I forgot to mention in the video that Final Fantasy Rebirth is three months away from possibly becoming the first ever FF game to when GOTY. It's a combination from start to finish, but the ending leaves the last impression on the player.
Oh shoot! Really? FF10 and FF7 both deserved game of the year. Fingers crossed for Rebirth. I’ve played a few other games this year and legit, Rebirth keeps coming out on top for me.
Man, it took me months to get this game out of my head. I didn't feel like playing any other games after. It was like when you break up with someone you really like and you suffer from temporary depression.
I went into the ending legit thinking she was going to die. There are so many moments in the game that suggest that changing fate is insurmountable. For Cloud to surpass his limits, reject his fate and fight for his future happiness is so ‘Final Fantasy.’ It also feels true to Cloud as a character. So yeah, loved the ending : )
I wasn't sure what to expect, I think leading up to that point I had confidence that she was going to live. Then legit as I was walking to the altar and starting hearing her prayer, I said to myself...she's going to die, I can't do this...whew it was all a blur after that.
The ending was brilliant. He saved her. The devs pulled off the impossible. She's dead and alive at the same time. It's the only way to make everyone happy. It honors the original in every way and it's....a sequel. The OG was about death. Remake is about life. They can coexist & it's beautiful. Remake/Rebirth adds to the lore & shows how deep the original story went with ps5's capabilities. Now we just have to buy part 3 to get Aerith back. She's gunna be waiting in our spot in the church. I hope everyone's ready! I love everything about Rebirth. ❤
Follow the yellow flowers...they were dying in the terrier timeline but started coming back to life as Rebirth got closer to her death. This started all the way back in Intermission when Zack first goes to the church. The flowers reflect her presence and she's likely alive in terrier timeline. Everyone interprets "Rebirth" as applying to Sephiroth - and sure - but it may turn out it also applies to Aerith. And yeah, that flowerbed is really just a wormhole...see you soon
When I played the game as a kid, I had Aerith in my team from the start. My dream team was Cloud, Aerith, Cid (maybe I can finally have this too in part 3 lol) When Aerith died I was one of the people that stopped playing for months. I was devastated. Then, at some point, I thought, “there is no way she’s gone. She’ll be brought back to life.” I truly believed this and that is why I continued to play. After the game was over, I was still in disbelief. At the time, I thought she would come back in the next game, FFVIII. I was young and didn’t realize they were all separate games lol. I truly hope that after all these years, I can actually see Aerith coming back to be able to have her happy ending with Cloud. After all this time, they deserve to be together.
Man, my jaw was on the floor when that happened. And I lost some great gear on top of that. I'm really greatful that social media didn't exist at the time because it would have ruined it for me since I didn't get to play the game until about a year after it launched and none of my friends played Final Fantasy.
I agree! As devastating as it was, I was glad I experienced it without any outside source. Unlike rebirth where I got spoiled for some things which made me stop playing it.
I really hope we can save her! Seeing Cloud save her would be extremely emotional. We have seen her die for 27 years. Saving her now would be so impactful. We have the OG game and it still makes it relevant. It even makes it fun to go back to play it. This time, they deserve their happy ending and it will be so satisfying and emotional to see it happen.
Beautiful how Kitase confirms Clouds feelings of love for Aerith yet again, love these video updates. Please do some parody content of Cloti reactions to all the clerith scenes in the future, it will be gold to study as this delusion falls apart in real time.
Ha ha I’ll consider doing the CT reacts for sure, I’ve had some people request this. I’m a bit hesitate because I don’t want the comments to turn into a place where people are attacking or belittling the streamers though.
That makes sense, but I think It can be made clear that this is a study of complete media illiteracy by a fandom in a certain part of the world more so than a belittling of certain people
I was 19 when I played the OG for the first time. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I was so shocked and heartbroken I put the game away and for 2 weeks I wouldn't even touch it because I couldn't bring myself to play the game knowing Aerith was gone. I couldn't do it. After 2 weeks the only thing that brought me back was the hatred I felt for Sephiroth and the hope that maybe killing him would give me some kind of satisfaction. But it never did. I know in this Trilogy Aerith is not dead. Even if she died at the FC, there are still Multiverse Aerith's and we have not seen all their fates yet. We still haven't seen what has happened to the Aerith that is sleeping. Not to mention when Cloud parried Sephiroth's sword, he inadvertently created another timeline and Aerith is obviously alive in that one. Of course confirmation of this we will not see till part 3, but for the first time since OG I am hopeful.
Man thanks for sharing this, it's a great story and so relatable. I was 9 years old and first experienced it with my brother whom was playing and I always watched him. We both freaked out and reset the game immediately, I blamed my brother as I though he messed up the sequence right before Sephi showed at the FC. It was just a mess from there and nothing but sadness for awhile. I do believe Aerith is alive one or another due to reasons you listed here and others.
@@mlwjrpg I actually played the game on its first release in 1997. Sony was doing a promo and FF7 was bundled with the PS1 Game console. So it was literally the very first game I ever played on PS
I want to believe there is this other timeline where Aerith has been saved but it is also this timeline where Cloud see the fracture in the sky (that define a world that doesnt endure in which Sephiroth win at the end). Even if I want her to live, the price is huge…
To me they did because I was in so much pain and was sobbing, but not because I knew what was going on, but because I didn’t and I can only imagine that’s how Cloud was feeling. Hope that he could save her, quickly dashed by the reveal that he didn’t, and then the multiversal stuff confusing him and just making him want to scream and cry and fall apart. And that’s exactly how I felt.
I love the original is my favorite game of all time. But i will a happi ending for Aerith. And this happy ending is cloud and Aerith togheter betterr fr me. I have all games ,movies and novels of copilation . And i need this happy clerith ending.
And yet some people from the "fandom" said that the interview was not about the ending of the game BUT the focus was on the Cloud and Tifa's kiss!!!!! idk what to think anymore!! XD
Omg didn't you know? That optional kiss scene that the devs said isn't really connected to the main story line at all was the biggest moment in the whole game!! You can tell how much this "fandom" really cares about the actual story.
@@JAYJoe00 It's highly likely it was dumped into an optional scene (1 among...11?), in the middle chapter (would have more impact to first appear in non-optional, last-installment location) because it's not at all important, but potentially justs a peace offering equivalent.
I cried my eyes out at the end of this game it was so well written and just had me asking for my more. The devs need to know they did a phenomenal job and I can't wait till part 3.
To be honest, i was pretty disappointed until some time had passed because i went in expecting to get a clear answer and while i was playing through it, i was absolutely convinced that she did not die. It was only when i saw the scene of everyone sitting at the place where the funeral took place that i realised that something went wrong. Her calming cloud down, him telling her to wait for him, and just how powerful the “shut up” towards sephiroth felt, followed up by cloud returning to her and waking her up - made it just seem like she was saved. I felt kinda empty when I noticed that the others couldn’t see her and that cloud is now in between two worlds. I couldn’t really experience the emotions that i wanted to experience and i was not happy about that. Now that about two weeks have passed i am starting to appreciate it more and am starting to see what they were going for. They were able to achieve the feeling that i think hamaguchi was it described when he played through the game and was desperately trying to find a way to get her back. I still wish the ending would’ve hit me more emotionally but that was just on me being too invested during that moment when i look back at it. It’s still not making me emotional because im still convinced that she didn’t die and it honestly just makes me jealous seeing other people being able to appreciate it so much. Urgh maybe i just need to play through the game again a second time.
Yeah for me the ending has only gotten better and better as time passes and seeing it over again and again. Sometimes I end up crying more than I did on my first playthrough. I think the some people had issues dealing with the storm of emotions whilst also trying to compartmentalize what really was going on. Human emotion is unique afterall.
I definitely think they knew they couldn't trick people and make it look like she died for sure without risking people not buying the 3rd part. They also made the hints at the potential to possibly save her, and the multi dimensions, pretty clear in Remake. Which is why I think many people continued to play the games. I remember hearing about the leaks of Rebirth's ending getting out for Japanese people and that many of them canceled their pre orders because they thought they just killed her off again. I also don't think they were exactly even trying to make people feel the same as the OG because it's not the same story anymore.
Thanks for bringing the recent interview into the video! We know it’s not the first time the developers said about different timelines and Aerith’s fate being unconfirmed by the end of Rebirth, but now they’re brought again by the more known media plus Kitase emphasizing the feeling of loss over someone Cloud loves, it’s the best feeling I’ve ever had when it comes to the interviews. As for Aerith’s fate, I think she’s still alive in another world when Cloud saved her, but the game definitely leaves it ambiguous, even Rebirth Ultimania says it’s still unknown whether Aerith is alive, dead, or an illusion that Cloud sees. And there’s still Cloud and Aerith from Terrier world, another fact that Aerith’s fate is still unknown, enough for fans to speculate for years before part 3 is out. Here are my thoughts of the scene at the altar: The moment Cloud succeeded by pushing Sephiroth out, a new world was created (let’s say Beagle 2) but not fully unmerging because Sephiroth was trying to merge all the worlds into one, including Cloud and Aerith’s consciousness. That’s probably why Cloud could sense his ‘other one’ who gave the speech like in OG and Aerith felt the Masamune stab into her body and passed out, all happened concurrently in the Beagle 2 world and the world when Cloud failed to save Aerith (Beagle 1). It’s backed up by the fact that when all parties including Zack fight against Sephiroth Reborn, his horn slashed by Cloud or Zack is visible to Barret and the others. When Cloud fights against Sephiroth, Aerith sends her consciousness to help him and goes back to her real body when it’s done. So when Nojima said he’s inspired by Carl Jung’s theory when writing scenario for Rebirth, I think he put it into the entire chapter 14, and in some occasions. I rewatched the ending then thought that Aerith in the end is in the safe world while Cloud and the others are in the world soon to be destroyed. The cracks in the sky that Cloud sees is not there when Aerith is alone in the end. To me her goodbye doesn’t mean she’s dead, but maybe Beagle 1 and 2 worlds are fully unmerging and it’s possible they can’t meet each other again, unless miracle happens and I hope White Materia will play the role for their reunion in part 3. For now, I’m on the AerithLives camp while waiting for part 3. Please, let Cloud and Aerith be happy this time 😩🙏
Reading this was a treat! You’re highly intuitive and have really grasped the entire ending and explained it well! I’m right there with you with all of this, Aerith is alive in another timeline. Which Aerith exactly? I’m not fully convinced on the answer to that just yet.
She is deffo a presence everywhere mirroring Sephiroth. Her being 'alive' is kinda up to debate. Since other 'worlds' are really a part of the lifestream. I would argue Cloud is a lifestream traveler at this point. So he is vvvveerry unique for a living person.
@@wmen48Are we 100% sure that these worlds are just part of the Lifestream? That would go against what was said earlier about new worlds being born whenever the boundaries of fate are broken.
She is as "alive" as in OG and AC. Just like Jenova she is powerful enough to have a "consciousness" in the lifestream. Nothing changed with that. She is physically dead ofc, but will probably always be a conscious part of the lifestream and like we saw in AC, she will also be reunited with Zack later, so it's gonna be a happy end in that regard anyway, no surprises as they will not change the outcome of AC because the whole point of the remake trilogy is to unite the compilation material.
@dshearwf If she's "alive as in AC" then she's dead, bruh. Being alive would mean her body and spirit are operating. If you're just a spirit in a mortal realm, then you're not alive at all, you're on another plain of existence. Now, are we 100% sure that these games will still lead into Advent Children? Because I'm pretty sure that Sephiroth the time lord we see in Remake and Rebirth comes from the end of that film, so if we go back to AC at the end of this, nothing's going to stop Sephiroth from trying to do this shit again. These remake games are definitely including almost everything from the compilation, yes, but they may be doing it so that there won't be any lose ends when this remakes end. They're trying to put an end to the FF7 story and compilation.
Also i really appreciate the work and the search you make in order for all of us to have knowledge of whats happening for the interviews and explaining the deep meaning of the game
I believe Cloud was not able to speak in that altar scene as he felt the combined pain and despair of his various selves from the other timelines/worlds. The Aerith he saved also was weak as she felt the blow from the Masamune even if Cloud parried it. Cloud ‘died’ along with Aerith there and he had no ounce of strength or plans in defending himself against Sephiroth. Aerith being able to reach out to Cloud and touch his face changed the tide. Talk about “saving the world and you”.
I hadn't considered looking at it from the perspective of Cloud "dying" at that moment. More so as in lost the will to fight until he knew Aerith was really okay!
The biggest thing I hope besides the story ending satisfyingly, is that they stop the butchering of the localisation and just release the interactions as it is in Japanese. So much context is missing when they tow the Cloti line to the detriment of the story.
The thing no one ever mentions is that Cloud is clearly surprised to see Aerith sitting next to him which means to me that he knows at least one Aerith is dead.
Love the work that you do. Your analysis videos are top-notch. Keep up the good work! Side note: I love your videos so much more cause you use Trails OST during your videos. You have great taste in JRPGs.
Whew, there's a lot to unpack here. Honestly i was totally confused when i first finished the game. It got better the more i watched it and especially with all the intended different interpretations from other people. And considering they leave her fate very purposefully unclear tells me that a big part of part 3 is putting those particular pieces together. But i'm gonna be honest, i don't really have an interpretation myself and i'm kind of scared to have one. The entirety of Remake and it's additional changes revolve around the possibility of fate being defied and for things to be different. And obviously the one thing they were ultimately alluding to is Aerith's death. It's the ultimate tragedy that broke a generation of gamers. We want to save this pure hearted girl who wants nothing but the best for the world more than anything. And when they showed her dying again and then stating that they wanted to portray the feeling of denial of grief it made me feel like all of those new plot threads and concepts were completely pointless. Something cool and mysterious just for the sake of letting people get their hopes up. But ultimately i realized that "life sucks, there's nothing you can do about it, deal with it" is such a nihilistic point of view that feels so out of place in FF. FF is a lot of things. Hard hitting. Deep. Complex. But it's most definitely not nihilistic. But then again, i'm scared to get my hopes up. There's definitely evidence that Aerith could be alive in some way or be resurrected. But the devs have said that they don't want to betray the OG story and the big overarching theme of the og is loss. Aerith's death was the big moment to fully capture that feeling. How can they stay faithful to that feeling while also bringing her back? I'm EXTREMELY conflicted. I love Aerith so incredibly much. She's my favorite character in this series. And of course i'm a huge Clerith shipper. I want her to get her well deserved happy ending more than anything but i also don't want to get my hopes up. What are your thoughts on this? Does any of this make sense?
I think that interpretation should be done after it is finished. They clearly want cliffhanger endings. If so it is useless to make these theories that can be proven/debunked in 3 mins of the next game. This is the bad part of splitting the game.
A lot of people were annoyed that rebirth's ending didn't give too much away but when you look at the bigger picture, it kinda makes sense why they left it open. The final instalment in the series is still about 3/4 years away and definitively killing or saving aerith would lessen the intrigue for part 3. What SE were going to do about Aerith's death was always the most anticipated part of the whole remake series and so they are trying to prolong that anticipation until the next game arrives as now fans are more likely to care about how the whole remake series concludes as the stakes are still kept high. Obviously from a fan perspective it would've been nice to know if aerith lives or dies for certain but that would kill the hype for part 3 for fans that would've wanted the opposite to happen to aerith
Couldn't agree anymore with you here, It's fair game for people to judge the execution at specific points during the ending. But overall, I believe they did a great job and the ending ages well. They setup the ideal cliffhanger and now it's a wait game.
Not gonna lie, but I lowkey hated the ending when I first saw it. I was expecting something far more emotional instead we got a confusing mess of events. However, the more I thought about it the more I started to think that this was a rather brilliant marketing (and narrative) move, i.e. the devs baked their cake and ate it too. The intentionally confusing nature of the ending makes absolutely sure that the discussion and hype for part 3 is at max. Plus, they can give us the emotional high somewhere in part 3 when we get the full version so the ending/death scene there. In OG, this was one of the earliest scenes where 'real' Cloud was on full display and we got an understanding of what Aerith meant to him. I sincerely hope they stick the landing when ending part 3 and don't meander into more appeasement fan service (multiple ending nonsense) or some other multi-world confusion weirdness.
I absolutely agree with you on it would be disappointing if they go for multi endings...I don't want to see that happen at all, maybe if they can do it well but that's extremely difficult. I do believe the ending will be ambiguous though
@@mlwjrpg Well, they said that they are going for a happy ending or a 'new kind of happiness' and other similar statements which suggests that maybe they won't make it ambiguous this time, but just like you said, I am pretty sure they will find a way to botch it somehow with their usual 'let's appease everyone' approach.
@@mlwjrpgI know this is wishful thinking but what I want to see in Part 3 is a reverse of this wherein Cloud carries an alive Aerith in his arms from whatever world she is in to our main timeline.
First off, thank you for your awesome videos/channel and Twitter. We love your channel. Now on to the ending, I think they absolutely succeeded "IF" Aerith survives. It would be an amazing conclusion. Especially if Cloud saves her and they embrace. I also think multiple endings would be great. One with Cloud saving Aerith, one with Tifa affinity, Yuffie, and still save Aerith, one where team fails, or whatever. That could also be interesting. If we can only have one though, Cloud saving Aerith would be extremely emotional and be a great conclusion. It also makes playing this and the OG great together. We have played the OG for 27 years, we have seen her die so many times(my buddy even bought a GameShark back in the day thinking he could save her with it). I have experienced so much loss in my life(including my grandma yesterday and Dad three years ago). I know they are in Heaven but it would be so emotional to see them again and seeing Cloud save Aerith after 27 years would be so emotional and impactful. Thanks again for the amazing content.
I do believe the third part will keep in ambiguous, I'm not so sure how I feel about multi endings though...if executed right and done well then I'm all for it. Thanks for all of this and so glad you're here supporting!
@@mlwjrpg Happy to support and thanks for the amazing content. I mostly want a happy ending and would love to see Cloud save Aerith. That is definitely the main ending I want most. If we see them embrace and see Cloud's joy of saving her, that will be incredibly satisfying and emotional. I'm excited for Part 3.
I see the 3rd part of the trilogy ending in two ways, either it ends with Aerith staying dead and cloud learn to accept her death this time around or Cloud dies and have his happily ever after with Aerith in the lifestream while the rest of the party mourns Cloud and Aerith
I am an Aerith fan, and I don't care if she ends up with Cloud or Zack but I would like her to live one way or the other. You will anger some fans who want the original ending. Then there are the Cloti fans who want cloud and tifa together. You never gonna please that many people, so try pleasing as many as possible with multiple endings. Like after rebirth they can have their many arguments for years to come.
The lake scene feels so off so far. I mean: Cloud wakes Aerith up (my god, she’s alive?!), but then, 30-60 seconds later, she’s gone, and Cloud seems to be the only one who can see her. Why reveal such a major twist so quickly? The final cutscene essentially did the same thing. Now, imagine if we cut the lake scene entirely: Aerith opens her eyes, we get the Rufus scene, Zack, the Weapons, the Robbed Men, and then the Final scene. With some subtle edits, we slowly begin to realize that Aerith doesn’t interact with the others and only appears to Cloud. Just when we start to question Aerith’s condition, the end credits roll. **"Cloud is crazy."** But in the lake scene… Cloud seems so relaxed and detached when Barret suggests they leave. Then, there’s a flashback-this time tinged purple, the same color we see during the trials and a color often associated with Jenova. Aerith reappears in a somewhat eerie way, and Cloud responds with a faint, incredulous smile. He looks both surprised and calm, and he keeps smiling until the scene ends. I know the lake place must be suggested to introduce the famous scene later or as a flashback but it's like it's not following what happened just before. And not to mention that the entire lake scene doesn't appear during the end credit ...
The Sephora (pink) filter has been used throughout the trilogy to show flashbacks from the past. I did a thread on this on Twitter that I should translate into video format. But I believe that flashback before Aerith appeared was from OG. The ending wasn’t without flaws, but I do believe it was done extremely well, especially after rewatching many times.
@@mlwjrpg Ah yes I don't say it's not done well. I enjoyed the end I knew it won't be clear or neat. That's their project they know what they are doing. I just meant there is something hidden there. If they wanted to make us believe Cloud is crazy and Aerith is dead and is just an illusion in Cloud's mind they could have done it in a simpler way. Like if the lake scene doesn't follow the same continuity of event. Like a piece that once you know where to put it everything becomes clear. I think the flashback from the OG will be the illusion Sephiroth creates at the Northern Crater to break Cloud and convince him that he didn’t save Aerith. No one will be able to disprove it, and this will mark the beginning of Cloud's redemption arc/Lifestream moment, but with the revelation that he did save her, or at least put her somewhere safe (maybe). The advantage of this option is that the mystery surrounding Aerith's fate remains. It's just an idea, of course.
@@RebirthFacts 100% spot on, they wouldn’t have opted to show us what they did if “Cloud snapped here instead of NC and Aerith is just dead.” What you mentioned about Sephiroth is interesting because that is likely why he laughed before he fled after the fight. He was probably already thinking there later he will gaslight Cloud about Aerith’s death. Then you looking into the LS, it could be revealed there that he saved her. I expect a full overhaul of the LS and it playing out differently.
@@mlwjrpg Agree. 80% of the LS scene is already addressed to us and to Cloud in Rebirth. He knows too many things. Like in Gongaga Cloud mentions details of the Mount Nibel incident as he does in the original, knowing that it was the key moment of the scene; Cloud is Cloud. Later, in the original, we visit the Mount Nibel reactor and Cloud remembers Zack. Same thing when we visit Nibelheim in Rebirth, Cloud remembers Zack on his own. And still in Nibelheim, the conversations Cloud has with Tifa at the beginning of the chapter and the one at the end of the side quest with Fluffy match the conversations in OG Lifestream. All these conversations happen in Tifa's old room. The general meaning seems the same: Tifa’s mistaken perception back then, and Cloud’s excessive reaction, which he seems to acknowledge. OG: "I was the one being stupid." Rebirth: "I was a pain in the ass." OG: "I wanted to play but you never let me in." Rebirth: "You believe I enjoyed being alone." (Don't remember the exact line) My opinion is that Cloud will be alone in this sequence, visited by different consciences like his mother, himself at various ages, Zack (who's sacrifies himself) and Tifa. Perhaps we might even "play" certain moments of his life by interacting with these characters. This could be interesting as a way to clarify some of the vague passages from the previous 5-7 years. I know some people don't like the idea of Cloud not being helped exclusively by Tifa but I don't see, from the factual element already addressed, what more she could say regardless a big twist of course. And thank you again for your video !
I forgot to mention in the video that Final Fantasy Rebirth is three months away from possibly becoming the first ever FF game to when GOTY. It's a combination from start to finish, but the ending leaves the last impression on the player.
Oh shoot! Really? FF10 and FF7 both deserved game of the year. Fingers crossed for Rebirth. I’ve played a few other games this year and legit, Rebirth keeps coming out on top for me.
Man, it took me months to get this game out of my head. I didn't feel like playing any other games after. It was like when you break up with someone you really like and you suffer from temporary depression.
They say about Cloud love her again 😭😭😭😭 CLERITH IS SO CANON OMG, I CANT WAIT FOR PART 3
Kitase basically said the same thing last month at the "Summoning A Masterpiece" event too.
Lindaaaaa
@@BeccaMoranguinho AMIGAAA
I went into the ending legit thinking she was going to die. There are so many moments in the game that suggest that changing fate is insurmountable. For Cloud to surpass his limits, reject his fate and fight for his future happiness is so ‘Final Fantasy.’ It also feels true to Cloud as a character. So yeah, loved the ending : )
I wasn't sure what to expect, I think leading up to that point I had confidence that she was going to live. Then legit as I was walking to the altar and starting hearing her prayer, I said to myself...she's going to die, I can't do this...whew it was all a blur after that.
The ending was brilliant. He saved her. The devs pulled off the impossible. She's dead and alive at the same time. It's the only way to make everyone happy. It honors the original in every way and it's....a sequel. The OG was about death. Remake is about life. They can coexist & it's beautiful. Remake/Rebirth adds to the lore & shows how deep the original story went with ps5's capabilities. Now we just have to buy part 3 to get Aerith back. She's gunna be waiting in our spot in the church. I hope everyone's ready! I love everything about Rebirth. ❤
I'm on board with you here, that reunion at "their spot!" Going to be peak af!
Follow the yellow flowers...they were dying in the terrier timeline but started coming back to life as Rebirth got closer to her death. This started all the way back in Intermission when Zack first goes to the church. The flowers reflect her presence and she's likely alive in terrier timeline. Everyone interprets "Rebirth" as applying to Sephiroth - and sure - but it may turn out it also applies to Aerith. And yeah, that flowerbed is really just a wormhole...see you soon
When I played the game as a kid, I had Aerith in my team from the start. My dream team was Cloud, Aerith, Cid (maybe I can finally have this too in part 3 lol) When Aerith died I was one of the people that stopped playing for months. I was devastated. Then, at some point, I thought, “there is no way she’s gone. She’ll be brought back to life.” I truly believed this and that is why I continued to play. After the game was over, I was still in disbelief. At the time, I thought she would come back in the next game, FFVIII. I was young and didn’t realize they were all separate games lol. I truly hope that after all these years, I can actually see Aerith coming back to be able to have her happy ending with Cloud. After all this time, they deserve to be together.
Man, my jaw was on the floor when that happened. And I lost some great gear on top of that. I'm really greatful that social media didn't exist at the time because it would have ruined it for me since I didn't get to play the game until about a year after it launched and none of my friends played Final Fantasy.
I agree! As devastating as it was, I was glad I experienced it without any outside source. Unlike rebirth where I got spoiled for some things which made me stop playing it.
I really hope we can save her! Seeing Cloud save her would be extremely emotional. We have seen her die for 27 years. Saving her now would be so impactful. We have the OG game and it still makes it relevant. It even makes it fun to go back to play it. This time, they deserve their happy ending and it will be so satisfying and emotional to see it happen.
I completely agree!!
Beautiful how Kitase confirms Clouds feelings of love for Aerith yet again, love these video updates. Please do some parody content of Cloti reactions to all the clerith scenes in the future, it will be gold to study as this delusion falls apart in real time.
Ha ha I’ll consider doing the CT reacts for sure, I’ve had some people request this. I’m a bit hesitate because I don’t want the comments to turn into a place where people are attacking or belittling the streamers though.
That makes sense, but I think It can be made clear that this is a study of complete media illiteracy by a fandom in a certain part of the world more so than a belittling of certain people
I was 19 when I played the OG for the first time. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I was so shocked and heartbroken I put the game away and for 2 weeks I wouldn't even touch it because I couldn't bring myself to play the game knowing Aerith was gone. I couldn't do it. After 2 weeks the only thing that brought me back was the hatred I felt for Sephiroth and the hope that maybe killing him would give me some kind of satisfaction. But it never did. I know in this Trilogy Aerith is not dead. Even if she died at the FC, there are still Multiverse Aerith's and we have not seen all their fates yet. We still haven't seen what has happened to the Aerith that is sleeping. Not to mention when Cloud parried Sephiroth's sword, he inadvertently created another timeline and Aerith is obviously alive in that one. Of course confirmation of this we will not see till part 3, but for the first time since OG I am hopeful.
Man thanks for sharing this, it's a great story and so relatable. I was 9 years old and first experienced it with my brother whom was playing and I always watched him. We both freaked out and reset the game immediately, I blamed my brother as I though he messed up the sequence right before Sephi showed at the FC. It was just a mess from there and nothing but sadness for awhile. I do believe Aerith is alive one or another due to reasons you listed here and others.
@@mlwjrpg I actually played the game on its first release in 1997. Sony was doing a promo and FF7 was bundled with the PS1 Game console. So it was literally the very first game I ever played on PS
I want to believe there is this other timeline where Aerith has been saved but it is also this timeline where Cloud see the fracture in the sky (that define a world that doesnt endure in which Sephiroth win at the end). Even if I want her to live, the price is huge…
To me they did because I was in so much pain and was sobbing, but not because I knew what was going on, but because I didn’t and I can only imagine that’s how Cloud was feeling. Hope that he could save her, quickly dashed by the reveal that he didn’t, and then the multiversal stuff confusing him and just making him want to scream and cry and fall apart. And that’s exactly how I felt.
I can relate, it was a lot to take in on that first playthrough. Nothing could stop those tears from flowing though.
Let's just hope that they won't ruin it all with optional/multi fanservice endings and just make one canon closure to the story. 🙏
I love the original is my favorite game of all time. But i will a happi ending for Aerith. And this happy ending is cloud and Aerith togheter betterr fr me. I have all games ,movies and novels of copilation . And i need this happy clerith ending.
Agreed! I do not want to see multi endings...that will just end up being a huge mess.
And yet some people from the "fandom" said that the interview was not about the ending of the game BUT the focus was on the Cloud and Tifa's kiss!!!!! idk what to think anymore!! XD
Did they ever talk about the optional kiss scene in rebirth in the interview?
@@001Sweety not for one millisecond
Omg didn't you know? That optional kiss scene that the devs said isn't really connected to the main story line at all was the biggest moment in the whole game!!
You can tell how much this "fandom" really cares about the actual story.
I'm not surprised that some of them are blatantly lying like this smh
@@JAYJoe00 It's highly likely it was dumped into an optional scene (1 among...11?), in the middle chapter (would have more impact to first appear in non-optional, last-installment location) because it's not at all important, but potentially justs a peace offering equivalent.
I cried my eyes out at the end of this game it was so well written and just had me asking for my more.
The devs need to know they did a phenomenal job and I can't wait till part 3.
Right there with you, can so feel you here!
Omg, the collective reactions to Aerith's NPTK singing has me in tears. Great video MLWJRPG
Thank you! 🥰
To be honest, i was pretty disappointed until some time had passed because i went in expecting to get a clear answer and while i was playing through it, i was absolutely convinced that she did not die. It was only when i saw the scene of everyone sitting at the place where the funeral took place that i realised that something went wrong. Her calming cloud down, him telling her to wait for him, and just how powerful the “shut up” towards sephiroth felt, followed up by cloud returning to her and waking her up - made it just seem like she was saved. I felt kinda empty when I noticed that the others couldn’t see her and that cloud is now in between two worlds. I couldn’t really experience the emotions that i wanted to experience and i was not happy about that. Now that about two weeks have passed i am starting to appreciate it more and am starting to see what they were going for. They were able to achieve the feeling that i think hamaguchi was it described when he played through the game and was desperately trying to find a way to get her back. I still wish the ending would’ve hit me more emotionally but that was just on me being too invested during that moment when i look back at it.
It’s still not making me emotional because im still convinced that she didn’t die and it honestly just makes me jealous seeing other people being able to appreciate it so much. Urgh maybe i just need to play through the game again a second time.
Yeah for me the ending has only gotten better and better as time passes and seeing it over again and again. Sometimes I end up crying more than I did on my first playthrough. I think the some people had issues dealing with the storm of emotions whilst also trying to compartmentalize what really was going on. Human emotion is unique afterall.
I definitely think they knew they couldn't trick people and make it look like she died for sure without risking people not buying the 3rd part. They also made the hints at the potential to possibly save her, and the multi dimensions, pretty clear in Remake. Which is why I think many people continued to play the games. I remember hearing about the leaks of Rebirth's ending getting out for Japanese people and that many of them canceled their pre orders because they thought they just killed her off again. I also don't think they were exactly even trying to make people feel the same as the OG because it's not the same story anymore.
Thanks for bringing the recent interview into the video! We know it’s not the first time the developers said about different timelines and Aerith’s fate being unconfirmed by the end of Rebirth, but now they’re brought again by the more known media plus Kitase emphasizing the feeling of loss over someone Cloud loves, it’s the best feeling I’ve ever had when it comes to the interviews.
As for Aerith’s fate, I think she’s still alive in another world when Cloud saved her, but the game definitely leaves it ambiguous, even Rebirth Ultimania says it’s still unknown whether Aerith is alive, dead, or an illusion that Cloud sees. And there’s still Cloud and Aerith from Terrier world, another fact that Aerith’s fate is still unknown, enough for fans to speculate for years before part 3 is out.
Here are my thoughts of the scene at the altar: The moment Cloud succeeded by pushing Sephiroth out, a new world was created (let’s say Beagle 2) but not fully unmerging because Sephiroth was trying to merge all the worlds into one, including Cloud and Aerith’s consciousness. That’s probably why Cloud could sense his ‘other one’ who gave the speech like in OG and Aerith felt the Masamune stab into her body and passed out, all happened concurrently in the Beagle 2 world and the world when Cloud failed to save Aerith (Beagle 1). It’s backed up by the fact that when all parties including Zack fight against Sephiroth Reborn, his horn slashed by Cloud or Zack is visible to Barret and the others. When Cloud fights against Sephiroth, Aerith sends her consciousness to help him and goes back to her real body when it’s done. So when Nojima said he’s inspired by Carl Jung’s theory when writing scenario for Rebirth, I think he put it into the entire chapter 14, and in some occasions.
I rewatched the ending then thought that Aerith in the end is in the safe world while Cloud and the others are in the world soon to be destroyed. The cracks in the sky that Cloud sees is not there when Aerith is alone in the end. To me her goodbye doesn’t mean she’s dead, but maybe Beagle 1 and 2 worlds are fully unmerging and it’s possible they can’t meet each other again, unless miracle happens and I hope White Materia will play the role for their reunion in part 3.
For now, I’m on the AerithLives camp while waiting for part 3. Please, let Cloud and Aerith be happy this time 😩🙏
Reading this was a treat! You’re highly intuitive and have really grasped the entire ending and explained it well! I’m right there with you with all of this, Aerith is alive in another timeline. Which Aerith exactly? I’m not fully convinced on the answer to that just yet.
I'm pretty confident that Aerith is alive there's been to much foreshadowing in the story for her not to be.
Right there with you, we have loads of evidence backing the notion that she is alive in some shape or fashion.
She is deffo a presence everywhere mirroring Sephiroth. Her being 'alive' is kinda up to debate. Since other 'worlds' are really a part of the lifestream. I would argue Cloud is a lifestream traveler at this point. So he is vvvveerry unique for a living person.
@@wmen48Are we 100% sure that these worlds are just part of the Lifestream? That would go against what was said earlier about new worlds being born whenever the boundaries of fate are broken.
She is as "alive" as in OG and AC. Just like Jenova she is powerful enough to have a "consciousness" in the lifestream. Nothing changed with that. She is physically dead ofc, but will probably always be a conscious part of the lifestream and like we saw in AC, she will also be reunited with Zack later, so it's gonna be a happy end in that regard anyway, no surprises as they will not change the outcome of AC because the whole point of the remake trilogy is to unite the compilation material.
@dshearwf If she's "alive as in AC" then she's dead, bruh. Being alive would mean her body and spirit are operating. If you're just a spirit in a mortal realm, then you're not alive at all, you're on another plain of existence. Now, are we 100% sure that these games will still lead into Advent Children? Because I'm pretty sure that Sephiroth the time lord we see in Remake and Rebirth comes from the end of that film, so if we go back to AC at the end of this, nothing's going to stop Sephiroth from trying to do this shit again. These remake games are definitely including almost everything from the compilation, yes, but they may be doing it so that there won't be any lose ends when this remakes end. They're trying to put an end to the FF7 story and compilation.
Also i really appreciate the work and the search you make in order for all of us to have knowledge of whats happening for the interviews and explaining the deep meaning of the game
Thank you, this means a lot! I will for sure do my best to stay on top of the latest news and developments with the sources to back everything.
I believe Cloud was not able to speak in that altar scene as he felt the combined pain and despair of his various selves from the other timelines/worlds. The Aerith he saved also was weak as she felt the blow from the Masamune even if Cloud parried it. Cloud ‘died’ along with Aerith there and he had no ounce of strength or plans in defending himself against Sephiroth. Aerith being able to reach out to Cloud and touch his face changed the tide. Talk about “saving the world and you”.
I hadn't considered looking at it from the perspective of Cloud "dying" at that moment. More so as in lost the will to fight until he knew Aerith was really okay!
@@mlwjrpg Sorry I was speaking figuratively haha. But yeah lost his will to fight and perhaps even will to live.
The biggest thing I hope besides the story ending satisfyingly, is that they stop the butchering of the localisation and just release the interactions as it is in Japanese. So much context is missing when they tow the Cloti line to the detriment of the story.
Yeah SENA is so inconsistent with the localization. Unfortunately I see that continuing, but hopefully they’ll improve their craft.
The thing no one ever mentions is that Cloud is clearly surprised to see Aerith sitting next to him which means to me that he knows at least one Aerith is dead.
Yeah and right before that, I believe that was a flashback he was seeing.
This whole remake is so awesome, i cant wait for more
im heree!! and i'm crying ALL OVER AGAIN. i can't watch rebirth's ending because it happens every time.
It always hits so hard...and at the sametime it keeps aging so well everytime I see it.
I honestly wonder if they've decided themselves yet... that was my first thought after seeing it all.
That could be a bit of a worry deep down inside, because you never know. But I believe they had all of this planned from the start of the trilogy.
@@mlwjrpg In either case we can only wait and see^^
Love the work that you do. Your analysis videos are top-notch. Keep up the good work! Side note: I love your videos so much more cause you use Trails OST during your videos. You have great taste in JRPGs.
Your words mean everything, thank you! I'm on the finale chapter of Daybreak as we speak haha. Love the Trails series and yeah many other JRPGs!
Whew, there's a lot to unpack here. Honestly i was totally confused when i first finished the game. It got better the more i watched it and especially with all the intended different interpretations from other people. And considering they leave her fate very purposefully unclear tells me that a big part of part 3 is putting those particular pieces together. But i'm gonna be honest, i don't really have an interpretation myself and i'm kind of scared to have one. The entirety of Remake and it's additional changes revolve around the possibility of fate being defied and for things to be different. And obviously the one thing they were ultimately alluding to is Aerith's death. It's the ultimate tragedy that broke a generation of gamers. We want to save this pure hearted girl who wants nothing but the best for the world more than anything. And when they showed her dying again and then stating that they wanted to portray the feeling of denial of grief it made me feel like all of those new plot threads and concepts were completely pointless. Something cool and mysterious just for the sake of letting people get their hopes up. But ultimately i realized that "life sucks, there's nothing you can do about it, deal with it" is such a nihilistic point of view that feels so out of place in FF. FF is a lot of things. Hard hitting. Deep. Complex. But it's most definitely not nihilistic. But then again, i'm scared to get my hopes up. There's definitely evidence that Aerith could be alive in some way or be resurrected. But the devs have said that they don't want to betray the OG story and the big overarching theme of the og is loss. Aerith's death was the big moment to fully capture that feeling. How can they stay faithful to that feeling while also bringing her back? I'm EXTREMELY conflicted. I love Aerith so incredibly much. She's my favorite character in this series. And of course i'm a huge Clerith shipper. I want her to get her well deserved happy ending more than anything but i also don't want to get my hopes up. What are your thoughts on this? Does any of this make sense?
I think that interpretation should be done after it is finished. They clearly want cliffhanger endings. If so it is useless to make these theories that can be proven/debunked in 3 mins of the next game. This is the bad part of splitting the game.
A lot of people were annoyed that rebirth's ending didn't give too much away but when you look at the bigger picture, it kinda makes sense why they left it open. The final instalment in the series is still about 3/4 years away and definitively killing or saving aerith would lessen the intrigue for part 3. What SE were going to do about Aerith's death was always the most anticipated part of the whole remake series and so they are trying to prolong that anticipation until the next game arrives as now fans are more likely to care about how the whole remake series concludes as the stakes are still kept high. Obviously from a fan perspective it would've been nice to know if aerith lives or dies for certain but that would kill the hype for part 3 for fans that would've wanted the opposite to happen to aerith
Couldn't agree anymore with you here, It's fair game for people to judge the execution at specific points during the ending. But overall, I believe they did a great job and the ending ages well. They setup the ideal cliffhanger and now it's a wait game.
I just hope that whatever happens in Part three, that all ships will be at peace with eachother and that no one harasses or threatens the developers.
Unfortunately, this is already happening and shows no sign of ever going away
This would be ideal, but realistically it won't happen. It's going to be sad to see.
Not gonna lie, but I lowkey hated the ending when I first saw it. I was expecting something far more emotional instead we got a confusing mess of events. However, the more I thought about it the more I started to think that this was a rather brilliant marketing (and narrative) move, i.e. the devs baked their cake and ate it too. The intentionally confusing nature of the ending makes absolutely sure that the discussion and hype for part 3 is at max. Plus, they can give us the emotional high somewhere in part 3 when we get the full version so the ending/death scene there. In OG, this was one of the earliest scenes where 'real' Cloud was on full display and we got an understanding of what Aerith meant to him.
I sincerely hope they stick the landing when ending part 3 and don't meander into more appeasement fan service (multiple ending nonsense) or some other multi-world confusion weirdness.
I absolutely agree with you on it would be disappointing if they go for multi endings...I don't want to see that happen at all, maybe if they can do it well but that's extremely difficult. I do believe the ending will be ambiguous though
@@mlwjrpg Well, they said that they are going for a happy ending or a 'new kind of happiness' and other similar statements which suggests that maybe they won't make it ambiguous this time, but just like you said, I am pretty sure they will find a way to botch it somehow with their usual 'let's appease everyone' approach.
Wonder if in part 3, we'll see Cloud burying Aerith under the water like the original?
You bet we will get some sequence of the water burial.
@@mlwjrpgI know this is wishful thinking but what I want to see in Part 3 is a reverse of this wherein Cloud carries an alive Aerith in his arms from whatever world she is in to our main timeline.
@71xyjop I totally agree. That would be epic if he carries Aerith alive back to the party.
Barrett choking in tears: "Now THIS is a 'reunion!'"
@@71xyjop PEAK!!!!!
Yesss!!!!❤❤❤
🤩
First off, thank you for your awesome videos/channel and Twitter. We love your channel.
Now on to the ending, I think they absolutely succeeded "IF" Aerith survives. It would be an amazing conclusion. Especially if Cloud saves her and they embrace. I also think multiple endings would be great. One with Cloud saving Aerith, one with Tifa affinity, Yuffie, and still save Aerith, one where team fails, or whatever. That could also be interesting. If we can only have one though, Cloud saving Aerith would be extremely emotional and be a great conclusion. It also makes playing this and the OG great together. We have played the OG for 27 years, we have seen her die so many times(my buddy even bought a GameShark back in the day thinking he could save her with it). I have experienced so much loss in my life(including my grandma yesterday and Dad three years ago). I know they are in Heaven but it would be so emotional to see them again and seeing Cloud save Aerith after 27 years would be so emotional and impactful.
Thanks again for the amazing content.
Completely agree!
I do believe the third part will keep in ambiguous, I'm not so sure how I feel about multi endings though...if executed right and done well then I'm all for it.
Thanks for all of this and so glad you're here supporting!
@@mlwjrpg Happy to support and thanks for the amazing content. I mostly want a happy ending and would love to see Cloud save Aerith. That is definitely the main ending I want most. If we see them embrace and see Cloud's joy of saving her, that will be incredibly satisfying and emotional. I'm excited for Part 3.
@@CompleteGeekTV At the end of the day, ultimately that is what all of us want. Happiness and joy that they can finally enjoy together.
I see the 3rd part of the trilogy ending in two ways, either it ends with Aerith staying dead and cloud learn to accept her death this time around or Cloud dies and have his happily ever after with Aerith in the lifestream while the rest of the party mourns Cloud and Aerith
Interesting angle to look at part 3 on, these are very much possible at this point alongside many other predictions.
Wowww....This was my prediction as well. Either way is bittersweet but I'm still hoping that they go home alive. ❤
I am an Aerith fan, and I don't care if she ends up with Cloud or Zack but I would like her to live one way or the other. You will anger some fans who want the original ending. Then there are the Cloti fans who want cloud and tifa together. You never gonna please that many people, so try pleasing as many as possible with multiple endings. Like after rebirth they can have their many arguments for years to come.
The lake scene feels so off so far. I mean:
Cloud wakes Aerith up (my god, she’s alive?!),
but then, 30-60 seconds later, she’s gone, and Cloud seems to be the only one who can see her.
Why reveal such a major twist so quickly? The final cutscene essentially did the same thing.
Now, imagine if we cut the lake scene entirely:
Aerith opens her eyes, we get the Rufus scene, Zack, the Weapons, the Robbed Men, and then the Final scene.
With some subtle edits, we slowly begin to realize that Aerith doesn’t interact with the others and only appears to Cloud. Just when we start to question Aerith’s condition, the end credits roll.
**"Cloud is crazy."**
But in the lake scene… Cloud seems so relaxed and detached when Barret suggests they leave. Then, there’s a flashback-this time tinged purple, the same color we see during the trials and a color often associated with Jenova. Aerith reappears in a somewhat eerie way, and Cloud responds with a faint, incredulous smile. He looks both surprised and calm, and he keeps smiling until the scene ends.
I know the lake place must be suggested to introduce the famous scene later or as a flashback but it's like it's not following what happened just before. And not to mention that the entire lake scene doesn't appear during the end credit ...
The Sephora (pink) filter has been used throughout the trilogy to show flashbacks from the past. I did a thread on this on Twitter that I should translate into video format. But I believe that flashback before Aerith appeared was from OG. The ending wasn’t without flaws, but I do believe it was done extremely well, especially after rewatching many times.
@@mlwjrpg Ah yes I don't say it's not done well. I enjoyed the end I knew it won't be clear or neat. That's their project they know what they are doing.
I just meant there is something hidden there. If they wanted to make us believe Cloud is crazy and Aerith is dead and is just an illusion in Cloud's mind they could have done it in a simpler way.
Like if the lake scene doesn't follow the same continuity of event. Like a piece that once you know where to put it everything becomes clear.
I think the flashback from the OG will be the illusion Sephiroth creates at the Northern Crater to break Cloud and convince him that he didn’t save Aerith. No one will be able to disprove it, and this will mark the beginning of Cloud's redemption arc/Lifestream moment, but with the revelation that he did save her, or at least put her somewhere safe (maybe). The advantage of this option is that the mystery surrounding Aerith's fate remains.
It's just an idea, of course.
@@RebirthFacts 100% spot on, they wouldn’t have opted to show us what they did if “Cloud snapped here instead of NC and Aerith is just dead.” What you mentioned about Sephiroth is interesting because that is likely why he laughed before he fled after the fight. He was probably already thinking there later he will gaslight Cloud about Aerith’s death. Then you looking into the LS, it could be revealed there that he saved her. I expect a full overhaul of the LS and it playing out differently.
@@mlwjrpg Agree. 80% of the LS scene is already addressed to us and to Cloud in Rebirth. He knows too many things.
Like in Gongaga Cloud mentions details of the Mount Nibel incident as he does in the original, knowing that it was the key moment of the scene; Cloud is Cloud. Later, in the original, we visit the Mount Nibel reactor and Cloud remembers Zack.
Same thing when we visit Nibelheim in Rebirth, Cloud remembers Zack on his own. And still in Nibelheim, the conversations Cloud has with Tifa at the beginning of the chapter and the one at the end of the side quest with Fluffy match the conversations in OG Lifestream.
All these conversations happen in Tifa's old room. The general meaning seems the same: Tifa’s mistaken perception back then, and Cloud’s excessive reaction, which he seems to acknowledge.
OG: "I was the one being stupid."
Rebirth: "I was a pain in the ass."
OG: "I wanted to play but you never let me in."
Rebirth: "You believe I enjoyed being alone." (Don't remember the exact line)
My opinion is that Cloud will be alone in this sequence, visited by different consciences like his mother, himself at various ages, Zack (who's sacrifies himself) and Tifa.
Perhaps we might even "play" certain moments of his life by interacting with these characters. This could be interesting as a way to clarify some of the vague passages from the previous 5-7 years.
I know some people don't like the idea of Cloud not being helped exclusively by Tifa but I don't see, from the factual element already addressed, what more she could say regardless a big twist of course.
And thank you again for your video !
only has C A story
running through OG>AC>Remake>Rebirth>part 3
❤️🫶🏻
Part 3 is going to be a banger!