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OMG I never realized the Cetra was speaking through Aerith in both games!? Maximillian DOOD watch this.

Big question for you here, why have the whispers not even attempted to stop or set Sephiroth on a different more correct path? He doesn’t want to drive our characters towards the original ending, he wants an ending where he gets to rule because by dying to Cloud he still sees it as a loss for the OG universe. Do you think that in the future the ghosts will actually attempt to prevent Sephiroth from winning or are you fully under the belief that what Sephiroth wants is what will happen?

03:07:32 , phenix down, use revive magic and they can get into the lifestream

Man. I never even noticed Aerith looking downwards and acting shocked/surprised when the Temple collapsed because she saw the real Black Materia. However, I do think whatever this “fake” Black Materia is, I’m willing to bet we give it to the Gi and they will be able to achieve eternal rest without actually destroying the world. Because destroying the world is the actual purpose of the true Black Materia - the one that summons Meteor. Sephiroth took the fake one, but at the end of Rebirth Cloud is in possession of the real one. Why Sephiroth went for the fake one is something I really want to know, since it pokes a hole in the idea that the Sephiroth we have seen and fought up to now is Advent Children Sephiroth, who is aware of his fate and what happened in the OG Game

Tifa is not responsible for Cloud’s inconsistencies or why he gave the black Materia to Sephiroth. You have to remember Tifa also has holes in her memories in regards to Nibelheim and why she doesn’t question Cloud in the beginning. Part of the reason why she doesn’t is because she questions her own account of events, and can’t tell if what Cloud is saying about the past is a lie or if she can’t remember past events correctly herself. Rebirth even mentions this, in the first convo between Aerith and herself in the Kalm Inn. Tifa wonders if the inconsistencies between their accounts of Nibelheim are due to her memories being stolen by the Whispers , which is what seemed to be the case with Aerith after Remake.

Most of this just sounds like cope, but we’ll see what happens in part 3 I guess. Shame SQUEENIX decided to milk the FF7 branding this long and this hard only for it to result in being Frankensteined into some Kingdom Hearts crap.

This video is the best explanation I've seen. It really changed my perspective of the whole game. Now I'm very curious to see how it all ends

The question now is: what is Sephiroth's real goal in all of this? He's already absorbed the lifestreams of multiple Gaias, and he has already transcended his own defeat. He has plenty of power to accomplish his original goals, so why is he now guiding Cloud and his team to accomplish what they already succeeded in doing without his help? My theory is that the evil Sephiroth we fought in the OG FFVII is the version of him posessed and corrupted by Jenova, which is why even when we fight her main body in the Northern Crater, she seems like any other boss monster: devoid of intelligence or will. Her consciousness fled to Sephiroth and corrupted his mind. My guess is that this post-Advent Sephiroth is amassing power to transcend fate, not to undo or transcend his own defeat, but because he's struggling against this parasite that has stolen his body, mind, and will. He needs Cloud and friends to help with that, and to succeed, he needs them to be much stronger than they were when they originally defeated him. That's why he never seems to be actually trying to kill them, but test them, push them, and give them a seemingly insurmountable enemy to beat. Like he said: "The only thing you will only see with such clouded eyes is shadow". We see him as the same villainous Sephiroth that we know because that's who we expect him to be. Our preconceived notions cloud our eyes to the subtle discrepancies that make his "grand plan" seem nonsensical.

At this point in time, This is still the best Theory video on Remake/Rebirth that doesn't try to hold the games to the very strict narrative of the original or focusing on "omni-aerith/sephiroth" battling it out in some sort of godlike fashion. It also references the entire compilation which makes this way more engaging as Kitase highlighted Advent Children prior to the release of rebirth. I also appreciate you highlight Aerith's shortcomings that most of the theory videos seems to miss all together. Definitely going to keep coming back to this multiples times over the next couple of months or years until part 3 drops.

Its a cool theory and could work... unfortunately i dont see it happening. Too much complication and thinking for a casual audience vs just saying the other timelines are actually dream worlds in the lifestream and zack and aerith are dead. Its giving darth jar jar binks vibes

2:51:00 I think that is caused by Omni Aerith. She wants Cloud and Tifa to get closer because she knows she is Star Crossed with Cloud, and her living form will be going away. Omni Aerith had been planting seeds in people like Red 13 and Marlene, Vision sets to go off in Rebirth. So, Aerith isn't "recounting" what she thinks. She is being fed what Tifa said in the original from Omni Aerith, I think. She is preventing Tifa from saying she believed the Shinra Newpapers. She didn't want Cloud or Barret thinking Tifa is stupid. Because Omni Aerith knows Cloud and Tifa have to get close so Tifa can save Cloud in the Lifestream.

Very well put together. I have been an FFVII fan since the OG first came out and have platinumed OG, Remake, and Rebirth. The color schemes surrounding the lifestream are something I had not noticed before. The idea that there is a bigger war taking place that involves more than just the planet and the sun taking place is intriguing. The whole idea of Cid to be the first Gaian to leave the planet and the Gi along with Jenova coming from another planet can be used to set up much more in the future. Coming from the US, there seems to be the same connections behind the Republic (Junon) and Big Energy (Shinra) in a political merge with the fall from technicalogical grace in the height of the Republic and the freezing of innovation under Big Energy (ie. oil). Besides the political, we see the spiritual and the hidden hands without. Who do those in power take THEIR orders from? Powers and principalities that are outside our understanding. Not to mention extraterrestrial influences, possibly a war that we are hidden from. Your ideas about the late President and Rufus are very interesting to the point that they were just pawns to set up that which was to come. A spirit that overtakes them without their knowledge. I have always interpreted the geo-stigma to be attempts of the planet to cleanse itself from the Jenova infestation. Still, we see the whole Uranus/Gaia struggle (found also in Genesis 1:1) playing out. The planet at war with outside influences. Someone you did not talk about can have a play in all of this if they bring him back. Besides Sephiroth and Aerith, we have a 3rd being that is not in the conflict but travels the dimensions and other worlds. Gilgamesh. I was a little disappointed to see only a limited reaction when face to face with Sephiroth. We will see more in part 3 when we come to Rocket/Icicle towns as well as Wutai, the Crater, and Reunion. Still, the one that disturbs me the most coming into part 3 is Chadley. Under Hojo's control? His battle simulators grow extremely powerful. He is searching for knowledge and using Cloud to do so. Cloud and crew have reservations in Remake and Rebirth about helping him. Are their fears founded in any way? With setting up the remnant towers, we gave him exponential reach and powers. Could Chadley represent AI growing out of control from those who develop it? Could Chadley be another pawn of the great powers we do not see? Another question mark I have surrounds Cisnei. She knows more than she is letting on. Keeping her in Gongaga seems more like keeping her for something later on. She was mysterious enough when Zack left Cloud in her care. Vincent is another keeping his secrets.

First I want to say that this video is awesome, I love the analysis so far especially because there really aren't too many people who are talking in-depth about the grand war that is suppose to transpire (not just between Shinra and Wutai, but between the Gi, the planet, and maybe some other forces not entirely known yet). I have two questions for you though, do you think the Black Materia really should be in the hands of Cloud after Forgotten Capital? The reason I ask this first question is because in PS1-FF7 cloud obviously doesn't have the Black Materia after the Forgotten Capital and subsequently regains it at the whirlwind maze after the defeat of Jenova Death. I just hope the developers really do have a proper level of sense already integrated into what their doing here concerning the Black Materia and its' puzzeling existence/existences. There's the fake Black Materia and the real one (this much was already able to be understood in PS1-FF7), but it looks like there are a number of duplicates now that could exist in-tandem/together possibly? The White Materia is puzzeling in a similar way now given the fact that there is an empty version of it, it's now way too easy to arrive at many complex conclusions given the fact that multiple worlds is now an element in the trilogy (the multiple worlds being the sole reason for duplication of people and objects). My second question is; do you think the Black Materia Cloud currently posseses after Forgotten Capital is simply the fake. This would mean that Sephiroth was able to get the real Black Materia from the ancient temple crater before Aerith and somehow get Aerith to think that she ended up with the real one when she really ended up with the fake and then giving it to Cloud. There is that gap of undisclosed stuff happening after cloud and Aerith fall to the bottom of the ancient temple crater, lots of crazy things could've happened I suppose, so yeah what do you think? By the way the opposite of course might be true, that Aerith played some good 4d/5d chess and got the real Black Materia into clouds possession making Sephiroth think he has the real one but really has the fake.

Skip to 8:00 for 'REAL-LIFE IMPLICATIONS'

Very interesting take, I'm still in the boat that the gi summoned jenova to the planet using the black materia, dragging her in from the space between "worlds" that enabled her to begin tainting and destroying the lifestream, which eventually will lead to the same conclusion that the black materia would anyway.

A bit repitive but oversll nice work. Thank you

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Very insightful and thought provoking! Attention to detail is really on point, especially incorporating color theory elements like blue + yellow = green, and red + blue = purple. Looking forward to watching the 4 hr version and future videos.

Hey to add a little to your theory, at the last fight Sephiroth sends Cloud back to the edge of creation and then Aerith arrive clouding everything as you say, if Aerith is manipulating cloud throw the empty materia as you say, that will explain how Aerith manage to enter the edge of creation maybe part of her plan was to make Sephiroth get out of there so he stop showing thinks to Cloud, by giving the empty materia to Cloud she locates and find the place where the end of creation is that's maybe why Sephiroth underestimate her

Jesus Christ get some healing bro your contempt for aerith is palpable 😔

It more surprises me how few people got this. Aerith being someone else at the end just seems so obvious

2:02:56 my mind was fucking blown u are a goat 🐐 so glad I made up my mind to watch a 3hour long ff7rb theory video literally had go get up out my bed for this one

Hey man wanted to say congratualations on this epic! To be honest im not sure how i feel about Aerith being a manipulator as such, it's clear to see from remake and rebirth she withholds information, but i feel she does so out of necessity. Maybe she feels oversharing would lead to a "bad end", this all cycles around to the discovery of Jenova and what Shinra decided to do with her. Jenova and Sephi are the arch enemy to the cetra so i think a lot of what Aerith does is out of fear of something not happening. I love how you have put all this together and a lot of the logic is sound, i just think the whole situation is far more complex because of Jenova's influence and everything that came after her discovery. On top of this we have 'fate' or opposing fates fighting against each other to either make OG happen or to stop it from happening. Its a massive oversimplification, but i really do feel like the emphasis on perspective is so important in the retrilogy. We see almost everything from Cloud's perspective and he is unreliable at the best of times, he is severely unwell throughout remake and rebirth. By the end of Rebirth he is so unravelled that i think he needs to see her alive, he needs to believe he is capable of saving her. As much as i want Aerith to live i dont see it going any other way than OG because her death is too important, even Aerith knows that. I loved Rebirth so much, my one gripe with it though is after her "death". Cloud's inability to see the reality of what happened took away from the rest the group, I feel we needed more time to see the rest of the party morn for her but because the focus was so mcuh on Cloud a lot of that was missing. We get so many moments throughout rebirth to take a pauses and reflect, to me the ending went by too quickly. Anyway i went off on a bit of tangent there 😂. Regardless of an individuals theories, your video was really well presented, thought provoking and well evidenced. So again excellent work man! Thank you for putting this out there! Looking forward to part 3 so much!

Not a big fan of theories and I hate them with a passion, it discourages me from playing and completing the game if everybody is throwing their two cents to try make efn sense of wtf is happening in this convoluted fan fict trilogy. If part 3 is called any of the following such as, Retribution, Requiem, Redemption, Reboot or Reborn, then I know that certain content creators have had some influrence on Square Enix decision making and direction of the trilogy, and the ending. Only thing we're all certain of is that they are changing certain events that occurred in the original and the original spinoff titles from happening, and it was pretty much obvious from the start of Remake that Cloud is the key to either the success of either Aerith or Sephiroth, who wins? Cloud choice or rather the players, as the trilogy reeks of multiple endings, not one ending will be the end conclusion, because we now have bubble universes bs! and that opens the door for Square Enix to milk FFVII franchise for the forceable future. What bubble universe will we be playing in the next expansion to the FFVII franchise. I can't wait to play it on the PS6.

I've seen almost every theory video out there, and I have to be extremely honest when I say this is top tier. This is so well done and for the first time has me thinking to myself "oh wow, i never even th9ught of THAT", on so many of these points! Great job and I look forward to more videos from you!

The Gi and Sephiroth are not working together. The Gi want death and they created the black materia/meteor to annihilate themselves without any thought for the planet or other life on Gaia so the Cetra stole it and Seto reneged on his promise to the Gi once he realised that. Sephiroth's goal to wound the planet is just coincednetal.

I think the idea that Aerith is manipulating events is interesting and on some level I agree. I have always thought as much, Aerith and Sephiroth are playing 4D chess and the truth and morality of things might be more compex than it appears. BUT, I think you yourself have clouded eyes. Suggesting the Citra were outright evil, that Aerith is basically a villain, and that the whole plot is an analogy for a conflict in the middle east is all some very specific and out there stuff. I really dont think anyone at Square wrote that on the ground level and then it got approved sll the way up the chain.

Here I thought I would enjoy the games not playing the original… curse young me for being too dumb to finish it!

Oh my god your point about Rufus being manipulated just totally clicked with me. I thought it was a weird writing error for New President of Shinra Rufus to be like "screw my dad's plans, I hav ebigger aspiratoins" only to then by the end of the game decide that he should hunt down Aerith/Promoised Land afterall. It also makes a bit more sense why we see Rufus seeing the whispers at the end of Remake as well. Great points!

Something that's been in my head since the ending of Rebirth is that Aerith and Sephiroth have sort of swapped methods. The two both know how the original story ends with Sephiroth's failure subconsciously. Sephiroth wants to make Cloud stronger so he can defy fate, creating a new world where Aerith lives and he has another chance to succeed at reclaiming the planet for Jenova. Aerith is sabotaging Cloud to make sure he's weak and can't change fate so that Sephiroth doesn't get that chance - Aerith has to die for the world to be saved.

Loved the analysis and how you explained everything. Keep it up! Love your videos.

I think Sephiroth put Black Materia in Cloud's pocket. He even said to Cloud "I give you, my blessing." Also Zack wasn't saved by Black Whispers. He was saved by Grey Whispers. If you compare Remake's Whispers' 3D model with Rebirth's, you can clearly see they're different. Black Whispers have purple glowing orbs under their hood. So the Sephiroth controlled Whispers in Remake were purple ones. They were the ones who were gathering grey ones and forcing them under their influence. In Rebirth, they're completely turned & under Sephiroth's whim, represented by their black color and purple orb. Biggs was also saved by Grey Whispers. Not White Whispers. Grey Whispers basically represent struggle between Aerith/White and Sephiroth/Black. Thus they're Grey.

Bro this video is EXACTLY for what I was searching. THANK YOU! I cannot imagine the time it took to make a 3:51:07 video that’s this detailed The first fortune is also literally what Cait does to the group 😂 I also like the notion that cloud is basically still a kid doing all of this 😂 Yuffie is 16

almost 4 hours, LET'S GO!

Was not expecting Aerith to be Netanyahu 😂

too convoluted

I really don't get the vibe from the Gi that they would destroy the world. While it's curious that the Gi say the materia existed but did not stir until they were alerted to it, I don't see a reason why they would want to destroy the planet unless it really was the only way to totally eradicate their lingering souls. And seeing cloud equip the materia to his sword at the end is really curious because I never thought about the black materia being equipped would do anything except, you know, cast meteor. But he doesn't slot it in, it's almost disappearing like holograms would

This was really well done, however I will say that you made Aerith sound like a moron, which is kinda messed up xD

amazing

Fuck. The whispers saving Wedge as a pawn to correct deviations and then disposing of him in a manner similiar to his OG fate hits hard and makes so much sense. In the grand scheme of things, the planet is just doing what it must to preserve itself. Which is why it fights so hard to preserve the way things were meant to go. Cuz the planet lives. Even if humanity dies out 500 years after the events of FF7 og and ac. The only reason the planet fights but also saves our protags is cuz they are the best hope of self preservation but also acting intentionally against the planet's will at times.

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I always wonder why Cloud is special, why was he able to defeat sephiroth, why he is also able to see the fissure in the sky now. why can he still see aerith. My theory is that Cloud is also decend of cetra knight, it whould explain why he can see life stream persons. He is basically a cetra with jenova cells What do you guys think?

Phenom analysis, explanation and video overall! Thank you.

This is a pretty interesting theory. We'll see how right you are in a few years I suppose.

Bro ply the game. Video is cool but just play it 😅😅

Getting real tired of overly long video essay slop, but this one probably takes the cake. Incessant long clips breaking the pace despite acknowledging people watching are familiar with theories and therefore the story, weird to follow structure, couldn't pass the 1h10 hour mark and still didn't feel like an overall point was made. Script needed more drafts, and editing more time in the oven to support the script and not mess with the pace. Long ≠ good.

I have no idea if this helps or not, but in Japanese the line Sephiroth says on the expressway to Aerith is “you won’t be able to see anything with eyes clouded by sentimentality” 「感傷で曇って目には　何も見えまい」

Let's not forget that quadra magic (blue) and KOTR (red) is the most powerful combo haha

Great vid! Max needs to get on this, so many opposing ideas, would be a good discussion / collab. The observation about Cloud crying when she is "alive" and serious/vacant when she is "dead" is really interesting. OG, Sephiroth never mentions him crying, just says that he's acting sad or angry, so entirely possible this is the new mega-punished Cloud totally breaking down, then Seph/Jeni takes it one step further by having Aerith "wake up", OR it's Omni-Aerith's last push to try to get him to hold it together...

Hey, it’s the guy who made the video talking about Aerith’s death in Rebirth like half a year ago if you remember that video at all. I remember seeing your comment saying you were working on what I now believe to be this video and WOW you weren’t kidding. Congrats on getting this video done!