Final Fantasy 7 Remake Ending/Spoiler Discussion Thread

[Uptown WaYo87]

Just finished the game earlier today. As a longtime fan i was 100% thrown off and didnt know what to think of it. After watching a bunch of theory videos, all i have is more questions

So if zack is alive in the alternate timeline we are in now, do cloud and aerith suddenly acknowledge that zack has always been alive since he made it to midgar with cloud or is there 2 clouds in this timeline we entered???? The one we saw make his way with zack and the one we used all game?

As long as we revisit all the towns, and get varaitions of all the other moments like midgar snake,dyne and coral prison, golden saucer, junon etc with the whisperers keeping most of the core story together, im cool with it

 

[42 Monks]

You know, even in the original but especially in Crisis Core, I never thought that was a smart idea on Zack's part. You're a super-soldier that broke out of a top-secret lab, carrying a catatonic infantryman, and your idea is to head back to Midgar? Where the headquarters of the same government who owned that top-secret lab you were trapped in is? I get he wanted to see Aerith, but still. Cloud is one thing because even in the Remake, they make it a point for the regular Shinra staff to be like "Who is this guy?" so it's perfectly reasonable for him to fly under the radar. The game also makes it clear that the Infantrymen are expendable and none of the top brass bother to even learn their names.

But Zack is a First Class SOLDIER, pretty much everyone who ever makes it to 1st is a widely-renowned legend and hero. At the very least, people knew who Sephiroth was. They would've looked for him until they assumed he was dead like what they assumed with Sephiroth. I guess it's a matter of panic, but they should've gotten far away from Midgar as possible and hole up in a place like Wutai at least for a while. If Cloud was in fighting condition when Shinra had sent all those troops after the two of them, they would've gotten away clean.

Imagine it though, Zack and Cloud manage to get away from Shinra by holing up in Wutai... and end up joining the main Avalanche cell because of it. Then when they go back to Midgar finally, it's like in the original only instead of Midgar's Avalanche being the one and only group, now it's a bigger mission including Barret, Biggs, Jessie and Wedge. Zack is the one you play as, but you start seeing Cloud grow more and more because Zack is helping Cloud out of his depression due to not being able to protect his loved ones like his family and Tifa. Almost in a kind of Kamina and Simon sort of bond. Idunno, there's a lot of places they could've taken a "Zack is alive FF7" story. I still think it'd come down to Cloud vs. Sephiroth because Cloud's the one who ended up knocking the guy off. Cloud in this version would essentially be Gohan's journey leading up to when he finally goes Super Saiyan 2. Whether it'd be compelling though, or even good though... Depends on the writer.

I'm on the same page as you man.

I don't want to get into what-ifs quite yet since I'm still kinda coming off processing all that happened. On my replay, stuff is crazy off the rails.



But with Zack in particular one thing is for sure - he could NOT have stayed in Midgar. And that means he's likely either going home to Gongaga (not likely), back to Wutai which makes some sense the way they've changed Wutai's representation in the remake, in one of Hojo's labs, or he's running Avalanche

not sure what it means for Cloud. dude could've easily fell into the trash and died or something

 

[Balla]

Yeah and to think her whole inclusion to the game was totally optional. They better actually include her and Vincent into the real story events and endings of it all once it's all said in done.

Am I alone in this in thinking initially that Kyrie was Yuffie? They seemed to at least cameoed almost everyone else except for Vincent and Cid.

They said Yuffie and I think Vincent are in the story 100%. No side quests.

I know I heard people though she was her, but I always knew yuffie to have shorter hair.

 

[HiiiPower]

Just finished the game earlier today. As a longtime fan i was 100% thrown off and didnt know what to think of it. After watching a bunch of theory videos, all i have is more questions

So if zack is alive in the alternate timeline we are in now, do cloud and aerith suddenly acknowledge that zack has always been alive since he made it to midgar with cloud or is there 2 clouds in this timeline we entered???? The one we saw make his way with zack and the one we used all game?

As long as we revisit all the towns, and get varaitions of all the other moments like midgar snake,dyne and coral prison, golden saucer, junon etc with the whisperers keeping most of the core story together, im cool with it

You killed the whispers at the end, nothing is guaranteed to be the same now

 

[Hyperion]

I'm on the same page as you man.

I don't want to get into what-ifs quite yet since I'm still kinda coming off processing all that happened. On my replay, stuff is crazy off the rails.



But with Zack in particular one thing is for sure - he could NOT have stayed in Midgar. And that means he's likely either going home to Gongaga (not likely), back to Wutai which makes some sense the way they've changed Wutai's representation in the remake, in one of Hojo's labs, or he's running Avalanche

not sure what it means for Cloud. dude could've easily fell into the trash and died or something

Agreed, because I think that's exactly where the Turks looked first -- Gongaga, and this stupid motherfukker actually went there. Even Cissnei was like, "Really? You didn't think this would be the very first place we'd look?? "

Wutai makes the most sense because they're "enemies" of Shinra, and they've been pushing the war angle in the Remake pretty hard. What better way to find immunity than going into your enemy's location? If Shinra sent troops in Wutai like they did just outside of Midgar, that's a declaration of war and they can't do that. Plus those troops would be dealing with one fully-rested SOLDIER, possibly a fully-rested and now Mako-powered Cloud, and Wutai troops as well. The only ones capable of taking out Zack theoretically would be a Turk or another First Class... But all the Turks like Zack, and by the end of Crisis Core, all the notable 1C-SOLDIERs are either dead or peaced out.

Hojo's lab would be an interesting location, but since they break out of one of those already... I don't think Zack would think it's a good idea unless he plans on nuking them. Which then leads to the next possibility:

Zack in Avalanche would be an interesting concept, because on one hand, he'd hate the idea of people blowing up reactors and possibly killing thousands if not millions. I don't think he'd get on board with that at all. But, I do think he'd turn on Shinra and if the actions of Avalanche don't involve innocent lives being in the crosshairs, he'd probably be similar to what Cloud was in the beginning -- A mercenary, but not exactly a "member". There's also Aerith to consider too, and I highly doubt she'd be okay with just blowing up buildings. She most likely disagrees with the Reactors on a fundamental level because of her being a Cetra, but I really can't see her encouraging Zack to go do all that. I think what could happen is that he ends up being a hero of Wutai because he has top-tier knowledge of how Shinra functions, and there could be a mission in where he infiltrates Midgar and convinces Aerith to leave with him. With him taking the last living Ancient into enemy hands, from the POV of Shinra, they'd definitely send in the Turks at that point. Maybe even begin to send a few troops as well.

I think people hated the "Alternate Timeline" thing at first, but I think a lot of people are coming around once they realize that A) Zack is most likely dead still (or at least in the universe that's relevant to us, so for all intents and purposes, he's basically dead still anyway), and B) It opens up to a lot of potentially new and greater ideas for the games going forward.

 

[CarltonJunior]

Just finished the game earlier today. As a longtime fan i was 100% thrown off and didnt know what to think of it. After watching a bunch of theory videos, all i have is more questions

So if zack is alive in the alternate timeline we are in now, do cloud and aerith suddenly acknowledge that zack has always been alive since he made it to midgar with cloud or is there 2 clouds in this timeline we entered???? The one we saw make his way with zack and the one we used all game?

As long as we revisit all the towns, and get varaitions of all the other moments like midgar snake,dyne and coral prison, golden saucer, junon etc with the whisperers keeping most of the core story together, im cool with it

Zack isn't 100% guaranteed to be alive, that could be another alternate timeline, we probanly wont know until the next game releases. So it's to be determined.

Now that we killed the whispers tho anything goes in this next game.

 

[42 Monks]

Agreed, because I think that's exactly where the Turks looked first -- Gongaga, and this stupid motherfukker actually went there. Even Cissnei was like, "Really? You didn't think this would be the very first place we'd look?? "

Wutai makes the most sense because they're "enemies" of Shinra, and they've been pushing the war angle in the Remake pretty hard. What better way to find immunity than going into your enemy's location? If Shinra sent troops in Wutai like they did just outside of Midgar, that's a declaration of war and they can't do that. Plus those troops would be dealing with one fully-rested SOLDIER, possibly a fully-rested and now Mako-powered Cloud, and Wutai troops as well. The only ones capable of taking out Zack theoretically would be a Turk or another First Class... But all the Turks like Zack, and by the end of Crisis Core, all the notable 1C-SOLDIERs are either dead or peaced out.

Hojo's lab would be an interesting location, but since they break out of one of those already... I don't think Zack would think it's a good idea unless he plans on nuking them. Which then leads to the next possibility:

Zack in Avalanche would be an interesting concept, because on one hand, he'd hate the idea of people blowing up reactors and possibly killing thousands if not millions. I don't think he'd get on board with that at all. But, I do think he'd turn on Shinra and if the actions of Avalanche don't involve innocent lives being in the crosshairs, he'd probably be similar to what Cloud was in the beginning -- A mercenary, but not exactly a "member". There's also Aerith to consider too, and I highly doubt she'd be okay with just blowing up buildings. She most likely disagrees with the Reactors on a fundamental level because of her being a Cetra, but I really can't see her encouraging Zack to go do all that. I think what could happen is that he ends up being a hero of Wutai because he has top-tier knowledge of how Shinra functions, and there could be a mission in where he infiltrates Midgar and convinces Aerith to leave with him. With him taking the last living Ancient into enemy hands, from the POV of Shinra, they'd definitely send in the Turks at that point. Maybe even begin to send a few troops as well.

I think people hated the "Alternate Timeline" thing at first, but I think a lot of people are coming around once they realize that A) Zack is most likely dead still (or at least in the universe that's relevant to us, so for all intents and purposes, he's basically dead still anyway), and B) It opens up to a lot of potentially new and greater ideas for the games going forward.

Yeah we definitely on the same page.

One thing that stuck out was Barret saying that his Avalanche cell wasn't on the best terms with Avalanche HQ and that the rift between them was created because Barret was viewed as too extreme. It adds up.

Especially with how the Shinra HQ infiltration went in this new timeline. Sephiroth didn't even need to body a whole floor this time around. Shinra spent all their resources getting ready Avalanche's main body instead.

Nomura definitely loves that adjacent good guy party thing and has been doing it pretty consistently... Wouldn't be shocked if that's the path he takes here.

 

[The Mad Titan]

Love love love the direction they are going with 7.


Basically everything we think we know about FF7 you can toss out the window.


I knew things were gonna be different early on in the game when cloud randomly met aerith and had the flash back. I was like hmmmm is this an alternate timeline, or like flash back to a previous life?


I was kinda sad that the sephiroth stuff kinda had its load blown already.... But I think overall for the health of the game it's probably the best.


I wonder if aerith is gonna get murked. I feel like she will but it might be much later in the game. If I recall her death was pretty important to the story, but at the same time I can see it being optional going forward, I kind of hope they do shake that up.

 

[Uptown WaYo87]

You killed the whispers at the end, nothing is guaranteed to be the same now

Zack isn't 100% guaranteed to be alive, that could be another alternate timeline, we probanly wont know until the next game releases. So it's to be determined.

Now that we killed the whispers tho anything goes in this next game.

I just replayed it again and i dont think they are gone. After you beat the harbinger, the whisperers come out again during your final fight with sephiroth and dissapear along with him before you see him in space

I think its safe to assume they are still around, if the harbinger was the end all be all, the whisperers wouldnt make an appearance again

 

[Hyperion]

After thinking about the ending deeper, I believe many more people are going to come around and appreciate the ending, because FF7's ending is made deliberately to cause a divide and get people talking. A lot of the conflicted feelings are due to people wondering if Part 2 is going to be completely different... Which in my opinion makes no sense, because they spent a whole game showing us that the core FF7 story is still there. They've done interviews saying this. They've even been putting out a free FF7 Remake documentary on YouTube to show that they not only understand what FF7 is all about, but just how passionate they are with this new experience.

Thinking the ending change is because "lolNomura gonna Nomura" is short-sighted, and people are only saying that because other people who don't know what they're talking about keep saying it. If anyone knows FF7 the most, it's Square. They kept denying making a remake for a reason. That's why they've got the leaders from the original FF7 project plus one newer guy who became a developer BECAUSE of FF7 heading this new project. Everyone in charge has to sign off on what happens. They know.

But let's think about it for a second. The game ends, Avalanche looks out to the sunrise and rain falls. Cloud says, "We're going to stop Sephiroth." Barret says, "We're going to save the Planet." At this point in time, absolutely nothing changes, because these are the exact motivations the party had after they left Midgar in the original. Avalanche has a collective reason to pursue Sephiroth, in the original, you barely know nothing about him until Cloud has his "flashback story" in Kalm. It's just now, Sephiroth is even more of a threat than he was originally because now, he "allegedly" has seen what's in store for him and is working to circumvent that.

But Cloud doesn't know what any of that even means. Sephiroth just tells him, "Seven seconds until the world ends. I wonder what you'll do with it?" WE don't even really know what it means, that's why you have people thinking it was the Aerith stabbing, and that's us knowing "the future". So imagine Cloud trying to process it. He probably thinks it's a bunch of shyt (and it actually could be, because Sephiroth finds joy in messing with Cloud's head). All he knows is that apparently they've "changed destiny", but they're only hearing that from Aerith (and by extension Red XIII), and Aerith doesn't even seem like she really understands everything either.

As for Zack? Again, listen to what Aerith is saying. "If we succeed... If we win... We'll be changing ourselves." Square knows that Zack being alive means a lot of characters won't be the same, Cloud most of all. But did we actually win though? Cloud still has his Buster Sword in the ending, and the images of Zack walking seem to only be seen by Aerith who THEN says (as it rains), "I miss it... The steel sky." Before they entered the Singularity, when Tifa asks what's on the other side... Aerith says, "Freedom. Boundless terrifying freedom. Like a great never-ending sky."

Remember back in Crisis Core? Aerith was terrified of the sky. Who gave her comfort in it? Zack. When Zack died, he said "That girl, she said the sky frightened her. That looks so... Liberating." In the beginning of the game, we see an open sky. But at the end of the game, the skies are cloudy, ominous, raining. In media, whenever it rains, it's usually a sign of sadness or an omen. In other words... Even though it should be obvious since it's only Part 1... This is not the happy ending people think it is. In fact, you could even make the argument that they may even be in more danger now than they ever were previously.

The unknown journey will continue.

Vagueness Is Coming - TV Tropes

 

[TBdaGhost]

I like that they changed the story up. I'd rather be suprised than see all the same stuff happen.


Man I thought Barret was realy done for at the Shinra building


The Sephiroth fight was pretty dope. It wasn't too hard but god damn he was relentless at the end. I was hanging on by a thread when I finished him. I was so relieved, I just didn't want to have to start it over.

 

[Fatboi1]

After thinking about the ending deeper, I believe many more people are going to come around and appreciate the ending, because FF7's ending is made deliberately to cause a divide and get people talking. A lot of the conflicted feelings are due to people wondering if Part 2 is going to be completely different... Which in my opinion makes no sense, because they spent a whole game showing us that the core FF7 story is still there. They've done interviews saying this. They've even been putting out a free FF7 Remake documentary on YouTube to show that they not only understand what FF7 is all about, but just how passionate they are with this new experience.

Thinking the ending change is because "lolNomura gonna Nomura" is short-sighted, and people are only saying that because other people who don't know what they're talking about keep saying it. If anyone knows FF7 the most, it's Square. They kept denying making a remake for a reason. That's why they've got the leaders from the original FF7 project plus one newer guy who became a developer BECAUSE of FF7 heading this new project. Everyone in charge has to sign off on what happens. They know.

But let's think about it for a second. The game ends, Avalanche looks out to the sunrise and rain falls. Cloud says, "We're going to stop Sephiroth." Barret says, "We're going to save the Planet." At this point in time, absolutely nothing changes, because these are the exact motivations the party had after they left Midgar in the original. Avalanche has a collective reason to pursue Sephiroth, in the original, you barely know nothing about him until Cloud has his "flashback story" in Kalm. It's just now, Sephiroth is even more of a threat than he was originally because now, he "allegedly" has seen what's in store for him and is working to circumvent that.

But Cloud doesn't know what any of that even means. Sephiroth just tells him, "Seven seconds until the world ends. I wonder what you'll do with it?" WE don't even really know what it means, that's why you have people thinking it was the Aerith stabbing, and that's us knowing "the future". So imagine Cloud trying to process it. He probably thinks it's a bunch of shyt (and it actually could be, because Sephiroth finds joy in messing with Cloud's head). All he knows is that apparently they've "changed destiny", but they're only hearing that from Aerith (and by extension Red XIII), and Aerith doesn't even seem like she really understands everything either.

As for Zack? Again, listen to what Aerith is saying. "If we succeed... If we win... We'll be changing ourselves." Square knows that Zack being alive means a lot of characters won't be the same, Cloud most of all. But did we actually win though? Cloud still has his Buster Sword in the ending, and the images of Zack walking seem to only be seen by Aerith who THEN says (as it rains), "I miss it... The steel sky." Before they entered the Singularity, when Tifa asks what's on the other side... Aerith says, "Freedom. Boundless terrifying freedom. Like a great never-ending sky."

Remember back in Crisis Core? Aerith was terrified of the sky. Who gave her comfort in it? Zack. When Zack died, he said "That girl, she said the sky frightened her. That looks so... Liberating." In the beginning of the game, we see an open sky. But at the end of the game, the skies are cloudy, ominous, raining. In media, whenever it rains, it's usually a sign of sadness or an omen. In other words... Even though it should be obvious since it's only Part 1... This is not the happy ending people think it is. In fact, you could even make the argument that they may even be in more danger now than they ever were previously.

The unknown journey will continue.

Vagueness Is Coming - TV Tropes

 

[The Mad Titan]

The ending of the game is for sure going to be different because they basically gave you the last boss fight already, without his transformation.

Will the out come be different? I doubt, but the journey will be.


From the jump I think the game tries to tell you in so many way that this isn't the same ff7 journey. But it is the same story.

When they are about to cross to the other side after they pretty much defy destiny, I was hype. And they way they hint that "anything can happen" is great.

Basically the whisper could be equated to fans, trying desperately make sure the game goes exactly how it went 20 years ago with a new coat of paint.


Imo all remakes should be handled like this, especially dated classic's.

The best remake I've messed around with was RE2, it was a shinning example of how to do a remake. But FF7R far surpasses it and is by far the best remake....ever.



This is the square I remember and that put me on to RPGs hardcore back in the day.

 

[Don Homer]

i never played the original. how is this different

i dont understand, somone explain to me plz

 

[HiiiPower]

i never played the original. how is this different

i dont understand, somone explain to me plz

You leave Midgar the same way as this one, but there is no Whispers of Fate Boss & no Sephiroth, it is simply the way things happened with no alternate reality, you simply just move on from Midgar to the next place in search of Sephiroth, the only thing you have seen of him up to that point in the original is when he kills the Shinra president, and even then you don’t see it, just Sephiroths sword in his back