An Attack on the Ending of Final Fantasy VII

by Mike Lenzo 

When I first watched the ending to Final Fantasy VII I stood in disbelief. I loved it. I went into the game hearing that the game itself was incredible, the gameplay unbelievable, the story the best ever done in a video game, and yet the ending was horrible. I didn't believe anyone, and when I watched the ending I marveled at Cloud's final battle with Sephiroth to purge himself of his past guilt and avenge the woman he loved, Cloud's cryptic words which will probably be pondered forever: "I think I can meet her... there," I felt joy and a true love for the game when the ending also mirrored the beginning of the game, almost eerily. As the credits rolled and the ending theme of all the Final Fantasy games played I once again experienced that almost melancholy feeling that I usually experience at the end of every epic RPG, when I must say goodbye to characters I've grown to know; I once again experienced the love for the game that seemed to disappear after the first disk ended. Whoever said the ending was a waste of time obviously didn't look at it in the same light as I did.

And that's the way I felt about it, even as all of my friends who had played the game and beat it talked of how they wasted three days of their life for an ending which was nothing but eye candy. "Look closer at it and the themes it presents" I said, but they ignored me. When I arrived at OSU in late September my roommate beat the game after the first week of class. After viewing the ending he took the third disk and broke it into pieces. He then threw away the second disk of the game, even as I stared in horror and disbelief. I asked him why he would do such a thing, and he said, "What they did in the end was an injustice to every Final Fantasy fan around the world and to everyone who played that game."

I thought about what he said and I realized that he was right. Final Fantasy VI had another mediocre ending; the only thing good about it was the music. They should have simply had the credits roll the whole time after you defeat Kefka, it was a waste of a half hour to watch what happened afterwards (unless you love Mode 7). But the key difference between FFVI's ending and the ending of FFVII is that in FFVI the characters' stories come to a definitive close before the end (actually, they come to a close in the World of Balance, but that's another complaint). In FFVII the character's stories ARE NOT completed. Their development hardly ever occurs after the first disk, and this seems to be the point everyone misses. The only two characters who have a definitive ending are Cloud (who never has any sort of closure with Aeris, he doesn't even seem to grieve for her the entire game) and Cid, who does have good closure with the whole Shera-Shinra No. 26 deal. Otherwise, examine each character. Barret never has any closure or development after the Dyne incident, even when Cait Sith confronts him about what he did bombing the Mako No. 1 reactor. Cait Sith remains an idiot the whole game, and his controller's personality attempts to come through, but it doesn't. Ever. Yuffie almost receives closure with her father, but the lack of character development after the first disk kills any sense of growth. Aeris has plenty of development until her untimely death, and afterwards she should be one of the main catalysts of growth among the characters, but they don't learn or grow as characters dealing with her loss, which is one of the biggest flaws in the game. Tifa remains a two-dimensional cypher for the entire game, never receiving enough attention or growth, even during the scene with the Lifestream and Cloud. The writers attempt to rectify it in the end, with her "touching" scene with Cloud, and yet it comes across as forced and too campy. Red XIII has NO character development after confronting his father's sacrifice, even when Bugenhangen dies! Vincent has nothing even approaching character development; the only thing he does the entire game is look spooky and talk in cryptic sentences. His scene with Lucrecia is supposed to somehow "develop" him, but again, it comes across as forced and is more to inform us about Sephiroth's origins anyways. It's not as if he ever interacts with the other characters either.

Look at the ending logically. One can infer several things from what happened (and also reading Square's stance on the ending, which helps immensely). Humanity lived (as showed by the children laughing at the end), Meteor was obviously stopped, and Red XIII found a mate (even though he is the last of his race). That's it. No other closure is presented. In a Final Fantasy game closure is key, as Square will never continue the characters' story. The incredibly large holes in the storyline are never patched, such as Jenova's origin, the whole truth behind the WEAPONS not attacking Sephiroth (and don't say Shinra was a bigger threat; Sephiroth was going to destroy the Planet itself), the truth behind all of the cryptic hints in Professor Gast's video, exactly how Sephiroth survived, the truth behind Aeris's death (which is NOT explained in the entire game; they cryptically hint at it, but never come out and say it, and her sacrifice is one of the key events in the game), and in general many little details about each of the characters. In a Final Fantasy game this is inexcusable, as all of the above are KEY plot points that are left unresolved. It's not as if Square is going to continue the story either, so these points will be forever unknown. Again, the usual snide answer is "use your imagination." That answer is someone apologizing for bad writing. In Star Wars, if the fact that Darth Vader was Luke's father never came out, but was only hinted at in little clues, the entire trilogy would have suffered for it. Not tying up the story and then telling everyone to "use their imagination" is a cop out for bad writing. Nothing more.

The ending for FFIV, when viewed by everyone for the first time, is proudly proclaimed to be the best ever. FFVII's ending could have been that good, but only if they provided closure to the story and the characters. They don't. I have used my imagination to decide what happened after the destruction of Meteor, but that doesn't mean I enjoy the ending any more. It's still a waste of a third disk. It IS nothing more than eye candy. As to all of the mature themes playing out in the ending, if the writers could write even half as good as they did in the beginning, they could tie those mature themes into a better, more definitive ending. The ending was a disappointment, it was a letdown, not a payoff, for such an incredible and groundbreaking game. With this ending Square has done more harm than good to their endeavors to make RPGs a bigger presence in the US, for the majority of gamers don't want an ending that has them debating about semantics for two years. Every last person I've talked to that has played the game has hated the ending, and have changed their entire opinion on the game because of the ending. Is that right or not? I don't know. Many people online love the ending, and seem to be awestruck by anyone criticizing the game or the ending. What everyone forgets is that Square is a company that makes games for consumers to purchase and enjoy. Once they release a game to the public they open themselves up for criticism. Just because they make good games doesn't mean they are inviolable or sacrosanct. They have the privilege of making games for us, not the other way around. We ultimately pay for their games, and if we don't like something, we have a right, and a responsibility to tell Square about it. The argument that FFVII is a work of art is at best a bad analogy and at worst a load of crap. Art is made for the enjoyment and enlightenment of the artist, not for the sale to others for their edification (of course true art has probably never been made). FFVII is as close to art as a video game could possibly get, but it is by no means a Venus de Milo.

Is it an injustice to present the end to FFVII in a different way? It's an injustice to every Final Fantasy fan around the world and to every person who played that game to do otherwise.