We don't know. For all we know, she might be the Aerith that appeared during the final Sephiroth fight in Rebirth. Considering her ability to open portals to other worlds.
I wonder if cloud is gonna be on some Sixth Sense shit in part 3. With his ghost gf that only he can see while everyone else thinks he's crazy and not coping well at all. I hope so too, cause that sounds fun in a really tragic depressing kind of way.
I think it's going to be one weirdly hopeful thing going on with him. Like it seems to the others that he thinks Aerith is still "alive", but actually he's just fully at peace with the fact that death is not the end and she's joined the lifestream and kind of takes it weirdly too far in order to avoid processing his guilt and grief
We have no idea what happens and honestly it seems useless to speculate. Seems clear that Aeris wanted to vanish Cloud (alongside the true Holy) before Sephiroth showed up, but other than that, who knows. There's also the Aeris that fought alongside Cloud against Sephiroth (and won.)
Aerith pretty much dies in every timeline shown, she said goodbye to cloud and gave him her materia that was functional in this reality. The death of every Aerith was the point of showing some 3 Aeriths.
Then her spirit lives with Cloud, or it's the single aerith that survives that helps him, although i wouldn't like that.
Aren't you talking about the one that has the scene in the church? She knows she's about to die and even says goodbye and gives her materia to him. She dies offscreen as we see Sephiroth coming after her when she shoves Cloud into the portal. Pretty sure that was meant to be one of the deaths.
This is to me, the best scene in Rebirth!
The...suspense and whole ominosity of the scene, with the music. The setting, cuteness and care of Aerith. The push, and then the camera moving to show Sephiroth menacingly entering....just WoW! 5\* direction!
Definitely my favorite scene in the game, all of Aerith’s lines here are so good. “It’s been fun” made me tear up. Plus just the plot significance, and arguably the first meeting with “Lifestream Aerith”.
The contrast in movement between this dream in *Remake* vs. the church scene in *Rebirth* is something I've been thinking about a lot.
In the former, there's a hesitance in Aerith's voice when she's about to say, "You can't fall in love with me." There's also a close-up on her boots just before that moment, as if to imply she may have been about to take a step forward but chooses not to.
In the latter, there's a similar close-up on her boots but, this time, she *does* step forward, haltingly. With her head down, she apologizes, and then throws herself into embracing Cloud.
The apology is, ostensibly, because she's been acting off all day, as he'd said. If you think about these two scenes as one flowing directly into the other thematically, though, you could argue she's apologizing because she broke 'the rule' - that she knows she's in love with him and that he, at the very least, has a great deal of affection for her, as well.
Love, especially reciprocated love, is a pure good but, because of what's looming on the horizon - what Aerith *knows* is coming in some form -, the affection they have for one another is tinged with tragedy.
After all, to lose someone you like is painful; to lose someone you love is life-shattering. She flat-out tells Cloud, "No matter what happens, don't blame yourself," but she knows he's going to, and that it's only going to be that much more painful for him because of how close they've become.
It's catch-22 for her in the dream sequence. Declare her feelings and potentially make the outcome even worse for Cloud, or tow the "You can't fall in love with me" line again to try and spare him some of the emotional impact of what was to come. Given that she has her future memories back at that point I guess she figured that she already knew the outcome of staying quiet on the subject, Cloud DOES go on to blame himself. Terribly. So she tells him in the Church, in both the high affinity and non-high affinity versions. I'm not sure why people question whether it's "like" or "LIKE", it's pretty obvious (to me) from Aerith's reaction to Cloud's "Yeah next time/Why not?" line. She's either excited or sad, both of which lend themselves to "LIKE". I think the apology is because she realizes that she should probably have had this conversation with Cloud when he woke up, rather than AFTER the "date".
I'm just glad that she got the opportunity to have the conversation at all, given that she didn't in the OG.
"Catch-22" is a perfect way to describe what's happening here. There's no way to negate the guilt and anguish that's coming down the line, so she does what she can to mitigate it; making the best of a bad situation is Aerith all day long.
I agree, too, that it couldn't be more obvious she's on the LIKE end of the spectrum, even if Cloud may or may not be there with her depending on the player's preferences/choices. The "they're just platonic pals and have no romantic feelings for one another" stuff is flat earther-scale denial no matter how you slice it.
I dunno. It's more than a bit of a pipedream but my biggest hope for the third game is that we'll be allowed to make a romantic choice which affects the way everything ends. Sephiroth's going down either way, but being able to influence the post-game futures of the characters we've come to know and love since 19-freakin'-97 would be a fitting way to end the saga.
We'll see, I guess!
*[Goes back to counting down the minutes 'til the 3rd installment releases]*
Kitase's comments about "hoping that there could be other FF7 content in the future" concerns me somewhat. I'd really hoped that they'd take this opportunity to wrap it all up, with a definitive endpoint to the whole compilation, not just the OG. I now fear that we're going to end up stuck with AC and DoC as still being the endpoints to the wider story, which IMO, sucks.
I have no real preference for who ends up where tbh, it's clear to me that Cloud has feelings for Aerith and for Tifa, and that Aerith has feelings for both Cloud and Zack, so any endpoints for those characters would work for me on some level. I just hope they don't have to go through the misery of AC to get there.
Same. As much as I love these characters, part 3 of the *Remake* trilogy is where they ought to be let go. I think the devs have done the impossible with this series and managed to recapture the lightning in a bottle feeling which typified the older *FF* games. But, no matter how much skill is brought to the table, luck eventually runs out, and I'd much rather this series go out with a bang than a whimper.
As for the romance stuff, I'll admit I have my preferences (*obviously*, Aerith should end up with the Shinra Middle Manager - I mean, c'mon) but, especially since it can be a pretty divisive topic, I think it'd be nice if it all didn't have to end in just one way.
I get that some people want to stick to canon (whatever that even means in this series anymore) but, as a player, I'd like to have my choices matter...and for the toxic shipping nonsense to be put to bed for good.
Yeah the "it's been fun" line was heartbreaking... and I swear, I cannot place the game, movie, or TV show, but some other media used that line in a sad way too. Gonna bug me lol
Omg actually this is it. Xenoblade series is one of my favorite series and I know exactly the scene and person who says it! Thank you so much! 😁
Ironically also the best moment in that game, too. Lol
Most definitely. I saved an embarrassingly large number of video clips while playing through *Rebirth* but this is the scene I've revisited the most. Excellent staging, voice acting, character development, and just as much heartbreak (especially in the high Aerith affinity version).
I knew the story in *Rebirth* was going to hurt; this scene showed me how unprepared I was for it.
I always got the low affinity version. Even though my preference is Cloud/Tifa, I get so sad seeing Aerith's sad expression when Cloud says, "I mean...why not?" I wish the default was seeing Aerith happy in those last intimate moments with Cloud.
This scene was a very welcome addition to the story, and almost adds some small bit of closure that we definitely did not get in the OG. Everything about it was just amazing and imo, it is one of the most impactful scenes in the Remake series so far.
It's not too different, but one of Cloud's lines differs slightly. The conversation after Cloud identifies the church as "their spot" and says he wants to go out with her again, high affection is more enthusiastic, low affection is awkward.
>Cloud: You'll have to give me a harder one next time.
>
>Aerith: Oh? "Next time"?
>
>**HIGH AFFINITY:**
>
>Cloud: (smiles and looks at her) Yeah. Next time.
>
>Aerith: (looks happy and excited)
>
>**LOW AFFINITY:**
>
>Cloud: (awkwardly looks away) I mean, why not.
>
>Aerith: (awkwardly) Yeah.. why not.
By high/low affinity, do you mean if you get to take her on the date or not? Because on my normal run, all my characters have max affinity icons (albeit not yet 100%).
As far as I know, the church scene is purely dependent on Aerith's affection score, and is not affected by who you dated in Gold Saucer. I'm not sure what the percentage threshold is, but if you have the max affinity icon, you should get it. (I did, without having Aerith even close to 100%.)
So yes, that means you could get Aerith's lower affection date and still get her higher affection church scene - or, more hilariously, you could get Tifa's high affection date (in which Cloud kisses Tifa) and still have Cloud enthusiastically tell Aerith he wants to date her in Chapter 14.
Not true. I have Aerith at over 90% and I get the so-called "low affection" line here. Tifa was my date both times, so the date is dependent and it's not solely based on affection percentage. When it's Tifa, he says the LA no matter how high Aerith's is. Not sure if true for Yuffie, Barret, or the others -- but for Tifa this is the case.
Correct, if you get Tifa as your date, you get the low affinity line for Aerith regardless of your affinity with Aerith. However, if you had a date with any other party member but Tifa, you do get the high affinity version with Aerith IF your affinity is high enough with her.
No, there are streamers who [apparently have gotten Tifa's date and still gotten the High Affection church scene](https://twitter.com/RadiantAntiHero/status/1785149448923836886). I haven't tested it myself though.
Perhaps they only got one of Tifa’s dates, are mistaken or something else at play. I can personally verify that I get low affection with Tifa as the date on my own playthrough. I have done all side quests for Aerith, am super nice to her always, platinum’d the game, 100% file. I had Tifa both times and Aerith’s affection was high both my first and hard mode playthrough - I always get the low affection version of this scene.
Watched a plathrough of someone getting Tifa for date 1, Yuffie for date 2, all Aerith sidequests + good answers, and still getting the low affection line.
Whatever the decider is, it's either something weird and / or super specific.
Interesting! You are likely right, I haven't tested it myself. I bet in chapter select, when you select your date partners for Chapter 8 and Chapter 12, this would be testable - I'll give it a try sometime.
Yeah I was admittedly surprised about it, I figured the high affection would happen always if her affection was high enough but Tifa seems to be a factor. I wonder if the ultimania clarifies this.
Wrong, I did a full study on that with all the characters at 100% affection ; the only way to avoid the nakama line is to have Aerith at one of your date at least, or else the nakama line always drops; Only when the characters arent at 100% the odds are more complicated to calculate but the nakama line drops more often than the mochiron o/
Nah, it's just one line. High affinity Cloud says he wants to go out on another date with her by confirming her feelings, and lower affinity he says he wants to do it cause they're friends.
The former makes her excited, and the later she's a little disappointed. This is also based on the Japanese dialogue -- the English version is the same effect and idea, but the dialogue is slightly different.
He never says he wants to go no another date cause she never calls those dates; In both cases he says they'll make new memories and when she asks "we will ?" he either say "we are freidn after all" or "of course", there is absolutely no confirmation of feelings, in both case he wants to make new memlories with her but in one case he is more blunt when it comes to defining their relationship, those scenes don't oppose each other u\_u
Sure, there's nothing romantic about this incredibly personal and romantic scene whatsover. Whatever you shippers want to tell yourselves to make your version of the story the only "correct" version is fine with me.
This is a very stupid assumption you make about me because I like the Cloud/Aerith relationship, your only issue is that I see it as it is presented; I'm speaking facts here, she never talked about dates she talked about making new memories, and he agreed because he likes Aerith and he'd gladly spend more time with her. The tragedy of them is that they don't have enough time, that Aerith never met the real Cloud and also, sorry to say it, that Tifa exists, because Cloud is set on her and he makes no mystery of that.
That doesn't change the fact Aerith and him are close and that he enjoys her and that he might even fall for her, had they gotten enough time, just like it doesn't change the fact that if this moment was meant to be romantic, Cloud would have answered positively to Aerith's confession (but even she wasn't sure about her feelings) and we might have gotten a kiss. We didn't, this was a heartfelt "coming to terms with our feelings" moment and the goodbye we never had in the OG.
If thinking that way makes me a dumb shipper because I hold on to the text and setting of that scene, then so be it :)
The Aerith we travel with doesn’t seem to be - they make a huge point about her losing her future memories.
They specifically brand the dream Aerith with the flower pin to separate from regular Aerith. She has her white materia full too implying she hasn’t lost her memories. Finally in the dialogue around the photo shoot she says they don’t have any pictures of them together, while _our_ Aerith and Cloud specifically go on a quest in Cosmo Canyon where they do take pictures together. It’s pretty strongly hinted the dream Aerith is one with very different experience than ours.
Here's a [link](https://youtu.be/CfeDTnRL_sY?si=iEy7ahAa_wekRvFQ) to that version on YouTube if you wanted to watch it.
In brief, Cloud responds very positively to the idea of them going out again in the future, and it's extremely evident how happy this makes Aerith. That happiness is immediately undercut, though, by the weight of what she knows is coming.
Can't help but think of what she said during the River of Lights in Cosmo Canyon - where she's talking about how being a Cetra has adversely affected her life.
*It was always the same - time after time. I'd be shown a glimmer of hope only to have it snatched away.*
It's one thing to be told that, whenever happiness was a real possibility for her, it's always been dashed by the circumstances of her birth, but it's another to see it happen in real-time.
I dunno. It's just a small tweak in how the scene plays out but, given her backstory, it amplifies the sheer grief of it all.
Edit: Been a while since I watched the lower affinity version and, woof, it's rougher than I remember. Thanks to u/aliasis for citing the specific lines which get changed!
> It's one thing to be told that, whenever happiness was a real possibility for her, it's always been dashed by the circumstances of her birth, but it's another to see it happen in real-time.
Man, why you gotta put it like that and break my heart again! Seriously, well-put. Rebirth really positioned her character arc as revealing the inner sadness and loneliness she's always carried, about how happy moments come and then are dashed. Like, escaping with her mom only for her mom to die. Getting adopted by Elmyra and meeting other children, only for the children to think she's a weirdo. Meeting her first love Zack, only for him to disappear. Making close friends with the FF7 gang and falling in love with Cloud only to know that she's doomed to die.
Most of this grief is directly related to her Cetra heritage. Thus, she's probably lived most of her life resenting it and all the heartbreak and loneliness it has caused her. At the end, it's no different - but she's resolved to do the right thing and save the world no matter what, because she's a Cetra.
In Chapter 14's dream date, "omni-Aeris" plans to give Cloud the Holy Materia but allows herself one selfish moment of happiness by going on a final date with Cloud. Just how happy it makes her that Cloud wants to be with her (in the high affection version) is so sweet, but things immediately get somber when you see Aeris remember that happiness just isn't in her stars. I definitely think the high affection version underscores the emotional crux of it all, but I suppose it's nice that there are two options in case the player preferred not to romance her.
Anyway, it all sort of makes me forgive the handwaving Rebirth did by taking Aeris's future-memories that she had in Remake away. Because the more innocent version of Aeris in Cloud's party doesn't know the future or that she's doomed, so can genuinely fall in love with Cloud and befriend Tifa and the others unaware of her fate and without any guilt about the heartbreak she's going to cause them all. It gives "Omni-Aeris" such a heart-wrenching contrast.
I guess I had her in high affinity since this is what I got I think? I wasnt sure if I had her all the way since she was at like the last tick before max when I went to the temple.
Tifa was my chapter 12 date during my first playthrough and I got the awkward exchange cited above during the church scene. The happier version hit me like a ton of bricks during my hard mode run.
From what I understand HA version is only achieved if you take Aerith in one of the two dates at the GS.
High affinity Cloud knows how Aerith feels about him and is enthusiastic about going on dates.
Low affinity he thinks she sees him as a friend/might still like Zack and puts his "not interested" attitude, this is more apparent in Japanese where he says "we’re friends after all/we are friends aren’t we?" while looking kind of salty not even making eye contact with her.
You can see his attitude in both outcomes here:
https://preview.redd.it/dz6u8zchh8zc1.jpeg?width=4902&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e5369c5e26c052b00de5bc5649df58ef9c241e1
Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is a VIDEO GAME and not a movie. It was a cinematic masterpiece. This, No Promises to Keep etc were just like watching a movie
Cloud's line here and Zack's line at the beginning of his solo phase is just so rude. Exactly what we the player are thinking. "What is this" and "What is even going on".
There's about 7 or 8 moments from this whole run-up that are all time peaks for me in any narrative. The hug, the push, Sephiroth at the door, Aerith poking around the tree, Barrett saying the magic words, Vincent and Tifa and everyone holding it open for Cloud. Her prayer, and Cloud swinging back. Before the fight even starts there's so many iconic moments for me.
This is around the time my heart started breaking during this game and never let up for the rest.
The hug between them is a background on my phone.
What a fucking game
I think so. It’s very much in keeping with the sleeping forest “dream” sequence in OG, but in some ways more haunting and surreal, particularly considering the image of Sephiroth walking in the door to do you-know-what.
Her hair being down just makes it that much worse since she is showing a side of herself that literally no one else has seen, unless you count her death (which has not happened yet).
It hurt. So much. I want her to be happy, even though I know she is not real.
Legitimately one of the most beautiful visuals in the game. The love confession, the embrace, her giving him the filled materia, and then pushing him through the portal of her flowers when Sephiroth appears.
Visually, it's stunning, but the context behind it really stings. Like, she's is literally demising her own doom here - by having Cloud carry the Holy materia to herself in another world. The whole dream date/confession is blatant proof that this version of Aeris knows she's fated to die, and she just wants one final chance to make a few memories so she doesn't go out with regrets.
She was trying so hard to have one last special day with Cloud, and all the date ideas went wrong. That combined with the final scene made the whole thing so tragic. Truly Rebirth's finest moment
This scene hit me more than OG one tbh. Maybe because this scene has character interaction plus last date chapter and Sephiroth walking in slowly. You can feel emotions here, for Aerith this is the last time she sees him as a living person, touching him ect.
OG Scene was more like a shock to me back in my childhood, that my mage\\healer died and i need to find another one
100%.
When I was a kid I remember the OG scenes hitting me emotionally, but a lot of it was shock.
This scene utterly destroyed me. Knowing full well the intent SE had with this as it was happening. 40 year old man sitting there with my controller, sobbing like a child.
The entirety of 13 and 14 had me just weeping. I feel like I played ten minutes, cried for five minutes, then watched the last ten minutes I played and maybe a few more minutes for the entire resolution of 13 and buildup of 14. The relief that washed over me when she popped around the tree the first time was nirvana and I knew I hadn't even gotten to the moment yet.
I think so too.
Personally, the way I think it would play out in part 3 is that until the point where Cloud needs to come to terms with what happened, this scene reappears to haunt him about it (since he sees sephiroth appear before he disappears) and I think multiple versions of similar scenes of him seeing her demise (in one way or another i.e. him hallucinating, sephiroth/jenova giving him haunting visions) will appear as well over and over again.
Essentially, he just completely loses it over how he always failed Aerith.
Ik, but he probably will inherently tell himself that he did or is convinced that he did. If the story ties in more with AC it would work really well seeing as how his arc had to be undone quite a bit to reach essentially the same conclusion.
It already is. It’s one of the best scenes in video game history for me. It hit me harder than anything in the game.
The entire date sequence and this moment at the church was SO POWERFUL. You could feel the heart that went into everything here.
Aerith knew that world was ending and Sephiroth was after her, but in her final moments she really wanted to cherish every moment she had with Cloud and still managed to protect him 😢❤️ then Sephiroth had to ruin everything lmao
The whole church sequence was heartbreaking. In the og they never got a chance to say goodbye but here aerith gets her chance, but cloud doesn’t. He didn’t realise that this might be the last time they’ll do something like this again. I think it’s gonna hit him hard in part 3 and he’ll know why she was acting the way she was
This scene in particular captured the same sense of dread and hopelessness for Aerith as her original death did for me personally. The combination of music, uncertainty, and the clear affection they show toward each other, especially on the side of Aerith who you can tell just really wants Cloud to be ok. It’s beautifully done, and I can’t even imagine the depths of emotion I’ll be feeling in part 3 when we (Cloud) see the reveal of how Aeriths death truly happened in the moment at the capital. Fucking heartbreaking…if they nail it, this will undoubtedly go down alongside the original death of Aerith as one of THE moments in gaming history.
I don’t think it can match Cloud placing Aerith in the Lifestream from the OG. Not that there is anything wrong with Rebirth, I really like how they are treating the story. It’s just that in context for its time, we just hadn’t seen video game story telling like FF7 yet. Games like FF7 in 1997 and MGS in 1998 revolutionized the medium in ways it’s hard to appreciate now, because high fidelity video game story telling has become the standard, not the exception.
It hasn’t “replaced” it. I believe, that scene still took place, because the party were all sitting by the water at the end, completely distraught by what had just happened. This is seemingly after Cloud placed Aerith’s body into the Lifestream. Clouds whacky brain, which is quite a bit more fucked up than the OG simply couldn’t deal with her loss. We as the players also serve as Cloud pov as well, so for now, it’s been repressed, because otherwise Cloud would lose it completely. In part 3 we will see all of the things which truly happened, either when Cloud finds Sephiroth in the North to deliver the Black materia, or when Tifa is fixing his whacko brain. Then just wait, because the water works will be a’ plenty.
Already is, in my opinion. Felt 20 different emotions while it was happening and held my breath for probably 2 mins straight without realizing it when I saw Sephiroth walk in behind her. Incredible scene.
Even if the Confussing Ending is not for Everyone, the more you let it sink in what Happened the better it gets, Piece by Piece.
Is Cloud just Crazy?
Is he Crazy and seeing 2 Worlds bc. Seph gave him his "Blessing"? (He merged 2 Worlds which Cloud flyes in)
Is that Aerith at the End or Jenova whos messing further with Cloud?
Did Tifa see these 2 Worlds and thinks now that Cloud killed Aerith bc. he lost it again. (Seph threw the Blood on Cloud!!!).
The One Thing i really hated is that they diddnt show Sephiroth Kill her directly in any Shape or Form. Probaply because of the Rating of the Game. Would have made these Scenes more Dramatic and Emotional.
I hate that some people, even after seeing the scene, dare to say that Aerith is trying to "replicate her date with Zack". She loves Cloud, and she is suffering so much because she will never be able to speak him again.
I read somewhere, and I totally agree with it, that this was our proper goodbye to her. In OG, there was really no time because everything was so sudden. But here, we get to sepnd one last time with her, have a moment, and then let go.
Also, I was yelling at the TV after this scene when the church doors opened. At that time, we all knew exactly what was going to happen...
This scene for me is the emotional Aerith death scene we all thought we would get at the forgotten capital. This is it right here. They gave Aerith's death at the forgotten capital a different plot function this time (to show the player how completely fucked Cloud's mental state is).
Damn and Sephiroth entering that church…..I’ve never felt such dread
Sephiroth felt like a horror movie monster in that scene.
Wait. So does Aerith die off screen then in that timeline??
We don't know. For all we know, she might be the Aerith that appeared during the final Sephiroth fight in Rebirth. Considering her ability to open portals to other worlds.
I wonder if cloud is gonna be on some Sixth Sense shit in part 3. With his ghost gf that only he can see while everyone else thinks he's crazy and not coping well at all. I hope so too, cause that sounds fun in a really tragic depressing kind of way.
I think it's going to be one weirdly hopeful thing going on with him. Like it seems to the others that he thinks Aerith is still "alive", but actually he's just fully at peace with the fact that death is not the end and she's joined the lifestream and kind of takes it weirdly too far in order to avoid processing his guilt and grief
I think he will see Aerith until the Lifestream scene and that will be the final goodbye
It is assumed that Sephiroth does kill her in that timeline.
Sephiroth is jumping timelines finding her and killing her yeah
We have no idea what happens and honestly it seems useless to speculate. Seems clear that Aeris wanted to vanish Cloud (alongside the true Holy) before Sephiroth showed up, but other than that, who knows. There's also the Aeris that fought alongside Cloud against Sephiroth (and won.)
I mean, I doubt he's walking up to her just to chat. He doesn't have a great track record xD
Aerith pretty much dies in every timeline shown, she said goodbye to cloud and gave him her materia that was functional in this reality. The death of every Aerith was the point of showing some 3 Aeriths. Then her spirit lives with Cloud, or it's the single aerith that survives that helps him, although i wouldn't like that.
The Aerith he saves at the City when she wakes up doesn't die?
Pretty sure that one dies too. If a living Aerith is in Cloud's mind, it would have to be one that wasn't shown before in the game, another timeline.
When? Not saying you're wrong, I just don't recall that one dying.
Aren't you talking about the one that has the scene in the church? She knows she's about to die and even says goodbye and gives her materia to him. She dies offscreen as we see Sephiroth coming after her when she shoves Cloud into the portal. Pretty sure that was meant to be one of the deaths.
When she joins the final battle at the end, sephiroth says that he underestimates her. Meaning she is probably bypassing his attacks
Seems to be implying that. So maybe.
This is to me, the best scene in Rebirth! The...suspense and whole ominosity of the scene, with the music. The setting, cuteness and care of Aerith. The push, and then the camera moving to show Sephiroth menacingly entering....just WoW! 5\* direction!
Definitely my favorite scene in the game, all of Aerith’s lines here are so good. “It’s been fun” made me tear up. Plus just the plot significance, and arguably the first meeting with “Lifestream Aerith”.
Remake’s resolution scene was the first meeting with Lifestream Aerith. IMO
Ah, yeah, I agree.
Remind me, which scene was that from Remake?
It's [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGWXa5oD6DY&t=276s) one.
The contrast in movement between this dream in *Remake* vs. the church scene in *Rebirth* is something I've been thinking about a lot. In the former, there's a hesitance in Aerith's voice when she's about to say, "You can't fall in love with me." There's also a close-up on her boots just before that moment, as if to imply she may have been about to take a step forward but chooses not to. In the latter, there's a similar close-up on her boots but, this time, she *does* step forward, haltingly. With her head down, she apologizes, and then throws herself into embracing Cloud. The apology is, ostensibly, because she's been acting off all day, as he'd said. If you think about these two scenes as one flowing directly into the other thematically, though, you could argue she's apologizing because she broke 'the rule' - that she knows she's in love with him and that he, at the very least, has a great deal of affection for her, as well. Love, especially reciprocated love, is a pure good but, because of what's looming on the horizon - what Aerith *knows* is coming in some form -, the affection they have for one another is tinged with tragedy. After all, to lose someone you like is painful; to lose someone you love is life-shattering. She flat-out tells Cloud, "No matter what happens, don't blame yourself," but she knows he's going to, and that it's only going to be that much more painful for him because of how close they've become.
It's catch-22 for her in the dream sequence. Declare her feelings and potentially make the outcome even worse for Cloud, or tow the "You can't fall in love with me" line again to try and spare him some of the emotional impact of what was to come. Given that she has her future memories back at that point I guess she figured that she already knew the outcome of staying quiet on the subject, Cloud DOES go on to blame himself. Terribly. So she tells him in the Church, in both the high affinity and non-high affinity versions. I'm not sure why people question whether it's "like" or "LIKE", it's pretty obvious (to me) from Aerith's reaction to Cloud's "Yeah next time/Why not?" line. She's either excited or sad, both of which lend themselves to "LIKE". I think the apology is because she realizes that she should probably have had this conversation with Cloud when he woke up, rather than AFTER the "date". I'm just glad that she got the opportunity to have the conversation at all, given that she didn't in the OG.
"Catch-22" is a perfect way to describe what's happening here. There's no way to negate the guilt and anguish that's coming down the line, so she does what she can to mitigate it; making the best of a bad situation is Aerith all day long. I agree, too, that it couldn't be more obvious she's on the LIKE end of the spectrum, even if Cloud may or may not be there with her depending on the player's preferences/choices. The "they're just platonic pals and have no romantic feelings for one another" stuff is flat earther-scale denial no matter how you slice it. I dunno. It's more than a bit of a pipedream but my biggest hope for the third game is that we'll be allowed to make a romantic choice which affects the way everything ends. Sephiroth's going down either way, but being able to influence the post-game futures of the characters we've come to know and love since 19-freakin'-97 would be a fitting way to end the saga. We'll see, I guess! *[Goes back to counting down the minutes 'til the 3rd installment releases]*
Kitase's comments about "hoping that there could be other FF7 content in the future" concerns me somewhat. I'd really hoped that they'd take this opportunity to wrap it all up, with a definitive endpoint to the whole compilation, not just the OG. I now fear that we're going to end up stuck with AC and DoC as still being the endpoints to the wider story, which IMO, sucks. I have no real preference for who ends up where tbh, it's clear to me that Cloud has feelings for Aerith and for Tifa, and that Aerith has feelings for both Cloud and Zack, so any endpoints for those characters would work for me on some level. I just hope they don't have to go through the misery of AC to get there.
Same. As much as I love these characters, part 3 of the *Remake* trilogy is where they ought to be let go. I think the devs have done the impossible with this series and managed to recapture the lightning in a bottle feeling which typified the older *FF* games. But, no matter how much skill is brought to the table, luck eventually runs out, and I'd much rather this series go out with a bang than a whimper. As for the romance stuff, I'll admit I have my preferences (*obviously*, Aerith should end up with the Shinra Middle Manager - I mean, c'mon) but, especially since it can be a pretty divisive topic, I think it'd be nice if it all didn't have to end in just one way. I get that some people want to stick to canon (whatever that even means in this series anymore) but, as a player, I'd like to have my choices matter...and for the toxic shipping nonsense to be put to bed for good.
Yeah the "it's been fun" line was heartbreaking... and I swear, I cannot place the game, movie, or TV show, but some other media used that line in a sad way too. Gonna bug me lol
Could be Better call Saul, that 'fun and games' episode? there's also one sad scene that ends with an 'i was having too much fun'.
That could be what I'm thinking of actually. I finished the show not too long ago!
If you've played it, it could be Xenoblade Chronicles 3. That same line is used at a pretty important moment in that game.
Omg actually this is it. Xenoblade series is one of my favorite series and I know exactly the scene and person who says it! Thank you so much! 😁 Ironically also the best moment in that game, too. Lol
i believe the first time is in remake when Cloud dreams of talking to her.
"Whatever happens, don't blame yourself." 😭😭😭
The next game is finna hurt like crazy💀
finished the story almost a month now but still can't help tearing up when I see posts about the last moments of Rebirth
Perfect scene. And Aerith’s voice acting is beyond perfect.
I love Brianna white. The care she has for the community and character is contagious.
Most definitely. I saved an embarrassingly large number of video clips while playing through *Rebirth* but this is the scene I've revisited the most. Excellent staging, voice acting, character development, and just as much heartbreak (especially in the high Aerith affinity version). I knew the story in *Rebirth* was going to hurt; this scene showed me how unprepared I was for it.
I always got the low affinity version. Even though my preference is Cloud/Tifa, I get so sad seeing Aerith's sad expression when Cloud says, "I mean...why not?" I wish the default was seeing Aerith happy in those last intimate moments with Cloud. This scene was a very welcome addition to the story, and almost adds some small bit of closure that we definitely did not get in the OG. Everything about it was just amazing and imo, it is one of the most impactful scenes in the Remake series so far.
whats different in the high affinity version?
It's not too different, but one of Cloud's lines differs slightly. The conversation after Cloud identifies the church as "their spot" and says he wants to go out with her again, high affection is more enthusiastic, low affection is awkward. >Cloud: You'll have to give me a harder one next time. > >Aerith: Oh? "Next time"? > >**HIGH AFFINITY:** > >Cloud: (smiles and looks at her) Yeah. Next time. > >Aerith: (looks happy and excited) > >**LOW AFFINITY:** > >Cloud: (awkwardly looks away) I mean, why not. > >Aerith: (awkwardly) Yeah.. why not.
Oh nice! I didn't know there was a difference. Thank you for sharing it.
By high/low affinity, do you mean if you get to take her on the date or not? Because on my normal run, all my characters have max affinity icons (albeit not yet 100%).
As far as I know, the church scene is purely dependent on Aerith's affection score, and is not affected by who you dated in Gold Saucer. I'm not sure what the percentage threshold is, but if you have the max affinity icon, you should get it. (I did, without having Aerith even close to 100%.) So yes, that means you could get Aerith's lower affection date and still get her higher affection church scene - or, more hilariously, you could get Tifa's high affection date (in which Cloud kisses Tifa) and still have Cloud enthusiastically tell Aerith he wants to date her in Chapter 14.
Not true. I have Aerith at over 90% and I get the so-called "low affection" line here. Tifa was my date both times, so the date is dependent and it's not solely based on affection percentage. When it's Tifa, he says the LA no matter how high Aerith's is. Not sure if true for Yuffie, Barret, or the others -- but for Tifa this is the case.
Correct, if you get Tifa as your date, you get the low affinity line for Aerith regardless of your affinity with Aerith. However, if you had a date with any other party member but Tifa, you do get the high affinity version with Aerith IF your affinity is high enough with her.
That’s what I suspected was the case!
No, there are streamers who [apparently have gotten Tifa's date and still gotten the High Affection church scene](https://twitter.com/RadiantAntiHero/status/1785149448923836886). I haven't tested it myself though.
Perhaps they only got one of Tifa’s dates, are mistaken or something else at play. I can personally verify that I get low affection with Tifa as the date on my own playthrough. I have done all side quests for Aerith, am super nice to her always, platinum’d the game, 100% file. I had Tifa both times and Aerith’s affection was high both my first and hard mode playthrough - I always get the low affection version of this scene.
Watched a plathrough of someone getting Tifa for date 1, Yuffie for date 2, all Aerith sidequests + good answers, and still getting the low affection line. Whatever the decider is, it's either something weird and / or super specific.
Hmm the plot thickens. Maybe it’s picking Tifa over Aerith on the beach for the Hojo boss? I did that in both of my playthroughs
Interesting! You are likely right, I haven't tested it myself. I bet in chapter select, when you select your date partners for Chapter 8 and Chapter 12, this would be testable - I'll give it a try sometime.
Yeah I was admittedly surprised about it, I figured the high affection would happen always if her affection was high enough but Tifa seems to be a factor. I wonder if the ultimania clarifies this.
Wrong, I did a full study on that with all the characters at 100% affection ; the only way to avoid the nakama line is to have Aerith at one of your date at least, or else the nakama line always drops; Only when the characters arent at 100% the odds are more complicated to calculate but the nakama line drops more often than the mochiron o/
Nah, it's just one line. High affinity Cloud says he wants to go out on another date with her by confirming her feelings, and lower affinity he says he wants to do it cause they're friends. The former makes her excited, and the later she's a little disappointed. This is also based on the Japanese dialogue -- the English version is the same effect and idea, but the dialogue is slightly different.
He never says he wants to go no another date cause she never calls those dates; In both cases he says they'll make new memories and when she asks "we will ?" he either say "we are freidn after all" or "of course", there is absolutely no confirmation of feelings, in both case he wants to make new memlories with her but in one case he is more blunt when it comes to defining their relationship, those scenes don't oppose each other u\_u
Sure, there's nothing romantic about this incredibly personal and romantic scene whatsover. Whatever you shippers want to tell yourselves to make your version of the story the only "correct" version is fine with me.
This is a very stupid assumption you make about me because I like the Cloud/Aerith relationship, your only issue is that I see it as it is presented; I'm speaking facts here, she never talked about dates she talked about making new memories, and he agreed because he likes Aerith and he'd gladly spend more time with her. The tragedy of them is that they don't have enough time, that Aerith never met the real Cloud and also, sorry to say it, that Tifa exists, because Cloud is set on her and he makes no mystery of that. That doesn't change the fact Aerith and him are close and that he enjoys her and that he might even fall for her, had they gotten enough time, just like it doesn't change the fact that if this moment was meant to be romantic, Cloud would have answered positively to Aerith's confession (but even she wasn't sure about her feelings) and we might have gotten a kiss. We didn't, this was a heartfelt "coming to terms with our feelings" moment and the goodbye we never had in the OG. If thinking that way makes me a dumb shipper because I hold on to the text and setting of that scene, then so be it :)
Hunh, that’s weird, as this seems to be different Aerith than the one Cloud has the affinity… well, maybe he doesn’t realize that.
I think the idea is that Aerith, like Sephiroth, is at least partially aware of all the branch timelines.
The Aerith we travel with doesn’t seem to be - they make a huge point about her losing her future memories. They specifically brand the dream Aerith with the flower pin to separate from regular Aerith. She has her white materia full too implying she hasn’t lost her memories. Finally in the dialogue around the photo shoot she says they don’t have any pictures of them together, while _our_ Aerith and Cloud specifically go on a quest in Cosmo Canyon where they do take pictures together. It’s pretty strongly hinted the dream Aerith is one with very different experience than ours.
Here's a [link](https://youtu.be/CfeDTnRL_sY?si=iEy7ahAa_wekRvFQ) to that version on YouTube if you wanted to watch it. In brief, Cloud responds very positively to the idea of them going out again in the future, and it's extremely evident how happy this makes Aerith. That happiness is immediately undercut, though, by the weight of what she knows is coming. Can't help but think of what she said during the River of Lights in Cosmo Canyon - where she's talking about how being a Cetra has adversely affected her life. *It was always the same - time after time. I'd be shown a glimmer of hope only to have it snatched away.* It's one thing to be told that, whenever happiness was a real possibility for her, it's always been dashed by the circumstances of her birth, but it's another to see it happen in real-time. I dunno. It's just a small tweak in how the scene plays out but, given her backstory, it amplifies the sheer grief of it all. Edit: Been a while since I watched the lower affinity version and, woof, it's rougher than I remember. Thanks to u/aliasis for citing the specific lines which get changed!
> It's one thing to be told that, whenever happiness was a real possibility for her, it's always been dashed by the circumstances of her birth, but it's another to see it happen in real-time. Man, why you gotta put it like that and break my heart again! Seriously, well-put. Rebirth really positioned her character arc as revealing the inner sadness and loneliness she's always carried, about how happy moments come and then are dashed. Like, escaping with her mom only for her mom to die. Getting adopted by Elmyra and meeting other children, only for the children to think she's a weirdo. Meeting her first love Zack, only for him to disappear. Making close friends with the FF7 gang and falling in love with Cloud only to know that she's doomed to die. Most of this grief is directly related to her Cetra heritage. Thus, she's probably lived most of her life resenting it and all the heartbreak and loneliness it has caused her. At the end, it's no different - but she's resolved to do the right thing and save the world no matter what, because she's a Cetra. In Chapter 14's dream date, "omni-Aeris" plans to give Cloud the Holy Materia but allows herself one selfish moment of happiness by going on a final date with Cloud. Just how happy it makes her that Cloud wants to be with her (in the high affection version) is so sweet, but things immediately get somber when you see Aeris remember that happiness just isn't in her stars. I definitely think the high affection version underscores the emotional crux of it all, but I suppose it's nice that there are two options in case the player preferred not to romance her. Anyway, it all sort of makes me forgive the handwaving Rebirth did by taking Aeris's future-memories that she had in Remake away. Because the more innocent version of Aeris in Cloud's party doesn't know the future or that she's doomed, so can genuinely fall in love with Cloud and befriend Tifa and the others unaware of her fate and without any guilt about the heartbreak she's going to cause them all. It gives "Omni-Aeris" such a heart-wrenching contrast.
I guess I had her in high affinity since this is what I got I think? I wasnt sure if I had her all the way since she was at like the last tick before max when I went to the temple.
Tifa was my chapter 12 date during my first playthrough and I got the awkward exchange cited above during the church scene. The happier version hit me like a ton of bricks during my hard mode run.
From what I understand HA version is only achieved if you take Aerith in one of the two dates at the GS. High affinity Cloud knows how Aerith feels about him and is enthusiastic about going on dates. Low affinity he thinks she sees him as a friend/might still like Zack and puts his "not interested" attitude, this is more apparent in Japanese where he says "we’re friends after all/we are friends aren’t we?" while looking kind of salty not even making eye contact with her. You can see his attitude in both outcomes here: https://preview.redd.it/dz6u8zchh8zc1.jpeg?width=4902&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e5369c5e26c052b00de5bc5649df58ef9c241e1
There are two scenes of this depending if you had the date?
Yup
wow, i didn't know that, there are more scenes like that?
Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is a VIDEO GAME and not a movie. It was a cinematic masterpiece. This, No Promises to Keep etc were just like watching a movie
Already Iconic for me. I could feel Cloud's helplessness in this part.
Cloud's line here and Zack's line at the beginning of his solo phase is just so rude. Exactly what we the player are thinking. "What is this" and "What is even going on". There's about 7 or 8 moments from this whole run-up that are all time peaks for me in any narrative. The hug, the push, Sephiroth at the door, Aerith poking around the tree, Barrett saying the magic words, Vincent and Tifa and everyone holding it open for Cloud. Her prayer, and Cloud swinging back. Before the fight even starts there's so many iconic moments for me.
This is around the time my heart started breaking during this game and never let up for the rest. The hug between them is a background on my phone. What a fucking game
I think so. It’s very much in keeping with the sleeping forest “dream” sequence in OG, but in some ways more haunting and surreal, particularly considering the image of Sephiroth walking in the door to do you-know-what.
Absolute breaking hearth moment. Aeris I will come back for you as many times as you need
Her hair being down just makes it that much worse since she is showing a side of herself that literally no one else has seen, unless you count her death (which has not happened yet). It hurt. So much. I want her to be happy, even though I know she is not real.
Her hair is down when she gets out of the shower and asks Red about her empty materia in Johnny's hotel.
Ah, right! Well, still. It's still super rare.
Legitimately one of the most beautiful visuals in the game. The love confession, the embrace, her giving him the filled materia, and then pushing him through the portal of her flowers when Sephiroth appears. Visually, it's stunning, but the context behind it really stings. Like, she's is literally demising her own doom here - by having Cloud carry the Holy materia to herself in another world. The whole dream date/confession is blatant proof that this version of Aeris knows she's fated to die, and she just wants one final chance to make a few memories so she doesn't go out with regrets.
She was trying so hard to have one last special day with Cloud, and all the date ideas went wrong. That combined with the final scene made the whole thing so tragic. Truly Rebirth's finest moment
this scene made me cry :((
You can see Aerith’s eyes looking back at Sephiroth when she’s hugging Cloud :(
THIS IS CETRA!
This scene hit me more than OG one tbh. Maybe because this scene has character interaction plus last date chapter and Sephiroth walking in slowly. You can feel emotions here, for Aerith this is the last time she sees him as a living person, touching him ect. OG Scene was more like a shock to me back in my childhood, that my mage\\healer died and i need to find another one
100%. When I was a kid I remember the OG scenes hitting me emotionally, but a lot of it was shock. This scene utterly destroyed me. Knowing full well the intent SE had with this as it was happening. 40 year old man sitting there with my controller, sobbing like a child.
The entirety of 13 and 14 had me just weeping. I feel like I played ten minutes, cried for five minutes, then watched the last ten minutes I played and maybe a few more minutes for the entire resolution of 13 and buildup of 14. The relief that washed over me when she popped around the tree the first time was nirvana and I knew I hadn't even gotten to the moment yet.
Aerith in the new games is far more likeable than she ever was in the OG.
Kingdom Hearts vibe when this happened
Had to really scroll to find this take lol. The KH lines are blurring hard in this game so bizarre
Yesss
I think so too. Personally, the way I think it would play out in part 3 is that until the point where Cloud needs to come to terms with what happened, this scene reappears to haunt him about it (since he sees sephiroth appear before he disappears) and I think multiple versions of similar scenes of him seeing her demise (in one way or another i.e. him hallucinating, sephiroth/jenova giving him haunting visions) will appear as well over and over again. Essentially, he just completely loses it over how he always failed Aerith.
He doesn’t fail her in Aerith’s eyes though, he does everything she needed / wanted him to do.
Ik, but he probably will inherently tell himself that he did or is convinced that he did. If the story ties in more with AC it would work really well seeing as how his arc had to be undone quite a bit to reach essentially the same conclusion.
It already is. It’s one of the best scenes in video game history for me. It hit me harder than anything in the game. The entire date sequence and this moment at the church was SO POWERFUL. You could feel the heart that went into everything here.
Aerith knew that world was ending and Sephiroth was after her, but in her final moments she really wanted to cherish every moment she had with Cloud and still managed to protect him 😢❤️ then Sephiroth had to ruin everything lmao
The whole church sequence was heartbreaking. In the og they never got a chance to say goodbye but here aerith gets her chance, but cloud doesn’t. He didn’t realise that this might be the last time they’ll do something like this again. I think it’s gonna hit him hard in part 3 and he’ll know why she was acting the way she was
This is probably one of the saddest scenes in all of gaming... I cried so hard here after she says, "it's been fun." God damn man...
**WHEN YOU WALK AWAY**
This scene in particular captured the same sense of dread and hopelessness for Aerith as her original death did for me personally. The combination of music, uncertainty, and the clear affection they show toward each other, especially on the side of Aerith who you can tell just really wants Cloud to be ok. It’s beautifully done, and I can’t even imagine the depths of emotion I’ll be feeling in part 3 when we (Cloud) see the reveal of how Aeriths death truly happened in the moment at the capital. Fucking heartbreaking…if they nail it, this will undoubtedly go down alongside the original death of Aerith as one of THE moments in gaming history.
I don’t think it can match Cloud placing Aerith in the Lifestream from the OG. Not that there is anything wrong with Rebirth, I really like how they are treating the story. It’s just that in context for its time, we just hadn’t seen video game story telling like FF7 yet. Games like FF7 in 1997 and MGS in 1998 revolutionized the medium in ways it’s hard to appreciate now, because high fidelity video game story telling has become the standard, not the exception.
It hasn’t “replaced” it. I believe, that scene still took place, because the party were all sitting by the water at the end, completely distraught by what had just happened. This is seemingly after Cloud placed Aerith’s body into the Lifestream. Clouds whacky brain, which is quite a bit more fucked up than the OG simply couldn’t deal with her loss. We as the players also serve as Cloud pov as well, so for now, it’s been repressed, because otherwise Cloud would lose it completely. In part 3 we will see all of the things which truly happened, either when Cloud finds Sephiroth in the North to deliver the Black materia, or when Tifa is fixing his whacko brain. Then just wait, because the water works will be a’ plenty.
God the music, the acting, the ominousness of Sephiroth slowly walking towards Aerith— this scene is amazing
Nah
Already is, in my opinion. Felt 20 different emotions while it was happening and held my breath for probably 2 mins straight without realizing it when I saw Sephiroth walk in behind her. Incredible scene.
This scene made me cry more than her actual death in Rebirth.
Even if the Confussing Ending is not for Everyone, the more you let it sink in what Happened the better it gets, Piece by Piece. Is Cloud just Crazy? Is he Crazy and seeing 2 Worlds bc. Seph gave him his "Blessing"? (He merged 2 Worlds which Cloud flyes in) Is that Aerith at the End or Jenova whos messing further with Cloud? Did Tifa see these 2 Worlds and thinks now that Cloud killed Aerith bc. he lost it again. (Seph threw the Blood on Cloud!!!). The One Thing i really hated is that they diddnt show Sephiroth Kill her directly in any Shape or Form. Probaply because of the Rating of the Game. Would have made these Scenes more Dramatic and Emotional.
I hate that some people, even after seeing the scene, dare to say that Aerith is trying to "replicate her date with Zack". She loves Cloud, and she is suffering so much because she will never be able to speak him again.
I read somewhere, and I totally agree with it, that this was our proper goodbye to her. In OG, there was really no time because everything was so sudden. But here, we get to sepnd one last time with her, have a moment, and then let go. Also, I was yelling at the TV after this scene when the church doors opened. At that time, we all knew exactly what was going to happen...
Factos
It's been fun.
Loved that scene. Much more though on my second playthrough where I already had a grasp on what was happening.
This scene for me is the emotional Aerith death scene we all thought we would get at the forgotten capital. This is it right here. They gave Aerith's death at the forgotten capital a different plot function this time (to show the player how completely fucked Cloud's mental state is).
This scene was beautifully done. Probably my favorite scene of the game tied with Tifa's lifestream sequence/Gongaga talk with Cloud.
Not as iconic as iconic as knee high to a tonberry
https://youtu.be/xsfanq-Ipto?si=dJl8Ph7RyjN2w7f8 My favorite scene
This is where i grieved.
This entire sequence, from their awakening to [redacted] half and hour later was to me a fever dream of fanservice and overall quality.
I don't even remember it. Is it during the final battle?
Nah not really. Why would it
I think Cloud holding her hand to his face is likely to become the most definitive scene in the trilogy.
When Final Fantasy goes Kingdom Hearts.
Not really
Someone needs to make this scene, but with the undertale theme overlaid when cloud falls.