Did you like Final Fantasy VII Remake's ending? [POLL] [SPOILERS]

[Deleted member 29639]

I don't know whether they'll kill Aerith or not, but that question is going to be the focal point of Part 2.

Sephiroth wants to change history because he lost. Cloud wants to change history because Aerith died. There's going to be a huge push-pull going forward. I expect this is Sephiroth's plan -- trick Cloud into doing something rash to save Aerith and thus bring about Sephiroth's victory.

 

[mc emcee]

Honestly my biggest takeaway from finishing the game is confusion. Why the fuck were whispers so worried about the events of the original not happening all over again? And since their fears were real, and had to intervene several times, what the hell was triggering all of these changes?

 

[Illusion]

Honestly my biggest takeaway from finishing the game is confusion. Why the fuck were whispers so worried about the events of the original not happening all over again? And since their fears were real, and had to intervene several times, what the hell was triggering all of these changes?

Click to shrink...

The game argues Sephiroth is the anomaly. Maybe this Sephiroth is the same Sephiroth from the original game attempting a second take on his original plan of absorbing the lifestream and becoming a new god? And the fates are in panic to ensure history doesn't change because he's actively trying to change it.

So Cloud and crew defeating destiny is giving Sephiroth a chance now.

 

[Deleted member 5596]

Honestly my biggest takeaway from finishing the game is confusion. Why the fuck were whispers so worried about the events of the original not happening all over again? And since their fears were real, and had to intervene several times, what the hell was triggering all of these changes?

Click to shrink...

Multiverse: They were making sure that in all the universes the same thing happened in all of them, so whatever small alteration that could happen because every universe can have their own timeline, they corrected it.

 

[Japanmanx3]

It's was incredible! I'm so happy we are going in the direction we are now!

 

[bakedpony]

The whispers are all the fans wanting to see the OG story. The ending was a great way for the devs not to be cornered. Like Aerith said though, freedom can be scary.

That said, hopefully they don't abuse it if it will still carry the FFVII Remake title1

 

[WrenchNinja]

I just finished it and I'm still trying to process it.

But currently I have to say I loved it.

 

[BasilZero]

I don't know whether they'll kill Aerith or not, but that question is going to be the focal point of Part 2.

Sephiroth wants to change history because he lost. Cloud wants to change history because Aerith died. There's going to be a huge push-pull going forward. I expect this is Sephiroth's plan -- trick Cloud into doing something rash to save Aerith and thus bring about Sephiroth's victory.

Click to shrink...

That would be amazing and would welcome it completely.

 

[Ozymandias]

Fan fiction is not for me. I get it that a lot of people enjoy it but at the same time they all sound extremely selfish to me. Why the fuck new fans cant experience the great story with a fresh coat of paint? A lot of people dont give a fuck about discussing new stuff or fantasizing about Cloud and Zack having a beer. They just wanted to experience the story in the highest possible quality available with todays technology. This sucks and the game isnt that good with so much padding and slogginess

 

[Deleted member 29639]

I get it that a lot of people enjoy it but at the same time they all sound extremely selfish to me. Why the fuck new fans cant experience the great story with a fresh coat of paint?

Click to shrink...

I mean, glancing at this thread and the spoiler one, new fans seem to be enjoying it just fine. It's the older ones who are throwing their usual temper tantrums.

 

[BiohunterX]

I mean, glancing at this thread and the spoiler one, new fans seem to be enjoying it just fine. It's the older ones who are throwing their usual temper tantrums.

Click to shrink...

played th og when it first came out numerous times. im super excited to see what they do

 

[ScionN7]

400 votes later and it's still 65/35 like/dislike. I think we've got a good sample size here.

 

[Jotakori]

I feel really mixed about it. It hit some emotional highs which were really good, and the fights and everything going on looked and felt awesome, but the actual implications....... not a fan. I thought the ghost/fate things were dumb as heck since day 1, and then it turns out they're literally just an in-story excuse to make plot changes. I'd much rather they just change things, without the contrived excuse for it. And the idea of what they could be changing makes me nervous as heck. I don't mind plot order shuffled or whatnot, like it's a remake and I get things aren't gonna be 1-for-1, but I really, really want all the major plot points to remain the same (including who dies). I really hope this part's ending was just a way to keep people on their toes, but at the end of the day the vast majority of the storyline will remain the same.''

But what makes me feel more complicated is like... I LOVE Zack, he's always been my favorite FF7 character. A part of me is like, 'oh shit, what if he lives! omg!' but another part of me is like, 'but no... his death was so important and pivotal to what made Cloud who he is and why, they can't change that.' Ugh... idk. Aerith, though. I love her, too, but if she doesn't die it will 100% ruin the games for me. It'd be too large a change, and I know I won't be able to let it go. Her death is so important for so many layers of the original story, it'd just feel like they completely stripped away the game's soul without it happening. And now, with that ending, and all this thrown up into question, I'm just... ugh. So much inner turmoil. 💦

Basically, instead of the ending making me excited, it's only managed to make me super apprehensive. :(
I'm getting major feelings that I'm only gonna wind up enjoy the remakes on the small, character focused, moment-to-moment stuff and when it's purposefully being reminiscent of the OG game.

 

[Encephalon]

Spoiler: I'm honestly not sure whether or not spoilers are allowed at this point

I walked in deciding I would be open to a largely reimagined game based on the same world and story beats, but it no longer appears to be based on the same world.

I loved the game up until the sequence leading to the ending. I was somewhat prepared for something like it and the notion that the characters would battle fate, and open the next game up for change. But it wasn't well done, and by the time the massive set piece fight started, I was just waiting for it to end. The characters also don't have much of a context for what Sephiroth means and new players won't have any reason to feel anything from the spectacle that follows after with him. Garbage.

I'm not some FFVII super fan. It's not my favorite FF game, or even my second favorite FF game. But I do like it and was excited to see it remade, even if it meant they took some liberties. But this is something different. This could be done with literally any other game and would honestly fit far more with VIII than VII.

 

[Viale]

I mean, glancing at this thread and the spoiler one, new fans seem to be enjoying it just fine. It's the older ones who are throwing their usual temper tantrums.

Click to shrink...

Which is honestly amazing to me, since the ending focuses hard on concepts that newcomers would theoretically have no idea about like Zack.

 

[sn00zer]

I hated it and I played the original. Mind you, I don't hate it for being different, I hate it for being a mess of basically deus ex machina after deus ex machina.

Click to shrink...

I mean the ending is them fighting the Deus ex machina that is the fandom wanting them to keep everything in line and not stray too far.

 

[sn00zer]

The ghost of the expectations of the fandom literally haunting the game and then literally destroying the need to follow those expectation is honestly one of the craziest artistic stance I've ever seen in a game of this size.

 

[Viale]

I mean the ending is them fighting the Deus ex machina that is the fandom wanting them to keep everything in line and not stray too far.

Click to shrink...

By providing a deus ex machina that has brought everyone back to life.

Like, i don't dislike them making changes, I was actually down for them wanting to make something more original. Just cheapening death and consequences makes me immediately think less of the story tho. Couple that with a meh final fight in general thematically.

 

[KingBae]

The ghost of the expectations of the fandom literally haunting the game and then literally destroying the need to follow those expectation is honestly one of the craziest artistic stance I've ever seen in a game of this size.

Click to shrink...

I mean I'm totally down with rewriting the story, I just wish they didn't waste time or resources trying to make some sort of statement instead of focusing on a solid narrative. This fate storyline thing is not that great honestly. They did not need a whole game just to earn a clean slate. Just save us time and start fresh already.

 

[Weeros]

It would be piss everyone. Is not going to be 90% the same again with some ballsy stinger for part 3.

Click to shrink...

I see so so many people who are in this weird denial mode, basically saying "I love where this is going but Zack is totally going to get shot any minute now and can't wait to see the scene x from the original", that I believe quite a few people are going to be pissed anyway.

 

[APZonerunner]

I don't know whether they'll kill Aerith or not, but that question is going to be the focal point of Part 2.

Sephiroth wants to change history because he lost. Cloud wants to change history because Aerith died. There's going to be a huge push-pull going forward. I expect this is Sephiroth's plan -- trick Cloud into doing something rash to save Aerith and thus bring about Sephiroth's victory.

Click to shrink...

This is totally where I think this is going - that the Sephiroth stalking around in this game is post-AC Sephiroth come back to try to change his destiny, and the arbiters are reacting to that. But now Cloud, Aerith and Red at the very least all have premonitions of the future -- Aerith seems to know a lot - so they will be pushing to also change their fates.

This creates deviations right off the bat, 'cos of this is AC Sephiroth walking around and manipulating things, that means there is a second Sephiroth chilling in the Northern Crater. Now admittedly the 'later' Sephiroth could just off the crater one and take his place, but still - there are crazy possibilities.

Where I think this is going is that the team will chase Sephiroth and things will play out same-but-different - sometimes different in small ways like in this game, sometimes drastically different. This will go on for however many games, and lots of people will live who otherwise would've died. Think about it so far -- many people (hundreds?) managed to escape Sector 7, whereas it was far more absolutely destructive in the original. Biggs is alive. And, of course, Zack. And probably Aerith.

And this is where I see this going. All these people survive, and then towards the end they realize they have been playing into Sephiroth's hands, creating an even worse future than the one they've been fighting to run away from. At that point, they will have to make a trade: all the lives they have saved in exchange for setting the timeline 'right' and to ensure the future Sephiroth is striving to create doesn't happen, but doing so also creates a new branch of sorts where Geostigma and stuff never happens. So they'll create an even better future than the original game, but at the cost of all the people they saved along the way.

So Aerith and Zack (among others) will presumably get their moment to make a tear-jerking sacrifice, and they'll probably walk off into the afterlife together just as they do at the end of AC. Cloud will live, but without being so depressed because he'll know there was no other way, and he'll presumably make his peace with Zack as the two will have a chance to interact.

On the Zack topic, I wouldn't be surprised if chunks of Game 2 have you playing as Zack in a secondary subplot (I feel like Roche in this game exists to set up a foil for a living Zack) - as this would provide padding and even give them an excuse to revisit bits of Midgar for asset reuse. And, hell, Biggs is alive now... again, could he end up interacting with Zack and recognizing the eerie similarity?

 

[sn00zer]

I mean I'm totally down with rewriting the story, I just wish they didn't waste time or resources trying to make some sort of statement instead of focusing on a solid narrative. This fate storyline thing is not that great honestly. They did not need a whole game just to earn a clean slate. Just save us time and start fresh already.

Click to shrink...

I think a statement is more interesting than just a narrative change. I disagree with needing a whole game to earn it. The statement they make at the end of the game just would not have worked if the game they made was bad. I think they needed to prove to themselves and the fans that they could do it right, both staying true when it needs to and being able to go off and do its own thing.

 

[ultima786]

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking and hoping this not involving a time traveling Sephiroth. He is still the one Sephiroth floating and infecting the lifestream near the Northern cave. I'll explain.

Assume there is one and only 1 timeline:

Sephiroth gains knowledge from the planet of alternate possibilities because the planet releases the whispers and arbiters of fate. They do their thing but Sephiroth, by being part of the planet, learns this. This is why Aerith knows so much as well. (I wish they implied this a little more explicitly, but this is heavily implied when she speaks to Marlene in 7th heaven, and is subtly hinted by Tifa and others when they say to Aerith "what do you know that we don't?" Also, a similar exchange occurs between Aerith and Wedge: "you don't think we can save the plate, do you?").

FF7 OG is simply one possibility in the world we are playing.

Sephiroth, with this knowledge, helps the party enter the planet and see the whispers and even 'fight' them. All of this is still Gaia. After defeating the Arbiter of Fate, Cloud asks "Where are we?" And Aerith nods implying she doesn't know.This is because the planet has not yet told her.

Now, within the Planet, Sephiroth reveals himself to the party and battles them using his Jenova illusions. The purpose of this fight isn't to kill the party. It's to incept the idea into their minds that they should defy the possibilities revealed by the arbiters earlier, because Sephiroth knows that is a future where he fails.

I believe this Sephiroth within the planet is the real Sephiroth, unlike the avatars and illusions appearing throughout the game via his clones. What I mean by "within" of course is something spiritual, not physical. Spehiroth's physical reality is stuck near the northern crater (which is ripped apart and not fully formed), but the soulish aspect of him walks within the planet just as Tifa and Cloud did when they 'fell' into the lifestream at mideel during OG.

The only radically different concept in remake is Sephiroth taking Cloud to the so-called "Edge of Creation." But even this may be fundamentally the same as Ff7:og, since it seems that Cloud went to a similar place in OG but it was all black instead. If you notice, when Cloud sword battles Sephiroth here, Sephiroth says "Not yet" implying they will meet again here one day, similarly to OG.

all of this is to say, the remake is not as different as OG as one may think. The arbiters are "new" but they are just physical manifestations of the will of the planet. It's a concept from OG that is given more concrete form.

 

[Moves]

I tentatively love the ending so long as what comes after it is good stuff. Based on how much love and attention to detail was put into this game I do have a lot of faith in the devs, writers, and team working on how to retell this story.

 

[Weeros]

all of this is to say, the remake is not as different as OG as one may think. The arbiters are "new" but they are just physical manifestations of the will of the planet. It's a concept from OG that is given more concrete form.

Click to shrink...

You forgot to mention the inevitable alive Zack jumping in to fight Sephiroth with the main party. Whether he is from the same timeline (messing up Cloud's backstory) or different timeline (messing up any integrity the story had), it's gonna mess the remake series, unfortunately.

 

[ultima786]

You forgot to mention the inevitable alive Zack jumping in to fight Sephiroth with the main party. Whether he is from the same timeline (messing up Cloud's backstory) or different timeline (messing up any integrity the story had), it's gonna mess the remake series, unfortunately.

Click to shrink...

Hmm? Zack did not jump into the fight with Sephiroth.

Edit: I'll be less cheeky here and try to respond to this constructively. In the game we are playing, something happened with destiny and was partly caused by the party that resulted in Zack having a different outcome than the OG possibility. The Zack part of this story is definitely a big X factor, and makes you wonder: How will Cloud get messed up in the head now, by thinking he is basically Zack? How will he get the Buster Sword?

I have a gut-feeling that all of the above will happen anyhow, just in a different way. Zack will die, in a different way. Cloud will experience this death in a different way. Aerith will die, but in a different way. That may even be the whole point of all these changes. The meta-point is this: The devs will do everything similarly in the end, but it'll just be differently than what you imagine. From the game-story, nothing will fundamentally change but how it happens will.

 

[ultima786]

This thankfully debunks (or at least weakens) the theory that "7 seconds til the end" was referring to Aeirth's death and implying Cloud would make a choice... thank God.

 

[Deleted member 56266]

They're def gonna make it seem like we can save Aerith now somehow guys but then nope and rub it in 50x as hard lol.

 

[Gunny T Highway]

The ending opened up the floodgates to a ton of theories, but I still think it ended exactly where I wanted it to be.

 

[ultima786]

They're def gonna make it seem like we can save Aerith now somehow guys but then nope and rub it in 50x as hard lol.

Click to shrink...

I hope so. Her death is necessary to saving the planet, and finding another way to do it would cheapen the major theme of the story... "Life." The value of life is its preciousness because sacrificing it for saving the world was still immensely painful.

 

[Rotobit]

This thankfully debunks (or at least weakens) the theory that "7 seconds til the end" was referring to Aeirth's death and implying Cloud would make a choice... thank God.

Click to shrink...

Makes sense considering the place they have that discussion appears identical to the final battleground between Cloud and Sephi in the original (and the title screen of Remake). It was always bit enigmatic just what that was all about, even in the original game, but it's always had ties to the "end of the world."

 

[StormBrute]

They're def gonna make it seem like we can save Aerith now somehow guys but then nope and rub it in 50x as hard lol.

Click to shrink...

That would be an acceptable way to manage the Aerith situation at this point: play like you're subverting expectations to make people think Aerith could live, and then make it even worse by having Sephiroth manipulate Cloud into killing her or something else unexpected. That would be a genuinely smart long-play to recreate the feeling of shock when Aerith died in the original.

 

[Deleted member 29639]

They're def gonna make it seem like we can save Aerith now somehow guys but then nope and rub it in 50x as hard lol.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I suspect it's going this way. Aerith will still die, but it'll be a culmination of the whole story instead of a shock midway through. And we might lose other characters who didn't die originally along the way.

I understand why this sort of meta narrative is frustrating for people, but I really enjoy it. Take advantage of all those feelings I've had for a quarter century, how I wish I could have saved Aerith, and use them against me.

 

[Party]

That would be an acceptable way to manage the Aerith situation at this point: play like you're subverting expectations to make people think Aerith could live, and then make it even worse by having Sephiroth manipulate Cloud into killing her or something else unexpected. That would be a genuinely smart long-play to recreate the feeling of shock when Aerith died in the original.

Click to shrink...

I think that is absolutely where this is going. They'll kill Aerith not because preordained fate wills it so, but because the party makes the conscious decision to make the sacrifice play. I think part 2 will be set up entirely around building up saving Aerith (and just making her more and more likable) and then in part 3 we will "save her" only to realize that her living dooms the planet. Then we'll have Sephiroth who is trying to save because he knows her living is the only way he wins and the party will have to fight him just to kill off Aerith. She is gonna die by Cloud's hand. It's gonna be brutal.

 

[Look! The Pie!]

I haven't voted yet as I'm still trying to process it all. Like, it was executed far better than I was expecting based on people's impressions, but I'm still apprehensive over what it means for the story going forwards.

 

[Vagrant717]

I don't like meta-narrative ass pulls like present in this game, especially since the climax of FFVII Remake isn't built up nearly well enough and almost nothing is explained. The characters are all acting like they know what's at stakes and what's so important about what's happening, or what they're even fighting, but they have no clue. I knew a fight with Seph was inevitable even for Part 1 of this new Remake series but the confrontation with him isn't developed enough. No one knows what he wants, why he wants things, why he's alive, why he's a threat, etc. They just see Seph and immediately know to recognize him as the ultimate big bad. How the characters barely question any of the shit at the very end of the game kills the whole execution.

Also, I'm not inherently worried about the stories of the subsequent games being different from the original just because it's not faithful, but too much deviation from the FFVII is a huge mistake because the only major FF project, or major internal Square games in general, to release and have a decent story in over ten years is Realm Reborn and its expansions. Once things get too far from the established story, I'm certain we're going to get intolerable nonsense shit like Kingdom Hearts III, Third Birthday, and FFXIII and its absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel writing that somehow got even worse with its sequels.

Square largely does not know how to write or present engaging narratives anymore, and this will become embarrassingly obvious with the next FFVII games, especially if they deviate further from the source material. Even the faithful stuff in this remake is bogged down by bizarre, awkwardly paced cut-scenes, unnatural dialog, and a constant barrage anime gasps and sighs in between every other line that hurts the presentation.

Click to shrink...

This is largely how I feel about it. The ending comes waaay out of left field and lacks any proper build up. The party just goes along with it when nothing is really explained well to them. It makes even less sense that they're willing to fight these ghosts when one of their comrades was just revived by them an hour ago. And on top of all that, having time shenanigans can clash with the themes of the original game.

The last part of your post is also spot on. SE's recent track record when it comes to writing has been pretty terrible. XIII, XV, and KH all come to mind. So I'm not excited at all for any new directions they plan to take remake. Hell some of the new stuff they already added contradicts with original. For example, having the clones transform into Sephiroth makes no sense at all.

 

[Omnicent]

I hope so. Her death is necessary to saving the planet, and finding another way to do it would cheapen the major theme of the story... "Life." The value of life is its preciousness because sacrificing it for saving the world was still immensely painful.

Click to shrink...

Its not necessary (that does not mean it will not happen). She is part cetra and she can potentialy learn to manipulate the life stream while alive like they explain in the vr sim in Remake.

The question is Sephiroths end game may not be exactly the same as OG.

In the end depending on his endgame will Aerith controlling the life stream even be useful (probably cause it's still a great power to have)?
If so then will she be able to control it while alive?

Probably not. They will lead you into thinking that yes she will be able to (queue training montage).
But ultimately will be unsuccessful. So now what? Does she have to die? How and by whose hands? Are there truly no other options? Are some things set in stone no matter what path you take?

Well yes. We will all die. Its how you make use of the time you are alive. In the og ending 500 years has past. everyone is dead. There is no escape from some things no matter how much you tr. Even if you deify the will of the planet there are some universal constants. Death is one of those constants. Its not a variable. Whats variable is how/when.

This is what I feel they will play off of. Cause sephiroth is trying to avoid this constant too. But there is no escape from this constant. You accept its a constant and do the most with what time you have in life (Aerith) or try to defioy it to the very end (sephiroth).

I'm probably getting to big brain for my self, so ignore all of this lol.

 

[Arta]

To think that RE3 remake has entire story section and setpieces cut out of the story and it's still more coherent than this.

It's so fucking weird. The first 75% of the game was well paced, only to completely shit the bed in the end with Kingdom Hearts type time travelling, dimension shattering and restoring nonsense.

Everything that was carefully built up, the characters getting to know each other, the devastating physical and emotional blow to Sector 7 and Avalanche and their actions going forward, all gets completely truncated for epic shit come one forget about the story that we've been building up time to go on a crazy adventure with characters who you don't know!!!

I am not complaining about the story simply veering into a new direction, but how we seem to be there. It's not slowly moving into a tangent, it's just grabbing all the well known toys out of the toybox and smashing them all together. I no longer dread Sephiroth. He's not some lurking menace who's threat is being built up, he's just some flashy boss that we're destined to fight at the end. Barret basically abandons his daughter to go galavanting because he's destined to.

Imagine if in the Fellowship of the Ring in the Mines of Moria some fanboy went back in time and said "fuck all this storytelling and camaraderie we're building up, you guys are icons and memes in the future! Let's just throw all you up against Sauron and Saruman and that funny orc from Shadow of War games, and watch you stare into the middle distance and clash swords and stuff!"

I haven't seen such directoral/ showrunner malpractice since the end of Game of Thrones.

People new to the series will be confounded by it.
People who are old fans will be dissatisfied by everything being derailed.

The only people who will like this are those attached to the iconography of the characters running around, clashing swords, and doing stuff.

Goddamn.

Spoiler

I still love the music.

 

[Jakenbakin]

Sucks you can't see things from other people's points of view I guess. I can see why one wouldn't like it. I think myself and many others have said numerous times what we like about it though, in numerous threads about not just spoilers but even about the ending.

 

[Deleted member 7777]

I liked the stealth-sequal twist. I have the original if I want the untouched story

 

[DNAbro]

Okay, cool. Ending was good.

 

[Eriol]

so "im right, everyone else is wrong" ????

 

[SgtCobra]

Eh different opinions and all that. I liked the ending.

 

[giancarlo123x]

"People who are old fans will be dissatisfied by everything being derailed."
Speak for yourself. I'm glad we're moving forward with questions and the future being different. And seeing the "future" isnt time traveling. Things are gonna change so those events most likely aren't gonna happen.

 

[Deleted member 12352]

Okay, cool. Ending was good.

Click to shrink...

.

 

[Skulldead]

Sucks you can't see things from other people's points of view I guess. I can see why one wouldn't like it. I think myself and many others have said numerous times what we like about it though, in numerous threads about not just spoilers but even about the ending.

Click to shrink...

Sorry i see the same thing as the OP, i never been so angry about source material been butcher and totally pointless. This is the biggest middle finger from a compagny i have encounter since a long time. If they didn't want to make a ff7remake, then they should have just make another game in ff7 universe. I would not give a damn, but not like this.

I'm even at the point i don't want to play it anymore, i love 90% of the game, but the last 10% just drop like a fucking bomb.

 

[Lobster Roll]

I can see where you're coming from OP, but I don't think you'll get a majority to agree with you on this one. The game does have to the potential to become FFXVI starring the cast of FFVII, though, depending on where they take the story.

 

[GenG]

The ending goes beyond "anime dudes clashing swords", if that is what you are implying. Read some theories about the implications of what we got.

 

[skeezx]

well tbf like 95% of the game's success/its audience are onboard for "the iconography"

a better LotR parallel would be if they re-conceptualized the 2001 movie (which, would be terrible, but more 1:1 with the scenario)

 

[Kard8p3]

I am more excited for this than I would've been just a straight remake.

" People who are old fans will be dissatisfied by everything being derailed. "

Maximilian disagrees.

Also lol at comparing this to the fuck up that is game of thrones.