Awesome video! Have you considered that maybe the reason Tifa is in her state by the end is because during her flash (possibly from her encounter with the lifestream) that she saw the version of Aeriths death where Cloud himself kills her? The different blood splatters on her arm and the fact she does not say a word to anyone. Curious on your thoughts on this!
Yeah I’m hoping that exact fact doesn’t escape people when I talk about this game LMAO I’m still playing. I was playing last night. I dropped Remake immediately if that tells you anything lmao
Cloud lives in the "white world" where aerith lives, too. The others (didn't pass the white portal) are living in the "black world". For them, aerith is dead. This will be psycho in part3
I'm not necessarily invested one way or another myself. Don't care that much for Final Fantasy given the strong theme of death. I'm in it more for the hero's journey and saving the damsel. Although, I find myself enthralled with attempting to decode the ending.
got a ps5 just for this. agree with most of what you said, but you are 100% right with how they messed up the ending because of how needlessly convoluted it was. instead of having an extremely emotional impact, it instead it leaves the player thinking "huh? wtf just happened?" while fighting the final boss.
I also got a PS5 just for this I'm still playing 150 hours I did not think I would make it that long there are a lot of minigames but the game is still good I just wish they would have turned down the mini games a little bit
@@supersaiyanzero386 everyone hoping they'll be a super impactful scene in part 3 when cloud is put back together. I think it could be great. only thing is, you're waiting another 3 years for it (7 if you go back to remake part 1!)
@@maillardsbearcat oh i agree. it's the most iconic death i can think of. and my first time watching was like eh? a lot to take in and understand as you're casusally just playing. just gotta hope the payoff/flashbacks/what actually happened in part 3 is amazing and worth it
Is it possible the devs purposely wanted those exact feelings toward the ending, to build up the ending game. Have everybody guessing and unsatisfied. Which it has done successfully
the part i don't like about the ending is that it doesn't feel like an Aerith moment. Aerith freaking died, in this scene but they make it convoluted and confusing and it watered down how important this scene is. The battle is cool and fanservicy, but can you imagine they ended with Aerith's death and then silence. That would've made the scene soo powerful. What I'm asking now is hopefully the last game shows Cloud accepting her death and it shows vividly how he carried her to the lake, and him and the others mourning for her.
Bro I was a bit shocked we couldn’t see Cloud laying Aerith to rest and say proper good buy. I do believe they saved this for part 3 to let it hit even harder - if they do I hope they nail it. Cody recorded his words to Aerith. He talked about in an interview ;) One of the best games I played - OG still goat for me. Looking forward to part 3
Im 100% sure we will replay the Arieth death scene in part 3 when Clouds mind is fixed, but I agree the game spent so much efforts on building Arieth as a character gamers spend hundred of hours getting along with her, playing out her death scene in part 3 will never have the same impact as doing it in part 2
2nd this. Unless, & I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s when Tifa & Cloud fall into the Lifestream at Mideal & patch Cloud’s broken self together properly that we’ll get the raw monologue Cloud had at Aerith’s passing/her burial. 👀✨ Nor would it surprising if the OP Aerith that’s fights Seph with Cloud has a moment with either Cloud, & Tifa separately, or both together in Cloud’s broken psyche/the Lifestream to have her moment to shine on her own for at least a moment.
Listen I absolutely adore this game, but I shouldn't need to have a full 30 min video, books and charts to understand what the heck was happening in the ending 😭
You don’t need a 30 min video. I understood it, along with appreciating a little mystery, without the 30 min video. That 30 min video is your choice to watch.
My brother and I have a theory that once Tifa helps rebuild Cloud's mind in part 3, since we know materia is formed from memories, all of Cloud's true memories about himself and Zack and Aerith's death will fill the clear materia, which will allow Cloud to call Zack and/or Aerith from another world in as a summon lol.
Ever since I finished Remake, I've felt that the only way they can really conclude a trilogy about 'defying fate' is with multiple possible endings. After all, if you just have one ending then you are basically just trading one fate for another predetermined one. This is the kind of theme that player agency would be super important for.
Man I just finished this game and I've now watched nearly a dozen TH-camrs analyze this ending and only you have echoed my thoughts and opinions nearly perfectly. I enjoyed a lot of this ending but boy, was I so "emotionally exhausted" after that boss fight. The lack of explanations on the timelines, ghosts, mental breakdowns etc just had me going "huh?" when I should be sobbing over Aerith. They fumbled the ball hard here.
What the hell was Vincent doing while everyone else was fighting? In Remake we cant use Nanaki but he at least shows up in the conflict. Vincent aside from the doorway part is just gone
They should have ended the game at the northern crater, that way they could have split this up so its more digestible. Have the Aerith scene be the Aerith scene with the added "Cloud seeing Aerith" stuff, then do all the timeline world stuff at the northern crater and end the game with the summoning of meteor, that way you also would have a banger opening of part 3. Would have been much more cohesive that way instead of trying to do two things at once.
100% agree. My biggest negative coming into Rebirth was where they decided to end it. My biggest negative after finishing the game… was where they decided to end it.
The whole multiverse thing really undermines the emotional impact of anything that happens. I would have preferred if the either had her die or live. I could even get behind if they did a multiple endings type thing similar to elden ring. As it is it is just confusing.
To keep it simple, all these timelines will somehow merge and you'll end up with Aerith and Zack reuniting as the saviors of the "other side" and unfortunately staying there as the protectors of the Livestream. This conclusion will serve both fans who wish to either keep them alive but also "dead" at the same time (fitting the events of Advent Children perfectly). I truly believe a lot of inspiration is taken from Kingdom Hearts, such as the concept of "birth by sleep" where you don't really die but rather change form or simply wake up in another reality. What hits me the most is not Aerith's supposed "death", it's actually her lamenting in tears that she won't be able to live a normal life or be happy like everyone else. First her mother falling ill and now her being targeted by Sephiroth. All our girl ever wanted was to be happy and go on adventure and fall in love, why can't she have her happy ending!
That last image of Aerith standing there in the field all by herself, then sweetly saying "Goodbye" to her friends that she can't go on the rest of the adventure with while the music swells hit me much harder than Aerith's death in the original game. It feels so unfair that she has to stay behind, and doesn't get to have any more fun with the gang...
With Aerith standing alone, I can relate. A traumatic event happened in my life and I lost contact with all the people I went to high school with. When I tried to catch up with Facebook, it felt like an empty victory. I don't believe I missed much in high school. But, that doesn't help that feeling of having something taken from me. That's why her saying goodbye probably affects me more than her "death".
Nice sharing ! 300 hrs ?! I give up for the platinum challenge due to the mini games and VR challenges is hell. Can't wait for part 3 for a conclusion .....
I got burnt out after 100 hours beat the game but have no desire to do the summon challenges and hard mode. I think next time I play I’m gonna do just missions no exploring side quests or useless mini games! I give dude prior cuz 300 hours is Fuxking insane
Whether you think the Aerith ghost is a hallucination from Cloud's mind, from Jenova, or Aerith from another timeline, it's clear that his relationship with her is creating a huge rift between him and the other characters. If Cloud "getting better" means he'll have to give up seeing Aerith, then it gives him a reason to reject learning about his true self. Whatever rendition of the lifestream scene they make for the next one, it will probably be much more intense, and may even be completely different in its conclusion.
I am 108 hrs in. I agree with every single point you made. I'm sure most of us found this video out of confusion over the ending. I didn't want Aerith to die this time around but if she was to die, I had hoped for a proper climatic ending with emotions surging through the roof.
I hate the fact that they even listened to the fans asking to revive aerith. the reason they asked for it was because they were sad when the death happened, but getting sad was the WHOLE POINT. they chose aerith to be the one to die because they wanted the loss of life to be a major part of the game. films and stories wouldn't mean much today if they kept drastically changing the plot because fans were sad their favorite character was killed off. remove the time ghosts, keep the new perspective about clouds mental state, and rebirth still would've been a great game and most importantly have a story that makes sense to the player. instead square chose to confuse everybody for extra clicks.
I’m certainly with you in that I feel like the ending was so convoluted it was hard to feel anything. I was also waiting and waiting for the scene of Cloud carrying Aerith into the lake so I was so disappointed when that didn’t happen. The ridiculously long battle at the end also just had me more annoyed than anything come the end so it was hard to give a shit about whatever dumb nonsense they were doing with the story. Also just annoyed that we even fought Sephiroth again. Like seriously, we are getting such an over exposure of Sephiroth that he has lost all meaning. There is nothing menacing or intimidating about him anymore. It was a horrible decision to have us fight him in Remake and again in Rebirth. Less is more as they say. But this dev team showed zero restraint which is why this game is honestly just a bloated mess in my mind.
I think it has to do with how the game is being done, every game has to end with a boss final battle, there is no point on just ending the game for example with a cutscene and thats all. the original didnt come in 3 times, it was all together but this one, every part is released every 3 years, so even when is a full history, every game is kind of an individual one and released with big gaps of time. lets say that they stick to the original, the party goes to the forgotten capital, aeris is killed, 10 minutes fight with Jenova, a small cutscene and thats it, insert disk 3. but there is no disk 3 so the player is going to end with an unwanted feeling of disappointment and emptiness. like this, the emptiness exists but somehow is filled with a lot of questions about what is really going on, what is happening, and what is going to happen in part 3, which was the intention of the devs. also they are playing all the time knowing that we know the history, but at the same time they are changing/adding things so you can have a mix between the nostalgia from the original game with the emotion of a "new game" where you dont know whats going to happen. they know what they are doing
One thing I think about the black whispers letting cloud and only cloud through is at this point Sephiroth still doesn’t have a body and needs the black cloaks to manifest. Given that there are no black cloaks around Sephiroth needs cloud in order to do the deed.
interesting theory. I am still in the camp that I believe that an Aerith lived thanks to cloud blocking the strike, as I don't really buy the fact that what Cloud is seeing is a delusion, let alone one that Aerith herself would endorse as IMO that would be pretty manipulative for her to do. On par with Sephiorth. What I think the whispers can represent is that, with fate/destiny gone the whispers are basically up for grabs and can be used by who has the most 'pull' to influence the events of the world to accommodate their master's will. I think Sephiorth and the Planet wanted Aerith to die for their own reasons but maybe through Aeriths help, Cloud was able to save her (it is even seemingly confirmed in the Ultimania that Cloud DID save Aerith with blocking the strike) and possibly due to a multitude of factors, only he can perceive the world where she is saved and no one else can. I think it also makes sense with showing us, the audience, specifically the scenes of different realities being made by Zack's choices with the subsequent rainbow effect, that blocking the strike created a new world. NOW I do not think that Cloud realizes this is what's happening and I'm sure it will lead to his mental decline in part 3. He will be certain he saved Aerith (and technically he did) but everyone will say he didn't and he won't know why. The developers have said that the 'big reveal' with Cloud this time around will not be so much of a 'unreliable narrator' but a 'unreliable world' so it would make sense this time around that Cloud is not the one who is 'crazy' but the WORLD is crazy and how that leads into this grand Reunion and what it will bring.
yeah a lot of people are starting to reduce the whole ending as everything we see being a product of cloud's delusions and him being an unreliable narrator but like you said the devs have previously stated that this time around the big reveal will be less about him being an unreliable narrator and more about him being in an unreliable world which leads me to believe that a lot of what he's seeing is actually real, he just doesn't really understand what he's exactly seeing and to what extent it's real. for example the aerith in the ending scene might very well be real for all we know but cloud doesn't understand that she died in their world and that the others can't see her, he's treating the situation like she never died... even if aerith survived in some other world he will still have to confront her death one way or another in part 3 and i think him seeing things others can't see and the team possibly not trusting him and treating him like he has lost it is what will eventually lead to his mental decline.
I'm of the impression that within the moment Cloud blocked Sephiroth's blade, a new timeline was created in which she lived, but in the Beagle timeline, she technically died. But, it doesn't matter because once a timeline was created in which she lived, she would be able to complete her prayers to the planet and gain the power to traverse different worlds on a whim, similar to Sephiroth - which is how she was able to appear and physically assist Cloud in his fight against Sephiroth at the end, and then continue to converse with Cloud afterwards.
@@ugh5281 Since the second time I finished the game I've been thinking pretty much the same as you. Also, the one thing that no one seems to mention is that when Cloud sees Aerith sitting next to him he looks really surprised to see her which tells me that he does know that she died. Also, the materia wasn't green when it fell into the water so I assume she has to be alive to finish casting Holy. This time I think it's going to be Aerith that helps Cloud in the lifestream and not Tifa since Aerith has all her knowledge back. Zack may even help too. There is a reason why they decided to have Tifa go into the lifestream already. I also don't think we're done with the terrier world.
I wanted to cry in the ending of the game. Instead, I was left feeling hollow, just like the song and remake. But that’s just how life is and death for that matter.
I agree with you on the ending, they destroyed it and Aerith's moment and the impact of her death just to keep their multiple worlds story going. I still cried, because Aerith died in the "playable" world, but only after seeing Aerith saying goodbye to the group, staying behind and no one but Cloud could see her. That hit a nerve and after my partner asked what I thought I couldn't hold it anymore.... The ending of rebirth just wasn't as emotional as that of OG and if I hadn't played OG at all, I think I wouldn't have cried in the first place.
I know what you mean, and normally I am not ok with the whole multiverse shit as if death means nothing, but in this case I am okay with it. I feel like square is cooking something big, and I want Aerith to live, I already grieved for her in OG I dont need to do it again, I need her to have a happy ending with Cloud.
While I would prefer to have Aerith and Zack to reunite with the party in the main timeline and live, the ending of Rebirth felt like the devs wanted to have their cake and eat it with Aerith's death scene. Remake sets up defying fate and death, with Zack living and possibly allowing Aerith live later on, only for Rebirth to kind of walk that back with Aerith and say "nope, fate is inevitable, she'll always die by Sephi's blade 🙃". While part 3 isn't out and isn't coming for a long time, so Aerith could still kind of be alive, but I just wish the devs would be more decisive instead of trying to please everyone, if they wanted Aerith to live or die I wish they would stick with it instead of trying to make both sides of fans happy and in doing so I feel like they've just confused fans more (which is probably/maybe intentional?). What is the point of defeating and defying the whispers over and over only for fate to basically be the same, the OG is already there, so I hope they can fully defy fate and be happy, all of them, including Cloud, Aerith and Zack
Tbh I think this is a "too much cooks spoil the broth" scenario. Nomura coming to Nojima saying add Zack to the ending. Kitase wanting all to have a good ending... Add this, add that. Shipping wars, adding all characters from expanded ff7 universe...
...right your just describing why its a game dedicated to ff7 fans lol. Its not meant for the average gamer. It specifically caters to the fans of the original.
@@thapoppyman not really...the original ff7 is my favorite game EVER hell I even bought the damn ps1 classic just for that game as I have no ps1 memory card anymore. If they wanted to caters to the fan they wouldn't have messed up the feel of the game...in the original the world is dark and bleak and people struggle apart from the gold saucer where it's only fun and games...yet in this game every city feels as touristy as prague and feels like the gold saucer is everywhere. Another thing that the original did so well was the fact that we were only witnessing the aftermath of sephiroth, never seeing him, just the consequences of his passage, following the trail of blood in the shinra building ( blood not purple slime), seeing the midgar zolum empalled on a tree after that thing kicked my butt in 4 seconds made me wonder how I would ever be able to beat that guy, like nothing could stop him. Now he's constantly in our face, we beat him twice already...he doesen't even feel like a serious threat anymore. I did enjoy stuff from these games, they look great, soundtrack is fantastic, the combat system is fun...but especially in rebirth the so-called optional mini-games who aren't really that optional as many stuff is locked behind them, moogle shit, boring side quest, the kingdom heart crap...I could've deal with that if they hadn't messed up the feel of the game and that's where those games miss the mark in my opinion. Don't get me wrong they were ok games but once the nostalgia fades they are just that ok games while the original is a classic. But then every one have their own views on things so no hard feelings here :)
I understand why some ppl are upset with the ending, fair points about not giving us the closure of Aerith. Personally I really like the direction they took. I understand that they put all they're chips in part 3 to tie this all together. and so far, I trust that they will...I'm nervous, but i trust them. I remember not liking any Harry Potter movie. I watched the movies and did not enjoy any of it. ONLY until I saw the last movie. I did not only like the last movie, but it made me appreciate all of the movies, and now i truly enjoy the hole series. I understood the build up to the final movie. I feel that FF7RE-trilogie might have this effect on some fans. So far, they are doing a great job at making ppl re-experiencing FF7. When the developers said they want to dig deeper into the story of ff7, they meant it! The themes are more heavy in rebirth, it blows my mind. It not just playing me playing the game and being like: "Yep..that's how it happened, so glad to watch this in better graphic". It does soo much more than that. I was so not a huge fan of having Zack & Bigs around at the end of Remake. But Rebirth made me really excited about it. And because of that! I am optimistic. If Rebirth changed my mind about all the Zack stuff, then I'm more optimistic that they will execute the 3rd part well. They took the Aerith burial from us. I'm sure they are aware that , that was a huge gamble. They must have faith and believe in whatever it is that they're cooking. For that! I'm excited and nervous for!
Random point about "Reborn Sephiroth" that I wanted to make. The name change wasn't done for no reason, it was another mistranslation of sorts from the original game same as the Midgar Zolom was. The name was "Ribasu" Sephiroth which was interpreted as "Reverse Sephiroth" when it SHOULD have been Rebirth Sephiroth. Because "Reverse" characters had been done before in comic books (Bizzaro Superman was the inverse version of Superman), I guess the translator decided to go with that same comic book naming scheme for "Reverse" Sephiroth and named him Bizzaro Sephiroth. On the topic of the actual ending: It was definitely confusing, and I think it's done because there are multiple factors at play here. I don't really think it needed to be this confusing though like... I dunno. Regardless, I do think there's an Aerith that is out there trying to save Cloud still. I also think that Cloud is in denial and is seeing things that he shouldn't be or is possibly inbetween worlds somehow. I also think Sephiroth might be having a hand in fucking with him. So I'm kinda in the camp that thinks we're seeing all three possibilities happening simultaneously which makes the situation even more confusing than it needed to be. The scenes where Cloud is talking but we don't hear words has been confirmed to be the speech he gives in the original game. Whether or not that is real is... I dunno. Like was the entire situation a fabrication of his mind? I could see a situation where he's frozen but thinks about blocking the blade, isn't able to, but his broken mind just decides that it totally did happen that way. ALTERNATIVELY- The Ultimania refers to the green flashes as "flashbacks" which... I'm hoping is a mistranslation.. but... if it isn't a mistranslation, then I think we might have another explanation here for what we're seeing and also to a few moments in Remake that weren't really explained. If some of the green flashes ARE "flashbacks" as in... Cloud has seen this all happen before, then that would kinda explain why he has a green flash in Remake where he sees Aerith's death and later sheds a tear when meeting back up with Aerith again. I was always kinda curious as to why this happened since it shouldn't be related. He shouldn't know about these events, so why would it matter? If we are somehow reliving the events of the game through Cloud's mind, then that would explain some of the green flashes that don't make sense. When he gets to a particularly traumatic moment in his life, his brain starts giving him headaches and green flashes the same way his broken mind tries to cover up events he currently shouldn't know about either. So, in the same way that his brain won't let him remember Zack's name or where he was for the last 5 years when Tifa asks him, his mind is leaking future events that he's experienced but shouldn't know about yet whenever he encounters a particularly tragic circumstance. What does this mean? Well, I don't think we're necessarily like... reliving the events from the mind of a future Cloud like he's in a coma or something. This game sets up how the lifestream exists and flows basically outside of time. We see in Remake how Zack's final stand is happening simultaneously as Remake's version of AVALANCHE is fleeing Midgar and facing Sephiroth. It kinda seems like the lifestream is cyclical and encompasses all that ever was and will be all within itself, so it makes sense that characters could possibly have weird flashes to moments that they shouldn't be able to see. Nothing in the lifestream has changed from the moment it was created, so, theoretically, the planet should have already known all of this was going to happen. Cloud's entire being always was and always will be inside of the lifestream. It's possible that he's having flashes to a different version of himself that exists outside of time like... he's somehow tapping into the lifestream which has already experienced these events and it's giving him strange flashes of events. I DUNNO, I hope they explain this shit in part 3 and it's satisfying.
Yeah I hope so too. It’s not that I don’t like some mystery, but I need the mystery to be “holy shit this is good, I can’t wait to see what happens,” not , “how are they gonna fuck it up this next time?” Lmao
@@Soldier1stClassyeah… It’s like… I get the story isnt over, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be met with some finality. Like how Harry Potter books are self contained pieces of one larger story, yet they don’t really leave to many questions unanswered. The questions are pretty much resolved at the end of the book, and we’re simply waiting for the next book to come out which asks more weird questions that we get answers to. Repeat until the book series is finished. What Rebirth has done with the weird confusing ending is the equivalent to if The Goblet of Fire was broken into two parts and ended on a cliffhanger when Harry gets transported to the graveyard. Like boom hope you enjoyed it. What the significance of that graveyard? Dunno. Guess you gotta wait till the next part!
I'm not convinced that the Aerith from the main rebirth timeline is dead. And here's why. Aerith basically spends the entirety of chapter 13 learning how to use the lifestream. Her connection to it is further shown when she is talking to Sephiroth at the end of this chapter and she talks with several voices. Also at the end of that chapter, Aerith reminds everyone that even if fate has been decided, the future is still something they can change. This is a theme that was established in remake and has been carried over to rebirth. I think this was all to set the stage for chapter 14, where I believe we get to see Aerith's abilities on full display. After Cloud and Aerith fall. Cloud appears to wake up in his unconscious body in one the doomed timelines. I believe it was Aerith who brought this about. As she later opens a portal and pushes Cloud through after giving him her materia. At the same time, we hear Sephiroth enter and say, "So, this is where you were hiding." I had the feeling that this was not our Aerith but another Aerith. And it seems that I was right. The reason for this is that our Aerith is perfectly fine after their fall, and becomes the leader of the group while Cloud remains unfunctional while he seemingly is pulled from one timeline to the next. He is only able to fully wake up after he gives the white materia to our current Aerith after she is separated from the group in the forest. Later, We clearly see flashes from from the OG timeline where Aerith dies via Tifa, but the current version of Aerith shows no signs of blood. Meaning Sephiroth's blade was in fact blocked. If anything, our Aerith looks to be in the same state of the unconscious Aerith in the doomed timeline/s. But we also see that there is a version of Aerith that only Cloud sees, which is surrounded by lifestream wisps. We also do not get to see the iconic scene where Cloud lowers Aerith's lifeless body into the lifestream... we don't see what happens to her body at all. My theory is that our Aerith's soul left her body right after Cloud blocked Sephiroth's blade and went into the lifestream. I think this was the planet's way of answering her prayer to "show her how to protect everyone". I don't believe Aerith is nessacerly dead. But that her body has been left an empty soulless husk. And that her soul has united with the other versions of her soul that were already in the lifestream. And it is here we get to see just how much of a royal pain she can be for Sephiroth. It is hinted throughout chapter 14 that she is the one pulling Zack and Cloud from one timeline to the next and protecting them between timelines before making an appearance in the final battle of the game. I think she decides not to return to her body because it is in this state that she can do the most good for everyone and be the biggest hindrance to Sephiroth. I think that the reason that Cloud is the only one who can see her spiritual form is because of his time spent between timelines in the lifestream. Now whether or not Aerith will end up reuniting with her body at the end of everything is a different question. But I think that the writers have set it up so she very well could. Of course, I could be completely wrong. Regardless, I think it's too early to say that Aerith is for sure, 100% dead.
Thank you for this video ! I really enjoyed FF7 Rebirth. What an adventure. Regarding Cloud's monologue, it has been confirmed recently by developers it is actually the one that was said in the OG. In a recent interview, Cody Christian mentioned about the heartbreaking moment of recording Cloud's lines towards Aerith. So it was recorded, but it wasn't included in the game, so maybe they are saving it for when Cloud recovers his proper memory in part 3. I also think there is an Aerith alive in another timeline due to the rainbow effect since the deflecting did happen, but when the whole story ends, maybe they'll have to part ways still... anyway we can only speculate till part 3 comes out.
The Tifa perspective seems like it's rather showing what Cloud has infront of him and what the actual reality is the scene shows the same shocked face of the other members right after. At the lake though she's the only one there so it's pretty obvious that it is definitely her perspective alone. Otherwise pretty sound arguments though I am not sure which blessing we are talking about I initially though that it's Sephiroths blessing to help him briefly control few dark whispers that grants him passage in his supposed blessing was that ability just to get him to see Aerith die. The black materia is pretty unexplained but I suppose the blessing could also be that. Edit: I really like the criticism coming out though couldn't agree more with it.
The two scenes that made me cry in this game, was when Dyne dies, and then when aerith cloud into the portal. That music was incredible and really destroyed me.
Thanks for sharing your point of you. I loved the direction of the Re-trilogy from Remake but I have always understood that some parts might be hard to digest. I have my biggest hopes for part3 because, even though I love this re-making of the FF7 story (sequel/requel/multiverse etc), I also would really like a satisfying closure and understanding of the whole depiction by the end. Regarding the burial and the end of Rebirth, my personal opinion is that we will have that shock value once Cloud will be almost totally broken and will have to regain his self again. But I understand where your "dissatisfaction" comes from. Anyway thanks for the awesome video and also thanks for putting so much efforts in all the latest content and answering most of the comments under your videos. Always thought you are and were one of the best content creators in the community and once again I want to say how happy I am that you decided to play Rebirth and bring your point of view into the discussion! Till the next one Soldier! :D
Dude honestly I have respected you for a LONG time and I’m Happy with how you feel … I’m personally here to see how this plays out and how they can pull this off by part 3 .. honestly im here for the ride and here for peoples theory’s there likes dislikes. This helped me to understand what happened a lot more. Your right not getting the water burial was a shame I kind of got a grasp on the cloud monologue happening but not hearing it. A lot to take in but overall my experience with this game was fantastic. Thank you for this video dude.
Sephiroth sneaking things in cloud's pocket like a boyfriend would, cloudiroth ship confirmed 😂 I'm holding back judgements until after I've played the last part. I have a feeling we'll see what happened in the finale! My takeaway from this part of the story is how important the time we have with those we love is so important, which falls in line with the OG themes.
I agree about they ruining consequences with the multiple realities, the Flash television series did the same thing, it's hard to be emotionally connected when they can simple undo it with ease, it ruins storytelling.
We didn't the event we were looking but i think when they revisit it, it will hit even harder.. I'm gonna give the devs the benefit of the doubt. They've made an excellent two thirds of a trilogy so far in my eyes.
Alright Soldier1stClass I've got a lot to unpack so buckle up. First off I 100% agree with your take on this ending and I think you did a really good job articulating it without totally shitting on it. For me, I feel very similar to how I did at the end of Remake, which was mostly frustrated. In both cases I played a game that was for the most part a faithful recreation of one of my favorite games with some enhancements, added lore, and a lot more depth into places and character (for better or worse in some cases. I didn't really need Chocobo bills full backstory) but then in both games the last chapter just goes full blown off the rails and get leaves you wondering what the fuck you just witnessed. From a narrative prospective it's so frustrating because FF7 original already had one of the most compelling stories that while not convoluted was fairly complex in its own right and tackled some pretty hard hitting issues. Mental illness, identity crises, loss, grief, sacrifice, love and many others all lead by a great ensemble cast and topped off with some iconic antagonist in Shinra and Sephiroth. All of this multi verse crap feels so contrive and unnecessary in a game that already had so much depth. The fact that they slap it all in the last chapter makes it feel like a complete afterthought. You could literally cut it all from the game and lose nothing. When Im sitting here watching new world being created by arbitrary decisions made by a character who should be dead I just check out. When you start introducing elements into a story with no pretext that completely exists outside of the established rules of your universe it makes everything feel super cheap and contrive. Like why do Sephiroth and Aerith have these powers? Where did they get them? Why are the decisions Zack is making so impactful? Why is he special? It feels shoehorned for fan service. I also agree wholeheartedly that as soon as I hear multiverse the stakes are automatically lowered and things like death and consequence become way less impactful. And the fact that Aerith and her death are basically robbed of all emotion when this was supposed to be the CRUX of this story just pisses me off. And quite possibly the most annoying part is that they had a perfectly fine and thematically accurate vehicle to make something like this work. If you told me Aerith and Sephiroth were using the life stream as a way to send their consciences across time and influencing events I could go with that. It makes sense with rules already established in the universe as Sephiroth and Aerith are ancients. Overall the whole ending ruined what was otherwise a very very good game. Im really hoping they find a way to make this all relevant in part 3 and for the love of God don't give into fan service and just stick to the damn plot. Sorry I know that was a lot. Rant over.
It’s ok, I made an entire 31 minute video, there’s a lot to unpack about the ending of the game, so I get it. And I find myself very much in agreement with you
I like the game being different from the OG to keep it interesting but did feel really empty with the ending. Hoping that the cloud and tifa memory scene culminates with forgotten capital. VA for cloud says it was really emotional to record the aerith scene so hoping it was so well done the devs decided to save it for later.
@@salmark9080 yeah I also think we maybe they felt like they delivered enough emotional moments for one game (dyne and the trials particularly aerith ) red thirteens father etc
@@mattsnacks23The date between Cloud and Aerith in the other timeline. That basically was their final goodbye. That had waaay more emotional impact than the actual death.
I have a hard time putting it into words properly, but I feel like the uneasy confused ending almost certainly was intentional. A reflection of sorts of what's going on in Cloudy boi's mind. I have seen talk of Cloud's monolog having been recorded (I don't recall what video it was, but apparently came from translations of ultimania), and if so I expect a highly emotional scene about that as he gets sorted out in part 3. If true, of course.
I think Rebirth loaded the bases for part 3 to hit a grand slam. I don't think Aerith's moment was ruined here, but rather it was set up so Cloud is going to have to come to grips with what actually happened in order to be able to move on. Aerith might be his own personal force ghost to keep him momentarily sane, but he's going to be forced to say goodbye later, and made to relive actually seeing her be stabbed, and when he buried her at sea. Parts that have not yet registered in his mind. Similar to how he's going to come to grips with what really happened at Nibbelheim and how he wasn't in SOLDIER. Everything is perfectly set up for part 3 to be one of the most impactful gaming experiences since well, Aerith dying in 97'. I like to imagine that Aerith and Sepiroth sat down for a game of chess prior to the Remake series. From that perspective, it's no wonder that something different was going to happen here. I say here that if we want the OG events, we already have them in OG. Aerith had her iconic moment that has echoed through 25 years of gaming history. This is an opportunity to create a new moment to echo through another 25. And it gives us something to hold onto and chew on for the next three years as we all wait in anticipation. I guess what I'm saying is; are Remake and Rebirth not the two best games you've played in the 2020's? It's clear the devs love these games. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that they're setting up something grandiose at the conclusion of the unknown journey.
I came here to say something similar. I think they left it ambiguous on purpose and that her death will be revisited in part III when cloud is forced to come to terms with it. Hopefully we get a more straightforward depiction of her death and the scene where cloud releases her body in the water. It would be such a miss to fully omit that scene from the game. I also read that Cody Christian spoke in an interview about voicing the inaudible line when Aerith is killed. It sounds like it might be in part III. I hope so. Overall I love the game and can’t wait for the final episode.
Exactly my thoughts, I love this game but the ending was unnecessarily convoluted. I do believe Aerith is alive in another world but I guess we'll have to wait 3-4 years to know :(
In the OG and Advent CHildren she was alive in spiritual form in the lifestream and I think that's the case again. Cloud didn't save her, and him physically holding her hand to his face while dreaming that she moved it, is the clue. The tragedy is that she loved life and (controversially) Cloud, and that's been robbed from her.
When I first reached the ending I was confused, underwhelmed, and mostly shocked. After 100 hours and so much good characterization I loved the game but wasn’t that crazy about the ending. Now having gotten the platinum and seeing the ending plenty more times along with seeing others reactions and discussions I’ve actually grown to appreciate the ending. The Cloud denial in hindsight seems so much more clear and each time I see it more painful to watch knowing what is coming. That being said, I still don’t love the ending and agree that Aerith (and us the players) were robbed of a big moment. I’m so excited for part 3 and I look forward to more FF7 discussion in the meantime as this is definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played and if they did any one thing right is they left me wanting more.
I have similar feelings to your's for this game. I loved pretty much all of it and I don't regret a single hour put into it. But the ending left me feeling empty and disappointed. When I was walking up to Aerith on the altar, I was ready to have my heart broken again and I was ready to cry in relief if she gets saved this time. And then I kinda got both and it feels like I got neither, because of this convoluted mess, that reads to me like they didn't want to commit to one outcome and so they cheapend the whole moment with "lol, it's a multiverse twist!" I still have hope part 3 might bring a satisfying conclusion, but it's not a given.
Yeah it’s tough to wanna criticize it because of just how good the rest of the game is, but my brain is wired to make those criticisms when I don’t agree with it. I did the same with Remake and all of the other games I’ve played over the years. There’s some people that will love everything no matter what, and I’m kinda jealous of people like that sometimes, cause that’s just not me.
@Soldier1stClass I really like that idea. Agree with you 100% on the ending, I can't really even think of anything I disagree with lol. Thanks for making an explained ending video, it was good.
Definitely felt robbed at the ending but really excited and hopeful that they will bring it all home in the next game. Rebirth is literally my favorite game of all time right now! 🔥
The trials were emotional, and I thought the capitol would have a bigger moment. And it was big. A big moment of confusion. I am not liking the whispers and the multi-verse as a plot device. I would’ve preferred a shared timeline with Aerith and Sephiroth to see if they could out-play each other.
I saw another video where it was said that the lines we don't hear cloud speak at aerith's death were in fact recorded by the actor, so maybe they are saving that for the final game in a flashback along with walking aerith down to the lake. Call me crazy, but I think we will be able to save aerith (maybe optionally) in the final part of the game. We keep getting told throughout rebirth to save aerith. Maybe it's foreshadowing. I think I also read that the director said that they will have something important in the final game... Something that wasn't in the OG version. I'm thinking that's saving aerith. So many people wanted to save her. Me included. That's why there were so many rumors of possible ways to save her in the original.
I really hope they don't, as the loss of a great character is what makes the game a classic and improves the story. I would be OK with it if it's optional however. But of course, that's just my own personal opinion
I love the remake being different to the original because to me it feels exciting and refreshing, but I also do not want Zack and Aerith to live for the sake of fan service. The whole reason why Aerith died had to do with making people experience the feeling of grief that one of the producers wanted to communicate after the death of his own mother (I forgot which?) but imagine changing all of that for fan service alone? Nah. I am genuinely hoping they both die in part 3 no matter how big of a Zack fan I am, or that at least Aerith does so that we experience the grief of losing her through Zack who never did, and Cloud who is in denial so far
Would be good if part 3 reveals that cloud actually killed Aerith at the alter. Would be an amazing twist and would play well into his broken mind narrative!
I think most people agree with what you said here, but it is what it is and at the end of the day that’s what the writers wanted to do. The games have been some of the most fun I’ve had playing games since I was a kid so I’m cool with whatever they end up doing.
If Aerith dies there's nothing surprising, if she survives then people will say they see it coming. There's just no winning, but now ? we have no idea what the hell is going on. * in Zack's voice * The more I look into the ending, the more that I think this is the best route for the game to take to surprise both OG & non OG players. I'm going to be as optimistic as Zack and believe they will all be reunited once again and get their happy ending this time. Looking forward to the final part 3
I really like your explanation of the white/black Whispers, that actually makes a lot of sense to me. I agree I don't like this ending much, I feel like the impact of Aerith's death was lost as it was confusing in what happened. My take on the glitching when Tifa was looking at Aerith/Cloud, Tifa sees the blood, Cloud doesn't. I'm hoping we will get to see the true event in part 3 when Cloud comes to terms with the fact she died. Cloud's monologue, the burial scene etc.
Yeah unfortunately like I said in the video, even though it’s more than likely in Part 3, I’m not gonna be in the same headspace I was when I was watching this ending for the first time. Like even if it were shown to me right now, I wouldn’t really be that invested because I’m nowhere near the mental state I was in as the ending was playing.
I just want to express my gratitude because after finishing FF7 Rebirth, I spent almost 2 weeks searching for answers like crazy. I was practically on the verge of becoming a Rebirth ending scholar. Your video really helped simplify things by explaining the multiple timelines. Also glad to have discovered you and The Nightsky Prince during an interview with Briana White. You guys are the best!
bizarro sephiroth was always named rebirth sephiroth in japanese. just bad localization. have to admit that cloud reciting soldier creed seems cringe intially but for me it made perfect sense since cloud literally inherited and stole zack's memories. great vid tho
14:27… Yeah, as much as the OG names/lines of dialogue may have stuck (ie: “This guy are sick.”), many others were properly changed in the Re- trilogy so far to reflect the original context/intention. This is why the Devs on the localization team had to correct & patch Aerith’s last line in Remake on the day Rebirth launched to a literal translation from the original Japanese, “The sky, I don’t like it.” (as she likely can see that crack in the sky Cloud sees at the end).
This is the most seemingly accurate ending explanation I've come across so far, but there is one theory I came away with that you failed to touch on - that there were actually two Clouds existing simultaneously in the "Beagle world" towards the end of the story. When Beagle world Cloud was defeated by Sephiroth in the Temple of the Ancients and fell into the depths, he somehow swapped consciousnesses with the Cloud from the "Husky" world - I'm guessing the Aerith of the Husky world facilitated this with the White Materia. In the meantime, the Cloud from the Husky world who was deep in a Mako poisoned stupor was occupying Beagle world Cloud's body, which is why the rest of the party had to lug him around during that timeframe. Husky world Aerith gave Cloud the White Materia to pass along to Beagle World Aerith, which he did after she sent him to the Beagle world - remember this important detail: Aerith gave Cloud the Clear Materia in exchange for the White Materia. Afterwards, she walked off to the temple to pray and Cloud collapsed to the ground before his consciousness was returned to his original body. One would have to assume that likewise, Husky world Cloud's consciousness would have returned to its rightful body - which was never shown to have been returned to the Husky world. Because of this, I was of the impression that the Cloud we see at the end of the game was actually Husky world Cloud and NOT Beagle world Cloud. This is further suggested by the fact that he was in possession of the Clear Materia which Aerith swapped with him before each Cloud's consciousnesses were returned to their rightful bodies. If Husky world Cloud had indeed been sent back to his world (while in possession of the Clear Materia), how would Beagle world Cloud now be in possession of the Clear Materia? It would also explain why Cloud was back to being so messed up in the head and talking about rifts in the sky - which did exist in the Husky world. It might also explain why he had some version of the Black Materia in his possession - perhaps the one from the Husky world?
Interesting read. But the ending left alot of questions. Did Remake/Rebirth Aerith die by Sephiroth? Which Aerith is telling Cloud "is okay Cloud" and after battle with Sephiroth when he goes to wake Aerith up?
@@Sao0011 The Aerith you’ve been traveling with up to that point is apparently the one who died, but a new world was spawned in that moment where Cloud saved her, so essentially the Aerith that survived had all the same experiences up til that point - so technically the same Aerith we all know and love survived. This enabled her to complete her prayer to the planet and gain its favor - blessing her with a similar ability to Sephiroth’s in which she can freely traverse between worlds and assist her friends - which she did by helping Cloud and company fight against Sephiroth both by physically joining in the fight herself and also transporting Zack into the battle.
I'm glad to see you give your honest opinion. There are a lot of creators that won't give much criticism at all because they are afraid to upset the devs into not giving them some attention on future releases (example being max). Rebirth is something where I enjoyed SO much of it. Really put a smile on my face. Other than the occasional broken sidequest, or terribly balanced mini game (like the stupid 3rd yuffie chocobo), and ending, it was quite the experience. I'm okay with story changes like the gi and the black materia (great addition), but using multiverse stuff feels so out of place in a game that had NOTHING to do with multiverse in the first place. Just think about ff10, nothing to do with multiverse, and then they decided to add a change to the ending where a new tidus shows up when the other tidus disappears. Would be so bad.
Trust me, I pretty much agree with you. I’d rather be honest about how I feel but also still give positives because the entire ending/game weren’t terrible messes like some would have you believe, but it’s also not this infallible piece of media that can’t be criticized
@@Soldier1stClass What's funny to me, is I feel that way about OG FFVII *far more* than the remake series. It feels like every year I play through that game, my opinion of it is worse than the last time I played. Especially after experiencing Remake and Rebirth, OG FFVII is just... Not great. It has its moments, and it was revolutionary (for the time) and a very important game, but there's so many flaws in the writing, scenarios, tonal shifts, and translation, not to mention gameplay glitches and broken mechanics, and sadly underdeveloped main characters (Cait Sith and Yuffie in particular), that it really makes me appreciate Remake and Rebirth SO MUCH MORE!
I felt the same. I was emotionally robbed and confused especially playing through it the first time as my brain was trying to grasp onto so many things in such a short window. They crammed so much into the end part. I think another way they could’ve handled the multiverse aspect better was to have it explained in better detail as the game progressed. Like have Hojo doing research with some insights on the multiverse phenomenon or more dialogue with Aerith and not just a “don’t fall in love with me” one liner. I mean we’re talking about THE moment, one of the most pivotal, important, life changing, cruel, poetic, and arguably the most moving moment in video game history. I was looking so hard for that tear jerking moment but was only left with questions… maybe that’s what they intended and they’ll really round it off nicely in part III. We can only pray they deliver because there’s no reraise of VII after this retrilogy.
This ending robs many people's first experience with the world and story of FF7 by eliminating one of the most important moments in gaming history. One friend of mine told me how it destroyed him experiencing Aerith's death when he first played it 27 years ago, but now it was my turn to experience it because I never had the priviledge to get a PS1, but I just felt confusion. The emotional punch was gone. It seems like the devs decided to drum up hype and theories, at the expense of millions of new players' first time experiencing this emotional moment. The ending should have left me devastated, like Infinity War part 1 did, and you bet I will be lining up to see how the heroes would overcome their cliffhanger adversity the day the sequel came out. But now, I am just writing this comment after watching a video that finally told me what I have been feeling is normal, after scouring TH-cam to understand what is even going on. After watching 10+ hours of theories, instead of my friend's sense of immense loss as if he just lost a loved one in real life, I just feel confused. And this video made me understand I am not alone.
And I personally think there could have been some easy fixes, without changing the plot. This plot is great, but the execution is just not satisfying. The "normal" ending of Rebirth should be very similar to what OG FF7 had. Cloud watches Aerith gets killed, monologue, maybe a boss fight, then lowering her into the pool and emotional goodbye, a last cutscene leaving for the north. BUT: some gameplay options could have revealed a "secret" ending exactly like what we got here. Devs could make it that you have to meet certain "conditions" like maxing out affinity with Aerith, completing every quest with her, had her date in Gold Saucer, maybe get her in combat with Cloud more, or perform 50 times synergy skills, or get all her weapon skills, or... And then if you smash your buttons hard enough at the altar to overcome the whispers, you get to parry Sephiroth's kill blow and you get to a new branched timeline and a secret boss fight with Aerith by your side. Then everything follows the ending we have. Zack helping, Cloud mule the white materia, Ending cutscene is virtually identical but with Aerith in it so Cloud is glitching out in his mind, etc. With the age of internet, this would quickly be the "canon" ending, but 95% of casual players experiencing the first time would not be robbed of their sense of loss in their first playthrough, as this secret ending would be granted only to the most dedicated players who specifically want Aerith to live. And you can make that the canon ending, a branching timeline, and make all casual players take the loss and then come back wanting for more because she could have been saved. But I bet there are many better ways of executing this, just my 2 cents.
I like both original story and this new story…part 3 can be really wild imagine every time Cloud has a mental breakdown, his consciousness is just entering another world, and things happen in another world could make an impact in the “world that we know” (like how Cloud delivered the white materia) that also kinda makes sense how Cloud thought Tifa was dead maybe he actually saw her death in Nibelheim in one of the branched world… I think the burial of Aerith is skipped in this game on purpose and we will see flash backs of Cloud’s memory with more storytelling in that part… now I just have a question, of all the worlds, Jessie is not alive in any of them?
For me the ending was even more painful than the original. I needed to process the grief via Cloud's pain, but he's denial shattered my mind. So yeah, for me was more powerful than the original.
To me the multiverse will be destroyed early next game since sephiroth said that he plans to make one reality but my theory on the black materia and it connects to Advent Children and the fact that materias and this whole multiverse is to keep people talking between game whether it was good or bad was irrelevant we are all talking about it so to them it fulfilled its purpose.His final line in Advent children was he wouldn't be a memory but now to me his willfully choosing to be a memory so when main sephiroth absorbs all timelines his main plan is retained in the black materia hence he is choosing to be a memory to prevent ending becoming one in the main timeline also think that having the main theme of death and acceptance played twice would have been redundant thematically speaking.I would have preferred it to be faithfull hell yeah but having this scene repeat 2 times since it's safe to assume that the reason why Tifa learned her origin before time is too not distract that scene and focus only on Cloud i bet they are going to also show there Zack Death and Aerith Death and a final farewell of them lifestream versions so im guessing Zack and Aerith are going to be there with Cloud and Tifa this time and that's where the main theme of pain,loss and acceptance kicks in and would put the entire trilogy meta dealing with the five stages of grief denial the arbiters of fate in early chapters of remake but still we were getting a untouched remake of the story.Anger being the changes at the end of story in part1 when promised of a new direction that was mostly the same anyway bargain being the Rebirth demo and goodwill we all felt when playing this game depression at how they handled the end this game and the depression cloud will feel at the lifestream and acceptance life goes on at the end of the day regardless of changes and faithfullness we all had fun playing this 3 lengthy fun experiences and will look with appreciation when we look back at them because at the end of the day this story ends on the same spot has the original 500 years later with Nanaki and children looking at Midgar ruins this was long sorry for grammar errors hope you enjoy this read had fun writing it.
I love how the response to well constructed arguments against the ending boil down to: we have to wait and see. What could they do in part 3 that makes us feel Aerith's loss? ...Nothing. Soldier said it, a flashback won't cut it. It's a second hand account. So I don't know what payoff are you waiting for😂
Just finished the Temple of the Ancients this morning and will hopefully finish the game by the end of the day. Decided to skip latter sidequests, etc till after I finish as I wanted to progress through the story before I fly back to work tomorrow. Man, that Chapter 13 was looooong, but I really enjoyed that sequence. Guess it's implied that Rocket Town is underneath that cloud north of the Nibel Region? I have a feeling we'll be starting Re-Three from there...
A big twist would be that the entire multiverse was all part of clouds fractured mind, a ploy to thriw off newcomers and og players alike. This would be revealed in the scene where Tifa and a mako poisoned Cloud fall into the lifestream, and as she helps him fix his fragmented mind, he has to come to terms with that fact. That death is final. That Aerith and Zack are gone, and that all that remains of them are whispers of their memory.
I wish they should of kept the ending original. Same line when Cloud said "Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry or get angry. I wanna be sad again. 😢💔
Every line Aerith has at the end in the field is a reused line from earlier in the game. It would lead me to believe that Cloud is only seeing this in his head. The only problem here is how would Red have sensed her.
The director said that cloud is mostly imagining all the new content added to the end of the story. So for the sake of confusion, thats how i see the ending. Same as the OG, the only difference is that cloud doesnt want to accept that aerith passed away
A big theory currently is we're going to see the monologue and burial in part 3, maybe as a way for Sephiroth to attempt to truly break Cloud, like when he reveals the truth about Nibelheim
I want to point out two things no one has noticed or at least not spoken of. First when you you fight the white whispers in front of the capital you notice they cast a ward. Just like aerith. And their attacks are called etheric drain. Which means soul drain just like aeriths attack. And fated tempest. Just like her tempest attack I’m remake. Which further proves the whispers are 100 percent aeriths whispers. And 2 the scene at the end where the weapons are fighting the black whispers. If you look closely down at the bottom you can still see tifas memories from chapter 9.
Maybe theyre saving the aerith burial scene for part 3 when cloud puts his mind back together. Thatll be the point he can accept her death and symbolically do so by letting her go in the forgotten city waters.
Right, but as I said in the video, the moment has passed and I’m not gonna really care at that point. I’m not gonna feel the same or have near the same headspace as I would’ve had they shown it in the moment.
Really enjoyed your take and insight on this. I personally loved it, including the ending. But that’s because I have faith for part 3. If they fumble part 3, it may make me upset with this ending. So far they’ve earned my trust so I’ll give it to them.
yeah everybody is jumping so quick to conclusion when the story isn't even finished. It'll make more sense once we're able to complete the actual game. Idk why ppl are already making their final decisions based off the ending for part 2? None of y'all would be saying this if we were able to play part 3 right now. So just be patient and wait for the game to finish lol.
I'd like to offer a different theory around "that" scene. As you pointed out when Cloud parries Sephiroth we get the rainbow reality split. The "beagle" world we've been in and the "dead" world where Cloud failed his parry skill check and Aerith eats it as a result. When the party runs up on the scene Tifa's view sees a bloody body, while in "beagle" Aerith is fine. So i think what has happened from all this reality hopping is Cloud is now like Aerith and Sephiroth. He is seeing different realities while existing elsewhere. As Sephiroth mentioned about Cloud not seeing with "clouded" eyes. So i think we now have an "Unclouded Cloud". The final scene where everyone is sad but Cloud is unbothered is because we are no longer in "Beagle world" we are now in "Dead world" and Cloud is seeing Aerith alive back in Beagle but is the only one that can see and talk with her. I could be wrong, but this is my working theory for now 😁
I’ve read that there is no multiverse in 7. But why would Biggs and Wedge keep dying if they’re dead already in the LS? Unless this is coming from another characters perspective… I too, felt nothing at the alter scene, but I want Aerith to survive this time. The early fan base petitioned Nomura to save her. Why not? If you want to see her die, play OG. I want a different outcome of shock- call it fanservice- it pays their bills. Still something unexpected has to happen. I’m thinking that Cloud died at the end of CC. This could be his story in the LS. Maybe finding himself is him accepting his death in the finale? Who the hell knows? The Devs have been killing the protagonists in other FFs.
Its crazy. I finished Remake thinking, "man, this ending is weird. Lets see what they do with this. But i hope whatever they do isnt awful, because that may negatively affect my opinion of Remake even though I loved my time with this game." And now i finished Rebirth with the EXACT same feeling. I love the OG, ive loved Remake and Rebirth, but i was hoping my anxiety for the future of the franchise that ive had since beating Remake would finall come to an end with Rebirth. Whether it turned out to be for better or worse, i would have my answer. Yet, here we are again, where ill now have to wait another 3-4 years to decide if i like the direction they went in or not
Wait for part 3. They will show everything about Aerith's death and Cloud's realisation. They did a great choice on ending, keeping everyone confused and invested in next part. We will see everything.
As I said in the video, showing it 3-4 years later takes the impact out of it. They’ll show it, no one’s denying that. But it’s not gonna have that “in the moment” impact it should’ve had. A lot happens in 3-4 years. People’s headspace changes, their tastes, etc.
Awesome video. You did a great job explaining the complicated story. The developers will have to hit the ground running in order to explain everything in the next game.
I don't know why people keep insisting they could not recreate the same impact of the original as if that solved things. At the end of the day, what you're saying is: they decided to go with a convoluted way to portray the same event and I don't feel like it was worth it. If, and ONLY if, they had done something truly unique and emotional, you'd have probably accepted it just fine. Your apathy means they failed to make you emotionally invested and your video explains why.
I'll also say this. From a gameplay perspective and not story, it makes me wonder if they want to keep that role of the caster mage like Aerith. Her gameplay style is unique and I'm afraid they are gonna go with you being able to play with Aerith in part 3. Either by another version showing up to keep it going, or Cloud believes she's there, you play as if she's there, but it's revealed at a later point that it wasn't her, but just Tifa or some other character(s) in her place. Both sound awful. Why do I think that? Because they didn't give her, her ultimate limit break or her ultimate weapon in rebirth. Saving it for later? Likely. Either via gameplay or a cutscene.
Yeah I feel ya. And it’s definitely interesting about the weapon and limit break. That and they had her fight with you in the final part of the battle. So either they wanted one last moment with her, or she’s coming back in Part 3 and will for sure be the caster. Because now we don’t really have a dedicated caster. Cid and Vincent are melee and ranged physical characters respectively
@@323starlight That's what's annoying. The idea that a carbon copy of a character can just replace another. It's just Cait Sith's replacements. He dies, but who cares there are more of them! Like I didn't feel sad there at all, and I don't believe I was supposed to for obvious reasons. Aerith has her own replacements now.
I have noticed a general misconception regarding the "Rainbow Wind" and the multiple timelines. In chapter 10, Zack and Biggs were discussing how it was some sort of miracle how they Survived some events. Both Claim that it was all of the sudden the wind blowed and both made it alive. Zack goes to Aerith and says "The Wind, that was you right?" While Aerith is still asleep. The rainbow colors are showing when Aerith is making a change in Destiny. This is showed when Aerith arrives to fight Sephiroth alongside Cloud (Enters in Slow motion making while the game shows that she has incredible powers now) Sephiroth says that he underestimated her. Aerith now has simila lr fate changing powers. That's why she opens up a rainbow portal for Cloud to go back after their date on "her dream" Note that in Advent Children after Cloud is wounded Aerith sends him back and Zacks says "it seems you dont a place here" at the end of the movie. And to futher solidify the point Aerith for the lifestream to save the planet. Constantly the game implies that she is helping the others after she's gone. If you guys have any thoughts that Im wrong or missing something please do share
Also in regards to whether Aerith is alive or not Sephiroth also explains this: "So it begins, The convergence of Worlds" that somehow Cloud can see. The world is Doomed (but looks green and radiant at the same time) and not at the same time, Aerith is not dead for him but for for the rest of the party she is. Multiple Worlds United basically
I was expecting to be crying twice as hard as I did when I first played the game in 1997 (lol yes I'm that old) and I feel emotionally incomplete because I didn't have that moment and the ending in Rebirth feels watered down. I honestly delayed playing that final part just because I thought it was going to be an epic tear jerker moment.
Yeah I was severely let down by the entire ending sequence. Wish I would’ve felt anything. It would’ve made me more confident about the future, but now I could care less what happens one way or the other.
I think everyone I mean everyone long time fans, newbies to FFVII or haters all agree what they did with this FFVII Rebirth ending whether we loved, hated or are neutral to it is going make the developers mission to finish all this buildup from hard to almost mission impossible. And for that I at the least applaude the developers for taking such an insane level of risk. They must be operating at a mindset of trying to do something so grand it'll make history again for them. As a fan I hope they can pull it off because right now a whole week off after 150+ hours of an amazing time finishing the game. I'm now so lost and drained from that final chapter 14 I feel like my ass about to go back to "The Lifestream" 😅.
It's interesting seeing all the different perspectives everyone has on the game and its very open to interpretation ending. Most of your interpretations were vastly different from mine, especially regarding the small details. I personally just want a scenario where Aerith was unharmed by Sephiroth, because: a) it would be an awesome moment for Cloud b) I think Cloud needing to accept the reality of Aerith's death later in part 3, and then learning he actually did protect her creates an awesome redemption arc c) Creating a scenario where Aerith and Zack can reunite in their physical forms, probably shortly before they are sent to the Lifestream and can say their proper goodbyes, will create a very emotional moment
Great work. Enjoyed your perspective. Not a fan of the story changes. Some great work went into this game, but ultimately in my opinion, they fumbled the football. We will have to see what happens next. Speculating will be fun. Glad you’re enjoying the game! Amazing analysis
The scenes where Cloud can see Aerith isn't just an imagination. She is really there and is confirmed when Red XIII can sense her. Maybe it is similar to when he can see Sephiroth while the others can't. Maybe having the white materia gives him the ability to see her.
Nah you're 100% correct on all points. You said what everyone's basically thinking. Max just wrapped up the game, and I'm pretty sure that his analysis will be identical in a week or two when he does his post-game review. It was too ambiguous. She should've been MORE dead or LESS dead, but the way they set the story bits up in perfect balance counteracted and neutralized all emotions, sucking the life out of what should've been the most emotional part of the game. That said, they can absolutely release all the stored-up energy in Part 3, but the WRITING to both A) successfully illuminate & conclude all the plot threads, and B) to hit all the emotional moments, is going to be a HUGE task. ...And quite frankly, while Hamaguchi looked full of energy and Uematsu looked solid in the last 3-way interview, Nomura looked like he was ready to keel over. I hope this means the story for part 3 is already baked.... because if they have more work to do, it doesn't look like Nomura's up to it. Hate to say it, but maybe that's for the better?
I think the biggest task is gonna be getting through everything that’s left to get through. They have so much ground to cover for one game, I think we need to be prepared for some things to get cut. Otherwise this is gonna be a 100 hour game of story by itself. Plus we’ve gotta wrap up this multiverse business.
Watched so many videos on the FF7 rebirth ending. Obviously there are so many crazy theories as this ending was purposely meant to be a little mystifying. But the way you break things down is by far the most coherent of any video I've seen. Great job man!
Thank you!! 🙏 I try to make any explanation video I do like that. The ending can be confusing enough as it is, people don’t need me complicating it lmao
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Thanks for watching everyone! I just wanna reiterate that this video was made with love for this IP, and I hope that comes through in this video.
Thank God you made an in depth look at this ridiculous ending lol I was too exhausted to even attempt to try and piece it all together.
Awesome video! Have you considered that maybe the reason Tifa is in her state by the end is because during her flash (possibly from her encounter with the lifestream) that she saw the version of Aeriths death where Cloud himself kills her? The different blood splatters on her arm and the fact she does not say a word to anyone. Curious on your thoughts on this!
Glad you’re back on board, didn’t like your boycott phase 🤣 jk
@@seank7227That would be interesting considering Tifa is known to hold back
This is an interesting idea, but I think if Tifa knew Cloud killed her best friend, she would absolutely flip out on him. @@seank7227
I felt more emotionally invested in that Aerith’s song scene at the Gold Saucer than in her “death”.
In the times it should have made you feel, it made you think. I want catharsis, not calculus.
300 hours.... saying you liked the game would be an understatement. The VR challenges are no joke.
Yeah I’m hoping that exact fact doesn’t escape people when I talk about this game LMAO I’m still playing. I was playing last night. I dropped Remake immediately if that tells you anything lmao
The Odin VR challenge can die in h*ll
Just wait til you have to do The Rulers of the Outer Worlds LMAO
Cloud lives in the "white world" where aerith lives, too. The others (didn't pass the white portal) are living in the "black world". For them, aerith is dead. This will be psycho in part3
@@coreymckee4844Odin's easy, just depends on the build lol
I am completely neutral on the ending at the moment lol. I will patiently await the full ending to see if they can stick it.
I'm not necessarily invested one way or another myself. Don't care that much for Final Fantasy given the strong theme of death. I'm in it more for the hero's journey and saving the damsel. Although, I find myself enthralled with attempting to decode the ending.
got a ps5 just for this. agree with most of what you said, but you are 100% right with how they messed up the ending because of how needlessly convoluted it was. instead of having an extremely emotional impact, it instead it leaves the player thinking "huh? wtf just happened?" while fighting the final boss.
I also got a PS5 just for this I'm still playing 150 hours I did not think I would make it that long there are a lot of minigames but the game is still good I just wish they would have turned down the mini games a little bit
@@supersaiyanzero386 everyone hoping they'll be a super impactful scene in part 3 when cloud is put back together. I think it could be great. only thing is, you're waiting another 3 years for it (7 if you go back to remake part 1!)
@@Elzmack91 I"m all for a good cliffhanger but this was just borderline incoherent at first watch. They ruined such an important moment.
@@maillardsbearcat oh i agree. it's the most iconic death i can think of. and my first time watching was like eh? a lot to take in and understand as you're casusally just playing. just gotta hope the payoff/flashbacks/what actually happened in part 3 is amazing and worth it
Is it possible the devs purposely wanted those exact feelings toward the ending, to build up the ending game. Have everybody guessing and unsatisfied. Which it has done successfully
the part i don't like about the ending is that it doesn't feel like an Aerith moment. Aerith freaking died, in this scene but they make it convoluted and confusing and it watered down how important this scene is. The battle is cool and fanservicy, but can you imagine they ended with Aerith's death and then silence. That would've made the scene soo powerful. What I'm asking now is hopefully the last game shows Cloud accepting her death and it shows vividly how he carried her to the lake, and him and the others mourning for her.
They were showing it bc they want is to feel What Cloud feels
Bro I was a bit shocked we couldn’t see Cloud laying Aerith to rest and say proper good buy.
I do believe they saved this for part 3 to let it hit even harder - if they do I hope they nail it.
Cody recorded his words to Aerith. He talked about in an interview ;)
One of the best games I played - OG still goat for me.
Looking forward to part 3
Def gona show the water burial when cloud accepts what happened and his speech
What interview?
@@thedrasticwolf4186 Dunno. Read Cloud’s va has recorded the lines in an interview.
We do see it in part 1. In flashback cloud lays aerith body in pond
Im 100% sure we will replay the Arieth death scene in part 3 when Clouds mind is fixed, but I agree the game spent so much efforts on building Arieth as a character gamers spend hundred of hours getting along with her, playing out her death scene in part 3 will never have the same impact as doing it in part 2
2nd this. Unless, & I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s when Tifa & Cloud fall into the Lifestream at Mideal & patch Cloud’s broken self together properly that we’ll get the raw monologue Cloud had at Aerith’s passing/her burial. 👀✨
Nor would it surprising if the OP Aerith that’s fights Seph with Cloud has a moment with either Cloud, & Tifa separately, or both together in Cloud’s broken psyche/the Lifestream to have her moment to shine on her own for at least a moment.
Listen I absolutely adore this game, but I shouldn't need to have a full 30 min video, books and charts to understand what the heck was happening in the ending 😭
And I totally agree with you lmao
nah that's part of the game next 3 years 😅
All great storytelling requires explanation.
EDIT: No, sorry. Can't say that with a straight face.
All will be explained in the third part. Anything else is just a supposition at this point
You don’t need a 30 min video. I understood it, along with appreciating a little mystery, without the 30 min video. That 30 min video is your choice to watch.
My brother and I have a theory that once Tifa helps rebuild Cloud's mind in part 3, since we know materia is formed from memories, all of Cloud's true memories about himself and Zack and Aerith's death will fill the clear materia, which will allow Cloud to call Zack and/or Aerith from another world in as a summon lol.
Ever since I finished Remake, I've felt that the only way they can really conclude a trilogy about 'defying fate' is with multiple possible endings. After all, if you just have one ending then you are basically just trading one fate for another predetermined one. This is the kind of theme that player agency would be super important for.
Man I just finished this game and I've now watched nearly a dozen TH-camrs analyze this ending and only you have echoed my thoughts and opinions nearly perfectly.
I enjoyed a lot of this ending but boy, was I so "emotionally exhausted" after that boss fight. The lack of explanations on the timelines, ghosts, mental breakdowns etc just had me going "huh?" when I should be sobbing over Aerith.
They fumbled the ball hard here.
What the hell was Vincent doing while everyone else was fighting? In Remake we cant use Nanaki but he at least shows up in the conflict. Vincent aside from the doorway part is just gone
Yeah I don’t think Cid or Vincent were utilized very well
They should have ended the game at the northern crater, that way they could have split this up so its more digestible. Have the Aerith scene be the Aerith scene with the added "Cloud seeing Aerith" stuff, then do all the timeline world stuff at the northern crater and end the game with the summoning of meteor, that way you also would have a banger opening of part 3. Would have been much more cohesive that way instead of trying to do two things at once.
100% agree. My biggest negative coming into Rebirth was where they decided to end it. My biggest negative after finishing the game… was where they decided to end it.
Man... I actually agree with this. It never even crossed my mind to have them end the game somewhere else.
they will come with one surprise, guess what. yeah, part 3 wont be the last one
The whole multiverse thing really undermines the emotional impact of anything that happens. I would have preferred if the either had her die or live. I could even get behind if they did a multiple endings type thing similar to elden ring. As it is it is just confusing.
To keep it simple, all these timelines will somehow merge and you'll end up with Aerith and Zack reuniting as the saviors of the "other side" and unfortunately staying there as the protectors of the Livestream.
This conclusion will serve both fans who wish to either keep them alive but also "dead" at the same time (fitting the events of Advent Children perfectly).
I truly believe a lot of inspiration is taken from Kingdom Hearts, such as the concept of "birth by sleep" where you don't really die but rather change form or simply wake up in another reality.
What hits me the most is not Aerith's supposed "death", it's actually her lamenting in tears that she won't be able to live a normal life or be happy like everyone else.
First her mother falling ill and now her being targeted by Sephiroth. All our girl ever wanted was to be happy and go on adventure and fall in love, why can't she have her happy ending!
That last image of Aerith standing there in the field all by herself, then sweetly saying "Goodbye" to her friends that she can't go on the rest of the adventure with while the music swells hit me much harder than Aerith's death in the original game. It feels so unfair that she has to stay behind, and doesn't get to have any more fun with the gang...
Yeah makes sense. Aerith and Zack get to 'live happily ever after' together but apart from the rest of the crew.
With Aerith standing alone, I can relate. A traumatic event happened in my life and I lost contact with all the people I went to high school with. When I tried to catch up with Facebook, it felt like an empty victory. I don't believe I missed much in high school. But, that doesn't help that feeling of having something taken from me. That's why her saying goodbye probably affects me more than her "death".
Nice sharing !
300 hrs ?! I give up for the platinum challenge due to the mini games and VR challenges is hell.
Can't wait for part 3 for a conclusion .....
I got burnt out after 100 hours beat the game but have no desire to do the summon challenges and hard mode. I think next time I play I’m gonna do just missions no exploring side quests or useless mini games! I give dude prior cuz 300 hours is Fuxking insane
@@angelnieto316
Same .. i burn out around 112 hrs .... now play other games first
will back IF i want xD
Whether you think the Aerith ghost is a hallucination from Cloud's mind, from Jenova, or Aerith from another timeline, it's clear that his relationship with her is creating a huge rift between him and the other characters.
If Cloud "getting better" means he'll have to give up seeing Aerith, then it gives him a reason to reject learning about his true self.
Whatever rendition of the lifestream scene they make for the next one, it will probably be much more intense, and may even be completely different in its conclusion.
I am 108 hrs in. I agree with every single point you made. I'm sure most of us found this video out of confusion over the ending. I didn't want Aerith to die this time around but if she was to die, I had hoped for a proper climatic ending with emotions surging through the roof.
Yeah I feel as though this ending is way more divisive than the first games for sure.
I hate the fact that they even listened to the fans asking to revive aerith. the reason they asked for it was because they were sad when the death happened, but getting sad was the WHOLE POINT. they chose aerith to be the one to die because they wanted the loss of life to be a major part of the game. films and stories wouldn't mean much today if they kept drastically changing the plot because fans were sad their favorite character was killed off. remove the time ghosts, keep the new perspective about clouds mental state, and rebirth still would've been a great game and most importantly have a story that makes sense to the player. instead square chose to confuse everybody for extra clicks.
well, you are confused indeed, cause aeris is clearly death
I’m certainly with you in that I feel like the ending was so convoluted it was hard to feel anything. I was also waiting and waiting for the scene of Cloud carrying Aerith into the lake so I was so disappointed when that didn’t happen. The ridiculously long battle at the end also just had me more annoyed than anything come the end so it was hard to give a shit about whatever dumb nonsense they were doing with the story. Also just annoyed that we even fought Sephiroth again. Like seriously, we are getting such an over exposure of Sephiroth that he has lost all meaning. There is nothing menacing or intimidating about him anymore. It was a horrible decision to have us fight him in Remake and again in Rebirth. Less is more as they say. But this dev team showed zero restraint which is why this game is honestly just a bloated mess in my mind.
I think it has to do with how the game is being done, every game has to end with a boss final battle, there is no point on just ending the game for example with a cutscene and thats all. the original didnt come in 3 times, it was all together but this one, every part is released every 3 years, so even when is a full history, every game is kind of an individual one and released with big gaps of time. lets say that they stick to the original, the party goes to the forgotten capital, aeris is killed, 10 minutes fight with Jenova, a small cutscene and thats it, insert disk 3. but there is no disk 3 so the player is going to end with an unwanted feeling of disappointment and emptiness. like this, the emptiness exists but somehow is filled with a lot of questions about what is really going on, what is happening, and what is going to happen in part 3, which was the intention of the devs.
also they are playing all the time knowing that we know the history, but at the same time they are changing/adding things so you can have a mix between the nostalgia from the original game with the emotion of a "new game" where you dont know whats going to happen. they know what they are doing
One thing I think about the black whispers letting cloud and only cloud through is at this point Sephiroth still doesn’t have a body and needs the black cloaks to manifest.
Given that there are no black cloaks around Sephiroth needs cloud in order to do the deed.
interesting theory. I am still in the camp that I believe that an Aerith lived thanks to cloud blocking the strike, as I don't really buy the fact that what Cloud is seeing is a delusion, let alone one that Aerith herself would endorse as IMO that would be pretty manipulative for her to do. On par with Sephiorth. What I think the whispers can represent is that, with fate/destiny gone the whispers are basically up for grabs and can be used by who has the most 'pull' to influence the events of the world to accommodate their master's will. I think Sephiorth and the Planet wanted Aerith to die for their own reasons but maybe through Aeriths help, Cloud was able to save her (it is even seemingly confirmed in the Ultimania that Cloud DID save Aerith with blocking the strike) and possibly due to a multitude of factors, only he can perceive the world where she is saved and no one else can.
I think it also makes sense with showing us, the audience, specifically the scenes of different realities being made by Zack's choices with the subsequent rainbow effect, that blocking the strike created a new world.
NOW I do not think that Cloud realizes this is what's happening and I'm sure it will lead to his mental decline in part 3. He will be certain he saved Aerith (and technically he did) but everyone will say he didn't and he won't know why. The developers have said that the 'big reveal' with Cloud this time around will not be so much of a 'unreliable narrator' but a 'unreliable world' so it would make sense this time around that Cloud is not the one who is 'crazy' but the WORLD is crazy and how that leads into this grand Reunion and what it will bring.
If that’s the case it will be interesting about who is going to save him in LS. Probably it will play differently than OG
yeah a lot of people are starting to reduce the whole ending as everything we see being a product of cloud's delusions and him being an unreliable narrator but like you said the devs have previously stated that this time around the big reveal will be less about him being an unreliable narrator and more about him being in an unreliable world which leads me to believe that a lot of what he's seeing is actually real, he just doesn't really understand what he's exactly seeing and to what extent it's real.
for example the aerith in the ending scene might very well be real for all we know but cloud doesn't understand that she died in their world and that the others can't see her, he's treating the situation like she never died... even if aerith survived in some other world he will still have to confront her death one way or another in part 3 and i think him seeing things others can't see and the team possibly not trusting him and treating him like he has lost it is what will eventually lead to his mental decline.
I'm of the impression that within the moment Cloud blocked Sephiroth's blade, a new timeline was created in which she lived, but in the Beagle timeline, she technically died. But, it doesn't matter because once a timeline was created in which she lived, she would be able to complete her prayers to the planet and gain the power to traverse different worlds on a whim, similar to Sephiroth - which is how she was able to appear and physically assist Cloud in his fight against Sephiroth at the end, and then continue to converse with Cloud afterwards.
@@ugh5281 Since the second time I finished the game I've been thinking pretty much the same as you. Also, the one thing that no one seems to mention is that when Cloud sees Aerith sitting next to him he looks really surprised to see her which tells me that he does know that she died. Also, the materia wasn't green when it fell into the water so I assume she has to be alive to finish casting Holy. This time I think it's going to be Aerith that helps Cloud in the lifestream and not Tifa since Aerith has all her knowledge back. Zack may even help too. There is a reason why they decided to have Tifa go into the lifestream already. I also don't think we're done with the terrier world.
Kitase wants a happy ending to all so....= everybody lives somewhere and all shipping is ok in different multiverse?
I wanted to cry in the ending of the game. Instead, I was left feeling hollow, just like the song and remake. But that’s just how life is and death for that matter.
I agree with you on the ending, they destroyed it and Aerith's moment and the impact of her death just to keep their multiple worlds story going. I still cried, because Aerith died in the "playable" world, but only after seeing Aerith saying goodbye to the group, staying behind and no one but Cloud could see her. That hit a nerve and after my partner asked what I thought I couldn't hold it anymore....
The ending of rebirth just wasn't as emotional as that of OG and if I hadn't played OG at all, I think I wouldn't have cried in the first place.
I know what you mean, and normally I am not ok with the whole multiverse shit as if death means nothing, but in this case I am okay with it. I feel like square is cooking something big, and I want Aerith to live, I already grieved for her in OG I dont need to do it again, I need her to have a happy ending with Cloud.
While I would prefer to have Aerith and Zack to reunite with the party in the main timeline and live, the ending of Rebirth felt like the devs wanted to have their cake and eat it with Aerith's death scene. Remake sets up defying fate and death, with Zack living and possibly allowing Aerith live later on, only for Rebirth to kind of walk that back with Aerith and say "nope, fate is inevitable, she'll always die by Sephi's blade 🙃". While part 3 isn't out and isn't coming for a long time, so Aerith could still kind of be alive, but I just wish the devs would be more decisive instead of trying to please everyone, if they wanted Aerith to live or die I wish they would stick with it instead of trying to make both sides of fans happy and in doing so I feel like they've just confused fans more (which is probably/maybe intentional?). What is the point of defeating and defying the whispers over and over only for fate to basically be the same, the OG is already there, so I hope they can fully defy fate and be happy, all of them, including Cloud, Aerith and Zack
Tbh I think this is a "too much cooks spoil the broth" scenario. Nomura coming to Nojima saying add Zack to the ending. Kitase wanting all to have a good ending... Add this, add that. Shipping wars, adding all characters from expanded ff7 universe...
That was the Great Part imo
...right your just describing why its a game dedicated to ff7 fans lol. Its not meant for the average gamer. It specifically caters to the fans of the original.
Yup. Terrible writing.
@@thapoppymanThis non canon reimagining is not for fans. Real FF7 fans don’t support this Nomura trash.
@@thapoppyman not really...the original ff7 is my favorite game EVER hell I even bought the damn ps1 classic just for that game as I have no ps1 memory card anymore. If they wanted to caters to the fan they wouldn't have messed up the feel of the game...in the original the world is dark and bleak and people struggle apart from the gold saucer where it's only fun and games...yet in this game every city feels as touristy as prague and feels like the gold saucer is everywhere. Another thing that the original did so well was the fact that we were only witnessing the aftermath of sephiroth, never seeing him, just the consequences of his passage, following the trail of blood in the shinra building ( blood not purple slime), seeing the midgar zolum empalled on a tree after that thing kicked my butt in 4 seconds made me wonder how I would ever be able to beat that guy, like nothing could stop him. Now he's constantly in our face, we beat him twice already...he doesen't even feel like a serious threat anymore. I did enjoy stuff from these games, they look great, soundtrack is fantastic, the combat system is fun...but especially in rebirth the so-called optional mini-games who aren't really that optional as many stuff is locked behind them, moogle shit, boring side quest, the kingdom heart crap...I could've deal with that if they hadn't messed up the feel of the game and that's where those games miss the mark in my opinion. Don't get me wrong they were ok games but once the nostalgia fades they are just that ok games while the original is a classic. But then every one have their own views on things so no hard feelings here :)
I understand why some ppl are upset with the ending, fair points about not giving us the closure of Aerith. Personally I really like the direction they took. I understand that they put all they're chips in part 3 to tie this all together. and so far, I trust that they will...I'm nervous, but i trust them.
I remember not liking any Harry Potter movie. I watched the movies and did not enjoy any of it. ONLY until I saw the last movie. I did not only like the last movie, but it made me appreciate all of the movies, and now i truly enjoy the hole series. I understood the build up to the final movie. I feel that FF7RE-trilogie might have this effect on some fans.
So far, they are doing a great job at making ppl re-experiencing FF7. When the developers said they want to dig deeper into the story of ff7, they meant it! The themes are more heavy in rebirth, it blows my mind. It not just playing me playing the game and being like: "Yep..that's how it happened, so glad to watch this in better graphic". It does soo much more than that. I was so not a huge fan of having Zack & Bigs around at the end of Remake. But Rebirth made me really excited about it. And because of that! I am optimistic. If Rebirth changed my mind about all the Zack stuff, then I'm more optimistic that they will execute the 3rd part well. They took the Aerith burial from us. I'm sure they are aware that , that was a huge gamble. They must have faith and believe in whatever it is that they're cooking. For that! I'm excited and nervous for!
totally agree with you
Random point about "Reborn Sephiroth" that I wanted to make.
The name change wasn't done for no reason, it was another mistranslation of sorts from the original game same as the Midgar Zolom was.
The name was "Ribasu" Sephiroth which was interpreted as "Reverse Sephiroth" when it SHOULD have been Rebirth Sephiroth. Because "Reverse" characters had been done before in comic books (Bizzaro Superman was the inverse version of Superman), I guess the translator decided to go with that same comic book naming scheme for "Reverse" Sephiroth and named him Bizzaro Sephiroth.
On the topic of the actual ending: It was definitely confusing, and I think it's done because there are multiple factors at play here. I don't really think it needed to be this confusing though like... I dunno. Regardless, I do think there's an Aerith that is out there trying to save Cloud still. I also think that Cloud is in denial and is seeing things that he shouldn't be or is possibly inbetween worlds somehow. I also think Sephiroth might be having a hand in fucking with him. So I'm kinda in the camp that thinks we're seeing all three possibilities happening simultaneously which makes the situation even more confusing than it needed to be.
The scenes where Cloud is talking but we don't hear words has been confirmed to be the speech he gives in the original game. Whether or not that is real is... I dunno. Like was the entire situation a fabrication of his mind? I could see a situation where he's frozen but thinks about blocking the blade, isn't able to, but his broken mind just decides that it totally did happen that way.
ALTERNATIVELY- The Ultimania refers to the green flashes as "flashbacks" which... I'm hoping is a mistranslation.. but... if it isn't a mistranslation, then I think we might have another explanation here for what we're seeing and also to a few moments in Remake that weren't really explained.
If some of the green flashes ARE "flashbacks" as in... Cloud has seen this all happen before, then that would kinda explain why he has a green flash in Remake where he sees Aerith's death and later sheds a tear when meeting back up with Aerith again. I was always kinda curious as to why this happened since it shouldn't be related. He shouldn't know about these events, so why would it matter?
If we are somehow reliving the events of the game through Cloud's mind, then that would explain some of the green flashes that don't make sense. When he gets to a particularly traumatic moment in his life, his brain starts giving him headaches and green flashes the same way his broken mind tries to cover up events he currently shouldn't know about either. So, in the same way that his brain won't let him remember Zack's name or where he was for the last 5 years when Tifa asks him, his mind is leaking future events that he's experienced but shouldn't know about yet whenever he encounters a particularly tragic circumstance.
What does this mean? Well, I don't think we're necessarily like... reliving the events from the mind of a future Cloud like he's in a coma or something. This game sets up how the lifestream exists and flows basically outside of time. We see in Remake how Zack's final stand is happening simultaneously as Remake's version of AVALANCHE is fleeing Midgar and facing Sephiroth. It kinda seems like the lifestream is cyclical and encompasses all that ever was and will be all within itself, so it makes sense that characters could possibly have weird flashes to moments that they shouldn't be able to see. Nothing in the lifestream has changed from the moment it was created, so, theoretically, the planet should have already known all of this was going to happen. Cloud's entire being always was and always will be inside of the lifestream.
It's possible that he's having flashes to a different version of himself that exists outside of time like... he's somehow tapping into the lifestream which has already experienced these events and it's giving him strange flashes of events.
I DUNNO, I hope they explain this shit in part 3 and it's satisfying.
Yeah I hope so too. It’s not that I don’t like some mystery, but I need the mystery to be “holy shit this is good, I can’t wait to see what happens,” not , “how are they gonna fuck it up this next time?” Lmao
@@Soldier1stClassyeah…
It’s like… I get the story isnt over, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be met with some finality.
Like how Harry Potter books are self contained pieces of one larger story, yet they don’t really leave to many questions unanswered. The questions are pretty much resolved at the end of the book, and we’re simply waiting for the next book to come out which asks more weird questions that we get answers to.
Repeat until the book series is finished.
What Rebirth has done with the weird confusing ending is the equivalent to if The Goblet of Fire was broken into two parts and ended on a cliffhanger when Harry gets transported to the graveyard.
Like boom hope you enjoyed it. What the significance of that graveyard? Dunno. Guess you gotta wait till the next part!
I'm not convinced that the Aerith from the main rebirth timeline is dead. And here's why.
Aerith basically spends the entirety of chapter 13 learning how to use the lifestream. Her connection to it is further shown when she is talking to Sephiroth at the end of this chapter and she talks with several voices. Also at the end of that chapter, Aerith reminds everyone that even if fate has been decided, the future is still something they can change. This is a theme that was established in remake and has been carried over to rebirth.
I think this was all to set the stage for chapter 14, where I believe we get to see Aerith's abilities on full display.
After Cloud and Aerith fall. Cloud appears to wake up in his unconscious body in one the doomed timelines.
I believe it was Aerith who brought this about. As she later opens a portal and pushes Cloud through after giving him her materia. At the same time, we hear Sephiroth enter and say, "So, this is where you were hiding."
I had the feeling that this was not our Aerith but another Aerith. And it seems that I was right.
The reason for this is that our Aerith is perfectly fine after their fall, and becomes the leader of the group while Cloud remains unfunctional while he seemingly is pulled from one timeline to the next. He is only able to fully wake up after he gives the white materia to our current Aerith after she is separated from the group in the forest.
Later, We clearly see flashes from from the OG timeline where Aerith dies via Tifa, but the current version of Aerith shows no signs of blood. Meaning Sephiroth's blade was in fact blocked. If anything, our Aerith looks to be in the same state of the unconscious Aerith in the doomed timeline/s. But we also see that there is a version of Aerith that only Cloud sees, which is surrounded by lifestream wisps.
We also do not get to see the iconic scene where Cloud lowers Aerith's lifeless body into the lifestream... we don't see what happens to her body at all.
My theory is that our Aerith's soul left her body right after Cloud blocked Sephiroth's blade and went into the lifestream. I think this was the planet's way of answering her prayer to "show her how to protect everyone".
I don't believe Aerith is nessacerly dead. But that her body has been left an empty soulless husk. And that her soul has united with the other versions of her soul that were already in the lifestream.
And it is here we get to see just how much of a royal pain she can be for Sephiroth.
It is hinted throughout chapter 14 that she is the one pulling Zack and Cloud from one timeline to the next and protecting them between timelines before making an appearance in the final battle of the game.
I think she decides not to return to her body because it is in this state that she can do the most good for everyone and be the biggest hindrance to Sephiroth.
I think that the reason that Cloud is the only one who can see her spiritual form is because of his time spent between timelines in the lifestream.
Now whether or not Aerith will end up reuniting with her body at the end of everything is a different question. But I think that the writers have set it up so she very well could.
Of course, I could be completely wrong. Regardless, I think it's too early to say that Aerith is for sure, 100% dead.
Thank you for this video ! I really enjoyed FF7 Rebirth. What an adventure. Regarding Cloud's monologue, it has been confirmed recently by developers it is actually the one that was said in the OG. In a recent interview, Cody Christian mentioned about the heartbreaking moment of recording Cloud's lines towards Aerith. So it was recorded, but it wasn't included in the game, so maybe they are saving it for when Cloud recovers his proper memory in part 3. I also think there is an Aerith alive in another timeline due to the rainbow effect since the deflecting did happen, but when the whole story ends, maybe they'll have to part ways still... anyway we can only speculate till part 3 comes out.
The Tifa perspective seems like it's rather showing what Cloud has infront of him and what the actual reality is the scene shows the same shocked face of the other members right after. At the lake though she's the only one there so it's pretty obvious that it is definitely her perspective alone. Otherwise pretty sound arguments though I am not sure which blessing we are talking about I initially though that it's Sephiroths blessing to help him briefly control few dark whispers that grants him passage in his supposed blessing was that ability just to get him to see Aerith die. The black materia is pretty unexplained but I suppose the blessing could also be that.
Edit: I really like the criticism coming out though couldn't agree more with it.
The two scenes that made me cry in this game, was when Dyne dies, and then when aerith cloud into the portal. That music was incredible and really destroyed me.
Thanks for sharing your point of you. I loved the direction of the Re-trilogy from Remake but I have always understood that some parts might be hard to digest. I have my biggest hopes for part3 because, even though I love this re-making of the FF7 story (sequel/requel/multiverse etc), I also would really like a satisfying closure and understanding of the whole depiction by the end.
Regarding the burial and the end of Rebirth, my personal opinion is that we will have that shock value once Cloud will be almost totally broken and will have to regain his self again. But I understand where your "dissatisfaction" comes from.
Anyway thanks for the awesome video and also thanks for putting so much efforts in all the latest content and answering most of the comments under your videos. Always thought you are and were one of the best content creators in the community and once again I want to say how happy I am that you decided to play Rebirth and bring your point of view into the discussion! Till the next one Soldier! :D
Thank you so much!! Really appreciate you saying that 🙏
Dude honestly I have respected you for a LONG time and I’m
Happy with how you feel … I’m personally here to see how this plays out and how they can pull this off by part 3 .. honestly im here for the ride and here for peoples theory’s there likes dislikes. This helped me to understand what happened a lot more. Your right not getting the water burial was a shame I kind of got a grasp on the cloud monologue happening but not hearing it. A lot to take in but overall my experience with this game was fantastic. Thank you for this video dude.
Thanks for all your support!! It means a lot! Glad you enjoyed the video!! 🙏
Sephiroth sneaking things in cloud's pocket like a boyfriend would, cloudiroth ship confirmed 😂
I'm holding back judgements until after I've played the last part. I have a feeling we'll see what happened in the finale! My takeaway from this part of the story is how important the time we have with those we love is so important, which falls in line with the OG themes.
I agree about they ruining consequences with the multiple realities, the Flash television series did the same thing, it's hard to be emotionally connected when they can simple undo it with ease, it ruins storytelling.
We didn't the event we were looking but i think when they revisit it, it will hit even harder.. I'm gonna give the devs the benefit of the doubt. They've made an excellent two thirds of a trilogy so far in my eyes.
Alright Soldier1stClass I've got a lot to unpack so buckle up.
First off I 100% agree with your take on this ending and I think you did a really good job articulating it without totally shitting on it.
For me, I feel very similar to how I did at the end of Remake, which was mostly frustrated.
In both cases I played a game that was for the most part a faithful recreation of one of my favorite games with some enhancements, added lore, and a lot more depth into places and character (for better or worse in some cases. I didn't really need Chocobo bills full backstory) but then in both games the last chapter just goes full blown off the rails and get leaves you wondering what the fuck you just witnessed.
From a narrative prospective it's so frustrating because FF7 original already had one of the most compelling stories that while not convoluted was fairly complex in its own right and tackled some pretty hard hitting issues. Mental illness, identity crises, loss, grief, sacrifice, love and many others all lead by a great ensemble cast and topped off with some iconic antagonist in Shinra and Sephiroth. All of this multi verse crap feels so contrive and unnecessary in a game that already had so much depth. The fact that they slap it all in the last chapter makes it feel like a complete afterthought. You could literally cut it all from the game and lose nothing. When Im sitting here watching new world being created by arbitrary decisions made by a character who should be dead I just check out. When you start introducing elements into a story with no pretext that completely exists outside of the established rules of your universe it makes everything feel super cheap and contrive. Like why do Sephiroth and Aerith have these powers? Where did they get them? Why are the decisions Zack is making so impactful? Why is he special? It feels shoehorned for fan service. I also agree wholeheartedly that as soon as I hear multiverse the stakes are automatically lowered and things like death and consequence become way less impactful.
And the fact that Aerith and her death are basically robbed of all emotion when this was supposed to be the CRUX of this story just pisses me off. And quite possibly the most annoying part is that they had a perfectly fine and thematically accurate vehicle to make something like this work. If you told me Aerith and Sephiroth were using the life stream as a way to send their consciences across time and influencing events I could go with that. It makes sense with rules already established in the universe as Sephiroth and Aerith are ancients.
Overall the whole ending ruined what was otherwise a very very good game. Im really hoping they find a way to make this all relevant in part 3 and for the love of God don't give into fan service and just stick to the damn plot.
Sorry I know that was a lot. Rant over.
It’s ok, I made an entire 31 minute video, there’s a lot to unpack about the ending of the game, so I get it. And I find myself very much in agreement with you
I like the game being different from the OG to keep it interesting but did feel really empty with the ending. Hoping that the cloud and tifa memory scene culminates with forgotten capital. VA for cloud says it was really emotional to record the aerith scene so hoping it was so well done the devs decided to save it for later.
just like when she died in the og the game remained somber. They want to save it for part 3 to start it heavy I assume.
@@salmark9080 yeah I also think we maybe they felt like they delivered enough emotional moments for one game (dyne and the trials particularly aerith ) red thirteens father etc
@@mattsnacks23The date between Cloud and Aerith in the other timeline. That basically was their final goodbye. That had waaay more emotional impact than the actual death.
The fact that you need the Ultimanium in order to fully understand what’s happening…makes me want to leave this alone all together.
Lol giving me 15 vibes
I have a hard time putting it into words properly, but I feel like the uneasy confused ending almost certainly was intentional. A reflection of sorts of what's going on in Cloudy boi's mind.
I have seen talk of Cloud's monolog having been recorded (I don't recall what video it was, but apparently came from translations of ultimania), and if so I expect a highly emotional scene about that as he gets sorted out in part 3. If true, of course.
I think Rebirth loaded the bases for part 3 to hit a grand slam. I don't think Aerith's moment was ruined here, but rather it was set up so Cloud is going to have to come to grips with what actually happened in order to be able to move on. Aerith might be his own personal force ghost to keep him momentarily sane, but he's going to be forced to say goodbye later, and made to relive actually seeing her be stabbed, and when he buried her at sea. Parts that have not yet registered in his mind. Similar to how he's going to come to grips with what really happened at Nibbelheim and how he wasn't in SOLDIER. Everything is perfectly set up for part 3 to be one of the most impactful gaming experiences since well, Aerith dying in 97'.
I like to imagine that Aerith and Sepiroth sat down for a game of chess prior to the Remake series. From that perspective, it's no wonder that something different was going to happen here. I say here that if we want the OG events, we already have them in OG. Aerith had her iconic moment that has echoed through 25 years of gaming history. This is an opportunity to create a new moment to echo through another 25.
And it gives us something to hold onto and chew on for the next three years as we all wait in anticipation. I guess what I'm saying is; are Remake and Rebirth not the two best games you've played in the 2020's? It's clear the devs love these games. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that they're setting up something grandiose at the conclusion of the unknown journey.
I came here to say something similar. I think they left it ambiguous on purpose and that her death will be revisited in part III when cloud is forced to come to terms with it. Hopefully we get a more straightforward depiction of her death and the scene where cloud releases her body in the water. It would be such a miss to fully omit that scene from the game. I also read that Cody Christian spoke in an interview about voicing the inaudible line when Aerith is killed. It sounds like it might be in part III. I hope so. Overall I love the game and can’t wait for the final episode.
I was told that the Japanese name for Bizzaro Sephiroth WAS Sephiroth Rebirth or Reborn. I blame the localization lol
I believe I remember this as well. From like a long time ago.
Exactly my thoughts, I love this game but the ending was unnecessarily convoluted.
I do believe Aerith is alive in another world but I guess we'll have to wait 3-4 years to know :(
In the OG and Advent CHildren she was alive in spiritual form in the lifestream and I think that's the case again. Cloud didn't save her, and him physically holding her hand to his face while dreaming that she moved it, is the clue. The tragedy is that she loved life and (controversially) Cloud, and that's been robbed from her.
When I first reached the ending I was confused, underwhelmed, and mostly shocked. After 100 hours and so much good characterization I loved the game but wasn’t that crazy about the ending. Now having gotten the platinum and seeing the ending plenty more times along with seeing others reactions and discussions I’ve actually grown to appreciate the ending. The Cloud denial in hindsight seems so much more clear and each time I see it more painful to watch knowing what is coming.
That being said, I still don’t love the ending and agree that Aerith (and us the players) were robbed of a big moment. I’m so excited for part 3 and I look forward to more FF7 discussion in the meantime as this is definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played and if they did any one thing right is they left me wanting more.
I have similar feelings to your's for this game. I loved pretty much all of it and I don't regret a single hour put into it. But the ending left me feeling empty and disappointed.
When I was walking up to Aerith on the altar, I was ready to have my heart broken again and I was ready to cry in relief if she gets saved this time. And then I kinda got both and it feels like I got neither, because of this convoluted mess, that reads to me like they didn't want to commit to one outcome and so they cheapend the whole moment with "lol, it's a multiverse twist!"
I still have hope part 3 might bring a satisfying conclusion, but it's not a given.
Yeah it’s tough to wanna criticize it because of just how good the rest of the game is, but my brain is wired to make those criticisms when I don’t agree with it. I did the same with Remake and all of the other games I’ve played over the years. There’s some people that will love everything no matter what, and I’m kinda jealous of people like that sometimes, cause that’s just not me.
Fingers crossed for the slow walk in part 3. “L2 + R2: Accept the Truth.”
Let’s hope!
@Soldier1stClass I really like that idea. Agree with you 100% on the ending, I can't really even think of anything I disagree with lol. Thanks for making an explained ending video, it was good.
Thank you for watching!! 🙏
Definitely felt robbed at the ending but really excited and hopeful that they will bring it all home in the next game. Rebirth is literally my favorite game of all time right now! 🔥
The trials were emotional, and I thought the capitol would have a bigger moment. And it was big. A big moment of confusion. I am not liking the whispers and the multi-verse as a plot device. I would’ve preferred a shared timeline with Aerith and Sephiroth to see if they could out-play each other.
I saw another video where it was said that the lines we don't hear cloud speak at aerith's death were in fact recorded by the actor, so maybe they are saving that for the final game in a flashback along with walking aerith down to the lake. Call me crazy, but I think we will be able to save aerith (maybe optionally) in the final part of the game. We keep getting told throughout rebirth to save aerith. Maybe it's foreshadowing. I think I also read that the director said that they will have something important in the final game... Something that wasn't in the OG version. I'm thinking that's saving aerith. So many people wanted to save her. Me included. That's why there were so many rumors of possible ways to save her in the original.
I really hope they don't, as the loss of a great character is what makes the game a classic and improves the story. I would be OK with it if it's optional however. But of course, that's just my own personal opinion
I love the remake being different to the original because to me it feels exciting and refreshing, but I also do not want Zack and Aerith to live for the sake of fan service. The whole reason why Aerith died had to do with making people experience the feeling of grief that one of the producers wanted to communicate after the death of his own mother (I forgot which?) but imagine changing all of that for fan service alone? Nah. I am genuinely hoping they both die in part 3 no matter how big of a Zack fan I am, or that at least Aerith does so that we experience the grief of losing her through Zack who never did, and Cloud who is in denial so far
Jeez finally, thank you !
I totally agree
Would be good if part 3 reveals that cloud actually killed Aerith at the alter. Would be an amazing twist and would play well into his broken mind narrative!
I think most people agree with what you said here, but it is what it is and at the end of the day that’s what the writers wanted to do. The games have been some of the most fun I’ve had playing games since I was a kid so I’m cool with whatever they end up doing.
If Aerith dies there's nothing surprising, if she survives then people will say they see it coming. There's just no winning, but now ? we have no idea what the hell is going on. * in Zack's voice *
The more I look into the ending, the more that I think this is the best route for the game to take to surprise both OG & non OG players.
I'm going to be as optimistic as Zack and believe they will all be reunited once again and get their happy ending this time.
Looking forward to the final part 3
I really like your explanation of the white/black Whispers, that actually makes a lot of sense to me.
I agree I don't like this ending much, I feel like the impact of Aerith's death was lost as it was confusing in what happened.
My take on the glitching when Tifa was looking at Aerith/Cloud, Tifa sees the blood, Cloud doesn't.
I'm hoping we will get to see the true event in part 3 when Cloud comes to terms with the fact she died. Cloud's monologue, the burial scene etc.
Yeah unfortunately like I said in the video, even though it’s more than likely in Part 3, I’m not gonna be in the same headspace I was when I was watching this ending for the first time. Like even if it were shown to me right now, I wouldn’t really be that invested because I’m nowhere near the mental state I was in as the ending was playing.
Zach is asking just like the player "What the heck is going on!"
Haha, Brilliant jab bro!
Aliens breaking into heaven hahaha!
Zack is right though, I also thought the same thing as him at the start of the game when he said "This is so messed up..." 😔
This implies that the devs know how we would feel. That's why I'm optimistic. This shows they already have the conclusion planned out.
The shock factor and the music playing in the boss fight in the original was heartbreaking. My brother's girlfriend was ulgy crying because of it
I just want to express my gratitude because after finishing FF7 Rebirth, I spent almost 2 weeks searching for answers like crazy. I was practically on the verge of becoming a Rebirth ending scholar. Your video really helped simplify things by explaining the multiple timelines. Also glad to have discovered you and The Nightsky Prince during an interview with Briana White. You guys are the best!
Thank you so much!! Really appreciate ya! And glad this video could help!
bizarro sephiroth was always named rebirth sephiroth in japanese. just bad localization. have to admit that cloud reciting soldier creed seems cringe intially but for me it made perfect sense since cloud literally inherited and stole zack's memories. great vid tho
Kinda funny to me when he appeared because the situation actually added meaning to the name Bizarro
14:27… Yeah, as much as the OG names/lines of dialogue may have stuck (ie: “This guy are sick.”), many others were properly changed in the Re- trilogy so far to reflect the original context/intention.
This is why the Devs on the localization team had to correct & patch Aerith’s last line in Remake on the day Rebirth launched to a literal translation from the original Japanese, “The sky, I don’t like it.” (as she likely can see that crack in the sky Cloud sees at the end).
Great video.
The subtle orb pondering meme got me real good. 😂
LMFAO I was hoping at least someone caught that
Aerith is definitely not helping by confusing the shit out of cloud. Which would imply an evil aerith, I would hate that, or bad writing
Not recreating one of the most iconic moments in gaming is just confusing
This is the most seemingly accurate ending explanation I've come across so far, but there is one theory I came away with that you failed to touch on - that there were actually two Clouds existing simultaneously in the "Beagle world" towards the end of the story.
When Beagle world Cloud was defeated by Sephiroth in the Temple of the Ancients and fell into the depths, he somehow swapped consciousnesses with the Cloud from the "Husky" world - I'm guessing the Aerith of the Husky world facilitated this with the White Materia.
In the meantime, the Cloud from the Husky world who was deep in a Mako poisoned stupor was occupying Beagle world Cloud's body, which is why the rest of the party had to lug him around during that timeframe.
Husky world Aerith gave Cloud the White Materia to pass along to Beagle World Aerith, which he did after she sent him to the Beagle world - remember this important detail: Aerith gave Cloud the Clear Materia in exchange for the White Materia.
Afterwards, she walked off to the temple to pray and Cloud collapsed to the ground before his consciousness was returned to his original body. One would have to assume that likewise, Husky world Cloud's consciousness would have returned to its rightful body - which was never shown to have been returned to the Husky world.
Because of this, I was of the impression that the Cloud we see at the end of the game was actually Husky world Cloud and NOT Beagle world Cloud. This is further suggested by the fact that he was in possession of the Clear Materia which Aerith swapped with him before each Cloud's consciousnesses were returned to their rightful bodies. If Husky world Cloud had indeed been sent back to his world (while in possession of the Clear Materia), how would Beagle world Cloud now be in possession of the Clear Materia?
It would also explain why Cloud was back to being so messed up in the head and talking about rifts in the sky - which did exist in the Husky world. It might also explain why he had some version of the Black Materia in his possession - perhaps the one from the Husky world?
Interesting read.
But the ending left alot of questions.
Did Remake/Rebirth Aerith die by Sephiroth?
Which Aerith is telling Cloud "is okay Cloud" and after battle with Sephiroth when he goes to wake Aerith up?
@@Sao0011 The Aerith you’ve been traveling with up to that point is apparently the one who died, but a new world was spawned in that moment where Cloud saved her, so essentially the Aerith that survived had all the same experiences up til that point - so technically the same Aerith we all know and love survived. This enabled her to complete her prayer to the planet and gain its favor - blessing her with a similar ability to Sephiroth’s in which she can freely traverse between worlds and assist her friends - which she did by helping Cloud and company fight against Sephiroth both by physically joining in the fight herself and also transporting Zack into the battle.
I'm glad to see you give your honest opinion. There are a lot of creators that won't give much criticism at all because they are afraid to upset the devs into not giving them some attention on future releases (example being max).
Rebirth is something where I enjoyed SO much of it. Really put a smile on my face. Other than the occasional broken sidequest, or terribly balanced mini game (like the stupid 3rd yuffie chocobo), and ending, it was quite the experience. I'm okay with story changes like the gi and the black materia (great addition), but using multiverse stuff feels so out of place in a game that had NOTHING to do with multiverse in the first place.
Just think about ff10, nothing to do with multiverse, and then they decided to add a change to the ending where a new tidus shows up when the other tidus disappears. Would be so bad.
Trust me, I pretty much agree with you. I’d rather be honest about how I feel but also still give positives because the entire ending/game weren’t terrible messes like some would have you believe, but it’s also not this infallible piece of media that can’t be criticized
@@Soldier1stClass What's funny to me, is I feel that way about OG FFVII *far more* than the remake series. It feels like every year I play through that game, my opinion of it is worse than the last time I played. Especially after experiencing Remake and Rebirth, OG FFVII is just... Not great. It has its moments, and it was revolutionary (for the time) and a very important game, but there's so many flaws in the writing, scenarios, tonal shifts, and translation, not to mention gameplay glitches and broken mechanics, and sadly underdeveloped main characters (Cait Sith and Yuffie in particular), that it really makes me appreciate Remake and Rebirth SO MUCH MORE!
@@chillpenguin7679Wow. More power to you bud. I personally love the remakes more than the OG from a gameplay standpoint.
I felt the same. I was emotionally robbed and confused especially playing through it the first time as my brain was trying to grasp onto so many things in such a short window. They crammed so much into the end part. I think another way they could’ve handled the multiverse aspect better was to have it explained in better detail as the game progressed. Like have Hojo doing research with some insights on the multiverse phenomenon or more dialogue with Aerith and not just a “don’t fall in love with me” one liner. I mean we’re talking about THE moment, one of the most pivotal, important, life changing, cruel, poetic, and arguably the most moving moment in video game history. I was looking so hard for that tear jerking moment but was only left with questions… maybe that’s what they intended and they’ll really round it off nicely in part III. We can only pray they deliver because there’s no reraise of VII after this retrilogy.
This ending robs many people's first experience with the world and story of FF7 by eliminating one of the most important moments in gaming history. One friend of mine told me how it destroyed him experiencing Aerith's death when he first played it 27 years ago, but now it was my turn to experience it because I never had the priviledge to get a PS1, but I just felt confusion. The emotional punch was gone. It seems like the devs decided to drum up hype and theories, at the expense of millions of new players' first time experiencing this emotional moment. The ending should have left me devastated, like Infinity War part 1 did, and you bet I will be lining up to see how the heroes would overcome their cliffhanger adversity the day the sequel came out. But now, I am just writing this comment after watching a video that finally told me what I have been feeling is normal, after scouring TH-cam to understand what is even going on. After watching 10+ hours of theories, instead of my friend's sense of immense loss as if he just lost a loved one in real life, I just feel confused. And this video made me understand I am not alone.
And I personally think there could have been some easy fixes, without changing the plot. This plot is great, but the execution is just not satisfying. The "normal" ending of Rebirth should be very similar to what OG FF7 had. Cloud watches Aerith gets killed, monologue, maybe a boss fight, then lowering her into the pool and emotional goodbye, a last cutscene leaving for the north. BUT: some gameplay options could have revealed a "secret" ending exactly like what we got here. Devs could make it that you have to meet certain "conditions" like maxing out affinity with Aerith, completing every quest with her, had her date in Gold Saucer, maybe get her in combat with Cloud more, or perform 50 times synergy skills, or get all her weapon skills, or... And then if you smash your buttons hard enough at the altar to overcome the whispers, you get to parry Sephiroth's kill blow and you get to a new branched timeline and a secret boss fight with Aerith by your side. Then everything follows the ending we have. Zack helping, Cloud mule the white materia, Ending cutscene is virtually identical but with Aerith in it so Cloud is glitching out in his mind, etc. With the age of internet, this would quickly be the "canon" ending, but 95% of casual players experiencing the first time would not be robbed of their sense of loss in their first playthrough, as this secret ending would be granted only to the most dedicated players who specifically want Aerith to live. And you can make that the canon ending, a branching timeline, and make all casual players take the loss and then come back wanting for more because she could have been saved. But I bet there are many better ways of executing this, just my 2 cents.
I like both original story and this new story…part 3 can be really wild imagine every time Cloud has a mental breakdown, his consciousness is just entering another world, and things happen in another world could make an impact in the “world that we know” (like how Cloud delivered the white materia) that also kinda makes sense how Cloud thought Tifa was dead maybe he actually saw her death in Nibelheim in one of the branched world… I think the burial of Aerith is skipped in this game on purpose and we will see flash backs of Cloud’s memory with more storytelling in that part… now I just have a question, of all the worlds, Jessie is not alive in any of them?
For me the ending was even more painful than the original. I needed to process the grief via Cloud's pain, but he's denial shattered my mind. So yeah, for me was more powerful than the original.
I think rebirth Cloud is beyond being delusional. Sephiroth has shown him so much, and he has seen so much. I believe he knows something that we dont.
To me the multiverse will be destroyed early next game since sephiroth said that he plans to make one reality but my theory on the black materia and it connects to Advent Children and the fact that materias and this whole multiverse is to keep people talking between game whether it was good or bad was irrelevant we are all talking about it so to them it fulfilled its purpose.His final line in Advent children was he wouldn't be a memory but now to me his willfully choosing to be a memory so when main sephiroth absorbs all timelines his main plan is retained in the black materia hence he is choosing to be a memory to prevent ending becoming one in the main timeline also think that having the main theme of death and acceptance played twice would have been redundant thematically speaking.I would have preferred it to be faithfull hell yeah but having this scene repeat 2 times since it's safe to assume that the reason why Tifa learned her origin before time is too not distract that scene and focus only on Cloud i bet they are going to also show there Zack Death and Aerith Death and a final farewell of them lifestream versions so im guessing Zack and Aerith are going to be there with Cloud and Tifa this time and that's where the main theme of pain,loss and acceptance kicks in and would put the entire trilogy meta dealing with the five stages of grief denial the arbiters of fate in early chapters of remake but still we were getting a untouched remake of the story.Anger being the changes at the end of story in part1 when promised of a new direction that was mostly the same anyway bargain being the Rebirth demo and goodwill we all felt when playing this game depression at how they handled the end this game and the depression cloud will feel at the lifestream and acceptance life goes on at the end of the day regardless of changes and faithfullness we all had fun playing this 3 lengthy fun experiences and will look with appreciation when we look back at them because at the end of the day this story ends on the same spot has the original 500 years later with Nanaki and children looking at Midgar ruins this was long sorry for grammar errors hope you enjoy this read had fun writing it.
I love how the response to well constructed arguments against the ending boil down to: we have to wait and see.
What could they do in part 3 that makes us feel Aerith's loss? ...Nothing. Soldier said it, a flashback won't cut it. It's a second hand account. So I don't know what payoff are you waiting for😂
Yeah like I said, the moment has passed for me. My headspace isn’t gonna be anywhere near the same as it would’ve been had I seen it in the moment.
Just finished the Temple of the Ancients this morning and will hopefully finish the game by the end of the day. Decided to skip latter sidequests, etc till after I finish as I wanted to progress through the story before I fly back to work tomorrow. Man, that Chapter 13 was looooong, but I really enjoyed that sequence.
Guess it's implied that Rocket Town is underneath that cloud north of the Nibel Region? I have a feeling we'll be starting Re-Three from there...
A big twist would be that the entire multiverse was all part of clouds fractured mind, a ploy to thriw off newcomers and og players alike. This would be revealed in the scene where Tifa and a mako poisoned Cloud fall into the lifestream, and as she helps him fix his fragmented mind, he has to come to terms with that fact. That death is final. That Aerith and Zack are gone, and that all that remains of them are whispers of their memory.
I wish they should of kept the ending original. Same line when Cloud said "Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry or get angry. I wanna be sad again. 😢💔
Every line Aerith has at the end in the field is a reused line from earlier in the game. It would lead me to believe that Cloud is only seeing this in his head. The only problem here is how would Red have sensed her.
Yeah red for sure can sense her, so it’s obvious that she’s there, but only Cloud can see her.
The director said that cloud is mostly imagining all the new content added to the end of the story. So for the sake of confusion, thats how i see the ending. Same as the OG, the only difference is that cloud doesnt want to accept that aerith passed away
Going to like it now and save for later when I complete the game but enjoying your content and want to support!
Thank you!! 🙏
Question...in the OG there was someone trying to have help Cloud come to his senses. So Where Kid Cloud?
A big theory currently is we're going to see the monologue and burial in part 3, maybe as a way for Sephiroth to attempt to truly break Cloud, like when he reveals the truth about Nibelheim
makes sense
I want to point out two things no one has noticed or at least not spoken of. First when you you fight the white whispers in front of the capital you notice they cast a ward. Just like aerith. And their attacks are called etheric drain. Which means soul drain just like aeriths attack. And fated tempest. Just like her tempest attack I’m remake. Which further proves the whispers are 100 percent aeriths whispers. And 2 the scene at the end where the weapons are fighting the black whispers. If you look closely down at the bottom you can still see tifas memories from chapter 9.
Maybe theyre saving the aerith burial scene for part 3 when cloud puts his mind back together. Thatll be the point he can accept her death and symbolically do so by letting her go in the forgotten city waters.
Right, but as I said in the video, the moment has passed and I’m not gonna really care at that point. I’m not gonna feel the same or have near the same headspace as I would’ve had they shown it in the moment.
Really enjoyed your take and insight on this. I personally loved it, including the ending. But that’s because I have faith for part 3.
If they fumble part 3, it may make me upset with this ending.
So far they’ve earned my trust so I’ll give it to them.
yeah everybody is jumping so quick to conclusion when the story isn't even finished. It'll make more sense once we're able to complete the actual game. Idk why ppl are already making their final decisions based off the ending for part 2? None of y'all would be saying this if we were able to play part 3 right now. So just be patient and wait for the game to finish lol.
I'd like to offer a different theory around "that" scene. As you pointed out when Cloud parries Sephiroth we get the rainbow reality split. The "beagle" world we've been in and the "dead" world where Cloud failed his parry skill check and Aerith eats it as a result. When the party runs up on the scene Tifa's view sees a bloody body, while in "beagle" Aerith is fine. So i think what has happened from all this reality hopping is Cloud is now like Aerith and Sephiroth. He is seeing different realities while existing elsewhere. As Sephiroth mentioned about Cloud not seeing with "clouded" eyes. So i think we now have an "Unclouded Cloud". The final scene where everyone is sad but Cloud is unbothered is because we are no longer in "Beagle world" we are now in "Dead world" and Cloud is seeing Aerith alive back in Beagle but is the only one that can see and talk with her. I could be wrong, but this is my working theory for now 😁
I’ve read that there is no multiverse in 7.
But why would Biggs and Wedge keep dying if they’re dead already in the LS? Unless this is coming from another characters perspective…
I too, felt nothing at the alter scene, but I want Aerith to survive this time. The early fan base petitioned Nomura to save her. Why not? If you want to see her die, play OG. I want a different outcome of shock- call it fanservice- it pays their bills.
Still something unexpected has to happen. I’m thinking that Cloud died at the end of CC. This could be his story in the LS. Maybe finding himself is him accepting his death in the finale?
Who the hell knows? The Devs have been killing the protagonists in other FFs.
Its crazy. I finished Remake thinking, "man, this ending is weird. Lets see what they do with this. But i hope whatever they do isnt awful, because that may negatively affect my opinion of Remake even though I loved my time with this game." And now i finished Rebirth with the EXACT same feeling. I love the OG, ive loved Remake and Rebirth, but i was hoping my anxiety for the future of the franchise that ive had since beating Remake would finall come to an end with Rebirth. Whether it turned out to be for better or worse, i would have my answer. Yet, here we are again, where ill now have to wait another 3-4 years to decide if i like the direction they went in or not
Trust me, I know the feeling. Unfortunately they pulled the same stunt twice and now I just honestly don’t care anymore.
Wait for part 3. They will show everything about Aerith's death and Cloud's realisation. They did a great choice on ending, keeping everyone confused and invested in next part. We will see everything.
As I said in the video, showing it 3-4 years later takes the impact out of it. They’ll show it, no one’s denying that. But it’s not gonna have that “in the moment” impact it should’ve had. A lot happens in 3-4 years. People’s headspace changes, their tastes, etc.
Agree with everything you said, it really just took away the emotional impact it was meant to have
Awesome video. You did a great job explaining the complicated story. The developers will have to hit the ground running in order to explain everything in the next game.
I don't know why people keep insisting they could not recreate the same impact of the original as if that solved things. At the end of the day, what you're saying is: they decided to go with a convoluted way to portray the same event and I don't feel like it was worth it. If, and ONLY if, they had done something truly unique and emotional, you'd have probably accepted it just fine. Your apathy means they failed to make you emotionally invested and your video explains why.
I'll also say this. From a gameplay perspective and not story, it makes me wonder if they want to keep that role of the caster mage like Aerith. Her gameplay style is unique and I'm afraid they are gonna go with you being able to play with Aerith in part 3. Either by another version showing up to keep it going, or Cloud believes she's there, you play as if she's there, but it's revealed at a later point that it wasn't her, but just Tifa or some other character(s) in her place. Both sound awful.
Why do I think that? Because they didn't give her, her ultimate limit break or her ultimate weapon in rebirth. Saving it for later? Likely. Either via gameplay or a cutscene.
Yeah I feel ya. And it’s definitely interesting about the weapon and limit break. That and they had her fight with you in the final part of the battle. So either they wanted one last moment with her, or she’s coming back in Part 3 and will for sure be the caster. Because now we don’t really have a dedicated caster. Cid and Vincent are melee and ranged physical characters respectively
Though to be fair, the Aerith that Cloud sees stayed behind so she probably won't be playable in part 3, at least not in the beginning
@@323starlight That's what's annoying. The idea that a carbon copy of a character can just replace another. It's just Cait Sith's replacements. He dies, but who cares there are more of them! Like I didn't feel sad there at all, and I don't believe I was supposed to for obvious reasons. Aerith has her own replacements now.
Yeah... but goddamn this would be pretty awful rofl at that point I'd rather have this limit break and weapon nonexistent anymore
I have noticed a general misconception regarding the "Rainbow Wind" and the multiple timelines. In chapter 10, Zack and Biggs were discussing how it was some sort of miracle how they Survived some events. Both Claim that it was all of the sudden the wind blowed and both made it alive. Zack goes to Aerith and says "The Wind, that was you right?" While Aerith is still asleep.
The rainbow colors are showing when Aerith is making a change in Destiny. This is showed when Aerith arrives to fight Sephiroth alongside Cloud (Enters in Slow motion making while the game shows that she has incredible powers now) Sephiroth says that he underestimated her. Aerith now has simila lr fate changing powers. That's why she opens up a rainbow portal for Cloud to go back after their date on "her dream" Note that in Advent Children after Cloud is wounded Aerith sends him back and Zacks says "it seems you dont a place here" at the end of the movie. And to futher solidify the point Aerith for the lifestream to save the planet. Constantly the game implies that she is helping the others after she's gone. If you guys have any thoughts that Im wrong or missing something please do share
Also in regards to whether Aerith is alive or not Sephiroth also explains this: "So it begins, The convergence of Worlds" that somehow Cloud can see. The world is Doomed (but looks green and radiant at the same time) and not at the same time, Aerith is not dead for him but for for the rest of the party she is. Multiple Worlds United basically
I was expecting to be crying twice as hard as I did when I first played the game in 1997 (lol yes I'm that old) and I feel emotionally incomplete because I didn't have that moment and the ending in Rebirth feels watered down. I honestly delayed playing that final part just because I thought it was going to be an epic tear jerker moment.
Yeah I was severely let down by the entire ending sequence. Wish I would’ve felt anything. It would’ve made me more confident about the future, but now I could care less what happens one way or the other.
I think everyone I mean everyone long time fans, newbies to FFVII or haters all agree what they did with this FFVII Rebirth ending whether we loved, hated or are neutral to it is going make the developers mission to finish all this buildup from hard to almost mission impossible. And for that I at the least applaude the developers for taking such an insane level of risk. They must be operating at a mindset of trying to do something so grand it'll make history again for them. As a fan I hope they can pull it off because right now a whole week off after 150+ hours of an amazing time finishing the game. I'm now so lost and drained from that final chapter 14 I feel like my ass about to go back to "The Lifestream" 😅.
It's interesting seeing all the different perspectives everyone has on the game and its very open to interpretation ending. Most of your interpretations were vastly different from mine, especially regarding the small details.
I personally just want a scenario where Aerith was unharmed by Sephiroth, because:
a) it would be an awesome moment for Cloud
b) I think Cloud needing to accept the reality of Aerith's death later in part 3, and then learning he actually did protect her creates an awesome redemption arc
c) Creating a scenario where Aerith and Zack can reunite in their physical forms, probably shortly before they are sent to the Lifestream and can say their proper goodbyes, will create a very emotional moment
Great work. Enjoyed your perspective.
Not a fan of the story changes. Some great work went into this game, but ultimately in my opinion, they fumbled the football.
We will have to see what happens next. Speculating will be fun. Glad you’re enjoying the game! Amazing analysis
Thank you 🙏 yeah I feel ya. The ending really fumbled the execution for me
The scenes where Cloud can see Aerith isn't just an imagination. She is really there and is confirmed when Red XIII can sense her. Maybe it is similar to when he can see Sephiroth while the others can't. Maybe having the white materia gives him the ability to see her.
Nah you're 100% correct on all points. You said what everyone's basically thinking.
Max just wrapped up the game, and I'm pretty sure that his analysis will be identical in a week or two when he does his post-game review.
It was too ambiguous. She should've been MORE dead or LESS dead, but the way they set the story bits up in perfect balance counteracted and neutralized all emotions, sucking the life out of what should've been the most emotional part of the game.
That said, they can absolutely release all the stored-up energy in Part 3, but the WRITING to both A) successfully illuminate & conclude all the plot threads, and B) to hit all the emotional moments, is going to be a HUGE task.
...And quite frankly, while Hamaguchi looked full of energy and Uematsu looked solid in the last 3-way interview, Nomura looked like he was ready to keel over. I hope this means the story for part 3 is already baked.... because if they have more work to do, it doesn't look like Nomura's up to it. Hate to say it, but maybe that's for the better?
I think the biggest task is gonna be getting through everything that’s left to get through. They have so much ground to cover for one game, I think we need to be prepared for some things to get cut. Otherwise this is gonna be a 100 hour game of story by itself. Plus we’ve gotta wrap up this multiverse business.
Watched so many videos on the FF7 rebirth ending. Obviously there are so many crazy theories as this ending was purposely meant to be a little mystifying. But the way you break things down is by far the most coherent of any video I've seen. Great job man!
Thank you!! 🙏 I try to make any explanation video I do like that. The ending can be confusing enough as it is, people don’t need me complicating it lmao