Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Ending FULL BREAKDOWN! SPOILERS! What Just Happened!?!?
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- Опубліковано 31 бер 2024
- Today I'm giving my full breakdown of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's ending and wondering, what the hell just happened!?
Huge thank you to Square Enix for gifting me a copy of the game to enjoy with everyone! - Ігри
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23 : 40 I THINK This Reminds Me Of How Sora Disappeared In The Same Manner Where Aeris's Spirit Went
On The Run But Then She Enters The Kingdom Hearts Universe Inorder To Find A Way To Defeat Sephiroth So
She Encountered Different Versions Of Her Friends While Making New Ones And Thats When He Had Showed Up In
The Coliseum And In Order To Get Aeris He Teams Up With Hades So She Flees To Hollow Bastion While Her Heart
Was In Pain From Her Death She Decided To Stay And She Meets Donald And Goofy And Mickey And When She Met
Sora She Had An Idea Aerith But It Wasnt Time So She Plays Along But Then He Decided To Challenge Sephiroth She Is Relieved To Know That He Was Chased Away But Then He Showed Up In Her Location And This Worried Her So Sora Meets Cloud And Drives Him Away Again After Master Xehanort's Defeat But This Time She Had A Surprise Waiting Coming For Sephiroth And Then Aerith Pulls Sora Into To The Lifestream So She Explained What Happened To Her And He Promised Aerith He Would Track Sephiroth And Defeat Him For Good
25:45 Just before he sees Aerith alive, we see the rainbow effect.
I love how despite having no clue what the hell is going on, Zack has complete faith in Cloud and instantly has his back. Zack is a true bro.
Schrodinger's Aierth lmao 🤣 good one
Agree 😂🙌🏼
So the japanese script reveals some interesting things. Sephiroth says when the walls of fate are breached, many worlds are born. He also mentions that there's many 'layers' of worlds. Thinking of them as explicit branches like we usually do is not quite correct, as where they are layered on top of each other, it means intermingling (the verb in japanese that's been localized as confluence and such) is more easy to do at specific moments. Both of the games have pivotal OG story moments with tons of Whispers (Feelers in japanese) where fate is being altered somehow, and both Aerith and Sephiroth are up to nonsense in these moments. You can see how Zack can get shuffled around in each of these moments and how they can fight Sephiroth from different worlds at the same time.
A few other interesting things to note: Sephiroth's blessing is the same word used in japanese that they localize as the planet's rapture. He also mentions that the method in which Cloud sees the world is still different than his. Pretty sure Sephiroth's blessing is really just the ability to see beyond the 'prime' world because of this, but sadly his brain is still cooked and won't let him clearly. Sephiroth's whole thing is he wants to join all these worlds as one, and he mentions this in the japanese, that the worlds will have their reunion with our world. Stands to reason any number of changes can be made to reality this way, and we already see this with misplaced Stamps in Junon, the radio broadcast in Kalm, and the tornado that occurred in our prime reality because of what happened at Destiny's Crossroads, so would make sense that Cloud could have saved Aerith and Sephirot and/or the planet swapped in one where she dies. Something also different about the ending that doesn't get talked about is that while Aerith isn't affected by the plane backfiring, but then later she IS affected by the plane's propellers starting. Two Aerith's in the ending perhaps? Maybe the one who just died and one who lived in another world? Anyway, there's a lot to unpack and I think you're on the right track mate! If you ever want some help with differences in the JP and Eng scripts, let me know!
I think there's more than one Aerith at the end. When she joins Cloud in the battle against Sephiroth, she says, "I saw what you did back there. Thank you." To me, this implies she witnessed Cloud "saving" the other Aerith rather than being a participant in that event. I don't know if the Japanese version is the same or if her dialogue implies something else.
@@drewtheunspoken3988Her Japanese line there says something like sugokatta if I remember correctly. Which is the past form for sugoi, a blanket term for amazing/incredible/etc depending on context. So this is a line where the localization definitely takes precedent.
@zoubachan thank you. I wish that any of my schools had offered Japanese but the only languages offered were Spanish and French. It would be great to experience these games as intended.
@@drewtheunspoken3988 It does come in handy! I'm self-taught so it's never too late to learn either. IMO as a translator, the English localization is very good and more expressive in spots. That said, there are insights and confirmation of context that can be gathered from the JP dialogue that I do think help frame how this unconventional multiverse functions. I've shared some of these on the Shinra Archaeology Department's Discord server before such as some of the language Sephiroth uses that could imply quantum superposition are an inspiration for some of the shenganigans going on.
@zoubachan that's fascinating. I had been thinking that both Zack and Biggs survival was dependent on quantum immortality. I absolutely love how layered this game is.
I had so much fun with this game, but the ending is so confusing can't wait for part 3!
I think the Aerith at the end is Aerith in a timeline where she was saved. I think no one can see her except Cloud because he's the only one aware of the other timelines now and can see her, but also that in this world, her physical body has perished so there's nothing for her to "posess" so to speak. My reasoning for this is 1) if it were dead Aerith's spirit, i feel like she could've just manifested herself to Cloud in the OG but i also feel like it's not so easy to just manifest whenever you want. And 2) when Cloud timeline hopped with her he was in the body that was in the wheelchair. So he was in *that* timeline's Cloud's body. I also feel like when he asked her if she could get back ok he was referring to her timeline, not the temple.
So you know, after Sephiroth knocks Aerith and Cloud off the ledge, they don’t get knocked into Zack’s timeline. It’s a different timeline, indicated when you “choose” Aerith gift you see a completely new dog
That’s interesting your theory of the rift and Aerith. What do you make of Square changing Aeriths line in remake? “The sky, I don’t like it” the big theory is she could always see the scar throughout the game
Them changing her line is a bit worrisome for me.
It could be that 'missing the steel sky' was too vague regarding the rift, and that's why it was changed.
But given the timing that the line changed only after Rebirth implies the writers didn't have the rift in mind during Remake and they're, at least in part, making it up as the go along.
@@beachzack7064From what I've read, the Japanese line was unchanged and the English version was changed to match it better.
It sounds like it's that the localization team didn't have all the information, and they decided to correct it.
Ye I have japanese friend translate me some things and Im scared. Eg the dream date part in church is vvvvery different in japanese.
Basicaly in english it is nonsense strange while in japanese Cloud sais he guessed the spot ant it was easy.Aerith sais because we dont have many memories together. Cloud they will in time and she asks if he will want meet her again to which he sais of course. On top of that my friend claims Aerith outright is telling she loves Cloud and has guilty feelings. That is not what we get on english which seems a friendzone. @@gerrya2133
@@beachzack7064 the japanese version is unchanged. Meaning the dev has been cooking this for awhile now
Ah that's a relief, thanks for the info 😁👍
Gotta say, this is a very well structured and thought out video. Even liked how you chose appropriate background track music for the sections you were discussing.
Also, have you noticed the parallels in the dialogue in Chapter 12 during the loveless performance where Cait Sith says " What is the future, but the the culmination of choices past? But they always end in a tearful goodbye (i.e, Aerith's death) but we hope that this story stays long after we are gone (I think this is a meta comment from the developers saying they hope the story of FF7 stays with the fans long after the story is wrapped up)"
Then you've got what Barret says when he's playing as Lord Valvados and he says " I wonder what fate awaits you at JOURNEY'S END, will the godess grant you her blessing (potentially Aerith being the godess casting her final limit break, Great Gospel on the entire party to make them invincible) or will sorrow and hate consume you? (Basically will Cloud allow his anger from the realisation of the loss of Aerith to consume him and fuel the black materia, which is fuelled by anger and hate in which Gi Nattak himself said that the Black materia is full of hate, anger negative emotions etc.
Sorry if this is too long or ive rambled on for too much but I can't help myself when it comes to this game!😅
Also, Shrodinger's Aerith made me lol😂 thank you
12:00 aerith acting weird here is seemingly because she knows her fate and what’s about to happen, she wants to cherish her last moments on a date with cloud. It makes sense acting odd when you know you’re minutes away from dying.
That aerith trial had me SOBBING...no bullshit...sobbing
Same
Yep… the ending was an emotional roller coaster
Same here. And I had already resigned myself to finishing the game before I started that session of the game, so it was a ROUGH several hours. Something to note, final boss much harder when blinded by tears, who knew :P
FOR REAL. Like this little girl is crying for help and yall don't do anything?? One dude even yelled at her, being drunk is no excuse for yelling at a child
@@MrFox21121I felt this. Like I thought "I'm at the end of the game, shouldn't take that long". Oh how wrong I was 😅
Loved watching this play-through live. You have the best interactive streaming community. Excellent job.
Thanks for this, really enjoying the analysing of the ending and all aspects of the story. I will comment on Aerith taking Cloud to choose the gifts, candies and such, that I see it as her trying to give Cloud fun and fond memories with her, to comfort him, so that he would not get as lost to Sephiroth's manipulation, rage and sadness.. Which all seem to feed Sephiroth. Seeing that Cloud is really struggling in a lot of ways, and is at a loss of identity, those kind and sort of cheerful gestures and small extra memories in that scene might try to speak to the "real Cloud", which is quite lost to Cloud. That is what I thought about that.
Just beat the game yesterday. Been waiting for your take. Thanks for posting.
Love this guys narration and description man, best theory video so far
I find it weird that aerith tells cloud to not worry and take care of himself, but then on the final scene asks him to promise to defeat sephiroth, tbh seems like 2 different characters imo
Apparently in japanese she just says "really" and not "you promise", so there's translation issues
@@daeith1233I speak Japanese and she said きっとだよ, which can be understood as “you gotta do it”, which can be phrased as promise me
Can they both not be true at the same time? Could taking care of himself and not worrying be what defeats Sephiroth?
@@user-ki4no3ly5 I speak it too but not enough ig, are you sure it can be translated with promise? Bc I feel likeyeah Cloud gotta do it but promise is a big word in ff7, expecially since Aerith sang no promises to keep, ut would mean she contradicts herself
@@daeith1233 when you say きっとだよ, it has the same nuance as 約束だよ, so yeah
I really enjoyed your video
From what i understand myself is
FF7 is linked to 13 and 10. in 13 we learn that if you change the future you change the past the effects ripple up and down the timeline.
They beat Destiny in remake which made all the possible worlds/Realities exist but none of them end.that includes Zack not dying as we seen the effects of the change in future change his faith in the past.
Sephiroth took the black materia and says at the temple "This is the key..." "Which grants access to the true counterpart hidden between worlds" The black materia is key to opening the link between the worlds.
The white whispers are trying to make one timeline hold, the old one. Sephiroths black whispers that he controls are trying to keep the chaos that defeating destiny had caused on going.
Cloud DID in fact save Aerith our Aerith but the white whispers are making the one timeline where she dies the main reality/world again you see them floating around her setting it as the main world/reality timeline.
Cloud has the Black Materia so he still has the key between the worlds.
That is why when he looks up he is seeing the sky glitch but the others cant.
Cloud can see the world/timeline where the Aerith he saved is and she is still trying to help.
Even after Aeriths death when Zack joins Cloud in the battle between worlds Sephiroth says "Just as worlds unite,so too do they part." then he cuts Zack off again but before Zack goes he says to Cloud "Cloud! save her!" meaning we still have a chance to "make things right" que part3
:)
I love your video! You went into much detail, focusing much on scrutinizing the primary source, almost like retelling the story with a clearer perspective, and less on speculation.
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you!!
Loads more to come in the future as well!
I finished the game yesterday and at long last I could watch this video! What a thoughtful analysis of a very puzzling ending! I look forward to your videos breaking down each chapter. Thanks!
One of Cloud’s possible dates in Rebirth is Red XIII. During said date, Red reveals that he and Aerith knew the future when they were still in Midgar, but the whispers took those memories when they went through the portal. Red mentions worrying about forgetting whether the whispers even exist and Cloud VERY interestingly says: We’d be better off, frankly. “There’s no point wasting our time worrying about fate…(and then the camera zooms in on his lips when he says this) …if we can’t change it.”
Aerith. Is. Alive.
None of the changes to this game and its plot matter in the least if she’s dead. This is a very clear meta-commentary from the creative team at square. They know that if everything remains exactly the same as it did in OG FF7 then there is NO POINT to remake or rebirth. They may as well have made an actual 1:1 Remake of FF7 and not what is VERY obviously a sequel with a “Back to the Future” type spin.
The other thing that happens is Red makes Cloud promise during this scene is that he will keep Aerith safe. He says he doesn’t remember his memories, but he has a strong feeling that they were telling him that.
Cloud does it this time. He KEPT her safe. He parried the blade. And none of this story would matter if he hadn’t.
Ultimately, saving Aerith is the crux of the problem between the 2 sides of the fandom. Those that want an FF7 faithful remake (FF7:Remake was never this to begin with) and those that want to change what happened and want a sequel and closure to the story.
This isn’t OG. That story happened, we got to experience it, FF7R adding to the story doesn’t change what you experienced the first time. And I think that’s the brilliant metatextual message of the game. If you want a world where Aerith died and the story had a theme about life and death… it exists, you got that and no one can take it away. Now you get to experience a different story. Enjoy the ride or don’t, but this time things will be different.
This time we get to save our friend.
I like your points but I have to partly disagree. Yes and no. Aerith lived and dies at the same time.
There's a world where cloud parried the blade and the remake world where he failed. After that seph says that a confluence of the world's is happening. Loss is chief amongst them.
Sephiroth end game is reunion of worlds. The aerith that survived will most likely appear in part 3 along with Zack who lived in part 1 when sephiroth succeeds at his reunion.
Meanwhile during all of this cloud in part 3 will realize the pain of losing aerith but also the joy of aerith surviving later from another world
It'll be up to cloud and the party to undo that reunion and then aerith and Zack from another time will dissappear.
The meta commentary I agree with. They're writing a story that represents both sides of the Fandom. I predicted after remake that cloud having foresight of aerith dying will lead to him stopping the final blow. That happened but not quite.
We'll see tho. This is my prediction from part 3
I just want Aerith&Cloud have a happy ending this time
I really hope you are right, deep down! We shall see…!
Hoping you are right. Cloud and Tiffa got a Happy Ending in the OG timeline. Now Aerithand Cloud deserve a happy ending as well. It will still be a good game and it will keep the whole debate about who is his true love still alive as that basically they both are depending on which game/timeline you prefer.
29:45 cloud isnt imagining Aerith. Red13 feels her presence, too. They explicitly included his reaction to tell us shes there in spirit form - not a mental delusion
Except for the fact that it’s Red who is tricked by Jenova in OG
@@joshz2491 I don't think its that deep here. If it was Jenova, it would need a vessel to appear. Just seems like poor writing if that's Jenova mentally tricking them. They'd need to add some kind of clear hint
@@ryanhorton9594 not if you have Jennova cells they don't. I think she's either fully in his head or Jenova. What she says is just so out of character
I believe that Aerith is inside cloud's head. Whether its omni aerith or jenova is another question...
Red is the RED herring.
Love this breakdown! Subbed mate!
The idea o having saved Aerith from being killed makes total sense to me.
Although, all of this tend to push us to some mess of a puzzle, not other but a russian doll-type, so inside each conceptualization there lies some potential discrepancy underneath somewhere. But, overall it fits for me.
Cloud's delusional explanation is not more than an attemp to discredit the unexpected, one to try to make the question less convoluted or not at all.
Maybe that is the way it is, but think is not the way it should be, given the level of the storytelling here.
Besides, the mental state of our hero does not exclude per se the existence of the alternative ending, after all that is the true essence of any rol playing game: to be able to interfere in the very basis of the game reality as it is presumed to be unfold.
And this is not a vulgar RPG.
I agree that his mental state (and the fact that players of the first game KNOW about it already) is being used against players to manipulate expectations.
I’ll give my two cents: She is alive and dead. Sephiroth explains to Cloud about the convergence of worlds (or “reunion”) in a long cutscene before arriving to the Sanctuary. It’s pretty clear that Cloud blocks the blow from Sephiroth. The rainbow effect during his block indicates a change.
However, we are show two different timelines playing out, one where Aerith lives and one where she dies. Sephiroth even comments on the convergence beginning. It even appears to me that Tifa sees this for a moment and is confused by this as well, before shaking it off and succumbing to grief.
The main sticking point everyone talks about from this theory is that the “saved” Aerith is now in a new timeline. She’s not. She would have been if the convergence didn’t happen, but now we have an alive Aerith and a dead one in the same timeline (a single timeline that is a patchwork of two timelines). Cloud can see it. The rest is the party was not present during the event and convergence of the two timelines right after, so they cannot.
The way I think about it is the “saved” Aerith isn’t in a new world or timeline, she is a “remainder” of that new world or timeline that was never allowed to blossom due to the convergence. Hence, we have an alive Aerith and a dead Aerith in the same patch work of two words or timelines.
Hopefully you understand or can visualize what I’m trying to say. Either way, talk about a crazy 3rd game trying to unravel that.
Maybe I'm too dumb for stories this complex.
I'm just a guy who likes big sword warriors, big boobed fighters, and gun arms. Six-layer multidimensional trauma responses and special effects analysis and implications are too much for me to process well.
Great Video! I was really confused at the end of the game
I love the meta idea of the storyline repeating itself and the characters doing their parts each time just like us who have played the OG game repeatedly over the years
May I ask your take on Aerith's final line in Remake ? Because to me, it felt like they changed it so it would hint thay she could see the Rift in the sky when everyone else couldn't.
I think Sephiroth still needs Cloud to actually bring the black materia to him. If it’s like in the OG, his physical body is still inside a crystal in the Northern Crater
When Cloud and the party are in the meadow at the end, and he sees the rift in the sky that they don't, the rift seems to be more rainbow-colored than the rift we saw in the Terrier world. The one in the Terrier world looked more like a muted gold. So perhaps what Cloud is seeing up there isn't the rift of his own world, but the rift of another world, or perhaps all the dying worlds.
I think that in part 3, we'll still mostly be following the party in the "main" world. We are "in the world that will be saved," as the JP trailers say, and it will lead into Advent Children. But all the other branched worlds will die off.
I feel like Cloud can see merged worlds because he made/was the cause of the new timeline where he saves Aerith and was actively awake in that timeline.. which is why he can see her, alive, and see the tear in the sky but still be present with everyone in Beagle.
Very nice summary. So, are you still planning in working through the chapters in isolation? Ngl I'm hungry for more, I love the way you think and analyze.
Definitely, Chapter 1 should be dropping in the next few hours as long as my PC can manage the render, been having some tech issues lately
The reason that Aerith is acting "weird" is because she knows those will be her final moments as she knows Sephiroth has found her. She wants to spend her last moments with Cloud joyfully before she hands him the White Materia and sends him off the current world. She also wants to ease Cloud so that Sephiroth has fewer chances of brainwashing him.
Love the content. Great video!
I would like to see you dive into Marlene a bit more in another video. At this point, we all know she received the vision of Aerith's death. Everyone believes it's remake Marlene but I don't think that is the case.
Marlene will always be saved by Aerith as Fate was defeated afterwards. This means if there are 10 timelines, all 10 timelines of Marlenes will receive this vision when they interact at the bar. We are quick to assume its the OG death because of course, why wouldn't it be. Yet, we are shown a different version of Aerith's death at the end of the date in Chapter 14. One that matches directly to Marlene's explanation to Zack and the timeline itself where camotose versions of Cloud and Aerith reside.
I like your style of breaking down each scene and would love to see if you are able to dissect this.
Great analysis. I have thought about this ending a lot. I think I see it mostly being that Aerith and Zack both being dead and will find each other in the church in the Lifestream as in Advent Children. You see the white screens for both characters showing they are both dead. Cloud can see Aerith but he's just has, his mind broken. But the best part of this ending is there are so many possible solutions to this mystery. I can't wait for the next game.
I'm thinking that in the whirlwind maze, when Sephiroth reveals to the party that Cloud wasn't there in Nibelheim, he's also going to show Cloud killing Aerith, in an attempt to fully alienate the group. Then when Cloud's mind is put back together in the lifestream, we'll see the actual scene take place, along with Cloud releasing her body into the lake.
You have no idea how annoyed I was at her death. Not out of sadness like in OG 7. They took away the water burial and what Cloud says to Sephiroth right after her death
Very interesting analysis... Something that puzzled me in the Remake was the few flashbacks Cloud had of Aerith walking away in the sleeping forest (when leaving sector 5 with her) and her death/holy materia falling (first encounter in the church), when those events were supposedly in the future for him. It starts to make more sense now when it seems the worlds can layer on top of each other...
Thank you. You were concise, clearly explained your thoughts, humbly admitted that you could be wrong in your analysis yet remained respectful to the new concepts that the writers introduced to the series and didn't insult the writers and those who admired these new imaginings. I've watched some critiques who would belittle those who enjoyed remake and rebirth, even accusing the writers of bad intentions. As if these purists were the only ones who loved ff7. I loved the new insights and have basis for my hope that square Enid will wrap this up as beautifully as they have done or even surpass all expectations
My thoughts on the ending was confusion but what I can say it feels like an empire strikes back moment or a bitter sweet loss for the characters. It’s a different loss I typically see in stories but it was unsettling to say the least. I appreciate that it’s ambiguous and ambitious.
I feel like these new timelines are implied to be fractures of one original timeline, like pieces breaking off of Gaia's crystal, so to speak. This is different from other multiverses in fiction where timelines multiply in contrast.
This is important distinction, because it tells us that Gaia timelines are increasingly unstable.
Sephiroth has created a "Reunion" that is both dangerous and necessary.
Imagine doing this much just to say "cloud is just delusional" 😂.
This is how I saw it and moved on with my life 😂😂😂 ... I can't with this game anymore
@samanthazambezi9828 cloud was already delusional in the original. That's why I said it'll just be stupid if they did all of this just to say he's delusional again. It's like taking extra steps to make him delusional. Haha
I think the counterpart to the Black Materia is the White Materia, which at that time was hidden between worlds in the world where Zack survived. Sephiroth knew that if he has the Black Materia that Aerith would have no choice but to retrieve the White Materia.
The one that she called a fake is the one inside the temple, as that was never the real Materia. It was only a tribute
Now I have Tenacious D in my head XD lol, ty
The comments section definitely scream nobody knows wtf is going on 😂😂😂 ... Nomura just laughing at us.
You're dang right. It's like Nomura gave us some puzzle pieces and we're trying to predict the full puzzle
Maybe I am reading too much into this but there seems to be a lot of emphasis on the number 7 and if you look carefully at that shot with Sephiroth explaining the true nature of reality you can clearly see 7 "bubbles" which could signify 7 different worlds/realities active right now and we got a glimpse at a few of them and in no particular order:
Reality 1 - OG FF, i think we see it when Cloud is crying holding Aerith and talking, Cloud actually talks about Aerith here during her demise in the OG
Reality 2 - A reality where Cloud saves Aerith and she's alive and well
Reality 3- Cloud/Aerith unconscious and Zack running around
Reality 4 - The "huskey" reality where Cloud and Aerith have their date. I noticed she has a pin on her jacket she doesn't have on any other.seems to be the same flower type that she prefers. two flowers together signifying a reunion
Reality 5 - The reality that got "created" when Zack decides to help unconscious Cloud from reality 3
Reality 6 - The reality that got "created" when Zack decides to help Biggs from reality 3. Spanning this new reality showing Biggs eating crisps from a Pug Stamp pack
Reality 7 - The reality we are living in this Remake/Rebirth
This is purely theoretical and I may be missing out on "realities" but if i'm not the math is mathing. Something during the third part is going to cause a reality clash of some sort.
Part 3 is going to be uncharted territory. locales will be the same sure, some certain beats will still be there but it will all be different in my opinion especially after the tagline at the end "No promises to keep at journey's end" which my takeaway is : Regardless of what Aerith makes Cloud promise and regardless of what the Aerith that said she will do all she can to stop Meteor, they will both fail and more will need to be done than what was done in OG to stop Sephiroth
One observation I disagree with is Cloud is "crying and ranting". Most of the time he is either crying or speaking, not both. And most of the time it doesn't look like he's ranting. He does look more frantic towards the end. If he he speaking the entire time when we don't see the speaking Cloud, he could be saying a fair bit. It potentially looks like he is telling Aerith something as quickly as possible.
I suspect this might be an important clue hidden in plain sight. I'm not high percentage certain on this but I think he is telling Aerith to transfer his memories between worlds (memories being important to the nature of reality in FF7) which she does when she touches his face. That's the significance of Aerith having blood on her arm in one world and not in the other.
Aaaah S6, think about the bomb ImaFknLegend dropped on your stream the other day and how the final gauntlet unrolls.... :
First you get Jenova with everyone's limit break but cloud's, so she can, during the fight separate you form everyone else... Just so cloud says : "I've done it before, I can do it again" (fight Jenova's influence, alone?).
Then, when the whole party is reunited to land the final blow (in a very FF7AC fashion) Jenova falls, and before her next phase, the cutscene clearly shows her normally "human looking" eyes turn.... Bright glowing purple. (which is yet again another detail I've seen no one focus on yet, surprisingly enough....)
Has the defeat of Jenova in the physical world allowed sephiroth to take control of/part of her attributes/powers?.. How would that play out when the Tifa enquires about the physical location of cloud, right before sephiroth reborn shows up?... Could it bring further implications toward the next statics flashes cloud gets, especially when he comes back to pick up aerith? And.... More so when she "comes back"?... (yes guys, she's dead as in deader than dead)
See, these 2 cts are that, in my opinion, this whole 'timelines' stuff will be revealed as a full blown out retcon only representing cloud's divided mind and personalities... But what do I know!
Buckle up buttercup, part 3 is gonna be the greatest game ever made !
I'm open to including meta-commentary elements in the story, but it's crucial that they wrap it up well in the third game. Otherwise, the major changes will end up being deeply more disheartening than beneficial.
Given Square's inconsistent history with concluding narratives, I'm skeptical about their ability to end this in a good way. Their most prominent titles tend to conclude with endings that are open to interpretation, often leaving the audience puzzled.
However, the redeeming factor lies in the journey the characters take to reach those endings, which is invariably memorable and engaging.
At this point, my continued interest stems from the aspects Square elevates directly from the OG FF7, which are executed exceptionally well.
Good afternoon sir! 👋🏽😊
Good afternoon!
@@Sector6UK Good Evening
I have no idea what is what, and Schroedinger Aerith is a term I like, but I prefer largely the theory that it's in Cloud's mind, because that is exactly what he did in OG. He created a world where he wiped his trauma and was the hero. In OG, he couldn't cope with his failure at becoming SOLDIER and was further broken by Hojo experiments and Zack's death. Here, if the writers went the route "Cloud can't cope with his failure to save Aerith and creates a world in his head where he succeeded", I would sincerely like it, the theme remains the same. Now, if it's something else, I won't mind (if it doesn't betray the OG themes too much) but i'll have to see how they tie it all up. I personally have no theory/certainty and i'd rather have none, there is nothing worse than one believing they are right when nothing has been said officially. Great video,mate
When they show the frame with the Masamune embedded in the floor, you can see the classic "distortions" he experiences when he distorts reality, such as when Zack is mentioned, and you hear the famous three notes of the intro, the same ones you hear when a tear escapes in the Remake. In the third part of the game, they could show the same scene with Sephiroth actually pulling the bloodied sword from Aerith's body. In fact, upon closer observation, there are two angles and two different floors. One is just in Cloud's head where he deflected the attack, and another with the sword impaled THROUGH Aerith's body and blood starting to flow. Sephiroth smiles, pulls out the sword (from the body), and we see the classic scene of Aerith falling as the music starts. Even when the rest of the team approaches, you see the classic disturbances with a bloody scene and a clean one (in Cloud's head). Although it's intentionally done to confuse and mislead, we simply see what actually happened and what Cloud sees from the moment his psyche begins to deny Aerith's death, including her telling him "it's all right" and him laying her on her back. After defeating the boss, we see Tifa and the others looking at the deceased body lying on its side, while when Cloud approaches, he only sees her lying on her back, even opening her eyes and responding to him, obviously only in his head. I mean, even him rejecting Sephiroth's sword is all a product of his imagination. In the end, this guy literally saw Zack die before his eyes and removed it all from his memory. Obviously, what really happened, including him laying Aerith's body in the lake, will be revealed in the last part when Cloud, fallen into the lifestream, regains control of his memories and himself 😢
Wow, just wow, your perspective is very interesting, Zack ending up in the OG WORLD ?!! I do wonder if there’s any indication of the physical appearance of the church Zack is in that can give us clues as to where he is, maybe COMPARING the church’s between this scene and the church in OG as well as remake can give us some visual clues.
I was thinking how Aerith was being so weird with Cloud, that it was because she knew she’d have to die and she made it clear she didn’t want him to blame himself. In advent children cloud was basically depressed the whole time about not being able to save Aerith. So I wonder if it is for a setup so cloud can feel like he got to spend a short fun time with her, as well as her being able to thank him and say goodbye, so he could move on and the 3rd installment won’t be about him mourning Aerith. Although he still sees her in the ending. Also where she wants cloud to pick things out for her, maybe she wanted to experience that with him (since she’s certainly not shy) but also cloud will have a memory of “giving his first gift to Aerith” or something along those lines. Like another reason for him to not stay hung up on her death in a similar fashion as in advent children.
I love this game so much… it was actually depressing at one point knowing it would have to end. But unfortunately I didn’t like the ending. I’m trying to though, I enjoyed this breakdown of events!
Just saying, sephiroth is the ultimate troll
I think the rainbow coloration represents aerith spirit more than it represents timelines. It could mean aeriths traversal threw the life stream. But I think the rainbow is life stream aerith in general. So with that said. When cloud deflects sepiroths sword and we can see the rainbow coloration. It’s basically all an illusion. It’s not cloud actually saving her in any world at all. The illusion was created by aerith hints the rainbow color during the block. The assumption is she did it to help cloud cope with her death for now until he can be fixed by tifa. Aerith says it’s not about her it’s about saving the planet and cloud. Saving cloud from what? Himself and his fragile mind. This is all about clouds mind. Aerith has hinted at this for a minute. She told cloud to focus on himself and try to find the real him. And not blame himself for what happens. It’s pure purpose is to keep cloud from falling to deep into darkness/despair. Which is exactly what sephiroth wants. Which I think sephiroth wasn’t happy that cloud wasn’t seeing aeriths death. And that is why he said that he couldn’t see the truth with clouded eyes.
I think you are correct
Agreed. Rainbow means Aerith manipulations (power). She also the one who leads zack to where cloud's is. Zack follow the yellow flower. "Follow them. The yellow flowers". Gives me chills man
@@phrofile3613 facts. I was not expecting them to make aerith god level like sephiroth in this game. Probably should have seen it coming
@@phrofile3613 If the rainbow light is meant to represent Aerith and her manipulations, why does the "Biggs" timeline (for lack of a better short term) get swallowed by rainbow light? At the moment when Zack is choosing whether to save Cloud or save Biggs, he chooses the path on the right (the one to save Cloud). When he does this, the left path gets swallowed by rainbow light. Aerith is not in this scene, and the rainbow light doesn't kick in until after Zack makes his choice.
If the rainbow light is meant to represent Aerith, why does the "Biggs" timeline (for lack of a better short term) get swallowed by rainbow light? At the moment when Zack is choosing whether to save Cloud or save Biggs, he chooses the path on the right (the one to save Cloud). When he does this, the left path gets swallowed by rainbow light. Aerith is not in this scene, and the rainbow light doesn't kick in until after Zack makes his choice.
Absolutely massive game. Took me 230 hrs to finish. I was really exploring and doing as much as possible in each section. Haven’t even done hard mode fully yet or brutal/ legendary challenges.
5:25 I think it's part grooming / "See Cloud? See what you did? You're a bad person" which would overall add to his despair. Piling on the sins to REALLY break him in part 3
Fun things I noticed
6:35 Note the treats look like whispers-
The white Materia is "Hollow" Cloud's theme song
When the party is at the wall of whispers in the forgotten capital the party members are saying Aerith's name, but it isn't until Cloud says "Aerith" that 3 black whispers snap into action, i think this is intended- now keeping in line with that thought-
17:55 when Zack gives that playful punch to the arm, Cloud explodes with black whispers, a lil unintended effect of your "Blessing" there Seph?
What do I think? If you're reading this chances are you won't like what I have to say. The Remake structure as a whole is a practice of post modern story telling. Events and interactions are far more anchored into a subjective and malleable framework intentionally built around the user's interaction and interpretation rather than one that is intended to be concretely and objectively analyzed.
My proof? It doesn't really matter, but, whether or not you choose to furiously mash L2 and R2 when Cloud is struggling against the whispers OR NOT results in the same conclusion. What is that conclusion? The one you think it is. That entire date scene in the end was putting forth the same philosophy. Aerith could've chosen what she wanted, but she wanted to give Cloud the opportunity to fulfill her wish instead. The end result of the present she received matters far less than the feeling Cloud gets for making the conscious choice to bring happiness to another human being.
It's not about what happens, it's about your choice and how you feel about the choice you made and the struggle you endure in the process.
I agree with everything you've said except that it is also about what happens haha.
33:15 the lighting does a good job of obscuring it, but the cross in the back of the church is gone, so I suspect Zach wakes up back in Terrier-Verse. Which may or may not still have a Zach of its own. Maybe Aerith is actually building herself a harem of Zach's, as a little treat
Imagine if at one point we see parts of the Nibelheim fire from Zack's perspective, and when he sees Sephiroth standing in the flames he doesn't give us that perfect crazed smile we've been waiting to see again since the OG version (and seeing it was awesome), but instead has that hate filled grimace similar to Advent and Crisis. Maybe Cloud remembers a smile that wasn't there because the real time Sephiroth smiled was the part Cloud blocked out when Sephiroth killed his mom.
I want to say that the scene where they are at the pool and leave in the Tiny Bronco is from the OG timeline or world.
“We all know Sephiroth’s gonnashowhim, come on” haha spot on. I admit my first impression of this ending was also Cloud being broken rather than anyone else’s doing. I have found the other theories super entertaining and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the future
I do agree with a lot of points and personally think this is a branch timeline from og in which aerith is and isn’t alive in the old. Idk I hope it works out.
Quick thought. From what we know of Part 1, when we step through "Destiny's Crossroad" that is an exact moment when we have the ability to change fate (ua-cam.com/video/3ihENWEzM8E/v-deo.htmlsi=k7LWFHaDZiYlq-6p&t=289).
In Rebirth, I believe we enter again; with even Berrett referencing the original's Highway Portal as an indicator (ua-cam.com/video/Uj2ojBs-RGw/v-deo.htmlsi=1zED085K5t7zqnAR&t=1117) with even the same bright light as the opening. When the way is open, only Cloud can enter this time, not the rest of the party. This is why after he "Saves" Aerith, nobody else is with him.
Given what we know from the previous ending in Remake, this changes are the only ones that are reflective on the original world (hence the unbroken sky).
The fact that Only Cloud can see the rift at the end, makes things interesting and is an indication that he traversed to the failed timeline in which he didn't save her.
Thoughts?
The idea makes total sense to me.
Although this is a puzzle, not other but a russian doll-type, so inside each conceptualization there lies some potential discrepancy underneath somewhere. But, overall it fits for me.
Cloud's delusional explanation is not more than an attemp to discredit the unexpected, one to try to make the question less convoluted or not at all. Maybe it is the way it is, but think is not the way it should be given the level of the storytelling here.
Besides, the mental state of our hero does not exclude the existence of the alternative ending, after all thst is the true essence of any rol playing game, and this is not a vulgar one.
I feel like here the multiverse works more like in Everything Everywhere All at Once ... so liie all tge versions of tye characters are fundamentally the same being ... and Aerith and Sephiroph have tye conciousness of all their versions ... the others however are only aware of their memories from the world they are in, and not the alternate ones ...
Want to throw out a few things
1) the Zack that fought with us wasn't even "terrier-verse" Zack. They make a point of showing Johnny walk by with a different stamp. All of Zack's and the "dream" scenes seems to be about fate always reaching the same place, even when you get the illusion of choice. You can choose different gifts, but always get the same one. You can choose different paths, but Zack will always face the firing squad
2) Sephiroth wanted Cloud to save Aerith and split the timeline. It was at the end if remake, they made a point of showing it again (7 seconds), and he only let's cloud in to see Aerith (the black whispers open the portal he goes through). I just can't figure out why. It means he's in denial instead of grieving, but to what end I can't figure out. Maybe without the grief he's easier to control?
3) this is less important, but those weapons at the end are very clearly red and blue making me think they're sapphire and Ruby weapon. I'd have to check the colors of all the weapons we see in game, but I'm willing to bet they are all in a"larval" stage and that scene was showing them growing in power to become to weapons we know. Sapphire, ruby, emerald, diamond, and Ultima
I really feel like a part of Aerith went into Cloud. During the final Jenova battle where everyone has a limit break except Cloud- this could be Aerith’s limit break providing the rest of the party their limit break.
Its Cloud whose different, not the other characters. He's the one breaking down. A foreshadowing was tifa, Zack and cloud's recollection of what happened at nibelheim. Cloud somehow got Zack's memories with his own. TIFA says cloud wasn't at nibelheim but cloud was wearing a helmet and did not interact with tifa yet in cloud's mind, he was himself and talked to tifa all the way.... Cloud is doing it again. Hallucinating some parts. I know the writers won't pull a st elsewhere (hospital drama where in the finale, it all took place in the mind of a savant autistic patient, a fantasy. But these multi verse theories etc might just be a red herring, compared to what the developers are planning
Chapters 13-14 of the game are a masterpiece. The ending really destroyed my expectations, it was exceptional.
Nice
The only thing I don't understand about the plot is for what reason did they need to take the black matter? As long as it was in the temple, Sephiroth had no access to it. They wanted to get it and what to do with it? Then once they got it and saw that Cloud was acting strangely Barret threw it away like it was trash....
Cloud was compelled to take it and he told the rest of the party they had to beat Shinra to it. It was manipulation that drove them to the black materia.
When fighting the door I was like ??
They believed it to be real, and knew Sephiroth would throw away as many of the black robes as needed to get it for himself.
@@nathanstruble2177that's true in the OG game but no amount of Sephiroth clones could have gotten the materia and leave the temple fast enough
And so it begins. The three years of story-crafting.
For the "Aerith is acting weird during her date with Cloud" bit, I think it's because she's trying to relive her date with Zack from Crisis Core. She was a teenager then, and it would line up with her acting more childlike and not like her normal self who Cloud knows. To me, the biggest hint is that she says she and Cloud will go to "their spot," which turns out to be the Sector 5 church. But Cloud has barely spent any time there, and it was just spent fighting Shinra. If she and Cloud had a "spot," it seems more like it should be the playground, where they actually bonded and had a meaningful connection. But her "spot" with Zack would be the church. So basically, I think Aerith's date with Zack is a treasured memory of hers, and she knows she's not going to be alive much longer, so she's trying to relive that treasured memory as much as she can.
this was the same for me. When she said that I blurted out the playground. When we wound up in the church, I was like "what...?". I didn't make sense unless it was a Zack memory.
The whole church meeting place did not make sense to me whatsoever with Aerith and Cloud. They only were there once. A lot of the church things as always been with Zack heavily even the yellow flowers.
i mean it's is the place where they properly met each other and started their journey together and the church has been associated with cloud and aerith in multiple occasions including AC. CC came out later and the devs basically admitted they recreated as many of cloud and aerith's moments with zack and aerith as possible so even if the compilation is canon, the original "spots" where cloud and aertih met each other and hung out still belong to cloud and aerith bc that's how it was in the OG which came out in 97 and even if the remake trilogy includes elements from the compilation , it follows the OG as much as possible.
aside from the gift picking which could be a call back to CC, the date with cloud and aerith is different and has a very different meaning. we never saw zack and aerith tasting candy or taking photos together... the idea that she is somehow recreating her date with zack is like saying almost everything she does with cloud basically has no meaning bc it's her using cloud as a replacement for zack and that's messed up, it takes away the beauty of cloud and aerith's bond. she's acting weird bc she knows she will die and sephiroth will come for her, she chose to spend her last moments with cloud and she knows she doesn't have a lot of time which is why she's eager than usual and she's trying to almost rush trough the date. this is my take on it of course, like i said i could definitely see the gift picking as a call back to CC's date for sure but i don't think that whole date was her "recreating her date with zack" especially when by the very end she basically confesses her feelings for cloud in a very vague way.
I still think the merging is completed with rebirth, it seemed to me sephiroth wanted all aeriths dead. He says "Good, Aerith. Pray." followed by "It's upon us. The reunion - when worlds merge.. when spite and sorrow are harvested to feed the planet" while opening a rift. After that the party is blocked from progressing by black whispers and when it's ready the black whispers open the way to aerith. The merging ends with aeriths death, sephiroth powering up. That's why we get sephiroth reborn early. The last different world we see is the collapsing one with zack and I think after that he appears in our world, the reunited one.
i have a question is tifa going to save cloud from his mental state in part 3
I really enjoy this breakdown. The only thing I kinda had to add as far as speculation is that aerith is communicating with someone in shinra in the past who originally made stamp? Each stamp has a different number of stars so my guess is pug line is the 6th followed timeline that aerith follows? There is always a chance as well that cloud cuts a new time line that saves aerith but then someone stitched them back together almost immediately. So cloud can see the doomed timeline sky stitches and still physically be bound to the chosen timeline with the 5 Star stamp?
I also don't think the aerith at the end is jenova because it's not slightly grey/desaturated like when she's usually using her influence? But the static definitely feels like his mind is being messed with so maybe it was aerith trying to delete his memory of the holy materias location since this timeline is under the impression that they only have a drained holy materia and no way to save the planet.
I question if they may make it into a new materia of sorts since the holy was made white by the cetra to protect the world, the black materia is black and red made by the gi to irradicate it to find absolution, and maybe jenova will make a new one thats grey and purple using the empty materia and multiple jenova timeline memories and desires that can control worlds and not just destroy them? Since both the gi and jenova are not of this world they probably have similar thoughts but jenova can still do stuff while the gi cant do anything until they are lost to blind rage.
Just a few theories I have since I never finished the original ff7 but know all the major bits from dierge of Cerberus and advant children and crisis core and what not. Just not sure if anything i said is already answered/contradicted by the original.
I love that they are setting up what seems to be OG Aerith as the true hero of the world even more so than in the OG game.
These hack writers have literally turned Aerith into Cloud's dark passenger.
The two shopkeepers you interact with at the start of Ch14 - there's a couple of points earlier in the game where you control Zack and wander through those alleys, and those two shopkeepers are there. Only difference is that the hairclip guy has no Stamp figurine, but the lady with the confectionery, everything's there but the Stamps Champs are Terrier ones.
Why is the Glenn and sephiroth thing so weird? That's exactly what sephiroth does with Cloud and all the other sephiroth clones. Basically glenn is Glenn. And sephiroth is playing them all as jenova "puppets" per usual.
My Theory : The Real Sephiroth is Dead and Areith is also Dead. They Both want to save the World, Cloud is Too traumatized to see Sephiroth is trying to help. There is is no multiple time. Cloud is so broken that he believe certain events didn't happened. When another time line is shown, Cloud is zoned or out asleep.
Second Theory : Jenova is manipulating both Cloud and Sephiroth, The multiple worlds is actually Sephiroth And Clouds different points of views. Also Sephiroth believes what’s he doing is good and might realized too late what he is actually doing is wrong.
I just hope they don't pull a Marvel Multiverse.
I dont know how people haven’t realized this yet, but the developers are making this quite obvious. Jenova is the main baddie in the remake. She is clearly controlling both Cloud and Sephiroth. I always found it odd how Sepiroth turns, even in rebirth. But check again he gets the same mental glitches Cloud gets when he finds out about his origin, again in the library, whenever he is struggling with the truth. Its all Jenova. Remember that she feeds into hatred and dispair, when Sephiroth feels this he opens his vulnerability to her. Sephiroth is doing Jenovas will and he doesnt even realize it. Hes a puppet too. I also think that these other worlds are born from dreama and wishes, in this case clouds. He wants Zack and Aerith alive, so the livestream creates these worlds he envisions. Its all in his head and manifasted in the livestream, and Jenova and Sephiroth are using these as gateways. This will all come to play when Cloud finds himself with Tifas help.
I also noticed the glitching when Sephiroth turned and thought it looked as though Jenova was influencing/controlling him. I didn't think about her actually being in control even in the present time, but that does make a lot of sense.
I always thought sephiroth wants to defeat jenova by teaming up with cloud when he ask cloud to join him in edge of creation. Seems to me sephiroth in edge of creation and the one we fight in the end of remake and rebirth are completely different person.
@@phrofile3613 I think Jenovah is using everybody including Sephiroth. He will be so sad when he realizes hes been played. Itd be badass if she kills him for good all of the blue.
Wait so the party at the end of the first remake game died in the tornado? And cloud traversed the worlds?? I think I misunderstood something
No, that was a different universe where Zack survived. In that universe things go wrong because Cloud wasn't there, so Aerith ended up in a coma and the other 3 died
@@Marika_ER but cloud was there, they just couldn't find him, giving us the impression that he was somehow displaced. There were announcements warning people about an ex SOLDIER armed with a buster sword, who couldn't be found in the wreckage.
if rebirth taught me anything it's not to interpret too much into all this. fate is inevitable. ff7 3 (reunion?) will pretty much follow the story, fill it with the wutai stuff and in the end fight safer sephiroth. in the remake triology we just see the "behind the scenes" stuff which happned parallel to the og. they are setting up cloud for some major breakdown, which they flushed out pretty nicely in rebirth.
I also think the next game will be the same story but expanded. Maybe a couple new areas. Just like Remake and Rebirth.
That would mean there is no ending and the cycle continues. They need to close the whole compilations in the third game. Something needs to happen
@@phrofile3613 yeah, they will - vaguely. they will not answer any questions one might have. assuming the "multiverse" is the lifestream, it will go back to normal, whence sephiroth is destroyed, tying everything neatly in towards Advent children.
there is no cycle. the remake doesnt happen "after" the og. sephiroth isnt some time traveller. The remake just expands on the knowledge both sephiroth and aerith always had.
@@Duckywallpaper yeah, same.
@@jagermeister1487 After Remake, I had originally thought that they may be folding the rest of the compilation into this trilogy or retelling the other stories in the trilogy in a different way. But after the rerelease of Crisis Core and this game I think the intention is to remake FF7 in a way that fits better with the other games in the compilation. After this trilogy is done they will rerelease Advent Children and Dirge in some way and maybe give us that sequel to Dirge we never got.
I think Zack is back in the real world now because of the flowers. All the other world's he was in at the church had dead flowers but the real world didn't
Why do you say that the white materia was activated? It wasn't glowing light green
Agreed but maybe the game devs forgot that
~43 minutes? Lucky us!
This video is April Fools!
Just jk?!
Looking forward to this!
Im telling you guys, everything in me said something is WRONG with the Aerith we see after the unseen burial scene. They mentioned Jenova's mimicry a few times throughout the game for a reason. I just hope that Jenova plays a big role in pt 3, it never made sense to me that Sephiroth was able to take control of her with absolutely no trouble. Shes a cosmic destroyer that lost herself to a being that was empowered with her cells? I love Sephiroth like the rest of us, but that never sat right with me if I stopped to think about it.
Mommy issues gave him a powerful will
@@Marika_ER too damn stronk
Thats not aerith in the end. That is jenova. “But she touches Red and he says Aerith!” You say? Who gave Sephiroth the black materia. It wasnt just Cloud. It was Red, He was fooled by Sephiroth to give it to Cloud. The devs are building that up.
Aerith in the compilation has the ability to appear to the party and others while being dead. She can be around... similiar to Sephiroth. This is seen in advent children.
That being jenova doesn't work out. Because whatever happened with cloud is allowing him to see what others can't see including the rift in the sky.
However cloud is having jenova influence him in not excepting that she dies. But she has influence over cloud too. It's much more complicated. Whether red gave that to him or not we have to wait and see because he had the clear one too.
You missed the dome of whisper in Nibelheim at 33:55 (like it was in Midgar), watch the ending again and look on the side of the screen and on the background direction south (not visible in your edit)
how many worlds are there ? well thats easy, how many breeds of dogs are there ?
Here's something to look at: study the scene where Cloud is staring at the empty White Materia. The camera cuts to the Tiny Bronco, and cuts back to Cloud. The White Materia is now the Black Materia. Food for thought.
33:00 Zack’s world here looks so colorful, bright and alive… he might be really reborn instead of Sephiroth.
April Fools?😊
What a dog's breakfast these FF7 remake games are!
Or phenomenal if you have a couple of braincells to rub together.
Cloud is going through the 5 stages of grief. He’s still in denial of Aerith’s death. Let’s see if he goes through the other stages in part 3.
The 5 stages of grief is bs. No one goes through them the same way
All of this stupid time travel, multiverse stuff because SE cant commit to killing characters. Sigh...
Still not a fan of the whole multiverse thing. Overcomplicates the story too much.
So what is there 3 white materia now? The one that turns clear, the one that Aerith gives Cloud, then she still has a white one in her hair that falls out after Sephiroth stabs her. How did she have another white materia in her hair when that's the one that turned clear?
Because the different timelines merge together. There are like 2-3 Aeriths basically all from different universe, 1 that gave cloud the empty materia and died in the timeline we play in, 1 that gives the white materia to Cloud, then back to reality is an Aerith who gets stabbed and drops another white materia