Yet Another Defense Of Final Fantasy VII's Absurdly Controversial Ending

by Jason Golec 

The ending of Final Fantasy VII.

I loved it. You loved it. We all loved it - that is, until people began running around spouting off about "closure" and whatnot. Then we started to think: "Well, what did happen?" and "Hey! They didn't explain that, did they?!" Which, of course, led to cries of: "This ending sucks!" or even "Square betrayed us, their loyal fans! Curse those capitalist pigs!"

Final Fantasy VII had all the closure that was realistically possibly without becoming campy. Had the ending happened any other way, it wouldn't have carried the same power or have answered as many questions.

Square intended FFVII to break all the barriers that had been defined for RPGs since FFVI. They redesigned everything: the look, the feel, the combat system, the magic system ... even the format of the story being told. In previous Final Fantasy games (and, indeed, most RPGs ), we find ourselves able to use all characters equally and are "rewarded" with total closure for each one. This is what we're used to; this is what we've come to expect. However - and I hope I'm not the only one here - I've never found a single one of those endings very fulfilling. In fact, I found most of them to be sickeningly corny. FFVII's ending, on the other hand, is drastically different. At first glance, the only character who seems to recieve almost complete closure is Cloud Strife and the ending appears to be barren of any answers at all. Indeed, the only proof given that humanity survived was the laughter of children we hear after the credits have rolled. But the answers are there, if you look hard enough.

As we all know, the only character to recieve nearly complete closure was Cloud. This was because he was, without a doubt, the main character. A true main character; something of a rarity in the modern RPG. Throughout FFVII we were required to have him lead our party at all times and the only time that we weren't, it allowed for more character development. Everything that was important happened to him or because of him. Final Fantasy VII's theme might've been about "Life", but the story was about Cloud's struggle to define and confront what he was.

Do we recieve closure for the conflicts in the other characters lives? No, of course not. And there are two reasons for that: First, they are minor characters only there to support Cloud, and second, their conflicts couldn't realistically be solved during the time period in which FFVII took place. Take Barret. He had wrestled with his own personal demons for years before the story began. Why should he feel any less responsible for what happened to Corel or Dyne just because he had a hand in "saving the world"? How would helping stop Sephiroth lessen his guilt? Simply put, it wouldn't. Barret's personal struggles couldn't possibly be realistically solved during the story. In fact, Dyne's reappearance no doubt compounded his sense of guilt, and even if he were beginning to conquer his inner demons, that incident easily reopened old wounds that defeating Sephiroth couldn't possibly heal.

Most of the other characters didn't have any real conflicts to solve. Aeris' only confrontation was to accept her fate, Tifa's was to get with Cloud, Cid's was to fly into space, Vincent's was to feel sorry for himself in new locations other than his coffin, Yuffie's was her relationship with her father, Red XIII's was with his opinion of his father, and Cait Sith's was with his loyalty to Shinra as opposed to the people of Midgar. Aeris quickly recieved closure and so did Red XIII, so neither really needed further character development; the story was not focused on them. Realistically, with their personal matters taken care of, each concentrated on what they needed to do to "save the world." This was, after all, a mission to "save the world", not some retreat bent on self-discovery. Even having Red XIII grieve externally about Bugenhagan's death would be extremely out of character. Between his stoic behavior and the beliefs he had about the Lifestream, how could he feel any real sorrow knowing that his Grandfather was no longer in pain and was continuing the cycle of life? It wouldn't have seemed like him.

Onto the rest. Cid flew into space. Vincent was able to feel sorry for himself in new and interesting places. Yuffie was a typical teenager with a typical attitude, so just how would "saving the world" make her get along with her father better? It wouldn't. Cait Sith effectively did nothing, except try to save the people of Midgar and moving Marlene to a safe place, proving his loyalty to the people as opposed to Shinra. No real, solid closure here. But there was nothing great to close, either. All were not major characters. They were supporting cast, secondary characters, only there to move the story and provide opportunities to develop Cloud. No character development was needed, to a certain point, because to do so would've taken the focus off of Cloud.

I can just imagine what having complete closure for all the characters would be like. All of a sudden, everyone onboard the Highwind has a startling revelation about some obscure personal issue that they're suffering from for the better part of their lives. As we watch both Meteor and Holy calmly obliterate Midgar, we can hear each character gushing some painfully campy piece of "The Moral Of The Story Is..." garbage, quickly turning FFVII from an epic RPG into an after-school special. Hell, might as well have Aeris walk in at that point, give a huge, sappy grin, wave, and say: "Just kidding! Group hug, everyone!" Yeah, that'd be a much better ending. Real quality stuff. I just love the taste of bile.

And why did Aeris' death affect (or not affect) the characters the way it did? With the exception of Cloud, none of them really knew Aeris at all. They felt sorry that she died, as they would for anyone they just met, but there wasn't the solid connection that most players seem to believe exists. Realistically, it wouldn't be there and it wasn't. You'll notice, though, that Aeris' death does affect Cloud quite heavily in the long run. The writers held true to the characters in this aspect.

The biggest complaint about the ending, it seems, is that there are too many unanswered questions by the end of Final Fantasy VII. But, if you take time to play the game a second time, you'll actually find answers to those questions that are actually relevant. For instance, wondering about Jenova's origins is completely irrelevant to anything in the story. While you're at it, you can wonder about the origins of the Ancients or those of Mankind. FFVII is a story about one man's struggle to confront what he is, not an anthropology class on non-existant races. Any questions that arise from Dr. Gast's videos tend to be irrelevant, too. That part was added to provide some degree of background for Aeris, not to explain the deep, dark mysteries of the Ancients.

Another complaint is the interaction between Holy and Meteor. Holy was supposed to stop Meteor, according to our poor, uninformed characters, right? Instead, it actually amplified it to help it destroy Midgar. Now, why would the Earth use something like Holy to amplify something like Meteor, which was apparently intended to destroy the planet? If you ask why the Weapons didn't attack Sephiroth, then ask why they didn't try to prevent Holy, either; both served the same purpose. It wasn't as if Meteor was flying at the planet at massive speeds. What, was it going to nudge Earth to death? Perhaps it was going to politely ask the planet to roll into the sun? No, Meteor had the exact same purpose that Holy and the Weapons did: to eliminate threats to the planet. You'll notice that it headed straight for where everything else head ... Midgar. Which means Earth was never in any danger of getting obliterated. Only mankind.

To summarize: One, the story was about Cloud and not everyone, Two, it was Mankind who was in danger the whole time, not the planet, Three, yes, there are only a few unanswered questions, but they are unimportant from Cloud's POV, and, Four, closure for every minor character is not necessary. It never has been and never will be in any quality story you see, read, or hear. Complete closure cheapens the story and, in my opinion, that would've betrayed and insulted all us Final Fantasy VII buffs more than anything they did.

If there's anyone out there who has any questions or complaints, they're completely welcome. Actually, I insist. This editorial is far from perfect, so tear into it until your heart's content. Have fun!