Final Fantasy VII

Revelation

 

 

A Collection of Thoughts, Essays and Theories

By

FF Online’s Forum Members

 

1stStrike [strikerdoa@hotmail.com]

MSommet [sirpogo@gmx.de]

SpikedEdge [spikededge@hotmail.com]

SunSlasher [sunslasher@aol.com]

 

 

 

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this document are these of the authors who are in no way affiliated with Squaresoft. Square holds the copyright to Final Fantasy VII and any of its characters. You may freely distribute this document as long as it remains unchanged in form and content. If you have any FF7 story theories you’d like to add to this collection, please contact the authors. You can always download the newest version at Error! Bookmark not defined.. 

 

 

 

Contents

 

Chapter I: The Plot of Final Final Fantasy VII

1)                               A General Unopinionated Summary of the Story......by SpikedEdge and 1stStrike

2)                               Alternative Summary................................................by 1stStrike

3)                               Complete Story Interpretation..................................by Sunslasher

Chapter II: A Closer Look at the Characters

1)                               Main Characters’ Roles and Analysis........................by Sunslasher

2)                               Telling Names in Final Fantasy VII...........................by MSommet

Chapter III: Theories

1)                               Final Fantasy VII as a Religious Allegory..................by MSommet

2)                               The Love Triangle....................................................by 1stStrike

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter I: The Plot of Final Fantasy VII

 

1)     A General Unopinionated Summary of the Story

 

2000 Years Ago

 

2000 years ago an alien came to the Planet, later named Jenova by humanity.  She arrived on the Planet and created the Northern Cave with some massive power, possibly Meteor.  The Lifestream near the wound was drawn to it, to heal it. The mass of Spirit Energy that came to the land as Knowlespole in the north created an unending winter. The entire area became solidified Mako, materia, and even Lifestream at the very point of impact. Jenova emerged from the crater, and while the Cetra concentrated on helping the planet heal, she entered their minds, and began twisting their thoughts. The Cetra realized only too late that Jenova was looking to eradicate them, and the planet.  A hard fought battle began, and just as it looked like the Cetra were going to be completely eradicated, the Planet created the WEAPONs to protect against Jenova if need be.  However, The Cetra were barely able to seal Jenova into the northern cave and made sure she wouldn’t be coming back for a long time.  The Cetra, knowing that Jenova was probably after the Black Materia, which could cast the most powerful spell in existence, Meteor, hid it away very well.  They also made sure to pass down through the generations the only materia that could possibly stop Meteor, the White Materia.

 

30 Years Ago

 

The Shinra Weapons Manufacturing Co. discovers the corpse of what their top scientists believe to be an Ancient, or Cetra.  At this time, a great study takes place as to what Jenova really is, and what its powers are. A member of the elite Shinra team of kidnappers/assassins – known as the Turks, Vincent Valentine, and the woman he loves, Lucrecia are present at Nibelheim, the site of the study.    Lucrecia, Professor Gast and new scientist, Hojo were working on the project.  At this very time, the scientists of Shinra were on the verge of discovering how to create and use Mako energy through the compression of Lifestream.  It was decided that in the first Mako power plant, slated to be built in Nibelheim, Jenova’s cells would be infused into people thought to be fit test subjects.  The project would attempt to use Jenova’s cells as well as pure Mako infusions to make an army of ”Super Soldiers” which could work for the Shinra in their quest for world domination.  A young child was to be used as the first test subject, however, no children could be found.  It was recommended to Lucrecia that she become pregnant and use that child for the project.  Vincent urged Lucrecia not to go through with it, but when Hojo caught wind of Vincent’s disapproval, Hojo shot Vincent injuring him gravely.  Hojo then proceeded to get Lucrecia pregnant.  Hojo then took the near-dead Vincent, chopped off his arm, and replaced it with a metallic one.  Hojo then infused Vincent with cells from various monsters, another of Hojo’s horrible experiments.  Vincent was then stashed away in a coffin in the Shinra Mansion basement.  The child was then born to Lucrecia, named Sephiroth and was then quickly carted away to be the first member of the Jenova project.

 

 

 

22 Years Ago

 

                Professor Gast, now intimate with Ifalna, the last remaining Cetra, lives in the north of the planet and has removed himself as much as possible from the Shinra and the Jenova Project, leaving Hojo in charge.  Gast has a child with Ifalna, and names her Aeris. About three weeks after her birth however, the Shinra led by Hojo find Gast and Ifalna along with Aeris and Hojo takes Ifalna and Aeris for experimenting, and because he resisted, kills Gast.  Ifalna and Aeris are taken to the Shinra Labs at Midgar.  However, they soon escape and find their way down to the slums.  There, Ifalna, mortally wounded, gives her child to Elmyra, a nearby pedestrian. Elmyra takes in Aeris, and Ifalna dies. 

 

7 Years Ago

 

An outcast from the other children in town, 14 year old Cloud Strife invites local teenage social queen Tifa Lockheart out to a well in the middle of their town, Nibelheim.  Cloud likes Tifa, but he doesn’t think she likes him because she is too popular.  Tifa also likes Cloud, but she doesn’t think he likes her, and she wonders why he acts so strange and always gets into fights.  Cloud and Tifa converse, and Cloud tells Tifa about how he is going to Midgar to try out for SOLDIER, so that he can be like his hero, Sephiroth.  Tifa asks Cloud to promise that if she is ever in trouble, Cloud will come to save her. Cloud promises.

 

5 Years Ago

 

                Shinra detects that there are monsters coming from Mako Reactor No. 1 in Nibelheim.  They send their top operative, Sephiroth of SOLDIER, along with a new SOLDIER, Zack and two (how do I put it nicely) piss-ant infantrymen, one of which happens to be Cloud Strife.  They arrive in Nibelheim, and while Cloud is somewhat excited to be returning to his hometown, he is more embarrassed because he didn’t make SOLDIER when he said he was going to.  He makes sure never to take off his helmet because he figures that if he does Tifa would see how weak he was and probably laugh at him.  On their way to the reactor, one of the piss-ant infantrymen dies, but the other, Cloud, survives.  Tifa never suspects once, however, that the other soldier is Cloud.  Sephiroth goes to the reactor and in fixing the problem, discovers that Jenova, which is resting in the reactor, is also the name of his mother according to Prof. Gast.  Sephiroth puts 2 and 2 together and figures out that he was created the same way as the monsters in the pods.  Sephiroth then proceeds to go insane.  Sephiroth goes directly to the hidden lab in the Shinra Mansion basement and reads about the Jenova project.  He then burned down the town of Nibelheim.  He made his way to the reactor, killing anyone in his path, including Mr. Lockheart.  Tifa also tries to stop Sephiroth, but she is also defeated.  Zack then makes an attempt to stop Sephiroth, but he too, is defeated.  Cloud, the final challenger, after saving Tifa, fulfilling his promise, also attempts to stop Sephiroth, and just as Sephiroth’s Masamune enters Cloud’s side, Cloud finds a sudden surge of strength and pulls the sword out of himself, and tosses Sephiroth, sword and all into the Lifestream at the bottom of the reactor, ”killing” him.  Cloud, however, was badly wounded and collapsed.  The human part of Sephiroth then faded into the Lifestream, however, the Jenova part did not because it was not originally of the planet.  So Sephiroth remained, sucked dry of all humanity and now under the power of Jenova.   The Lifestream at the northern crater, near Jenova, deposited his body.  Sephiroth also had new powers; he could fly and walk through walls.  Back at the reactor, after Hojo had heard of what had taken place he quickly made his way to the reactor.  Zangan, Tifa’s trainer, one of the few remaining from Nibelheim, also made his way to the reactor.  There, he took Tifa and quickly traveled to Midgar with her to find a doctor who could heal her.  However, Zack and Cloud remained in the reactor.  Hojo saw them, and decided it would be interesting to perform a little experiment, which would include these two young men.  The project would attempt to clone Sephiroth, because he was now dead.  They were brought into the Shinra Mansion lab and began their treatment of Jenova Cell injection.  It appeared Zack was not responding to the treatment, but that Cloud was responding.

 

Present Day

 

-  The Shinra are searching for The Promised Land, built of Mako, so that they can construct Neo-Midgar, their future glory.  They discover a great amount of Materia in the North Cave, which they then perceive to be the Promised Land.

 

-          Whenever the screen goes white just before Cloud speaks and it appears he’s searching for something to say, that’s when Jenova/Sephiroth puts words in his head. (such as in the Playground with Aeris).

 

-          In Kalm, when Cloud tells the story of what ”really” happened, Tifa has her reservations, but chooses not to speak up because of fear that Cloud might go insane.  Tifa is really baffled however, about how Cloud knows about the letter that was on her desk as well as knowing everything else about the incident. There are some blatant loose ends to Cloud’s story as well, but no one brings it up too much.

 

-          After the party obtains the Black Materia from the Temple of the Ancients, Jenova/Sephiroth uses mind control to get inside Cloud’s head and make him give the Black Materia to Sephiroth.  Jenova/Sephiroth then also tries to have Cloud kill Aeris, the only true threat in Jenova’s eyes, however someone stops him. (Barret, Tifa, Red, Yuffie, Cait, Vincent, Cid)

 

 

 

 

 

-          Aeris rushes to the forgotten city while Cloud is unconscious, to call the only spell that probably can destroy meteor, Holy, which Jenova will surely summon soon. Just as Cloud arrives, Jenova/Sephiroth tries to have Cloud kill Aeris, but Cloud somehow fights off Jenova/Sephiroth with the help of his friends. So instead, Jenova/Sephiroth just has him stand still, and has Sephiroth quickly kill Aeris. However, Aeris did get the prayer for Holy finished. Cloud and his remaining friends are now quite convinced there is something really wrong with Cloud because of his inability to save Aeris.  Then in Jenova’s only speaking line of the game, she hints to Cloud of what his real problem is;

 

-          Jenova: ”Because, you are…a puppet.”

 

-          Cloud and his friends go to the north crater in search of the Black Materia. They obtain it successfully, but Sephiroth draws Cloud, Tifa and the other member of your party into a little flashback. Sephiroth shows them what REALLY happened five years ago. Sephiroth and Jenova truly don’t believe that Cloud was there, so they figure it will drive him over "the edge" and he will become another Jenova/Sephiroth slave. What they don’t know, however, is that he was actually there as a piss-ant soldier. Tifa also doesn’t think cloud was there, and when Sephiroth pressures Tifa, she says that she thinks he wasn’t there. Jenova then takes control of cloud, makes him get the black Materia, and give it to Sephiroth. Sephiroth then summons Meteor for Jenova. The Planet responds by crashing the North Crater, and sending out the WEAPONS, which had been created for the first assault on Jenova, but didn’t need to be used because the Cetra "beat" Jenova first. In the melee, Cloud falls into the Lifestream, and the others escape in the Shinra Airship.

 

-          After searching for a while Tifa finds Cloud and they fall into the Lifestream, she shows cloud the key to his past, which was LOCKED in her HEART. he discovers for himself that he actually was there, and in what capacity he was there. Tifa now agrees with the story, and all is well in cloud's mind. He is now completely free of Jenova’s control. Now the failed experiment (because he had escaped before it could be finished) goes and kills Hojo.

 

-          Cloud his friends do get into the North Cave and kill Jenova and Sephiroth, and then Cloud purges Sephiroth’s very existence from his mind.   Holy, which had been sealed by Jenova/Sephiroth, was now unsealed, and on its way to destroy Meteor.  Then Lifestream comes from the earth and we see a flash of light, Aeris look up, and the credits.  (No, there aren’t any interpretations of the ending here, that’s for later!)

 

About 500 Years Later

 

-          Red and his kids visit the Midgar ruins showing that Mako reactors had been destroyed. Then we hear the laughter of children as the Final Fantasy VII logo pops up.

 

à SpikedEdge and 1stStrike

 

 

2)  Alternative Story Interpretation

 

Story Layout

 

First off, this is one of the most important things I see in FF7.

 

Lifestream is the sentient collection of the souls of those that have died. The souls themselves are known as Mako. Lifestream’s collective sentience is due to its formation of thousands of millions of souls and the minds connected to them. However, the minds may not keep their own sentience or it would cause chaos within Lifestream. Therefore Lifestream makes the millions and millions of minds one. However, those who are made little more than one in billions of thoughts would fight it if changed immediately from human to next to nothing. They are given a transition period to accompany themselves with Lifestream’s new nature, before the "return to the planet". They are dead but maintain their consciousness. An immediate transition would cause resistance which also may cause chaos within Lifestream. The dominant conciousnesses in Lifestream are the Cetra, the guardians of the planet. While Lifestream’s purpose seems to be to hold souls that die, it is literally the Lifestream of the planet. It can feel pain and it can express that pain. Shinra was placing it in constant pain, drawing from it.

 

Now for the story itself...

 

Thousands of years ago, Jenova came to the planet, damaging the northern cave with some huge impact, possibly meteor. The Lifestream near the wound was drawn to it, to heal it. The Lifestream, the guardian of the planet was depleted in the area, turning it into a frozen wasteland. The entire area becomes solidified Mako, materia, due to some phenomenon that occurs. Jenova emerges from the crater, and while the cetra concentrate on helping the planet heal, she enters their minds, and begins twisting their thoughts. After a hard fought battle the seal her into the glacier she created upon her arrival. The planet created the weapons to defend itself should Jenova ever be freed. (I would imagine they were powered by the materia they were embedded in). The Cetra pass down the Holy materia as the planets ultimate protector.

 

Years later, the Cetra have been all but wiped out by humans, for the most part by greedy humans who seek to use the planet rather than protect it. Then Shinra comes, indirectly the greatest threat the planet has faced. Shinra uses the Mako it finds in the planet as a power source, without realizing, or caring what they are utilizing. The planets guardian, life force, consciousness, whatever you call it, begins to drain, hurting the planet, if you will. Meanwhile, Professor Gast has found a corpse in the Northern glacier. As many Cetra made their homes in the northern area, (Hence the dig sites at Bone Village) and the corpse holds power he has not yet found, he assumes it to be a Cetra, when it is in fact Jenova.

 

He studies the corpse, but his then assistant Hojo has different plans. He steals the corpse and begins a plan to empower a soldier even more than with simple Mako infusions. He drives Gast from Midgar, to Icicle village where he meets Ifalna. Aeris is born to them. After recording what they know, Gast is found, and killed. Aeris and Ifalna are taken by Hojo for experiments. Upon arriving in Midgar, they are placed in captivity of Shinra. After about 4 years of captivity, Ifalna manages to escape with Aeris, but is wounded and they make it as far as the train station. There Ifalna dies but Aeris is found by Elmyra,  her surrogate mother.

 

Meanwhile back in Shinra...

Hojo's most twisted "experiment" has begun. He rapes, convinces, whatevers Lucrecia and gets her pregnant. He implants the fetus (Sephiroth, duh) with Jenova’s cells, making Sephiroth, special, powerful, the first and only born directly of the seed of Jenova. Sephiroth is subjected to aging processes, Lucrecia is subjected to her own personal hell.

After a few years the Nibelheim incident occurs. Sephiroth, who has always known he was different, alienated, discovers what he really is, with Jenova coaxing him along. Sephiroth loses it, becomes what he always really was, always wanted to be but never let himself be. His mothers son. A destroyer. He takes Jenova and removes her head, she can survive it because it is demonstrated throughout the game that she can regenerate herself.

It is revealed that Shinra is searching for the promised land, a land of Mako. When they discover the condensed Mako in the north crater they assume that is it, but well get to that later. Aeris is the first to realize what must be done. She leaves and summons Holy, which she has received, being the last of the Cetra. She knows she will die, but Holy doesn’t require a sacrifice, as some have said.

 

Then Cloud and Tifa fall into Lifestream which further strengthens my beliefs on Lifestream’s abilities to make millions and millions of minds one. They enter one mind, in the case Clouds because Lifestream’s design is to make many minds become one. However they are physically in Lifestream, rather than spiritually, and are still alive, so they maintain their ability to interact. Now, nothing more that really needs explaining happens again until the end. Sephiroth holds Holy in mid summon, deep within the planet it protects. Now the ending. (Yes were in the closing arguments!)

 

Sephiroth is defeated in his physical form, having fully turned into the part of him that is Jenova. His presence in Clouds mind, however, still remains. He pulls cloud deep within the labyrinth of his thoughts, even as the ground crumbles around him in real life. He is planning to defeat cloud and take over his body, but Cloud has become far stronger than he began, especially mentally. He slaughters Sephiroth, expelling him from his mind, but he is standing on crumbling rock, about to plunge into Lifestream. Aeris reaches into his mind, from within the Lifestream, pulling him back to reality, keeping both him and Tifa from drowning in Lifestream’s physical form. Holy is summoned even as Meteor begins its final approach. But all does not go as planned. Holy protects the planet, even if it means killing the people. Rather than stopping meteor, it strengthens it. But there is one more force that will not allow it. Aeris has not returned fully to the planet, and is the dominant force in Lifestream. Lifestream itself intervenes, guided by aeris, guarding Midgar from the two great summons, and healing the damage wrought by Shinra. Where her people were dedicated to protecting the planet, Aeris became the true protector, guarding those who live upon the planet. Midgar is destroyed, along with the Shinra employees above the plates, but the people deep under the plates, in the slums survive. Then you see Midgar as it is 500 years later, along with hearing the laughter of children, signaling a new age for humanity.

 

Aeris opening her eyes symbolizes her resting in peace, the purpose she gave her life for fulfilled. Clouds comments "An answer from the planet, we can meet her there" are a result of his realizing the true nature of Lifestream. Lifestream is everywhere, Aeris is with them wherever they go. Lifestream is also the Promised Land of the Cetra, becoming a complete protector of the planet, fulfilling that for which all cetra are born. And indeed, it is a world of Mako. A world of souls.

 

 

Little Snippets

 

These are just issues that have been brought up to me.

 

Sephy’s motives- In my opinion Sephy’s motive was pure revenge. I know, I know you’re all saying "But he said straight out he wanted to be a god!". Well come on people. First, if he kills the last member of a species he once believed himself to be then do you think he’s above lying to confuse you? Or perhaps that’s just what he told the clone. Either way its a load of bull. Second, why would he need to become a god? He was the son of a world destroyer! If he wanted to be a god then he certainly was as close as one could come by the end. Nope, Sephy’s motive was pure revenge. Revenge on the world that had lied to him, shunned him, and used him. He gets to destroy everything and Jenova gets to eat whatever’s left over, like she had planned to do to begin with. Still don’t believe me? Fine. Here’s the clincher. Sephy says he must be at the center of the wound on the planet, and he will be completely drawn into the planet and take it over. Soooo meteor would have to hit at the north crater for his little plan to work. We assumed he was waiting for it that whole time. But meteor's point of impact wasn’t the north crater was it? Where was it? Midgar. The home of Shinra, the source of all of Sephy’s torment. The company who had created him, used him, and destroyed his life.

 

à 1stStrike

 

3) Complete Final Fantasy VII Story Interpretation

(Including all controversial details)

 

Some Key Things to know…

Lifestream- Planet’s stream of life.  When a person dies, they return to the Planet, the Lifestream.  Lifestream is also the main protector of the Planet, if there is ever damage done to the Planet, such as Meteor, Lifestream flocks to the damaged spot and heals it.  Lifestream is a collection of all the souls that have ever died, and they all act as one.

Mako- The actual souls of the Lifestream.  Mako is a great source of energy, and can also be turned into Materia.  Mako is the money maker of ShinRa Inc.

Materia- Planet’s source of magic.  Materia is an orb of solidified Mako that has petrified over varied amounts of time.

Reactor- a huge ShinRa machine that draws Lifestream from the Planet to make Mako, so ShinRa can use Mako to create Materia and energy to sell

SOLDIER- ShinRa’s elite army; men and women who have been infused with Mako to increase their abilities

 

Interpretation

 

Approximately 2000 years ago…

 

An incredible being crashes to the Planet from space.  It’s a nomadic alien that was later named Jenova by humanity.  It was an incredible beast with the powers of mind control, deception and illusions. 

The dominant species of the Planet, Cetra, were incredible magic users, but were also peaceful and humane.  They accepted Jenova with open arms, not knowing the threat she presented.  Jenova took advantage of the Cetra, after realizing their magical powers and their powerful Materia.

The one Materia that caught Jenova’s eye was called Meteor.  It was the ultimate magic spell of all existence.  Jenova’s intent was too get Meteor, use it to puncture a giant hole in the Planet, then ”eat” the Lifestream and Mako then would present itself at the crater Meteor made.  Jenova was a nomadic, ever moving alien that fed on the life of a planet, then moved on to another.  It’s how she existed.

Using her powers of illusions, she tortured the Cetra mentally until they gave her Meteor.  She cast it, and the giant hole was created.  Everything was going to Jenova’s plan, as the Lifestream flocked to the ”wound” of the Planet.  It appeared to be another Planet to eat for Jenova, but with great courage and bravery, the Cetra gathered their forces and fought valiantly against the powerful alien.

Many Cetra were sawed down, but using their strong magical abilities, they pushed Jenova back to the Crater she created and fought her into submission, and forced her into an unusually cold area.  Jenova froze in the depths of the Crater, and remained frozen for the next 2000 years.

The Cetra, greatly depleted after the battle, took great care in hiding and protecting the Black Materia(Meteor), and also made sure that White Materia(Holy), the Meteor Counter, was passed down through the millenniums…

 

30 Years ago

 

Scientists from mega-powerful ShinRa Inc., a large company that basically ruled the Planet (as it had branches all over the world, an army, and lots of money), discover the frozen body of Jenova.  After months and months of excruciating studies of the body, a new scientific experiment was to be done.  They were going to inject Jenova cells and pure Mako into the right body in an attempt to create a ”perfect warrior.”  It was the suggestion of a young, ambitious scientist, named Hojo, to do the experiment on a young child.  However, no children were found that could be used.  So, Hojo suggested that a young woman in the science division, named Lucretia, should have a child for the project.  Her boyfriend, Vincent, a member of the Turks(ShinRa’s division of ”shady” figures, who picked up ShinRa’s trash and covered up for them, as well as do the things behind the scenes), highly disagreed, and so did the leader of ShinRa Science Division, Gast.  However, despite their biddings, Hojo impregnated Lucretia against her will.

Lucretia’s egg was injected with Jenova genes, in the earliest possible stages.  The child was born, and named Sephiroth, and was the first child born with the genes and strong abilities of Jenova.  He looked like a normal human, however.  He was basically Jenova’s son, but without the alien appearance of Jenova.

Also, Vincent had been badly injured by a gunshot wound when he tried to protect Lucretia from Hojo.  Later, Hojo would use Vincent’s near dead body for another terrifying experiment.  Hojo injected Vincent with monster cells…

 

22 years ago…

 

Professor Gast, the leader of the science division, fell in love with a woman named Ifalna.  Ifalna was the last remaining Cetra.  They had a child named Aeris.  Hojo, who had been placed in charge of the science division while Gast was gone, found where Gast and Ifalna were, and killed Gast for Ifalna and Aeris.  Then, Hojo began to study them.  Ifalna, with a burst of courage, breaks herself and Aeris out of the lab.  However, in their daring escape, Ifalna is mortally wounded.  With painful movements, Ifalna gets Aeris on to a train in the Midgar slums.  After they get off the train, they come across a woman named Elmyra, who, after hearing Ifalna’s dying request, takes Aeris in.  But before she dies, Ifalna managed to pass to Aeris a certain White Materia called Holy…

 

7 years ago…

 

A fourteen year old named Cloud invites his ”crush” out to a well in their hometown of Nibelheim.  All his life, Cloud has liked Tifa, but had always been afraid of telling her because of her popularity.  However, Tifa has always been curious about the outcast Cloud, who never did anything but start fights.  They were never very close, and seldom did things together.  In the last few weeks, though, after Tifa’s mom’s death, they have been fairly close. 

At the well, Cloud tells Tifa that he is leaving for Midgar to become a SOLDIER, (the specialty group that was injected with Mako).  Tifa makes Cloud make a promise.  She tells him to come back and save her if she’s ever in trouble.  Cloud promises, and in the next few days, leaves for Midgar.

 

5 years ago…

 

Reports have it that monsters are roaming the area around Nibel Reactor, so ShinRa sends out the elite Sephiroth, (now grown into the mysterious warrior we have all come to know and love) a SOLDIER named Zack, and two regular infantry from ShinRa, one of which is Cloud.  Cloud is very embarrassed to be returning to his home town, Nibelheim without having been good enough to join SOLDIER.  He covers his face with a mask, in hopes of not embarrassing himself in front of Tifa. 

While in the reactor, Sephiroth sees something that bothers him.  He saw a tightly latched door with a name above it.  The name was Jenova.  He could have sworn he had heard that name before.  As he looks around the reactor, he finds pods with mutated beings inside of them.  Things are starting to dawn on Sephiroth.

Later that day, Sephiroth goes to the underground labs and library of ShinRa Mansion, in the back of Nibelheim.  There, he comes across the reality of his being and birth.  He is absolutely furious at this new discovery and begins his inevitable decline to insanity.

Sephiroth, in his fury, burns Nibelheim.  He kills Tifa’s father, which causes Tifa to follow him to the reactor, which is where he is going, to get Jenova out of the room.  Zack is the first to catch up with Sephiroth, and catches a glimpse of him pulling off the head of a statue/casing around Jenova’s body(it is found out that this is where Jenova was stored after the experiments.  More experiments had been done on the creatures in the pods.  Keep in mind that all this was Hojo’s doing, and was most likely, although never told for certain, behind ShinRa’s back).  Zack confronts Sephiroth with sword drawn, but is no match to the might warrior.  Zack is heavily wounded.  Tifa is the next on the scene, and as Sephiroth goes to leave, Tifa took his sword.  However, she is no match for Sephiroth either, and he snatches the sword back and slashes Tifa across her torso.  Cloud, who was behind Tifa, quickly casts a Phoenix Down on her.  He at this point was extremely down on himself for not being able to keep his promise of saving Tifa.  Sephiroth starts toward Cloud.  Cloud hesitantly backs up in to the room before the one leading to Jenova.  There they stand on a catwalk, as Sephiroth leans forward with his long sword drawn, he runs Cloud through.  Cloud, for the first time in his life, gathers strength within himself, and using all his power, twists and dumps Sephiroth and the still attached sword off of the catwalk, and into the seemingly bottomless pit of Lifestream far, far below.

 

Tifa is taken away by her trainer Zangan, who treats Tifa for the next few months.  Cloud and Zack however, are left for dead, until Hojo finds their bodies.  Hojo decides to experiment with the Jenova genes on these two.  He gets the genes in, but can’t quite complete the experiment, as Zack breaks free, taking his friend Cloud with him.  They wander around the world for the next couple of years, until they wind up in Midgar.  Cloud is STILL sick, and has been listening to Zack tell his story.  When they end their travels in Midgar, Zack is killed by a few gunmen.  Cloud gets over his gradually receding illness in the next few days, except he has been drastically changed.  He now has Zack’s memories, because the treatment from the experiment caused him to lose track of his own mind, when he comes back, he only remembers what Zack told him and takes it of his own.

 

Just before Present Day…

 

Cloud is discovered by an upstart group of rebels in Midgar.  The group is called AVALANCHE, and their objective is to destroy the reactors of Midgar.  Oddly enough, Tifa is the money maker for the group as she owns and runs a popular bar.  She had come from Nibelheim after being nursed back to health, in hopes of starting a new life and finding Cloud, after losing her mother, father and Cloud(who she though about a lot after he left).  She came across Barret, the leader of the group who had no money, and began to help him, as she believed in his cause, and he had helped her settle in to the difference of Midgar. 

Barret hired Cloud, who had become a mercenary(because that’s what Zack told him he was going to do).

 

Present Day…

 

[Since the story unfolds across a long quest, I won’t write out the whole story, just the details.  Remember that Cloud has lost his own memories and has replaced them with Zack’s.  Cloud also fills in some voids with what Tifa says.  Unconsciously, Cloud has done this because he wants Tifa to believe he has achieved his goals.]

 

-Cloud meets a girl named Aeris in the slums of Midgar, after a horrific accident in his second mission with Avalanche.  She finds him to remind her a lot of her old boyfriend(who sounds a lot like Zack, but you don’t know about Zack at this point).

 

-Whenever Cloud has a white screen flash, it is the power of Sephiroth working into his brain, and telling him what to say/do.

 

-In a bold venture to infiltrate ShinRa Inc. Headquarters, it is found that Sephiroth is still alive.  Although it is not yet known, Sephiroth’s plan is not of world domination, but of the utter destruction of the world, because of what it has done to him.  Red XIII, a member of a near extinct species, joins your party.

 

[So begins the quest across the lands and oceans of the Planet.  One man’s past, a woman’s love for him and the fate of a young woman that will ultimately save the world will bring us often to tears, often to joyous laughter and back again loathing the sinister evils of another man.]

 

-Cloud tells the group his gripping tale of Sephiroth’s breakdown in Nibel Reactor, but under Zack’s point of view.  Tifa realizes something is wrong, but doesn’t say anything, because she doesn’t know what will happen to Cloud if she tells him the truth.

 

-Yuffie joins your party in a side venture away from the story.

 

-The groups first encounter with a Jenova life form comes on a ship to Costa Del Sol.  The Jenova life forms are things you will encounter throughout the story.  They are pieces of Jenova’s body that are used by Sephiroth.

 

-Cait Sith joins your party in Gold Saucer

 

-More about Barret’s past is told, as he fights his best friend, Dyne, from childhood in their hometown, Corel.  Barret’s adopted daughter is Dyne’s real daughter, who Barret took in after he imagined Dyne dead.

 

-More about Red’s past is found out in a grueling quest in Cosmo Canyon.  His father, who he thought to be a coward, actually fought off the attackers of Cosmo Canyon, and was petrified by arrows.  The life cycle of the planet is described here by Bugenhagen:

Life Cycle/Lifestream

When a person dies, they return to the planet in the Lifestream, then after long periods of time, they return in a different body, thus the cycle of life.

 

-In Nibelheim, Cloud and the squad find the town is not at all burned, as he had told them.  Cloud is confused as to what happened, and Tifa knows, but still says nothing, as she still isn’t sure what will happen to Cloud if he finds out.  Vincent joins your party at this point if you decide to embark on the challenging side venture.

 

-Cid joins your party in Rocket Town.

 

-Sephiroth’s true intentions are told.  He is going to the Temple of the Ancients to get the Black Materia, Meteor, which he is going to use to gut the Planet open and destroy the race that inhabits it.  He is also going to do this for his ”mother” Jenova, who he has taken with him(so that she can regenerate), so that she can feast on the Planet and move on.

 

-AVALANCHE moves quickly and gets to the Temple of the Ancients, after Sephiroth.  It is here you actually find out Sephiroth’s true intentions:

Sephy’s Goal…

Sephy’s true goal is not world domination, or achieve ”god Status”, as we have seen in so many other stories.  His true intentions are to destroy this human race that has deceived him and let his mother, who is regenerating back to perfect health, feast on the Planet so that she can live on.

 

Jenova/Sephy Relationship…

Sephy is not totally manipulated by Jenova in to doing what she bids.  His goal is very human indeed, and is to get revenge.  But, he also wants his mother to live on.  He has his own needs and wishes, but he is also working on what his mother needs.  Neither of the two is control of one another, obviously, Sephy has to do the work, but they are both separate entities that have their own needs and desires.  While they may both want to wound the planet, it is for different reasons.

 

-After the Temple of the Ancients, Aeris realizes her fate.  She is the owner of Holy and is also the sole person that can cast it.  She realizes it is her destiny to save the Planet.  She goes to the Forgotten City deep within the Northern Continent.  The Forgotten City was the Cetrarian capital.  When there, she cast Holy and began praying to the Planet, for reasons not yet known.  Cloud arrived on the scene and saw Aeris in the middle of an altar, where she was praying.  Cloud went up to bring her down, as he knew she was in grave danger(seeing how she had gone alone into the great unknown, and Sephiroth was going where she was as well).  Suddenly, a turn for the worst, Cloud fell under Sephiroth’s control.  He began to raise his sword against Aeris, when his teammates brought him out of Sephy’s control.  It was too little too late though, as Sephiroth came through the air and ran Aeris through her back.  She died right in front of Cloud.  You then fight the next Jenova life form.

 

Aeris Effect…

After Aeris died right before his eyes, Cloud realized that something was wrong with him.  He hadn’t known it before, and it took the death of a close friend to wake him up.  Cloud never really recovered mentally from his failure to save Aeris, as he had been right there, as close as could be.

 

Jenova Quote…

”Because you are a… Puppet.”- Jenova

This is Jenova’s only spoken line in the story.  It is also extremely important.  This is the Jenova inside Cloud telling him, ”hey, dude, your messed up.”

 

-After the Aeris incident, AVALANCHE found themselves deeper than ever before. After the most challenging quest of the story, they find themselves in the North Crater(the area created by the first casting of Meteor).

It is here that ALL is revealed in one of the most unexpected plot twist of all time, we find that Sephiroth has gathered all the Jenova inject-ees to the Northern Crater.  All this time, Cloud had thought he had been following Sephiroth, but in fact, Sephiroth, using the evil he had in Mind Control, had been summoning him.  Sephiroth came to meet Cloud, and delivered Cloud’s true past to him.  Tifa, for the first time, admitted to the truth.  Cloud was devastated and mentally destroyed.

Then, the real whammy came.  They found Sephiroth in a block of Mako.  It was the real Sephiroth, who had been controlling a clone to do his biddings, and that was to get him out.  ShinRa exec’s also happened to be there(as they were searching for the Promised Land, a place they envisioned as a place made entirely of Mako, and this was the closest thing they could find).  Suddenly, eyes started to light up, and all heck broke loose. 

The WEAPONs, machines made by the Cetra to be powered by Materia when the Planet was in dire need of help.  These beasts of destruction would take out anything hurting the Planet, including humans.

 

Jenova Genes…Foreign…

Sephy never died in the incident in Nibel Reactor, but was incredibly wounded.  The Jenova part of him made him strong enough to live through it.  There was a theory that said the only reason Sephy stayed alive was because the human part of him died, and the Jenova part, since it was foreign to the Planet, couldn’t return to the Lifestream, thus keeping Sephy alive entirely on Jenova.

That can’t be.  Others were injected with Jenova genes, and they died and returned to the Planet(Zack for the main example).  The only thing that kept Sephy alive was his inhuman strength.  The planet preserved him as he wasn’t dead, but incredibly injured.  What happened to foreign Jenova genes and cells were simple, they just disappeared when the person carrying them died.  They went to their own afterlife, or… just went ”poof.”

 

-With the massive amount of power that was unleashed by the release of the WEAPONs, Cloud was hit with Mako poisoning, because of all the Mako released when they came out(WEAPONs). 

 

-The remainder of the team found Cloud washed up in Mideel.  There, Tifa stayed, attempting to nurse him back to health.

 

-The town of Mideel collapsed over a lake of Lifestream.  In an attempt to escape, Cloud and Tifa fell in.

 

-Inside the Lifestream, Cloud and Tifa met in Cloud’s mind.  They sorted out Cloud’s real past(the one mentioned above, in the timeline).

 

Individuality…

Many have wondered how Cloud and Tifa could have met in the Lifestream.  It was because, even though they were amongst the souls of many(all in unison and in one), they still had individuality.

-With Bugenhagen’s help, Cloud and AVALANCHE figure out was Aeris was doing the day she died.  From casting Holy to the prayer.

 

Aeris Prayer…

It was told to AVALANCHE by Bugenhagen that when Holy was cast, it would destroy everything that was harming the Planet, maybe even humans.  Aeris had been praying to the Lifestream to let humans live.

 

-In a final trip to Midgar, Cloud and his friends are for the first time told that Hojo is Sephy’s father.  They then fight Hojo.

 

-Cloud and Tifa meet under the Airship.  It’s the last night before they go to fight Sephiroth.  They lay their feelings out to each other.

 

Cloud and Tifa…

It is not until Tifa discovers Cloud’s past that he realizes how much she has meant and does mean to him.  She took care of him after the Mako poisoning and discovering who he really was.  Tifa on the other hand has always loved Cloud, but has always been to shy to tell him so, fearing he didn’t feel the same.  But as their lives seemingly head to a close, they lay it out.  As it turns out, they feel the same way about each other.

 

The Ending…

At the bottom of the Northern Crater, they find themselves face to face with the true form of Jenova.  They wipe the floor with her.  Then, they come to Sephiroth.  Sephy puts to use his inherited powers of illusions.  When the group fights Sephiroth, they’re really just fighting Sephy, but he makes them think they are fighting a magical tentacled beast and a One Winged Angel(Bizzaro and Safer).

After it’s all said and done, Cloud and Tifa are walking out of the Crater, when Sephy makes one more attack on Cloud, but it is through the powers of Mind Control, which had beaten Cloud throughout the story.  The final one on one fight that is described is nothing more than symbolism.  It is a show of strength on Cloud’s part, showing how far he had come mentally and is able to force Sephy out for the last time.  Sephy is done for good.

You see Aeris’ hand reach down on Cloud.  This is Aeris pulling Cloud back to reality, so that he can live and save Tifa.  This he does, he fulfills he and Tifa’s promise by saving her, this time, not being 2 seconds too late(as he was when she was cut down by Sephy 5 years ago). 

Then, Aeris’ Holy is released, and AVALANCHE barely escapes the North Crater before it kills them in it’s wake.  Meteor is rushing toward Midgar as Holy intercepts it…  Everything’s okay right?  Wrong, Holy doesn’t work on Meteor, in fact it helps it.  It’s something no one knew would happen, not the Cetra, not Jenova, but for some unknown reason, Holy helps Meteor.

It’s all over right?  Wrong.  Aeris Prayer comes through and Lifestream comes out.  It beats on Meteor like no other, and finally, as Meteor is just football fields away from Midgar, it explodes.

 

Then, you see Aeris’ face, representing her saving of the human race by praying to Lifestream.

 

500 years later…

 

The End of the Ending…

Red XIII is shown running with his children across a plateau, overlooking Midgar.  Midgar is no longer a dark, dreary plate with machines sticking out.

 Instead, it is transformed into a beautiful grassy valley, with a river running through it…

 

à SunSlasher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter II: A Closer Look at the Characters

 

1) The Main Characters’ Roles and Analysis

 

The Roles of the characters are general facts, while the Analysis’s are completely opinionated with facts integrated.

 

Cloud- Cloud is the lead character of the story.  Cloud is a very mysterious character who begins the story with a dark and shady past.  Throughout the story, he struggles with his past experiences.  He is also the subject to the manipulative mind control powers of his enemy Sephiroth.  Under these outside influences, Cloud acts against his will.  Late in the story, Tifa, his childhood friend and love, helps him to discover who he really is and his true past.

 

Analysis: Cloud is one of the most complex and difficult to understand characters I have ever encountered in a story.  He was well executed and his feelings were shown well.  By the end of the story, I felt as if I knew him.  No other character has ever captured me the way Cloud did.  He seemed so human, yet so fantastically heroic all at the same time.  His confusion and despair, disappointments and joys were all so… real.  Sure, his misfortunes and the like were all science fiction and fantasy, but the way they were released to the player to see was so human.  His proverbial box of emotions had fragile written all over it, and he was a believable character because of it.  He also endured traumatic moments with Tifa.  He had made a promise with Tifa that he would protect her if she ever needed help.  When he failed at this twice(once before the promise however), he was devastated.  However, when Aeris was murdered right in front of him, he was absolutely changed for life.  From then on, he was determined not to lose anything important to him again, especially Tifa.  That is where their love began.

 

Tifa- Tifa was the main female character of the story, at least in the way of most ”screen time”.  She had secret feelings for Cloud that she had problems telling him.  Tifa had a difficult past, like Cloud.  Her father was killed by Sephiroth, and her mother had died young.  Tifa was left alone at an early age, which is when Cloud started to work his way into her life.  Together, the two children had made a promise that Cloud would come save Tifa if she ever needed help.  That promise was made the day before Cloud would leave to join SOLDIER.  After spending a few years thinking about him, he moved to Midgar in hopes of maybe meeting Cloud, and opened a bar.  Meeting Cloud she did, as she found him in a mentally sick state.  Later in the game, as Tifa comes to grip with things, she finds the courage to help Cloud with his problems and tell him how she feels.

 

Analysis: Tifa is one of my favorite all time characters.  She was so tough and brutal as a fighter, but on the inside, she was a tender, caring, humane individual.  She had the courage, throughout most of the story, to lie to Cloud about his past.  You’re thinking wait, that makes her good?  Yes.  Tifa lied to protect Cloud, because she knew something was wrong with him.  Slapping him in the face with the truth could be devastating to his mental state.  Tifa was also strong in the way that she loved Cloud, but didn’t think he loved her.  After spending time in the Lifestream, figuring out Cloud’s past, she finds out Cloud’s true feelings as a young kid.  He had loved her and cared about her. In the final few days for the Planet, Tifa decides to get her feelings out of her system, since she has nothing to lose.  She finds that Cloud also loves her, his feelings haven’t changed since childhood.  While love atmospheres cover the game, no real love moments come until the last moments of the second disc.

 

Aeris- Aeris is the arguably the most important character of the story.  She is part Cetra, the original inhabitants of the Planet.  She shows the puppy love of a 2nd grader to Cloud throughout the time we know her, but it turns into concern for his well being.  Just as she may be getting through to something inside Cloud that is actually Cloud, she hears the voices of the Planet screaming in agony(this is a power of the Cetra).  She follows a path to the Forgotten City, (which was the old capital of the Cetra ”empire”) following Sephiroth.  She prays to the Planet and tells it the problem, and to let humans live.  In her Prayer and after she casts the ultimate White Materia spell, Holy, Sephiroth falls from the sky and kills her.  Her legacy doesn’t end here, though, as Cloud and his party quest to find out what her intentions were on that fateful day of her death.

 

Analysis: Aeris is the type of character you would stereotype as the cheerful, ”goody two shoes” type.  Throughout her time in the story, she flirts with Cloud.

She doesn’t show much of a meaning until mid way through the first disc.  Then it is revealed that she is key to saving the Planet.  After this young woman dies, Cloud is devastated, he had just seen happen to Aeris what he had always tried to defend against with Tifa.  Everyone knows about Aeris’ intentions to save the world and pray to the planet, blah blah blah.  What people seem to overlook is the way her death opened up Cloud.  Cloud didn’t want to see anyone he cared about die again.  This opened up his love for Tifa from just a forgotten childhood love to a ”I care about you a lot and don’t want to see you hurt” then, obviously, he went to the next level of love when he found out how much Tifa loved him.  In my opinion, Aeris was much more than just the girl who died for the world.  In fact, I would say the most important thing to come of her death was it’s indirect effect on Cloud and Tifa.  Aeris is the subject of controversy in a number of parts of the game.  Thoughts on Aeris and her controversial moments are mentioned later.

 

Sephiroth- Sephiroth is the main evil in FF7.  He has the most dark and dreary past of them all.  Sephiroth was a lab rat from the day he was born.  He was injected with the cells of the alien, Jenova.  From day one of his life, he always felt he was different.  He was an incredible fighter and magic user, thanks to his injections.  In a visit to Nibelheim, he found out his true past, and how he had been subject to injections from the second he saw daylight.  Sephiroth was completely insane after this, and began his quest to suck the life from the Planet, as Jenova had tried to do 2000 years ago.  On his way out of Nibel reactor in Nibelheim, he encountered a very young Cloud.  He ran Cloud through, but Cloud twisted his body around to dump Sephiroth into the Mako pool far below the reactor.  The human part of Sephiroth returned to the Planet, but the Jenova part of him remained.  Therefore, Sephiroth was completely Jenova.

 

Analysis: I don’t really have much to say about Sephiroth as a character except to make the bold statement that you had to feel sorry for him.  One thing I will say though is that the powers he had were extraordinary.  His mind control powers were incredibly important.  Throughout the story, we did not see the real Sephiroth, but his clones.  The real Sephiroth was in the Northern Crater, where he had remained preserved after his ”death” by Cloud.

 

Jenova- A mysterious alien that came to the world 2000 years ago was the evil that Sephiroth became.  After being preserved for thousands of years, her body was found in perfect condition and her cells were used for experiments with the perfect fighting machine(Sephiroth).

 

Analysis: Jenova only had one line throughout the game.  That was to Cloud saying he was a puppet.  That pretty much summed up all of Cloud’s problems at the time.  He was a puppet to her and Sephiroth’s mind control powers.

 

à SunSlasher

 

 

2) Telling Names in Final Fantasy VII

 

Another approach to a better understanding of FF7’s characters is to learn what their names stand for. Many of the main and side characters’ names are carefully chosen and carry a hidden meaning. While it is not necessary to know every single one of these to fully understand and appreciate the story, the trivia I will now present sheds a different light on some of the characters’ roles, gives us a better impression of their function in the context of the story or just illustrates the incredible love for detail that Square put into this game.

 

 

Main Characters:

 

Cloud Strife

Both ”cloud” and ”strife” are English words.

-Cloud’s Christian name alludes to his mysterious, unclear past and his unpredictable development in the future: his memory is ‘clouded’, he has his ‘head in the clouds’ and no one knows what his next move will be. In nature, clouds do not move by themselves but are driven by the wind. Likewise, Cloud’s development is influenced by others rather than by his own decision. At first, Sephiroth/Jenova is controlling him; later, it is Tifa who has to show him his true nature.
-”Strife” illustrates Cloud’s aggressive behavior towards others, as well as his inner fight that is the central conflict of the story. In the last duel between Cloud and Sephiroth, this fight finds its conclusion.

 

Aeris (Aerith) Gainsborough (Gast)

The Latin word ”aeris” translates into ”air; atmosphere; cloud; aether”.

-”Air” and ”atmosphere”: this seems to be an allusion to Aeris’ connection to nature and her importance to the planet. Without air and an atmosphere, there would be no life. C.f. her first Limit Break, the ”Healing Wind”.

~The translation ”cloud” implies that there is some kind of mystical connection between Aeris and Cloud Strife; like Cait Sith says, they are ”made for each other”.

~”Aerith” is an anagram of ”I Earth”

~The word Aeris is pronounced similarly to ”heiress”, which aptly illustrates Aeris’ role as the last Cetra and the rightful heir to the planet.

 

Sephiroth

This name derives from the Kabbala, a religious lore that has its origins in Jewish mysticism.

"At the Creation," explains Kabbalist spokesman Steve Edelman, "God sent

out a pulse of energy into the void.  It presently branched and sorted into

ten distinct spheres or aspects, corresponding to the numbers 1-10.  These

 

are known as the Sephiroth.  To return to God, the soul must negotiate each

of the Sephiroth, from ten back to one.  Armed with magic and faith,

Kabbalists have set out to conquer the Sephiroth.  Many Kabbalist secrets

have to do with making the trip successfully.

     "Now the Sephiroth fall into a pattern, which is called the Tree of

Life.  It is also the body of God.  Drawn among the ten spheres are 22 paths. 

Each path corresponds to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and also to one of

the cards called 'Major Arcana' in the Tarot.

     "Some Sephiroth are active or masculine, others passive or feminine. 

But the Tree itself is a unity, rooted exactly at the Bodenplatte.  It is the

axis of a particular Earth, a new dispensation, brought into being by the

Great Firing."

(Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon, p. 753)

 

[The picture above shows the Tree of Life and its ten sefirots.]

 

–The character Sephiroth tries to become a god by destroying the planet, hence the religiously connoted name. Also, Kabbalists believe that mastering the Tree of Life is a method to achieve divine enlightenment, and that’s basically what Hojo wants Sephiroth to do: "Ha, ha, ha...... Go beyond the powers of science...Before your presence, science is powerless...".  The ‘Great Firing’ that brings a new world into being reminds us of the Nibelheim accident where Sephiroth becomes insane.

 

Jenova

The Hebrew name of God is Jehovah. The last two syllables of Jenova, ‘–nova’, translate into ‘new’.
Jenova is a ‘new god’, or wants to become one. She’s an usurper trying to rob the powers of the planet.

 

Tifa Lockheart

‘Tiferet’ is the central aspect of the Tree of Life (see above). Lockheart is composed of the English words ‘to lock’ and ‘heart’.

-The sefirot Tiferet represents beauty, balance and love- a description that applies fairly well to the role of the character, Tifa. Also, Tifa is the one who saves Cloud through her love and Christian Kabbalists believe that Tiferet symbolizes self-sacrifice and ”the will to carry one’s neighbor’s cross”. On Tarot cards, Tiferet is pictured as a heart (as in Lockheart!), and sometimes as an angel (Tifa’s bar is called the ”Seventh Heaven” and that her last Limit Break is the ”Final Heaven”).

-Her surname, Lockheart, illustrates her natural shyness and inability to express her love for Cloud. And the key to Cloud’s past is ”locked” in her ”heart”.

 

 

Side Characters:

 

Vincent Valentine

The Latin verb ”vincere” translates into ”to conquer, outlast, defeat”; St. Valentine is a  Christian Saint protecting lovers.

-”to outlast” would be the most fitting translation for ‘vincere’ since Vincent sleeps in the basement of the Shin-Ra Villa for almost 30 years.

-Vincent’s sub-plot with Lucrecia is a tragic love story, hence his surname.

 

Cait Sith

The name is of Gaelic origin and translates into ”fat cat”.

In Irish fairy-tales, Cait-Sith is the protagonist of countless "King of the Cats" stories. That’s why Cait Sith in FF7 is carrying a crown.

 

Lucrecia

Lucrecia was a woman who was raped by Tarquinius, the last Roman king. "The Rape of Lucrece" is a poem by Shakespeare based on this.

-This is a strong allusion to the way Lucrecia conceives her child, Sephiroth. Either Hojo raped her (which the story does not necessarily suggest) or the name is just intended to show that Hojo’s experiment are ”a rape of nature”, an unnatural act.

 

Rufus

Latin for ”the red one”.

Rufus has red hair.

 

Heidegger

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a famous German philosopher best known for  his existentialist theories. Also, during World War II, there was a Wehrmacht general called Heidegger.

-Maybe Shin-Ra’s Heidegger was modeled after the Wehrmacht general. I don’t know much about the general, but if he was part of the nazi war machinery, he most likely committed war crimes.

~Some of Martin Heidegger’s existentialist theories could have influenced the authors of Final Fantasy VII. It would take too long to explain this in detail, but if you are interested in Heidegger’s works, simply do a Yahoo! search. 

 

Don Corneo
”Corneo” is Latin for ”made of horn” or ”horny” (sick!).

-Umm... err...

~The name Don Corneo also bears a vague resemblance to Don Corleone from The Godfather

 

Shin-Ra
~Probably of Egypt origin, translates into ”Dark God” and is used to describe a mythological creature similar to a vampire.

-Shin-Ra, Inc. is evil, hungers for power and seeks total world domination- hence ”dark god”. Also, they rely heavily on Jenova’s powers.

-Barret: "It [Mako energy]'s the life blood of the planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these machines." Quite vampiric.

 

Cetra

In Latin, the nomen ”cetra” describes a small military shield as used in the Roman army.

-The Cetra are the defenders of the planet.

 

Gorky and Chekhov

These two bosses appear in Yuffie’s pagoda. Their names derive from the famous (dead) Russian writers Anton P. Chekhov and Maxim Gorky.

- One of the other bosses in the pagoda is called Shake- possibly an allusion to Shakespeare, making the pagoda a veritable Dead Poets Society. I have absolutely no clue why Square included these names.

 

à MSommet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter III: Theories

 

1) Final Fantasy VII as a religious allegory.

 

Consider the following:

At the core of any religion are the questions "Where do

we humans come from?" and "Where are we going?" What is the origin of our

species and what happens to us as individuals after we die?

Final Fantasy VII  presents a world in which these questions are cleared almost beyond any doubt.  After a human being (or any other living being) dies, its spirit (or soul or whatever you like to call it) becomes part of the Lifestream and eventually reincarnates in another form of life. The origin of the human race is also

explained. Once upon a time (at least 2000 years ago), a race of purely good

beings inhabited the earth: The Cetra. They live in perfect harmony with nature,

have knowledge and understanding that by far surpasses the capacity of the human

mind and have supreme technology as well (the device in the temple of the

ancients shows us). Apparently, they are pacifists; when Jenova crashes on the

planet, they at first have no means to defend themselves. Only when it is almost

too late, a group of Cetra succeed in sealing Jenova (they don't even kill her).

Jenova, on the other hand, is pure evil. She's a destructive, corrupting and

parasitic force. When she's not able to achieve something through lies and

deception, she uses violence (biological warfare- how low can you get?). The

Cetra give to the Planet, Jenova wants to take from it- which would, over the

time, destroy it.

The story of this struggle between the Forces of Good (Cetra) and the Forces of Evil (Jenova) is the Creation myth of the human race. After the dust has cleared, Jenova is sealed away and the Cetra are slowly dying out.

Now the Planet belongs to the human race, basically a degenerated Cetra-like

species. Humans are Cetra who no longer wanted to care for the Planet and

settled down. Why? Now this is pure speculation, and I'm not claiming to have

any proof for this, but could it be that this is Jenova's work? Some kind of

virus or magical manipulation that she used to weaken the Cetra, the defenders

of the Planet?

Humans are somewhat ambiguous, they have both the ability of the

Cetra to care for the Planet and the ability of Jenova to destroy it. Throughout

the game, we are confronted with examples for both types of human beings. On the one hand, there are the people in Fort Condor who protect the breeding bird of

prey; the little girl in Junon who cares for "Mr. Dolphin"; the children in

Midgar who look after the flowers when Aeris is gone. On the other hand, there

is Shinra, Inc., a company that ruthlessly exploits the Planet, and there are

countless humans who use their Mako-generated power without thinking about the

consequences. What the game is really about is the inner struggle of the human

race: will it become like Jenova: destructive, carelessly feeding on the Planet-

or will it develop towards its Cetra side: finding ways to live in harmony with

nature?  In almost every religion, there is/are one or more supreme

being (God/gods) who once created life and now take(s) decisions on how it will

develop. Also, most religions know something like Armageddon (Götterdämmerung. Apocalypse. Judgement Day). In Final Fantasy VII, the Planet assumes the role of the supreme being, and there clearly is an equivalent to the Christian Judgement Day:

 

Bugenhagen: "Ho Ho Hoooo. Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear."

 

(He leans conspiratorially toward them.)

 

Bugenhagen:

"Perhaps, even ourselves."

 

Cloud:

"Even us!?"

 

Bugenhagen:

"It is up to the planet to decide."

 

(He floats higher, above them.)

 

Bugenhagen : "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that

is bad will disappear. That is all."

 

(He bounces)

 

Bugenhagen:

"Ho Ho Hooo. I wonder which we humans are?"

 

 

The plot centers around an individual character -Cloud- whose story mirrors the

greater story of the humans' destiny. More than any other human being, Cloud

tends to "the Jenova side"; quite literally, Jenova is a part of him. Will he

join the Dark Side? Final Fantasy VII shows how he overcomes this destiny:

 

Bugenhagen: "What to do? Have you lost your way? When that happens we each have to take a good long look at ourselves.There's always something in the deepest

reaches of our hearts. Something buried, or something forgotten. Remember it...

Whatever that is, must certainly be what you are all looking for..."

 

[...]

 

Cloud:

"I remember Aerith a lot."

"No... not that. You haven't remembered. You haven't forgotten. That's not it..."

"How would you say it... Aerith was right there all along. Right by our side."

"She was so close, we couldn't see her. What Aerith did... The words she left behind..."

 

"The words she left behind...” What Aeris did was setting an example to

the others. She was a sort of role model to Cloud, showing him a way out of his

identity crisis. On the larger scale, we have humanity which has to decide

between Jenova and the Cetra. On the smaller scale, there is Cloud who has to

choose between Sephiroth and Aeris.

It is interesting to note that both Sephiroth and Aeris are ”halfs”. Sephiroth is half Jenova, half human; Aeris is half Cetra, half human. Because humans are ambiguous, the non-human side in both of them finally breaks through. The more Aeris learns about her people and the more she gets to understand her abilities, the more she becomes a Cetra. In the end, she is willing to bring the greatest sacrifice to the Planet: her own life.

Sephiroth, on the other hand, becomes more and more like Jenova the more he

learns about his origins and the more he makes use of her powers. In the end,

there's barely a sign of a human being left in him, if there ever was one- he's

transformed into a complete alien, a One Winged Angel.

 

When I say that Aeris is a role model to Cloud, my meaning is that she merely

shows him the way out of his problems- but she isn't the way herself. Before the

last fight versus Sephiroth, Clouds conjures "Aerith's memories... Our

memories..." [emphasis added]. What saves him from becoming like Sephiroth

are his childhood memories; to be more specific, his love for Tifa. That's, in

my opinion, the meaning of the scene where Aeris' hand changes into Tifa's: Aeris

is setting the example of how to become like a Cetra (through love for others-

and yes, this greatly resembles Christian beliefs) and Tifa is the one that

actually saves him through her love.

 

Now, who's holding the puppet strings? Sephiroth or Jenova? My interpretation

suggests that Jenova is the greater evil, but it does not necessarily have to

be this way. And ultimately, it doesn't matter IMO. Let's assume that it were

proven beyond any doubt that Sephiroth was in charge. This would bring up some

interesting questions: Why is Sephiroth evil? Would he be evil without Jenova's

cells inside his body? If Jenova is just his tool- can someone use such a

powerful tool without side effects? Why does he do exactly what his "mother"

wanted to do 2000 years ago? Sephiroth is not your average bad guy; Rufus Shinra

would better fit that role. Rufus is doing bad things out of his greed for

power, a condemnable, but human trait. But Sephy's desire to destroy the world

(instead of ruling it) is not human. It's alien. How do you define "free will"?

 

Another tricky question: Did Sephiroth ever have a choice, like Cloud had? Was

there ever a way for him not to become like his mother?

 

àBy MSommet

 

2) The Love Triangle

 

Cloud always saw Tifa as an unattainable goal. He cared about her but he never thought he was good enough for her.  Which made her first accident even worse. Not only did it tear him up that he wasn’t able to save her, but it re enforced his idea that he wasn’t strong enough or good enough for her. When you get right down to it, he joined (or tried to join) soldier because of her. This is right after her mother died. And she feels completely alone and vulnerable. And he’s the only one that sticks with her even though he doesn’t realize how much it meant to her. Then he tells her about his trip to join soldier. And makes the promise to protect her which is one of the biggest points to their relationship.

He promised her that he would be there. So the next time he sees her is in the return to Nibelheim. And she is waiting for him, but he never comes. At least as far as she knows. And she believes he broke the promise. And by the end so does he because he wasn’t there in time. Again. And he now believes that twice she almost dies because of him.  Which is one reason he has some much guilt in respect to her even if he doesn’t know why. The other reason is that he never had the balls to tell her how he felt.  Tifa’s feelings for him, however, built inside of her over the years he was away, she was surprised how much she thought of him. She had only met him the week before the well. Then he is taken by Hojo. Cloud replaces his memory with Zack’s, because Tifa’s second near death is too much for him to handle. Then he winds up in Midgar after probably 6-7 months. Tifa finds him a while later. And even though he doesn’t realize it at this point he has no idea who he really is. He has become Zack, really.

Then he meets Aeris. Meanwhile both and Tifa are holding back because she is unsure what’s the matter with him and he is not sure why he is so guilty. He is holding himself back in regard to Tifa, because he feels so much guilt but he doesn’t know why, since he covered it up. And she is holding back because he has covered himself up with Zack and she’s thinking maybe she imagined him caring about her. Anyway, Aeris, rather than continuing to pursue him because he reminds her of Zack, realizes that something is wrong with him, and sets out to bring the real cloud out. So she realizes that while it was initially that he was like Zack she’s seen glimpses of the real cloud and could end up caring for him. Now Clouds motives for the whole first half of the game were his promise to Tifa. He promised her he would protect her. And Avalanche was important to her. And if she died out there, alone before he could tell her he would never have forgiven himself. Now Aeris is seeing glimpses of the real cloud, and trying to bring them out.  But she dies before she can finish.

Cloud has also seen that Aeris could be someone he really cares about given time, but he doesn’t consciously realize it until she is killed in front of him. And he never told her. Just like what could’ve happened twice with Tifa. And Tifa realizes the same thing when he comes out with Mako poisoning. That’s why she stays with him. It kicks her out of this lets hold back crap. Plus, she also felt guilty for lying to him and if she didn’t get to set things right. And Cloud realizes how strongly he cares for Tifa when they come out of the Lifestream. Now for under the airship before the final assault. They’ve both decided they’re ready to stop holding back, Cloud because he realized that he would rather be turned down than lose her. And because the likelihood that they will die is fairly high. And he doesn’t want to take the chance. And Tifa because she’s just grown up. She been forgiven for lying to him, and he never even hesitated on it, and she realizes that she wasn’t imagining him caring about her. Then the end.... Tifa was Aeris' best friend and cloud was someone who was very special to her. So when cloud is about to plunge into Lifestream, she calls him out. 

Cloud wakes up but is unable to get up. Then Tifa falls, and he sees it all happening again. Except this time he isn’t two seconds too late. Aeris saved both of them so they could be together, because she wanted both of them to be happy, and now that they had grown up and away from Nibelheim they could be together.

 

à 1stStrike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Version 1.1- 11/10/1999)