Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Ending Explained...ish (Spoilers)

[@SubTXT_]

The Glenn thing is probably the clearest part of this ending tbh. Sephiroth establishes that Jenova can make herself appear as anyone you love, hate, or know. That’s why he was trying to trick Cloud into thinking Tifa was a Jenova imitation. The clones all have Jenova cells, so she can use those to turn into anyone. In the case of Rufus, she’s used someone from his past: Glenn. When the charade is up, it transforms into Sephiroth to confirm that the charade is up.

[@jackjohnson8305]

Who even is Glenn? first time i ever heard of him was in Rebirth.

[@SubTXT_]

@@jackjohnson8305 he’s technically from a mobile game (Ever Crisis), but you don’t really need to know it. Rebirth has a few new characters. Roche is brand new to everything. I’m not a fan of the Glenn character personally, but the game tells you everything you need to know: Former SOLDIER who got close to Wutai. Technically dead, but back through Jenova shapeshifting (like Sephiroth). It’s Jenova/Sephiroth using someone from Rufus’s past to twist things in his favor.

[@SwobyJ]

@@SubTXT_ He didn't get close to Wutai and his story is about about another society. His supposed organization after isn't directly aligned with Wutai.

[@SubTXT_]

@@SwobyJ Rhadore or whatever yeah. I’m just dumbing down for simplicity because it’s not really necessary to go into depth on and I’m not sure if Ever Crisis has gotten that far into the First Soldier story yet

[@SwobyJ]

@@SubTXT_ Right now the team's trying to leave Rhadore and evacuate their 'friend'.

[@ChampagneDewayne]

I got geostigma trying to understand the ending

[@Aryxina]

Cloud waking up in the Aerith dream where he sees the shattered sky and Aerith pushing him back into the main timeline might explain why he can see things others can't.

[@timothymoore6341]

Aerith, Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth can move between timelines. Aerith is alive in the other timelines and she knows the timeline of the OG. Sephiroth is manipulating the timelines and everytime the group defeats the Whispers it changes fate and creates new timelines. There are at least three different versions of Sephiroth.

[@charliegoestohollywood1039]

People saying Cloud is seeing Aerith on his mind are clearly wrong. Cloud and Aerith due to what happened at the end are experimenting things happening in alternate realities. That's why he is the only who can see her and the rift in the sky. Cloud in the end is talking to the Aerith that survived (although all of them are connected she being a cetra) thanks to Cloud. You can see in the scene where he wakes up her that he crosses a new reality where the rest is not there. That's why she is thanking him in their combat against Sephirot. If she was only in Cloud imagination Nanaki wouldn't be able to sense her and it would not made sense that we keep seeing Aerith once the party leaves on the plane. The final conversation between Aerith and Cloud is genuine and real. Aerith is going to combat Meteor her way and Cloud and the rest their own against Sephirot. Cloud specifically promises Aerith that he will defeat Sephirot because that's the only way he will save her and be reunited in the end (or at least it's what he thinks/hopes), that's why the music and the tone of the scene is so optimistic and beautiful. It's a hint for a better ending this time. I think what is going to happen in the 3rd game and be a big part of the story is that he is going to start doubting if she really saved Aerith, when he starts seeing the scenes of her dying (that's why the game still show us the scene where she dies) and the rest of the party and probably Sephirot telling him what happened (the rest to genuinely try to help him but Sephirot because he tries to destroy Cloud mentally). That and the fact that he still has to give the black materia to Sephirot is what is going to drive him mad during the game.

[@jhin_gg]

​@@charliegoestohollywood1039 thought the same too. the devs placed the ending like that so ppl have the opinion that cloud is in a limbo. But he isn't. And idk if I'm missing something but iirc, Aerith never says to Cloud that Sephiroth's plan is to destroy the world with meteor, no? But at the end she said that she will stop meteor and his reaction was like "i know what u're talking about".

[@jagermeister1487]

i dont even understand how this is a mystery .

[@miki49]

@@jagermeister1487Cuz if you’re familiar with the original FF7 and Cloud’s character, he’s not quite all there. I believe it’s simply because he’s traveled timelines, but I can deed see why others might think it’s not that

[@DestinyDisney1993]

"What in the Kingdom Hearts is going on here" is exactly what came out of my mouth when I finished it.

[@Kumire_921]

Different timelines, multiverse mumbo jumbo, overarching single major villain playing 4d chess and manipulating every conceivable law of physic to get what they want.. Yeah definitely Nomura bs

[@RedCloudIX]

@@Kumire_921You know Nomura wasn’t the writer of this game right?

[@SomnusShinra]

Yeah... All the people who blame Nomura for every single thing clearly doesn't understand FF7 since it's very inception. Nojima is the real writer and father of the FF7 Story. Including Remake and Rebirth and Part 3. Just so freaking tired of these comments man... a little investigation wouldn't hurt anyone. What's more funny, we should thank Nomura for being the one who wants to stick true as much as possible to the OG Game.

[@webguy943]

That was almost the exact line zack said. 😂

[@marusero25]

The cutscenes with Zack and Cloud are so much better when Cloud is also using the Buster Sword

[@ChampagneDewayne]

Agreed! I’m glad I changed it at the final battle

[@nothingmuch6685]

It’s a nod to FFVII: Advent Children where they ALMOST Teamed-up on Sephiroth. Well, at least that’s my Version 😂 and I’m sticking to it LOL

[@Nishugram]

@@ChampagneDewaynesame lol

[@sam.onthemoon]

yeah, as soon as I realized that I was about to fight along Zack, I switched to the Buster Sword. Truly magical.

[@NordicWiseguy]

Cloud did save Aerith, kinda. When he blocked Sephiroth's sword he created a parallel world where he saved Aerith. When their swords clashed a rainbow light surrounds the altar and Sephiroth's sword flies into the ground. However the main world stays unaffected and the scene switches into Sephiroth killing Aerith. Then the scene goes back and forth and we see dead Aerith who is covered in blood and uninjured Aerith who opens her eyes and smiles at Cloud. Barret, Tifa and the others weren't there when Cloud breached the fate and created this parallel world so they only see dead Aerith but Cloud who is now between these two worlds sees both dead and alive Aeriths. Aerith's spirit even thanks Cloud from saving her and in the ending scene Nanaki feels Aerith touching him. This proves Cloud wasn't hallucinating. Also Cait Sith's first prediction heavily foreshadows this scene.

[@KrelianLoke]

Since Barret, Tifa and the others can only see dead Aerith, who was the one who gave Aerith the water burial? Was it still Cloud? If so, was he sad and mourning while dropping her into the water, or was he happily doing it like "hey Aerith I'm glad I managed to save you let's dip ourselves in the water together and celebrate our victory". Or perhaps Barret gave dead Aerith the water burial, while Cloud be like "hey Barret why are you standing in the water this isn't the time to go swimming". Or perhaps the water burial didn't happen. The party goes "Cloud, we have to bury her body" and Cloud goes "Huh? What body?" and continues walking with Aerith back to the plane, while the rest of the party weirded out by Cloud's decision to leave her body out in the open to decay. The problem is, from the party's perspective the parallel world where Aerith is still alive doesn't exist, and the original timeline cannot sensibly have a Cloud who isn't mourning. Yet the writers can't have him mourning either, just for the sake of forcing the narrative that he's accessing two timelines. That's why the writers need to omit the water burial scene to evade this problem. They really wrote themselves into a corner by positing a Schrodinger Aerith and a Quantum Cloud.

[@777heartsdesire]

@@KrelianLokeCloud probably did it but is blocking it out of his head. Maybe he is just out of his mind

[@KrelianLoke]

@777heartsdesire Right? So he thinks she's dead and gave her the water burial? At the same time he thinks she's alive and and didn't give her the water burial? In either case, from the party's perspective, he either did or he didn't. It can't be both. A Quantum Cloud couldn't be the case from the party's point of view. In fact, a Quantum Cloud, Zack, Aerith and Sephiroth is totally unnecessary for the story, it doesn't add any weight to the plot. What difference does it make to the audience if Sephiroth wants to destroy and conquer one world (OG), as opposed to wanting to destroy and conquer many worlds? Nothing, it doesn't even make Sephiroth feel more powerful or threatening. It just makes the Quantum characters busier having to interact with carbon copies of one another, which leaves the audience confused and irritated towards tracking the different worlds. Even worse, the audience has to second guess just how aware or ignorant of the multiverse each of the Quantum characters are. Aerith knows there are copies of herself, yet she isn't in control of them, merely able to communicate with her copies. Does Cloud know there is a copy of Coma Cloud inside Zack's world? Does Zack know there is a copy of Dead Zack inside Cloud's world? Does Sephiroth have autonomy over all his copies inside each world? Why are the awareness residing within each of the four quantum characters so unbalanced? Does Vincent and Barret have copies of themselves in other worlds too, or are they not quantum enough so they remain aware only of the OG world? Barret now has two copies of Marlene to save from two meteors, one of them doesn't even know exists. At least in Advent Children, all the writers did for the movie was to only have Cloud slightly schizophrenic by briefly talking to Aerith and Zack in a clearly afterlife realm, probably just his mind needing some encouragement from his cherished friends who passed on, which is still an acceptable narrative for the audience. He is nevertheless still fully aware that the two of them are long dead and gone, and so are the audience. Sorry for my long rant. The multiverse storyline is really poorly executed here.

[@lordgrim355]

It still means aeriths dead my guy. She didn’t tag along with them after all when they left

[@akmalrodzi9681]

What did Cait Sith say?

[@Dreampiece.]

A few things I noted: Red mentioned that he and Aerith were able to see the future, but it might have just been different timelines. That power faded when the whispers started messing with timelines, but at some point Aerith just learned to jump between them. The Cetra trials fling members throughout their timelines, except for Aerith. She is invisible in her trial. Zack's synergy attack when he is fighting by himself summons a shadow of Cloud to complete it with him, much like yhe form Sunon or whatever in Yuffie's trial was. It was rough seeing the timeline where Cloud saves Aerith not be the main timeline, because it seems like the story shifted to the OG timeline when it seemed like the Cloud we had been playing as was the one that saves her.

[@BradleyHestad]

Why can’t SE just come out with an official statement that doesn’t spoil the 3rd game and just say here’s how it is and here is what you have to wait to find out….

[@SuperRamos619]

They'll probably explain a bit more well after the game has been out, probably part of the marketing for part 3

[@ekoms108]

At the end of the game it's pretty simple. Except Cloud thinks he saved her when in this "timeline" she died. The only real twist that can happen is this projection that Cloud is seeing is actually Jenova using her Dreamweaver/Mimick ability.

[@wingmanscreencasts6808]

I think Zack wakes up in the church in the Prime universe 😮

[@irishspuds5894]

mind blown i really hope so

[@elcraneo3d]

Now this could work actually

[@omensoffate]

@@elcraneo3dit’s obvious it is because the flowers are blooming

[@_caustics_]

That would be crazy

[@bejisan1]

Why would Johnny be there and not in Costa Del Sol?

[@whitewolf7454]

Don’t let your preferred ship cause you to insert Zack into everything Aerith related. Aside from getting her a gift, their date is nothing like her and Zack’s. She gets a yellow flower brooch from him, which is full circle to him getting a yellow flower as a gift from her during their first meeting. They eat sweets, and pose for a picture. Her saying “our spot” is because it’s one of her favourite places and where she reunited with him. Reuniting is kinda the whole focus of her song, which plays in the background of their date. Cloud himself said it was easy to guess their spot. In the theme song there’s more references to their first meeting on Loveless street. Cobblestone, our street, our glance, struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone. Plus the points about taking her hand and never letting go, which can connect to Hollow. They both hold hands quite a lot in the games, especially during their dates and ending. Marlene tells Zack that Aerith has feelings for Cloud when he asks. And finally there’s the sweet callback to the first game with the “You gonna be okay getting back?” “And if I said I wasn’t?” Exchange they do at the end.

[@madelinemcmillan4020]

Projection at its finest someone's a salty aerith shipper lol

[@whitewolf7454]

@@madelinemcmillan4020 If you say so salty Tifa and/or Zack and Aerith shipper.

[@Vincentpalmer22]

Lets just say cloud loves AND needs both Tifa makes him remember his childhood and he has history with her so it would make alot of sense Aerith helps cloud being a normal human being, took him out of the soldier shell

[@KimDanielle]

Cloud was FORCED to give her that flower.

[@shiki5452]

Despite all other reply comments that disagree with you and justify Tifa, I couldnt agree more with you

[@intylerwetrusted99]

There's still technically one Zack unaccounted for. The Zack that appeared outside the church at the end of intermission. Remember he was pacing anxiously outside the door deciding how he'd greet Aerith only to burst into the church to met with a bunch of random people suffering with what looked like Geostigma? Whats happened to him I wonder? Maybe its been retconned He's definitely not the same as the Z timeline Zack as that Zack only meets Aerith as shes crashing in the helicopter.

[@timothymoore6341]

Zack will eventually cross into the Rebirth timeline the one with everyone else.

[@un_known5895]

same, i was awaiting that scene to happen during rebirth and it never showed up, are we being baited with scenes from part 3 or was this a massive Chekov's gun that eluded to the ending of rebirth?

[@Dras7]

@@un_known5895 It's an easy retcon like probably many things that got changed during the development of part 2 with the narrative. That scene is never brought up in Rebirth so there is nothing to talk about for now.

[@bonkers386]

@@Dras7 But everything else from Intermission is canon, it doesn't make sense to just shove such a scene in and then scrap it.

[@Dras7]

@@bonkers386 It doesn't but it's the only conclusion we can get from Rebirth, and also we don't have any indication that the scene will be contextualized in the 3rd game. So retcon is the safe bet imo.

[@strailz4302]

I think why Cloud can see the tear in the sky is because parts of his being (specifically what Aerith calls "The Real Cloud") are split between the other timelines. So all of those thoughts are being bled into "Cloud Prime". Also would explain why Cloud is even more Jenova Pilled and wants the Reunion so badly. There isn't a will in there to fight back against Jenova Cells and Sephiroth has mostly, if not full, control. Aerith seems to have the ability to exert control or influence Cloud as well but mostly chooses to be passive. Cloud hasn't been in the lifestream yet so it isn't that. She could have dropped a piece of her own psyche into him as well to monitor whats going on.

[@theodorwulffpoloni1016]

You forgot that when Aerith speaks to Cloud while laying down, there's the odd rainbow light which signalizes a change on worlds

[@keemeister]

Which is why Sephiroth doesn't notice it and thinks he's killed her when we see the flicking of the timelines. So when Aerith joins Cloud in the fight, Sephiroth stated that he had underestimated her.

[@jayemerengueli]

Black Robes have Jenova cells via S cells. Jenova has the ability to read a person's mind and then shapeshift into anyone in that person's memory.

[@irishspuds5894]

She can become those you hate... those you fear... those you love.

[@ugh5281]

the obsession in inserting zack into everything related to cloud and aerith is just dumb at this point. aerith confessed to cloud in a non optional scene, they had marlene tell zack aerith likes cloud and even on the optional date she basically says that regardless of her past feelings for zack she wants to be with cloud right now. she was most definitely not "mimmicking" zack's date with cloud, they did more than just pick a gift, they tasted candy, posed for pictures... like c'mon. i understand that the ship wars in ff7 can get pretty intense and everyone has different preferences, i'm not trying to argue which ship is better or worse but dismissing cloud and aerith's "last" date before she basically sacrificed herself and making it all about zack when it wasn't is insane. she literally chose to spend her last moments with cloud and confessed her feelings to him and somehow ppl twist the narrative and insert zack into it even though rebirth has made it pretty clear that she currently has feelings for cloud.

[@user-ki4no3ly5]

People can have feelings for multiple people so…

[@charliegoestohollywood1039]

Denial is a strong drug. That's why sadly. You, me and others will see clearly what really happened, but the people that have spent years reading, listening, thinking that "Aerith really loves Zack" and "Cloud feelings for Aerith are because he thinks is Zack" are going to ignore the obvious facts and retell the story the way they want because they can't accept reality. Funny how that resembles what Cloud experiments in the game mixing reality with fiction....XDD.

[@Redcritxx]

isnt that what you are doing though?

[@charliegoestohollywood1039]

@@Redcritxx Are you referring to me? Do i need to waste my time giving even more proofs than the original poster? I'm saying It's denial thinking otherwise because the games themselves brought you 2 songs dedicated to Cloud and Aerith, more dates between them than any other relationship (optional or not), Caith Sith saying to Cloud that he will lose the thing that he cherishes the most, Aerith being Rosa in 4 of the 6 possible outcomes and Loveless being a story that clearly resembles Cloud and Aerith, Marlene telling Zack that Aerith likes Cloud and Zack accepting that, Aerith and Cloud spending the last hours together and Aerith admiting to Cloud that she likes him, Cloud smiling at every chance that he makes Aerith happy in those last hours of the game, even sharing hands after defeating Sephirot like they did in their Gold Saucer date, etc, etc.... These are not interpretations, those are things that happen in the games, and most of them are not optional. That's what @ugh5281 was saying. That Aerith clearly likes Cloud and i completely agree. And i will add that Cloud reciprocates those feelings too. If you can prove me wrong at anyhing i said then i will have to admit that i'm in denial too.

[@ugh5281]

@@user-ki4no3ly5yes they can and feelings aren’t black and white. aerith might have has some underlying feelings for zack which is normal especially considering she never had closure with him but my point is she was basically saying that aerith recreated her date with zack with cloud (i don’t even know how you’d reach that conclusion because aside from the gift the dates were very different and within completely different contexts) which automatically takes away the whole value of her date with cloud and her confession to him. like i said, this is not just about ships but the western fandom has this obsession in inserting zack into anything cloud and aerith related which then takes away any value of their moments together and ends up being silly bc cloud and aerith’s bond wether you ship them romantically or not is very important to the story.

[@jackjohnson8305]

As soon as i finished temple of the ancients and saw that Aeriths ultimate weapon wasn't there like the OG i knew she was going to survive somehow.

[@SwobyJ]

If her body is dead and her spirit isn't returning to the world Cloud's in, she's dead. In FFVII you can be dead, and as Aerith put it, still be 'around'. She's returned to the Lifestream, and they've added the context of there being other (vibrant or dying) worlds, ones that follow the primary events of the planet's fate, and those that manage to escape its confines and deviate enough to affect space-time. There are Aeriths in those (like anyone else), but most of these worlds also do not survive and their memories only feed back into the Lifestream sooner. So our Aerith that we have experienced since Remake - despite the periods of more divine knowledge communicated to her - is dead dead dead. Even if Cloud split off a new world, the resulting Aerith isn't ours, and she may easily be set for an end for herself in her own way. This isn't Rick and Morty where they can comedy write away the differences between other selves. Just as in OG the Aerith in the Lifestream isn't the same as our Aerith and she knows she never can be (in expanded media which may or may not be explicitly canon), an Aerith in another world created by the Lifestream also won't be the same. The similar thoughts and feelings and senses of relationship exist, but its not the same person as if they were with you in the same shared world into the future.

[@jackjohnson8305]

@@SwobyJ Thats irrelevant to my point, she'll be around via her otherselfs from the other worlds and will be playable again so we can get her ultimate weapon alongside the other characters in part 3 thats the point.

[@SwobyJ]

@@jackjohnson8305 Then you can easily not include "I knew she was going to survive somehow"

[@jackjohnson8305]

@@SwobyJ She did survive somehow.

[@SwobyJ]

@@jackjohnson8305 According to you, dying is somehow surviving.

[@Mr88811]

SPOILER ALERT NEWS = Just say I had some good networking on Japan that produce this game. He told Me 1 thing, don't confuse with the Timeline or Multiverse. In the end it's doesn't matter. You know why? Because On Part 3 a.k.a. FF7 Reunion, All of it will become One World. All Timeline. All Multiverse gonna be 1. Sephiroth will succeed his mission. That the Point. After It's become 1 World, all timeline will combine for each other. Aerith and zack will comeback to Live, even Biggs, Jessie and other too (Because there a LOT of timeline that every one of them is still Live not died like biggs and zack, even Aerith when cloud succeed to deflect Sephiroth Blade). That why the part 3 call "Reunion". And afterthat, Everyone beat Sephiroth and everyone can Meet each other once again and live on Same Timeline together. In the End, everyone got happy ending because no one died after the Timeline has become 1. Hope you all Understand. Oh yeah, 1 more thing. About Love Storyline = In the end Cloud and Tifa will be together, and Aerith comeback with Zack. Thank you.

[@DlCKWALLACE]

They already used the name "Reunion" in Crisis Core: Reunion. That would make no sense.

[@Mr88811]

@dickwallace8567 it's true Brother. Just believe in it. Insider information is True.

[@DlCKWALLACE]

@@Mr88811SE doesn't usually resuse the same titles. Using Reunion as a title for both their games doesn't make sense. I can believe everything else you said but I doubt it will be called Reunion. They reserved that name for the Crisis Core remake. Having two games called Reunion would be silly. If anything, I could see it being called Reunited.

[@spenddollarzent]

@@DlCKWALLACEReunited

[@GodOfAI_]

I was so confused by this ending that I’m asking everywhere for confirmation that this will NOT connect to advent children.

[@Redcritxx]

i think the devs confirmed that this trilogy will lead into advent children or at least the main timeline will

[@nicholasstacey6146]

I would imagine the timelines will get restored somehow, at least Cloud’s. They might end up making it where Cloud’s timeline goes on as normal while Zack and Aerith get their happy ending in an alternate timeline but still dead in the main one.

[@thebrigade7684]

Devs have said it before advent children is not going to be thrown out the window. We could see a new zack+Aerith centric timeline being a thing and then connect it that way to what happens in AC.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

These games are sequels to Advent Children

[@miki49]

@@TechnoMinarchistSequels or prequels? Pretty sure the Remake project comes before AC

[@elan1926]

I've watched several videos for the explanation of the ending and this one is in my opinion the best, but no one takes into consideration Zack's final scene in the Remake DLC (when he enters the church full of people), which apparently cannot be linked with what we saw in Rebirth Zack's timeline. Any idea?

[@theyouth2000]

The story is very easy to understand. It goes... 1- Wait 3-4 years later for FF7 Homecoming for the story to wrap up. 2- Save up for PS6 3- Manage your expectations that the overall trilogy's story may not be that great after all. 😂👍

[@R17759]

Luckily games can be about more than just the story

[@theyouth2000]

@@R17759 Agreed. Thankfully, it's got so many other aspects to take in and enjoy.

[@AluVixapede]

White Materia-Bio chip timeline: Cloud actually flat-lined, engram process initiates. Aerith Silverhand: "Wake the **** up SOLDIER, we've got a meteor to burn..." (I mean, I'm being facetious but I would also actually play that game so...)

[@Felipe..Vieira]

the biggest point of confusion for me is actually the beginning of rebirth, and if there is actually 2 living clouds out there, because elmyra clearly knows cloud, and he has been there with barrett and tifa before going after aerith

[@joshnegrotto138]

The black robes are not Sephiroth. They are Jenova. She can make you see those you love, those you hate

[@ContentThatMakesMeContent]

I can already feel Nomura laughing with popcorn as he watches fans try to explain what “actually” happened hahahahah

[@wombatkins]

Jesus the dog being the key to everything makes me so happy.

[@ben1805]

As Barrett states in Remake, Stamp guides us to where we need to go. He’s basically acting as a sign post so that we can make better sense of what is happening in which universe and is why these different dogs are shown.

[@chrissquarefan86]

After the fight with Sephy, the worlds have started to merge and since Cloud shares DNA with Sephy he can see this merging taking place. What this means for the story is hard to tell at this point

[@Durahan82]

Long story short , we got Catfished in Rebirth into a false hope about saving her

[@jorgevaldez1859]

I know, isn't it great? Almost 30 years, and people still think they can save her 😂

[@JKM2468]

@@jorgevaldez1859 the game hints not only that she can be saved, but even, that she did survive the encounter with Sephiroth in a different universe

[@NordicWiseguy]

But Cloud did save her, kinda. When he blocked Sephiroth's sword he created a parallel world where he saved Aerith. When their swords clashed a rainbow light surrounds the altar and Sephiroth's sword flies into the ground. However the main world stays unaffected and the scene switches into Sephiroth killing Aerith. Then the scene goes back and forth and we see dead Aerith who is covered in blood and uninjured Aerith who opens her eyes and smiles at Cloud. Barret, Tifa and the others weren't there when Cloud breached the fate and created this parallel world so they only see dead Aerith but Cloud who is now between these two worlds sees both dead and alive Aeriths. Aerith's spirit even thanks Cloud from saving her and in the ending scene Nanaki feels Aerith touching him. This proves Cloud wasn't hallucinating. Also Cait Sith's first prediction heavily foreshadows this scene.

[@Durahan82]

@@NordicWiseguy That's the sad messed-up part , we are seeing thru his schizophrenia ...

[@NordicWiseguy]

@@Durahan82 nope. If you paid attention to details we are seeing Cloud creating a parallel world where he saved Aerith. Sephiroth explained that everytime the fate gets breached a new parallel world gets created. We see this with Zack where his decisions creates 2 other parallel worlds. We have actually 3 Zacks alive now. When he goes to see Hojo and tries to get cure for Cloud 2 a bright rainbow colored light fills the tunnel and it is a sign of another parallel world getting created. What does this have to do with Aerith? Don't worry i'll tell you. When the others are standing around Aerith's dead body there are no rainbow light to be seen. She is covered in blood and she is clearly dead. Then Cloud walks there and then the other party members suddenly disappear, Cloud is alone with Aerith and this bright rainbow colored light is surrounding the altar indicating a new parallel world that Cloud's actions created when he breached the fate by blocking Sephiroth's sword. Cloud then asks Aerith to wake up and she opens her eyes and smiles at him. Tifa and the others can't see her because they weren't there when Cloud breached the fate. They are fully in the main world but in the ending scene Nanaki felt Aerith's touch so this proves she was real. Also Cait Sith's first prediction foreshadows this moment and Aerith's spirit thanked Cloud for saving her back at the altar. Cloud's mind is now between two worlds. This is why only he can see this Aerith he saved and the rift in the sky.

[@aaronw6195]

So with Glenn Lodbrock the thing that you're missing here is that Hojo doesn't inject people with Sephiroth cells. He injects people with Jenova cells, and Jenova has the ability to "shape shift" or fool people into believing things that aren't real. I think what is going on there is Rufus has been impacted by Jenova. Jenova IIRC has one line in the original FFVII, and she's tells Cloud he's a puppet. It's something Sephiroth often repeats in Remake and Rebirth. I think Jenova is kind of the key to understanding a lot of what's going on here, but more exposition is needed for certain. I think Rufus is seeing a Jenova hallucination of Lodbrock. The colors of black and purple in how they appear also would be the kind of symbolism used to indicate a Jenova influence, but I'm not going that deep right now.

[@Jigglypoof]

I never played the OG game, but it feels like the writers tried really hard to write themselves into the position where Aerith *could* survive. And that's a noble venture, that they'd want to keep the story unknowable, so even series veterans can be surprised. But in doing so, they over-complicated the core story to the point where even the creators don't know what's going on anymore.

[@Creatively_Bored]

So what you're saying is: Quantumly Entangled Cloud?

[@Oso1092]

Appreciate you explaining. Good to know Nomura still loves to add more confusion after confusing us.

[@Robino_del_Bosquet]

Thanks for that, that's by far the most detailed and convincing analysis of the ending I've watched. It actually helped me liking the game even better. Cheers!

[@soniccinos]

Awesome video! But to make it even clearer, the visual cue, "the raibow effect" is used whenever a new "branch" is created, for ex: When Aertith pushes Cloud ,when Zack choose to find Hojo, when Cloud saves Aerith....

[@Dexter-X51]

Out of all the "ending explained" videos I've seen, this one is definitely the best one! 👌🏼

[@deanospimoniful]

I really appreciate your attempt to explain this. It makes more sense, but it doesn't make sense in an absolute sense. What were they smoking when they wrote this game?

[@Ballard258]

their own farts.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

Unfortunately due to the way things work in Japanese companies, no one has the guts to say no to these writers.

[@robreich6881]

It’s like someone started snorting the good stuff and just started pouring bags of it into an industrial fan in the writing room while screaming “Leeeeeeroy Jenkins!”

[@lyozixv]

Loved this video. It was clear enough (to the best of your capabilities to explain it, that is…) and entertaining

[@PSNMirru]

We don’t know if “Prime Aerith” is dead. We don’t know what continuity we continue on with during the ending because we don’t see another Stamp. Also this might be a shot in the dark but I do think Viceroy Sarruf is Rufus so this whole war thing is about to get even more messy

[@lordgrim355]

She’s dead. That’s pretty clear due to how the rest of the party reacts.

[@Mukation]

@@lordgrim355 She's dead and her burial will probably kickstart the third installment. Cloud is in my opinion fully aware she's dead, but that she's a Cetra she can astral project herself. Red could feel her when she touched him aswell. Also i think the reason Cloud noticed that Aerith was "acting" weird was because this was an alternate Aertith, not a "dream" projection. That Sephiroth mentions that he had found her indicates that she is a version that gained the ability to traverse timelines, just like he has. She gave Cloud her white materia, so that he could bring it to the "main" timeline Aerith.

[@jerwin_winowino]

My conclusion: It will lead the story line to Advent Children. as the OG Cloud can see The Aerith and Zack from Rebirth. we Jus Play all the Cloud with OG's and Rebirth Consciousness to have a chance to save Aerith in Rebirth. Maybe in Advent Children He still possesses both White and Black Materia. he became the keeper. that's why he always stays away from everyone.

[@JKM2468]

They overload the scene with so much BS that they ruined it. Just let Aerith’s date go before him waking up. Use her pushing him through the portal as something that wakes him up, and sephiroth’s entrance in the church as a warning about the urgency of needing to reach Aerith, remove the multiverse TED talk and take out 90% of the eternal boss fight. Remove Aerith’s ghost and involvement in the fight. That would make the ending much better. Right now it’s like: yes, but no, but yes, but no, but yes, (add random bs) but no, but yes buuut no. But maybe” You don’t even have time to focus on the moment

[@coffeeandjelly4614]

Exactly

[@sfcSpidey]

i kind of agree i didn’t play the original i knew she died but it was trying to do way too much there imo and didn’t allow the moment to take root

[@yougotkained]

It is stamp Z - it just looks sad because the sign it is on is a road closure, which is inherently not a good thing

[@danjbundrick]

The ears are droopy because Stamp is sad that the area is closed

[@TheLongBrook]

I think if you look at this more as a love story between Cloud and Aerith (as the developers clearly intend with the themes for both games being about their relationship), it'll become a bit more predictable what's likely to come in the third game.

[@sssmeee]

which is?

[@TheLongBrook]

@@sssmeee That Cloud and Aerith are likely going to reunite in the timeline he created when he deflected Seph's blade by the end. The main theme songs for the two games so far are the two essentially longing for one another. I know there are story purists, but I think they need to look at these games as sequels and not 1:1 remakes. I could be wrong, but I don't think I'm too far off at the very least.

[@sssmeee]

@TheLongBrook didn't they say that advant children happens after this series and that they'll follow the og?

[@TheLongBrook]

@@sssmeee I think with the multiple timelines that they could say this leads up to just about anything tbh. And based on everything we've seen of Sephiroth and the three remnants of him you fight in Remake (Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo), this trilogy already seems to tie into Advent Children. But it doesn't add up to me that the Cloud we're playing now ends up as moody as the one in AC. He seems to be consciously aware that he saved Aerith and created a separate timeline. I could just be fanfictioning, but they've provided all of the elements necessary to create the scenario where all fanfictions can be created. And I think it'd be the biggest ball drop/Chekhov's gun (possibly ever), to not give Cloud, who's been sad and lonely without Aerith (shown in AC and pretty much every cameo he has) for the past 20 years the opportunity to get her back in some meaningful way. A lot of words there, but that's about it lol.

[@alwaysloctis]

​@TheLongBrook I totally agree. there was really no point in Remake instead of High quality remaster if not to save Aerith at some point. so much effort put into the plot, the twists, their songs, all that "only Cloud can save her" and all to just degrade back to OG, besides we already saw Cloud's arc after Aerith dies, that's no new and isn't honestly worth of 300+ hours of new game play with new hope just to be broken down in the end. I must admit I'm still convincing myself in it lol but I bet that's exactly what devs wanted from fans.

[@CharlyZiock]

I think Jenova will trick Cloud to think Aerith is alive (like what happened to Tifa just this time Aerith is actually Jenova)

[@TypicallyUniqueOfficial]

Who said the main timeline was what they showed at the end though. Hear me out, the very first scene they showed was Cloud saving Aerith. That one scene led to an alternate universe being created (as Sephiroth previously explained, when you defy fate new worlds are created). What if the main timeline now is Aerith surviving and they ended the game in the alternate timeline to throw people off… Think about it for a second, you save Aerith…so why would she be dead in the main timeline? There’s a scene when Cloud is holding Aerith on the floor and he’s talking to her (you can see his lips moving but you can’t hear what he’s saying). This exposition seems important, and we Already know Aerith can jump into different universes and also send other people across universes as well (we see her do it with Cloud and with Zack). We’ll be waiting another 3-4 years to find out 😂.

[@thuggothic]

Just completed rebirth And I was literally thinking this myself My daughter brought up a Wilder theory a few days ago I'm getting her into this game by telling her the OG version of it then going to remake then going to rebirth She says to me well what if the OG Final Fantasy 7 is the alternate universe

[@BobbaFett312]

If u look closley, clear materia was smaller than black materia. So they are two different materia, not clear one turned into black one.

[@Adam.1.9.9.2]

Can I just say how fun this video was and it seems I’m not alone in being confused, baring in mind I never played the OG so it’s even more confusing to me. I loved the way you explain the best anyone’s able to the events of this ending and the humour from you was 👌

[@roclaren]

Holy moly this video was enlightening. Great work!

[@jagermeister1487]

jesus christ, its the same dog - its sad because it says CLOSED next to him.

[@williamjamesperkins5483]

I mean the ending was not confusing at all if you understand the timeline from the original game and it's multi universe timelines that sephiroth shows cloud in Rebirth part 2. But this is Square Enix and they love to confused fans wanting us to use our brains to try to understand the ending and it's timeline multi universe lol

[@TechnoMinarchist]

No. Nomura just likes to overcomplicate things for no reason.

[@williamjamesperkins5483]

​​@@TechnoMinarchistthat's how he is, he did that on purpose lol to confuse us with the ending

[@DaneWinter1213]

@@TechnoMinarchistNomura didn’t write the main story of this game and Remake. If anything, he wrote stuff about the characters and their stories/development.

[@_Tomon]

Luffy would explain it the best: "It's a mystery ending"

[@richardkhchang]

Regarding the final point of confusion, in the original, Jenova in general (and by extension any of the black robes) is able to assume the form of anybody. That's how Jenova is described historically (those you love/those you hate, etc.), and she transforms into Tifa in the Northern Crater. So a black robe transforming into Glen is perfectly consistent. As for why? Likely because he's someone who Rufus has a connection to that Jenova can use to fuel her manipulation?

[@brendondevilliers1350]

Maybe only people who have jumped realities can see the tear; like how only certain people can/could see whispers.

[@DeeMeltDown]

Out of the three Rebirth Ending Explained videos I've watched this is the best one. One guy got the ending completely wrong saying the scene where Tifa looks sad at the end is because Cloud chose Aerith over her, not even realizing that only Cloud can see Aerith or the rift in the fabric of space time.

[@patriciaviles4033]

There is one major plot point that I think a lot of people are missing. Regardless of why Cloud is the only one who can see Aerith at the end on Rebirth, the thing is, from his perspective, he DID save her. By the way he’s acting it’s clear that he really doesn’t know she’s dead. This makes perfect sense because cloud has already shown his ability to completely rewrite his own reality, so to him, she’s just chilling at the forgotten capital for some reason. Emotionally, he has stuck himself firmly in the “denial” phase of grief. When he does finally realize what actually happened…Whoo boy…Cloud is going to have a very bad day.

[@aggiel8775]

it’s intriguing that the game is not a copy paste of the original. I’m all for it. So exciting!

[@danlim7]

Is the 3rd Sequel gonna be like #heavyrain where we can choose who to save and what ultimate ending we can have? I would go through all realities and save even Briggs, Wedge and Jessi!

[@sketybel1]

It would be cool if they went full balders gate with it!

[@coolrocksounds]

No

[@Kumire_921]

Save Aerith first maybe

[@WesleyParksTTV]

My favorite timeline is the one where Aerith’s name is Aeris

[@strailz4302]

My favorite timeline is the one where this guy are sick

[@RT-yg6ec]

Pretty good explanation! Thank you!

[@Leon-dragneel]

A theory for Glenn logic, At some point in the game. Sephiroth mentions how jenova can take the form of someone you fear, love and so on. So it might be the clones take the form of sephiroth for cloud who he fears and for rufus, they take the form of Glen who he MIGHT fear?

[@PSNMirru]

But that would imply that Rufus has Jenova cells, right? Bc when Cloud sees things-nobody else in the party can bc they don’t have the cells right?

[@KrelianLoke]

Young Rufus: Hojo, I think I've caught a cold, you do have something to make me feel better? Hojo: Here Mr Vice President, just a jab should do the trick, you'd feel better in no time. I mean, it's very plausible Rufus has mako flowing in his veins all along, just like Cloud. Rufus has geostigma in AC, just like Cloud. Rufus is very strong in battles, just like Cloud.

[@Doggotov]

@@PSNMirruyou don’t need to have jenova cells to be tricked by Jenova. Jenova has mimicry abilities. That’s how she killed off the cetra. By pretending to be those they loved. No cetra had Jenova cells.

[@JusticeJanitor]

"Tifa is my ride or die" Ah, I see, a woman of culture.

[@HeroesLeftInMan]

They mentioned in the temple of the ancients that Jenova can take the face of nearly anyone, so Glenn being another Sephiroth clone makes sense in that it's just him using his Jenova powers to manipulate people and cause dissent.

[@bgkclassic]

If every scenario happens across universes - nothing matters. Lets leave Sephiroth be.

[@xKenB24x]

Believe it or not pretty much it all makes sense after the explanation. Its less sad because it proposes that there's a big chance that Aerith will returm/is alive through the multiverse highway.

[@macalloway1]

She did a good job for real. The cloud and zach thing is deep though. I think the beginning of the game wants you to believe cloud is just immature at that point in time tbut its clearly zach from a personality standpoint. The big issue is that he can make decisions that only cloud could make(going to tifas house or to see clouds mom). There are also hints that cloud isnt just doing a zach impression but that they are linked. If i remember correctly they can do synergy attacks without them both being physically in the same time line (let alone in the same place)at the end of the game. I cant quite wrap my head around the nibilheim reactor event where cloud(or zach) "dies" after falling at the waterfall but its clear that something about that is off. Then marlene tells "zack" that aerith really cares about cloud and that could be interpreted as a crushing moment for zack but he clearly doesnt take it that way. It really makes you believe they are the same person or atleast inhabit the same spirit in the context of this multi timeline stuff.

[@adrianatkins10]

This is why i hate the multiverse stuff. We saw it with Kingdom Hearts, it gets so convoluted that even the writers might not be sure what actually happened and what timeline character was at certain points

[@xTGE]

There are 9 potential timelines. Originals, remakes, Zack saving biggs and dying, zack visiting hojo and dying, aerith giving cloud the white materia, zack unable to decide on who to save, zack at the end of intergrade, where unable tobdecide zack currently is and aerith alive timeline following sephiroths defeat.

[@loner1512]

Can someone explain to me why if there are 2 timelines since they defeated whisper on the highway, and why in main timeline we are playing, you can hear the news about the disaster exactly same at timeline where Zack survives? (the news is played by the radio at the Kalm's inn)

[@xanderlocke]

whisper objection is keeping the the original story of ff7 as we know, since cloud cs defeat them there's a new universe where Zack is alive and the original story change in both universe (disaster still happen in both timeline) and as a special variant create by the whisper defeat, Zack keep making new universe everytime he make choice (there's no whisper in the new universe maybe because it defeated) but like the movie final destination he still destined to die in most of the universe (like Biigs). Only he still survived in some universe so we know that destiny can be change or altered like Aerith says before defeating whisper there's a "boundless terrifying freedom, like a great never-ending sky" on the other side

[@loner1512]

@@xanderlocke if there is a disaster right when they left midgar, they will know, but why no one talk about it? even when you climb on clock tower you can see midgar still in one piece.

[@SwobyJ]

@@loner1512 Glad you brought it up. I was alarmed by this as well. Who knows? Maybe its an early sign that Cloud's perception is crossing over already, or maybe its literally the realities of both merging. Its... hard to believe both worlds have the same news report if Cloud's world has no other clear signs of such a similarly devastating event happening. Rufus does remark on having to focus on closer concerns, but that's still not the same as Zack's world's destruction level (Shinra building toppling?). Their world's situation is broadly OKAYish, so the radio report is an anomaly.

[@KBP98]

Remember a character can travel to another timeline and die there, so we don't know who is who. All we can tell is which timeline it is, not which version of a character.

[@Azurefire36]

im not gonna lie I was really emotional in this game at the end and confused at the same time

[@thuggothic]

I just completed it That's why I came here I'm still super emotional and confused

[@jinnimoo]

I find it interesting that the entire ch.14 date & church scene between Cloud and Aerith doesn't happen if you choose to skip Zack's story in NG+. Kinda telling that the devs made sure those endgame scenes are tied to Zack 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Eccolegendz20]

"Tifa is my right or die." Agreed.

[@Ballard258]

this game is at its best when its Final fantasy 7 and at its worst when its trying to be a Rick and morty episode.

[@toddfraser7009]

Note the number of stars on each of the hats.

[@ezraaalif214]

can you explain it to me, please?

[@SR-kh6yq]

each version of Stamp has a different number of stars on his hat, corresponding to how many different timelines there are @@ezraaalif214

[@Gnato666]

Stamp is a way to indicate which reality we are. Dog’s breed is different, hat is different but also the number of stars on the hat is different. So it’s easy to talk about. Universe 3, universe 7, etc

[@ezraaalif214]

@@Gnato666 thanks, man

[@adkj.961]

This convoluted explanation reminds me of KH. Dream Worlds, Prime Worlds, Other variant Worlds lol.

[@louismartin7608]

Super cool video, well explained, well edited, great job !

[@jayse112002]

So basically, the remake of ff7 is to give us a headache?

[@woojin214]

Glen is Jenova's manifestation in the black robes body (degrading soldiers with jenova cells who can shape shift). It's the same thing Sepiroth did when he stabbed Aerith in the OG. It's not his actual body coz his actual body is in northern crater waiting Cloud to give him the black materia.

[@daniellehyde9279]

Pretty sure the Glenn / Rufus scenes are Sephiroth using Jenova to take the form of someone who could manipulate Rufus into ensuring a war in the Prime timeline. Sephiroth explains that he will fill all worlds with hate, anger etc. At the end of 'og' FF7 Marlene and everyone adds their prayers to the planet to help Holy stop meteor. Could just be a way to disrupt that. Could be to distract Rufus from unintentionally helping Cloud & co. Be funny, but also could be payback for Rufus who (will?) hid/hide Jenova's head during Advent Children.

[@ben1805]

The main thing I disliked about it was there was this back and forth of whether she was alive or dead or alive or dead. I can’t remember how many times I got faked out. If they really were intent on killing her they should have just committed and let us be in the moment instead of quadruple guessing ourselves.

[@thamastersmooth]

Man...they put the Legend of Zelda aspect into it..

[@felixleung6069]

I remember the director did said that characters die they never come back and the director also said they want the new player can feel the same thing when the OG happened in 1997 so that I think the director also want some change in the story. if no multiple timeline, there will be some difficulty with advent children story,Zack and Biggs alive must have a purpose maybe is to save aerith or change the story but the game not telling us what it is? whether aerith is dead still a mystery so that there’s a possibility for her to live or come back. in 3rd part of the game Zack will be more important to the main story and depending on player how to choose by the end.

[@terryhall8915]

It’s a different timeline cloud who never gave the materia to sephiroth and that’s why he can see the sky and knows that aerith is alive because he is aware of the different timelines

[@williamtice3579]

Jenova can take on the appearance as anyone they want. If you remember in the OG North Crater, Sephiroth looked like Tifa telling the person holding the black materia to head in.

[@sharvbitgaming]

I finished the game yesterday and I couldn’t understand why everyone was crying because I could see Aerith. Now, I understand why 😂

[@Mukation]

I gotta say that i think people overall would have just preffered if they had kept the story straight from the OG game with the expanded stories for side characters (like Jesse, Biggs and Wedge) etc like they have done in the two games so far, but at the same time completly cut out the whispers and timelines stuff. Personally, i'm all for exploring the "what if"-verse with Zack as secondary protaganist along side Cloud in the main timeline, but i understand some of the critique Square Enix is getting for this. Especially when it is so convoluted.

[@unskillfullymasterful]

dude the next entry is gonna start like FIAH

[@DlCKWALLACE]

At the end of the Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth has the black materia, then he gives it to Cloud, then asks for Cloud to give it back. Like, what? Then Cloud gets the black materia from Aerith to give it to Sephiroth. At the end, Cloud still has the black materia....The OG was so much easier to digest.

[@ryanpledger9333]

So basically…Aerith became a force ghost? Like in Star Wars?

[@sephiroth0992]

How does cloud have the black materia at the end if he gave it to sephiroth at the temple of the ancients?

[@strailz4302]

I don't think he actually did. It was more symbolic of him "Giving it to him" as in cloud gave himself to sephiroth and now can do the reunion stuff at northern crater. Cloud has to give the materia to sephiroth's actual body which is encased in mako at northern crater.

[@OceanGroupGamer]

The Glenn thing could be down to jenova cells as sephiroth can use those to manipulate the appearance of deceased people

[@domokun6157]

Just like Dr Strange, he sawed like only possibility how to defeat Thanos... same for FF7 😅

[@kamenidriss]

excellent explanation! still probably the most confusing game story of this year though. I get that they don't want to do a carbon copy of the original game, but I feel like this is too much tinkering. Any story that involves timelines and time travels tend to be overly complicated and detract from the game itself.

[@therealsnek8765]

Also consider this, everytime cloud goes through a time tunnel the tunnel itself is a different color

[@Nimaes45173]

While walking through the temple. The ancients explain that jeniva can take the forms if their dead loved ones.

[@qtmhell]

My plot hole in this is HOW did marelene knew what would happen to aerith and knew sepiroth?!?! Loved the explanation though! Amazing effort you guys!

[@sindelio]

OG Aerith sent her memories back to remake Aerith after the incidents of advent children. Then remake Aerith showed some of these events to Marlene to calm her down. However during Rebirth Aerith implies she is losing the memories she got from OG Aerith because she ia touching the whispers, who are not happy with someone in the present having memories of future events. It's complex, however you can make sense of kost of it with some patience.

[@DlCKWALLACE]

@@sindelioIn Zack's timeline, he asks Marlene if Aerith has feelings for Cloud. Cloud and Aerith hadn't even met yet...they don't meet until after the first reactor bombing. Even if that's wrong, how does Zack know Aerith and Cloud know each other?

[@sindelio]

@@DlCKWALLACE I think it's because Zack saw Aerith and Cloud together after the tornado, and then in a comma in Elmyra's house. He wonders if Cloud has a relation to Aerith, which Marlene confirms. Even though we are seeing Zack's timeline, it is still after the reactor bombing. I could be wrong tho

[@user-op6wo9hx1s]

Just throw a Phoenix down on aerith

[@Matt7R]

For an "ending explained" video there's a lot of "I don't know" and "I guess" being said...

[@nik0_plays]

9:20 I think that stamp represents the same timeline but altered as the dog has altered 17:28 like Sephiroth says he's a puppet lol he is barely there most the time 22:00 best video I seen so far explaining the ending

[@crobinson2624]

I haven’t beaten Final Fantasy seven rebirth yet I’m about halfway through does the ending suggest there will be a third game and also does the ending follow the original game in anyway?

[@Zhyiber]

Devs confirmed a long while ago this was gonna be a trilogy

[@parcival3016]

Not to echo the other reply but its been stated multiple times that this will be a 3 part series with Rebirth being the second installment. Like REMAKE, Rebirth offers a very faithful adaptation of the events of Final Fantasy 7 without deviating too much from the source for about 85%-90% of the game

[@DlCKWALLACE]

SE confirmed a long time ago this will be a trilogy. The 3rd and final game will be released in 2027 or early 2028.

[@wontononionslicer1004]

Cloud can still see her is not new, in og if you return to Midgard and go to the church you will see her as a spirit or illusion or imagination. And to me this small easter egg will have major impact in the next game to what everything is going on here. And we do know what happens in future, in advent children Cloud will blame himself for not be able to save her, the parring the masamune scene is just sephiroth made him believe.