Is the Controversial Ending of [Unnamed Show/Movie] a Bad Omen for the Future?

FF7 Rebirth was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of 2024. Following a successful game, remake of one of the most popular titles of all time… Rebirth also had to answer a lot of questions since FF7 Remake had reshuffled cards in 2019. Now, the game has been out for a little over two weeks and many fans have finally had their answer. And as I was able to point out in my test, this is not unanimous, it was a foregone conclusion.

SPOILER ALERT, you can imagine that when talking about the reactions due to the end of the game, we are of course going to speak directly. You have been warned.

FF7 Rebirth, an extremely important game on all levels

Even more important than the answer to humanity's big question, fans around the world had only one question burning on their lips regarding FF7 Rebirth: who dies at the end of the game?

Since yes, we knew it, Square had been very clear, FF7 Rebirth ends at the Temple of the Ancients, an extremely important location in the original Final Fantasy 7 since it marks an important turnaround in the plot. It's here that Aerith, a character we've had with us since the beginning, the last Cetras able to save the world, dies at the hands of Sephiroth. A shock for the times and an extremely brutal scene.
When the FF7 remakes were announced, everyone knew that we would have to go through this painful sequence again, except that FF7 Remake completely reshuffled the cards by rewriting history and placing its Remakes squarely in a certain continuity. FF7 Remake coexists with the original, the multiverse is open.

From there, all the theories emerged: who dies in FF7 Rebirth? Tifa? Aerith? someone else ? What happens at the end? So many questions that will be answered after several dozen hours of play, and that's precisely what doesn't like it.

An ending that greatly divides

WARNING IMPORTANT SPOILERS, if you have not seen the first alert!

We're going to rip the bandage off right away. After playing on us at Gongaga's Mako Reactor by putting Tifa on the verge of death, FF7 Rebirth finally kills one of its characters at the very end: Aerith. The flower seller dies once again from Sephiroth’s hands… or not! While this sequence is clear and brutal in the original, here, the developers sow doubt and stage this important death by interweaving the timelines. We see her die, but also escape her tragic destiny, then she will even accompany us during a final face-to-face with Sephiroth to conclude the game. But when calm returns, it's a shock.

In our present, the one where we end the adventure, Aerith is no longer… or almost. As beautiful and as terrible as it is, Cloud can still see her. She follows him and talks to him. The last of the Cetras, however, will remain in their native lands while the rest of the troop leaves for the north in search of Sephiroth.

A treatment that is much more melancholic and emotionally difficult to take than it was in 1997, but also more open than ever and that is clearly not unanimous.
“This ending is an attempt by Square Enix to eat at every rack, and that's the biggest frustration for me. I would have preferred that they did justice to the scene of his death, with the emotional effect and the impact that it implies for the group, and then focused on the question of how the group continues the pursuit of Sephiroth”, summarizes one of the fans on social networks. Others wonder “why is everything so complicated? » in this FF7 Rebirth while some complain about the fact that “the developers missed everything” or even that it was neither done nor to be done.

Other players are still more level-headed, some are already completely crazy and can't wait any longer. Others fans don't really know what to think and are doubtful about what happens next: “I have no fucking idea where they're going to go with this because it's completely confusing. I hope they have a good plan on how to end these Remakes, it has a good chance of going completely off the rails if they mismanage it.”. Regardless, the ending is extremely divisive and Aerith's death is only the crystallization of it. In reality, it's everything that happens at the end that poses new questions and that, in some way, lessens the effect of the character's disappearance.

What does the ending of FF7 Rebirth tell us?

WARNING STILL MAJOR SPOILERS!!! Never two without three, if you are there, it is because it is wanted.

FF7 Remake 3 is going to have even more pressure on its shoulders than Rebirth. Not only are the questions more numerous, but events have changed. Cloud walked alone through a wall of filaments, once again defying fate. The final fight against Sephiroth caused the timelines to intertwine to the point where we no longer really know who is who. Cloud was able to fight alongside Zack, but also a very alive Aerith while her body was lying on the ground shortly before.

Something went completely wrong, destiny broke. When everything calms down, Cloud is no longer the same, something has changed. Although Aerith is no more, he can still see, talk to and interact with her. Tifa also seems aware that something is wrong, she will have a few flashes, certainly due to her prolonged exposure to Mako after her trip to the center of the planet. Red XIII also seems to sense Aerith's presence, although he does not see her.

What about next? Does it smell bad or are there any big surprises coming?

Between that and the fact that he still retains the destructive Black Materia, now absorbed by his sword, the next part of the franchise promises to be a real headache. And it is for all these reasons that fans are worried. FF7 Rebirth, even more than FF7 Remake, shook everything up. The sequel could be completely unrecognizable as the game has distanced itself from the original, bringing new intrigues to the forefront once and for all with its new issues and new questions. For many, Square Enix is ​​on very slippery ground and bad tongues are already starting to say that it smells very, very bad for the future.

But after taking the test here, we are rather confident and even intrigued. Square Enix could well surprise us, quite the contrary. And what do you think of this ending?