Here are my thoughts, as someone that particularly loves Aerith. Also, as someone currently playing OG as well, the ending of Rebirth has actually significantly changed the narrative we expect so keep that in mind. Part 3 will genuinely be unrecognizable to us and I'm really looking forward to that. Let's go back to Costa Del Sol. If you walked with Aerith on the beach, she tells Cloud that he'll meet her future self and that he's going to love her. Cloud meets this future Aerith in a place that she calls "my dream" and she wants him not to look up. So future Aerith made Cloud wake up in "her dream" and one identifying factor of this being her dream is the iridescence in the sky. In Costa Del Sol, Aerith asked Cloud what his ideal date would be. He basically responded by saying "a walk" would be an ideal date for him. In the "dream", as Aerith calls it, they go for a walk through the slums. She tries to create this ideal date for him, making it memorable by pointing out that he's buying his "first gift for Aerith", holding his hand like she always does, buying candy with him and taking a couple's photo together. All this is canon and not optional. Interestingly enough, what Aerith calls a dream is, instead, called "a world that has accepted its fate" by Sephiroth. Keep that in mind. Future Aerith has created a dream for Cloud. Future Aerith has created a world for Cloud. In the song No Promises to keep, Aerith sings this line "lived a life without a care, in the world safe for you" Towards the end of this dream, the purpose of her actions are revealed. The most obvious is that she gives Cloud the White Materia. It's pale green like it should be. The "present" Aerith has one that is transparent and she had said it's because the whispers took important memories away from her. Basically, future Aerith is returning these important memories to "present" Aerith through Cloud. The other reasons, apart from saving the world, have to do with understanding the nature of her relationship with Cloud. In my playthrough, Cloud indicated that he wants to spend more time with her just like they were doing. From his words, she finally understands the nature of their relationship. (Cloud would love to continue going on walks with her, where she lovingly holds his hand and he showers her with little gifts and where they share happy moments just like typical couples do e.g. entering couples competitions) In the end, future Aerith has accomplished what she wanted to do. Sephiroth even said "I underestimated you" to Aerith. The thing is, because Cloud had returned future Aerith's white materia to present Aerith... those important memories returned to our Aerith. Thus there is no longer any difference between "future Aerith" and our Aerith. "Thanks for returning it to me." Aerith said to Cloud, having received the White Materia. Then she gave her transparent one to Cloud, however, in the final scene of the game Cloud looks at a pale green White Materia. It's full of memories. Memories that Cloud shouldn't have. At the very end, when Cloud looks at the sky he sees that familiar iridescence from the dream Aerith gave him. I believe Aerith, while trying to help Cloud find himself, has created this "dream" world for him so that he doesn't focus on mourning her. Instead, he has to focus on himself. She's doing him this great gesture of love by creating a world for him where he can see and speak to her lest he mourn unendingly. Basically, regardless of whether Aerith is dead or alive, Cloud will always be able to be with her. When she's in trouble, she'll "send up smoke" and Cloud, being her bodyguard, will protect her. I also believe Cloud knows way more than he should because, in the OG, it was only through Bugenhagen that Cloud learnt that Aerith was praying to stop meteor. But in Rebirth's ending, Cloud and Aerith mutually share an understanding of their duties from OG. Cloud has to stop Sephiroth while Aerith has to stop meteor. This conversation should not be happening at this point in the story at all. This is why I think Part 3 of VIIR will be shockingly different. We'll see I guess. I, for one, am totally looking forward to it! Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is officially my favourite Final Fantasy (surpassing my love for Final Fantasy X) Cloud and Aerith's love story is just so pure. A love that transcends death.
if you pay attention,once the spell is over future aerith is standing on AC church, she even dumps cloud into the water pool he got cleansed. maybe the 4 chan rumor was true. cloud died when he fell to save aerith, and his essence got sent to the dream world, but aerith pushed him back like she did in AC. barret though he was dead from mako poisoning or degeneration,it very likely cloud was indeed dead or near dead.
I actually think Red 13 may be able to see her now since she touched him and the theme has been when someone from another world touches you you can see them now. He may just not say anything because before when she gave Marlene and him visions she may in this instance let him know he can't spill the beans so to speak. I'm a little confused by it showing Aerith's white Materia fall into the water and sink to the bottom but then Cloud has her materia but it's clear like it was when she showed it to Red 13 in Costa Del Sol. I'm assuming the "second home" she's referring to is the temple of the ancients where she'll be praying to stop meteor because where else has she been that would be a home besides Midgar?
Seeing Aerith looking at the plane, with the song starting to play… it really hits hard. What an unforgettable game… the wait will be really long… omg…
No no, that can not be Aerith. Before in de forest she made it very clear she DID NOT WANT CLOUD TO FIGHT Sephiroth and wants him to focus on himself. Acting all happy when he says he will fight him and encouraging him...this ending is dark AF
@@Mutation80See, I also wanna say that maybe it's Jenova mimicking Aerith and manipulating Cloud. But the "Goodbye." at the end wouldn't fit if it were Jenova. Cloud isn't even there to perceive and hear that goodbye. On top of how emotional it sounds from her.
Cloud’s actually the most realistic character in this scene when it comes to grieving. He’s in denial, which is part of the grieving process. I think deep down, he knows that Aerith is dead, but his brain can’t fully comprehend it. Since his mental state was precarious from the start, it’s not surprising that he’s falling apart. Something like that happened to me when my grandma died. The day after she died, I kept calling her phone just to see if I could reach her. I never did. It didn’t sink in until I saw the proof that she was dead.
Its that feeling or belief that you think that person you loved is still there even though you know they are gone. In many ways they are with you, but that grief process is really hard that it creates that thought and phase of denial. I have been there 8 years ago and its still painful even up to this point. Prayers to you, your family, and most especially your Grandma. 🙏🙏
This, so much. I understand that people are a bit annoyed it's not the same as the OG iconic scene in FF7. But honestly, I'm not complaining much with what I got, cause I can't wait to see how they'll absolutely break Cloud whe he finally realizes she's dead.
I just noticed a pattern in the credits, In Remake, after Hollow which was cloud's feelings , they played Aerith theme In Rebirth, after No promises to keep which highlights Aerith's feelings, they played Cloud's theme. Nice attention to details if you ask me 👏
@@jamesgravil9162pretty sure tifa he will cure cloud and fix him the only person who will see the real him, square is gunning for cloti the cloud that in love with aerith is zack self the true cloud only loved tifa, and i guess the song will be heard on under the highwind while both embrace each other.
@@pre-viewtv8903 Cope brother. Tifa isn’t relevant to the plot fr. Aerith is a literal walking plot device which is why she was created as the initial heroine and Tifa was created last as a shoe in. Thats why Aerith scenes are literally all over the credits in the first and second game.
Cloud is between two worlds. One where she is alive and the OG timeline where all the others are. Thats why nobody can see the sky split nor her. Red has also supernatural powers, so he can feel her.
The part where she walks up to Red and Tifa is so emotional. You can tell they are taking it the hardest with the loss. Absolutely broke my heart in half feeling both their pain. You can tell both their hearts are completely shattered with grief over the loss especially Red when he feels Aerith's touch and calls out to her.
@@act110mort048 You weren't spared the emotional distress of her death... They simply moved it to the 3rd game. Cody Christian already said he recorded the lines from OG where Cloud says that "his eyes are burning" etc that is omitted (on purpose) in Rebirth to symbolize Cloud's refusal to accept her death. We WILL be revisiting Aerith's death in the 3rd game when Cloud reconciles his memories. I wouldn't be surprised if they give the player control of Cloud as he carries Aerith's body to the lake.. Then you'd see the command "Press X to let her go" while you hear Aerith's theme blasting in the background..
@@act110mort048I think the grief will be best portrayed on the third game, since the beginning. And dude, when Cloud realizes it... It'll pack a PUNCH, can't wait to see it
This ending gave me Empire Strikes Back Vibes. Hope has been dashed but it’s not completely gone. We’re left feeling wistful and sad while cautiously optimistic for what’s to come.
Cloud: You gonna be ok getting back? Aerith: aaand if I said I wasn’t? Cloud: *smiles* Me: 🥺🥹🥹 they said the thing That scene in remake was the most romantic thing ever 😭
Getting back to what? Right before the City she made it very clear it should never be a "homecomming". before her death she also made it very clear she did NOT want Cloud to go after Sephiroth, she took that upon herself, and she needed Cloud to focus on himself. Then at the end when Cloud says he will fight Sephiroth she stops turns around and acts all happy, encourages him and makes him promise. (also why would she act like she's still alive and is only there when Cloud looks pays attention? This can't be Aerith. The end is dark af..
@@Mutation80This makes a lot more sense than I first thought !! She clearly said dying is not a homecoming to Sephiroth. But in the ending she says "a second home". Either she is being nice or it's not her. That would be sooo dark.
OMG .. I can't believe I didn't catch that. This will only add fuel to the theory that this is not really Aerith but Cloud's mind manifesting a vision of her as he continues to deny what has happened.
Also did people forget that the final boss fight involved Aerith joining in the fight against Sephiroth. Which Sephiroth replies with "I underestimated you" This isn't Cloud's delusion, Aerith somehow still exists in one form or another.
well she is the "promised land" Shinra's been looking for the whole time. It's heavily implied that it's the lifestream and the planet whole along, and Aerith is now one with them that's why the OG FF7 first and last thing we see is Aerith.
Aerith death scene When Cloud reaches Aerith watch as he walks through the whispers, pay attention, it’s like he is walking into worlds, do you see how it flashes, new world, OG world. When Cloud reaches Aerith and the camera angle looks down at Aerith, pause, zoom in, her hair tie is pink. Watch as Aerith is opening her eyes as the feather falls, look at the color of her hair tie it’s purple. New world: Look at Cloud sword when he screams, “NO” also it looks like he went into a different world at that moment, you see a rainbow of light going up his sword and it’s glows green and you can see a green mist coming from his sword, it reminds me of what Rosa did to Alphreid sword during his fight in the loveless play. Watch as Cloud deflects Sephiroth sword you see rainbows like in the church and sleepy forest, remember the white whispers were with Aerith before her death. Watch how Sephiroth sword landed, it lands straight up. Cloud saves Aerith. Look at Aerith hair tie, it’s pink and it flashes back to the OG as the camera shows the Sephiroth sword, look at the angle of his sword, it is sideways, Aerith falls to her death, her purple hair tie falls out of her hair. Aerith hair tie, OG world it’s purple and pink in the new world? Cloud runs and holds Aerith body, you see flashes back and forth to the OG world she dies, he has tears and muttering words. OG world. As the others run, Tifa stops in her tracks, not because of Aerith’s death, it’s because she sees blood and no blood she doesn’t understand what is happening but she was in the lifestream. New world: Cloud lays Aerith on her back and he tells her I got this, look at the others they are standing still, not moving. OG world, pay attention. As Tifa runs towards Aerith she is laying on her side, remember Cloud lays on her back in the new world. As soon as you see Cloud boot, pause, zoom in, you still see Aerith laying on her side. New world: As Cloud approached Aerith is once again laying on her back, the whispers are flying around, Cloud walks through the whispers and the others disappear, he asks Aerith to wake up she does. Why do you think Sephiroth told Aerith, I must admit I underestimated you. And also why did they show Aerith hair tie it’s pink, look at her death scene again when she is praying and opens her eyes when she sees the feathers falling her hair tie is purple, when she falls to her death it is also purple. It was Aerith destiny to die in the OG world and she did, creating a new world means she can change her destiny and she did. She can still cast the holy in the lifestream and doesn’t need to be dead. Cloud isn’t crazy, remember he was injected with Jenova cells and mako when Hojo experimented on him, which is why he sees the rift in the sky, he sees both worlds and the others can’t because they can only see the OG world. Also remember Marlene told Zack he has to make Cloud better so Cloud can save Aerith. In game 3 we will see Zack healing Cloud which is why he was in time to save her.
I think Aerith’s dead. But while you’re true a new reality exists where she’s alive. The one at the end is her spirit communicating to Cloud from the livestream. Cloud’s broken mind can’t accept the fact she’s actually dead so she’s pretty much there to help him cope
Im pretty sure her death scene was from original timeline. Cloud was shown saying something and though we don't get to hear what I bet it's his line "Aerith won't laugh again", and the whole last scene with Cloud wad with OG/AC Aerith who's been hiding from OG/AC Sephiroth between the world's ("So here's where you've been hiding"). I think Cloud isn't hallucinating but alongside Aerith us tricking Sephiroth into thinking he's winning. FF series are never that simple, and Remake was made to "set things right". another AC is anything but right. so I suggest we wait and see😊
@hpthinker8081 I believe it's too much trouble creating whole plot with the whispers, make "hollow" and "no promises to keep", letting Zack live just to tell him Aerith loves Cloud, then make all the mistery with Marlene to make her say "only Cloud can save her" - and other things - just to repeat the story :) if SE would've wanted to shock us, they'd let her live in that anticipated moment and kill her off later with point of "unavoidable death". and besides, AC ended terribly wrong and Remake is up to "Make it right" as marketing says, so.. with some luck, we wait 3-4 years and see how Aerith "laughs and cries again"
for real lmao... no joke the ff7 fandom is truly the most media illiterate fandom i've come across lmao they misinterpret very obvious things from the game they supposedly "know", even when it's spelled out for them.
@@casualgamer3040 They're just understand the story. It seems that you already have your answer in your mind, do you really want to know? I don't want to talk to people with bias, it's a waste of time.
I know right. It can be about Sephiroth even, but never for Cloud. The same thing goes for "Hollow", it could be about Zack or anyone, except Aerith. It's so funny.
This last bit really got me. Her cheering on fixing the plane making me think this was the timeline that he saved her and then Tifa crying and Nanaki sensing her and the last goodbye. I didn't expect to cry this much over her death but the juxtaposition of Cloud saving her and knocking the sword into the ground and then flashing to blood pooling BROKE ME.
By the time this scene rolled around, I didn't have any tears left. Between wading through the utter confusion of what I just witnessed and the anticipation of the last entry, I'm just numb.
@SnuSnu91 it is or it's clouds imagination. No green lifestream mist around her, all of her dialogue is recycled from the 2 games, she doesn't speak to anyone else. We're nearing the northern crater which is when cloud has his full mental breakdown and also the point jenova tricks Red into giving up the black materia. We definitely see the building blocks leading up to that here.
@@SnuSnu91 It either is or just an illusion. I said it multiple times as well and realized it during my first playthrough and watching the ending. Every single line she says are 1:1 copies of dialogue she had with Cloud in the previous 2 games. Not one new thing was added. Its like Cloud is accessing his memories to keep the illusion alive or Jenova is doing it to fuck with him.
this line of aerith confused the hell out of me after the ending. Its like they have been constantly teasing Aerith surviving somehow in the recent 2 games and at the end nothing changes and she still dies. Like if you are not changing that moment why ruin it trying to do some 4d chess stuff?
@@hakancapuk537 hello? There's still Part 3. And I'm liking how we can choose what is canon we want. I bet they'll do the multiple ending and choose your own.
@@hakancapuk537they already said it'd all circle back to advent children, they're just moving things around so people will think it'll end differently. I was fooled for this game, but know not to expect anything drastically different now
As the outro lyrics sang "Fate and destiny are no guarantee Still I hope someday you'll come and find me" Good bye Aerith. You're my forever favorite character.
5:56 - Aerith saying "goodbye" here I thought was very beautiful the way this was delivered, the background music from the main theme along with the mountain stream terrain and flower petals flying around reminded me of some parts to the ending to FFVIII. It's a bittersweet end but one I knew was coming.
It’s the fact that they left her in field of flowers and greenery. Kinda reminds me of the depictions of the promised land/lifestream. She’s saying goodbye because the gang will never see her again even if Cloud treats it like he’s coming back to get her later 😢
Aerith death scene When Cloud reaches Aerith watch as he walks through the whispers, pay attention, it’s like he is walking into worlds, do you see how it flashes, new world, OG world. When Cloud reaches Aerith and the camera angle looks down at Aerith, pause, zoom in, her hair tie is pink. Watch as Aerith is opening her eyes as the feather falls, look at the color of her hair tie it’s purple. New world: Look at Cloud sword when he screams, “NO” also it looks like he went into a different world at that moment, you see a rainbow of light going up his sword and it’s glows green and you can see a green mist coming from his sword, it reminds me of what Rosa did to Alphreid sword during his fight in the loveless play. Watch as Cloud deflects Sephiroth sword you see rainbows like in the church and sleepy forest, remember the white whispers were with Aerith before her death. Watch how Sephiroth sword landed, it lands straight up. Cloud saves Aerith. Look at Aerith hair tie, it’s pink and it flashes back to the OG as the camera shows the Sephiroth sword, look at the angle of his sword, it is sideways, Aerith falls to her death, her purple hair tie falls out of her hair. Aerith hair tie, OG world it’s purple and pink in the new world? Cloud runs and holds Aerith body, you see flashes back and forth to the OG world she dies, he has tears and muttering words. OG world. As the others run, Tifa stops in her tracks, not because of Aerith’s death, it’s because she sees blood and no blood she doesn’t understand what is happening but she was in the lifestream. New world: Cloud lays Aerith on her back and he tells her I got this, look at the others they are standing still, not moving. OG world, pay attention. As Tifa runs towards Aerith she is laying on her side, remember Cloud lays on her back in the new world. As soon as you see Cloud boot, pause, zoom in, you still see Aerith laying on her side. New world: As Cloud approached Aerith is once again laying on her back, the whispers are flying around, Cloud walks through the whispers and the others disappear, he asks Aerith to wake up she does. Why do you think Sephiroth told Aerith, I must admit I underestimated you. And also why did they show Aerith hair tie it’s pink, look at her death scene again when she is praying and opens her eyes when she sees the feathers falling her hair tie is purple, when she falls to her death it is also purple. It was Aerith destiny to die in the OG world and she did, creating a new world means she can change her destiny and she did. She can still cast the holy in the lifestream and doesn’t need to be dead. Cloud isn’t crazy, remember he was injected with Jenova cells and mako when Hojo experimented on him, which is why he sees the rift in the sky, he sees both worlds and the others can’t because they can only see the OG world. Also remember Marlene told Zack he has to make Cloud better so Cloud can save Aerith. In game 3 we will see Zack healing Cloud which is why he was in time to save her.
Aerith death scene When Cloud reaches Aerith watch as he walks through the whispers, pay attention, it’s like he is walking into worlds, do you see how it flashes, new world, OG world. When Cloud reaches Aerith and the camera angle looks down at Aerith, pause, zoom in, her hair tie is pink. Watch as Aerith is opening her eyes as the feather falls, look at the color of her hair tie it’s purple. New world: Look at Cloud sword when he screams, “NO” also it looks like he went into a different world at that moment, you see a rainbow of light going up his sword and it’s glows green and you can see a green mist coming from his sword, it reminds me of what Rosa did to Alphreid sword during his fight in the loveless play. Watch as Cloud deflects Sephiroth sword you see rainbows like in the church and sleepy forest, remember the white whispers were with Aerith before her death. Watch how Sephiroth sword landed, it lands straight up. Cloud saves Aerith. Look at Aerith hair tie, it’s pink and it flashes back to the OG as the camera shows the Sephiroth sword, look at the angle of his sword, it is sideways, Aerith falls to her death, her purple hair tie falls out of her hair. Aerith hair tie, OG world it’s purple and pink in the new world? Cloud runs and holds Aerith body, you see flashes back and forth to the OG world she dies, he has tears and muttering words. OG world. As the others run, Tifa stops in her tracks, not because of Aerith’s death, it’s because she sees blood and no blood she doesn’t understand what is happening but she was in the lifestream. New world: Cloud lays Aerith on her back and he tells her I got this, look at the others they are standing still, not moving. OG world, pay attention. As Tifa runs towards Aerith she is laying on her side, remember Cloud lays on her back in the new world. As soon as you see Cloud boot, pause, zoom in, you still see Aerith laying on her side. New world: As Cloud approached Aerith is once again laying on her back, the whispers are flying around, Cloud walks through the whispers and the others disappear, he asks Aerith to wake up she does. Why do you think Sephiroth told Aerith, I must admit I underestimated you. And also why did they show Aerith hair tie it’s pink, look at her death scene again when she is praying and opens her eyes when she sees the feathers falling her hair tie is purple, when she falls to her death it is also purple. It was Aerith destiny to die in the OG world and she did, creating a new world means she can change her destiny and she did. She can still cast the holy in the lifestream and doesn’t need to be dead. Cloud isn’t crazy, remember he was injected with Jenova cells and mako when Hojo experimented on him, which is why he sees the rift in the sky, he sees both worlds and the others can’t because they can only see the OG world. Also remember Marlene told Zack he has to make Cloud better so Cloud can save Aerith. In game 3 we will see Zack healing Cloud which is why he was in time to save her.
Y’all i don’t think cloud is being a schizo here. Red clearly felt her presence there too. I think Cloud is the only one who can see her but he doesn’t realize that she’s not physically there
What I got from it was that it wasn’t a schizophrenic thing but he just can’t accept that aerith died, so even though cloud can sense her presence and see her. She knew he couldn’t handle the truth of her demise so she gave him a simple goodbye instead
In the remake, Aerith did something to Red (party's first encounter w/ red) and Marlin (7th heaven) to calm them down. Now here in Rebirth we kinda have a bit of an idea what Aerith gave them then, like powers to sense her, like Red can feel her spirit and in Advent Children Marlin felt Aerith in the final scene of the movie.
I think it's important what happened before her prayers. Cloud entered as the only one a white portal. This is another timeline where he saved her. But then it switched back. We see cloud crying and then we saw him say something (maybe his words from the OG) NOW you have to pay attention. When he knock sephis sword away, clouds sword was glowing green and the background was white and glowy. That's important. Cause when we see the blood sequence, the glow is gone. Its only there when we see her without the blood. And its gone too when the materia fell into the water or when the group is arriving. She even lie down different at the end when tifa looked at her after the fight vs sephi is over. Cloud didnt lie her down like this, when he said "i got this". Then he appears, aerith lies on the side - he moves to her and suddenly she lies on the back, but tifa didnt change her position. He enters a white glow again, where the whispers are, which wasnt there before, wakes her up and we didnt even see the green lifestream particles, there were only white ones. So he could save her in another timeline. Thats why after the fight against sephi, he enters a white glow again where he wakes her up. Marlene said "make that cloud isnt sick anymore, or he can't save aerith". It didnt mean that Zack actually has to make it, he just has to make the right choice. Biggs, Hojo or Aerith, Aerith will wake up in Z1 timeline when she dies, remember that. At the end Cloud is seeing that Aerith died but she then appeared right infront of him - he can see her cause she isnt in this timeline, but he entered this one before. Ppl are saying that Cloud is just delulu - but i don't think so. It would be way to simple after all the devs have said and done with the remake. Pay attention to the little details.
You're correct in that theory. Zack is in between timelines. He even states that the worlds can be joined again. We'll see Aerith again for sure! I think a new timeline will come after the end of the third game.
People are saying Cloud is delulu because it's the simpler and more interesting way to interpret the story. More practical, even. Not everyone wants to deal with all the multiverse madness.
The glowing is Lifestream. One important thing to think about in this "version where Cloud saved Aerith", why did Aerith collapse, why was Aerith even unconscious at all? When Cloud thought he deflected the sword, it landed several feet away from Aerith. It wasn't until we catch glimpses of reality that Aerith finally collapses, and she stays that way throughout. Even when she "wakes up", there's a huge glitch in that the party is all around her and then is suddenly and instantly GONE when Cloud walks up, and even when Aerith wakes up - again, why did she collapse in the first place if Sephiroth was deflected? - she doesn't look right. She looks... sad. Because she's dead.
@@ElysaraCh I THINK ;; The worlds merged, like Sephiroth was saying - hence why she fell in both Timelines. She couldn't move at first, like we saw with Cloud in "her dream". He was unable to move for a bit, I guess that's what happened with Aerith. I think we stopped the merge as soon as we defeated him. But since only Cloud entered the singularity, only he can see the saved Aerith. And now ask yourself the question: Why is the tiny bronco able to fly again? As we know the wings were gone. Did Cid bring new ones in his pocket? 😅I think that's the reason too why Cloud still has the black Materia. We know that Cloud gave him the black one, like Yuffie said. He's in both worlds. The crack in the sky is real, like aerith, and the materia. It's unlikely that Aerith is dead. We got many hints in REMAKE and Chapter 14 in REBIRTH. + Cloud knows way more this time. He knows that Sephiroth is in the north. He said in the fight vs. Jenova that he's done it before and can do it again. And we know that he had memories in REMAKE. And yes, they were memories - not visions. We saw it on the edge of creation with Sephiroth. Clouds brain tried to remember what's happened there. Sephiroth stopped Cloud, so he didn't remember. The devs said that they wanted to give the players a HUGE surprised in the second game with Aeriths fate - and they did.
@@jhin_gg Cloud "gave" Sephiroth the Black Materia after the Temple of the Ancients in the original, too, but didn't actually hand it off until meeting the real Sephiroth body in the Whirlwind Maze. Also, Cloud KNEW Sephiroth was in the North Crater in OG too. It's because Sephiroth TOLD him through the Jenova cells corrupting Cloud. It's kindof a HUGE and CENTRAL plot point of the game that you seem to have somehow missed. And with regard to the Tiny Bronco, part of that cutscene is them LITERALLY fixing the wings on the plane. None of these hokey time travel & raw multi-verse theories work at all once you actually start thinking about them. Also, the devs are the ones who wrote Aerith's death in the first place in OG. I'll be shocked if they walk it back in part 3. Even Aerith's soft "Goodbye" at the end of this game would feel cheapened terribly if they do. No shot.
God for real. I played the original so I knew what would happen but I still felt so empty inside after finishing Rebirth for like a week (and still do). I just missed everything about the game, the characters, Cloud, Aerith, everything
it probably won't be that long. even though it was almost 4 years between Remake and Rebirth, the devs said one of those years was for crisis core reunion which took them a year to make. Also when you consider that most of the world map and other things is already done, it will probably be 2 and a half to 3 years.
for those interested, here's the full lyrics of "no promises to keep" 🌸(please correct me if something is wrong) "walking city streets with worn cobblestones listening to people rushing past to rhythms all their own life passing me by not thinking how the years have flown until i met you i won't say that it was fate i won't say that it was destiny but if not what could it be that drew you towards me could it be chance till the day that we meet again where or when, i wish i could say but believe, know that you'll find me promises to keep we won't ever need if only i'd never known all the burdens i was born to bear lived a life without a care in the world safe for you but that won't do till the day that we meet again on our street i want to believe in the chance that we'll share a glance promises to keep we won't ever need till the day that we meet again at our place just let me believe in the chance that you'll come take my hand and never let me go take my hand and believe we can be together evermore walking city streets with worn cobblestones struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone fate and destiny are no guarantee still i hope someday you'll come and find me still i know someday you'll come and find me"
you know what makes this lyric even sadder ? if this aerith knew the future, she knew cloud would come,ONE DAY. so she spent who knows how long selling flower in the same spot,seeing her life flyby, waiting for him.
How can anyone deny she wrote this song for Cloud lol "walking city streets with worn cobblestones" "until i met you" "Our Street" "struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone"
@@AwunMG19 also "our place" is a reference in rebirth for cloud and aerith during the church scene. aerith mentions it on the date with cloud while "no promises to keep" instrumental plays on the background. yeah it's pretty obvious that it's for cloud, at least for the most part. i really don't know how there are some people trying to deny it when it's so blatantly obvious. i guess it has to do with the ship wars...
Just like with remake, this ending leaves us with more questions than answers and we'll have to wait until 2028 to see the conclusion to the story. At least we'll have Kingdom Hearts 4 to bridge the gap until part 3 "Revival" drops
I think it's going to be more like fall 2026/early 2027. Rebirth's development got hurt by Covid. Early 2027 would make sense since around that time we can expect the PS6.
Well, KH4 will also just give us more questions that will be answered by mobile game bs and multiple titles across 3 generation of consoles. I'm honestly more excited on DQ12, at least DQ games are a one and done thing.
Promises to Keep - end credit lyrics: Walking city streets with worn cobblestones Listening to people rushing past to rythms all their own Life passing me by, not thinking how the years have flown Until I met you I won't say that it was fate I won't say that it was destiny But if not, what could it be that drew you towards me? Could it be chance? Till the day that we meet again Where or when I wish I could say But believe-know that you'll find me Promises to keep-we won't ever need If only I'd never known All the burdens I was born to bear Lived a life without a care, in a world safe for you But that won't do Till the day that we meet again On our street, I want to believe In the chance that we'll share a glance Promises to keep-we won't ever need Till the day that we meet again At our place, just let me believe In the chance that you'll come, Take my hand, and never let me go Take my hand and believe We can be together evermore Walking city streets with worn cobblestones Struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone Fate and destiny are no guarantee Still, I hope some day you'll come and find me Still, I know some day you'll come and find me
0:51 Subtle detail I noticed is that when the engine blows, you can see the wind affect them and their clothes but Aerith, who is the closest, isn't affected.
@@MrQuay03maybe it's a stretch but since Cloud is the only one seeing her probably he projects what he feels to the image of Aerith,he was away from the engine so it did not affect Aerith but when the wind started to go stronger because of the Helix he was actually near that so he felt it and automatically thinks of Aerith feeling it too idk if i am clear. Aerith is just a presence,a Soul meaning she does not have a real form,Cloud just puts her image on that presence
I keep coming back to watch the ending. The shot where the Bronco leaves Aerith forever on the wide grasslands as she says goodbye followed by NPTK and her choir theme is true emotional fuel. Goddamn cinema in my video game :’I
I love that even with Rebirth’s amazing game graphics they still made this sequence a full-quality FMV like how FFs did a lot before. Those scenes were special.
You fear, they will change the story too much and you are sure, it‘ll ruin the whole story, if Aerith does not die, but hell: I want my happy ending after over 25 years of mourning the love story, that was never allowed to happen. Give us Aerith back in Part 3
Exactly me. I'm waiting since 1997 for the Lovestory to finally happen that was never allowed to be... Man I really really hope they will gives us that. I'm actually fairly certain they will at least give us 2 timeline endings worst case. One where she lives and one where she doesn't to please all fans. I really hope they don't tbh and just give us the she lives and can finally be with cloud ending. But I'll take whatever in this case, if it just gives me finally peace in my heart.
Two theories: - Aerith is a hallucination of Cloud, much like the Joker in Arkham Knight that is a hallucination of Batman. - Aerith become like a Force ghost, making that she can visible only to a few people, like Cloud.
@@josecuestas7246 it's the 2nd.....she's reaching out to him from the lifestream - happened all the time in crisis core / advent children / 3rd part of OG
Nice to see somebody understand what going on, after all the hate i ve read from ppl who have no clue what they talk about, this ending is 10 times better than the OG.
Walking city streets with worn cobblestones Listening to people rushing past to rythms all their own Life passing me by, not thinking how the years have flown Until I met you I won't say that it was fate I won't say that it was destiny But if not, what could it be that drew you towards me? Could it be chance? Till the day that we meet again Where or when I wish I could say But believe-know that you'll find me Promises to keep-we won't ever need If only I'd never known All the burdens I was born to bear Lived a life without a care, in a world safe for you But that won't do Till the day that we meet again On our street, I want to believe In the chance that we'll share a glance Promises to keep-we won't ever need Till the day that we meet again At our place, just let me believe In the chance that you'll come, Take my hand, and never let me go Take my hand and believe We can be together evermore Walking city streets with worn cobblestones Struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone Fate and destiny are no guarantee Still, I hope some day you'll come and find me Still, I know some day you'll come and find me
Notice that starting at 26:30 all of the scenes where Cloud sees Aerith wake up, or talking to him when the rest of the party can’t see her, are GONE. Blank. Empty space. Except for the final goodbye. Very interesting. Are the credits telling us that these events just didn’t happen outside of Cloud’s mind? It could just be that it’s real, but another reality… but then, why did they include all the previous scenes from other worlds that only Cloud or non-party characters saw (including Zack scenes) but specifically not these?
Even after a decade, FFVII is one of the few works of fiction I don't eventually go emotionally numb in a take for granted kind of way to and still feel a consistent emotional response looking back on, and Remake and Rebirth are certainly helping a lot to maintain that. I am so attached to these characters and this story and Rebirth both emotionally devastated me and made me feel like a wide eyed teenager all over again. The original is my favorite game of all time and I love it so dearly, and the remakes have done so much justice to it. I love FFVII man
bro im a grown ass man. ive had some hard times. i lost people but i never was on the emotional side or cried over anything, i just took it for what it was and moved on. but this fucking ff7 makes me hold in my tears every time like what
The trilogy is LITERALLY a sequel to advent children: from the first game you can clearly tell that Aerith and Sephiroth knew what was going to happen in the future and by challenging fate multiple timelines were created so there’s a chance to see Aerith back in the third game in fact she’s alive in Zack’s timeline.
true. they act like the original game was cohesive when it's also a mess. lol I'm glad the remake series even gave depth to side characters like avalanche and such. I hope Part 3 allows for multiple endings, so we can make our own canon end based on our choices.
@@neilpate9738Agreed, they should have just outright stated if she lives or dies, this in-between stuff just takes out any emotional impact, and I say it even without having played the OG.
The "sequel" theory is the dumbest shit I've ever heard and isn't actually supported by fucking anything at all in the game, EXCEPT for some glimpses of the future we got in Remake which Red XIII outright mentions exactly as-is in Rebirth: Glimpses that him and Aerith (and, because he's our protag, we know Cloud as well) got while they were in Midgar. If Sephiroth knew the future why the fuck did he still kill Aerith? He should know with 100% certainty that killing her will ruin any chance he has at winning. He does it anyway. He's either the dumbest time traveler in the history of storytelling OR this is the dumbest fan theory in the history of videogames.
I played 3 FF games. Ff8, ff16, then last is ff7 rebirth. It's the first time I clap my hands after playing the game. Ff16 was a great game but ff7 rebirth offers so much more to the game. Don't get me wrong I like ff16 but after playing ff7. Hands down!😊
Something is really off though. Right before the City she made it very clear it should never be a "homecomming". before her death she also made it very clear she did NOT want Cloud to go after Sephiroth, she took that upon herself, and she needed Cloud to focus on himself. Then at the end when Cloud says he will fight Sephiroth she stops turns around and acts all happy, encourages him and makes him promise. (also why would she act like she's still alive and is only there when Cloud looks pays attention? This can't be Aerith. This ending is dark af..
When I got to the end of the game. All I could think about was what cloud said in the OG game When Aerith dead.... "Aerith is gone" " Aerith can no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry... angry" "What about us..... what are We supposed to do?" "What about my pain" " My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are BURNING!"
Hella disappointed this was missed out. It was a core point of him being back to his real self... so many things padded on Rebirth ending I wish they just focused on the main death without so much confetti and whisper dumb fights.
@matthewtucker2765 I get you. But they've used the word Return more in FF. The Returners in FF6, and also in the 2019 remake trailer, that word Return was the last one to fade out.
Just finished the game 3 days ago and still thinking about Aerith loss and being sad. She had a very hard life and she knew she had to die to help the planet but she just wanted to live and be loved, it’s really hard to say goodbye to her like this
This game will be appreciated more when the third game surprises everyone with how good it is. It’s obvious that square loves these games specifically, it’s more than about the money
@@Cfreezy12 I mean, this and the next part are the last dance of people like Nomura, Uematsu, Kitase and Nojima. Hell, there's a possibility that Uematsu won't be working on the next game since they are speculating Fantasian could be his last work as a composer.
@@TonyDaExpertAerith got an entire game. Literally. Count the dates. One of the very first quests is a date with Aerith. The end date is canon and not optional. Hell, the last few hours is alllll Aerith. Trying to save Cloud and trying not to drown in her own sorrow. If they reunite in part 3 I don't doubt we'll see more than a hug between them. They've practically admitted to each other in the non optional date that they're in love. Lastly, in Japan, holding hands is as meaningful as a kiss. In Aerith date in the sky wheel the most she hopes for is to lay her head on his arm but he does the unthinkable and locks fingers with her. Look, I get it. This is gonna piss off the entire cloti fan club but at least you've got 4 years to move on before part 3 drops and they're reunited.
Clouds mental illness was my favorite part of the original story. Excited to see how part 3 handles it where he is dealing with denial rather than guilt.
This games ending is too powerful and Aerith's "goodbye" is heartbreaking, as someone who is a huge fan of the OG there are alot of changes going on but one thing is for certain this all will play into fixing Cloud's mental state in part 3.
I don't think he's going full schitzo, but he's also not fully accepted that Aerith died in the Cetra ruins. Advent Children had Cloud seeing Aerith's ghost, and here we may be witnessing that early. Cloud is now able to see Aerith right there with them. He's convinced she still is there, as Red XIII also felt Aerith's presence. But she may very well be dead and Cloud is just able to communicate with her spirit. There are things that are drastically different now. The Holy Materia is no longer left in the waters of the ruins, but Cloud now has the Holy Materia. Certain characters seem to be in this twist of fate such as Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge surviving. What has changed? Is there two distinct timelines playing out? What the hell is going on?
Rewatch the Tiny Bronco ending scene and pay attention to Aerith's location, her dress's reactions to the environment, and especially the sky. There's a mixture of Aerith's Spirit & Cloud hallucinating. Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge are dead as fuck, they were at Loveless briefly but surrounded by Lifestream. They're not alive. I actually think this was also a hint at how people within the Lifestream can manifest.
Whoa i can't believe that voice actor of professor hojo is james sie i know him because he voice of the cabbage man in animated series of avatar: the last airbender and the live action series again
If you want to know…Aerith lives Aerith death scene When Cloud reaches Aerith watch as he walks through the whispers, pay attention, it’s like he is walking into worlds, do you see how it flashes, new world, OG world. When Cloud reaches Aerith and the camera angle looks down at Aerith, pause, zoom in, her hair tie is pink. Watch as Aerith is opening her eyes as the feather falls, look at the color of her hair tie it’s purple. New world: Look at Cloud sword when he screams, “NO” also it looks like he went into a different world at that moment, you see a rainbow of light going up his sword and it’s glows green and you can see a green mist coming from his sword, it reminds me of what Rosa did to Alphreid sword during his fight in the loveless play. Watch as Cloud deflects Sephiroth sword you see rainbows like in the church and sleepy forest, remember the white whispers were with Aerith before her death. Watch how Sephiroth sword landed, it lands straight up. Cloud saves Aerith. Look at Aerith hair tie, it’s pink and it flashes back to the OG as the camera shows the Sephiroth sword, look at the angle of his sword, it is sideways, Aerith falls to her death, her purple hair tie falls out of her hair. Aerith hair tie, OG world it’s purple and pink in the new world? Cloud runs and holds Aerith body, you see flashes back and forth to the OG world she dies, he has tears and muttering words. OG world. As the others run, Tifa stops in her tracks, not because of Aerith’s death, it’s because she sees blood and no blood she doesn’t understand what is happening but she was in the lifestream. New world: Cloud lays Aerith on her back and he tells her I got this, look at the others they are standing still, not moving. OG world, pay attention. As Tifa runs towards Aerith she is laying on her side, remember Cloud lays on her back in the new world. As soon as you see Cloud boot, pause, zoom in, you still see Aerith laying on her side. New world: As Cloud approached Aerith is once again laying on her back, the whispers are flying around, Cloud walks through the whispers and the others disappear, he asks Aerith to wake up she does. Why do you think Sephiroth told Aerith, I must admit I underestimated you. And also why did they show Aerith hair tie it’s pink, look at her death scene again when she is praying and opens her eyes when she sees the feathers falling her hair tie is purple, when she falls to her death it is also purple. It was Aerith destiny to die in the OG world and she did, creating a new world means she can change her destiny and she did. She can still cast the holy in the lifestream and doesn’t need to be dead. Cloud isn’t crazy, remember he was injected with Jenova cells and mako when Hojo experimented on him, which is why he sees the rift in the sky, he sees both worlds and the others can’t because they can only see the OG world. Also remember Marlene told Zack he has to make Cloud better so Cloud can save Aerith. In game 3 we will see Zack healing Cloud which is why he was in time to save her. I don’t believe Zack is in the OG world he is in the same world as Aerith.
Now I'm torn to who aerith really loves and will end up with. I adore zack/aerith so much ever since crisis core and seeing all of zack's scenes in the first part, him sadly reuniting with a comatose aerith and him still looking out and loving her (taking her ribbon when he rescued briggs) is so beautiful and I really wanted them to be together. But aerith and Cloud also grew on me and I can see their chemistry, the affection they developed and he was really devastated when she "died". This franchise really messed me up I don't know anymore huhuhuhuhu
This is coming from a huge Tifa stan (myself) but I have to argue that Aerith does love Cloud and accept that she is the “main” girl. (My poor Tifa 😢) While Aerith loves Zack, Zack has never given her time because duty is more important for him. (CC) Aerith is actually a lonely girl despite her outer cheerful personality, as shown in the ghost part of 1st Remake game. But after meeting Cloud, he has always given her “time and importance”, she realizes that he’s actually a softie and just putting up a cool persona. He even asks her if she’ll be alright going home alone in this ending like he did during the first part. It shows that he really cares about her. That’s why if you maxed out her hearts, which I think is canon because it’s shown in this credits than other options (my poor Tifa 😢 again lol), she’s very happy in their final date with Cloud saying “Yeah, next time”. It means that she is important to him and will give her his precious time (unlike Zack). She then, finally understand what their relationship is.
@@aileene-ez9gx No denying the developing of feelings between aerith/cloud but it was only because they were able to have MORE TIME. I think it's clear that zack gave her ENOUGH time, especially in crisis core, he's always going to her on his free time and always finds way to come back to her. If he had been able to come back to her before his untimely "death", they would've had all the time in the world. Which is one of the reasons why I wanted them to end up together in the first place because they were robbed of time. And then here comes her relationship with cloud that is so beautiful too and they have good chemistry. But then there's also the cloud / tifa relationship which I find so endearing and cute too (that skywheel kiss? Asdfjklasdfjkl!!!!!!) God it's so messed up, I really don't know who to ship with who. Why must square enix make it is so messy lol.
@@tobiuchihawinchester6036 this is why you should start with the original FF7, you can focus more because it is clear who the main cast of the game is about, which is Cloud the Hero, Aerith the Heroine, and the Antagonist Sephiroth, everyone else is just the supporting cast.
@@tobiuchihawinchester6036no, Zack hasn’t given her enough time because while he visits her, he’s always busy taking the calls for work. Notice how their moment are always interrupted with calls. Meaning Duty > Aerith. Her last letter for him in CC was “I wish we could spend more time together” tells a lot. While Cloud always entertains her antics. If you look closely, Cloud is always requesting money for his time from everyone but never with Aerith. And Aerith is attracted to Cloud because she sees something that was lost to her long time ago which is “innocence”. Despite his edgy character born from wanting to impress Tifa, he’s actually really kind. It is also why she’s jealous of Tifa and Cloud’s childhood friendship because she’s never had one due to experiments and turks following her, + her friends thinks she’s a freak because she talks with the planet (plants). Cloud began to show efforts to understand her more like how she did the same for him, again not out of job or money but his own will, which Aerith is thankful for. Hence, why she says thank you in their final date.
@@fadlanfadilah1171 Well they didn't stick with this concept so we gotta go with the flow. I wasn't able to start the og ff7 but I started on the og crisis and so on. The best part with this series is that every new version and remake and sequels, is so good and it really gets you, that while you want to stick to the happenings of the first one, you end up liking the new ones. That's why I find it so messy. It has its ups and downs.
there are different timelines, sephroth came from advent children, future (AC) aerith was telling current aerith of the future untill seph blocked her (With whispers), ghost,life force aerith is hiding in the doomed world universe (the one zack got revived from)...they all are going to converge into one through black materia.
@@bladerjhello po. good morning po. kung daLawa po ang timeLine, ang ibig sabihin po ba niya'n may "CHANCE" pa po na magkasama si "aerith" sa zack timeLine, at si cLoud sa current timeLine po?
@@loriemaybarrientos1904 good night. that is my belief, they found black materia that can converge worlds, not the meteor materia. and marlene told zack what he needs to do to cure cloud.
The next one should probably be called FF7 Rebirth Intergrade probably around 2026. DLC for Vincent is quite likely and possible. For the 3rd Game, the trailer announcement probably 2027 to celebrate 30th anniversary of OG FF7 and then 2028 is probably the release for the final game.
I think most reviewers are talking about the parts between this and Chapter 13's ending which were hectic and confusing. This scene was beautiful, and well done.
R.I.P "DLANOR" Beloved Brother, Uncle, Great-uncle/extra grandfather Friend, GAMER & great inspiration in PS community. You are forever loved and missed. Now you will meet your Mother again, hug her, and then pick upp your staff to protect Gaia or Midgar.
I have a hope for the next games credits: If a Xenogears remake is made in between this and Part 3, that version of Small Two of Pieces makes it in to the credits of the final FFVII Remake game, as a way to come full circle in how Xenogears was originally FFVII's prototype, in addition to possibly keeping the Xenogears reference when Cloud goes into his coma state.
@@ElysaraCh Nope. It was gonna be 7, Tetsuya Takahashi said so in old interviews that he wanted to make his concepts FF7 but it was considered "Too Dark" for a mainline Final Fantasy game."
Small world, atleast for English VAs.. you'll recognize A LOT of the same names across any big releases. It's almost like an exclusive club tbh, would love to see new talent
Cloud is seeing the blur between two worlds. The one where Aerith survived (shes not a ghost) and the one where she dies (as she needs to in order to beat Sephiroth)
