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Now that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been out in the wilds for a few weeks, players are reaching the end of the hot new RPG. That means many have seen the ending and are picking it apart online, for better or worse.
As Square Enix has revealed previously, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ends at the Forgotten Capital – the scene of the original's most shocking twist. In short, it matters a lot to people. You can imagine why veteran developer Tetsuya Nomura was "even more nervous" about fans' reactions to Rebirth's ending than its predecessor's.
Before we continue, take this as your spoiler warning that the rest of the article will dive into spoiler territory, so here's your out if you still need to get there.
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Still here? Grand. As we delved into with our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ending explainer, what you get here is largely a faithful retelling of what happened in the original Final Fantasy 7, albeit with some caveats.
The broad strokes remain the same, as Sephiroth ensures Aeirth meets her end, though this time around we've got some extra bits to mull over while we wait for the trilogy's concluding game. Cloud appears to save Aerith before it turns out that he didn't, the brooding merc can still see Aerith afterward while the rest of the party clearly can't, and more, as the multiverse narrative meshes with events.
Much like Remake, Square Enix wants the retelling to prompt questions and debate to ensure that future events aren't totally void of surprises. Exiting Midgar threw up many questions as we clobbered the arbiters of fate holding everything together. In Rebirth, though, we're dealing with a much more cherished moment of the original, and some fans aren't vibing with how busy it's become.
"Why make it so complicated?" writes one fan, while another says; "I have no fucking clue what direction they’re going to go with this because it's confusing as fuck."
Going deeper into it, another says, "She still died, which is good, but that event really needed a moment to breathe. Her death was meant to leave a void, an emptiness that we would carry leading into the next game. But the constant shifting between timelines, then actually seeing Aerith's spirit interact with Cloud takes away from that moment."
Naturally, other players don't mind the ending at all. While some people are just bummed that Aerith ended up dead, fans of the ending say you're supposed to feel like that – if anything, it's a testament to the writing and actor performances.
As for how complicated things get, more optimistic fans are keen to remind that you don't need to understand everything right now aside from the broad strokes.
"Our party banded together and defeated Sephiroth," one fan writes. "Do you really need to know the full, precise nature of Zack’s branching timeline or Aerith’s lingering spirit? The promises of Remake’s ending were fulfilled, and if there were no remaining mysteries to explore, why would the team even make the final game?"
Regardless of how you feel about the ending, Square Enix has likely achieved what it wanted, for better or worse. Leads have previously said that the idea isn't to replace but to elevate the original Final Fantasy 7, and part of that is adding an element of mystery to ensure the road ahead isn't too predictable.
The ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake had players mulling over what it all meant, and Rebirth has done the same. Various online spaces are abuzz with fans trying to piece together what it all means. Some just wish that history was better preserved in the process.
