Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: The Ending Explained (Spoilers... For When You've Finished!)

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an impressive game and its story continues the fresh new take on the narrative that was penned over two decades ago.
With so much happening, this video will run-through the various moments that led-up to the ending and discuss what everything meant, while also discussing some brief theories and thoughts for the future.
► KEY POINTS WITHIN THIS VIDEO
1. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ending
2. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ending Explained
3. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ending Theories
4. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Spoilers
5. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ending Discussion
6. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ending Changes
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[@bextra_special]

I felt a bit like Zack throughout the game. "What the hell is going on?" was said so many times playing this....

[@mikeruiger7174]

A very common thing for numora if your a kh fan your tired of it lol

[@mercuriosity3133]

@@mikeruiger7174 Its Nojima the lead scriptwriter, not Nomura to blame for these weird timeline shenanigans, Nomura wanted to make this trilogy it as close to a 1 to 1 remake but nojima and kitase wanted to make drastic changes. In the end I feel like if the devs are right, then all of this will make clear sense in part 3 as it is supposed to seamlessly link to advent children, so I don't think the end result will be too different.

[@aether_eyes]

Every time I felt like I had a grasp on what was going on, we had a Zack scene, which just cancelled all understanding and put me right back to, "What is going on?"

[@bextra_special]

@zzk486 I feel you. I'm completely open to a few new twists in the tale, but this feels like a box of frogs has been opened and my brain is fried trying to piece it all together.

[@mikeruiger7174]

@@mercuriosity3133 I think making this all take place after and just continue the story would have been way smarter, they already have zack alive which no one asked for but still killed aerith which a lot of ppl didn’t want.

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

Sephiroth is trying to get every version of Stamp. Man is obsessed. As a Pokemon fan myself, can relate.

[@un_known5895]

you could say that sephiroth is a..... stamp collector! XD

[@NeoDMC]

Pomeranian Stamp is best Stamp.

[@flameroad123]

​@@un_known5895Oh god no!!! Lmao!

[@SuperRamos619]

If he collects 10, he gets a free Black Materia.

[@adeveloper6653]

Gotta catch' em all Stampemon!

[@drkenobii]

Sephiroth is trying to merge everyone into the Kingdom Hearts universe

[@rabnessmonster25]

Lol yep

[@combatgeek]

If you are following latest Sony moves and plans with live service games and Square Enix devs saying multiple times that series is going to change you realise rather quickly FF series will merge not only with KH universe but also XV, XVI, Forspoken, or even reskined final fantasy XV named Reynatis and Verum rex, FF VII Rebirth Is certainly merge with Dissudia narration as mentioned by Tetsuya Nomura latest statement about story focused Dissidia, plus you got Fanitsu interview about FF14 2nd rebirth, due to similarities of same enviroments, map architecture (XV,16,Forspoken, Rebirth, Evercrisis) Glenn mobile character is also in Rebirth and if worlds merge this means mobile mechanics of Evercrisis will be as well part of Playstation 5 Dissidia multiplayer game

[@combatgeek]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zmq8dqGkma96pskfeature=shared

[@spoonimefan]

He's getting revenge for not being brought back as a secret boss in the last one.

[@RogerHR]

its jenova acutally

[@supertaco2896]

I want to point out a cheeky gameplay detail in the beginning of the Jenova fight - notice that Cloud is the only party member without a full limit break gauge, sort of implying the other members are in a heightened emotional state having witnessed Aerith's death yet Cloud is not in a heightened emotional state. Evidently, in retrospect the limit break thing is something that they wanted to do in the original game but never did.

[@skrooz7864]

Nice catch!

[@noahsaboliauskas7753]

Cool

[@dawsonslone]

Explain. Is it cause cloud doesn’t think she’s dead? Or cause he can’t actually feel emotions ? Or cause he’s basically seph clone and is evil? Help!!

[@makisbizarreadventure4669]

@@dawsonslone Alittle bit of everything lol. But mostly because he thinks she isn't dead at this point.

[@AZodiacCancer]

​@@dawsonsloneCloud is in denial that Aerith is dead. He's also flipping through multiple timelines and can't figure out what's real. While she does die she also wakes up.

[@kinoleogeo7998]

If this was a chess match, Aerith sacrificed her Queen, herself, to give her other pieces better positions to save the King.

[@heheitsjohnE]

Naur she cant there has to be another way.

[@qull3840]

Queen's blood is the foreshadowing

[@self-righteousideologue9398]

Meh. Usually when you sacrifice your queen you do so as an offensive maneuver for an attack, Like Dubov did with Karjakin in 2020. For those who don't know that game, go watch it. It's truly amazing, especially Dubov's queen sacrifice. You are correct, though, that sometimes a queen sacrifice is needed in the endgame, but this is almost always done to force a draw and not a victory. So I don't think your analogy works here. EDIT: If you edit your post, however, and change "to save the King" to "to finish the enemy," then it would work. 😀

[@kinoleogeo7998]

@@self-righteousideologue9398 🤓 thanks for the advice

[@colinmcewan7289]

@@qull3840 oh my god you're so right.

[@stroltz351]

I don't know why people are questioning Cloud talking to a dead Areith. He did this exact same thing in Advent Children

[@StephaneGman]

Ah I didn't remember this. Will have to rewatch this.

[@wiziek]

Advent Children was remake of "original" story? Not to mention it was fan service movie, not really relevant or good quality story.

[@bmonthatipkul]

​@wiziek original story is Cloud and Zack is the same physical body but different soul. Just many stories told around, monkey magic or horus and seth. Single physical body with multiple soul.

[@TheMantheon563]

@@wiziek no, it wasnt, neither are Remake and Rebirth for that matter, these practically take place AFTER Advent Children actually, at least Sephiroth is a version of himself after Advent Children

[@BeachPleased]

@@TheMantheon563 I don't think so, I always think Advent Children happens 2 years after they beat Sephiroth (both OG and FF7R) so if we want to predict how this FF7R ending, we could look at how FF7 Advent Children

[@advertizment]

My understanding is that Aerith is sort of an anchor for all the timelines, while both zack and cloud are in a way beings who are somewhat aware of the branching timelines. kinda like multiversal beings like what sephiroth is in the remake. I have a feeling Zack cloud and aerith might end up being the party for the final battle in part 3, after a merging of all timelines. Zack's importance to the story and his new quest to unite the timelines and save everyone might just end up with sephiroth's plan dead.

[@federicamacchia1656]

Boh,Aerith and Jenova,are.....the struggle Is between these two entities,and Cloud Is the "tool" bound to both of them,that both of them Need to have by their side to reach their goal...

[@Codewa-xb9lt]

Don't forget tifa *hint* *hint*

[@writingref]

Schrödinger's Aerith.

[@MrXMysteriousX]

It's also potentially worth factoring in Zack and his other timeline variants.Specifically, Zack wraps Aerith's ribbon around his hand and for some of the timelines he either does or does not have it. It's likely that just as with variants of Stamp the dog, the ribbon is a visual clue as to which "Zack" we are looking at.

[@MaxinRudy]

I find It funny that they used the same thing in bravely Second. Ringabell became a timeline cop thing, só we knew the ringabell of the First game was the one with a ribbon on his arm, while the "other" ringabell was the one without the ribbon.

[@coreydemoss4781]

I think this is gonna come back around with Aerith too. The Aerith who goes on a date with Cloud gets a flower pin that she pins to her jacket. I think this is setting up to be a visual clue in Part 3 that will indicate a difference in what version of Aerith we're seeing.

[@Executive14]

I played the final fight on dynamic and died on the final phase when Sephiroth had a sliver of health left, the lose screen was so confusing, like it had like 4-5 options and two of the options can be read the same way like the text was so similar, and I was so tired it was like 3am i thought the final part was going to be an hour not 4 hours. So I clicked the one that says “start at the beginning of this battle” or something like that and started me at phase one and i was so mad. I just turned the difficulty to easy and ran it back, that fight had so many phases that it literally took me around an hour on dynamic, i was not doing all that again.

[@damagon647]

hey i did that too lmao. The first 2 options were basically saying the same thing i was so confused.

[@Sinultros]

Same. Had Sephiroth down to literally 5% health when he suddenly caught both Cloud and Aerith in his Octaslash limit and it was game over. It was 4am and I was running on fumes, so I switched to easy as well. That fight definitely felt like it took me close to an hour on dynamic difficulty.

[@nathanfyfe1169]

YES I thought I’d just misread it but it made no sense

[@MrLightlike78]

definitely done this XD *start from checkpoint* and im back at my auto save from 3 hrs ago.....fortunately the game is pretty generous but the checkpoint option is borderline useless

[@stevenmazanet9933]

happy it wasn't just me

[@kurzor0007]

Aerith transcended her physical body, she is now truly Sephiroth's counterpart and the writers are referencing her ability to reach out from the lifestream and communicate with others, the same way Sephiroth has been appearing before Cloud all through out the remake project, they are probably discarding the Jenova clone Sephiroth in favor of this. For now she chooses to interact with Cloud, probably because his status as a Sephiroth clone makes him the most convenient person to do so and perhaps also because he is the one who needs her help the most

[@golgariblightwarlock]

I don't think theyre doing away with the jenova/sephiroth clone, as pretty much everywhere sephiroth appeared before cloud prior to the ending, it was through a remnant. That and you still refers to his reunion theory. I think sephiroths power within the lifestream comes more from the concept of "that which is not born of the lifestream, cannot return to it", much like the Gi. Sephiroth is just so contaminated by jenovas genetic material that he cannot truly die, the same as jenova herself, so like the OG he has the power to manipulate the jenova cells of others and aerith can do the same with the lifestream. So yeah, she truly is Sephiroth counterpart and always was, it's just better displayed now. But the Jenova reunion is still relevant.

[@jaymckeown7601]

@@golgariblightwarlockyeah it seems top basically be a thing that the lifestream of every universe is connected, and given that we know from the 97 OG that the real Sephiroth is likely tied to the lifestream he knows all of this, and it just took one break in the strand of fate for him to become aware of the multi-verse. Similarly Aerith's communion with the lifestream at the temple seems to be what connected her finally. The only strange thing still is the way she has that random moment of clarity at the end of Remake and then it's gone come Rebirth.

[@halibonga]

So Aerith is Obi-Wan Kenobi

[@nichiyohane]

IMO I think this approach could work, in theory. Cloud tried to save Aerith, seems succeed but failed, stuck in denial, become most underdog version Cloud we have. Lost his mom, lost his home. Failed to protect Aerith and pretend to be because denial. Then believe he failed to protect Tifa because his mind is hacked, fell to the deepest bottom. The rise will be epic. But jumping between Rebirth timeline, Zack timeline, the give-in end timeline, maybe-OG timeline, plus 3 different Sephiros boss fights, confused players way too much.

[@bossmanham]

​@@stevendouglas3781and that version also has the life stream flowing around her.

[@user-ec1mo6nm8c]

The ending was too all over the place for me. Too much jumping from scene to scene with different characters and without much explanation, it felt messy like they were short on time and trying to squeeze stuff in. And that plus the lack of dialogue from other characters during Aerith's death scene (such as Yuffie crying), really took the emotion out of that scene especially with all the scene jumping I kept wondering whether she was actually dead or not. Just feels very convoluted imo

[@makisbizarreadventure4669]

i think the scene jumps were on purpose. It was moment where a new reality was made we don't see entirely. One where he actually did save Aerith and the one we're in where she actually died. But it sucks we don't get to see Cloud move her to the water or even have his outburst at Sephiroth

[@GLUFSAREN]

I agree. I feel like they should have just made a massive game instead of 3 games and released everything at the same time. Might not have been possible but. That's what I wish would have happened.

[@clarityreunited]

I agree i absolutely loved the majority of the game but really hated the ending

[@freman007]

@@GLUFSAREN They started with PS4 technology, and this wouldn't have been possible back then. Look what Larian has done with Baldur's Gate 3. It's a huge game, but not as event filled as FF7R.

[@user-ec1mo6nm8c]

​​@@makisbizarreadventure4669 That's exactly my issue with it. I know it was on purpose and that doesn't make it less messy or contrived. I'm just not a fan of multiple timeline stories I guess as it's very overdone at this point and feels like Rebirth went full Kingdom Hearts. To be honest it baffles me how XVI gets the hate of 'not feeling like FF' when Rebirth feels like the least FF game out of all the mainlines in my opinion

[@skins4thewin]

Well... It could have just been Cloud imagining himself stopping Sephiroth's blade, due to his broken mind.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

Most likely. Marlene told to Zack that Cloud didn't make it in time. I hope both Zack and Cloud 2 can save Aerith 2 in part 3. Zack atleast knows that Sephiroth is after her and that he needs Cloud's help if he wants to stop Sephiroth.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

@@AkihikoLockhartStrife Aerith was there to help Cloud. It was her spirit. Even Sephiroth said to Aerith "i must admit i underestimated you" and when Aerith asked Sephiroth "how can you want this?" Sephiroth replied to her "Begone you have played your part." Also Aerith saved Zack just moments before Cloud faced Sephiroth. She was there. Also in the ending scene Nanaki sensed Aerith's spirit. Somehow only Cloud can see her spirit just like only Cloud can see the rift in the sky.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

@@AkihikoLockhartStrife If she wouldn't have been there Sephiroth wouldn't have tried to attack her. Also she can damage Sephiroth and her healing wind can heal Cloud. She was there alright.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

@@AkihikoLockhartStrife i don't. Nanaki sensed Aerith's spirit. This proves she was there. Also she was guiding Zack to help Cloud and even healed him when he fought Sephiroth Reborn.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

@@AkihikoLockhartStrife Nomura said there are three worlds in Rebirth. Devs never said anything about only one timeline. There are multiple timelines. According to Sephiroth everytime a fate gets altered a new timeline gets created.

[@Moniszka]

Thanks for giving such a good explanation of what transpired. I understand why some might be disappointed with the ending, saying that it was too convoluted and not impactful, but personally, after I saw Cloud stopping the sword of Sephiroth and then saw Aerith pass away, I experienced something I hadn't experienced before. The sadness that tells me I should cry, but at the same time, I couldn't. The sense of emptiness. The moment I realized that Aerith was still there, just in a different way, and when Zack asked Cloud to save her, I was filled with hope. Just like when Cloud in the original said he would meet Aerith again. I haven't had anyone close pass away in my life, and I do not dare to compare it to a game, but now I have a slightly better understanding of how the hope of meeting someone again, even in the afterlife, or the hope of bringing someone back, can influence the perception of a dramatic event. If I was presented explicitly with Aerith being impaled, I would cry my eyes out, but that would be it. I would know that it is the end. But with the ambiguity, I was able to go through a different sort of grieving.

[@lucyoliver7004]

I think once Cloud snaps out of it (loose term) and his mind is cleared they are going to flashback to her death and we will see all of it play out. I see what they were trying to do but seeing as we all geared up to, let’s be honest, revisit our OG player emotional breakdowns, it was a risky moment to deviate from. There was so much to take in it was hard to connect with it in the way I imagine many expected. Also Biggs is alive in the alternate timeline and he is then shot dead. The same happened with Wedge. Similarly, it made me think of the Final Destination films 😆, and if you are meant to die it won’t skip you, it will catch up along the line. This was a key factor that I think was a little lost in all there was to take in. For me, Barrett and Dyne made me far more emotional than the ending and I am so pleased as I wanted that to be delivered well. Also Chapter 13 with individual trials (Barret 😢) and the chapter in general! Temple of Ancients was a masterpiece! I think how the next game plays out will hopefully change the ending experience of Rebirth on a replay once the compilation of games is done. 🤞

[@jt1973]

I had a similar experience. In a way, I think that simply showing Aerith die and have that scene be recreated almost 1 for 1 would be tear-inducing, but the thing that made Aerith's death so impactful is not just because of the depiction of the scene, its the reality of the event and the long term implications that stayed with people throughout the game and elsewhere. I think, despite my reservations, they did manage to take me - someone who expected either cloud to save her, or for her to die and that to be it - and subvert my expectations. I was shocked, I was angry, sad, confused, and ultimately I grieved all over again. I kind of don't want her to be as prominent as Zack was in Rebirth, outside of pivotal moments where she must be there. I would also be okay if its revealed that Cloud can't actually see Aerith, or that he claims he can and it causes grief/strife within the party who are very much upset at him acting like shes alive when they saw her die, etc. There's a lot of ways it could go, but I do think showing her every 5 seconds would be the one thing they should not do.

[@jt1973]

Good catch with fate catching up to people. I'm not sure how the idea that fate is somewhat inescapable plays into the story they are trying to tell, since Rebirth was set up as like 'we defeated the arbiters of fate, now anything can happen!' that seems a bit contradictory, but it does emphasize the fact that after this is all over... Aerith will probably still be ultimately and finally dead and part of the lifestream again.@@lucyoliver7004

[@ZOMGItsTheLoganShow]

The way I see it is that the original game's story is kind of ambigous in a lot of ways, and Rebirth follows in these footsteps. We are left with a lot of questions, and I can understand why people are upset at the convoluted way they told the final chapter. I feel this is the closest to "having your cake and eating it too" in terms of Aerith surviving or not. Cloud's current state of mind reflects the original mind break he had with Zack's death and honestly makes him a more consistent character, and I am excited to see him work it out with Tifa (and another Aerith?) in the next game. I thought the multiple timelines were told well enough, but it did require the player to pay close attention. It does make the impact of certain scenes lessen, but I feel like you can't recreate those feelings from a game with 27 years of discussion behind it. I believe the remake series is a horrible way to experience FF7, but as a companion to those who are fans? I dunno, I dig it and am super invested on how it plays out. They set up a lot here, I just hope they don't fumble it. To me this is the best case scenario. These games don't invalidate the original, and are interesting in their own way. Who is ready to start part 3 with an unusally happy Cloud snowboarding, with the rest of the party depressed? I know I am

[@RoxasTheBest89]

You got me with happy Cloud on the snowboard ahahahaha

[@carck6442]

This is the best take I’ve read in these comments

[@MysteryBounty]

I agree with you I don't know that I would enjoy it as much if I didn't know and love the original so much, at the end I was left confused as fuck I was like ok so Aerith is...kind of dead? Like I feel like her death had no impact this time, I was more sad over the scene with Dyne dying than I was with Aerith because for 1 I expected it and for 2 Cloud kept talking to her and so it was like she isn't gone. I have mixed feelings on the ending, still can't wait for part 3 especially since we didn't get to play as my main man Vincent!!

[@Tshombee]

The Aerith and zack from the end of AC in the church will turn out to be alt timeline versions instead of ghosts watching over cloud

[@Papyrus6769-wp1sm]

Cope more.

[@J-Dawg81]

@@Papyrus6769-wp1smso aggressive? For what? lol

[@epicglitter7218]

@@J-Dawg81 it's wild right? the people who don't just hate Rebirth, but really really want to make you as miserable as possible because they're unhappy

[@IianaDRK]

I dont think so, because theyre the originals that went back to the og lifestream.

[@Tshombee]

@@IianaDRK i feel this with zack but my question regarding aerith is that essentially all aeriths would be the same since they share memories right? The only thing an aerith from another timeline would be missing is the main aerith’s memories but it seems like they all know whats going on.

[@OmarO_721]

Given how many times the word “Reunion” was mentioned. I guess we can assume that’s the title of the third game, even though Crisis Core already took it?

[@mylesaustinleetaylor2000]

I agree with ya. It has to be! Cloud literally says it in the end cutscene as well.

[@GenesisJay]

Re-Assemble? Re-United? idk 😅

[@magicalsleeper]

Re-Reunion

[@Themacattack1209]

@@magicalsleeperKingdom Hearts type of title lol

[@eetukuru787]

​@@Themacattack1209#JustNomuraThings

[@Laura-qd5fn]

Can’t believe you put 3 very clear spoiler warnings in the video on top of clearly stating that the video was about the ending of rebirth which in itself should tell you it’s a spoiler and yet people are still whinging in the comments. I loved the game … up until the ending, the ending I dislike a lot it ruined a pivotal moment in the game and I’m having to watch these types of videos to even try make sense of wtf happened.

[@patriotsfan122480]

The huge boss fights also really messed with it too. If it was just the Jenova fight, I think it could have worked, especially with how you had everyone’s limit gages maxed (with the exception of Cloud’s) with their feelings of grief and anger to start it off. But…it didn’t end there.

[@aggiel8775]

I always go to your account because you have one of the best analysis all the time. Thank you for sharing!

[@dhdurhueur-qe5pn]

It's basically the same thing as remake.The vast majority of game is incredible.Even far-exceeding remake, and then the ending is like wow okay. It doesn't really ruin anything , but it just creates a lot of questions for the next game that will probably have yet another bonker's ending, despite most of the game being a really great homage to the original. Getting the 99% of these games is worth whatever goofy shit they want to do with the end of them.

[@TheRigel91]

My feeling, exactly. The ending left me quite annoyed, and then I remembered all the fun I had during those 100 hours.

[@sosbrigaders]

I have agree. Even tho I hate the ending to both games with a passion, the first 13 chapters were great. W/E FF7 OG is my canon and nobody can tell me otherwise lol

[@resetbutton7982]

My exact feeling. I was so frustrated with the ending but the 101 hours I put into it was tons of fun. I would only change the ending 9 out of 10 game for me.

[@sosbrigaders]

@@stevendouglas3781 I’m glad you liked the ending. But to your point 90% of the game is a rehash of events from almost 30 years ago. If it’s not broke don’t fix it. Aerith ended up dying anyways. They shouldn’t have spoiled the moment with multiverse KH shenanigans

[@sosbrigaders]

@@stevendouglas3781 I’m pretty sure she’s dead. At least in the main timeline. What I got from the ending was aerith helped cloud fight Sephiroth from the lifestream only to return after the fight. Everyone reacts as if aerith is gone except cloud due to his memories being all messed up. Also his perception of what’s real and what’s not is fucked as well, that’s why he keeps seeing her while the others do not. It was interesting reading your take on things, and I do agree that for the most part the story beats and characterization were done far better in the remakes than the original. Ofc they were very limited in tech back then it’s amazing they put together an incredible story. We can agree to disagree about the ending being terrible. Like I said, I’m happy a whole other generation can enjoy FF7 like I did back in the day, albeit in a different way.

[@jeremygardner3183]

I gotta disagree with you. Aerith died just like she did in the original. Everything we see in the ending is Cloud’s PTSD ridden perspective.

[@12ealDealOfficial]

This is the theory I like the most but also the one I think is the least likely of the popular theories. You would have to ignore a lot of other evidence for this one to be true, and Cloud isn't entirely aware of other events happening outside his perspective. Not just how the rest of the party sees events, but all the stuff with Biggs, Zack, the weird timeline stuff, etc.

[@figuures6098]

TLDR: Cloud has a shrodingers Aerith Fr tho, my immediate thought when cloud was emotionless and talking to Aerith while the gang was super sad and couldn’t see her, I thought “oh god Jenova is glitching him to still see and talk to Aerith so he can’t develop like he needs to.” I was waiting for her to do a creepy sephiroth smile during the final cutscene, with like a feather or something.

[@audriari]

it would def be interesting if they make it so "if you think aerith is gone, then shes gone. but if you think shes still waiting, then she will be there waiting for Cloud" but i wonder how they would make it work

[@MarchofTyranny]

Or Areith wants Cloud to beleive she is still alive because she does not want Cloud - to paraphrase Sepheroth from an earilier scene - 'Fill that hollow heart with rage'. Sepheroth wants Cloud to foster his hate and pain. As he also says to Cloud the first time we see him in Remake, 'Good Cloud. Hold on to that anger'

[@tdspkhype3042]

You would be surprised how many people think that she was Jenova lol. When literally Red’s sensing her contradicts that. That Red scene was specifically made for intention of telling people who thought that is “No she’s the real Aerith”

[@bossmanham]

​@@tdspkhype3042 Jenova can't manipulate Red?

[@tdspkhype3042]

@@bossmanham Why would Jenova manipulate Red here of all places just to check on Tifa? It doesn’t make sense for Jenova to appear in that scene. They wouldn’t have done Nanaki sensing Aerith to begin with

[@BooN877]

The next game will have a good portion dedicated to having Cloud out of commission after he falls into the life stream and gets major Mako poisoning. They'll have lot's of room to play with that, exploring timeline's traveling between them and exploring that idea to its fullest

[@moecgaming]

Aerith's role is definitely going to help Cloud and Tifa when it comes to his fractured mind. My theory is Sephiroth is going to try to stop that event from happening, but Aerith would intervene

[@thedarkderp2520]

Agreed he sees Tifa as a major threat to his plans which is why he kept trying to gaslight Cloud about what happened in Nibelheim

[@moecgaming]

​@@thedarkderp2520only option now is to say he was a Sephiroth clone created by Hojo

[@Jose-se9pu]

That's the problem; Remake was all about preventing the same things that happened in the OG, and now its all about making sure things happen like they happened in the OG?

[@The3rownie]

⁠​⁠@@thedarkderp2520I’m confused about something, why does Sephiroth save Tifa in that one scene when she’s inside that mako weapon (unless I’m getting the context wrong) if right before that he had Cloud attack her and make her fall in the mako?

[@thedarkderp2520]

@@The3rownie I'm not sure myself but maybe he wanted her to drown so she'd suffer sephiroth is pretty cruel so that's my guess

[@ChaosElement]

I think that it was a good idea. We all know that Aerith was going to die there and instead of trying to recreate the same exact feeling they knew it would be impossible. We all know she was going to be killed. When we first saw her murder , "that" was the twist at the time in 1997. They're trying to tell a new story and our "twist" will probably come in part 3. Why do we need to see her die over and over again expecting a certain emotional response when the entire world knew she dies at the capital. Lets face it, the game is for returning fans. We wished for her to survive for years and we get a chance this time and its not bad. Same with Zack. Its ok to give us something more rather then the same "exact" story. Who knows, they could kill Cloud next story and then we'll be in pain for another 20 years

[@StrikerJaken]

It's just that they didn't need a multiverse story to do it. Now the story lost a lot of impact becuase of. It doesn't enrich it, it's shifts the story from personal problems and saving the world to saving a multiverse and death doesn't mean anything.

[@ChaosElement]

@@StrikerJaken If you think about it. They didnt change the story, Aerith did die, its just that this is more of a "continuation" of the FFVII storyline in which we thought that everything ended in the FFVII 1997 release, but there was more to it. We sat with just that first part for several years and it turns out that Sephiroth wasn't completely defeated. So I take it as we're finally seeing what he had in store. After you defeated him at the end of the original he just kind of exploded into red/black light or whatever. so technical you could say it wasnt over. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnvakHepaJyfh5Y 19:32 mark

[@StrikerJaken]

@@ChaosElementThe story ended. Holy came, Jenova was gone. Even Advent Children put it to rest and the furthest we went with that timeline had Hojo of all things corrupt the Lifestream. No Sephiroth to be found. They added things, for more twists and to have an ending where "everyone" will be happy. However, it being a closed system, actually had stakes for specific character deaths. Now it does not. Aerith was gone. Her death didn't have her jump out and be a mastermind behind the scenes. If any, she was fighting in the lifestream, most likely with Zack by her side. However, that doesn't mean we have to go into multiverse BS. They can tell the same story without that. It wouldn't change a beat.

[@TheRigel91]

The idea is good, but I think the execution is poor.

[@stevenhart1192]

While I agree that Aerith's death being exactly like in 1997 wouldn't have had as much of an emotional impact now, what they did in Rebirth killed any emotion with her death, at least for me. The constant switching through timelines with multiple Aerith's, the seemingly rushed Forgotten City, the divergence of Cloud "saving" Aerith just to show another reality in which he didn't (and we didn't even really get to see Sephiroth succeed) and then following THAT reality where you can play as Aerith once more just killed any emotional weight her death should have had.

[@borderlandsglitches]

For the many people who don't own a PS5, watching videos like this is the only way to stop unwanted spoilers. I haven't played the game yet, but I felt the need to know what happens on my own terms before seeing it spread across the internet.

[@DrawinandSh1t]

I mean…why wouldn’t you just watch one of the many all cutscenes videos?

[@borderlandsglitches]

@DrawinandSh1t well I did originally veiw the aerith scene that way but I didn't feel the need to comment on the matter until I watched this video.

[@epicglitter7218]

@@DrawinandSh1t I did, and find I"m still enjoying the heck out of the game even knowing those spoilers. but the full cutscene video I saw was 13 hours long, and I can definitely see how the much shorter breakdown in this video might be kinder on many peoples' schedules!

[@patriotsfan122480]

Totally get you. At least you’re actively choosing to seek it out yourself, rather than sadly coming across it by chance and leaving the choice out of your hands.

[@Kopie0830]

Someone in my neighborhood is making big bucks doing a remote gameplay of ff7. You just need a ps5 controller and screen synced to his ps5.

[@sherlockwolf]

this helped me pull together all the bits of understanding i got from my playthrough, thank you!

[@xxcrono]

man, this is a real good video. Well done!

[@Silverfish-qv8ig]

Aerith isn't a ghost or Astral projection. She's a bleed from a parallel timeline/universe where Cloud saved her. By having her stay in City of the Ancients, the writers have options for 3 that won't break development. This is clear from the 'timeline changed rainbow', the fact no-one else can see her, Red XIII's detection of her and her dress blowing in the wind. She is a physical manifestation, so it will be interesting to see where SE go with that. Also the quote at the end specifically hints that they will be together again, when cross referenced with Aerith's song.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

What quote?

[@nickrobi9178]

@@AnonymousBesserwisser The discussion before boarding Tiny Bronco where Cloud asks "will you be fine getting back?" and Aerith basically saying "yes" - referring to "getting back" to the world she belongs in, because she is stuck in this broken split timeline that was created when Cloud deflected Sephiroth. As this commenter said, it's not a ghost or projection, Aerith is literally alive, but basically stuck in the lifestream behind a kind of one sided glass we could call "another world".

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

@@nickrobi9178 i see it now too after carefully studying the end scene. We literally see Aerith both dying and surviving. Cloud actually managed to save Aerith. Blocking Sephiroth's masamune created a new parallel world where Aerith is alive but other party members can't see it because they are in world 1 wheres Cloud and Aerith are both between these two worlds. That's why only Cloud can see the rift in the sky and others don't. Also before the fight against Sephiroth Aerith said that "I saw what you did back there Cloud. Thank you." Aerith literally thanked Cloud for saving her. World 1 Aerith is dead but now we have two Aeriths alive. One in Terrier timeline with Zack (she is in coma) and now the other Aerith is alive in this new world that Cloud's actions created.

[@renegade637]

@@AnonymousBesserwisser "I see it now" Me too. On some other videos, we were debating that Aerith was existing in another timeline, what we called the "Deflection" timeline, so that she could exist there while she died in the Prime timeline. Mind you, that didn't entirely make sense. But, it was the best explanation we could come up with. The idea that she is stuck between timelines by being "dead" in one and "alive" in the parallel one in such a way that she can still communicate with Cloud and help him out that way is the best way to explain what happened. Especially when you take into consideration that Sephiroth said "I underestimated you." Aerith is not supposed to have that much of a physical presence from the Lifestream (as far as I know). But, she was able to do it once more by going through the rainbow portal with the help of the white Whisperers.

[@blueblazer9991]

Thats so freaking awfull and cringe, holy shit

[@VellvetFoxie]

Thanks for this. Wonderful explanation that doesn't go too crazy with shoestring theories. Cloud's mental state will be a huge focus in the next game, with Tifa, and likely Aerith helping him rebuild himself the way he did in the OG.

[@SifSehwan]

Hopefully because to me it appears that there are no stakes anymore, everyone is alive in a sense and they even toned down specific scenes like when Berret loses his arm. I love the spectacle that FF7 remake is, but removing all stakes with some multiverse nonsense will not sit very well with me for part 3.

[@frederetc1]

When I first saw cloud block the killing blow… both 14 year old me and 42 year old me left for joy. Then we were (and still are) shrouded in total confusion. What the hell happened? If he saved her… why are the other members so sad? What timeline did he end up in after the big fight? Are we back in the OG timeline? If so… why is the tiny bronco repaired? I do not understand!!

[@dottnick]

Fantastic breakdown and analysis of the game. Jolly good 👍🏻

[@Xbob42]

I kind of feel like Cloud is now currently occupying two timelines at once, hence why he can see both the tear and converse with Aerith. To me, it comes across as not just his mind being fractured, but his very existence!

[@coreydemoss4781]

But if he's simultaneously experiencing a timeline in which he saved Aerith, why would she stay behind when the party leaves on the Tiny Bronco? Why would she be talking about her prayers being able to stop Meteor?

[@LodyPolskieNarodowe]

@@coreydemoss4781 Because she has to stay in the capital and pray if she truly wants to stop the meteor.

[@mrengulfeddirector]

This was my theory too. Kind of like his consciousness is straddling the two timelines

[@MMX18]

Thank you for explaining this, I was so confused as to what was going on

[@Wezt334]

Part 2 ended a little earlier than I thought it would (I thought we’d get to Northern Crater and Meteor summoning) and given the expanded story they are introducing Part 3 will need to be massive (Northern Crater, Wutai, return to Midgard, Rocket town, return to Junon, Weapon battles, Cloud missing, the ending etc) so I won’t be surprised if they do another Intergrade to delve into Vincent and or Cids backstories to help lighten the load

[@michaellau5839]

Could it be that Cloud’s mind has so completely deteriorated that he simply hallucinates Aerith still being alive. The game doesn’t show us the burial scene in the lake, so I have a feeling Cloud’s mind is just actively blocking out and rejecting any evidence that she is gone.

[@RaineAvina]

I think that's too simple for all the multiverse stuff we saw though.

[@venomactual73]

Red XIII senses her at the end…

[@GLUFSAREN]

@@venomactual73 Correct. He sensed her when she touched him.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

​​@@GLUFSAREN Yeah Aerith was there as a spirit. Nanaki sensed her but only Cloud could see her.

[@Oleus]

I think you're completely right. Cloud clearly doesn't want to realize Aerith is dead at this point. He talks to her like she's still around and made up a narrative in his mind where she just left the groupe and went back to her prayer. He rewrote events unconsciously just like we saw him do with the grunt turning into Zack in Nibelheim's river. The fact Nanaki felt her presence in the cutscene at the end is irrelevant since "multiversal Aerith" might really be here with them, playing along with Cloud's delusion to achieve victory over Sephiroth in the long run. The point is everybody seemed totally broken on the lake's shore except for Cloud who continued as if everything was normal. Tifa looked completely shaken by his cold attitude when he said "yup, let's go" right after Aerith's burial. On the fields afterwards, Cloud is still acting very strange. He's light-hearted and hopeful while everybody's mourning and he doesn't seem to understand what's happening around at all. The thing is, Cloud is too far gone, Jenova's cells have to much of a grip on him right now and nobody could reach him. The whole game showed us his fall into hell as his mental state deteriorated and now he might be at his lowest. But you see, that's why I can't help but be a little bit upset. Things are needlessly convoluted when they should be simple and impactful and now people are not understanding the same things. 😮‍💨

[@wiseguise5960]

I just finished watching a 16hr cutscene video(took me 3 days to watch it all) and it was such a roller-coaster of emotions. I am loving how they did this remake and glad they decided to make it 3 parts. I was confused with the ending a little thinking it was only 2 timelines, but seeing as it was 3 that makes a lot more sense now. I am so invested in how this whole story is going to end in part 3 and I really hope Zack shows up more. I had to immediately go deep clean my grill for 2 hours after because I could not handle seeing Aerith die again lol.

[@nicholasgough]

I saw 5 stamps total so at least 5 timelines were shown, you had the stamp from the end of remake /beginning of rebirth, the stamp from the gift stands with cloud and aerith, the pug stamp with Biggs, the main timeline stamp and the stamp that Jonny is holding as he walks past the church

[@mSantsnj]

Hahaha I watched a cutscene vid too, also took 3 days

[@Zephhi]

I'm not surprised you'd have a better opinion of the game when you only watched cutscenes compared to if you played through all the padded side content in the game lmfao. Also Zack has a whole playable moveset introduced at the very end of the game so he is for sure going to play a large part into the next game.

[@nicholasgough]

@@Zephhi each to their own but I’ve done all the side missions and world intel now at 112 hrs and personally enjoyed all of it. You could always just, you know, not do the side stuff lol

[@PaulieWalnuts13]

That’s so lame. Play the damn game.

[@cooliod00d]

I don't necessarily hate the multiverse plot, but that scene change for Aerith's death was terrible imo. I was about to give the game a 10, but that bumped it down to a 9 and it would have been completely avoidable too imo. They could have just shown the scene playing out like normally, and then afterwards have Cloud act like she was still alive, hinting at the new timeline. Everything would have essentially be the same plot-wise but we would have gotten the full emotional impact of Aerith's death. Instead we get this mish mash of action, drama and timeline shenanigans. The scene doesn't even have time to breath, killing every bit of emotional weight it could have had. It's honestly baffling to me how it made it into the game in such a way, cause this, to me, is the most important scene in the entire story.

[@2011supergamer]

Idk im willing to stick with them for this, I feel as if it was paced like that to make the player feel there with Cloud in his confusion and denial. It's a play on the expectations and suspense built up in all the players who know what's *supposed* to happen

[@afinecuppatea]

I totally agree!!! I feel bad for new fans who are not going to fully experience the emotional impact of her death.

[@XT91]

I mean Aeriths death is basically meaningless now. Every time an Aerith dies shes just gonna rejoin with Aerith Prime and become stronger until shes The One. shrug

[@PenguinsAreColdish]

we’ve seen this with the platefall in part 1, they don’t know how to make slow, meaningful scenes at all.

[@ugh5281]

i mean even if they were to show the full death scene like in the OG first and only afterwards show her interacting with cloud and being seemingly alive it still wouldn't have the same emotional impact because of the whole timeline stuff... it's like yeah she might die in one timeline but she's alive in another timeline so she's not really gone. it's pretty clear that she's not completely gone and that she will appear in part 3 so her "death" scene was never gonna have the same impact with this timeline stuff, even if they were to recreate it 1:1.

[@Hookiltkenny]

This was the best ending explanation out there. Cheers for such a good video!

[@davidbai3543]

I hope in the 3rd game they actually defy fate cuz after all this convoluted multiverse bullshit we get the same result, which is Aerith dying. Why make the story more convoluted just to have the same result?

[@julashona2750]

I suppose that's why they established the multiverses. The possibility that Aerith gets revived is high. IF Aerith really still lives in one of those timelines and they merge with the main timeline she might be able to come back.

[@mohammedzaib6545]

In zacks time line he saves aerith and cloud but its implied everyone else is dead so it is possible, and I kinda think cloud in zacks timeline is the healthy one without septheroths influence, but yeah I do agree with out will be pissed if it turns out to be a round about way of just telling the same story now after all the wisper crap

[@StrikerJaken]

They want their cake and eat it too... Look she dies, but there she doesn't, so she get's her happy ending... which she already did. Sephiroth was defeated and she was reunited with Zack in the Lifestream. We saw it in AC. It's just annoying twists for twists sake

[@Kitchel17]

As a huge fan of the original VII, and final fantasy series, i was excited when they annouced a remake. I'm just not a big fan of these multiverse. It just gets over complicated and but the game looks great, but just mixed feeling about it. Kinda taints the beauty of the original story.

[@charlestonho6733]

This game is sequal

[@Darkjedi1019]

I completely agree. The original is a classic, and will always be. I try to play these new ones and all I want to do is go back and play the original. 1997 PS1 FF7 is the original source and story with Advent Children being the sequel, that is the Prime universe. All of this other stuff is "expanded universe". These remakes try to fix something that wasn't broken to begin with. The best thing I read online about the original vs the remake is to think about it like Star Trek, you have the Prime timeline and you have the Kelvin remake timeline. Nothing will ever change or retcon the original, this is just an an alternate universe.

[@jonah_da_mann]

@@charlestonho6733 Being a sequel doesn't automatically make it excusable. Regardless of whether you're making a remake, a reboot, a sequel, an adaptation or a reimagining, the old "doing something different" rebuttal does NOT justify taking a beloved IP and doing something WORSE with it. If you can't do something better, don't even bother using the beloved IP in question; have your work be its own self-contained, original IP (e.g., FFXVII).

[@AznabelGaiusSCDFFFGO]

FF does this since the first Final Fantasy. Timelines, Timeloops, their outcomes and the multiverse they created. Dissidia, Mobius and Stranger of Paradise are about how all the franchise go back to FF1 in concepts. For example, Chaos, Gilgamesh and Bahamut are everywhere. It's not something new and with Gilgamesh it's pretty obvious.

[@jonah_da_mann]

@@AznabelGaiusSCDFFFGO Apples and oranges. Just cause time-travel and multiverse stuff works in SOME FF games, doesn't mean it will work in ANY FF game. FF is an anthology series, which means that each mainline installment is set in its own world with its own rules, conflict and characters. You can't just shoehorn new rules and new conflicts into a story which was never built to accommodate them and say that it's OK because it worked in an entirely different story with its own different rules, characters and conflicts. And No, I do NOT accept the excuse that what FF7R is doing is OK merely because "it's an alternate world/reality/universe." That lazy copy-out is actually one of the many, MANY reasons why I tend to hate stories which include multiverse theory, on principle.

[@IsraTheBlack]

There is also the fact that Zack was on his bike and had to make a choice to go to either Hojo or Biggs and we see 2 time lines where he chose the one and the other and you can see an new time line with Biggs as he was eating from a bag with a 3rd new Stamp mascotte dog that we haven't seen before. The ending is very convoluted and over complicated if you ask me.

[@Vorja9011]

At the end of the third part we will learn that Sephiroth had been possessed by Ultimecia and that the group must travel to the reality of ff8 to defeat her. We will play this ff8 with Squall but sometimes the group will lose consciousness and will see the actions that Cloud and the others are taking.

[@samshaysharp]

This was a big help. I feel the multiple timelines makes the story unnecessarily convoluted, but this video helped make a little more sense of it at least.

[@benjip7414]

It’s kinda strange they didn’t show the scene with cloud letting Aerith sink into the water. Otherwise the story somehow feels completely different but the net result kinda ends up being the same as the game focuses on the “main” timeline

[@ForceEdge47]

I agree completely. It's such a bizarre and glaring omission that I'm not convinced that they won't show it in the next game, along with Cloud's speech about how Aerith will never laugh or cry again. In fact, I think that's hinted at since when Aerith 4.0 shows up to fight Sephiroth and she mentions that she heard what Cloud said, and thanked him. But in this game we don't really see him say much after she dies, he just says "I got this." Either way though, the time to show all of that stuff would have been in THIS game, not years later when the next one comes out. Put simply, this was the time when they should have committed but they didn't.

[@EndSus]

Cant wait for the PC version 😢

[@AKThem06]

same

[@StephaneGman]

Same.. but also played it on my PS5

[@dansmith16]

Can't wait for the discounted quadrilogy pack.

[@LoKiMuzik]

Gonna be a year at least i think. FF 16 isnt even on PC yet and that came out like 8 months ago

[@Gsa2134]

On the CG ending, there are two Aeriths, the one in the lifestream looking over her friends, and the other is Jenova manipulating Cloud into Sephirth's hands again. Lifestream Aerith, like a spirit, doesnt speak and doesnt react to any physical influence, wind doesnt affect her, loud noises aren't heard, she only reacts to the world after feeling the reactions of the party. Jenova Aerith only appears after cloud notices the black materia and the static noise effect happens to indicate Jenova is influencing him, Jenova Aerith acts as someone who would actually be alive, talking and feeling the world around her. Jenova is a master manipulator and almost dominated the world by disguising and impersonating the Cetra, and wants cloud to believe Aerith is alive, not only on the lifestream, but just actually alive. Also, I dont remember meteor actually being mentioned at all in this game, its always been a materia that is born from hatred and despair, but never "a tool to summon meteor". It makes no sense for Aerith to push Cloud into Sephiroth's hands and also mention she will stop the meteor, Cloud should have no idea a Meteor is coming, and he also has the materia that would summon it so she'd be kind of in a way saying that she will stop Cloud somehow. Not to mention, her goodbye, which is repeated after the CG cutscene, is the "no promises to keep" song, which is her telling cloud that they wont ever need any promises going forward, that everything will be fine regardless of promises. So, real Aerith wouldnt ever have Cloud make a new promise to her.

[@leftbower1023]

You just blew my mind. Didn't the game state that Jenova impersonates dead people too? I think during the history lessons I'm the temple that was stated

[@skins4thewin]

Good explanation! Very well done! I think you're on to something here.

[@thesmalltimearcade3870]

Call me a hardcore fanboy, I loved the ending, and I loved the execution of it. This is coming from someone who’s played the OG, loves advent children, played the og crisis core, and dirge of Cerberus. Maybe Kingdom Hearts conditioned me for the bonkers storytelling that’s playing out, but whether you like the ending or hate it, you can’t deny that FF7 Rebirth is a Phenomenal game! I’m on board to see this new journey through to the end 💪🏼

[@arceptor]

Ur one of the enjoyers like I am

[@mecha_nemesis_6897]

Wasn't the biggest fan of the last act but I overall enjoyed the entire game. I just wish Cloud would stop being such a dick and let Tifa help him. I want to see them end up together; there are too many beats and moments in this game to not have that happen

[@funkybuddhaInit]

"you can’t deny that FF7 Rebirth is a Phenomenal game!" I outright deny it. The entire FF7 Remake series has been a completely pointless, boring, bloated mess and it's an absolute insult to the original game.

[@mecha_nemesis_6897]

@@funkybuddhaInit lmfao calling it an insult is a stretch Aside from the convoluted timeline stuff everything else in the game respects the ever living hell out of the original. To call it pointless and an insult is just willful ignorance.

[@cgrooney9945]

Nah it sucks, yall are just fan boys...."getting the working white materia from a different timeline" smh and people rip on FF8 lmao

[@kevfitz09]

Finally finished it after 90 hours. It's weird and confusing at times, but still a brilliant game imo. I would prefer that Aerith is just a ghost that Cloud can see cause of him having a mental breakdown as opposed to the multiple timelines as that just makes things more confusing.

[@Mewnoaa]

Genuinely the first video I ran to when I finish my 120hr+ playthrough. I had this saved for later since it's released. Thanks for your insight (:

[@ivanthegr8one]

I just want to understand why Zack surviving seems to be a point made by the SE. I think in the last game we will be in for a surprise of an Aerith variant will return in the end.

[@fuzz2166]

As convoluted as the OG was, I feel like it still made a lot more sense. I feel like the story in the remake is going a bit off the rails in an attempt to subvert preconceptions and expectations

[@mrskye08]

It was more interesting when you explained it. I watched the movie version, and while im okay with the story, i didn't like how aerith's death was treated. There's just too many scene transitions, and aerith got neglected. Instead of 😭 i was more 🤔 the entire ending.

[@Jose-se9pu]

Crazy how superior the 27 years old sequence is to the mess they made here.

[@Panndiita]

i felt the same, the death of the 1st Cait sith felt sadder xd

[@stephensturges5711]

its not a mess. there was no way theyd match the original no matter how hard they tried​@Jose-se9pu

[@TheSarste]

While I have only just watched it to the end and I'm still trying to process everything, I have to say that my initial thoughts are in agreement with you. Both Aerith and Cait Sith's scenes lost a bit of impact in this game, but I suppose that was to be expected, since I was already braced for what was to come. But I did think that the team's personal trials in the Temple of the Ancients were very heart-wrenching. And also, I was surprisingly upset over Roche!

[@JoeNeutrino]

Exactly. You don't feel sad because you're too busy wondering what's actually happening.

[@ColdCobra84]

After finally completing the game yesterday I was finally able to watch this video! Great work as always.

[@Maxbeedo2]

Having just rolled credits, I figured I would dislike the ending based on how it was being set up and I was kinda right. Anytime where you entertain the concept of alternate universes that you can jump between you destroy the meaningfulness of decisions. Anything can be fixed or screwed up, at any time, choices don't matter. They COULD have written this to reference the ending of Remake to mean that destroying the Arbiter CONTRACTED these universes to one, thus allowing decisions to matter now (one single timeline with a mishmash of jumbled results from all possible universes, thus explaining Zack and Biggs surviving), but they did the opposite, where now Sephiroth and Aerith can simply jump to any reality they want and rewrite it how they want, more or less, thus making almost everything pointless. If Aerith or Sephiroth die there's another one in the next universe over. There were a couple neat ideas, like Marlene gaining knowledge of the future Aerith previously had and pulling a "working" white materia from another universe, but not enough to fix the bigger issue, and I don't see a way for them to contract the universes in the next game that would reverse the damage they've already done with this idea.

[@writingref]

This multiverse has rules, though, which I really like. It isn't infinite. The alternate timelines are fractured, unstable, and temporary. They only exist because of a struggle against fate, and they fade away given time. Sephiroth wants a forever multiverse. He is essentially trying to create what you dislike, and then he wants to rule over all of it. Aerith tells Sephiroth "forever doesn't exist." And he responds, "Well it soon will." Aerith is saying our actions need to have consequences - and that fate must be accepted. It adds a whole other layer to her sacrifice that she knows she must die in every timeline, sacrificing herself for that destiny we love - and the only one which will save the planet. This whole story is basically storytellers making a point about multiverse stories. It's very meta.

[@JPLGFun]

Aerith's death must happen in order to save the planet... no matter which timeline. As the planet(life stream) tries to save itself from Sephiroth's attempt on playing with fate.

[@writingref]

I think a lot of people are missing this simple fact when they say her death is cheapened . . . and you can't understand this just from watching the compilation of the cut scenes. I think this needs time to sink in for a lot of us. It's not a normal multiverse story where Mutiple versions of heroes come together to fight some threat. It's a story where those other timelines literally should not exist and it's kind of a bad thing that they do.

[@JPLGFun]

@@writingref😅hey look on the bright side, they have one more game to close this up… hopefully.

[@writingref]

@@JPLGFun and I will most likelly spend 140 hours on that one too!

[@paulkuiper5410]

having just finished this game, i'm only certain of one thing : my brain is wrecked, now

[@riccardoschicker7755]

thank you so much for this analysis and explanation, i didn't manage to grasp the full meaning of such a confusing subsequence of scenens throughout the ending of this masterpiece of a game and couldn't bear aerith death. You giving me hope that she will be treated as zack in rebirth give me hope that i was right about thinking the same thing giving the fact that she can't be "just dead" as she was in the original game, and that she needs to have and keep having a major part in the story.

[@Zard1212]

This is the best explanation. Thank you

[@ManuMaen]

For now i dont like it that much. It feels unecessary overkill and complex but gives nothing in reward on beeing so. And the wasted use of bizarro sephiroth is also a bad decision imo. Regardless of beeing renamed to reborn it still is bizarro and should be in the true final battles of part 3. I hope part 3 gets it better and makes it so that the ending of Part 2 is somehow more acceptable than it is now 😅

[@enriquesb1528]

I don’t like how they handled serious death. It removed all impact of the scene

[@dagga19k]

My thoughts exactly. Such a letdown.

[@mikaranta5840]

There is no reason why they could not stop for a minute and let the death sink in. Honestly feels like no one in party except barret even mourned her. This is a death scene thats been on the lists of saddest video game moments of all time for decades. A little bit emotion for this scene is all I ask. Not gonna shred a tear for extended boss rush. It feels strange. They put so much effort for successfully bonding party members together. They had tons of great moments with these characters in this very same game. But whatever, ghosts and Stalkeroth are more important appearantely. They are so into this not so clever time crap they could as well bring Ultimecia to do some time kompresson while they are at it.

[@ry2950]

Remember in the OG when Cait Sith "sacrificed" himself then his replacement immediately showed up so the emotional scene prior was completely forgettable? That is what can now happen to any death with a "multiverse" running amok.

[@Noodle-Recipe]

@@ry2950 hated that that exact sequence of cait still happened in rebirth honestly. kind of foreshadowing in a way, lol

[@CreatorHouseVlogs]

This it was so unemotional and cold

[@rolm7813]

So my question is, is what Cloud seeing actually real or just a result of his mind breaking? We can’t tell anymore. Is Cloud stepping in both two “worlds” or realities or is he just hallucinating?

[@Broll00]

My money’s on hallucinations personally. I also think they devs went out of there way to make this as ambiguous as possible to where I’m most theories have at least one thing that seems to pop them. We’ll see in 3-5 years I guess.

[@rbelljr29]

I think everytime Zack or Cloud defy fate, *since they're the ones who started this whole thing in the first place by combo killing Sephiroth* they inadvertently create another timeline. Now i think Clouds current state, is the start of his mental snap that Tifa will have to pull him out of. Like it's too much information to process, on top of his own struggle to come to terms with the eventual full reveal of who he actually is.

[@TonyBologna9]

I'd say spoilers, but you're here already, so no point lol. Anyway, here's my 2 cents to all of this chaos. (just a theory) At the end of Remake (Part one) The Aerith we knew left as soon as they left midgar. Starting in rebirth, Aerith didn't actually lose her knowledge of the future to the whispers, her "spirit" went into hiding in another world's version of her taking those memories with her leaving us with a default Aerith personality like in the OG game. The portal she opened at the highway in part one cost her the use of holy, which is why the orb went clear in rebirth because that was the cost of changing fate, when she did this, white whispers were born. The Sephiroth we see in Rebirth that shows up time and again is, still, Jenova. HOWEVER, Sephiroth's "spirit" himself is in this nexus of worlds (Sephiroth Reborn) Searching for the "Real Aerith." This is evidenced by the fact that the whispers are barely visible in this game despite sephiroth taking control of them. We don't see them at all until the weapons show up, where we find that they've been battling in the lifestream at Sephiroth's command against the white whispers who belong to the (((Planet, but also Aerith through proxy as she's the last one who can speak to the planet, and remember, that both the real sephiorth and the real aerith are NOT in the world we're in during rebirth, they're off in different worlds.))) When Cloud both saves and doesn't save Aerith, he creates, and bleeds into a timeline where an Aerith still exists, and Aerith Reborn joins him one last time in the battle of Sephiroth with her white whispers. Sephiroth Reborn and Aerith Reborn now both spiritually exist on seperate planes to the "Real Cloud" Aerith mentions in the forest, however cloud being in both worlds at once lets him see her, and the rift in the sky that only exists on the side where Aerith lives, implying that the world she's in is a dead end world that isn't going to last. (The Aerith in that world is not Aerith Reborn, she is just the product of a world where cloud saves her.) The world where she lives will not last, and this will almost certainly be used to mentally destroy cloud in part 3. It is her destiny to die, and not even in another timeline will she be able to escape her fate. She is not heading to the lifestream at the end of the game, she's genuinely going someplace to pray for Meteor's failure, she will however die like every other world's Aerith. Her death is evidenced by Biggs, Wedge, Zack, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY Marlene. Marlene says that when Aerith wakes up in Zack's timeline, Sephiroth will kill her. As in she's fated to die when she awakens. like the Aerith who pushes cloud into the rift in the flowers at the church as he walks through the door. In the timeline where Zack goes to see hojo, He is met with an army of Shinra military about to gun him down like his original death, In the timeline where he goes to save biggs, he is also met with an army of soldiers waiting to gun him down in the exact same way as how he originally died. Biggs took the bullet like he did in Remake's Timeline as he was fated to, but Zack figured out that running instead of fighting would change the timeline. When he jumped down the reactor, he redirected into a timeline where he will still meet with an army of shinra soldiers who will be there to gun him down eventually. Back to REMAKE, When wedge manages to survive the plate crash, he falls and survives, escaping his death, but later at the Shinra tower he is once again pushed from a great height and given the death he was always fated to have. The ONLY Zack that actually lived was the one on the church steps who had not yet made a choice of who to save, and he was sent to wherever the battle with cloud was (Edge of creation?) After that, he wakes up at the church. He, like Aerith, is Unable to escape his fate, but he is starting to find out that if he doesn't fight that fated battle and instead runs, he can live to see another world which will buy him time to find a way to change things. All of the other Zacks have almost certainly met their end no matter what choices they made accept the one that Sephiroth had specifically messed with his whispers I firmly believe that part 3 will be about acceptance, and that no matter what world they go to, each character will have to accept that their death has to happen, which will then tie into Advent Children as Cloud was given false hope of a world where he saved her. The Aerith and Zack we see speaking to him in the movie are probably their Reborn selves who travelled the timelines and learned to accept their fate in the lifestream. Cloud, and us the players, will not be able to escape the loss of Aerith. Quick addition: Every Timeline or World where someone is still alive who shouldn't be, which is Zack in this case, has the rift in the sky signifying the end. Even if you escape your fate, you will end up in a world that collapses in on itself. All of these worlds are actually running in parallel (time wise), which is why Zack skipped straight to aftermath the plate collapse, and Biggs reminds Zack of a cloud that couldn't exist in Zack's timeline. There is no going back or forward in time after the events of Remake, they all run perfectly in sync with rebirth's timeline, overwriting events or undoing them. Aerith Reborn and Sephiroth Reborn are the only two entities that have knowledge of the past, or the original timelines.

[@lukewilson624]

Nice write up, this was basically my own feeling of where they are going with this but you wrote it with alot more detail. I have to say I don't like it. It's a very convoluted way of saying the same story but gaslighting us from the start that we could change destiny. So they mix it with Dr. Strange Multiverse and Final Destination bits.

[@writingref]

Also - on your "date' with Aerith at the end of the game, you are supposed to pick a present for Aerith, and then some candy. No matter what you choose, you are given something else instead. This is the game's way of explaining your points about Zack. Very well written.

[@TonyBologna9]

@lukewilson624 I'm glad this game exists, don't get me wrong, but I feel like they were trying to cater to both those who wanted to save her and those who wanted the true timeline. IMO there's a dozen better ways they could have handled the ending, like giving us her true death, only to show a glimpse of Aerith and Cloud talking in the post credits. This whole thing basically just feels like an excuse to give us a little more time with Aerith before she dies. I did however REALLY like the events leading up to her death, like the forest scene and the temple. I don't mind being given false hope, I wouldn't have minded actually saving her, but being given both outcomes kind of sours the moment.

[@StormVII]

Just leaving the comment here. Seriously, I'm still taking care of all the Corel objectives.

[@lokibau]

multiverse dude, multiverse

[@SeiyaTempest]

@lokibau Cloud needs to call Doctor Strange, he'll sort out old Sephy.

[@stargazer2280]

Forget Doctor Strange, He should call Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

Good luck!

[@justintremblay3182]

Best remake of a game ever made. This game could not have given a better tribute to its original. All my favourite scenes enhanced both cinematically and with a much more complex story. I wouldn't say anything is being protrayed as obvious at the end, after this game it's clear to see that nothing is set in stone yet, the next one is going to be amazing.

[@kasesmith261]

thank you for this!!

[@unikum1337]

Thanks for the detailed spoilers. I haven’t played the game yet but I want to know how it turns out 😊👍

[@HDY2024]

I thought he saved her in one timeline, and not in the main time line and now cloud is straddling several time lines hence the multiverse tear in the sky only he can see. So its both she died and didn't and she will return with Zack when all the time lines merge in the 'home coming' Reunion of timelines.

[@freman007]

FF7 Reunion would be a great name for a rock band.

[@HDY2024]

@@user-ky8nd2rz4f are you talking about Aerith who literally dated zack ? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 the main reason she likes cloud is because his personality has been merged with Zacks...... You sure you played the game 🤔🤔

[@MysterEeee]

You can actively see Sephiroth infecting the Lifestream during the sequence at forgotten capital that mimics Remake's METEOR absorption by Sephiroth. When the sky splits above The Forgotten Capital in Rebirth, Lifestream tendrils emerge from it that proceed to latch onto various objects, presumably to "eat" this "world" as Sephiroth states in his confidently cryptic monologue. However, it appears that Sephiroth takes advantage of this natural process of the Lifestream of eating worlds to survive, which I'm speculateing to be a dramatization of a person's consciousness Reuniting with the Lifestream when they pass. Using this moment where the Lifestream assimilates a world/consciousness Sephiroth can be seen infecting the Lifestream tendrils snd possibly using that moment when "worlds" merge to open a gateway between his "prison" within Cloud's consciousness and into the greater Lifestream. Of course all this predicates on the speculation that the ReProject is a subtle continuation of the Compilation in which we the player are interacting within Cloud's consciousness as he is dying (presumbly of just basic natural causes), we are experiencing Cloud's Final Fantasy.

[@MysterEeee]

I'm feeling that at his passing, something about death or his life despairs OG Cloud causing the Remake trilogy to be a thing within the greater FF7 lore. What that thing is I'm not too sure given Cloud's psychological and spiritual progress already made through the OG and Compilation but it is this thing that (OG) Sephiroth is focused on exploiting throughout the ReProject. My quick guess is the thing that's being exploited by Sephiroth and holding OG Cloud back from immediately accepting the Lifestream as he's dying is an attachment to his memories (specifically those surrounding the journey made in OG) in a similar fashion to how we the player have created this attachment to the OG. Sephiroth may feel he's imprisoned within Cloud, which may explain why Sephiroth's "world" is repeatedly depicted as a barren sea of floating rocks within a cast cosmos, and Sephiroth is attempting to piggyback on Cloud, or better Cloud's "world", Returning to the Lifestream. After all, OG Cloud ended up being the person OG Sephiroth ultimately chose to form a parasitic relationship with in order to sustain his ego after death according On The Way to a Smile chapters white and black.

[@MysterEeee]

OG Aerith also appears to be playing a dicey game of manipulation over ReCloud not too dissimilar in tactics from Sephiroth that may come to bite her in the ass if ReCloud doesn't take too kindly to being manipulated in any respects.

[@rayp526]

I really appreciate that instead of simply reacting to the ending of Rebirth, that ya'll made an effort to understand what was going on. FF7 Remake was my first FF game ever and I loved it and Rebirth. Keep up the good work!

[@jaysea838]

Even though I didn’t like some parts of Remake’s ending (the arbiters took me out of it) I still think the ending sequence of events in Remake were 10x better / more impactful than rebirth’s. I was extremely unimpressed w/ the final boss gauntlet and just the vibe.. maybe too many things going on? Not sure.. hated the Seph boss design too; just looked dumb and clunky to “me.”

[@TriforceWisdom64]

The Whispers in Remake were new designs, but Sephiroth Reborn is from the original game.

[@CodeXCDM]

Odds are a version of Zack and Aerith remain playable next part... Even the finale. If they sre crazy about fan service, even a version of Sephiroth that didn't go mad.

[@raulsouza5866]

God, I hope this good guy Sephiroth idea never happens.

[@alexfrank5331]

@@raulsouza5866 It sounds very Nomura tho. Imagine Sephiroth being playable... with swimsuit DLC. $$$$$$$

[@soku330]

@@alexfrank5331Nomura language is now a thing

[@federicamacchia1656]

@@raulsouza5866 It already happened...he was a good guy 🤨

[@raulsouza5866]

@@federicamacchia1656 I played Crisis Core and I liked to see Sephiroth before he goes nuts, but he is the villain of FF VII, it doesn't make any sense to make him good again to say that Jenova, Xemnas or something else is the true enemy...that's my 2 cents at least.

[@shaiuken7150]

as for aerith's death, i see the controversy damn.. but the original is still there and this is a sequel

[@SamJulesGillians]

I have a theory that the scenes at the lake and when they are fixing the Tiny Bronco are from the OG timeline. That is why Cloud still has the Black Materia. Aerith is still alive.

[@Centrioless]

My favorite part is how some ppl still think aerith will live despite what the devs said abt AC being canon

[@XT91]

I mean she can just live in another timeline that's why multiverse is dumb if you don't know what your doing with it.

[@courtneyc9664]

Im not even a diehard Aerith fan and part of me hopes she lives just to spite these fanboys who get a hard on by watching her get stabbed in the torso. It's so weird.

[@writingref]

@@XT91But she's only temporarily alive in those other timelines. In other words, this isn't like an infinite multiverse. It is only one created by fighting against fate. One way you can look at it is Sephiroth wants to CREATE an infinite multiverse where nothing would matter except for him - who would be in control of it all. Aerith is struggling against that, and knows her time is limited. She doesn't even return to the LifeStream at the end. Her soul is stuck in that ancient city area to continue the fight against meteor. And in timelines where she is alive, she knows those are only temporary. So its very sad but very hopeful and beautiful - with lots of consequence.

[@XT91]

@@writingref Nah I don't know how you've arrived at any of that with no third game present. Im still hoping for Aerith Prime to fight Sephiroth Prime on Earth Prime dual wielding 2 keyblades from KH.

[@writingref]

@@XT91 umm ... did you watch the video we are commenting on? He lays it out. Sephiroth finds her in every timeline. Every branch timeline is disintegrating. No matter what Zack or Biggs do - their original fate catches up with them. When you pick a present for Aerith, no matter what you choose, you get a chocobo pin. Scrub your mind of Marvel multiverse for this.

[@CaptainFram]

I feel like they went so far down this path of nested/alternate universe stuff that it's not only confusing as heck, but also nullifies a lot of the impact of what happens to Aerith. It's all so muddled now 😔

[@AntLion1995]

This! It's supposed to be the big emotional moment of the series but the whole confusing uncertainty over what's actually happening makes it hard to feel anything other than confusion.

[@PenguinsAreColdish]

one of my favorite scenes in all of gaming just shit all over. who the fuck approved this

[@tsubasaozora2956]

​@@PenguinsAreColdish you still have the og game if you loved it so much, move on.

[@attaxiaffxi7033]

@@tsubasaozora2956 Correct but that doesn't make the remake impervious to critique

[@gabrielt4305]

​@@attaxiaffxi7033it's a new take. We will probably get the real scene in part 3. And it doesn't diminishes the original

[@thehappytitan3157]

I think that Zach did die and he resides in the afterlife. Cloud dies when he saves Aerith and that's how he's able to get there. The Cetra are able to cross those paths at will, thus why Sephiroth and Aerith are there even though they are also in the living world. Cloud is able to see the tear in the sky because he's caught between the two world's.

[@lunia8889]

aerith - was able to see the future before and can now communicate through lifestream (probably even with her counterparts across dimentions) and possibly bid white whispers to manipulate people in timelines, shes busy playing dimentional whisper chess with sephiroth utilizing the knowledge she had when she was able to see the future. zack - casually being thrown around the timelines by aerith and sephi, seems to be one of the pieces aerith needs to succeed witk whatever shes planning cloud - schizo because of sephi cells, i think he is able to see and experience memories that others with sephi cells have, including his own counterparts across the different worlds, the connection seems especially strong with the clouds that's worlds are merging into his..which may be why he was seeing both the aerith that died and the one that lived at the same time, Could also be the reason why he had zacks memories up until the point when zacks body resisted his own share of the sephi cells.. that same link of course also connects to sephi himself, hense whenever he goes schizo mode he knows how to use his fighting style..whenever he has his schizo moments he is basically in a mind jumble of 3 people.. not to mention that jenova probably trying to manipulate him like she is with sephi.. tho idk what really happens once a world merges into another, maybe the world where aerith lived got overwritten with the one where she dies and aerith is just full on communicating with him through the life stream.

[@alboeg]

Looks like Cloud is in denial and thinks Aerith is alive still, even though she is actively present through the life stream. He moves on rather quickly which i found odd, then realized hes going through the stages of grief. and hes still at the first one

[@soku330]

Watching ff7 child advent he’s still at it

[@kaashkz]

hope they take it in this direction

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

Nah that is Aerith's spirit. Nanaki sensed her too but he couldn't see her unlike Cloud.

[@AnonymousBesserwisser]

@@user-ky8nd2rz4f yeah Cloud clearly breached the fate and saved Aerith in different timeline. It couldn't be any clearer. Do we really need Rebirth ultimania to tell us something that is self explanatory?

[@aura6958]

Took me 40 hours to beat the game and thats me skipping most of the side missions. It was amazing the music bring back so many good memories especially Crisis Core music.

[@crossroads8370]

But what did you think of the story is the real question.

[@BeansEnjoyer911]

im not the OP, but I did the same thing. I just did the story and card games (roughly 45 hours) and I think the story was absolutely amazing, just a really poorly handled ending @@crossroads8370

[@braskabani8011]

@@crossroads8370 Chase men in black robes in until the end of the game were you get a little bit of story fighting the final boss.

[@soku330]

40? It took me 17 hrs to finish (in-game hours not PlayStation hours)

[@BeansEnjoyer911]

@@soku330 youre either lying or you skipped cutscenes. it has over 13 hours if cutscenes alone. you are saying you beat the entire game in 4 hours? on a first playthrough... right

[@samsherrington7423]

Finished it today, finally. I really don't know how to feel about this ending, needs some time to marinade. I ended up having more questions than I did at the end of Remake. 😅

[@johncrubaugh8458]

Just a personal thought on Cloud being the only one to see Aerith. The white materia, in addition to its original significance, is what is allowing Cloud to communicate with Aerith. As it ties into the planet and the Lifestream, it also allows the person who has it in their possession to interact with people in the Lifestream. This has a little bit of confirmation with the fact that we have some cutscenes where Aerith is talking to an unseen person. I think Nanaki/Red XIII can sense her when she had direct contact because he has some innate affinity with the planet.

[@johncrubaugh8458]

I also think Zack has been carrying around the materia in his timelines as one has the materia fall next to him, and the other when he comments about it being clear (if I remember it correctly), which is why he can see the tear in some timelines.

[@user-ki4no3ly5]

Does anyone understand the aftermath of the cetra temple? One minute we were chasing aerith and gave serphiroth the black material, the minute later we wake up in the jungle and everyone was like “what happened in the temple? Did he beat your ass?”. What? Didn’t everyone see what happened??? Are we in an alternative reality from the chapters before???

[@leftbower1023]

Maybe the whispers blocked their view? Yea I didn't like that either, I felt like the gang would have witnessed what Cloud did, but apparently they didn't answer Aerith covered for him by lying about how Sephy got the black materia

[@the_well-known_stranger2275]

Adding a multiverse just kills any investment in the story. Why should we care about the story, about who lives or dies, if we’re just using a multiverse and characters can just come back from another world. What’s the point of caring about saving Aerith if it’s all a lie and just happens in another universe? I’m so tired of these kind of stories…

[@Jose-se9pu]

Aerith's death has zero impact here, because minutes later, literally another Aerith just walks in...the multiverse thing pretty much killed any stakes in fiction.

[@AznabelGaiusSCDFFFGO]

FF does this since the first Final Fantasy. Timelines, Timeloops, their outcomes and the multiverse they created. Dissidia, Mobius and Stranger of Paradise are about how all the franchise go back to FF1 in concepts. For example, Chaos, Gilgamesh and Bahamut are everywhere. It's not something new and with Gilgamesh it's pretty obvious.

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

The Reunion.... The Worlds are going to be shoved back together. But Cloud, Aerith, and Sephiroth are deciding how it gets shoved back together. Or rather, the Strongest World survives to be the Destined one.

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

Think of it like the World of Final Fantasy 7 exists in the Unconscious Mind of the Souls of the Planet and the Worlds and Timelines are the Planet Thinking. So you have to convince the Planet to chose your World over anyone else's. To imagine your Paradise over another's.

[@XT91]

@@AznabelGaiusSCDFFFGO And? This is shit writing naming a bunch stuff off doesn't handwave the awful writing.

[@Zabikin11]

Don’t think that was the spirit of Aerith from current timeline, rather that was another Aerith straight up. Possibly the one that survived. The reason nobody else can see her is that they can’t perceive the multiverse. They wouldn’t be able to see Zack either probably

[@chrisrounds1242]

There should be an episode related to the relationship between Zack and Aerith, as well as, Cloud and Tifa. I feel that there is more emphasis that each character is telling Cloud to have a close relationship with Tifa. While, Aerith is telling both Tifa and Cloud to have a more intimate relationship just as much as Advent Children.

[@garywood97]

IMPORTANT DETAIL for the 2 different timelines theory: After sephiroth's sword sticks into the ground, and then it quickly flashes to another shot where you see the blood emerge, those 2 shots have the sword in 2 completely different positions in the ground. They change the position AND angle of the sword. I think this supports the idea that we're actually seeing 2 different timelines being created. One where she actually did survive. That theory also explains why Cloud can see the tear in the sky too.

[@shibadoge191]

I think so too, during the sword blocking scene there is rainbow thing happened same as Zack decided to help cloud by head to Hojo in his timeline.

[@thatpunkcatte]

Pretty much, there's now a universe where Aerith survived. However, for whatever reason, we continue with the timeline where she dies. Perhaps it's because this is 'Source' universe and we will continue following the main story as it was in FF7, but any actions we take just form new universes? Idk, it's very 'Nomura' in that I can't make heads or tails or what the hell is going on

[@timlerch7425]

My current working theory: FF7 Rebirth is a game in which you force the multiverse theory to create alternate realities, believing you can change fate and save Aerith. Except the perspective of YOUR character's are not the ones living in the saved universe. Yours had some weird bullshit happen, but you didn't win for 'yourself', you won for someone else, and you don't even realize it because it's in another reality you don't know exists. Loss, but never closer to obtaining ever before. The writers are having their cake and eating it too. Jesus christ, it's ballsy and I love it.

[@writingref]

I agree. This isn't your typical multiverse. It has rules and limitations. Other timelines created by changed fate are doomed to fail - and it's the bad guy, Sephiroth, who is trying to change it so that they don't fail so he can rule over them all.

[@BerserkerGuts_]

I finally beat the game and I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about the multi verse that's unfolding. On one end, I like the idea of being able to integrate Zack and other beloved characters who died to come back to the story once again but on the other hand I also feel like it takes away from the grandness and finality of a story and the decisions that are made by the characters. For example, in Dragonball, although I loved what it was, I hated the fact that characters constantly died and came back to life so easily using Dragonballs, it made characters dying in the story meaningless. I don't think FF7 is going down that path per se but seeing Aerith die like 4 times and come back in this game was so confusing and it felt like towards the end it eventually took away some of the emotion involved with her death. I'll have to wait and see how they handle things in part 3 but overall I absolutely loved this game and can honestly say it's one of the best I've ever played.

[@auroninja]

Fingers crossed that we get another intermission starring Vincent this time!

[@permeus2nd]

Well as it’s going to be a year before this comes out on PC I guess I can’t avoid the ending so here goes. I love FF7 but I don’t love it quite enough to pay 300 to 400 quid for a PS5 I already did that for a ps4 that I ended up giving to my bro after he lost everything when his wife cheated on him I really wish Sony would stop the time exclusive nonsense they keep pulling.

[@dbfzato-1327]

they will when they close down from terrible sales and bad management

[@ocram3333]

I have to say, this game did exactly the kind of thing I predicted it would. Most of it is exactly what I wanted, expanded lore on the world, hard hitting moments remade, making a lot of things make a lot more sense, like the Gi, the black materia, Gongaga, the "temple" of the ancients, Tifa's and Cloud's relationship, etc, etc. All of that was fantastic and even the occasional Zack timeline stuff was well handled mostly. The big issue I still have is how the timeline and whisper shennanigans completely eclipse everything else at the end, just like the remake ending: it's a goddamn circus made out of what is supposed to be a pretty solemn and sad moment. Still, I'm not as mad as I was 4 years ago, I guess I'm at the acceptance step of grief. If this game's ending is anything to go by, I expect part 3 to go full "Rebuild of Evangelion" except they will probably keep trying to have their cake and eat it too like in this game, the ending of the story is probably going to be even more of a circus. FF7 was not a simple story to begin with and now it's 3 times more complicated and I feel like it overpowers the important moments from the OG story. Still, "there ain't no getting offa this train we are on!" so we'll see what the final veredict is in 4 or so years. I suspect I'll come out of it with the same conflicting feelings I have right now: absolute joy at my favorite piece of media being rejuvenated and expanded upon counterbalanced by some level of disgust at the need for spectacle and convolution burying the main point of the story.

[@lucaslugarinho6634]

From the way Cloud interacts with Aerith on the last scenes I'm guessing that she'll now be like Sephiroth, as in a ghost/ apparition type of character that tries to guide Cloud. I suppose that if Cloud's blanck materia can become either white or black, that must play a role in the conflict of game 3

[@m__two9829]

I'm not sure if this dialogue was skippable if you beat Jenova too fast but during the first phase when Cloud is sending the party members away, he mentions something about not having to worry because he's done this before

[@ShaneSaiyan]

He doesn't send them away, Jenova is banishing them with one of her attacks. That line triggers automatically when it's down to just Cloud.

[@ForceEdge47]

I thought that was because he has to fight Jenova in the previous game also?

[@drewskii9708]

I have finally gotten my life back after pouring 100 plus hours into trying to complete this game. Truly amazing, I haven’t been this obsessed with a game in so long.

[@supremefankai5480]

Sephiroth wants the ultimate reunion, his ambitions have grown.

[@raulsouza5866]

at the same time, it's not that different from the original game...so they changed everything but didn't change anything...I think I liked this ideia, although it was very messy in execution sometimes.

[@supremefankai5480]

@@raulsouza5866 we need the third game to wrap up this whole story and get the full context (we hope). At this point I am expecting a literal army of Sephiroths to show up and fight an even bigger army of heroes from across all of FF7's branch of the greater Final Fantasy multiverse.

[@federicamacchia1656]

​@@supremefankai5480or....Maybe not 😅.Maybe the've cooking Something totally different for Sephiroth.....pay attention to a lot of weird details hidden here and there when there's a "Sephiroth" involved,and you'll understand what i mean...

[@epicglitter7218]

I like the idea that if Sephiroth's ambitions have grown, his tactics have probably grown too, so the build up to the final confrontation could be worlds different than the OG disc 3 north crater. IDK what it'll be exactly, but I'm hoping: intense, spectacular, mind-trippy, and with outstanding music

[@kizuro1792]

I agree with max, that this sephiroth somehow is from the og game, and know his original plan wont work, so he is trying to merge the worlds so that he can achieve it in a diferent way

[@michaelacriscione3834]

Great discussion, one thing I’d add that’s a small, puzzling, but potentially significant detail: the white feather for Zack and Cloud’s interlude. The game shows it pretty prominently at first but then does nothing really with it so my question is will part 3 do Angeal stuff with its multiverse interludes too…? Is that a seed we’re planting?