Whispers Uncloaked - FFVII Remake Mysteries [1/4] | Game Analysis #23
What are the Whispers? What is their purpose? How do they operate? What are their abilities and limits? Who can see them and what are the repercussions of their demise? Find out below!
Please be aware that this video is teeming with spoilers for the original Final Fantasy VII, its Compilation entries, and the Remake.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Greetings, fellow Scholars of the Lifestream!
I’m Kutakuma from the Cosmo Canyon Observatory and from now on the new voice of reason *ahem* the new voice over for Vyzz’s analysis and discussion videos. Due to several reasons, Vyzz needed someone to record his scripts to prevent future burnouts and hiatuses and ensure regular uploads. Please check out our previous channel update video for the full story.
As for me, I’m honored to be here! I’ve been a longtime fan of both the Final Fantasy franchise and the CCO, so I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this. After all, I just want to do everything in my power to help—all of you—and the Planet.
In today’s overdue analysis, we start a series of videos where we try to unlock the mysteries of the additional plot elements and the ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake. This one is all about the Arbiters of Fate, also known as the Whispers. We know that other videos containing many answers and solid theories already exist, but we feel confident in the prospect that we can provide additional insight and information not found anywhere else.
Still here? Fantastic! Let’s jump into the wormhole and see what awaits us on the other side.
Setup
The Whispers, also called Arbiters of Fate, are a new addition to the story in the Remake of Final Fantasy VII and lay the groundwork for other theories, speculations, and explanations. In general, they exist to ensure the preordained flow of the great river that is the planet, from inception to oblivion.
What does that mean? Let’s establish the questions and answer them by going through the evidence in chronological order and end with a comprehensive summary.
Questions
What exactly are they and what’s their purpose?
Why do they appear in the first place and how do they operate?
Why are some people able to see them while others are not?
What are their abilities and limits?
What does the big Whisper Harbinger represent?
What are the repercussions of their demise?
Disclaimer
Short disclaimer before we continue. We acknowledge that the Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania book1 contains a table briefly explaining all of the Whispers’ appearances. In our opinion, however, those explanations are purely surface-level, sometimes misleading, or even confusing. That’s why we will forego that information in this video and focus on the events in the game itself.
Evidence
To start off, let’s read the explanation from the Japanese Ultimania—translated by Audrey @aitaikimochi on Twitter.
“The Arbiters of Fate
A mysterious presence with no solid form. They appear in random places, obstructing the actions of Cloud and the others, or even in some cases, saving them. They never stay in one place for long, and when their goal is achieved, they suddenly disappear. Those who can see the Arbiters of Fate depends on the person, or if one comes in physical contact with a special individual, they then might gain the ability to see the Arbiters, too.”
Their naming is also intriguing as they are called something different in each language. For the sake of brevity, let’s only focus on English, German and Japanese.
English
The English “Whisper” can be seen as a metaphor of a disembodied voice whispering something in someone’s ear and thus influencing their actions often without them realizing it. This resembles the Whispers’ behavior as they influence events to retain the planet’s ordained destiny.
German
The German word for them translates to “Moirae” or “Moirai” which is the name of the Goddesses of Fate in Greek mythology. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this.
Excerpts from the article on theoi.com:
“THE MOIRAI (Moirae) were the three goddesses of fate who personified the inescapable destiny of man.“
“The Moirai were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction.“
Japanese
The original Japanese word for them literally represents the English word “Feeler.”2 Sounds like they’re meant to feel out threats to the ordained destiny—a sensor of sorts—and act as soon as they find one.
Now let’s go through their appearances in the game and explain the purpose of those appearances.
LOVELESS Street
Whispers make their first appearance when we see Aerith for the first time in chapter 2.
They seem to try and prevent her from leaving the area, ensuring the meeting with Cloud, despite his delay caused by the drawn out Sephiroth encounter earlier, which is new to the Remake. Important to note here is that they still appear invisible to Aerith. She blindly waves around with her arms, which she never does again after touching Cloud.
Shortly after Cloud receives the flower, the most important part of this meeting, they swoop in to break them up, grab the Shinra guard’s attention and force Cloud’s escape into motion as he’s already behind schedule. During this second appearance, they become visible to Cloud and Aerith once she grabs his arm, frightened, confused and searching for help. The security officers are completely oblivious, however.
But why do they need to separate Cloud and Aerith in the first place? This meeting happened in the original as well. The problem here is that it lasts for much longer than the brief exchange in the original. It can also be argued that Aerith might not have left Cloud alone had they not intervened. She has no idea that Cloud needs to catch the train after all.
Sector 7 Undercity
In chapter 3, there’s a scene with a guy lamenting over AVALANCHE fliers being put up again faster than he can tear them down. This is the same guy calling the base of the pillar his special place in the original.
When looking up to the plate, Cloud has a vision of plate debris raining down from above.
Cloud’s weird behavior prompts the guy to question Cloud’s sanity by calling him a Mako junkie. In German, he asks Cloud if he had Mako poisoning3, which is much more apt given Cloud’s past4. This immediately summons the Whispers to distract Cloud, preventing him from remembering his own Mako poisoning and then pointing him in the direction Jessie, Biggs and Wedge are running off to.
This vision never appeared in the original, which is why that guy near the pillar never had the urge to ask Cloud whether he had Mako poisoning in the first place.
Later in the chapter, when AVALANCHE is about to celebrate their victory, one Whisper floats through the bar above Biggs, Wedge and Jessie, right after Barret officially kicks Cloud out of the team.
Cloud is supposed to be a part of their next mission so he would fall through the roof of Aerith’s church and meet her again. This might not happen anymore, which is why the Whispers start observing.
When Cloud finally goes to sleep after finishing Jessie’s mission and talking to Tifa in chapter 4, the Whispers appear again, but this time, there’s a familiar voice telling him to fall into a deep slumber, which he does.
This causes Cloud to sleep in, despite his light sleep, as we saw earlier before meeting Marco. The point is to have Cloud miss the others leaving for sector 5, ensuring his absence on the mission.
Wait… how does that make sense? Don’t the Whispers want Cloud to join them on the mission?
Tifa rushes into the room and urges Cloud to come with. There’s a myriad of whispers causing a scene with Barret and Jessie unloading streams of bullets at the pests, scaring away the confused bystanders. According to Tifa, the Whispers showed up when they tried to embark on their mission. A natural result of events not playing out as they did in the original. Cloud and Tifa need to battle their way through, twice, B-line around blockades and press on against an onslaught of Whispers.
Those battles seem very strange as the Whispers usually never harm people directly. There’s also a purple enigmatic Whisper present in the second fight, the one which pulled Tifa away from Cloud.
There seems to be a conflict of interest. Some want to prevent Cloud from going on the mission and others try to keep Barret and the others at bay until Cloud joins them.
Talk about mixed signals…
Because of that conflict, the unaffected Whispers enact plan B, shove Jessie down the stairs and damage her ankle in the process, forcing Cloud back into the team as her replacement. One Whisper also violently flies through her, either to make sure her ankle is toast or to remove the memory of them causing her to fall in the first place. More on that later. There is a clear answer to this conflict, but that’s for another time. Right now, we only focus on the Whispers.
Sector 5 Undercity
While Cloud is falling towards the sector 5 slums after the Airbuster fight, we see 3 Whispers circling around him, seemingly observing and possibly making sure he lands the same way as he did in the original. His use of the grappling gun might have changed his trajectory, prompting the Whispers to correct his falling vector before disappearing again the instant he hits the flower bed, symbolized by the petals flying by.
What’s strange, however, is the jump in time. When Cloud falls, it’s still in the middle of the night but when he wakes up, the sun is already up. You could argue that Cloud was just lying unconscious in the church until Aerith found him there. Though the way she phrases it, it can be inferred that she actually saw him flying through the roof. Due to the lack of a day and night cycle in the original, the time of day is hard to tell, though there is already daylight shining into the church.
However, Aerith says that Cloud just fell from above and that he gave her a scare, meaning it just happened in the original. In the Remake, Cloud must have been lying there for a while before Aerith found him, according to the obvious passing of time, so she’s either very perceptive or knows things. But that’s for another video.
Unless the Whispers held Cloud suspended in mid-air until dawn broke to have him crash into the church during daylight. This could explain the change from a black to a white background during the fall. It could also symbolize Cloud’s crash through the church’s roof. From a black night into a church associated with positive spiritual energy.
Shortly after introductions, Reno enters the scene and due to a different conversation, a battle between him and Cloud ensues. Upon victory, Cloud is about to finish Reno off right here and there, triggering another Whispers intervention. They prevent Cloud from killing Reno, as he’s not meant to die here, and then transport both Cloud and Aerith to the back area of the church by force, locking the door behind them. Aerith’s loose mouth incited a conflict which didn’t happen in the original and therefore led to a different outcome, summoning the Whispers to course-correct.
Inside the back area, the Whispers make sure both follow their exact preordained path and even save Aerith from falling off the crumbling balustrade. We can’t even reach the Chakra Materia for some reason. They also prevent the security officer from getting to or even shooting Aerith, as she’s not meant to be captured here. While I didn’t mind swinging to the chandelier like Sia, Vyzz is still miffed about the missing barrel mini-game. Screw hand over hand! Unless it’s with Tifa.
Afterwards, the Whispers keep funneling us towards the exit in the roof and only disappear after Reno and his cohorts leave the church and the original chain of events is restored. This sequence feels very ham-fisted in how restrictive the Whispers try to keep us on track. But due to the mixed signals, their appearance feels rather vague, still.
Battle for the Slums
For the rest of chapter 8 and all through chapters 9, 10 and 11, there are no more Whisper appearances, most likely because Aerith learned her lesson about not meddling with predetermined events. However, right at the start of chapter 12, they show up again to slow down the group, making sure they arrive at the pillar just when Wedge is about to fall. While delaying the party makes sense, attacking them, with an enigmatic specter no less, does not. On top of that, the one hit by Cloud’s sword in the cutscene does not budge and is also the one turning into the purple enigmatic specter. But more on that in another video.
The Whispers screw off and fly towards the pillar after either being beaten, or after 3 minutes of fighting. There was no time limit for the battles in chapter 4, so this supports their intervention being about timing. Still, it’s highly doubtful they need to slow down the party at all. What’s important to the continuity is activating the plate separation protocol. Not the exact timing the party reaches the pillar. We also only need to be there early enough to watch Wedge fall so that Aerith can patch him up. Biggs and Jessie would meet their end anyway no matter the exact minute of our arrival. Sure, arriving too early might provide us with an opportunity to save all 3, but if that were the case, the Whispers would just block our way into the pillar stairwell, as they did several times already. A battle near the train station is therefore pointless in that regard. On top of all of that, there’s no single indicator for us being there too early, especially after going through 2 huge dungeons with detours and 2 bosses. It just doesn’t sit right with us. This specific Whisper fight certainly bears a different meaning, but again, that’s for another video.
One interesting detail: we see 3 Whispers heading towards the pillar. Keep this number in mind. After Wedge’s fall and Aerith telling him to let Cloud handle it, we see 2 Whispers flying upwards with a 3rd one following, probably heading directly to Biggs, who is still alive and kicking, fending off Shinra guards. When we finally reach Biggs, the 2 from before are looming over him while the 3rd goes right into Cloud’s face, as if to tell him to not mess with fate and let Biggs die. Delaying Cloud by a few seconds wouldn’t do anything, so a warning seems more fitting. Then, all 3 move out of the way for Cloud to finally get to Biggs. Later, when Jessie is about to throw one of her special grenades at the flying unit, the same 3 Whispers are floating around behind her before stopping and lining up, observing intently.
When Cloud and Tifa finally reach Jessie, the same 3 Whispers are hovering above her, almost in the same position as before. They then screw off after Tifa shoves them aside. It looks like those 3 Whispers we saw fleeing from the battle earlier were the same ones ensuring Biggs’ and Jessie’s demise, as if 3 were enough for the job compared to the dozens delaying our party.
After defeating the Turks in battle, Reno is too injured to finish the job, prompting Rude to step in and press the button instead. The Whispers then try their hardest to prevent Barret and Cloud from stopping Rude, ensuring the initiation of the plate separation protocol, and thus preserving fate.
When Wedge returns home to save his cats, the Whispers appear again, but this time, there are 4 of them. 3 were looming over Biggs, 3 over Jessie and now 4 are swirling around Wedge? We’re not quite sure what that means,5 so if you have any idea, please let us know in the comments below.
What we can say is that they seem to make sure Wedge stays at the exact spot where the ground will give way upon impact of debris while also not being crushed somehow. This opens an entrance to the secret lab Deepground, where we find Wedge in chapter 13. Yes, this Deepground from Dirge of Cerberus.6 The Ultimania tells us as much.7
Underground Test Site
Since Wedge lies unconscious in the big storage room right next to the unstable floor, we think the Whispers transported him there on purpose. It’s too specific for 2 reasons. When the others find him there, they step on the unstable grates on the floor and fall to the bottom of the lab as a result, forcing them to trek through it and experience its horrors firsthand.
A man with a gun shooting his way through Deepground. This doesn’t feel like a coincidence.8
Anyway, the storage room where they find Wedge is also crawling with genetically-altered human experiments. Failed ones to be exact. This scenario looks like an elaborate plan B of the Whispers to have the party find evidence of the underground lab and human experiments which they can then use as an argument for Elmyra’s approval to save Aerith. However, Cloud starts remembering his own experimentation experience, which is why they whisk our party away quickly. But they’ve seen enough already anyway.
Although, why doesn’t Elmyra want them to save Aerith this time? She had no problem with that in the original. There,
she tells the party that Tseng came to their house to bring Aerith to Shinra after spotting her with Marlene on their way home. Aerith agreed to go with Tseng in exchange for Marlene’s safety, just like in the Remake, with the difference being that the deal and conversation happened in the presence of Elmyra.
Instead of Tseng knocking on their door in the original, Aerith went home to drop off Marlene in the Remake. This difference might have led Elmyra to be more apprehensive about the rescue mission. We therefore theorize that the Whispers intended for Wedge to die there at first but then changed their minds after Aerith changed circumstances.
Shinra HQ Laboratories
It takes 3 full chapters until the next encounter with the Whispers. Even if certain details during those chapters change, none of those are of any significance to the main chain of events. Now along comes Hojo, who recognizes Cloud after a moment of contemplation. This makes Hojo almost drop the bombshell that Cloud was never in SOLDIER, the actual big revelation in the story, but is then cut off by an army of Whispers which carry him away from the conversation. It’s very strange that nobody brings up this scene ever again. Keep this in mind for the summary later.
Their next appearance happens shortly after in Aerith’s room. This segment operates as the information dump and revelation about the Whispers’ nature and purpose. Aerith’s opposition to Barret’s new plan calls them forth to observe the situation, ready to step in at any point should our heroes decide the wrong course of action. At first sight, it seems that Barret staying behind runs counter to the original path. However, I’m pretty sure that Tifa and Red XIII would have joined him and Cloud would have escorted Aerith. Why? In the German translation, which is much closer to the original Japanese script, Barret tells Cloud directly to get Aerith out of here while he tells everyone to do so in the English version.
Furthermore, instead of “you can’t do that” in the English version, Aerith tells Barret that “it’s not like he thinks it is” which implies that she’s about to tell the truth, what she actually tries to do in a moment. This means that Aerith’s intervention is the actual deviation, especially since the Whispers appeared after her line and not Barret’s.
Their appearance also interrupts the conversation, leading Red XIII to drop some knowledge about the Whispers, which he previously acquired through Aerith’s touch. One line in the English translation is a bit misleading, however:
Red XIII: “For it is the will of the planet.”
The Japanese and German versions tell a different story. In German, Red XIII says:
“Yes, the planet will perish not long from now.”
In Japanese, he says something like:
“Yeah, the planet is about to lose its energy.”
This is most likely referring to the corruption by Jenova and Sephiroth which has to be contained on this planet to prevent the corruption from spreading into the cosmic Lifestream.
Right after, Aerith tries to tell the others that Shinra is not the real enemy. Her main reason for preventing Barret from going after them. However, the rest of the group is not supposed to know that yet. That’s where the Whispers start enacting their purpose and try to prevent Aerith from spilling the beans by ferociously circling around her, more and more until it’s too much for Aerith to bear. Only Tifa’s intervention of pulling Aerith out and telling her that they’ll find a way out together finally eases the situation and causes the Whispers to go away.
Shinra HQ Floor 70
While we’re good for now, it’s not long before the Whispers are summoned again, but this time, Sephiroth is involved. To Barret, Sephiroth becomes the bigger threat after he stabs the previous root of all evil. So, he tries to shoot Sephiroth, which wasn’t part of the original timeline. We assume the Whispers immediately intervene as Barret will come out short or even dead from this confrontation. However, Sephiroth phases through the Whispers and kills Barret anyway. This clearly shows their waning power of influence, especially around Sephiroth.
Nonetheless, one of the Whispers initiates resuscitation as Barret is not supposed to die here. It also looks like it uses Lifestream energy to bring Barret back. Sleepezi had an interesting thought that the one saving Barret’s life was in fact the soul of Biggs. Though, Vyzz personally would go for Jessie.
When Sephiroth walks up to the president’s desk, the other Whispers swirl around him, trying to prevent him from changing the events even further, but Sephiroth just dismisses them with a single sword swipe. Their temporary absence provides Sephiroth with an opportunity to initiate this new Jenova battle without the Whispers’ interference, even though this was not supposed to happen here. On the other hand, this battle might not have any influence on the subsequent events, which could also explain the Whispers’ absence.
However, since the current situation seems unstable as anyone could try and change anything at any moment, several Whispers start swirling around the top of the Shinra building to observe.
When Cloud gets close to Sephiroth, who is standing on top of the building, holding Jenova’s body in his arms, the Whispers prevent Cloud from reaching Sephiroth as their confrontation is not supposed to happen here. This allows experiment number 2—after being let go of Sephiroth’s control—to jump off the building with Jenova still in his arms, followed by the Whispers, ensuring Jenova’s escape, as preordained.
The threat to the timeline still exists it seems, as the Whispers are still circling the helipad, just like before. They’re observing, making sure that nobody tries to pull anything.
Highway Chase
Before the actual escape on the highway begins, our party stops in their tracks as Red XIII and Barret notice the huge amount of Whispers circling and enveloping the Shinra tower from below. Hmm… where have we seen this before? In Advent Children, after Kadaj destroys the flower bed in the church. There, a water fountain, teeming with Lifestream energy and thus having cleansing properties, erupts in the very same shape and form!
It expunges Cloud’s Geostigma infection and visibly hurts Kadaj, an embodiment of negative Lifestream. This tells us that the Lifestream, which the Whispers are made of, tries to cleanse a contamination. Geostigma in Advent Children, and the attempt of trying to change fate in the Remake.
Some stragglers are flying through the building itself, too, which can only be seen by Rufus but not Tseng. How and why has Rufus the sight? Let’s examine that towards the end.
During the party’s escape, the Whispers help them out, twice, to ensure they reach the end of the highway. One time to prevent the tunnel ceiling from burying them alive and the other time to not have them burned to a crisp by the chopper’s explosion, caused by Cloud of all people.
End of the Highway
When Sephiroth appears again at the very end of the highway, the Whispers suddenly spread out all over Midgar and build a de facto dome over it, containing those who seek to defy fate. Right when Sephiroth says “Listen… Destiny comes.” he directly tells the group to listen to the cries of the Planet, screaming from the pain inflicted by Sephiroth and Jenova. Sephiroth doesn’t have anyone dear to him and he doesn’t care about anyone but himself, which is why he doesn’t hear the cries of the planet, while the others still do.
Aerith: “What you heard just now were the voices of the planet. […] They’re howling in pain. […] They… their words…they don’t reach him. […] …they’re like rain rolling off his back… And when they’re gone, he won’t cry…or shout…or anything.“
—Excerpts from Aerith’s explanation after the scene with Zack and her healing the portal.
By the way, do you remember the cries of the Planet? That’s a recurring concept in the original, as well as the compilation. It can therefore be surmised that the Whispers are essentially the cries of the Planet personified, making them nothing entirely new but a known concept expanded upon. Each Whisper would then represent a single soul from the Lifestream, many of which possibly corrupted and thus an easy target for a hostile takeover by Sephiroth.
When our party hears the cries of the planet, they most likely receive a glimpse of a memory. Notice the purple and white streaks plus the other effects? Those signify memories being injected into the minds of the party. According to their reaction and with logic applied, only Aerith sees the Zack flashback while the others probably see the memory of someone else dear and connected to them. Cloud is not supposed to see or remember Zack and neither are Barret nor Red XIII as they have no connection to Zack at all. While Tifa does, she’s more likely to see her father or mother.
Furthermore, the camera focuses only on Aerith after the scene and nobody mentions anything afterwards. Though this might indicate that nobody but Aerith actually saw something. While Cloud is being focused on before the scene starts, it’s more likely that they did this purely for thematic purposes. Zack is very important to both Aerith and Cloud.
We can also see a few Whispers swirling around the characters, possibly the souls of the people they are going to see or feel while the planet is screaming.
The most interesting bit of this flashback scene is the Whisper dome over Midgar, which should not exist there as this happens days or even weeks before.9 When reading the Whisper Harbinger’s enemy intel description, it says that it is connected to all threads of time and space that shape the planet’s fate. This is part of the explanation why we also see the Whisper dome in this mysterious scene with Zack. However, covering this properly itself fills an entire video, so we’ll skip this for now.
This first part of the scene before the first gun barrel appears is a new addition when comparing it to Crisis Core. Still, Zack does not see the Whispers as his reaction would be vastly different otherwise.
But why are we shown this specific scene of Zack and not something else? Because this point in time is the key event for Cloud to become what and be where he is now. Without Zack dying there, Cloud would still be in a quasi-vegetative state with Tifa looking after him and Zack would probably be the one being hired as the merc for AVALANCHE in Cloud’s place. This is why the choice of showing this specific scene is so powerful when we finally do see Zack alive during the ending.
Another reason is that Zack represents a very important figure for both Cloud and Aerith in multiple ways, which is also why the camera focuses on Cloud before and on Aerith after the scene. Zack is what Cloud never managed to become—a SOLDIER 1st Class, like Sephiroth. Picking up Zack’s torch and embodying his living legacy is what essentially saves Cloud’s life and sanity.
Zack was also the one giving Aerith the experience of a first love and on top of that planting the idea of selling the flowers, which eventually brought her to meet Cloud and join him on this fateful journey.
Additionally, we can spot 4 Whispers flying about the battlefield and we’re certain they weren’t there during the original game and Crisis Core because those never had to deal with fate-altering forces. But why do they decide to appear now? Unfortunately, this discussion is too big and complex for this video, so we’ll save that for the ending analysis.
Just a small teaser: we believe that the Whispers are not there to ensure Zack’s death but to make sure he survives, completely counter to their nature. Now that’s something to chew on.
After all of this, Sephiroth opens a purple colored portal on the inner surface of the Whisper dome. It’s strange that the Whispers prevent the group from escaping Midgar all of a sudden, especially with Sephiroth being there now while he wasn’t in the original story. Either the Whispers want the group to get rid of the Sephiroth we see here as he poses a great threat to fate, or the Planet is not in full control of the Whispers anymore. Sephiroth is a master manipulator. So, it’s not hard to believe that he orchestrated this event to lead the group into the realm of the Whispers and have them get rid of fate, thus releasing him from his shackles.
Singularity
Once within the realm of the Whispers, the Singularity—possibly an area within the Lifestream—the big entity called Harbinger forms itself from countless individual Whispers, revealing the true form of fate. The Harbinger tries hard to keep us away, first by whisking us away with those tornadoes and then by throwing debris and buildings towards Cloud.
Notice those memory streaks we established earlier. It copies several pieces of the highway like the cranes in this shot and a street segment in the next one to then hurl them towards Cloud. That’s also why the entirety of the image of Midgar remains intact, despite the Harbinger throwing numerous pieces of debris. How is this possible? We theorize that the image of Midgar in the Singularity has been constructed from memory. But again, that’s a subject for another video.
Once we get close enough, the battle starts, where the Harbinger sends entities from a future point in time to protect the fate ordained by the planet. Well, not the actual entities, but essences of those represented by a smaller accumulation of Whispers. We will get into their true nature in a separate video when talking about Sephiroth.
At certain points during the battle, Whisper Harbinger executes actions called Reformation, Correction, Inviolate, Indomitable and Intercession, which sound like names connected to the plot. However, the German names for those actions, which are direct translations from the Japanese original, are Diastrophism, Current of Destiny, Flames of Purgatory, Wandering Thunderstorm and Grand Damnation.
Diastrophism describes all processes that move, elevate, or build up portions of the earth's crust and is derived from the Greek word for distortion or dislocation. While we can see parallels between the different localizations, especially Diastrophism and Reformation, it seems like all those attacks are merely thematically relevant. Flames of Purgatory and Wandering Thunderstorm—or Inviolate and Indomitable in English—are the only attacks attributed with a fitting element.
Interestingly, Diastrophism is connected to earth and Current of Destiny to water, 2 elements not represented in this game, hence the missing elemental attribute. Both do exist in the original game, however.
Grand Damnation would be either neutral or connected to the darkness element. The latter presents some credibility as the demo version did contain a darkness element, at least in the icon key list. It looks like the Harbinger was meant to wield all 5 elements with Wandering Thunderstorm representing air instead of thunder.
The Godai, the 5 elements in Japanese alchemy, encompass air, water, earth, fire, and void. This applies to other cultures as well, like Greece, Tibet, Hinduism and Buddhism. The 5th one, void, being the only differing element in name. Some call it aether, akasha or even metal.
On another note, when the Harbinger uses Correction—also known as Current of Destiny—we see particles concentrating around its purple heart, as if it tries to correct what’s stirring inside. Again, that’s for another video.
During the fight, defeating a smaller Whisper enemy knocks a limb off the big Whisper Harbinger and each time, we are shown a glimpse of the ordained future. Most glimpses are directly taken from the movie Advent Children, just touched up a bit. According to Red XIII, those depict their future if they fail today, giving the party more incentives to defy destiny, which is in fact Sephiroth’s goal, hinting at those glimpses being sent by Sephiroth himself. This makes sense, as his shackles are temporarily weakened when the Harbinger gets damaged.
And again, we see those white-purple memory streaks accompanied by green Lifestream each time.
After chipping away at the Harbinger several times, it eventually isn’t able to reform itself and its 3 helpers anymore and it seems we’ve finally won.
Sephiroth
This is when the memory of the approaching Meteor from the original ending forms out of Whispers and Sephiroth is shown being held in place with chain-like threads. However, Sephiroth seems to now have the upper hand, absorbs all Whispers and therefore also the chains and the image of Meteor before he initiates the actual final battle.
In his final phase, he summons a Meteor made of Whisper essence and memories, according to the purple-white streaks. This dissipates again, after Sephiroth is defeated. He then sends more Whispers towards the party as a final effort. Alas, it’s in vain. Or is it? Cloud performs the final blow which causes the Whispers to try and resist one last time before being completely eliminated in a final explosion of purple and white light.
After a few scenes, we see Zack again witnessing this explosion from the outside in the past and only a shower of golden light remains. This can be seen from inside Midgar in the current time as well.
And henceforth, the Weapon created by the planet to preserve its preordained future no longer exists and is thus unable to correct future deviations from the ordained path. Or so it seems.
Now, the unknown journey begins.
Summary
Alright, we’ll admit: this breakdown of all Whisper appearances throughout the game was quite messy. So, let’s summarize everything neatly and concisely by returning to our initial questions.
Nature & Purpose
What exactly are they and what’s their purpose?
The Whispers are entities sent by the planet to protect its ordained path from inception to oblivion. The planet has a plan for itself and all life on it and won’t allow any change of events which cause deviations from said path. The planet therefore uses souls from the Lifestream to ensure the main chain of events stays intact.
They’re essentially the time police, which also explains why only a small portion of the souls in the Lifestream are even assigned to fate-guarding duty.
The question is, why is everything ordained? What’s the planet’s ultimate endgame? After watching Sleepezi’s “The Structure of 5” videos, which connect the original and its compilation to the Remake, I think we have a good answer for that. However, there would be too much to go through, so you’re better off watching his videos yourself. We’ll also go more into this topic in a future video10.
Awakening & Modus Operandi
Why do they appear in the first place and how do they operate?
The first time they appear, the Whispers try to correct the disruption caused by Sephiroth’s appearance in Cloud’s mind which led to him taking a detour and being late. That’s why they needed to ensure Cloud and Aerith meet and, due to their prolonged conversation, make sure that Cloud still catches the train the other AVALANCHE members are on.
Afterwards, they appear each time a major event is about to be altered and correct any changes that may occur. Sometimes, they just observe, either before or after. But, most of the time, they directly intervene and either block the path, transport people to somewhere else or otherwise prevent harm that’s not supposed to happen.
Conversely, they don’t give a lab rat dog’s butt about smaller insignificant changes, such as visiting Jessie’s parents, doing more side-quests in the slums, or entering the Shinra building through the garage. Those examples lead to the very same outcome anyway and therefore don’t trigger the Whispers at all.
While we fight against them in battle 3 times during the game, we won’t cover these here as those encounters have far deeper implications, so please look forward to a future video.11
Abilities & Limits
What are their abilities and limits?
Generally, they don’t have that many abilities, but it seems to suffice for their task.
They can act as a roadblock or move people or objects around.
Still, they are able to phase through everything and become corporeal at will.
They can also give life by injecting Lifestream into another lifeform.
Furthermore, they’re able to take memories from people or even copy physical objects created from memory, like when the Harbinger assembles pieces of the highway area to hurl towards Cloud.
We have many more examples of people losing memories, so let’s have a look at those.
It seems like Jessie loses her memory of the Whispers before we see her again in chapter 12. She doesn’t seem to notice them hovering above her before Tifa and Cloud arrive. At least she doesn’t mention anything of the sort. This might also be due to her condition. She only cares about spending her last breaths with beloved people before passing on. Still, she could have made at least a comment in relation to them injuring her in chapter 4.
When you talk to Jessie a few times inside Seventh Heaven, she says that if she didn’t know better, she would have thought those things were after her. So, she definitely was aware of their existence contrary to her claim of having two left feet when she was clearly pushed down the stairs by one of the Whispers. We assume that the one flying through her at the end took away her memory of that act, which is why she claimed to be a klutz instead.
In chapter 13, Barret, Tifa and Cloud all feel dazed after being transported back up to the surface after having seen the human experiments. Barret and Tifa immediately look after Wedge and Biggums while Cloud tries to piece together the previous moments until he, too, gets distracted by Tifa and Wedge’s cat.
Barret and Tifa seem to only feel dazed by the transportation itself and didn’t lose any memories. They all still remember the human experiments when talking to Elmyra. Even Cloud. This serves as their main argument for rescuing Aerith, after all. This means, Cloud only lost the remembrance of his real self and other Nibelheimians being tested on but still remembers the visuals of the test tubes containing humans and beasts alike.
Towards the end of chapter 16, Hojo almost spills the beans about Cloud’s real past. Interestingly, he only smiles after saying it in the English version while he keeps talking during Cloud’s memory suppression in the German version, possibly spelling it out for everyone, which would be catastrophic.
However, it doesn’t matter as the Whispers carry Hojo away and remove the previous minute or so from his memory. After this, we see him lurching and dazed, and he never mentions this encounter again. Neither does the party, by the way. Though, it’s possible that Aerith tells the others to not believe a word that scumbag Hojo utters and that he loves to screw with people as it’s all an experiment to him.
Shortly after, in her room at Shinra HQ, Aerith laments over losing pieces of herself when the Whispers touch her, most likely referring to losing the additional memories she acquired at the start of the game. More on that in a separate video.
That’s about it for their abilities. Regarding limitations, they do seem to not be able to directly harm people. Yes, those in the Whisper battles do attack, but those are a special case as they are being puppeteered by another entity. But that, again, is beyond the scope of this video.12
Also, they can be dismissed or even slain by physical objects and weapons as seen in chapter 2, during battles, and in president Shinra’s office.
Visibility
Why can some people see them while others cannot?
As described in the Ultimania,13 it depends on the person, or if someone comes into physical contact with a special individual. This sounds like certain people can see the Whispers by nature, while normal people might gain the sight as well when being physically touched by such a special individual.
In a recent Interview published by Famitsu,14 Nomura tells us that those who have been touched by Aerith can see the Whispers, or Feelers, as they’re called in the Japanese version. However, how and why she starts seeing them remains a mystery for now. Connecting this with the information from the Ultimania, it’s clear that Aerith is such a special individual and that her touch can give the sight to others, too.
This explanation alone is far from satisfying as it doesn’t explain why Barret, Tifa, and Jessie can also see them. Not to mention Rufus, as well!15 None of them have come into contact with Aerith before they first see the Whispers. That’s why we’re now going to try and infer more rules from the events within the game itself and connect the dots.
Aerith and Cloud both gain the sight when she grabs his arm, seeking help against the invisible attackers. Before that, she blindly flails around with her arms, twice. After grabbing Cloud’s arm, however, she follows them with her eyes, having calmed down, but still being apprehensive. Before that, she does thank Cloud for scaring these things away, which could indicate that she had the sight even before. Still, her reaction does not look like she sees or knows what she’s dealing with. At most, she can feel the presence of souls from the Lifestream due to her Cetra heritage, which is why she’s the only one reacting to them even without the sight unlike everyone else who shows no reaction whatsoever.
Hang on… Another interview? …Nojima said what? We have new information folks. In the Interview with Kitase, Nomura and Nojima taken from the Ultimania, Nojima provides an interesting answer for the question why Aerith runs from something in the intro. He says:
Kazushige Nojima: “She felt the presence of the Whispers and wanted to run away from them. Perhaps it’s because Aerith had several bad experiences with the Whispers up until then?”16
Huh, so this is not her first encounter with the Whispers? He doesn’t specify whether she saw them before or only felt their presence, so we will maintain our current theory that she and Cloud see them for the first time together. In general, she usually feels otherworldly entities instead of seeing them as we learn from Elmyra and see in the Train Graveyard. She doesn’t see what the others don’t, but she can sense what others don’t.
But why would she even feel their presence in the alleyway? We have a theory about that, but that’s for the video about Aerith. Another question is, why would she have encountered the Whispers even before that? Don’t they only start interfering once Sephiroth begins his string of changes which technically start in Mako Storage? Looks like we need to wait until the next game to learn more, as anything else would be wild speculation at this point.
Moving on.
In chapter 12, Wedge is also able to see the Whispers while trying to save his cats. Earlier, he’s been patched up and even inspired by Aerith. While it’s not as clear-cut in this scene, he can definitely see the Whispers in chapter 17 before they chuck him out of the window. They also wouldn’t have any reason to show themselves to him, which is why we believe he can see them through Aerith’s touch. However, we don’t see Aerith deliberately touching Wedge like she does with Red XIII, so it’s also possible that the Whispers do show themselves deliberately to him. But why? There’s no reason. That’s why we still believe Aerith’s touch granted Wedge the sight.
In chapter 16, Hojo notices this fascinating phenomenon as evidenced by his line starting before the Whispers even reach him. We don’t see it on screen, but it’s highly possible that he and Aerith have had some sort of physical contact after her recent return to Shinra HQ. Red XIII is also touched by Aerith and even receives vital knowledge about the Whispers’ nature, granting him the sight this way.
All of this is still in line with the official information. However, towards the end of chapter 4, a myriad of Whispers appear and harass Barret, Tifa and Jessie, preventing them from going on the mission without Cloud. Those 3 can clearly see them, too, without having been physically touched by Aerith.
Although, all 3 have come into contact with Cloud prior to receiving the sight.
Barret shoves Cloud aside near the start of the game and even angrily pushes him away in chapter 3 after Marlene hid away scared of Cloud’s evil SOLDIER eyes.
In the same chapter, Tifa takes Cloud by his hand, to pull him away from Biggs and Wedge and out of the room.
Cloud helps Jessie up during their escape from reactor 1, twice, she touches his hand when giving him the Healing Materia later, hugs him constantly during the Mad Dash, and again when he visits her after the mission.
Does Cloud also count as a special individual? The problem with this hypothesis is that not everyone who comes into physical contact with him gains the sight, notably Biggs, Reno and Rude.
Biggs grabs Cloud’s arm to pull him away from the old guard AVALANCHE members in chapter 4 during their mission to retrieve the weaker blasting agent.
Reno and Rude both battle Cloud in a duel in chapter 8 and fight against him, Barret and Tifa in chapter 12. Therefore, they likely experience physical contact with Cloud.
Yet, none of them react to the Whispers. Reno in the Church in chapter 8, Biggs before he passes out on the pillar in chapter 12, and Rude and Reno before initiating the Plate Separation Program shortly after. Which is strange as both Reno and Rude certainly have come into physical contact with Aerith at some point, too. In the fight against Rude in chapter 8, he sometimes attacks Aerith physically to knock her out but not always, as he usually casts Sleep on her as soon as you switch control to Aerith. So, depending on how you go about this battle, he might not physically touch her at all.
It’s also possible that Aerith needs to actively transfer the ability to see the Whispers through memory induction, like she does with Red XIII, Marlene and even the Portal at the end of the highway. But that’s for another time.
While you can make the argument that Biggs, Reno and Rude do see the Whispers but for some reason don’t react, this is highly unlikely as in all other instances, the game makes a great effort in showing us who sees them and who doesn’t. For example, Cloud, Aerith, and the Security Officers in chapter 2, Cloud and the disgruntled man admiring the pillar in chapter 3, Rufus and Tseng in chapter 18 and so on.
Speaking of Rufus, he does get physical with Cloud in their duel in chapter 17 prior to seeing the Whispers in chapter 18. He does not seem to notice or see them swirling around the helipad where he has the confrontation with Cloud. At least in this instance, it seems that the physical contact with Cloud had an effect. However, being touched by Cloud is not displayed as a consistent catalyst for receiving the sight, unlike being touched by Aerith.
If we dismiss Cloud’s touch as one of the ways to receive the sight, how can Barret, Tifa and Jessie see them? Cloud hypothesizes in chapter 4 that physically touching the Whispers makes them visible. But this one can be easily debunked as we never see characters touching the whispers before being able to see them and those who do come into contact with them still don’t gain the sight, like the Security Guard being tightly circled by a Whisper, the man admiring the sector 7 pillar or the Security Officer who tries to grab Aerith in the church but can’t physically get to her due to the Whisper barricade.
So, what’s left? For a while, Vyzz theorized that people responsible for fate-threatening events gain the ability to see the Whispers. But upon further reflection, that doesn’t make any sense either. Barret, Tifa and Jessie don’t purposefully try to change fate. Stuff just happens differently—sometimes caused by a certain someone who wasn’t supposed to appear in this part of the story, at all. For example, Cloud sleeps in because of his influence, Wedge survives the fall thanks to the grappling gun which wasn’t in the original, and Rufus doesn’t even do anything differently to warrant gaining the sight.
Just being a part of a fate-threatening event also doesn’t work as Reno and Rude both fit the bill in this regard but never gain the sight. Rufus also isn’t part of such an event but still sees them.
With all that being said, here’s our new hypothesis for how people gain the ability to see the Whispers. They decide—or rather the planet decides for them—when to become visible to certain individuals if deemed necessary to preserve fate. Let me explain.
Neither Aerith nor Cloud sees the Whispers before their meeting as the Whispers only need to make sure they meet. Sephiroth is the reason for Cloud’s delay, not Cloud or Aerith. The reason for the second Whisper appearance is to forcefully break Cloud and Aerith up, ensuring Cloud catches the same train AVALANCHE is on. But instead of running away, Aerith grabs Cloud’s arm for help. This is the exact opposite of what the Whispers want, so they show themselves in order to manipulate Cloud into protecting Aerith. This causes enough of a ruckus to lure the nearby security officers to them, turning them into the perfect tool to finally separate Cloud and Aerith and force Cloud to retreat.
In chapter 4, letting Barret, Jessie and Tifa repeatedly run into invisible walls wouldn’t do the job. Instead, the Whispers make themselves visible to pose as an enemy for them to fight until Cloud arrives. Then, they injure Jessie, forcing Cloud back into the mission in her place. Apparently, Jessie and Wedge are not instrumental in the mission, at least not to preserve the crucial events like fighting Airbuster and Cloud falling into Aerith’s church as a result.
As a side note, it looks like once a person gains the sight, they don’t lose it again unless the Whispers deem it necessary, like in Jessie’s and Hojo’s case. Anyway, with this hypothesis in mind, let’s go back to Rufus as he’s the only one who neither touched Aerith nor partook in a fate-threatening event warranting their appearance. The Whispers showing themselves to Rufus like this out of the blue in chapter 18 can only mean that the planet needs to influence Rufus somehow. He has achieved his goal and can now take over the company. Still, as soon as he sees the Whispers, he acts puzzled and broody, not like a newly appointed president of a world monopoly who just achieved a major life goal he’s been working towards for decades. He completely lost the superior and cocky demeanor he put on display before. He also looks very contemplative when sitting down on Shinra’s throne which is now his.
Also worth noting are those few Whisper stragglers floating through the foyer on floor 69, which seems too specific. All the other Whispers are busy circling the building. Why would a few be randomly floating though it and only where Rufus is walking? Those stragglers also disappear once Rufus finishes descending the stairs and has a clear view to the outside, as if they wanted him to see the spectacle from within.
Are they somehow trying to prepare him for something by telling him that there’s more to his future than the company and Sephiroth? Maybe some sort of failsafe in case Sephiroth wins and removes Whispers and Harbinger by manipulating the protagonists? In any case, we don’t think we can deduce the ramifications and meaning of Rufus being able to see the Whispers at this point.
As an aside, in Sleepezi’s video series “The Structure of 5”, he theorizes that Rufus could be half-Cetra, like Aerith, and thus being her half-brother. If you want to know more, watch that video series. It’s well worth your time. While that theory sounds intriguing, it doesn’t really fit the depictions of events shown and rules established in the first part of this Final Fantasy VII Remake project. Remember, Aerith can only feel the Whispers’ presence but not see them, at least before they decide to show themselves. Afterwards, she’s then able to pass on the sight as seen with Wedge and Red XIII and arguably Cloud. While it’s possible the Whispers make themselves visible, it’s Aerith’s determination to not leave Cloud that summons them, so we can also argue Cloud gains the sight through her touch.
To summarize:
Aerith can feel the Whispers but does not see them automatically.
The Whispers show themselves on their own terms and only do so if they deem it necessary in their effort to preserve the ordained fate.
After Aerith gains the sight, she can pass it on to others, just like knowledge and memories.
The ability to see the Whispers remains indefinitely unless they decide to take away the memory related to the sight.
Whisper Harbinger
What does the big Whisper Harbinger represent?
In short, it’s the combined force of the Whispers who form the body of the Harbinger. You probably want me to talk about the 3 smaller ones as well, but those are for another video as their nature and implication would go too far for this one.
The Harbinger itself can be considered a Weapon created by the Planet, like those we see and fight in the original. But unlike those, the Harbinger serves another purpose. According to its enemy intel description, it is tied to all threads of time and space which form the planet’s fate. When looking at its model, those glowing threads in its torso and along its arms certainly aren’t just an artistic choice. Furthermore, most of those threads are connected to its purple heart. However, that’s not a normal heart. It’s a prison. One to contain the biggest threat to the planet.
This is what Sephiroth wants us to destroy, as he himself cannot. He’s the biggest threat to the planet and the Lifestream. Him and Jenova. This is why the Harbinger keeps reforming itself from still remaining Whispers, to keep the prison intact. In the very last battle phase, it’s this heart that gets exposed and which we have to attack in order to defeat the Harbinger. When we finally do, we see the purple heart shatter and in the very next scene, Sephiroth is free, absorbs the remaining Whispers as well as the memory of Meteor, and is finally reborn.
This is a very short summary, but we’ll go into more detail regarding Sephiroth in another video. Promise.
Aftermath
What are the repercussions of their demise?
We’ll talk about the ending and what the heck happens there in detail in a separate video, but the gist of it is that Sephiroth is not bound by destiny anymore and is therefore not doomed to lose against Cloud over and over again. At least that’s what he’s hoping for. The main threat now is the possibility that Sephiroth eventually manages to take control over all of the Lifestream energy and absconds with it into space, bringing the Jenova contaminants with him into the cosmic Lifestream, which is what the planet tried to prevent in the first place.
On the other side of the coin, our party isn’t bound by fate anymore either and are therefore still capable of thwarting Sephiroth’s plans.
There’s so much more to talk about regarding this but that would be too much for this video. If you can’t wait for more information about this, I again direct you to watch Sleepezi’s video series “The Structure of 5”.
Closing Thoughts
Now, what do we think about the addition of the Whispers and fate? Frankly, We’re torn. For one, they’re an interesting addition to the lore and help this first entry to feel like a complete package rather than just one part of a bigger project. They help justify Sephiroth’s earlier and numerous appearances, as well. Their inclusion and destruction also introduce a plot device which blows the lid wide open regarding what to expect of future entries. It’s great for theory crafting and keeps the fanbase talking until the next game is out.
On the other hand, their addition is… questionable. At least for a normal remake. The developers could have changed things and expanded upon certain segments without having to insert an in-lore explanation or McGuffin. Still, their decision to do so is commendable, especially since it’s not a normal remake anyway but rather a sequel disguised as a remake. Why, you ask? We’ll answer this question in an upcoming video.
Outro
And with this closing statement also ends our analysis for today. If you enjoyed your time and were able to learn something new, leave a like and have a look at further support options in the description.
Do you still have unanswered questions? Leave a comment or ask away on our Discord server.
In our upcoming analysis, we’ll take a close look on Aerith’s additional knowledge and boy is that going to be a doozie! So, if you haven’t already, subscribe and select all notifications to not miss out on it.
But before I let you go; we want to express our gratitude to the rest of the Final Fantasy VII Remake community for their contribution to theory crafting. This helped tremendously with refining our understanding of this gigantic mystery box.
Thank you so much for joining us today and we hope to see you again in the next one.
Stay safe and take care!
Kutakuma, signing off.
Next entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake mystery series:
Buy the Japanese version on aitaikuji.com or read the unofficial English translation on shinraarcheology.com (PDF).
Japanese spelling of “Feeler“ in Katakana:「フィーラー」(Rōmaji: fiiraa)
German: “Hast du etwa ‘ne Mako-Vergiftung?“ — Translation: “Do you have Mako poisoning?“
Being subjected to Mako showers, experiments, and spending a lot of time in a tank full of that stuff for 4 whole years will leave a mark on almost anybody.
We talk about instances in which 4 Whisper are present in Game Analysis #26 (timestamped) and all of them are connected to events critical to the original continuity. It’s either crucial to correct the deviation or to create one to correct another event further down the line, like in the case of Wedge surviving longer.
Read surface-level descriptions on Deepground in the official Dirge of Cerberus Complete Guide Term List — translated by thelifestream.net. The article The Darkness of Shinra provides a deep-dive into Deepground.
“Incidentally, information regarding Shinra's underground testing facility, commonly referred to as Deepground, is handled with the utmost discretion, and even at Shinra, only a very select few know of its existence.“ — Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania book, page 66. See unofficial English translation on shinraarcheology.com (PDF)
It’s not a coincidence. That’s exactly what happens in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- but we play as Vincent Valentine instead of Barret Wallace.
2-3 months, actually. Zack’s last stand happened in September 0007 and the first bombing mission was carried out on December 9 0007 (see timeline)
Both Game Analysis #24 (Aerith’s Secret) and #26 (Sephiroth’s Endgame) tackle this topic.
Sephiroth is very much connected to every battle against the Whispers. See Game Analysis #26 for more information.
Again, more on that in Game Analysis #26.
Material Ultimania Plus, actually. Audrey @aitaikimochi translated Toriyama’s answer about who can see the Whispers.
Nomura: “People can see the Whispers when they come into contact with Aerith. However, at the moment I am unable to tell you when Aerith started seeing them.” — Read the translated interview in full on Audrey’s Tumbler page.
According to co-director Motomu Toriyama, gaining the sight also depends on the capability of changing fate. AVALANCHE (Tifa, Barret, Wedge, and Jessie) and Rufus might fit the bill and all of them came into contact with Cloud. Biggs, Reno and Rude apparently do not.
You can find the full interview translated into English on Audrey’s Tumbler page and in the unofficial English version created and localized by the Shinra Archeology Department on book page 746 or PDF page 237.
The thought that comes to me, in regards to the Whisper that saved Barrett, is that it’s the soul of his dead wife Myrna. That was my immediate thought, and and I still think that (and will until proven otherwise).