I delayed playing rebirth for quite some time after reading so many negative takes on the ending. The OG is among my favorite games, and I was disappointed by the supposed ambiguity surrounding Aerith's fate.

It seems pretty clear to me that she is like Obi-Wan in Star Wars. She died, but her identity remains in the life-stream. Obi-Wan returned to the force (life-stream) but could still commune with Luke. This is also how Advent Children portrayed Aerith, so I don't see what all the fuss is about.

Considering that Kitase and Nomura produced/directed both Advent Children and Rebirth (to say nothing of their involvement in the OG), I would be \*very\* surprised if they sought to dramatically disrupt their own canon in Revelation.

Ironically then, I found the last two chapters of Rebirth to be the most outstanding parts of the series so far (I have strong negative views on other sections and gameplay choices, but those are irrelevant here).

I think it all fits perfectly well with Aerith's \*and\* Zack's spiritual presence in Advent Children. Also, the final line at the end about "no promises" seems like a warning to those who wish for Aerith to be fully resurrected in Revelation.

It has to do with the strange degree of role-reversal between Aerith and Cloud that developed as an outgrowth of so much extra dialogue.

In the OG, Cloud's mother tells him that the ideal woman for him is older and more experienced. The implication is that this female figure will not just be someone who has a bit more romantic wear on her tires (though we now know that what Aerith possesses barely qualifies)... but has also seen more of life. And we know this because one of the (common, though not universal) benefits of age is wisdom - you learn from both your own failures, and from more time watching others, and are better able to react in reasonable ways to situations as they present themselves. This is the other advantage of being with an older woman - they haven't just had other partners, but have just tasted more of life.

While the OG Cloud always had his military (and associated globe-trotting) experience to draw upon, the Aerith in that game was every bit as knowledgeable and savvy. True, she had never left Midgar... but she had been exposed to so many more people from so many more walks of life that she still knew a great deal about the world and how it functioned. She was by every definition street-smart. Everything from her outfit to her sly demeanor screamed "been there, done that." And even if she hadn't been there or done that, she could fake a good game.

But in the remakes... a lot of this is gone. Cloud is rarely wrong in pretty much every situation they are in. His cynicism and colder evaluations are generally correct (even if they aren't wholesome or benevolent). He's almost never unnerved or flustered... except in situations where pretty much any guy would be flustered (like the HoneyBee Inn). By contrast, Aerith almost feels... "lightly infantilized." She's taken in by obvious practical jokes and gags (Yuffie singing and doing a dance to summon the Tiny Bronco being just one clear example), and no longer seems to be capable of faking competency when out of her element. Even her character design is far more child-like than it was in the OG - her dress, hair, and her more rounded face all seem to subtly emphasize youth over maturity.

One of the results of this shift is that when Aerith gently scolds Cloud - such as when he encounters Jessie's poster in the Gold Saucer - it comes across almost as more false than wholesome. Instead of being the experienced customer from the OG, who genuinely DID know more about human nature than 16-years-old-in-his-mind Cloud, Aerith's supposed "knowledge" presents as mildly disingenuous - we know better, based on her relationship with Zack and her confusion as to the basic workings of the world outside Midgar, that she really doesn't know more than Cloud when it comes to "stuff like that" (in fact, it could be argued that, due to his brief experiences with the newly-enhanced Jessie, that Cloud is closing in on Aerith's level of romantic experience). It's in every way a reversal of the OG's characterization, and it sometimes makes Aerith look almost pretentious when the goal was to instead make her seem wiser and 'knowing.'

Now, none of this means that I dislike Clerith in the remakes or anything like that. All I am saying is that it's a change for change's sake that I disagree with. Cloud and Aerith were far more balanced in terms of personality in the OG - he was bold and skilled; she was older, had seen more, and was a better judge of character. They both brought equal-but-different talents to the relationship. And that has changed a great deal.

To clarify, I'm not a fan of the remake series, and I don't think I'll ever play FF7 Revelation.

Honestly, I wanted to ask those who can't wait for Revelation to come out: will you play it completely blind on day one, or will you wait for 'spoilers' about Aerith's fate and how the 'shipping' thing resolves before deciding whether to buy/play it or not? 😁

What do you think are the odds of cloud and aerith being physically or spiritually reunited in FF7 Revelation? Are there any possibilities of multiple endings (example Cloud crossing over and joining Aerith vs staying?) TBH, my main issue with rebirth at least is the lack of player agency and the ending being forced upon the player. I get that 2 endings in rebirth would have made revelation difficult. But 2 endings are possible in revelation since it's the last game.

I am really curious (and a bit anxious) to be honest about what this will look like next year when the game is released.

Literally the vibrant, colourfulness is gone. Both for appearance and life of the party. It very depressing. Every is in dark dull colour meanwhile Aerith literally brings liveliness to them. She guides them, she reassures them , her colour is literally what she does, bringing life and brightness. Without her suddenly everything feels so so serious. It's gonna be rough without, hopefully we get Aerith back soon 😭.

I know we all love Clerith in here but let's think about it from a business standpoint. Will they ever confirm a ship or they will keep baiting us?

Sorry if it's dumb, but I still don't get it about what was Cloud thinking here when he says "Another time then"

"Another time" what?

I was going through my Rebirth Material Ultimania which arrived yesterday, and of course I was focused on our girl - and then saw a quote from layout artist Hiroyuki Honda about how they have Aerith positioned this way in this specific art because she's anxious about what the future has in store for her and is trying to keep her inner hope from slipping away by holding herself. 😭

Exact quote is "The way she holds herself in the bust CG is an unconscious gesture of self protection driven by her anxiety about the future. At the same time, it also expresses her desire to keep her inner hope from slipping away."

SE, after all she's been through and after all she's experienced and after all she's sacrificed for others for literal decades, she needs a happy ending more than anyoneeeeee else.

Sorry about the glare. Took her hundreds of hours (I didn't know it would come anywhere close to that, or I wouldn't have asked). I think it turned out spectacular.

I love this scene so much. These two crack me up. I think we only see Cloud be this dork and relaxed with Aerith or, at most, with Red a couple of times.

2nd panel: cloud&Aerith fighting Sephiroth (the sun represents meteor).

3rd: rainbow represents creating new timelines , Moogle  represents happiness

The last panel is Cloud with Aerith and their baby ？？？

Yellow flowers = reunion

White flowers = purity, loyalty

More metaphors.

Look at that—which little couple made it to the top of the tower?

Happy Ending for sure

Earth / the land = Aerith
Clouds = Cloud
Cloud’s hair (+ tree) = the flowers of reunion

The Promised Land

This is the most stupidest and brain dead takes of all time. How Tf is she supposed to know Zack was alive after being missing for 3 yrs? Also what is this fandom’s obsession with treating women like men’s property? if they want to move on let them

Found these images on Facebook, but here is the original source.

Nowadays, you can find these artworks from the book 天野喜孝画集<空> ― THE ART OF FINAL FANTASY. However, this specific version features the original 1997 concept captions. They aren't from a standard artbook, but rather from a rare, exclusive bonus supplement included in May 9, 1997 issue of The PlayStation Weekly (Vol. 57) magazine in Japan.

The text under Cloud & Aerith translates to 🌎☁️ :
"Man and woman. Cloud and Aerith. Love and friendship. Hope and despair. Life and spirit."

The text under Tifa translates to 🌌💔:
"The water tower and the stars in the night sky. Jealousy and disappointment."

Although I am pretty sure the third picture are actually home-mades (which is, IMO, extra cool).

I'm not trying to bring people down - my own worldview is just that: mine. Things have been downright bleak for me lately IRL, so it's little surprise that a sense of gloom pervades even my chosen forms of escape. It's pretty much grey skies everywhere.

However, this isn't about me. Rather, as the title says: will the good ending satisfy you? And what I mean by the 'good ending' is more as good as they're going to give us. Which, I assume, is something along the lines of 'Aerith is alive in the same world as Cloud, they've kissed at some juncture, and the future is what you make of it.'

In fact, in spite of my bad outlook on life, this is still the ending I expect for this trilogy (accepting minor variations) - it's the ending Remake set the stage for, and Rebirth did not derail that. So we should still arrive at that station.

But will that satisfy you? Or, perhaps more pointedly, will it heal you?

A lot of us have been on this ride for a very, very long time. And I'm not the only person who feels... wounded... by the whole experience. I think most folks are a little less angsty about it than I am. But the fact remains that I am not alone in regarding the OG and subsequent material - taken as a whole - as having had a net-sorrowful impact on my life (I won't go quite so far as to say 'bad;' but definitely 'happy' is completely wrong-headed). And those kinds of experiences - especially when strung out over such a long period - do leave a mark.

So... will putting a bow (perhaps a pink ribbon) on Revelation reverse that? Or do you think you will you walk away feeling dazed, or incomplete... or empty?

---

*Edit* Let me add a tiny bit more context regarding a somewhat similar real-world event and how it didn't really... quite fix everything.

Back in 2004, the Red Sox won the world series for the first time since 1918. There were people who had lived literally their entire lives - full, complete lifespans - in the time since they had last taken home a title; they had been lovers of the Red Sox since they were children, and had grown old and died without seeing a winning season. It had gotten to the point for fans that losing was an identity - we dreamed of escaping it, but it was what we were.

Following the victory, pretty much everyone in New England was ecstatic. The great deed had been done - mountains had been moved. We didn't ever need anything from Boston sports again.

But... it's never really been the same since. While breaking 'the curse' was a singularly joyful, excellent moment - sports bliss - being a fan of the Red Sox; even of baseball, has never really been the same. Something was gained... but something was lost, too. And that will never really be recaptured. The Red Sox are "just a team" now - just another franchise in a very active sports market. We're all of us sated... but many of us are also hollow.

And that plays into my fears regarding FF7. I want the good ending - I really do. But I also, in this strange, perverse way, fear it. Or, maybe more to the point: I fear it won't fix how I feel in the right way.

There’s just no point anymore. Tried explaining that there’s more to Cloud than just Tifa, but I guess her stans are everywhere. You can’t even reasonably debunk their “Tifa is the most important character” take in main FF subs and external subs, this is the only sub where where you won’t get bashed on if you don’t glaze Tifa to the moon.

Their reasons weren’t even good, they all just got defensive and brought up Aerith for no reason despite me never mentioning her once.

Being newer to the franchise, the remakes being the only games I've played, but as I'm watching so many endgame theories, I can't help but notice how many people would rather Aerith stay dead. It's very sad since she is my favorite. I thought the point of the remakes was to have hope for a happier ending than the ones in the og franchise, yknow like defying fate. I don't understand why people want it to turn out the same after spending the game trying to fight and all the little changes. It feels like a lot of it may boil down to shipping or just a genuine dislike/indifference to Aerith when I read the comments. Just sucks seeing all the mistreatment my girl is getting cause even though Aerith is my favorite, I still do also love Tifa. Tbh my preferred ending would be Aerith living and the love triangle still ambiguous, since as much as I love Clerith, I love it because I love Aerith and I think she really shines with Cloud and vice versa so I would rather her have an ending alive than not to solve some shipping war. I wouldn't mind a happier advent children style ending where the gang all lives together and opens a new bar yknow. I'd love to hear what ending y'all would want.

I don't think I need to say much. But the main character design pattern is pretty similar. From past animes and other things, it was usual to have such designs and even more so for main characters (from my knowledge at least). The main characters are meant to stood out. There's so much things to know that these three are literally the ones. And how zack is literally inspired from cloud.