[Spoilers] Material Ultimania Plus discussion

[TurquoiseHammer]

Kind of a separate post here since I didn't want to put my own impressions in the list post.
-I totally skipped over the title of that Chapter 16 script section—"The Voice that Calls Cloud." At first I thought the Jenova voice that the script notes refer to was the one from the past where Sephiroth is speaking to it at the Nibelheim reactor. But this makes it clear that it's (also) calling to Cloud in the present.
-"Rocked Around by the Train" reminds me of Yuffie's song "It's Hard to Stand on Both Feet." (Edit: okay I somehow never realized the obvious fact his song is about Red XIII in the Shinra uniform)
-I haven't played/watched through Chapter 12 in a hot minute, but the script for the Jessie death scene seemed quite different. Maybe I'll take a closer look at that. One of the red texts seems to be drawing a parallel between Zack's death, where Cloud was very emotional, and Jessie's death, where he awkwardly didn't know how to display his reaction.
-The script for Red XIII's Chapter 16 scene further elaborates that Aerith transmits a flood of "visions" to him.

Thanks, @The Twilight Mexican —it's my pleasure!

Edit: Okay, I think I linked everything I could find to the entries in the list post. Let me know if there are other or better ones floating around and I can swap them in.

 

[ph14basicbitch]

O, I did the Rufus one.

Disclaimer: I'm very loose w/wording.

Spoiler: lol

Voice Script: A Heated Battle with Rufus
(Chapter 17) Shinra Building - 70F Presidential Floor: Heliport

70th Floor

The Avalanche helicopter is hovering nearby, waiting for the party. Cloud meets up with Barret and the rest of the party, then turns toward Barret and says,

Cloud: You okay?

Barret hits the part on his chest where he got stabbed, gesturing to Cloud that he’s fine.

Barret: What about Sephiroth?

Cloud: ...he got away.

Barret: (sneers at Cloud) We need to get away too.

Barret puts on his sunglasses and looks up at the helicopter that’s waiting for them. Suddenly, there’s an explosion, and the Avalanche helicopter is blasted out of the sky.

Barret: Huh?!

Barret is visibly upset. It could have been Wedge and people he knew from the Avalanche main branch who just died in front of his eyes.

Cloud: That sucks.

Barret: Shit.

After shooting down the Avalanche helicopter, Rufus’s helicopter lands in the heliport. The camera moves inside the helicopter, showing a close up shot of Rufus’s hand while he does a coin trick. Reno, who’s assuming that Rufus is about to deboard the helicopter, says,

Reno: This is sketchy as fuck.

Rufus smirks and goes, “heh”. He disembarks with some Shinra infantry in tow. Reno and Rude are exasperated at their combative Vice President.

Barret: That’s President Shinra’s son, Rufus.

Cloud: Yep.

The Shinra infantry who deboarded the helicopter are kneeling in formation with their guns ready. Rufus commands them from behind. The helicopter flies off to provide air support for the VP.

Cloud: We need to leave.

Barret: The hell? Why? We could destroy Shinra once and for all!

Cloud: Take Aerith back home.

Rufus signals the Shinra infantry to capture the party. They stand and advance.

Cloud: I’m gonna buy you some time.

Barret: I’m staying too.

Cloud: Go. Barret, I’m counting on you.

Since it’s rare for Cloud to ask people so seriously, Barret replies,

Barret: Tch, fine. But your spiky ass better be right behind us.

The rest of the party heads back inside the office building. Tifa looks concerned, but Cloud doesn’t notice. Cloud blocks the path of the advancing Shinra infantry. Rufus and Dark Nation step forward, through the infantry.

Rufus: I heard you’re a SOLDIER?

Cloud examines Rufus, trying to figure out if he could take him in a fight.

Rufus: Well, I’m the guy who signs your paycheck.

Rufus is also staring at Cloud’s body as well as the color of his eyes. Reno told him beforehand that Cloud is an ex-SOLDIER. Cloud chuckles.

Cloud: Ex-SOLDIER. Thanks for the severance pay.

Rufus and Cloud stand opposite one another on the heliport. Rufus issues an order to the Shinra infantry.

Rufus: Don’t let them escape.

The infantry head in the direction of Barret and the rest of the party. Cloud tries to prevent them from following, but he’s unsuccessful as the helicopter fires at him.

Cloud: Damn.

Rufus smiles and says,

Rufus: Just the two of us.

Cloud eyes Dark Nation and the helicopter.

Rufus: Oh, you know, *details*.

When Cloud tries to attack Rufus with his sword, Rufus twirls to the side and blocks the attack with the barrel of his gun. Rufus counters by shooting at Cloud. Cloud blocks with the Buster Sword. Immediately, Dark Nation follows up and jumps at Cloud. Cloud avoids this by stepping back. Rufus smiles. He still has tricks up his sleeve.

< Fight omitted >

Cloud unleashes a series of attacks. Rufus flinches. He manages to fend off Cloud's all-out attack and tries to counter, but Cloud is quick to respond and sends Rufus’s guns flying. Cloud has him cornered.

Cloud: Seems like I could destroy Shinra.

Even though he’s been cornered on the edge of the heliport, Rufus is still calm and smiling.

Rufus: On the contrary.

The helicopter flies in from below.

Rufus: Shinra will be reborn. Under me.

Rufus takes hold of the helicopter railing and flies off. He mutters something, seemingly giving instructions to someone. The helicopter turns around and shoots at Cloud before leaving. Cloud’s hand is barely hanging on to the edge of the heliport. His fingers start to slip, one by one. As he’s about to give up, Tifa rushes in and takes his hand. Her facial expression is heavy and agonized, but she smiles.

Tifa: So careless. Some hero you are!

Scenario Staff Q&A
Answered by Motomu Toriyama

Q: Why did Rufus come to the roof via helicopter anyway?
A: On the surface, Rufus came ASAP after he received word that the Shinra building was being attacked by Avalanche. But, based on when he arrived, Rufus wasn’t concerned with the safety of his father. Rather, he might have been expecting something unfortunate to happen to his father. Perhaps there was a deal going on behind the scenes... a deal that allowed Rufus to personally respond to any unexpected turn of events...

Bonus round: The Rufus deleted scene from the PS1 Ulti Omega.

Spoiler: lol 2

The Meeting with Rufus

This happened if you boarded the Highwind and called the cockpit after both the failed rocket launch and taking Bugenhagen to the white area.

Cait Sith: Oi, Cloud, laddie, Rufus said he wants to talk with you.

Cloud: Sure. Put him through.

Cait Sith: No laddie, not through comms. He wants to talk face to face.

Cloud: Where at?

Cait Sith: The Gold Saucer.

At the Gold Saucer

(Location undecided, maybe they can ride the gondola or something?)

Rufus: Long time no see. So, how's Sephiroth?

(Cloud does a "who knows" pose.)

Rufus: What? I thought you'd know since you're one of his clones.

Cloud: No, I'm... I was a kid living in a fantasy world of my own creation. But it's time to wake up. I'm done pretending to be a SOLDIER. I'm Cloud, just plain old Cloud.

Rufus: I see. Very well then, plain old Cloud [*]. So what does your rag tag band plan to do about the crisis? As I'm sure you're aware, Meteor is currently on its way to destroy the planet.

Cloud: We're... going to utilize the planet itself. The planet, the ancients, and our own power.

Rufus: Ahaha. That's cute, but that sounds to me like some fairy tale. Save that talk for kids. I wanna talk about reality.

(Time elapses)

Rufus: Sephiroth is the one who summoned Meteor. Ipso facto, if you get rid of Sephiroth, then Meteor will change course. Thus, we're going to defeat Sephiroth, and we're prepared to do so. What you all do is none of our business. But seriously, stay out of our way, would you? We're trying to survive here too, and this is our last shot.

(Rufus starts walking away.)

Rufus: There is one thing I'm curious about, though. Why do you believe in your little fairy tale?

Cloud: ...because Aerith.

(Rufus doesn't hear the answer.)

Rufus: What was that?

Cloud: You wouldn't understand.

(Rufus shrugs then walks away after a pause, leaving Cloud by himself.)

Cloud: Aerith... We're making the right call, aren't we?

※ In an early draft, Cloud and Rufus were supposed to meet up before the Mako cannon fires at the barrier. Rufus was never going to see eye to eye with Cloud and the party, but seeing him work to try and stop the crisis really left an impression on you.

 

[TurquoiseHammer]

O, I did the Rufus one.

Disclaimer: I'm very loose w/wording.

Spoiler: lol

Voice Script: A Heated Battle with Rufus
(Chapter 17) Shinra Building - 70F Presidential Floor: Heliport

70th Floor

The Avalanche helicopter is hovering nearby, waiting for the party. Cloud meets up with Barret and the rest of the party, then turns toward Barret and says,

Cloud: You okay?

Barret hits the part on his chest where he got stabbed, gesturing to Cloud that he’s fine.

Barret: What about Sephiroth?

Cloud: ...he got away.

Barret: (sneers at Cloud) We need to get away too.

Barret puts on his sunglasses and looks up at the helicopter that’s waiting for them. Suddenly, there’s an explosion, and the Avalanche helicopter is blasted out of the sky.

Barret: Huh?!

Barret is visibly upset. It could have been Wedge and people he knew from the Avalanche main branch who just died in front of his eyes.

Cloud: That sucks.

Barret: Shit.

After shooting down the Avalanche helicopter, Rufus’s helicopter lands in the heliport. The camera moves inside the helicopter, showing a close up shot of Rufus’s hand while he does a coin trick. Reno, who’s assuming that Rufus is about to deboard the helicopter, says,

Reno: This is sketchy as fuck.

Rufus smirks and goes, “heh”. He disembarks with some Shinra infantry in tow. Reno and Rude are exasperated at their combative Vice President.

Barret: That’s President Shinra’s son, Rufus.

Cloud: Yep.

The Shinra infantry who deboarded the helicopter are kneeling in formation with their guns ready. Rufus commands them from behind. The helicopter flies off to provide air support for the VP.

Cloud: We need to leave.

Barret: The hell? Why? We could destroy Shinra once and for all!

Cloud: Take Aerith back home.

Rufus signals the Shinra infantry to capture the party. They stand and advance.

Cloud: I’m gonna buy you some time.

Barret: I’m staying too.

Cloud: Go. Barret, I’m counting on you.

Since it’s rare for Cloud to ask people so seriously, Barret replies,

Barret: Tch, fine. But your spiky ass better be right behind us.

The rest of the party heads back inside the office building. Tifa looks concerned, but Cloud doesn’t notice. Cloud blocks the path of the advancing Shinra infantry. Rufus and Dark Nation step forward, through the infantry.

Rufus: I heard you’re a SOLDIER?

Cloud examines Rufus, trying to figure out if he could take him in a fight.

Rufus: Well, I’m the guy who signs your paycheck.

Rufus is also staring at Cloud’s body as well as the color of his eyes. Reno told him beforehand that Cloud is an ex-SOLDIER. Cloud chuckles.

Cloud: Ex-SOLDIER. Thanks for the severance pay.

Rufus and Cloud stand opposite one another on the heliport. Rufus issues an order to the Shinra infantry.

Rufus: Don’t let them escape.

The infantry head in the direction of Barret and the rest of the party. Cloud tries to prevent them from following, but he’s unsuccessful as the helicopter fires at him.

Cloud: Damn.

Rufus smiles and says,

Rufus: Just the two of us.

Cloud eyes Dark Nation and the helicopter.

Rufus: Oh, you know, *details*.

When Cloud tries to attack Rufus with his sword, Rufus twirls to the side and blocks the attack with the barrel of his gun. Rufus counters by shooting at Cloud. Cloud blocks with the Buster Sword. Immediately, Dark Nation follows up and jumps at Cloud. Cloud avoids this by stepping back. Rufus smiles. He still has tricks up his sleeve.

< Fight omitted >

Cloud unleashes a series of attacks. Rufus flinches. He manages to fend off Cloud's all-out attack and tries to counter, but Cloud is quick to respond and sends Rufus’s guns flying. Cloud has him cornered.

Cloud: Seems like I could destroy Shinra.

Even though he’s been cornered on the edge of the heliport, Rufus is still calm and smiling.

Rufus: On the contrary.

The helicopter flies in from below.

Rufus: Shinra will be reborn. Under me.

Rufus takes hold of the helicopter railing and flies off. He mutters something, seemingly giving instructions to someone. The helicopter turns around and shoots at Cloud before leaving. Cloud’s hand is barely hanging on to the edge of the heliport. His fingers start to slip, one by one. As he’s about to give up, Tifa rushes in and takes his hand. Her facial expression is heavy and agonized, but she smiles.

Tifa: So careless. Some hero you are!

Scenario Staff Q&A
Answered by Motomu Toriyama

Q: Why did Rufus come to the roof via helicopter anyway?
A: On the surface, Rufus came ASAP after he received word that the Shinra building was being attacked by Avalanche. But, based on when he arrived, Rufus wasn’t concerned with the safety of his father. Rather, he might have been expecting something unfortunate to happen to his father. Perhaps there was a deal going on behind the scenes... a deal that allowed Rufus to personally respond to any unexpected turn of events...

Bonus round: The Rufus deleted scene from the PS1 Ulti Omega.

Spoiler: lol 2

The Meeting with Rufus

This happened if you boarded the Highwind and called the cockpit after both the failed rocket launch and taking Bugenhagen to the white area.

Cait Sith: Oi, Cloud, laddie, Rufus said he wants to talk with you.

Cloud: Sure. Put him through.

Cait Sith: No laddie, not through comms. He wants to talk face to face.

Cloud: Where at?

Cait Sith: The Gold Saucer.

At the Gold Saucer

(Location undecided, maybe they can ride the gondola or something?)

Rufus: Long time no see. So, how's Sephiroth?

(Cloud does a "who knows" pose.)

Rufus: What? I thought you'd know since you're one of his clones.

Cloud: No, I'm... I was a kid living in a fantasy world of my own creation. But it's time to wake up. I'm done pretending to be a SOLDIER. I'm Cloud, just plain old Cloud.

Rufus: I see. Very well then, plain old Cloud [*]. So what does your rag tag band plan to do about the crisis? As I'm sure you're aware, Meteor is currently on its way to destroy the planet.

Cloud: We're... going to utilize the planet itself. The planet, the ancients, and our own power.

Rufus: Ahaha. That's cute, but that sounds to me like some fairy tale. Save that talk for kids. I wanna talk about reality.

(Time elapses)

Rufus: Sephiroth is the one who summoned Meteor. Ipso facto, if you get rid of Sephiroth, then Meteor will change course. Thus, we're going to defeat Sephiroth, and we're prepared to do so. What you all do is none of our business. But seriously, stay out of our way, would you? We're trying to survive here too, and this is our last shot.

(Rufus starts walking away.)

Rufus: There is one thing I'm curious about, though. Why do you believe in your little fairy tale?

Cloud: ...because Aerith.

(Rufus doesn't hear the answer.)

Rufus: What was that?

Cloud: You wouldn't understand.

(Rufus shrugs then walks away after a pause, leaving Cloud by himself.)

Cloud: Aerith... We're making the right call, aren't we?

※ In an early draft, Cloud and Rufus were supposed to meet up before the Mako cannon fires at the barrier. Rufus was never going to see eye to eye with Cloud and the party, but seeing him work to try and stop the crisis really left an impression on you.

Excellent--added to the list!
Also, very cool, I never knew about that scene!

 

[OWA-2]

So, anybody knows what are the new lyrics for the song at the start of Intergrade?

 

[ultima786]

So, anybody knows what are the new lyrics for the song at the start of Intergrade?

You are the one winged angel, please find out soonest and tell us. i've been dying to know

 

[Tetsujin]

I honestly think they're just gibberish.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Well it looks like Audrey and everyone else has moved on from this book, which is a shame since there's still some interesting pieces of info in here.

Google has created a nifty app called Google Lens, and it allows one to use their smartphone camera to translate text.

I gave it a whirl and while it's machine translated, it's still rather clear and informative.

Spoiler: Info on the Moogle Posters

Spoiler: Fort Condor Setting Information

Some folks here were apparently right about it.

Spoiler: Information about a certain bird in the Intermission ending

Pay attention to the image, that picture is meant to show it's size relative to a person. So I think we can safely guess Fort Condor will be in our next game.

I'll share some interesting tidbits when I find them

 

[ForceStealer]

I remember using that app 5 years ago in Tokyo. It's crazy. Real Star Trek shit

 

[TurquoiseHammer]

On a similar note, a while back a Reddit user named Green_Medium_3860 linked a Google doc with a dump of all the staff comments and most of the voice script. They used OCR to transcribe and DeepL to machine translate, so the transcriptions may have some small errors and the translations should be taken with a large pinch of salt, but it's extremely handy nonetheless.

 

[Makoeyes987]

So, within the Ultimania Plus are transcriptions of every NPC character's dialogue within FFVII-R.

Not just Intermission, every NPC within FFVII-R proper.

What's even more interesting, is that there's a section that shows exactly what NPCs... Were carried over from the OG. I'm sure some have noticed some were, but there's apparently quite a few.

Spoiler

Photographing all the pages was a bit difficult given the text size but, I thought that was pretty neat

 

[ultima786]

Calling on @Ultimasamune and anyone else! I’m wanting to get some clarifications on some of Audrey’s translations, and I’m hopeful you can save me here!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1322082464764887040

Which picture resembles Sephiroth’s wing? Is it the colorful nebula? Or the red one that looks like Jenova? What are they separately symbolizing? Audrey’s tweet doesn’t clarify this at all.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1323313745431425024

What is being implied here and is this accurate? Is it saying the ending battle in the singularity was symbolic/spiritual? Is it clear that this is within the Lifestream?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1322889660104802305

Is this saying The 3 smaller Whispers ARE kadaj, loz, yazoo, or is it saying they were designed after them?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1322936713052737537

Does this imply that Remake is almost a rebirth of the world? I wonder what the mechanics of this are… Omega?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1415567942855450624

I think this could use another translation….

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1418501621487575041

Is this a good translation? Is there anything missed here, because I don’t know what to make of this.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1418501621487575041

The last page implies that Sephiroth wants to preserve the planet but can only do so by sacrificing souls. Do you agree? This almost sounds like Weiss’ motivations.

 

[TurquoiseHammer]

I'd be happy to take a look at the Material Ultimania ones but I don't own the book or have scans, unfortunately. I did do a second translation of the Aeris resolution scene Q&A which you can find a few pages back on the hyperlinked list. I'll check out the highway script a little later and let you know if I have any comments or notice any discrepancies. I do think that 99 times out of a hundred Audrey's translations are accurate, so I don't want to give the impression they should all be second-guessed. But I'm always of the mind that more eyes means more clarity when it comes to translations.

Highway script takeaways (excluding the voiced lines, which are covered in the translation differences thread):
-Specifically, the party hesitates before Sephiroth's "transcendent aura/demeanor," which is a phrase used often to describe the "new" Sephiroth
-Sephiroth doesn't "take comfort" from the Whispers making the dome, he just "is comfortable" with the situation (i.e., he knows what's going on and isn't surprised or flustered)
-The screaming sound dies down when the scene cuts to Sephiroth, not the Whispers
-Aerith isn't necessarily echoing Zack's line deliberately, it's just that we the players notice it matches what he said
-In case it wasn't clear, "Aerith holds the thoughts of all those who live within the Planet" doesn't mean she literally knows everything they do, it's just that she's feeling their pain and sympathizing with them right then
-A bit nuanced, but the part about Sephiroth's plan to save the Planet involving sacrificing people is included in what Aerith thinks, so we're not being straight up told that that's what his plan entails

 

[Makoeyes987]

Weiss wasn't trying to preserve the planet. He was essentially trying to invoke a doomsday scenario by slaughtering a sizeable number of people so he could take over Omega and then fly off the planet with it, becoming a god in the process.

Sephiroth does want to preserve the Planet because he sees it's inevitable fate in the future. The seven seconds til the end line refers to the time before the planet truly dies forever and Cloud has to make a choice in that brief span of time.

Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo are Whisper Rubrum, Viridi and Corceo. Whisper Corceo literally uses the Velvet Nightmare. Viridi purposefully uses Elude to get behind Tifa and zap her. Advent Children style.

The artists speaking about the setting depiction of the Singularity final battle are speaking about it's design. However it's not a stretch to deduce that the Singularity is similar in structure to the Lifestream since it was formed by entering inside the wall of Whispers.

All the things you're asking another translation for has been looked over several times. None of it changes, Audrey's translations and the messages therein are consistent. What you're reading is what's being said. Aerith's words speak for themselves, she has memories from the future.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

One thing to remember is that they are *deliberaly* holding information back. A lot of this is being talked about in vague terms because Remake is Part 1 of a multi-chaptered story and there's no way NKNT (Nomura, Kitase, Nojima, Toriyama) are spoiling what they think are big plot twists down the line.

One thing to know about the Lifestream is that *everything* in it is "spiritual" in nature. And it's no less "real" for it. The Lifestream is literally spirit/life energy and is a physical form of all the memories of the Planet. All the spirits/memories of anything that ever lived are in it. Including Sephiroth and Jenova and Aerith (and anything else that has died).

The big thing that Remake revealed about the Lifestream was that it exists across all of time. So all signs pointing to it having the memories of anything that *will* live in it too. And some of those spirits/memories would *really* like to get a chance to live like they're supposed to. Chaining destiny means that they might not get to live this time around.

What is interesting about the term "Destiny's Crossroads" is that the Japanese term for "crossroad" isn't an actual "crossroad". It's the verb for "to diverge/branch/divide" and then "road". So it's not really a "crossed road" (where two roads intersect), as much as it is a "branching road" (where two roads split apart). And also has the sense of a metaphorical "critical point" or "turning point". So there's the implication that "Destiny's Crossroads" isn't just a place where two destinies cross/intersect each other. It also has the implication that Destiny "diverges" or can drastically change in some way in that place... It could also be called something like "Destiny's Fork" or "Destiny's Turning Point" or "Destiny's Diversion".

 

[jeangl123]

Calling on @Ultimasamune and anyone else! I’m wanting to get some clarifications on some of Audrey’s translations, and I’m hopeful you can save me here!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1322082464764887040

Which picture resembles Sephiroth’s wing? Is it the colorful nebula? Or the red one that looks like Jenova? What are they separately symbolizing? Audrey’s tweet doesn’t clarify this at all.

The artwork looks more like Sephiroth's wing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FFVIIRemake/comments/jn7ja4

The staff comment in the book is actually connected visually with an arrow pointing to the pretty nebula imagery. Here's the exact Japanese from the Environment Artwork Staff Sugawara: エンディングでクラウドとセフィロスが対峙する空間の背景で、セフィロスが背負っている翼をイメージしています。美しい物が　ポジティブな存在とはかぎりませんね。- Audrey said this in another reddit comment. It refers to the colorful nebula. You can see the staff comment bubble pointing to it.

 

[TurquoiseHammer]

Wow, that sure looks different from what we see in game. I wonder why they changed it

By the way, the first Material Ultimania is coming out in December right? Looking forward to what people can pick apart from it. Will lmao if wing is plural and Sephiroth now has two wings, each represented by a different nebula.

Also @ultima786 I realized literally in the shower what you were actually asking, whether the plan Aerith thinks Sephiroth has is to save the world specifically by sacrificing the people on it, and, no, it doesn't necessarily say that. It's more like prolonging the Planet's life at the expense of the people on it.

 

[OWA-2]

Is there some explanation anywhere about the red nebula?

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The red nebula has always looked like a slightly smudge "Sephrioth standing in the flames" scene to me. It's worth pointing out that the devs have said elsewhere that Sephiroth has control over the "space" that is End of Creation. So I wouldn't think *either* of the nebula are a good thing.

 

[jeangl123]

Is there some explanation anywhere about the red nebula?

Doesn't seem to be. This is all Audrey said about it on reddit.
"It's an HD in photo of the entire pretty nebula concept art that is used in-game as well as the red sky concept art with the comment pointing to the pretty nebula art, written as Starry Sky 1. The red sky art is called Starry Sky 2. These can be found on Page 183 of the Material Ultimania."

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285961497135345664

Since the red one is called "Starry Sky 2" it can probably applied to this I guess.

 

[OWA-2]

The red one probably doesn't mean anything then.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

The red one probably doesn't mean anything then.

I suspect the book is probably referring to both. They're both part of the same starry sky, just in opposite directions.

What is interesting about the term "Destiny's Crossroads" is that the Japanese term for "crossroad" isn't an actual "crossroad". It's the verb for "to diverge/branch/divide" and then "road". So it's not really a "crossed road" (where two roads intersect), as much as it is a "branching road" (where two roads split apart). And also has the sense of a metaphorical "critical point" or "turning point". So there's the implication that "Destiny's Crossroads" isn't just a place where two destinies cross/intersect each other. It also has the implication that Destiny "diverges" or can drastically change in some way in that place... It could also be called something like "Destiny's Fork" or "Destiny's Turning Point" or "Destiny's Diversion".

But that's precisely what the phrasing "at a crossroads" means in English. I can't speak for anyone else here, but I instantly took "Destiny's Crossroads" to suggest Cloud and co. would be choosing a path for the future.

Come to think of it, KH: Chain of Memory made a significant use of a crossroads as a visual illustration for the paths Riku could choose for his future:

So I don't think this concept is unrecognizable to a Japanese audience either.

 

[ph14basicbitch]

I didn't know what the Japanese name for it was until after I beat the game, and I took it in the same way as Twilight. I believe the Whisper/Feeler fight alludes to the party being able to choose too.

I'm pretty sure that 1 line of Red 13 is a better "localization fucked up" target, tbh.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I realized literally in the shower

I’d kill for one of those with Tifa

 

[ultima786]

The artwork looks more like Sephiroth's wing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FFVIIRemake/comments/jn7ja4

The staff comment in the book is actually connected visually with an arrow pointing to the pretty nebula imagery. Here's the exact Japanese from the Environment Artwork Staff Sugawara: エンディングでクラウドとセフィロスが対峙する空間の背景で、セフィロスが背負っている翼をイメージしています。美しい物が　ポジティブな存在とはかぎりませんね。- Audrey said this in another reddit comment. It refers to the colorful nebula. You can see the staff comment bubble pointing to it.

Ok, so it is absolutely clear to you that the staff comment about Sephiroth’s wing is represented by only the colorful nebula….? And not by the red-one that looks like Jenova’s silhouette? Or maybe both? It still isn’t clear to me, and the arrows are a little ambiguous….

As @The Twilight Mexican stated, I wonder if they are referring to both?

Also @ultima786 I realized literally in the shower what you were actually asking, whether the plan Aerith thinks Sephiroth has is to save the world specifically by sacrificing the people on it, and, no, it doesn't necessarily say that. It's more like prolonging the Planet's life at the expense of the people on it.

Bless you. I wonder… would you say that so far, Sephiroth is conveying a sense of omnipotent indifference to the fate of humanity and souls in the Lifestream? Hence Aeirth’s speech at the end of the game… “the voices of the planet… their voices roll off his back… he can’t hear them…”

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The Planet has more than once showed that it *does* care about humanity in the Compilation as well. It cares about life/humanity in general when it works to stop Meteor from crashing rather than erase humanity from existance for instance. It also *can* care about individuals that come in contact with the Lifestream and frequently ends up healing them in various ways. Cloud and Tifa get the opperunity to sort Cloud's head out when they're in the Lifestream. Genesis gets his degradation fixed by the Planet. Kyrie and Evan jump into the Lifestream rather than deal with Kadaj and the Lifestream (a) heals Evan's wrecked shoulder and (b) sends them to the exact right spot for them to get out of the Glacier.

Really, the only individual the Planet really doesn't like is Sephiroth and the Remnants. Which makes sense. Jenova is all but trying to erode the Lifestream away and increase it's own Negative Lifestream with energy that *should* be going to the Lifestream. Even then, the Lifestream *can* differentiate between individuals though. It keeps trying to absorb Sephiroth's spirit/memories ASAP. While Kadaj is looking for Jenova for Reunion, it's hostile and all but... dissolves... Kadaj into energy (which is arguably the most blatently agressive we've really seen the Lifestream)... But then once Kadaj is done and over with Jenova, he goes and joins the Lifestream itself just fine.

This is a *far* cry from what Aerith says Sephiroth wants to do. Which is indiscriminately kill beings to keep the Planet going. The Planet itself never goes that far for it's own survival...