Final Fantasy 7 Remake isn’t just a reimagining of the original game, but it’s instead a way of integrating many of the spinoffs Square Enix has created over the years. From the larger role given to Zack Fair, to the appearance of the Dirge of Cerberus villain Nero, the Remake project has ambitiously tried to tie everything together. Fascinatingly, though, one of the spinoffs used the most in Remake is the obscure novel Final Fantasy 7 The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story. A new screenshot released by Square Enix for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth suggests the novel could be essential reading.
The screenshot in question was released as part of Game Informer’s cover story on Rebirth and features Kyrie Canaan, a returning character from Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Kyrie, one of two main characters in The Kids Are Alright, is a young girl who runs a detective agency in the slums of Midgar. The screenshot shows Cloud interacting with Kyrie in what looks to be an office, indicating that she could be busy with her detective agency.
Where things get interesting, however, is when you factor in the second main character of the novel, a clumsy young man named Evan Townshend. In The Kids Are Alright, Evan inadvertently ends up meeting Kyrie and becomes partners with her at the agency, taking on a variety of jobs around Midgar. These jobs also lead them to meet Leslie Kyle, another major side character from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, who works as Don Corneo’s right-hand man.
The crux of the novel, however, revolves around a shocking secret that Evan uncovers: he’s the illegitimate child of President Shinra. After learning this, Evan becomes entangled with the Turks and ends up witnessing the birth of Kadaj and his gang, the villains from Advent Children.
Yes, it’s all a little convoluted, but the novel holds some huge details about the larger world of Final Fantasy 7, and it’s extremely curious that two of its biggest side characters appear have appeared in Remake, and now Rebirth.
Kyrie starting her agency could indicate that Evan will be the next character to appear, which could tie into a more expanded story for Shinra. Adding to that, creative director Tetsuya Nomura told Inverse earlier this year that Rufus Shinra would have “new episodes” that didn’t exist in the original game. Those new episodes could easily feature Rufus finding out about Evan and having to grapple with someone else who could take the Shinra mantle.
In another interview, Nomura also confirmed that the Remake trilogy would “link up” with Advent Children. Considering The Kids Are Alright dives into the origins of Kadaj, it would only make sense that Rebirth and the next game integrate more elements from the novel. Everything from Remake, and now Rebirth, suggests that this novel is practically essential reading if you want to further understand the story. Luckily, it’s also a breezy but fun read in and of itself, penned by Kazushige Nojima, the scenario writer of both the original Final Fantasy 7 and Remake trilogy.
If you want to understand the entire picture of Final Fantasy 7, it’s the utmost recommendation to read The Kids Are Alright, which has been translated into English and is easily bought from online retailers like Amazon. Interestingly, it’s also not the only Final Fantasy novel that could have ramifications for the games, as Traces of Two Pasts released earlier this year and dives into the history of both Aerith and Tifa, which we’ve also talked about in-depth.
