Final Fantasy VII: Triumph of the Individual

by Don Wang

I agreed with the recent Defense of Final Fantasy VII's Ending -- except for the following paragraph:

And what of the individual characters? Frankly, it doesn't matter; the characters' futures are inconsequential. It is their development throughout the game which is important. Final Fantasy VII is primarily the story of the Planet's struggle; focusing on individual characters would have distracted from the most overriding theme: nothing is more important than the Planet. Nothing is more important than life.

The idea that Final Fantasy VII is "primarily the story of the Planet's struggle," is definitely refuted within the game. Cloud says near the end of the second disc, "We say we're saving the planet. Sounds good, right? But is it really what we're fighting for? We must find what we're truly fight for. Otherwise we can't go on." That's why he let the party members return to revisit their loved ones; they cannot fight without a cause. They're not really fighting for the planet; they're fighting for themselves, for their own threatened lives and own treasured memories. The theme of life is still strong, but the emphasis is on the individual life, not the planet.

The overridding theme of Final Fantasy VII is not that of the "global good." Such idealism simply doesn't work. Cloud and the party are enthuastic about stopping Sephiroth and protecting the planet, only to have Sephiroth shatter their illusions at the Ancient Temple. "Wake up!" he tells them. It is hypocritical for the party to speak of "saving the planet," when their actions can easily be considered a threat. When AVALANCHE blows up Mako Reactors, taking hundreds of innocent lives, what sets them apart from Heidegger and Scarlet and their 'murder' of Diamond Weapon?

Even Aeris' trip to the Forgotten City is made for personal reasons. Why didn't she go earlier? Because she enjoyed Cloud's company. While she wasn't afraid of death, she certain wasn't anxious! At the date in the Gold Saucer, we see that Aeris plans to share plenty of memories with Cloud in the future. While her sacrfice saved the planet, it was above all a personal sacrifice ... for Cloud. If her death alone could save the planet, she could have died at anytime. Why did she choose that moment to die, then? If she had not, Cloud might not have found the courage nor the motive to confront his nature and Sephiroth.

Cloud said that he wanted to settle his personal score with Sephiroth. Saving the Planet was a side effect. I think Aeris made her sacrifice with similar reasoning; it was for the one she truly loved, the only reason worthy of her sacrifice. She was reluctant to cast Holy in the beginning because of her possible future with Cloud. But after the Black Materia incident, she realized that for there to be any sort of a future at all, her sacrifice was necessary.

Final Fantasy VII's theme of life means individual lives. If the individual does not know why they fight, then the Planet's survival is meaningless. Neither the Weapons nor Holy answer the Planet's cries; only the Lifestream, the spiritual energy of the individual lives, could save the Planet.

By the end of Final Fantasy VII, the battle for life has already been won. Any focus on individual characters would be superfluous. They had already won their battle when they realized what they were fighting for. You said that 'nothing is important than the planet. Nothing is more important than life." I do not think that these are the same. The life that the characters fought so hard for is not the Planet's, but their own.

Original Editorial: A Defense of Final Fantasy VII's Ending