i'm 50/50 about him knowing she's dead, but the aerith at the end definitely isn't some sort of hallucination. red can sense her too so she actually is real.
SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke
- Thread starter The Twilight Mexican
- Start date
faefolk
Pro Adventurer
I am like 98% certain he's just on a bad trip and doesn't know which way is up rn. But I agree that the Aerith he sees is real.
i'm expecting comparison videos of cloud interacting with aerith vs. tifa on all of their optional dates and stuff. we're gonna get slowmo reviews of every single interaction he has with the girls to determine which one he looked at longer, with more intensity, etc. lol
Maidenofwar
They/Them
I didn't watch the whole ending I only watched Barret say let's go get our girl, then skipped forward and landed at lake with sad peeps and then Aerith appears, Cait Sith and Tifa look so down, then skipped, Aerith appears on a hill, there's a flower field, a promise Cloud will stop Sephiroth, then no promises to keep starts playing and "No promises at the end of the unknown" journey or something. I want to experience the full ending in game for myself. [ /SPOILER]
See you all on the other side folks, I'll be bailing from this thread and the other soon, have a good time, and if you want to know based on my playstyle (story mode), I'm expecting to be it to be pupper
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Legend45
Pro Adventurer
In a way this game gave us closure on the LTD i think
i've always felt like dealing with aerith's death is kinda a catch 22. in order for her death to have an impact cloud needs to be a mess over it. the face holding, body cradling, crying has to happen. the last date they went on needs to be significant, hence the hand holding and hug. however, at the same time if you do all of this, obviously people are going to wonder if he's grieving for a friend or if there was something more there. If you don't want people thinking that maybe cloud did love her romantically then you gotta give her a jessie-like death. but then the obvious issue is that her death has no impact. i got the same feeling this time around with rebirth.
KindOfBlue
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- Blue
It’s just bizarre to me that people look at Cloud having a mental breakdown in FF7 and AC and seemingly in Rebirth and their main takeaway is to celebrate shipping
Ryushikaze
Deus Admiral Parsimonious, PHD, DDS, MD, JD, OBE
- AKA
- Tim, Ryu
It's depicted in a piece of official concept art from the novel, so it's probably better to have called it a possible ending, but one photo, if I remember correctly, shows Ardyn on a picnic with Noct, Luna etc. and some kids that are very clearly meant to be Noctis and Luna's. They have been depicted with descendants in a not-fanart capacity and was trying to be comprehensive.
As for how the game ends I reconsidered the OG ending after the events in the novel and I am not entirely sure if N and L are dead, alive, or gods in the original ending, especially as there's a detail about it that makes so much more sense in light of the events of the novel.
shady
Pro Adventurer
The base game regardless of optional stuff was pushing Cloud and Tifa with smatterings of Zack and Aerith. At least right up until the end, where you still get smatterings of Zack and Aerith but for some reason Aerith becomes all Cloud Cloud Cloud… im not going to lie some of it felt odd especially when during the game (Gongaga for example) Aerith clearly see’s whats happening between Cloud and Tifa, when they nearly kissed she even mouthed something secret to Tifa so she knows whats going on… it just felt very weird to me
Legend45
Pro Adventurer
I imagine they wanted to show her flaws on the forefront she knows she can't have it but part of her cant help but cling to it at least until she finally does have to let go when she says "I'm glad i know where we stand now" that was her having to accept it.
Stand where? Cloud doesn't even know where he is (he even asks her to tell him the truth because he feels something is off), he'll figure out his feelings for her (as well as everything else since now he's in La La Land) later on.
He's on autopilot with Tifa because he always had a thing for her, it's the only thing he remembers basically. With Aerith and Cloud the things were developing but never took off because he's completely insane and she's dead.
He's on autopilot with Tifa because he always had a thing for her, it's the only thing he remembers basically. With Aerith and Cloud the things were developing but never took off because he's completely insane and she's dead.
shady
Pro Adventurer
Did you even see the rest of the game or just the ending?
strippedpink
Rookie Adventurer
- AKA
- taiga
Man...I feel so fed with the CT. I didn't expect even half of what we got in this installment, Cloud/Tifa was done absolutely perfectly 
what a great surprise!
what a great surprise!
Maidenofwar
They/Them
(can't stay away huh)
This game does not pick sides, mutual affection for everyone is guys nights out with Cloud, Vincent, Cid, Cait, story route is Red XIII, date does not affect story after
strippedpink
Rookie Adventurer
- AKA
- taiga
Huh? Me?
Maidenofwar
They/Them
Was talking to myself xD
strippedpink
Rookie Adventurer
- AKA
- taiga
Ohhh lol, well I feel ya it's been hard not reading everything all night. I'm behind on my sleep and keep coming back in here LOL 
shady
Pro Adventurer
Regardless of any Cloud and Aerith stuff I think if you are a fan of Cloud and Tifa you are right to feel this way, don't think anybody expected even half of what they got, especially when you consider virtually all of it was non optional story stuff (though obviously the optional stuff was extremely good too)Man...I feel so fed with the CT. I didn't expect even half of what we got in this installment, Cloud/Tifa was done absolutely perfectly
strippedpink
Rookie Adventurer
- AKA
- taiga
Oh for sure, I am ELATED lol. I fully expected to have to wait for part 3 for the good stuff but man, this was some GOOD STUFF.
Empyrea
Pro Adventurer
I'll share with your excitement there!
As a Tifa fan, I'm very glad that she's getting her shine much earlier than I expected!
...the Zack fan in me is gonna have to wait for Part 3 for his moments,, though, even if that final fight with him participating sounds pretty hype (confusing lore stuff aside).
strippedpink
Rookie Adventurer
- AKA
- taiga
Yes I agree! I'm so happy for her!! And I'm a big Zack fan too, I feel like it's pretty obviously setting him up for a part 3 reunion with Aer, they had some lovely foreshadowing too;; He's such an incredible dude
Maidenofwar
They/Them
For the polycule.
Hix
Pro Adventurer
I never really understood on why they put Zack in the game
Are we still talking about this? Zack doesn't really care what the 5 year old kid has to say about someone "liking" someone else and neither should we. It barely even registers with him because it's just a kid being cute and he has every reason to be confident in his standing with Aerith.
There's plenty of fuel for the Zerith fire this time round and it's building up for the payoff in part 3!