Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the second game in a proposed trilogy, which means that some gamers may be curious how the game ends.
By the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, developer Square Enix established that all bets are off with its re-do of the seminal JRPG. What was once canon could be changed in any number of ways, or it could follow a similar format to the original, albeit with some slight changes. Now that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is upon us, the question lingering on most fans' minds is whether this second game in the trilogy will deviate from the original's structure as well. More specifically, they wanted to know how it would end and more specifically whether Aerith would die?
To best understand the concepts at play in the Final Fantasy 7 remake universe, one has to talk about the whispers. These are the Harry Potter dementor-looking figures that are entities of fate. In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it is revealed that only certain characters (basically the main characters) in the game can see these whispers, and their interactions with them will typically try to push the narrative towards mirroring the original game. For example, Aerith is saved by the whispers to prevent her from meeting a fate different from her prescribed one.
In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we learn that there are two kinds of whispers: dark and light. The light whispers are the ones trying to keep the events of the game in line with fate (i.e. the same as the original) whereas the dark whispers are agents of Sephiroth, and seemingly working towards chaos. We see both types of whispers throughout Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but nowhere is their presence felt more than in the ending.
Square Enix had revealed ahead of time that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would conclude at the Forgotten Capital. For FF7 fans, they knew this meant that the conclusion would either feature Aerith's death, some variation of Aerith's death, or an outright deviation from Aerith's death. Little did they know they would get a little bit of all three.
After Aerith takes off on her own in the Forgotten Capital, Cloud reaches her as she is kneeling down praying. It's an iconic scene from Final Fantasy 7, only the whispers are circling her in Rebirth. Cloud advances towards her, but the whispers try to hold him back. As he uses his sword to push through them, Cloud struggles to raise his sword right in front of Aerith, and then Sephiroth descends with his Masamune blade ready to deliver the classic killing blow to the Cetra.
But then, something strange happens. The visuals flash in the same way they do when Cloud struggles with his memories, and we see Aerith's blood pooling from Masamune, as if Sephiroth was successful in his efforts. Aerith then starts to fall over and her bow unties, while the white materia that she kept hidden slowly plinks off of the platform and falls into the water below.
The jump cuts continue, showing different versions of the same scene. In one shot, Aerith is incapacitated yet seemingly unhurt, but in another, blood is on her clothes and wrist. Cloud, meanwhile, is crying as he holds Aerith in one version of the scene, while in another he is mouthing words that are never heard. Simultaneously, only the white whispers are circling the two, hinting that fate is back on track.
Sephiroth explains that the confluence of worlds and emotions has begun, suggesting that a universe where Aerith dies and this one are now literally bleeding into each other, and Aerith is seemingly not going to make it regardless of Cloud's efforts.
In an extremely emotional scene, Aerith accepts her fate and Cloud is forced to do the same. Sephiroth taunts him and the climactic battles begin. First, the cast faces off with another iteration of Jenova called Jenova Lifeclinger, with different party members swapping in with Cloud or forming their own unique groups. It's a chance to see everyone from Barrett to Cait Sith shine, as everyone works together to fell this latest Jenova threat.
Once that fight concludes, Sephiroth challenges Cloud, who unites with Zack Fair from the alternate universe created at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. They have a quick duel with Sephiroth before the two are separated and Sephiroth transforms into Sephiroth Reborn, a massive creature that is a fitting final boss for a Final Fantasy game.
Throughout the Sephiroth Reborn fight, the action jumps between several different groups including Cloud by himself; Barrett, Caith Sith, and Red XIII; Zack by himself; and Tifa, Yuffie, and Red XIII. It's an epic showdown that will have players switching up strategies and facing seemingly insurmountable odds. And then the action shifts back to Cloud.
Here, Cloud is once again face to face with Sephiroth in his "one-winged Angel" form, but Aerith appears to help him. It's an epic showdown that Final Fantasy 7 fans should love for its visuals and soundtrack alone, but also for the hope it might foster.
While Sephiroth is beaten by the end of the fight, the party, and more specifically Cloud, hardly feels victorious. Aerith departs after a tender moment with Cloud, and Zack returns to his universe. The scene then shifts back to the Forgotten Capital and Cloud lifts Aerith's body telling her to wake up, and she does.
Although it might look like a happy reunion for Cloud and Aerith, it becomes clear in the subsequent scene that all is not as it seems. Aerith is only visible to Cloud, while the rest of the group mourns her, even as she looks on. Cid is repairing the Tiny Bronco to prepare for the continued pursuit of Sephiroth, while Cloud and Aerith share some moments together. Cloud also sees that, in addition to the empty materia (which was once the white materia), he also has the black materia. He fuses the black materia with his Buster Sword and tells the group they must head North to find Sephiroth.
While the ending to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth can be a bit confusing, it seems clear that Aerith is no longer alive. How exactly that happened is up to interpretation, but the suggestion seems to be that the events of Remake that deviated from the structure of the original are now forced to contend with scenes from the original overwriting reality. Perhaps in the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy we will see visions of Aerith, as a type of force ghost.
The biggest question, though, is what this means for Zack's world, where Aerith is presumably still alive, only incapacitated. Marlene explained that helping Cloud would save Aerith, but at least in the main universe that didn't come to pass. Perhaps Zack's helping the team defeat Sephiroth Reborn will allow his version of Aerith to survive, or wake up, or...something.
Square Enix doesn't reveal much about this alternate reality in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, so there is still a lot of theorizing to be done around that secondary narrative. Could Aerith continue as a main character in this alternate reality? Will the two realities blend in the third game? And most of all, will Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 end the same as or differently than the original?
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By the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, developer Square Enix established that all bets are off with its re-do of the seminal JRPG. What was once canon could be changed in any number of ways, or it could follow a similar format to the original, albeit with some slight changes. Now that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is upon us, the question lingering on most fans' minds is whether this second game in the trilogy will deviate from the original's structure as well. More specifically, they wanted to know how it would end and more specifically whether Aerith would die?
What are the Whispers in Final Fantasy 7?
To best understand the concepts at play in the Final Fantasy 7 remake universe, one has to talk about the whispers. These are the Harry Potter dementor-looking figures that are entities of fate. In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it is revealed that only certain characters (basically the main characters) in the game can see these whispers, and their interactions with them will typically try to push the narrative towards mirroring the original game. For example, Aerith is saved by the whispers to prevent her from meeting a fate different from her prescribed one.
In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we learn that there are two kinds of whispers: dark and light. The light whispers are the ones trying to keep the events of the game in line with fate (i.e. the same as the original) whereas the dark whispers are agents of Sephiroth, and seemingly working towards chaos. We see both types of whispers throughout Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but nowhere is their presence felt more than in the ending.
How Does Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth End?
Square Enix had revealed ahead of time that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would conclude at the Forgotten Capital. For FF7 fans, they knew this meant that the conclusion would either feature Aerith's death, some variation of Aerith's death, or an outright deviation from Aerith's death. Little did they know they would get a little bit of all three.
After Aerith takes off on her own in the Forgotten Capital, Cloud reaches her as she is kneeling down praying. It's an iconic scene from Final Fantasy 7, only the whispers are circling her in Rebirth. Cloud advances towards her, but the whispers try to hold him back. As he uses his sword to push through them, Cloud struggles to raise his sword right in front of Aerith, and then Sephiroth descends with his Masamune blade ready to deliver the classic killing blow to the Cetra.
Does Aerith Die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
But then, something strange happens. The visuals flash in the same way they do when Cloud struggles with his memories, and we see Aerith's blood pooling from Masamune, as if Sephiroth was successful in his efforts. Aerith then starts to fall over and her bow unties, while the white materia that she kept hidden slowly plinks off of the platform and falls into the water below.
The jump cuts continue, showing different versions of the same scene. In one shot, Aerith is incapacitated yet seemingly unhurt, but in another, blood is on her clothes and wrist. Cloud, meanwhile, is crying as he holds Aerith in one version of the scene, while in another he is mouthing words that are never heard. Simultaneously, only the white whispers are circling the two, hinting that fate is back on track.
Sephiroth explains that the confluence of worlds and emotions has begun, suggesting that a universe where Aerith dies and this one are now literally bleeding into each other, and Aerith is seemingly not going to make it regardless of Cloud's efforts.
The Final Bosses in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
In an extremely emotional scene, Aerith accepts her fate and Cloud is forced to do the same. Sephiroth taunts him and the climactic battles begin. First, the cast faces off with another iteration of Jenova called Jenova Lifeclinger, with different party members swapping in with Cloud or forming their own unique groups. It's a chance to see everyone from Barrett to Cait Sith shine, as everyone works together to fell this latest Jenova threat.
Once that fight concludes, Sephiroth challenges Cloud, who unites with Zack Fair from the alternate universe created at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. They have a quick duel with Sephiroth before the two are separated and Sephiroth transforms into Sephiroth Reborn, a massive creature that is a fitting final boss for a Final Fantasy game.
Throughout the Sephiroth Reborn fight, the action jumps between several different groups including Cloud by himself; Barrett, Caith Sith, and Red XIII; Zack by himself; and Tifa, Yuffie, and Red XIII. It's an epic showdown that will have players switching up strategies and facing seemingly insurmountable odds. And then the action shifts back to Cloud.
Here, Cloud is once again face to face with Sephiroth in his "one-winged Angel" form, but Aerith appears to help him. It's an epic showdown that Final Fantasy 7 fans should love for its visuals and soundtrack alone, but also for the hope it might foster.
While Sephiroth is beaten by the end of the fight, the party, and more specifically Cloud, hardly feels victorious. Aerith departs after a tender moment with Cloud, and Zack returns to his universe. The scene then shifts back to the Forgotten Capital and Cloud lifts Aerith's body telling her to wake up, and she does.
Aerith's Fate in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Although it might look like a happy reunion for Cloud and Aerith, it becomes clear in the subsequent scene that all is not as it seems. Aerith is only visible to Cloud, while the rest of the group mourns her, even as she looks on. Cid is repairing the Tiny Bronco to prepare for the continued pursuit of Sephiroth, while Cloud and Aerith share some moments together. Cloud also sees that, in addition to the empty materia (which was once the white materia), he also has the black materia. He fuses the black materia with his Buster Sword and tells the group they must head North to find Sephiroth.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Ending Explained
While the ending to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth can be a bit confusing, it seems clear that Aerith is no longer alive. How exactly that happened is up to interpretation, but the suggestion seems to be that the events of Remake that deviated from the structure of the original are now forced to contend with scenes from the original overwriting reality. Perhaps in the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy we will see visions of Aerith, as a type of force ghost.
The biggest question, though, is what this means for Zack's world, where Aerith is presumably still alive, only incapacitated. Marlene explained that helping Cloud would save Aerith, but at least in the main universe that didn't come to pass. Perhaps Zack's helping the team defeat Sephiroth Reborn will allow his version of Aerith to survive, or wake up, or...something.
Square Enix doesn't reveal much about this alternate reality in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, so there is still a lot of theorizing to be done around that secondary narrative. Could Aerith continue as a main character in this alternate reality? Will the two realities blend in the third game? And most of all, will Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 end the same as or differently than the original?
Source
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