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Top 5 Memorable Moments from Final Fantasy VII
Love it or hate it, Final Fantasy VII is one of the most popular games in the Final Fantasy series. It brought in many new fans and kept a lot of old ones interested. It has memorable characters, an investing story, and it brought the series to a whole new level. Final Fantasy VII is by no means my favorite Final Fantasy game, but it did have several moments that really stuck out to me, moments that got me invested, moments that drew me in. If you want to relive some of these touching moments with me, buckle up, because it's going to be a wild ride.
5. Red XIII and His Father
This is one of my favourite moments in game for many reasons. I very much like the character of Red XIII and I was sad that he didn't get much time in the spotlight. Cosmo Canyon finally brought us some answers about Red XIII, Nanaki, and they did so in a touching and moving way.
Red XIII had always thought of his father as a coward who abandoned the village when it was under attack by the Gi Tribe. This was actually far from the truth. Seto, his father, had actually lured the Gi Tribe in to the cave to shut them off and protect the village. In doing so, the Gi tribe attacked him with poison arrows, eventually turning him to stone. Many years after this happened, Red XIII finds his father, petrified, and Bugenhagen finally reveals the truth. His father was not a coward, but a hero. As Red XIII declares his determination to become a great warrior, tears emerge from the stone Seto, and Red XIII begins to howl.
This scene almost makes me cry. Seto basically ended his own life to save those around him, and instead of thinking of him as a hero, his son, who he loves more than anything, thinks of him as a coward. As someone who has made difficult sacrifices for her child, I can say I know the feeling of wondering if your children will think you are a failure, if you didn't love them enough, when really it is the exact opposite. We sometimes have to make sacrifices for the good of the ones we love, even if they don't know it. And as much as we're doing it for them, not for the recognition, it hurts when it makes them think less of you. When Seto sheds those tears, I felt a whole mess of emotions for him, because I can identify with all of them.
The sacrifice Seto made is even sadder when you realize Seto is still alive in some way, but he can't move, he can't speak to his son, or go see him. This obviously also touched me, as I can't imagine not seeing my son for years, and when I finally do, I can't hold him or speak to him, or go to him. He did all of this and he was thought of as a coward by his son for many years. It was beautiful to see the truth come out and to see Red XIII's resolve to become a great warrior.
4. Cloud's Speech on the Highwind
This moment is memorable because it is a very important scene in the game. Cloud is finally starting to learn the truth about himself and the party now faces the very real threat of meteor which is going to crash in about a week's time. This is the moment when Cloud fully tosses aside his arrogant, apathetic behavior we saw at the beginning of the game, and brings forth the man who will lead his companions against Sephiroth to save the planet.
Cloud does something showing how good of a leader he can be. He acknowledges the selfish nature of their quest to save the planet and he encourages everyone else to find their selfish reason. He tells them all to leave, knowing they might not come back, so that they can find the reason within themselves to fight.
This moment inspired strength in me. They have a great challenge awaiting them, and we've all had to face our real world challenges. But it has helped me learn to find the motivation within myself, and to find that thing that pushes me forward. Motivation is something I struggle with, so this is something important for me to learn and this scene helped put another tool in my tool belt. I'm sure there are many people out there who need that extra little push to help us when we're struggling, and this scene helps remind us that there is a reason to keep fighting.
I enjoy this scene because of the strength the characters display, and how they do it in such a human way. They show weakness, but through that weakness they show strength. A strength that inspires me and pushes me to stay strong, even when things seems scary and daunting. Even when I want to give up. I just need to think of that one thing that pushes me to overcome the obstacles I face. This is a pivotal moment and really marks the beginning of the end of their long journey. It creates a whole atmosphere that really drives home the point that this is it, these are the final moments.
3. Cloud and Sephiroth at Nibelheim
One scene that stands out in memory is the scene at Nibelheim, when Cloud and Tifa arrive again to what they think is an illusionary world created by Sephiroth to mess with Cloud's mind. Sephiroth had gone crazy upon learning more about Jenova and had set fire to Nibelheim and slaughtered many of its villagers. This moment also stands out to me because I think it is the only reason my mother likes Final Fantasy VII.
Although much of what is shown by Sephiroth is the truth, Sephiroth also tells Cloud things about who he is that are false. Despite the lies, this is one of the moments when we finally begin to learn who Cloud really is and how he is connected to Zack. We get to relive the Nibelheim incident, a moment very important to many of our characters, and we get to learn more about what really happened. We finally find out that Cloud isn't who he thought he was all of these years. And for that, it sticks out in my mind more than many other scenes.
This scene made made me identify more with the world and the characters. It reveals Cloud as flawed, something that is very important to write in a relatable protagonist. When the game started, we had Cloud, former SOLDIER, First Class, showing a character who was strong, powerful, respected. He left it all and had a very arrogant attitude. When we arrive to this moment in the game, suddenly we find out that Cloud may not be all he thought he was. In fact, as we go on to discover shortly, he is quite different from that. He was a young boy who wanted to be something great, an aspiration many people have. I know I do. In the end though, he falls short of who he wanted to be, taking a backseat to Zach and Sephiroth.
It becomes very memorable because it reveals a hero with weakness. He tries to stay strong as Sephiroth shows him he isn't who he thinks he is, but he tries to brush it off and to ignore it. After all, Sephiroth is an antagonist, why would he be telling the truth? While it turns out that some of what Sephiroth is saying is false, some of it is true, and it causes a huge overhaul of Cloud's character. That is why this is such an important moment.
2. Dyne's Suicide
I really love the Dyne story of Final Fantasy VII. His story is very heart-wrenching and touching, maybe because I have a child and I can put myself in his position a little bit. Dyne had opposed a Shinra Mako reactor being built in Corel, his hometown. It was built anyways and there was an explosion, to which Shinra responded by burning down the town and killing Dyne and Barret's wives. After the two men try to escape, they are gunned down by Shinra, resulting in their gun arms.
Four years or so after this happens, the party encounters Dyne once again. Sadly, he is no longer the man he used to be, now showing signs of hopelessness and depression. He tells Barret that he want's to destroy everyone and everything. Trying to ease his friend's pain, Barret tells Dyne that his daughter, Marlene, survived and is now under Barret's care. Dyne hints at the fact that if he sees Marlene, he will kill her to reunite her with his wife, Marlene's mother. Barret is hurt and confused at seeing his friend this way and the two fight each other, much to Barret's dismay. After the battle, Dyne tells Barret how his hands are too stained with blood to hold his daughter, and he commits suicide, dropping himself off the edge of a cliff.
This moment brings me to tears when I see it. This man was once so strong, then one day he had his whole life destroyed. He feels like he has nothing to live for and has let the depression and the hurt overwhelm him. This is something I can identify with as someone with depression. When I hit my low points, nothing seems worthwhile and I turn in to a big pile of self-hatred. You aren't yourself when you go through this, and Dyne has seen enough trauma in his life that it would definitely change him as a person. Despite seeing Dyne so angry and aggressive, I never found myself angry with him or hating him. Instead I felt sympathy and pity. The fact he was driven to this point is tragic.
Another heartbreaking aspect of this scene is watching Barret trying to find his old friend in Dyne. He does what he can to bring him back, to snap him out of his pit of despair. He tells Dyne about Marlene and he approaches his friend with concern and confusion. Sadly, there was little that could be done at this point. You can imagine the grief Barret must feel when watching his friend end his life. A friend he had missed, a friend he was so close to, and a friend whose daughter he adopted. The whole scene is sad in a very honest and cold way and that is why it will always be one of the moments I remember most.
1. The Death of Aeris
Of course this made it to number one on the list! If you ask someone which moment from the game stood out to them most, I'll bet a lot of them will remember this scene. It isn't only the most famous scene in Final Fantasy VII, but in the whole series as well. Even if you've never played the game, chances are you are still familiar with this moment.
Aeris, or Aerith as she is also known, is found by Cloud and the other in the Forgotten City. There, she is praying for Holy, the materia she keeps in her ribbon, to help stop Meteor. Meteor is a spell being used by Sephiroth to destroy the planet. As Cloud arrives on scene, Aeris finishes praying and looks up at him. Suddenly, Sephiroth comes from up above and impales her with his sword.
This moment is one of the only times in a Final Fantasy game that we have a main character die. Especially so early on. It is only disc 1 and a playable character is no longer with us. This obviously shocked fans, who didn't see this coming. Will she come back? Is there a way to revive her? No, Aeris is dead. Even for a non-Aeris fan like myself, it is obvious just how hard hitting and emotional this moment is. This was the first RPG I played that actually dared to kill off a playable character.
This moment brings a sense of realism to the game. They are on a dangerous mission against a dangerous man who is renowned for being so powerful. It makes sense there would be casualties along the way. There are many casualties, but most of them are NPC's, characters that mean nothing in the grander scheme of things. But this was Aeris, a girl who tends flowers in the Church, a girl who playfully flirts with Cloud, a girl with a very serious past. More importantly, she was a character we fought with, gave materia and equipment, switched in and out of our party. And suddenly she is gone. This is very emotional to the player as we become attached to our characters. We have our party set-up, we have the characters we enjoy using, we spend money on their equipment. To have one taken from us like that really leaves an impact.
Cloud is angry, sad, confused. He expresses all of these emotions to Sephiroth, not caring about his enemy's plan for a while, focusing only on Aeris. How she will never laugh, cry, be happy or angry ever again. These are emotions I'm sure a lot of players experience, especially since the death of a fictional character can often lead to us thinking about the death of those close to us. What would it be like if someone close to us died and we could never hold them, talk to them, or see them again? These are the things Cloud is experiencing, which can bring out those feelings in us.
After a fight, Cloud takes Aeris to the water and releases her there. We watch her slowly sink to the bottom. Aeris has died and this moment will forever live on in Final Fantasy history.
These are the scenes that stood out to me above all the others. These are the moments that overwhelmed me with emotions, that made me invested in the game. What were some of your favorite moments? Which ones stick out to you the most? Share your thoughts!
