Final Fantasy VII Remake Script Comparison: Chapter 17

Cloud then wakes up in the room where Aerith lived as a child. This scene is more or less analogous to when they’re locked in prison cells in the original, serving as a way to slow down for a moment and summarize the situation.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
クラウド　ここは？	Cloud Where are we?
エアリス　子供のころ　ここで暮らしたの	Aerith Where I lived—when I was still a child.

エアリス　お母さんとふたりでね　ここで眠ったんだよ	Aerith My mom and I stayed here, years ago when I was just a little girl.
エアリス　部屋　あの頃のまま	Aerith The room…looks exactly the same.
エアリス　毎朝　お母さんだけが連れていかれて	Aerith Every morning, they’d come and take my mom away.
エアリス　よく　ひとりで泣いてた	Aerith I remember crying here alone.
クラウド　エアリス	Cloud …Aerith.
クラウド　脱出の前に　話してくれ	Cloud Before we break outta here, talk to us.
クラウド　色々あるはずだ	Cloud There’s so much we don’t know.
エアリス　わたしは　古代種の生き残り	Aerith I’m…a descendent of the Ancients.
エアリス　それは　もういいよね？	Aerith That’s pretty much it, really.

We hear that Cetra legend again (though Barret says it instead of Aerith this time), and we get more direct confirmation that this is nothing more than a myth that Shinra believes is true. Also, this time Aerith sounds more certain that she can’t lead Shinra to the promised land, unlike in the original where she wasn’t even sure exactly what the promised land was.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
エアリス　古代種っていうのは　神羅が付けた名前ね	Aerith Oh, but just so you know, that’s not their actual name.
エアリス　本当は　セトラっていうの	Aerith They called themselves…the Cetra.	プレジデント神羅「知らんのか？　自らをセトラと呼び、　数千年の昔に生き　今は歴史の中に埋もれて　しまった種族」	President Shinra “Don’t you know? They called themselves the Cetra and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history.”
バレット　『我ら　星より生まれ　　星と語り　星を開く』	Barret “We who are born of the planet, with her we speak. Her flesh we shape.”	『セトラの民、星より生まれ　星と語り、星を開く』	“The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet.”
バレット　『そして　約束の地へ帰る』	Barret “Unto her promised land shall we one day return.”	「えっと……それから……」	“And……then…”
バレット　『至上の幸福　　星が与えし定めの地』	Barret “By her loving grace and providence may we take our place in paradise.”	『セトラの民、約束の地へ帰る。　至上の幸福、星が与えし定めの地』	“The Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness.”
エアリス　すごい	Aerith You know it!
バレット　まあな　でも　おとぎ話だと思ってたぜ	Barret Yeah, well… Honestly I thought that part was just a fairy tale.	バレット「でも、約束の地ってのは　言い伝えに出てくるだけで　本当にあるのかどうかは　わからねえ」	Barret “I only heard stories ’bout the Promised Land. I don’t know if it really exists.”
エアリス　神羅は　ちがう	Aerith Shinra thinks it’s true.	バレット「約束の地には豊富な　魔晄エネルギーがあると　神羅の連中は考えてる」	Barret “The Shinra believe that the Promised Land is full of Mako energy.”
エアリス　約束の地　ずっと探してる	Aerith They’ve been searching for the promised land for a long time.
ティファ　エアリスは知っているの　約束の地……	Tifa And they must think you can lead them to it… Can you?	ティファ「あのね、エアリス。　質問があるんだけど」	Tifa “You know, Aeris. I have a question.”
		ティファ「約束の地って本当にあるの？」	Tifa “Does the Promised Land really exist?”
エアリス　なーんにも	Aerith Nope.	エアリス「……わからない」	Aeris “…I don’t know.”
エアリス　いつか　わかるのかもしれない	Aerith Someday, maybe, I’ll find it in me.
エアリス　でも　今は全然	Aerith But now? Not even if I wanted to.

Barret then tells them to get Aerith out of there while he goes and settles things with Shinra, just like Cloud does later on in the original.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　もしわかっても　それは古代種	Barret Even if you could, that land belongs to the—
バレット　いや　エアリスの約束の地だ	Barret I mean… To you and your people.
バレット　たとえ魔晄が吹き出す　豪勢な場所でも　神羅には　なんの権利もねえ	Barret Shinra’s after it because they believe it’s rich in mako—mako they’ve got no right to claim.	「豊富な魔晄エネルギーが　勝手に吹き出してくる」	“The abundant Mako will flow out on its own.”
バレット　横取りしようってか？	Barret But they’ll try to take it anyway, won’t they?
バレット　性根が浅ましいぜ	Barret Greedy bastards’ll never stop.
バレット　よし　おまえは　エアリスを連れて脱出しろ	Barret Okay. New plan. Y’all take Aerith and get the hell outta here.	クラウド「エアリスを連れてビルから　出てくれ！」	Cloud “Get Aeris outta the building!”

But the conversation then takes a turn as we learn about an element that’s new to Remake: the Whispers. In Japanese they’re literally called “Feelers,” possibly as a take on “feeling out” or some such thing. But many English speakers would probably associate “feelers” more with bugs or possibly “those who feel,” which most likely isn’t the original intent, and so the name was changed. “Whispers” works nicely to get across that sort of ghostly, mysterious feeling, as well as pointing to their true nature as whispers of the past/future/fate.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
レッドXIII 　『フィーラー』だ	Red XIII Whispers.
レッドXIII 　”運命の番人”という理解が　最適だ	Red XIII Perhaps best described as arbiters of fate.
レッドXIII 　運命の流れを変えようとする者の前に現れ　行動を修正する	Red XIII They are drawn to those who attempt to alter destiny’s course and ensure they do not.

Red XIII explains that the future is set in stone. In English, he says this is the will of the planet itself, which does seem to fit with what Sephiroth implied in Chapter 2: that the planet is (possibly) willfully trying to die. The Japanese line here, though, could also be interpreted as “the planet is going to wither away.”　力尽きる (chikaratsukiru) means “”use up all one’s power,” which could be in the sense of “extend every effort to accomplish something” (like the English translation has), but also carries the connotation that whatever/whoever does this is completely exhausted afterwards.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
レッドXIII 　言い換えれば　この星が生まれて　消えるまでの流れ	Red XIII The flow of the great river that is the planet, from inception to oblivion.
ティファ　その流れは　もう決まっている　そういうこと？	Tifa And you’re saying that that flow is somehow…fixed?
レッドXIII 　ああ　星は力尽きてしまうらしい	Red XIII Yes. For it is the will of the planet itself.
バレット　んな　真っ暗な未来に向かって　オレたちを送り込むのか　フィーラーはよ	Barret So if we’re destined for a bleak future, these Whispers will try to keep us on that course?

Aerith then explains that there is a bigger threat to the planet than Shinra. In this way, she sort of takes on Cloud’s role from the original: introducing the party to Sephiroth/a threat greater than Shinra and encouraging them to pursue that instead.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
エアリス　わたしたちの敵は　神羅カンパニーじゃない	Aerith The Shinra Electric Power Company isn’t the treal enemy.
エアリス　きっかけは神羅だけど　本当の敵　ほかにいる	Aerith It started with them, sure…but I promise you…there’s a much bigger threat.	クラウド「説明はあとだ！　バレット！　　本当の星の危機だ！」	Cloud “I’ll explain later! Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!”
エアリス　わたし　どうにかして助けたい	Aerith I just want to do everything in my power to help.
エアリス　みんなを	Aerith All of you…
エアリス　星を	Aerith And the planet.

The crew then learns from Wedge that the main branch of Avalanche is planning an attack on Shinra HQ and our heroes can hitch a ride out with them.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
ウェッジ　混乱を起こして　プレジデントを狙うっていう	Wedge They’re raising hell to try and flush out the president.
ドミノ　間に合わなかったな	Domino This complicates matters.
ドミノ　今の爆破で　警戒態勢に移行した	Domino That explosion just now put the whole building on high alert.
ティファ　閉じ込められた？	Tifa So now we’re trapped in here?
ドミノ　慌てるでない　小娘	Domino No need to panic, little lady.
ドミノ　見ろ　研究施設内は　まだ移動可能だ	Domino See? You can still move freely within Hojo’s laboratory.
ウェッジ　屋上まで行ってください　本家のヘリが待機してるッス	Wedge Find a way to the roof. An Avalanche chopper will come to extract you.

As they make their way to the rendezvous point, though, they come across Jenova. In Remake Jenova has an entire room to itself, as opposed to being tucked away in the corner of some random lab. This is much more fitting, considering how significant Jenova is to the story. And once again, Aerith takes Cloud’s role from the original in introducing it to the others.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　なんだ　ありゃあ	Barret What is that…?
エアリス　ジェノバ	Aerith Jenova.	クラウド「ジェノバ……」	Cloud “Jenova…”

Cloud has a series of flashbacks, and we hear one of the lines from the end of the previous chapter again, but this time with a brief visual.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	E PSX	E PC
セフィロス　母さん　一緒に　この星を取り戻そうよ	Sephiroth Mother… Together we will reclaim our world.	セフィロス「母さん、いっしょに　この星を　取りもどそうよ」	Sephiroth “Mother, let’s take this planet back together.”	Sephiroth “Mother, let’s take the Planet back together.”

Tifa snaps him out of it, as she does in the original.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
ティファ　クラウド？	Tifa Cloud?	ティファ「クラウド、しっかりして！」	Tifa “Cloud, be strong!”

Cloud attacks Sephiroth, and the party is scattered as the area is destroyed. We cut to Hojo who has some cryptic lines hinting at past events.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
宝条　すばらしい	Hojo Very, very good!
宝条　やはり　仮説は正しかった	Hojo And thus is the hypothesis proven correct!
宝条　今度は　期待を裏切らないでくれよ？	Hojo I can only hope you will continue not to disappoint.

As the guys reunite, Barret comments on the number of monsters there, once again alluding to Shinra’s involvement in creating them, which isn’t explored until later in the original. Additionally, Red XIII doesn’t originally learn about the origin of monsters until Cloud explains it later, while here in Remake he seems to already have this knowledge, possibly because of Aerith’s influence.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　ったく　モンスター工場かよ	Barret Shit, it’s like they’re churning out monsters here.	「モンスターってのは神羅が　つくったって　ウワサがあるがホントかねえ？」　　そのとおり　　たんなるウワサ	“Is it true that Shinra made a Monster?” 　　It’s true 　　Just a rumor
レッドXIII 　あながち間違いではない	Red XIII That’s not far from the truth.	レッドXIII 「ここ数年来のモンスター　の増加には　そういった理由があったのか」	Red XIII “That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently.”

Hojo declares that the crew has to participate in an experiment of his before he lets them go, and so they slowly make their way through the Drum. At one point, Red XIII explains that Jenova is a cataclysm from the stars. It’s actually surprising that this knowledge is already being shared with the group (and the player), because Jenova’s true identity was a central mystery in the original game. So it seems like that plot development won’t be present in Remake, or at least will be accelerated.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
バレット　なんの研究だよ　ったくよ	Barret The hell kind of “research” is this?
レッドXIII 　空から来た災厄　ジェノバ　宝条の半生は　ジェノバに捧げられている	Red XIII The cataclysm that came from the stars—Jenova. Hojo has devoted half of his life to her study.
バレット　伝記なんか　聞きたくねえよ	Barret I don’t give a shit about any of that.
レッドXIII 　この施設で行われているのは	Red XIII The experiments in this facility…
レッドXIII 　ジェノバ由来の生体情報を　生物や機械に埋め込んで	Red XIII involve the enhancement of life-forms and machines through the application…
レッドXIII 　強化を試みる研究だ	Red XIII of Jenova biological data.

The crew continues to make their way through the Drum. As an aside, the PHS terminals are a reference to the original game, where the “PHS” mechanic allowed you to swap members of your party in and out.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
バレット　通信機じゃねえか	Barret It’s a PHS terminal.
バレット　ティファたちに中央端末まで行けねえか　聞いてみようぜ	Barret Call up Tifa, see if they can get to the central terminal.

Cloud and Barret share a bonding moment, which is some nice character development to see. Incidentally, Barret’s last line here can be interpreted multiple ways in Japanese because no subject is stated (roughly just “Comes in handy in a pinch. Yeah, two of a kind.”). The English translation takes it as referring to Wedge having Cloud’s back and Barret then identifying with Wedge. But it could also be taken as Barret mentioning another aspect in which Wedge and Cloud are similar: they both will have your back in a pinch. Honestly, I think I like the English translation’s interpretation better, since it really shows how much Barret has warmed up to Cloud.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
バレット　ウェッジの奴　すっかり待たせちまったぜ	Barret We, uh, made Wedge wait a while to be rescued.
クラウド　ああ	Cloud Guess so.
バレット　おまえ　懐かれてたな	Barret You know, he really likes you.
クラウド　かもな	Cloud Maybe.
バレット　あいつ　結構人見知りだぜ	Barret Friendly guy, but he has a hard time opening up to people.
クラウド　ああ　同類だ	Cloud Well…that makes two of us.
バレット　いざって時は　頼りになる　ああ　同類だ	Barret He’s got your back, though. Heh…makes two of us.

Eventually, the crew escapes from the Drum and makes it back up to where Jenova…was. Barret’s reaction to the trail of “blood” is actually more similar in English than it is in Japanese, though the Japanese means more or less the same thing. The trail leads up, and they decide to follow it.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　どうなってやがる	Barret What the hell’s going on?	バレット「どうしちまったんだよ？」	Barret “The hell’s goin’ on!?”
ティファ　誰が……	Tifa Who would…?
レッドXIII 　行き先は同じか	Red XIII We may find out soon.	レッドXIII 「私がこの先の様子を見てくる」	Red XIII “I’ll go on ahead.”
クラウド　行こう	Cloud Let’s go.	ティファ「さ、レッドXIIIの後を追いましょう！」	Tifa “Come on, let’s follow Red XIII!”
バレット　この上ってよ	Barret So what’s above this floor?	レッドXIII 「ジェノバ・サンプル…… 　さっするに上の階に向かったようだ。　奥のサンプル用エレベーターを使ってな」	Red XIII “Jenova Specimen… Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens.”
レッドXIII 　社長室　その先が屋上だ	Red XIII The president’s office. And then the roof.	レッドXIII 「何か目的に向かっているような…… 　上に……？」	Red XIII “It looks like it leads up…”

When they reach the president’s office, instead of finding him dead in his chair, they notice that he’s hanging from the edge of the building.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　プレジデントの野郎　どこ行きやがった	Barret Where the hell is that bastard hiding?	バレット「死んでる…… 　神羅カンパニーのボスが　死んだ……」	Barret “He’s dead… The head of Shinra is dead…”
ティファ　セフィロスは？	Tifa And Sephiroth?
レッドXIII 　待て　なにか聞こえる	Red XIII Wait. I can hear something.

This gives Barret some time to have a back and forth with the president, where President Shinra needles him for being seemingly more concerned with Avalanche’s reputation than the fate of the planet. We’ve been getting a lot of hints at Barret’s motivations and relationship with Shinra in this section, setting the stage to dive fully into his backstory in the next Remake entry.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
バレット　ミッドガル中に　放送するんだ	Barret You’re gonna get on TV and tell ’em.
バレット　まず　あんた自身の口から　七番街の真相を　伝えてもらおう	Barret Tell ’em what you did to Sector 7—that it was you who killed all those people!
バレット　それから　オレたちの名誉の回復	Barret Then, you’re gonna tell them the truth about Avalanche.
バレット　アバランチは　誰の手先でもねえ	Barret That Avalanche ain’t Wutai or anybody’s puppet!
バレット　星のため　市民のために　命をかけて　神羅と闘う	Barret That Avalanche fights for the people—the planet! That we fight to hold Shinra to account for its crimes!
バレット　それが　アバランチ！	Barret That is Avalanche!
バレット　そのオレたちに　神羅は屈したと　宣言するんだ	Barret The filthy sewer rats…who brought down a goliath! You tell ’em that.
プレジデント　なるほど　名誉の回復か	President Shinra Is that really all you want? For your names to be cleared?
プレジデント　それは　重要だな	President Shinra Hmph. That is what matters most to you?
プレジデント　魔晄炉の停止や　星の未来より　重要というわけだ	President Shinra More than shutting down the reactors? Than the future of the planet itself?
バレット　てめえ！	Barret Damn.
プレジデント　甘いのだよ　君らは	President Shinra You’re lying to yourself, even now.

Things take a sudden turn as Sephiroth shows up to kill both the president and Barret this time. This may be a nod to the fact that the developers debated for a long time whether to kill Barret off in the original FF7. (See this interview for more info, but be warned of FF7 story spoilers.)

The party is immediately thrust into a (completely new) battle with Jenova, though Red XIII reassures the crew that it’s just an illusion. Also, it seems like Aerith may also already be aware of Jenova’s true identity.

Japanese Remake	English Remake
レッドXIII 　こいつは	Red XIII This is…
エアリス　あれが　すべての始まり	Aerith The source. Of everything.
ティファ　どうなってるの？	Tifa What’s happening!?
レッドXIII 　幻覚だ　惑わされるな	Red XIII It’s an illusion. Stay calm.

After the battle, it turns out Barret is miraculously okay thanks to the Whispers. Then the vice president, Rufus, shows up. There’s no time for the crew to offer their impressions of him as they did in the original, though. Also, the English translation’s “heir to the throne” is a great way of expressing Barret’s contempt for him and Shinra as a whole.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　ルーファウス神羅　プレジデントの息子だ	Barret If it ain’t Rufus Shinra. Heir to the throne himself.	バレット「副社長ルーファウス。　プレジデントの息子だ」	Barret “Vice President Rufus. The President’s son.”

Now it’s Cloud’s turn to tell the others to take Aerith and escape, mimicking his original line.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
クラウド　エアリスを　家に帰す	Cloud Take Aerith and get outta here.	クラウド「エアリスを連れてビルから　出てくれ！」	Cloud “Get Aeris outta the building!”
クラウド　俺が　時間を稼ぐ	Cloud I’ll buy you guys some time.	クラウド「あとで話す！　いまは俺を信じてくれ！　俺はこいつを倒してから行く！」	Cloud “I’ll explain later! Just take my word for now! I’ll go after I take care of him!”
バレット　だったら　オレも残るぜ	Barret I could stay here—back you up.
クラウド　行ってくれ　バレット	Cloud Barret…I’m asking you.
クラウド　頼む	Cloud Please.
バレット　わあったよ　おまえも　すぐに来い！	Barret Fine.	バレット「わかったぜ、クラウド！」	Barret “Alright, Cloud!”
	Barret Have it your way then. But you better be right behind us!

Cloud then confronts Rufus by himself, skipping over the monologue Rufus had in the original. (Though we’ll get a brief reference to it later.) It should also be noted that Cloud’s conversation with Rufus makes no mention of Rufus’s intention to follow Sephiroth. In the original, this bit of dialogue established the idea that Sephiroth may also be an Ancient and informed the player that they’ll still have to contend with Shinra as they continue on with the game.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
ルーファウス　おまえは　ソルジャーらしいな	Rufus You’re a SOLDIER, aren’t you?
ルーファウス　となれば　私は雇い主だ	Rufus Which, of course, would mean that I own you.
クラウド　”元”ソルジャーだ　世話になったな	Cloud Ex-SOLDIER. I quit.	クラウド「元ソルジャー・クラス１ST。　クラウドだ！」	Cloud “I’m Cloud, ex-SOLDIER, First Class!”
ルーファウス　ひとりも逃がすな	Rufus Secure the others.
ルーファウス　ふたりきりだな	Rufus Just the two of us.
ルーファウス　細かいことは　気にするな	Rufus Well. Maybe three.
クラウド　すぐに終わらせる	Cloud Let’s get this over with.
ルーファウス　つれないな	Rufus Don’t say that.

After Cloud beats him, Rufus says that tonight marks a new beginning for Shinra, a nod to the original where Rufus made a speech about how he’s going to run the company differently. And for bonus points, Rufus grabs onto the bottom of the helicopter as it flies away, just like in the original.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
ルーファウス　神羅は生まれ変わる　私の手で	Rufus Tonight marks a new beginning for Shinra!	ルーファウス「だが私のやりかたはちがう」	Rufus “But, I do things differently.”

Tifa once again stays behind to make sure Cloud is all right.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
ティファ　だらしないぞ	Tifa You gotta be better than this…	ティファ「……私、クラウドを待つわ！　みんなはエレベーターで先に！」	Tifa “…I’ll wait for Cloud! Everyone, get to the elevator!”
ティファ　ヒーローなのに	Tifa if you’re gonna play the hero.

In the meantime, the others press forward and fight a familiar boss. Though this time the battle doesn’t actually take place in the elevator.

Once they beat the boss, they find themselves face to face with Heidegger and his guards. Heidegger gets Rufus’s line from the original, commenting on what an odd combination of characters the party is.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	E PSX	E PC
ハイデッカー　しかし　なんだ貴様らは　どういう組み合わせだ？	Heidegger So then—what is this ragtag group of misfits I see before me?	ルーファウス「おまえたちはなんだ？」	Rufus “Who are you guys?”	Rufus “just who are you?”
		ルーファウス「おかしな組み合わせだ」	Rufus “What a crew.”

E PC only noted where it differs from E PSX

Their answers are the same in Japanese, but tweaked a bit in English. I particularly like Red’s “lab rat dog” calling back to a line from the beginning of the chapter.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　アバランチ	Barret Avalanche!	バレット「アバランチだ！」	Barret “I’m from AVALANCHE!”
エアリス　スラムの花売り	Aerith Local florist!	エアリス「……スラムの花売り」	Aeris “A flower girl from the slums.”
レッドXIII 　実験サンプル	Red XIII Lab rat dog.	レッドXIII 「……実験サンプル」	Red XIII “A Research Specimen.”

Barret resolves to protect Aerith, as he does in FF7. Note that the second sentence in Japanese lines up exactly with the original, while the English mimics the original translation as much as it can.

Japanese Remake	English Remake	Japanese Original	English Original
バレット　エアリス　あんたは　マリンを守ってくれた	Barret Aerith. You saved my Marlene.	「アンタはマリンを守るために　ヤツらに捕まった。　今度は、オレがアンタを　守る番だ」	“You got caught up in this over Marlene. Now, it’s my turn to help you!”
バレット　今度は　オレがあんたを守る番だ	Barret Now…it’s time I returned the favor.