Several NPCs mention that the snow was brought about by the calamity though. While I agree with your point past versions would be based on ARR zones, I think the aesthetics would be at least brought back to the original states. Plus it would be a good excuse to implement the original zone themes...
Either way, Time travel is such a common theme of Final Fantasy that the first game's story was about ending a time loop by going back 2000 years in the Temple of Fiends to defeat Garland a second time in the form of Chaos. III featured frozen time, VIII was all about Ultimecia manipulating the events of the past to compress all time with Squall and Co. needing to go to the future... IX had pseudo-time travel in that Memoria was a projection of the planets memories, and the party had to view those while fighting to Kuja... Then there's XIII-2 and XIII-LR.... And of course.... XI and the Shadow Reign period.
