As someone who is extremely far from a FF7 expert (played once years ago) and who is not keeping track of the previews for the next act of the remake, I am excited by the possibilities. Like the suggestions, but as a meta-narrative device it reminds me a little bit of Twin Peaks: The Return (maybe depending on interpretation, I'll try not to spoil it ahead, fwiw). Essentially, the game presents you an idea of this "timeline split" giving you a chance to write the wrongs. Build up everything to Aerith's death with a plausible escape, maybe even a completely innocuous one. Maybe Sephiroth just doesn't show up. You get through, maybe some eerie and suggestive dialog, then go snowboard your way into the rest of the game. Give some sense of achievement for people that know the original ff7, or at least people that know Aerith is meant to die (aka everyone), but even have some inclination that it should have happened and something is now wrong, even though you have by all accounts succeeded in protecting her. FF7 deals a lot obviously with recollection, how memory shapes a person, and how to deal with painful memories, being able to take the public recollection of a game that has had a huge calling for a remake for as long as remakes have been in fashion, being able to subvert that should be a necessity. Something like "Aerith has to die and fate has to be fated" is maybe a little cynical of a stance when it is filtered through that, but something like that makes the shock of Aerith dying shocking again. Now the player is helpless (press x to let her die works there) and sad and disappointed in the same way even knowing it's coming. Either way, the sense of "why did we ask to revisit this feeling" feels like a wonderful emotion to try to elicit. Then you get to have people online juggling about how the game is so bold to chastise the player for wanting to play. Big pr move for squeenix
