FF7 Rebirth's Iconic Character Death Was Mishandled

Summary

• Rebirth
  changes the fate of
  Final Fantasy VII
  characters by exploring new timelines and alternate realities.
• The iconic death scene is reimagined in multiple ways, with different outcomes depending on key decisions.
• The impact of the death in
  Rebirth
  is diluted by a convoluted storyline that fails to capture the emotional weight of the original.

As Final Fantasy VII Remake’s credits began to roll, players were left to wonder how Cloud and his friends’ journey would play out in future games. The Whispers had presumably defeated, which means they’ve broken free from the shackles of a predetermined fate, leaving the future open to any possibility. How much of Final Fantasy VII’s original story would remain intact in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth? How drastically would the story deviate? Most importantly, would that death still happen?

Final Fantasy VII is well-known for having one of the most shocking moments in any video game narrative. How would Rebirth handle it when players know full well it’s happening? Would they go AMC’s The Walking Dead route with Negan’s arrival and toy with fans? Or would they go the Game of Thrones route and leave it mostly untouched? The answer is complex, convoluted, and for many fans, not what they envisioned.

This article contains major spoilers for both
Final Fantasy VII
and
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Setting Up An Iconic Moment

Who are the Cetra?

• An ancient civilization of people and the ancestors of humans.
• They have a bond with the planet and the Lifestream and can utilize this connection to take care of the planet.
• They were mostly wiped out by Jenova before sealing Jenova away.
• They are also referred to as the “Ancients.”
• Aerith, a half-human/half-Cetra, is the last Cetra.

By the time Final Fantasy VII was first released in 1997, video games were still starting to gain footing as a storytelling medium. Great stories had been told previously, including through multiple Final Fantasy games, but the medium lacked a defining moment. This entry in the series featured a true “Where were you when?” moment — an instance so shocking and iconic, players shared their accounts of experiencing it for the first time with friends. It’s a moment that collectively revolutionized an entire generation’s relationship to interactive storytelling.

That defining moment arrived in the death of Aerith, a loveable character first introduced selling flowers in the highly industrialized Midgar. The juxtaposition of a young, upbeat, woman who picks flowers at her church and sells them in the dark, smoke-filled, undercity underscores the conflict at the heart of Final Fantasy VII’s narrative: beauty and life vs. greed and destruction. Players quickly learn that the Shinra Electric Power Company is refining the planet’s life force as energy to power that very world. In doing so, the planet is withering away. All the while, Aerith is the last remaining member of the Cetra race – a race of people who are attuned to the planet and the Lifestream that flows through its veins.

The Cetras fascinated Shinra and their stories of a “promised land.” However, millennia ago the Cetras were almost entirely wiped out by an extraterrestrial that was later dubbed Jenova. Shinra rediscovered a sealed Jenova. Believing Jenova to be a Cetra, they attempted to revive the Cetras but instead produced superhumans that would become elite SOLDIERs. Sephiroth was one of those early SOLDIERS, and he went rogue after learning this secret.

The Death That Sent Shockwaves Throughout The Gaming World

Sephiroth’s plans in the original Final Fantasy VII

• Fulfill Jenova’s desire for destruction.
• Summon Meteor with the Black Materia.
• Cause immense destruction across the world.
• The planet will attempt to repair using the Lifestream.
• Sephiroth will then try to absorb the Lifestream to effectively become a god.
• This plan could not come to fruition with Aerith alive.

When players are first introduced to Cloud, he is an Ex-SOLDIER who joined the eco-terrorist group Avalanche at the behest of a childhood friend, Tifa, in order to destroy one of Shinra’s reactors. The mission to stop Shinra grows even more dire when Sephiroth, believed to be dead, returns. Sephiroth’s destructive plans, ironically meant to save the planet in his eyes, must be stopped. The problem is, Sephiroth has power over Cloud. Prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII, and unbeknownst to him, Cloud was injected with Jenova’s cells by Professor Hojo. Professor Hojo theorized that all of Jenova’s cells would try to reunite even if it meant taking over the host to do so. Sephiroth was able to gain power over this, allowing him to lead and control Cloud.

Sephiroth wanted the Black Materia – a powerful Materia that could be used to cast the Meteor spell. Doing so would cause near irreparable damage to the planet. Sephiroth’s motive was to force the planet to heal itself by surfacing the Lifestream, which he would then absorb to become a god. Cloud and his friends obtained the Black Materia, but Sephiroth forced Cloud to hand it over to him. This set the stage for Aerith’s death.

Aerith had possession of the White Materia, which was passed down by Cetras from generations, and cast the Holy spell. Aerith fled to the Cetra’s Forgotten Capital to pray that she’d be able to cast the Holy spell to protect her planet and her friends. As Cloud approaches Aerith, Sephiroth gains control of Cloud again and attempts to use him to kill Aerith. Cloud is stopped by his friends. Aerith looks up and smiles. At that moment, Sephiroth descends from above and stabs Aertih with his long-bladed Masamune. The White Materia falls into the water below. Cloud holds onto Aerith while Sephiroth mocks him. Aerith’s death is immediately followed by a Jenova boss fight with no time to mourn.

After this form of Jenova is defeated, Cloud buries Aerith in the surrounding water. How could Cloud and company have the will to even continue after this? How could the game expect players to do so, especially those who love Aerith and kept her in their parties? Death wasn’t new to the Final Fantasy series, but Aerith’s death hit the hardest because there was no way to bring her back. Because she was one of the least deserving characters to die. It’s a very somber moment few, if any, players saw coming.

From Rebirth To Requiem

Which timeline is which in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

• New timelines began to emerge after the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
• Just about any key decision results in a new timeline, such as Zack Fair deciding who to save between Biggs, Cloud and Aerith, or neither.
• There are separate timelines where Cloud does and doesn’t save Aerith.
• Different timelines can be organized by dog breeds. Shinra’s cartoon dog mascot, Stamp, is a different breed in each timeline.
• The main Remake and Rebirth timeline features Stamp as a Beagle.

It’s easy to see why so many players were eagerly anticipating how Rebirth would handle such a momentous scene. Square Enix had their work cut out for them. For the most part, Rebirth’s story hits all the same beats as the original. Some areas were expanded, and new story details were added, much like Remake. Sephiroth still influences Cloud, often depicted as static interference. Cloud steadily becomes more cold as Sephiroth gains more and more control over him. By the time Cloud and his companions reach the Temple of the Ancients, Cloud is almost completely callous, only caring about reaching the Black Materia.

Upon obtaining the Black Materia, Sephiroth still compels Cloud to give it to him. Aerith snatches it and Cloud chases her across vine-like manifestations created by Sephiroth. Aerith eventually relents and gives the Black Materia to Cloud who gives it to Sephiroth. Aerith falls off of the vine, but Cloud saves her. Sephiroth knocks both Cloud and Aerith into the depths below. This is where things get bizarre.

Cloud and Aerith wake up in Zack Fair’s timeline. After Remake, numerous other timelines were created and the Zack timeline players experience throughout Rebirth sees both Cloud and Aerith comatose. The easiest way to differentiate timelines in Rebirth is to pay attention to Shinra’s cartoon dog mascot Stamp who is a different breed in each seen timeline with the main Remake and Rebirth timeline being a Beagle. Cloud and Aerith go on a date around Midgar, and Aerith gives Cloud a fully useable White Materia as opposed to the empty White Materia that occupies the main timeline.

Returning to the main timeline, Aertih retrieves this White Materia from Cloud and heads to the Forgotten Capital with Cloud and the others racing to get to her. Aerith begins to pray. Cloud tries to approach her while the Whispers, both black and white Whispers, obstruct his path. Cloud reaches Aerith where the scene plays out similarly to the original with Sephiroth attempting to use Cloud to kill Aerith. Cloud successfully resists and Sephiroth descends to strike down Aerith once again. This time, however, Cloud manages to repel Sephiroth’s attack. Sephiroth sets his Masamune and walks away. Aerith is saved! Or was she?

It appears another timeline emerged, one where Cloud saves Aerith, but that’s ultimately not the main timeline. A pool of blood forms beneath the Masamune, and Aerith collapses. The White Materia once again plunges the watery depths below. Aerith is dead.

Was Aerith’s Death In Vain?

Aerith’s death triggers a series of final boss fights starting with Jenova, much like in the original game. Cloud then fights Sephiroth alongside Zack who was transported to the dimension where Cloud is fighting Sephiroth. Sephiroth then transforms into Sephiroth Reborn, which is highly reminiscent of the Bizarro Sephiroth fight from the original complete with different phases where other party members get in on the fight. Finally, one last fight with Sephiroth where Cloud has a very helpful partner – Aerith.

This is a different Aerith, not the version of her that Cloud knows. It could be the Aerith Cloud saved, or it could even be an “alpha” Aerith that has been working behind the scenes to oppose Sephiroth’s current plot of merging the multiverse. Cloud and Aerith defeat Sephiroth who confidently flees. Cloud returns to the main timeline where his friends are grieving Aerith’s death, but remains stoic. Aerith was buried at sea offscreen.

Cloud, who is still susceptible to Sephiroth’s influence, now has to contend with his newfound visions of alternate universes. This means being able to see and hear things others cannot, which includes Aerith herself. In the final scene, Cid is trying to fix the Tiny Bronco for flight while others, such as Tifa and Yuffie, are still grieving. Cloud sees Aerith walking among them. As everyone boards the Tiny Bronco, Cloud and Aerith share their goodbyes and exchange promises as Cloud and company attempt to follow Sephiroth north while Aerith continues her mission to summon Holy. As the Tiny Bronco flies away, Aerith stands in the beautiful grassy field to say goodbye one last time.

Confusing? Yes, and therein lies the problem with Rebirth’s take on Aerith’s death. It tries to do too much and it muddies what was meant to be a key moment in the Remake trilogy. What should have been a frame-by-frame recreation of an iconic moment is obscured by Whispers, static interference, false hope, awkward camera framing, a long-winded string of boss fights, and visions of Aerith alive and well. It was the one scene that Square Enix needed to play it safe with, but didn’t.

In short, Rebirth got in its own way and stumbled across the finish line. The impact of Aerith’s death isn’t truly felt because she remains a presence throughout the ending. What was likely intended to be a sendoff to a beloved character ends up minimizing the emotional impact of her loss. A loss that may not truly be felt until the third game is released years from now. The sequence is still intense and Rebirth does a fantastic job showing characters grieving Aerith. The end result is still the same, but Aerith’s death feels like a tertiary plot point compared to Sephiroth and the multiverse when it should’ve been the focus.

Aerith’s death in the original Final Fantasy VII is iconic and nothing Square Enix could’ve done would have truly replicated the shock value in full, nor should that have been the expectation. Now, however, they’ve created a moment that may be remembered for the wrong reasons. A sequence that doesn’t invoke shock and sadness, but instead disappointment and anger.

The Walking Dead made a similar mistake, which led to plummeting ratings that it still hasn’t recovered from. One of the biggest themes of the Remake trilogy was remaking the story. Fans gave Square Enix the benefit of the doubt after Remake and were mostly rewarded with a beautiful and passionate recreation of a game they love. Rebirth as a whole is still a phenomenal game that hits way more correct notes than it misses. After yet another controversial ending, however, fans are still waiting for a payoff that justifies the new multiversal and fate-altering story elements as well as the sloppy approach to Aerith’s death. If the third game fails to deliver on that, it may have all been in vain.