FF7 Rebirth’s Most Annoying Character Can Be Redeemed In FF7 Remake Part 3

Summary Chadley's annoying presence in FF7 Rebirth hints at a narrative payoff regarding his true identity and Hojo's influence.

A potential battle with Chadley in FF7 Remake Part 3 could offer players catharsis and redemption for his incessant appearances.

FF7 Remake Part 3 can't fully fix Chadley's over-use, but it needs to do something.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is filled to the brim with memorable characters, but there’s one in particular that’s memorable for all the wrong reasons. Anyone who’s played the game through knows the pain that hearing Cloud’s communicator device ping brings, as it inevitably means that Chadley’s about to start chattering. Although he’s a font of knowledge on materia, enemies, and the world at large, Chadley is also just annoying, and the fact that he’s a key figure in exploring much of what FF7 Rebirth has to offer quickly becomes a sore point.

The Chadley problem was first introduced in FF7 Remake, which used him in a similar but comparatively limited role. He wasn’t all that much better received the first time around, so it’s a weird thing for FF7 Rebirth to double down on, and the commitment to Chadley’s involvement doesn’t bode well for FF7 Remake Part 3. There might also be a reason that the FF7 Remake trilogy isn’t giving up on Chadley, however, and seeing it pay off in FF7 Remake Part 3 has the potential to finally make his inclusion feel at least a little worthwhile.

Related There’s A Whole Set Of Hidden FF7 Rebirth Scenes You Probably Missed A standard playthrough of FF7 Rebirth will actually never reveal some interesting side quest content, but it's easy to find once you know how.

FF7 Rebirth Preps Chadley For A Narrative Payoff

One Side Quest Reveals A Huge Secret About Hojo

The hint to Chadley’s future appears in the protorelic quest in Nibelheim, which mostly consists of following the mysterious robed figures that appear throughout the game. The task itself isn't particularly interesting, but a cutscene that interrupts it is arguably the most intriguing Chadley moment in the entire game (not the world's highest bar, but it's something). The camera zooms out to show Hojo watching the party, and he fixes his attention on Chadley, whom he refers to as "Model number CDA-6" before correcting himself to the number seven.

Related There's One FF7 Rebirth Protorelic Quest You Have To Do Of all the Protorelic quests available in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there's only one that adds enough to the story to be considered an imperative.

Another of Hojo's monitors shows a sheet covering an operating chair with only a limp hand lying exposed. Hojo zooms in to reveal a barcode and the name Chadley before counting some metal tanks that surround him up to the number six. He then nods and repeats the number seven, turns back to his screen, and injects vials into Chadley's head as shown on a silhouetted diagram. After slamming a button, the projection of Chadley helping the party glitches and reacts as if hit by a migraine, confirming that Hojo still has some control over him that wasn't previously revealed.

This scene isn't addressed any further within the scope of FF7 Rebirth, but it seems like it's setting up some key elements for FF7 Remake Part 3. Presumably, Chadley is one of several clones of an actual human, and Hojo still has the ability to influence the clone that the party knows remotely. Chadley is either unaware of this issue or attempting to pretend it's not a problem, but it's the kind of thing that's poised to come back to bite him and the party alike.

Related FF7 Remake Part 3 May Have A Totally Different Final Boss Than The Original FF7 Remake part 3 is gearing up to change the original ending. Although the first two parts have the same final boss, part three could be different.

FF7 Remake Part 3 Might Have A Chadley Confrontation

Coming To Blows With Chadley Would Feel Cathartic

FF7 Remake Part 3's most obvious payoff to this revelation would seemingly lie in a battle, and it could very possibly be one with Chadley himself. Even if the seventh Chadley does find himself able to fight off Hojo's influence, there might be six others that Hojo could deploy against the party alone or in a horde. By the end of FF7 Rebirth, the combat knowledge that Chadley's amassed is considerable, so he could prove to be a real threat despite his slight frame and less-than-intimidating demeanor.

Doing a confrontation with (or involving) Chadley could be a tricky thing to do right, as the Chadley burnout that FF7 Rebirth incurred won't magically disappear when FF7 Remake Part 3 rolls around. It might be too important to relegate it to side content, but figuring out a place where it's not disruptive would provide a challenge of its own. Hojo's expanded role throughout the remake games implies that he could have a bigger finale in the final one, but he needs to stand on his own two feet as a villain rather than clinging to a Chadley arc.

After spending more time with a number of key Shinra figures and executives, it seems likely that FF7 Remake Part 3 will try to juggle more showstopping finales for all of them.

If done right, however, a showdown with Chadley could be just the catharsis that players weary of his incessant appearances need. Violence isn't the best answer to someone being annoying, but narrative justification could make it a righteous act rather than petty revenge. Although it might only be with the goal of severing Hojo's influence over Chadley and truly liberating him for the first time, getting in some solid hits on the chatterbox certainly sounds appealing.

Related FF7 Rebirth Sets Up A Huge Villain Problem For FF7 Remake Part 3 Of all the changes in FF7 Rebirth, one fundamental shift in approach makes bringing things to a showstopping climax particularly challenging.

Chadley Needs An FF7 Remake Part 3 Purpose

Too Much Time Has Already Been Wasted On Chadley

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As far as retroactive justification goes, nothing done at this point can make the time already spent with Chadley any more bearable, but understanding that he had a strong narrative reason to be there all along wouldn't hurt anything. The practical reason for Chadley feels fairly thin by the end of FF7 Rebirth, as assigning some of his dialogue to locals and cutting much of the rest would have been both more immersive and less headache inducing. FF7 Rebirth seems intent on doubling down on FF7 Remake characters across the board, but ones like Madam M and Roche are actually engaging.

There are plenty of other ways the payoff to Chadley's story could end up shaking out, from a fight against Hojo himself to something less confrontational altogether. Whatever it looks like, a lot will be riding on how FF7 Remake Part 3 attempts to bring some value to Chadley's inclusion. Chadley's presence so far has rarely been anything but a perpetual annoyance, but if FF7 Remake Part 3 plays its cards right, it could offer some redemption to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's most annoying character.