One of the best new additions to Final Fantasy VII Remake almost had a bigger role, as a second battle against Roche was planned, but was cut during development.
Final Fantasy VII Remake expanded upon the Midgar section of Final Fantasy VII, which involved adding new characters to the story. This included a new rival for Cloud among the members of SOLDIER, as he was pursued by the motorcycle rider known as Roche. Cloud and Roche have a heated race through the streets of Midgar, before taking on each other in a sword duel in a Shinra base.
Roche disappears from the story after his boss battle, which is strange, as many fans expected him to show up for a rematch. It turns out that more was planned for Roche, but it didn’t make it into the game. A new interview with the developers of Final Fantasy VII Remake will be published in an upcoming issue of Famitsu magazine, and aitakimochi on Twitter has translated it. Roche has intended to return for a second battle in Chapter 14 of Final Fantasy VII Remake, but he didn’t make it into the final version of the game.
This part of the story involves Cloud and his friends searching for the gear necessary to reach the plate so that they could rescue Aerith. It’s unclear whether the Roche battle would be mandatory, or at the conclusion of a sidequest, as Chapter 14 has the last major quest hub in the game.
It’s possible that the developers had a definitive ending in mind with the second Roche battle, and that Cloud would have finished him off in a spectacular duel or in another racing section. There is a silver lining to this situation, however, as it means that Roche is free to appear in future entries for the series. Cloud and his friends have now left Midgar and have ventured out onto the overworld, and a motorcycle rider would have an easy time tracking them around while they are still on foot.
Source: aitakimochi/Twitter
