[RexNorton]

In the epilogue of the game, which takes place five hundred years after the games conclusion, we see Nanaki and his children running up a hill to reveal a shot of a long abandoned Midgar and the plant (planet) life that has grown over it. There are no humans to be seen anywhere. The most common argument I've heard in defining the meaning of this ending is that humans caused the destruction and were summoned back into the Lifestream by Holy because they were a mistake. From the reality presented on the surface of the game, this is the strongest argument. Yet, we also know that most of what is evident about Final Fantasy VII is false. The truth of the game is subtly told in various hints spread throughout the game.


Humans were a creation of the planet. They existed within the natural cycle of the planet, posing no real threat to it. The destruction in this story is all caused by Jenova, who is an alien life form which exists outside of the natural cycle of the planet and manipulates this cycle (namely, humanity and the Cetra) to achieve her own ends. What does the epilogue with Nanaki really show us? Midgar was virtually trashed during Meteor's descent into the planet and would have been long since abandoned by humanity in the five centuries that passed on the planet between the game's ending and its epilogue, if they indeed continued to exist after Holy is released.

To understand the contrast between the 'apparent but false' ending and the 'hidden but true' ending, you merely have to look at the very, very end of the game. After the conclusion of the epilogue, the Final Fantasy VII logo appears and we hear a strange noise. This sound consists of birds chirping, water flowing, and various other sounds of the cycle of nature. Listen closely and you'll also hear the laughter of children contained within these sounds, hence a possible revelation that humanity does not vanish at the games end.


But this isn't the only evidence of this that is contained within the game. To understand this, you must look closely at the game's ending before the credits occur. After Cloud defeats Sephiroth in the fourth of the games four battles, Sephiroth explodes into Lifestream energy that has is colored RED, signifying the contamination of his life force by Jenova. Red is the primary color of both Jenova and Meteor. Watch this scene closely. Cloud is left standing alone. A stream of light emerges from the ground and circles around Cloud. This stream is clearly Holy as it is identical to the streams that later emerge from the Planet and destroy Meteor.




The red Lifestream energy of Sephiroth also surrounds Cloud and enters him. Holy then enters Cloud, combining with him and the Sephiroth/Jenova life force, culminating in a bright flash of light. This bright flash of light also occurs at the end of the game when Holy is vanquishing Meteor, only we don't get to see what happens afterwards, which is why understanding this scene is so important to understanding the meaning of the games ending. After, the flash of light, Holy vanishes. The Sephiroth life force emerges once again from Cloud, only this time it is colored GREEN. This all symbolizes the cleansing of both Cloud and Sephiroth of the Jenova life force that is inside of them by Holy.


Notice that Cloud does not vanish after this encounter. Indeed, only moments later, the airship is propelled out of the Northern Crater by Holy. Again, neither the team, nor the airship vanishes. In fact, their lives are virtually saved by Holy's movement. If they'd remained in the Northern Crater, they'd all have certainly died.

Remember this exchange that the team has with Bugenhagen at the City of Ancients, which is also the most commonly misinterpreted line in the game. (I'll capitalize the most important words in this dialogue to illustrate my point.)
Bugenhagen: "The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around here is telling me one thing. The planet's in a crisis... A crisis beyond human power or endless time. It says when the time comes, we must search for 'Holy.'"
Cloud: "Holy?"
Bugenhagen: "Holy... the ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the Planet, it will appear. Ho, Ho, Hoooo. Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear. PERHAPS, even ourselves."
Cloud: "Even us?"
Bugenhagen: "It is up to the planet to decide. What is best for the Planet. What is bad for the Planet. ALL THAT IS BAD WILL DISSAPPEAR. THAT IS ALL. Hoo, hoo, hoo, I wonder which we humans are?"
So it seems that the humans didn't disappear after all. It was bold move on Square's part to make sure that this game could only be understood through its subtleties. After all, they spent thirty million dollars on this game, they must have felt obligated to create an RPG that had a challenging story as well as an entertaining one. This is an art form after all. 'Normal' RPG's offer endings that provide closure to the characters. Final Fantasy VII has an ending which offers no closure and can only be understood through the subtle hints that are dropped throughout the game. I guess we all would have liked to see what "really" happens afterward, but then again, how often is it that we see a story that is truly original?
Yet, just as everything in the 'apparent' story of this game is contrasted by the 'hidden' story, there exists another riddle within the game to finalize this contrast. There are two mysteries that remains unexplained, the meaning of Aeris' hand reaching towards Cloud after his cleansing of Jenova, which is signified by her musical theme, a theme which is only played during parts of the story that relate to her.
The other mystery is what the appearance of Aeris in the final scene of the game, showing her head lifting up and her eyes opening. Does this symbolize Aeris returning to the Planet or does it symbolize her being resurrected? After all, the last thing she says to Cloud is, "Then, I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over." The truth is that the only way to understand the meaning of this puzzling riddle is to understand the mythology that Final Fantasy VII is based on. This is what we shall explore in the next segment of this FAQ.