#ffvii ending

[astoryofalove]

You guys remember this interview with Kitase?

EGM: At the very end of FFVII, we see the epilogue to the whole story that takes place 500 years later, so really, you still have another 497 years’ worth of games and movies to fill in.... Kitase : Ha, maybe I’ll try to do that. In a way, I consider that epilog to be the true happy ending of FFVII. Well, it’s a happy ending even though all the human beings are destroyed. [Laughs] - Kotaku

He’s referring to the same scene that Nomura is talking about in this quote:

Nomura: “....The shot of Midar that appears in that particular sequence was FFVII’s greener version of Midgar, 500 years in the future. It symbolizes people returning to living aboveground. (....) So it’s a story where in the end, people go back to living aboveground, choosing a life closer to nature.” - Reunion Files, pg 105

[themateriodictable]

can i just say how much i respect the original ending to ffvii?

it was a super ambiguous ending, at least before advent children came out. i’ve heard some people say how disappointing it was, or that it left too many questions unanswered.

the main question left unanswered was whether humanity survived or not, but the game does, in fact, set up that humanity may not survive, and that AVALANCHE knows this and carries out the “saving the planet” plan anyway. 

the main goal is always “saving the planet”. it starts off with the idealistic goal of saving the planet from ShinRa, who are a gradual threat to the planet. AVALANCHE’s priorities temporarily shifts to “find Sephiroth”, who reveals himself to be the much more immediate threat to the planet when he summons Meteor, but the goal never really changes.

what does change is when the game introduces the distinction between “saving the planet for humanity’s sake” and “saving the planet for the planet’s sake”. this distinction happens when we finally find out what Aeris was planning and discover she had summoned Holy, which poses a threat to humanity for the sake of the planet’s survival. 

you’re likely see the “saving the planet” goal EVERYWHERE in all sorts of media. its very rarely challenged because its meant to be presented as a noble goal- but its also pretty selfish. saving humanity is clearly the driving motivation for saving the planet. in fact, some stories are okay destroying planets when either humanity can be saved, or other planets are available to escape to.

what i respect so much about the ending to ffvii is that it places the importance of the planet’s survival over the importance of humanity’s survival. it shows you the planet and other species excluding humans (Red XIII and his cubs) survived 500 years later. so congratulations, technically a happy ending, you did indeed save the planet. 

what players have to face in the ending is not only questions unanswered for the fate of humanity, but also a heavy implication that maybe the planet was better off without humanity after all. the ending may not have been satisfying by general happy-ending standards, but i do respect the decision to make it thematically consistent.