Final Fantasy VII Remake has the chance to feature characters from the spin-off games and movies that have been released over the years, but it seems that only characters from the Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story novel will appear in the game.
Final Fantasy VII was originally intended to be a standalone game, as all Final Fantasy titles were up to that point. The incredible success and iconic status of the game led to several prequels and sequels that spanned different forms of media. The quality of these products never quite matched that of Final Fantasy VII itself, but they were popular nonetheless.
Final Fantasy VII Remake co-director Tetsuya Nomura was recently interviewed by Famitsu and he was asked about the possibility of characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII appearing in the game. According to Nomura, the characters from the Compilation will be mentioned, but none will appear, with the exception of at least one character from The Kids Are Alright novel.
The Kids Are Alright is a novel that follows a new cast of characters during the events of Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. The character who is most likely to appear in Final Fantasy VII Remake is Evan Townshend, as he is the illegitimate son of President Shinra and is confirmed to be in Midgar when the Sector 7 plate falls. Evan's love interest, Kyrie, could also appear, as she is from a family of con-artists who operate in Midgar. It's possible that Cloud could run into both of them in the game. For a more detailed breakdown of The Kids Are Alright, check out our retrospective here.
The good news is that Genesis from Crisis Core has been banished to obscurity where he belongs, assuming Nomura isn't being deceptive in the interview. The Kids Are Alright is one of the best Final Fantasy VII spin-offs and it's awesome to see that it will remain as part of the story going forward. The cameo in Final Fantasy VII Remake will also hopefully prompt more people to check out the novel.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for PlayStation 4 on April 10, 2020.
Source: Famitsu