ; “flower symbolism”) in Japanese, while English goes for “But one day…” to make it clearer that she does hope to see him again.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
レズリーの恋人
 夢を見てたんだよ わたしたち
Leslie’s Fiancée
It was all just a dream, wasn’t it…
レズリーの恋人
 花言葉
Leslie’s Fiancée
But one day…

Leslie finds Corneo and confronts him. Corneo goes on a rant, divulging that Shinra plans to abandon Midgar and build a new city of paradise. This was originally only brought up in the Shinra Building during the meeting of Shinra’s leaders and when the President monologued to Cloud and company after they were captured. The latter scene doesn’t happen in Remake, so perhaps they wanted to add another reference to it here so that the player is fully aware of Shinra’s plan.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
コルネオ
 ここだけの話
 神羅はミッドガルを捨てて
Don Corneo
I’ll let you in on a secret. Shinra’s going to abandon
Midgar…
コルネオ
 新しい楽園を作るつもりだ
Don Corneo
and build something close to paradise.
コルネオ
 俺はそこで 新生ウォール・マーケットの
 ドンになるはずが
Don Corneo
I was invited to be a part of it—don of a new and
improved Wall Market.
コルネオ
 今は お尋ね者
Don Corneo
I’ll be lucky to live another week.

Corneo then summons his pet, Abzu. This was translated as “Aps” in the original game, and indeed that is how the Japanese spells it (アプス ; apusu). But it’s likely that this is a reference to the concept of a primeval sea in Sumerian mythology, which appears to be more commonly spelled as “Abzu” in English.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
コルネオ
 それじゃあ アプスちゃん
 あとは よろしく
Don Corneo
Good Abzu! Feel free to play with your food!

After the crew deals with the beast, Leslie wonders what his fiance was trying to tell him. In Japanese he repeats her words 花言葉 (hanakotoba ; “flower symbolism”). Except that she never referenced flower symbolism in the English translation, so E Remake instead has him wonder if the return gift of the necklace was itself a message. Tifa then chimes in to tell him that the flower on the necklace symbolizes “reunion.” In this way, both the Japanese and English reach the same conclusion, but through slightly different routes.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
レズリー
 花言葉……
Leslie
Was it a message?
レズリー
 どういう意味だったんだろうな
Leslie
What was she trying to tell me?
ティファ
 再会だよ
Tifa
“We’ll meet again.”
Leslie
Huh?
ティファ
 花言葉は”再会”
Tifa
It’s a symbol of “reunion.”

Once they get back above ground, Leslie gives them all grappling guns. In Japanese these are called ワイヤーガン (“wire gun(s)”), and then shortened to just ワイヤー (“wire”). This may be to reference the “golden shiny wire of hope” they climb in the original game.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
レズリー
 ワイヤーガンだ
Leslie
Grappling guns.
レズリー
 打ち出したワイヤーを引っかけて
 上昇することができる
Leslie
You can practically fly with the souped-up motors on
these babies.
レズリー
 あの壁を越えれば 七番街だ
Leslie
Sector 7 is on the other side of that wall.
レズリー
 ワイヤーがあれば 壁も
 瓦礫の山も登っていけるはずだ
Leslie
The guns’ll get you over and past it, along with any
number of other obstacles.
バレット
「よし!
 このワイヤー、のぼろうぜ!」
Barret
“Awright!
We’ll climb the wire!”

If Cloud has done all the sidequests in this chapter, Barret will talk about how his impression of Cloud has changed. This is similar to the original game, where Barret admits that he was wrong about what kind of guy Cloud is.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
バレット
 最初はよ
 不愛想 気取り屋 過剰な自意識
Barret
Used to think you were a little shit with a big attitude and a bigger inferiority complex.
バレット
 いけすかない奴
 堂々1位だったが
 さすがに わかってきた
Barret
Quite possibly the worst person I have ever met. But that was before I figured you out.
バレット
「あんたでも他人のために
 戦うことがあるんだな。
 見直したぜ」
Barret
“So even you will fight for someone else. Guess I figured you wrong.”
バレット
 本当のおまえは ちがう!
Barret
All this? It ain’t you.
バレット
「いや、なんていうか……
 いろいろ悪かったな」
Barret
“I’m just sayin’
mebbe I was wrong…”

They prepare to use their grappling guns as the chapter closes…

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
ティファ
 エアリス 待ってるよ
Tifa
Aerith’s up there waiting for us.
ティファ
「そうね、エアリスを救うために
 残された道は、これだけだもんね」
“You’re right.
This is the only way
to save Aeris…”
バレット
 カッコ良く乗りこもうぜ
Barret
Then we better get a move on, huh?
バレット
「よし!
 このワイヤー、のぼろうぜ!」
Barret
“Awright!
We’ll climb this wire!”
クラウド
 行くぞ
Cloud
Ready?
クラウド
「行くぞ!」
Cloud
“Let’s go!”

The trio begins their ascent of the wreckage.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
ティファ
 あそこを 登るんだよね
Tifa
So that’s where we have to climb?

Cloud has to remind Barret again that they need to keep a low profile if they want to save Aerith.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
クラウド
 捜索か
Cloud
Kill team.
バレット
 上等だ!
Barret
We can take ’em.
クラウド
 目的を忘れるな
Cloud
We need to stay on mission.
ティファ
「忘れないで!
 私たちの目的はあくまでも
 エアリスを助けだすこと」
Tifa
“Remember,
we’re here to save
Aeris.”
バレット
 わかってるよ
 まずは エアリスの救出だろ
Barret
I know. Saving Aerith is our top priority.
バレット
「わかってるって!」
Barret
“Hell, I know that!”

E Remake once again has nice military-like lingo when Cloud communicates with Shinra on the radio to keep their cover.

Japanese RemakeEnglish Remake
無線
 何があった?
Radio
Hunter 2-2!
無線
 応答しろ おい!
Radio
Respond, dammit!
クラウド
 問題ない
Cloud
This is Hunter 2-2.
クラウド
 モンスターが出たが こっちで対処した
Cloud
Just had to put down a few monsters. Over.
無線
 アバランチめ 仕事を増やしやがって
Radio
Roger. Friggin’ Avalanche making us put in OT…
無線
 どうせ 怯えて隠れてるんだろ
Radio
Probably cowering in the dark somewhere.
無線
 見つけ出して
 モンスターのエサにしてやれ
Radio
If you find the shitheads, make ’em suffer. 2-3 out.

As they survey the wreckage from higher up, Tifa and Barret talk about building another bar and ask for Cloud’s help. Cloud gives his usual response, but by now it’s obvious that he doesn’t really mean it.

Japanese RemakeEnglish RemakeJapanese OriginalEnglish Original
バレット
 また 店やろうぜ
Barret
I guess…we’ll build another bar.
ティファ
 うん やろう
Tifa
Yeah. We will.
ティファ
 クラウドも手伝ってくれる?
Tifa
You’ll help too, won’t you?
クラウド
 安くないぞ
Cloud
For a price.
クラウド
「お引き受けしましょう。
 しかし、安くはない」
Cloud
“OK…
but it’ll cost you.”

Before they can get all the way to the top, the crew has to fight one of Shinra’s aerial weapons. This boss was fought during the escape from Shinra HQ in the original game.


And so we move on to Chapter 16…

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