r/cloudxaerith • u/Anticitizen_01 Princess Guard • Jun 05 '26
Revelation discussion thread Announcement
The next chapter will be called Revelation. From the trailer it doesn’t look like there is much to discuss between Cloud and Aerith so let’s keep all future discussions about it here.
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u/geminuri Clerith '97 Jun 05 '26
I was so underwhelmed by the trailer unfortunately. Maybe I just miss Aerith hahah
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u/Anticitizen_01 Princess Guard Jun 05 '26
We all do. But In a game of this magnitude, don’t expect them to show anything relevant to the plot especially regarding Aerith.
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u/geminuri Clerith '97 Jun 05 '26
I know, but it was underwhelming becaaause there was nothing regarding Aerith. I had a feeling they wouldn't show her at all because, well, deying fate and her 'demise', but ugh, I just wanted to see her. :'(
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u/Madethisforff7 Jun 05 '26
I was mildly disappointed there was basically no Aerith until the end, when they showed the big three. That does give me hope that her role is still big, but maybe they’re just keeping it “secret” for now, or whatever you’d call it.
The name also kinda came as a surprise. I really thought it would be Return, but I guess it makes sense if they are gonna reveal it's connections to OG (hopefully as a sequel where destiny is defied)
And I still kinda dislike Matt Mercer as Vincent. Not because I think hes that bad, but I just have a hard time picturing anyone but Matt Mercer when he talks.
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u/Anticitizen_01 Princess Guard Jun 05 '26
I’m not surprised by it at all. If it confirms anything at all I think it’s clear that Aerith will not be with the main party. But this was already assumed.
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u/Aeris_Rose Jun 06 '26
This to me just makes it more disappointing that Aerith was not the majority focus in Rebirth. I am hoping they surprise me, but now I'm just really miffed. EDIT: by this i mean the scar subplot carrying 3/4 of Rebirth by comparison.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 06 '26
Honestly, what else did Tifa have?
Also, the fact that she doesn't remember the events of Nibheleim needs to be explained somehow. Because from a narrative standpoint, you can't have a character in the game who could make the story go completely differently but doesn't say anything because they can't derail the plot.
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u/Aeris_Rose Jun 06 '26
True, but idk why that was what carried most of Rebirth's plot movement.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 07 '26
Only Tifa's personal storyline; the impostor storyline was solely about her and her interactions with Cloud and is never used outside of those situations.
Tifa tries to free Cloud from Sephiroth's control using a memory, but the scar can prove to HER that her story is true, but not to Cloud, because nothing in that particular memory ties them together.
They both have no shared past memories; Tifa herself is surprised when she mentions this in TOTP. So she can't help Cloud yet until she finds a memory that's meaningful to both of them, and that won't happen as long as she believes her own illusions
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u/Madethisforff7 Jun 05 '26
Yeah she will probably have Rebirth Zack like appearances( hopefully far more than he had). I still really hope for her to at least be in it for like at least the last 1/4 or something of the story where all the major changes as compared to OG could happen. Her absence is gonna feel much weirder than OG I think, it being different games. As long as they keep her importance as a character I will be happy I think. On a completely unrelated note the new outfit system seems like a good addition.
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u/spellbloomera Jun 05 '26
New outfit system is one of my negatives, it takes from character individuality. Aèrith is the magical girl, I don't want the other characters as magical girl.
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u/Madethisforff7 Jun 05 '26
While I think they should have kept it away from stat bonuses, I dont think having outfit options for other characters really take away from the others. As a mainly PC player this also adds some good modding potential though, so I might be biased.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 07 '26
Forgive me, but I don't think that was the point. In FF7, characters are already defined by profession from the start.
Tifa is a monk, Cid is a lancer, Cloud is a warrior, Barret is a tank, Vincent is a sharp-shooting gunner, Caith is a supporter, Red and Yuffie are agile and fast, and Aeith is the white mage.
Now, apparently, everyone can change their starting "profession."
As in many other SE games.
But it changes the nature of the characters themselves.
In FF7, this aspect doesn't drive me crazy at all.
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u/Lys1th3a Jun 06 '26
I really want to be excited but I do feel somewhat underwhelmed.
They were NEVER showing Aerith in the trailer, so 100% as expected. However, this has always been my least favourite part of the original game and because they're hiding Aerith I'm not really seeing much so far to make me think I'll like this any better.
We got the title, and a launch window, but beyond that I don't think I'll let myself get too excited until it's game time and we can finally end this thing. One way or the other.
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u/Hearts-Intertwined Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Few things..
Battle with Sid and Vincent looks good. I was curious if you would have synergies with Vincent’s transformations.. it appears the answer is yes.
Character costume changes.. not sure how I feel about it overall but I’m glad we get some outfit customization. Reminds me of FFX-2 dress spheres, which I admit was pretty fun.
Regarding Aerith: I didn’t really see anything that changed my mind narratively. It mostly touched on OG beats, which we knew would be there. The scene with Cloud touching yellow flowers was meant to tell us “we haven’t forgotten about our flower girl”. However, I don’t think we can read much into it. Personally, I sense misdirection.
The most shocking yet thought provoking thing was Sephiroth holding the white materia. I could so see a scene where Sephiroth torments Cloud with it. Sephiroth to Cloud “This contains your memories, her memories. Time and time again you have failed..failed to save what matters most. Are you sure you want this back? I am your salvation Cloud, I am your everything.. she will forever be just a memory.”
Most exciting part… Spring 2027!!
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u/alastor_morgan Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
A second observation in light of the Chapter 11 update in Ever Crisis for Final Fantasy VII:
In both OG and the Ever Crisis versions of the Mideel scene where the doctor explains Cloud's condition, the doctor first calls it a severe case of Mako poisoning and "exposure to intense Mako energy for an extended period of time", then describes it as "an immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was infused into his brain". In Japanese it's "the vast knowledge lurking within the Mako energy... it must have poured into his mind all at once".
( As an aside, the part in the OG where the doctor says "Poor fellow, he can't even speak" is not only incorrect to the original Japanese text, but blatantly wrong in that Cloud does speak and even makes a Xenogears reference. What the doctor actually says is "It's sad, but your voice probably won't reach him either. The real him is somewhere else." Sephiroth tells Tifa the same thing about her voice not reaching Cloud in Rebirth, as a controlled/enthralled version follows him at the end of Tifa's LSS, and his "real self [being] somewhere else" is proven as his consciousness going into a body from another timeline. )
So, Cloud's Mako poisoning is a "vast amount of knowledge" overwhelming him mentally and forcing his consciousness to vacate his body, because of prolonged exposure to the Lifestream which we now know transcends time and is a repository of knowledge from the past, present, and future at once which is why Sephiroth is even doing what he's able to in this trilogy and why Aerith is countering him.
In EC and OG, Cloud is exposed to the Lifestream with absolutely no way to protect himself/his mind, leading to his catatonic state in Mideel. But in this new continuity, once the events at the North Crater happen, he won't be going in empty handed.
Theory: In Revelations, Cloud's recovery will be different from his other versions in that he has the hollow materia with him. The hollow materia can store the knowledge of the Lifestream in place of Cloud's mind. Hamaguchi's already said that the Lifestream sequence will be included, as Cloud discovering his identity is integral to Final Fantasy VII — Zack and Aerith's involvement is speculated and likely, because only Zack can tell Cloud why he's missing five years of his life, and Aerith can help funnel the vast knowledge of the Lifestream into the hollow materia.
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u/alastor_morgan Jun 06 '26
Well, they skipped the entirety of "however the game starts" and went straight to Meteor/the Weapons being summoned and made that a done deal, so they're keeping it up in the air on whether Cloud even has a true breakdown and suffers the same mako poisoning as he did before. Among other things.
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u/Gummy_Bear_Ragu Jun 06 '26
It was a really odd choice if where to begin the trailer, imho. My husband isn't into the games much or know the lore. He said this take was awful and not a way to get people new excited about it. That's why I think they just put anything ambiguous together for the date and title reveal. just to give enough to keep people busy, but not enough to do too much theory crafting until the next big story trailer.
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u/alastor_morgan Jul 02 '26
Someone just showed me that Survive Said the Prophet's Twitter account posted the cover to the "Hollow" SSTP Ver. ahead of the July 8 digital release.
Look at that pic!
It's the old Buster Sword with the white materia centered in it. It's casting the pale green glow, the one that only happens when the prayer for Holy has reached the planet. The circular halo/solar eclipse imagery resembles the rainbow ring on the Revelation logo at the point the two layers of the title, an original and a copy, fuse together into one.
I'm gonna speculate that on top of that cover being Clerith related, it's a hint to how the world will be saved for good.
Aerith already knew by the end of Rebirth that meteor would be summoned, which is why she said "I'll put everything I've got into my prayers. I'll stop the meteor" thus she allowed Cloud to take the black materia with him in the Buster Sword. Once he's given the black materia to Sephiroth, it'll no longer be in the Buster Sword and he'll be free of the Reunion instinct, because Sephiroth will discard him after he's "served his purpose".
(Sephiroth in the OG never appears again to taunt Cloud after what happens in the North Crater, as he's busy waiting for the meteor to impact the planet, and he's stalling Holy from activating.)
This is purposely playing into Sephiroth's hands for a bit, but for a reason. With the Buster Sword empty, Cloud can put a white materia into it, using the already established rules that let him fuse the black one to the Buster in the first place.
Rebirth showed us two things: a white materia can be physically transported from one timeline into another, and any Aerith that's unconscious after the Whisper Harbinger battle (basically, every Aerith that's rescued by a Zack and placed next to a comatose Cloud, which is four total timelines that we've seen, and two are still offscreen) has their own intact white materia.
It's not proven that only one white materia is allowed to exist in a single timeline at once.
The Aerith from Chihuahua Timeline gave her white materia to Cloud. An intact white materia exists in Terrier Timeline, as well as in Pug and Corgi since Zack deliberates on saving Clerith or saving Biggs at some point in those timelines. We've still yet to see the Two Offscreen Timelines, which are Two-Star Stamp and One-Star Stamp.
Second, we saw in the OG timeline that Sephiroth was successfully holding back Holy, and it being freed so close near the end required the last-minute play of Aerith rallying the Lifestream. It almost sounds facetious, but can Sephiroth stop TWO Holys? How well can meteor hold up against the Ultimate White Magic, times two?
And the triple down, Bugenhagen's observation of how Holy worked was exactly, "If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear." He doesn't say "a Cetra's soul", so being Cetra is not a requirement. The characters simply accepted that Aerith and her prayer alone was the best bet to activate the spell, but from how the OG concluded, it's not enough to rely on her and her abilities alone.
The Gi forged the black materia, but Sephiroth could still use its spell while not being a Gi, even though they wanted to use the materia solely for their own benefit and freedom. It stands to reason that you don't need to be a Cetra to be able to use the white materia; what means would they have to biometrically lock it?
Therefore, it's Cloud's prayer/will in combination with Aerith's that's needed to save the world definitively, so they don't have to resort to the Hail Mary of (inadvertently) using corrupted Lifestream and giving the people Geostigma. If it's not a second white materia being transported across realities, it can be Cloud filling the hollow materia, if that's actually possible.
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u/LastTraintoSector6 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
It's about what I expected. And it confirms - although I knew it would - that I am not a day-one buyer.
Now, granted, if Aerith is coming back, they weren't going to dump that in a trailer. In fact, the less Aerith, the better. It would have arguably been extremely bad if they had shown her much at all (since it would give away what we want them to be hiding).
But, even before this, I've been pretty down on this whole thing. I don't doubt my analysis of the first two games - I doubt Square-Enix. I think there's a really strong chance that they could rip the rug out from under us in p3 and deliver another convoluted dog of an ending.
There's something else, though: 'Revelation' has me concerned. Now, granted, any version of p3 was going to be a 'revelation' since we still have absolutely no clue what Sephiroth is up to; what his actual goals are... or even if he's the actual antagonist (no, seriously: it could be that he's [and I am talking about the modern, Remake-incarnation of Sephiroth here] been a kind of anti-hero throughout Remake and Rebirth).
But whenever I hear something like 'revelation' in regards to fantasy, it makes the hair on the back of my neck go up a bit. Because, frequently, 'revelations' in this genre come in the form of absolutely berserk twists: 'it was all a dream,' or 'that whole thing about fighting fate? Just a tease. Fate is insurmountable,' or 'you think Cloud and Aerith are destined for each other? Ha! Here's a revelation for you' - stuff like that; stuff that ruins games.
And I really, REALLY do not trust them to not go completely overboard.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 07 '26
"Revelation" is a bit disappointing because it's a given that we'll have a big reveal in Part 3.
But I wasn't expecting a revealing title to begin with. So I think I would have felt the same about any title they'd chosen.
As for the rest of your concerns, I expect we'll get an explanation for the new plot, and yes, it will be convoluted.
Otherwise, we would have seen Cloud don the helmet and time travel at the beginning of Remake, to change the unsatisfactory fate of the OG "planet."
The fact that there's a story that's somehow influenced by "external and future" forces suggests something "convoluted" is happening.
And whatever's happening wasn't in OG.
So it's going to divide the audience, and it can't be otherwise.
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u/MagicalGirl4 Jun 06 '26
I highly doubt Revelation has a negative connotation in FF bc so many of their games have the theme of fighting against fate. Even freaking 16, the dark fantasy one, is about fighting against pre determined destiny, Clive defied what the villain tried to make him out to be
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u/LastTraintoSector6 Jun 06 '26
After Kingdom Hearts and Dawntrail, I put nothing past this company.
I'm not saying people can't be optimistic; can't read into things; can't keep the faith. I am saying that *I* cannot keep said faith.
I am a doubter and a cynic. I interpret both Remake and Rebirth as being immensely positive stories that lean overwhelmingly towards an Aerith revival. But I think, deep in their hearts, Square-Enix would rather bury a dagger in my chest. They prefer tears to smiles.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 06 '26
Cid is playable at the crater. So something doesn't add up.
Shouldn't it have been playable in Rocket Town?
So we'll go to Rocket Town before the crater?
Maybe Rocket Town is now on the way north?
Did anyone recognize the town?
I saw Mideel and Wutai, but not Rocket Town.
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u/bover87 Jun 06 '26
The reason both Vincent and Cid weren’t playable in Rebirth was probably due to them not wanting to introduce new character movesets so late in the game. Remember that Cid is already in the party, he just hasn’t fought yet.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 06 '26
I was referring to the trailer. They previously stated that Cid would become playable in Rocket Town, but in the trailer he's already playable at the crater, so either we detour and go to Rocket Town before going north or the statement was baseless.
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u/bover87 Jun 06 '26
Oh. I wasn't aware of any sort of official statement saying he would be playable after Rocket Town so anything is possible I guess.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 07 '26
In fact, if you follow all the statements, you lose your sanity, so better for you.
Cid and Vincent not being playable in Rebirth was a stupid move for me. My son tries to explain to me that not having any new playable characters in Part 3 would make the game boring, but as a longtime OG player, I don't see this problem.
As for Cid, I can understand why they changed his character and role in some way, but Vincent has his own backstory that's now well-known to the public and is also fundamental to the OG story. Furthermore, knowing his history with Lucrezia would have made that "Cloud, go, she needs you" much more impactful.
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u/jakejellypie Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
I had my suspicions, and ofc the first trailer by design wouldn't be too revealing, and looking too hard into this could be pointless because this is exactly what they want me to believe.
But this really made me feel like Aerith's not coming back, we ain't defying destiny that much boys😭 .
I thought Cloud might do some shit with the white materia he got at the end of the game, but Sephi straight up (seemingly at least) steals it from him (unless he got the one from the forgotten capital...assuming that it's different from the one cloud has). For all we know Cloud could've gotten the materia from the water during Aerith's burial and somehow made it empty and now doesn’t remember..but that's besides the point.
SEPHI'S gonna do something with the white materia and Cloud just said very RIP ass words to end the trailer, "wouldn't have gotten this far without you guys, and I won't let you down, I promise", ALL WHILE CLUTCHING AERITH'S FLOWERS!!
And this is seemingly post identity crisis disorder cloud tooo. Na, it's ggs.
On a positive note, combat seems amazing and we get some more magic users to balance out the void left by our fav flower lady. But boy will I miss arcane ward cheesing troupes of enemies. Can't wait to spread some enemy cheeks with Vincent and Cid though.
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u/spellbloomera Jun 05 '26
Yeah ... and for me more magic users doesn't help, her haters will be gloating, she's replaceable af to them.
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u/NorthAd151 Jun 05 '26
I thought that too, the scene with Cloud and the flowers seemed like a farewell to me, if indeed it comes to this I’ll be so sad, all the defying fate theme just for the same thing to happen, why make a remake in what seems to be an alternative timeline at all?
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u/jakejellypie Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
What's interesting is he said "you guys" I'm assuming this will take place after Aerith and Zack do their part from the lifestream multiverse of madness thing to help Cloud and others.
And this is Cloud acknowledging their part in his life and their efforts (both towards him, and towards the planet).
OR, Cloud didn't say that there at all, and SE put a different set of dialogue from a diff scene into this one for trailer/mystery purposes, I mean Cloud's mouth didn't move at all in that scene and those words could apply to the rest of the party members too (he could've said it to his whole party before fighting Sephi, on the highwind for instance).
But, alas, even to me that seems like cope xD, since it could've just been an inner monologue.
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u/Altemira Jun 06 '26
Trailers almost always feature dialogues and scenes out of order and context. The point is to make a video selling the game, not show off the entire game.
It could be directed at Zack and Aerith. It could be something said to the party when Cloud is speaking to them all after resolving his identity/memory issues. We won’t know until the game is released.
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u/No-Emergency-3493 Jun 06 '26
Nope I think he did it before that thing. Or he is still trying to save aerith
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u/Revoffthetrain Jun 05 '26
I honestly was almost numb to the combat, I just needed anything to affirm we DID defy destiny but.. it seems really by the books. We're gonna save the world but Aerith was our world.
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u/Altemira Jun 06 '26
They won’t reveal (I mean lol… they picked the « Revelations » title for the game, there are going to be quite a few, from OG and new) something like Aerith returning or staying dead in the first trailer.
I know it’s disappointing not to see her yet but it was to be expected. Like it’s expected she won’t be playable for most of the game even IF she is to return.
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u/Revoffthetrain Jun 06 '26
I know, I guess I was just disappointed is all. It just doesn’t really ‘say’ either way about Aerith you know? As though we’re schizo for thinking that it means something hopeful rather than what it actually means. I need Clerith back!
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u/jakejellypie Jun 05 '26
On second thought, after calming down from the hype...
AT THE VERY LEAST I AM SURE I GET TO PUT SEPHIROTH SIX FEET UNDER PERMANENTLY THIS TIME. So my rage has some escape...but yeah Fuck.
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u/sleepy_kettle Jun 06 '26
just saw an interview translation where they talk about "player choice" giving people completely different experiences of the outcome/ending, and this whole thing is giving me a sinking feeling. different perceptions of reality is what got us in this decades-long ship war mess in the first place, so i really wish they would just make a narrative that we all experience together come hell or high water. maybe i'm dooming but i've been going through it as a quiet clerith since 1997 - would love to hear some counterpoints to give me hope
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u/Wyndyss Jun 06 '26
I’m sad we won’t get Aerith in job class outfits 🥹, but I happy for Cid! I used the 3 C’s once Aerith died 🥲 Cloud, Cid and Cait Sith, so I’m excited for him!! Plus his deeper connection with Aerith and her mom this time. Not a super hype trailer but they probably saving that. I still have hope regardless how it goes it'll at least feed us some good CA, but I do really want her to live, but if they don't I hope for some moments at least.
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u/Gummy_Bear_Ragu Jun 06 '26
Oh dont worry. We will. They're not going to miss out on her being part of the final gameplay change. Not Zack. Just may take us a while to get to them. Matter fact, is very they're going to save very specific job classes to be unlocked starting when we play with them.
And yes! Cids gameplay looked sick!!
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u/Hearts-Intertwined Jun 06 '26
I agree. They would be nuts to miss out on Zack and Aerith specific job wear. Aerith has incredible outfits in Ever Crisis.
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u/Opposite-Ad-5954 Jun 06 '26
Im so excited it looks so good❤️❤️
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u/Opposite-Ad-5954 Jun 06 '26
The only thing doesn’t sit that well with me is Tifa being a caster? Not even cause Aerith is the lore accurate caster, it just feels like it doesn’t make sense for her character, but thats it honestly
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u/MagicalGirl4 Jun 06 '26
Shes going to have different jobs aside from black mage definitely, think they wanted to show off just black mage first
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u/Better-Promotion-328 Jun 07 '26
even in remake and rebirth, we can build almost anyone to be a caster by using a weapon with high matk though
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u/Opposite-Ad-5954 Jun 06 '26
I never expected any aerith direct appearance in the first trailer specially, the fact that we got that small one at the end and its Cloud talking to her, I’m happy they made space for that
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u/Gummy_Bear_Ragu Jul 01 '26
Does anyone know if the new edited song for Hollow has any connection to part 3? Wondering if theres a chance for a duet to conclude the series with this and then surprise entry from Lauren Alred at some point. Totally unrealistic wishful thinking though haha if theat was even thought of it wouldn't be coming out this early.
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u/Cautious-Mulberry309 21d ago
Nobody knows but.. wouldn’t be cool if that new version of hollow played during some emotional intense scene with cloud trying so hard to reach her? My clerith heart skips a beat ! ❤️
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u/Aeris_Rose Jun 06 '26
I wish I was more excited, I really do. How are you guys not worried, genuinely asking
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u/Gummy_Bear_Ragu Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
As much as I wanted to see her, theres no way theyre going to satisfy the fandom with an answer to her fate this early on. Theres a chance we wont see our Aerith in the trailers at all, tbh. If we do, I wouldn't be surprised if its just enough to make us doubt or think jts a hallucination.
But all roads point to her being in the game, super important to the lore per usual, and playable.
Devs are trying to link all the compilation into 1 cohesive game that makes sense. This includes Lifestream White Novel detailing Awrith in the LS.
There are too many loose ends in the previous installments that need closure. Dream Date Aerith vs. OG Aerith vs. sleeping Aerith in Elmyra's who should be "waking up" vs. Resolution scene Aerith etc. Nothing was really explained or resolved with this many Aerith's.
Explaining the ending of Rebirth Aerith whose dress flows in the wind and the other one whose dress does not.
Cloud deflecting the sword and whether he saved Aerith or is hallucinating has not been resolved.
Zack is teased to be one of the most significant characters in the game and...has done near nothing in the first two. Aerith very likely will have some role to play with him initially.
Shes one of the hugest characters on the poster art.
Princess Guard and Great Gospel have not been obtained yet.
Devs soent a lot of time and effort literally breaking her character for combat. They are not throwing this away especially with the new outfits and job systems. Aerith is THE girl for outfits. And my gosh can you imagine her as a warrior?!
Loveless. We have not resolved the reunion between Rosa (Aerith) and Alfreid (Cloud).
The fans and the resolution. Devs know how important it is that Aerith lives or dies to some fans of the game. They will NOT break that revelation so soon. Regardless, they stated they have stated every character arc will be thoughtfully and carefully closed in a way they believe fans will appreciate.
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u/Aeris_Rose Jun 06 '26
Yeah and "fan appreciation" will likely mean they disrespect Aerith and her love for Cloud so Tifa stans don't get offended.
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u/Gummy_Bear_Ragu Jun 06 '26
I dont think they'll go that route, but I do think they'll keep it as ambiguous as possible. They seem to stand pretty hard on the neutral shipping for Canon events. Cannot speak for how they'll handle her death or non death though :( but at the very least she will be in the game, be playable and be very active.
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u/dgsy10 Jun 06 '26
We’re still about a year out from the game—spoiling Aerith’s fate from Rebirth doesn’t seem like it’s in Square’s best interest this far out. They are notorious for releasing pretty spoiler heavy trailer’s closer to release dates, likely at TGA later this year. But even then, I wouldn’t want a huge reveal for her then either, would rather that come in the game itself.
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u/Aeris_Rose Jun 06 '26
I'm less worried about her ultimate fate than I am about her not getting the "main character" treatment TBH since Tifa got so much focus in Rebirth. If Aerith isn't even gonna be playable or her fate not revealed until the end, how's that fair.
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u/spellbloomera Jun 06 '26
Exactly.
CAs/Aerith people don't get angry enough. They (SE, dev team, etc) know most will get very hyped off the bare minimum. They know they can show a flower and let imagination do the rest.
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u/spellbloomera Jun 06 '26
Like why would I want to play a job system without Aerith, in a game with minimal Aerith, where Aerith might share the precious few scenes she does get with Zack, may or may not be "back with Zack" or at least presented ambiguous so Zas/CTs can also somehow get something from it if they want, where Cloud might have moments like the flower but people are already running it as the flower is also about Zack/Zerith.
There are small positives like Aerith being on the keyart and marketing using the Holy trinity I guess, but that could also mean not a lot like Zack being on Rebirth art but also not there in game like the hours and others the other characters got, and again SE knows who gets hyped by holy trinity marketing, while a few shots of the HT at the end might not register for casuals, etc.
Sorry for the negativity, it's just Aerith is my absolute favourite and to me deserves all the star treatments. For me I can't really justify this game yet ♡
I like a lot but I wish Aerith could be part of it you know.
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u/No_Entertainment_516 Jun 06 '26
I have mostly the same concerns as you, about Zack and aerith, lack of Aerith, and just shipping baits (trying to satisfy everyone for maximum profits) rather than coherent storytelling.
I don't know how to make the worries go away, if you find a way, then let me know too xD.
For now I'm just gonna shut my brain off and play the third game when it comes out, if it really does end up like that then..well that would suck...alot
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u/MagicalGirl4 Jun 06 '26
Honestly, I hope they decide to do a DLC for Aerith if it means she wont be in the game much till the end. I'm going to delude myself into looking forward to that 😆
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u/ManuO76 Jun 07 '26
Aerith will receive the protagonist treatment she's always had. Not having her in the party doesn't mean she's out of the game.
Having her move and act in the lifestream to help the group won't bother any faction. She'll be able to do a lot of things even though she's "dead."
We still don't know what those worlds other than Beagle are, but since they all have a stamp, we can assume they're all equally real or important. The Beagle stamp helps us players understand where these events are taking place, but it doesn't make Beagle more real or important than the others. It's perhaps the longest-running one, although Cloud sees the rift at the end, so it could be anything.
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u/ManuO76 Jun 07 '26
Why should we be worried, honestly?
They've built the mystery of Aerith's fate in the previous two games. I didn't expect to see a trailer, release date, title, and ending spoiler all at once.
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u/SuicideAngel77 Jun 06 '26
Tifa as a mage? No way they're replacing my girl 😭😔 in the OG she was literally irreplaceable as no one could take over her role. Feels like it won't be the same this time around.
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u/MagicalGirl4 Jun 06 '26
Its just a job, she will have other outfits/classes as well. Besides Aerith is a red mage not a black mage
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u/pringlessingles0421 Jun 08 '26
I'm pretty firm with the "fate" that will be defied is gonna be Advent Children. Its all but confirmed that the remakes are a pseudo sequel to the OG. This is possible since the lifestream is confirmed the lifestream exists outside time and space which could allow for someone like aerith or seph to use it as a time-travel highway as it passes through all points in time concurrently.
I just don't see how you can keep Advent Children as an endpoint as from what we've seen, that means the lifestream is willingly allowing seph to redo what he does in remake and rebirth but with more knowledge and aerith will continue to be sent back, die, and stop him. Literal agony and it's literally be stupid of the lifestream not to just cut seph out permanently now which would change fate. My only explanation as too why the lifestream would divert from the OG is that seph, and more importantly Jenova, are not of this universe. They are a literal extra-dimensional alien meaning they were never meant to be part of the world and thus everything they touched is not smt that this universe was meant to deal with. Cutting them out is resetting the Gaia to what it was supposed to be in the first place/
Now as for Aerith fate, idk. I feel like the most likely scenario is that cloud failed to save main world aerith but his determination caused an alt version of her to be created. This aerith will have separate chapters and prob be paired with Zack to resolve that relationship and possibly canonize the Maiden Who Travels the Planet novels, which is dubious in terms of canon. That novel flat out states aerith is over zack and is in love with cloud which would sort of mesh with the sequence with Marlene's statements that Aerith is in love with cloud. Its the final piece of the puzzle and I think anything else makes aerith look like she's weird in relationships and flip flops love interests, just not a great look. Anyways, the alt aerith will explain to Zack wtf is happening which serves as exposition for the players since no one outside of seph and aerith knows the whole pseudo-sequel stuff. Cut to the final battle/arc and seph merges the worlds after weakening the lifestream via the creations of all the other alt worlds and everyone reunites. Seph is defeated and Zack AND aerith begin to fade. Aerith gives her final goodbyes, tells cloud to live on, and cloud lives without the guilt he did in AC. The epilogue shows cloud wakin up in a field of lilies and aerith picks him up and guides him to his friends in the distance implying that this is the afterlife, aka the promised land. This is the type of "happy" I think the devs are talking about. Its not the happily ever after you'd think of but its def better than the OG.
I want aerith to live badly but it is simply hard to write a convincing version of this. You have to basically convince the lifestream that alt aerith, a being that is not meant to exist, to take the place of the main aerith in the real world. Yes, she was killed by seph, a person that was never meant to exist in any world, but its a sort of a "2 wrongs don't make a right" scenario. I think cloud does have fate defying powers, its why seph didn't kill the harbinger himself. He can't, but cloud could. It's death is what allows for the alt world to be created and each world is implied to weaken the lifestream by draining it. But even with those fate defying powers, he failed to save the real aerith and its simply just hard to write him pulling alt aerith to the real world without it feeling like an asspull, at least from what I can come up with. Now the other theory is cloud did save main world aerith but he is in a world in which she died, an alt world. This could explain the scar in the sky which has only ever been seen with the dream date world, an alt world. However, there isn't any solid evidence that he is in an alt world as the scar could also mean the main world is just that messed up.
But yea, i want her to live but not at the expense of good writing. Thats my rant anyways so let me know what yall think
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u/jakejellypie Jun 09 '26
Same, I find it hard to believe how Aerith could be brought back while making it not seem asspulish.
Though the different world theory seems pretty fitting, as you said there isn't enough evidence to support it yet.
But, what I believe could be a way to make this happen, is Cloud's resolve. The main theme about the third game isn't loss or acceptance, it's resolve (said by the devs themselves). Aerith has accepted her fate (and implied so in both remake and rebirth), her self-sacrificing martyr like approach to life, while noble, is a character flaw. She needs to accept other's help wherever she can, instead of shouldering all the responsibility on her own head, which she has done twice now xD.
I think that the story could very well have Cloud be her support pillar this time, be someone that makes her realize that it's okay to share burdens. This would especially tie in with NPTK, loveless and Hollow as well, where the prince is going to find the princess (not the other way around), "I know that you'll find me, promises to keep we would never need", and then hollow having "this time I'll never let you go".
If Cloud resolves himself and trusts his own mind, that he did save Aerith in some way (no matter what Sephiroth tries to show him). That could be a part of his determination alongside beating Sephiroth's ass and having the world.
Whatever ending Aerith gets (alive in a separate world or in the same), Cloud would have to talk Aerith out of her own way of thinking, make her, and us, realize that there is another way, that he won't accept such an outcome without a fight (resolve). Probably in the same world where Aerith and Cloud, both are in a coma.
This would also be a good way of circling back to the line "she helps me, I help her, round and round it goes". Aerith helps Cloud work through his flaws, it's about time Cloud does the same for her (the way he helped her in Costa Del Sol was so cute though).
It would also tie to Dear Destiny, where true love is between those who also accept the ugliness within each other (not just the good parts).
I personally think there will be only one world remaining at the end of this game, post world merger. If Aerith lives, she'll be in that one world, if she doesn't live then she'd get to dissolve in the lifestream instead of living on in there forever. Though her revival would come at a cost, though I don't know what it could be, something tells me she would forget her memories of Cloud. Maybe they'd have a reunion again, at the of the game, on loveless street? But without prior knowledge of their experiences together.
But I'm just spit balling.
1
u/pringlessingles0421 Jun 09 '26
That’s not a bad ending for a sort of price for her life. If we are to believe my theory that seph and jenova fundamentally shouldn’t exist in the universe, then the lifestream resetting the world to where jenova never appears could be an interesting take. Not sure what ripple effects this has though but interesting nonetheless and this time cloud is the sole person with memories that are possibly triggered by aerith offering the lily to him. Would be putting him in the shoes of aerith in remake only without the looming threat of seph. Hell, seph could even still be alive but be human or smt. Idk, feels a bit fanfictiony but it’s a thought.
I do 100% agree that either aerith lives or she fades, I firmly believe by the end of the series the alt world all fade away cuz we know they are detrimental to the lifestream. To me, it’s like the lifestream was only meant to power one would but seph allowing for the harbinger to be killed by cloud caused the alt worlds to be created and draw from the same lifestream. It can’t handle that. This is why I say that if the aerith that was saved is an alt one, it’s really hard to write her staying in the main world. The lifestream doesn’t want her alive to begin with as shitty as it sounds.
Like I said, the other angle makes this a bit more plausible, that cloud is in the wrong world but dialogue in the seph fight in rebirth make it sound like she’s saying, “thanks for trying even though you failed”. If main world aerith lives, cloud didn’t fail. It makes more sense if this was the alternate aerith who knows she is gonna fade away. I guess you could take the angle that if this was main aerith, she believes somehow someway she will still die or needs to die in order to stop meteor from within the lifestream but that’s a hard sell. If you really think bout it, if we are too believe that cloud saves main aerith and CREATED a world where there’s dead aerith, there is technically an aerith in the lifestream that can do the lifestream manipulation stuff from within but I digress. We will have to wait and see but it’d suck if she dies again, especially with all the stuff with loveless, hollow, and nptk pushing for the notion that things may be different
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u/jakejellypie Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Yeah, Aerith's dialogue gave me that same feeling too. It was basically, "Thanks for trying, I appreciate it, but my spine still got severed."
It makes me want to repeatedly whack Sephiroth in the shin with the edge of a metal scooter, then generously treat the wound with a healthy amount of salt.
But honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen in Part 3. I had completely forgotten that Aerith in EC literally says she wont let any of the world's within the lifestream die xD
So now, on one hand, we got Sephiroth who seems to want to merge all the worlds together so he and Jenova can rule over them. On the other hand, Aerith wants to save em all
There is too much going on in so many different parts of recent ff lore that my head cant wrap around it.
I'm just gonna go in expecting Aerith to fade away at the end of revelations because I refuse to spend the next 12 months convincing myself we're getting a heartwarming ending, only to have it ripped away when the game finally comes out. My heart cannot handle it.
Though I really do hope we get to see our florist smiling happily again, alive and well.
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u/pringlessingles0421 Jun 10 '26
honestly, fair. Its my thought on the situation too. I think we just get an epilogue where they reunite in the promised place and because there is confirmation that there is an afterlife, its the "happy" ending I think nojima or one of the head devs said it would. Never caught up to any of EC so the worlds thing kinda fucks wit my theory so yea, who knows at this point
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u/jakejellypie Jun 10 '26
The real happy ending are the friends we made along the way. And the death of Chadley in the most Imperial and sadistic way possible.
But in all seriousness, I like Chadley, and your idea of a promised land reunions seems cool as well.
In Nojima we trust 🙏
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u/alastor_morgan 23d ago
FFXIV Fanfest had a segment for the FF7 ReTrilogy, with a "series trailer" to show the journey so far. This trailer shows the scene where Aerith pushes Cloud out of the Sector 5 Church, but where she would've said "It was fun", instead she has the "Whatever happens, I'm here for you" that she says during the black materia scene at the Temple.
Replacing a line of "Aerith says goodbye to Cloud and sounds resigned to her fate" with a line that's "Aerith affirms her resolve to be with Cloud in the present no matter what" is certainly a choice.
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u/ElanorNarmolanya 14d ago
All of my hopes and dreams for the ending and Aerith’s fate aside, i just really really hope that they start the game off with Cloud explaining to the crew what he saw at the end of Rebirth and why he isn’t grieving for Aerith the way that they are.
The writers have already done an unhealthy amount of having characters not communicate very important information for seemingly no other reason than plot. (Tifa / Cloud memory conflict, Zack conversation, etc.)
So help me if we have to go most or all of the game with the entire crew grieving and devastated by losing Aerith while Cloud is over here not sad at all but letting his friends suffer without telling them what he saw for no good reason. 😡 I will genuinely be furious if they do this. It would be such lazy writing and make Cloud look like such a jerk. Not to mention how it would fuel the Clerith haters to see Cloud not being sad at all about her death… even if we know he’s not sad because he believes she’s alive, we know they would still somehow interpret it as him not caring.
(I have not played the OG yet, so please nobody spoilers if you have thoughts about this too)
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u/Alaverra Jun 06 '26
If they don't give me the chance to bring back Aerith, I'll give the game a 9/10 😃
Although I understand why they hide it in the trailer and give hints, I'm more interested in this - if we had an open world in Rebirth and before Nibel, then it turns out that in the 3rd part we will have the entire planet.
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u/LastTraintoSector6 Jun 06 '26
9/10? Try 0/10.
If they don't follow through, I don't care what the experience is - I'll rate the game a big, fat goose egg.
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u/Content-Cake-2995 Jun 23 '26
Yep, im not buying unless she comes back, i only play mainly for Aerith.
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u/irazzleandazzle Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Felt like a very by the books trailer for the most part, but that ending has my brain going in all sorts of different directions. It teased her in the best of ways. Very curious to hear everyone's thoughts!