‘Final Fantasy’: ‘FF7 Rebirth’ ending, explained

If you finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in a state of confusion—trust me, you’re not alone.

Fans have been split about their feelings surrounding Rebirth‘s ending. Even the ones—like me—who liked it have some mixed emotions. But one thing’s for certain: Rebirth is the second entry in a trilogy of games. There’s a lot of unanswered questions that we simply have to sit with until the final game comes out, which will likely be in 2028.

Final Fantasy VII doesn’t wrap up its bow neatly—but that’s on purpose. There’s a lot of room for theorizing and personal interpretation. The game’s director said they did this on purpose, to keep people engaged while they make the final game.

But here’s more-or-less what we think happened.

Aerith’s fate, Cloud’s mental health decline, and mored

The biggest question going into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was whether or not Aerith would suffer the same fate that she does in the original Final Fantasy VII—namely, whether Sephiroth would kill her as she prays at the Temple of the Ancients.

The build-up to this moment is created some of the most profound emotional connections to a game I’ve ever had. I literally screamed “CLOUD!!!” as Sephiroth came down with that sword. At first, it seems like Cloud changed fate, that her saved her.

The reason this was thrown into question at all is the existence of “whispers,” which were introduced in Final Fantasy VII Remake and seemingly defeated. Their defeat led critics and fans alike to believe that Rebirth would change course more from the original than it actually did.

Because even though Cloud seems to save Aerith, the game glitches, and we see blood. The Final Fantasy VII remake project is very much in conversation with its own legacy, and it’s as if the most memorable death in all of gaming is too iconic to simply rewrite.

Meanwhile, it turns out there are alternate universes afoot. That’s why Zack—who originally dies before the beginning of Final Fantasy VII—is both alive and around during this particular stretch of time.

In other words: Aerith does indeed die. But this time, there’s a bit of a catch—her spirit is still around, whether it be because of universe shenanigans or her ability to hold her own consciousness in the life stream, and Cloud can still sense her.

However, Cloud’s own mental health isn’t so hot, as he seems to be slowly losing his mind due to a confluence of mako poisoning and Sephiroth’s tampering. There’s an open question as to whether Cloud is hallucinating Aerith, but since Red can sense her, it’s likely that the “Aerith ghost” is more or less real. But Cloud doesn’t seem to fully understand that the others can’t see Aerith like he can.

Which means that, even in the first act, the final game in the Final Fantasy remake series is absolutely going to destroy me, whenever it comes out.