The release of Final Fantasy VII Remake is almost upon us and we’ve been chronicling the timeline of the series leading up to the events of the game. It’s time to tackle the events that happen after Final Fantasy VII, in the form of the novels Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus. 

We know that Final Fantasy VII Remake will be going in a different direction with its story and it’s possible that the events of these pieces of media could be made non-canon in the future. The Kids Are Alright will remain as part of the canon, as characters from the book will appear in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but the others could be retconned by future installments in the remake series.

The Aftermath & The Novels

Meteor is stopped, but the world is in a sorry state. Sephiroth inflicts the terminal illness known as Geostigma into the world, causing a global epidemic. Midgar is left in ruins, though many people were saved with the help of the Turks from Before Crisis and the citizens build a new city called Edge. The damage done to Midgar frees the members of Deepground from their imprisonment beneath the city.

The members of AVALANCHE go their separate ways for a while. Yuffie searches for a cure for Geostigma, Red XIII raises some monstrous bears, Cloud starts a courier service, Tifa owns a bar, while Barret and Cid look for new natural resources that can replace Mako energy. Cloud finds a young boy named Denzel who is suffering from Geostigma and he lives with Tifa and Marlene.

Rufus Shinra recovers from his wounds and he attempts to redeem the Shinra Corporation with the help of the Turks. Rufus seeks a cure for Geostigma, but his company lacks the resources it once had. Sephiroth seeks a way to return to life, so he creates three beings known as Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, who seek out pieces of Jenova in order to resurrect him.

Evan Townshend starts a detective agency with his friends in the city of Edge. He learns that he is the illegitimate son of President Shinra and the only living brother of Rufus. His mother was a former Shinra employee who disappeared years earlier. Evan encounters Kadaj near Icicle Inn and is almost killed. Evan finds the corpse of his mother in the frozen north and learns that she was involved in shady dealings with the Shinra Corporation.

Advent Children

Geostigma is ravaging the population and some believe that it will lead to the destruction of mankind. Rufus sends the Turks to retrieve the head of Jenova from the North Crater, but they are defeated by Kadaj and his allies. Rufus seeks out Cloud’s help, unaware that Cloud has contracted Geostigma.

Cloud is attacked by Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, but he manages to fight them off. Kadaj and his allies capture Rufus Shinra, along with several children infected with Geostigma. Loz also steals the Materia collected by Cloud and his friends. The children are taken to the Forgotten City and Cloud attempts to save them, but he fails and only survives due to the intervention of Vincent Valentine.

Kadaj brings the children to the city of Edge and he summons the creature called Bahamut SIN. The members of AVALANCHE reunite and they destroy Bahamut SIN. Rufus Shinra reveals that he has the head of Jenova and Kadaj battles Cloud in order to retrieve it. Kadaj is able to claim Jenova’s head and Sephiroth is reborn. Cloud battles the revived Sephiroth and is able to defeat him with the help of a new Limit Break.

Aerith uses her powers within the Lifestream to create a healing spring within the Sector 5 Church which cures Geostigma. Cloud, Denzel, and Evan Townshend’s friends are healed, promising a bright future ahead…

Dirge Of Cerberus

Reeve (the controller of Cait Sith and former Shinra executive) forms the World Regenesis Organization (WRO) to help society rebuild following Meteor and the Geostigma outbreak. His efforts are thwarted by Deepground - a secret military organization created by the Shinra Corporation that was freed when Meteor almost destroyed Midgar. They are led by powerful soldiers called Tsviets.

Deepground attack the town of Kalm and Vincent Valentine is dragged into conflict with them. He discovers that his Chaos transformation (his final Limit Break in Final Fantasy VII) will turn him into the harbinger of death itself. It turns out that there is another Weapon creature, called Omega Weapon, that will appear and absorb all life from the planet into its body and head out into space, should the world be threatened. Vincent battles against the Tsviets, including Azul the Cerulean, whom the Turks had met years earlier.

The reason Vincent is able to control his Chaos form is due to the Protomateria that was inserted into his body. The Tsviets attack Midgar and they are opposed by AVALANCHE and the WRO. Vincent enters Deepground’s old headquarters and he encounters Weiss the Immaculate - the leader of the group. It’s revealed that Weiss is being controlled by Hojo, who cheated death by installing his personality into a computer.

Omega is summoned and Vincent uses the power of Chaos to defeat Weiss, stopping Omega in its tracks. Vincent is seemingly killed in the attack, but he awakens in Lucrecia’s Cave, free from the regrets he has lived with for years.

There is a secret ending for people who find all the G-Reports. Genesis from Crisis Core returns to claim the body of Weiss the Immaculate and flies off with him. It’s unclear what (if anything) happened next with them.

500 Years Later…

The last chronological moments in the history of Final Fantasy VII are shown in the post-credits scene of the original game and again in Advent Children. 500 years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, Red XIII, and his kids visit the ruins of Midgar.

Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for PlayStation 4 on April 10, 2020.