History AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / FinalFantasy

* Aerith breaks down in tears upon finishing singing "No Promises To Keep" during the Gold Saucer date sequence in Chapter 12, a song all but confirmed to be about her feelings for Cloud due to it playing exclusively during crucial scenes with them besides the ''LOVELESS'' play itself, namely their [[spoiler:Sector 5 dream date sequence in Chapter 14, and right as they're about to part ways at the end of the game]]. The game itself does not give any explicit reason for this, which lends itself to several interpretations [[note]]According to [[https://blog.playstation.com/2024/03/14/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-how-nobuo-uematsu-and-loren-allred-created-aeriths-no-promises-to-keep/ an interview]] with the official Playstation blog, composer [[WordOfSaintPaul Nobuo Uematsu]] states the song is about Aerith confessing her feelings. Loren Allred also comments in the same interview that her performance was about depicting Aerith's relationship with Cloud[[/note]]. Overcome by emotion due to the power of music? TearsOfJoy at finally expressing her feelings? Sadness at what can never be due to nearing her fated ending, or Cloud possibly expressing interest in Tifa or another party member? Or maybe joy achieving a secret dream of being a broadway musical star? Others speculate that the song might be about Aerith's feelings for Zack, and that Aerith only began writing the song after Tifa told her that Zack and Cloud knew each other, which could mean that she is crying over the fact that the man she loves is likely dead. Others still speculate that the song is probably about her feelings for both Cloud and Zack, and she wrote it to express both her mourning for her first love and her sorrowful longing for her second love.

* The game re-ignited the old debates over if Sephiroth was controlling Jenova or if it was the other way around. While WordOfGod is that it was the former, the reason people began discussing it is that ''Rebirth'' gives a few nudges to the latter, particularly with how the expanded lore of Jenova emphasizes that she is (or was, anyway) an intelligent, thinking creature that preyed on the Cetra and almost wiped out their civilization. Also lending credence to the theory is Sephiroth's sudden turn to madness during the Nibelheim Incident; as he talks to Cloud in the Shinra Manor about being Jenova's son, he has flashes of images of her chamber in the mako reactor and Jenova herself, his pupils dilate, and his demeanor changes suddenly from visible anger to TranquilFury, and he then says "I should go. Mother is waiting". Some have interpreted this as Jenova activating Sephiroth's reunion instinct to push him over the edge or take control of him, particularly since Cloud's pupils also dilate in the same way throughout ''Rebirth'' when Sephiroth exerts his influence over him.

* Did Cait Sith join Avalanche under orders to [[spoiler:act as TheMole for Shinra and spy on them]], or did he join of his own volition and was coerced into [[spoiler:betraying them for the Keystone]]? Or did he join them of his own volition and was coerced into betraying them later?]] All that's clear is that [[spoiler:Tseng]] knew, or at least suspected, what he was up to, but the framing of their conversation leaves it ambiguous otherwise.

* Aerith breaks down in tears upon finishing singing "No Promises To Keep" during the Gold Saucer date sequence in Chapter 12, a song all but confirmed to be about her feelings for Cloud due to it playing exclusively during crucial scenes with them besides the ''LOVELESS'' play itself, namely their [[spoiler:Sector 5 dream date sequence in Chapter 14, and right as they're about to part ways at the end of the game]]. The game itself does not give any explicit reason for this, which lends itself to several interpretations. Overcome by emotion due to the power of music? TearsOfJoy at finally expressing her feelings? Sadness at what can never be due to nearing her fated ending, or Cloud possibly expressing interest in Tifa or another party member? Or maybe joy achieving a secret dream of being a broadway musical star? Others speculate that the song might be about Aerith's feelings for Zack, and that Aerith only began writing the song after Tifa told her that Zack and Cloud knew each other, which could mean that she is crying over the fact that the man she loves is likely dead. Others still speculate that the song is probably about her feelings for both Cloud and Zack, and she wrote it to express both her mourning for her first love and her sorrowful longing for her second love.

* Aerith breaks down in tears upon finishing singing "No Promises To Keep" during the Gold Saucer date sequence in Chapter 12, a song all but confirmed to be about her feelings for Cloud. The game itself does not give any explicit reason for this, which lends itself to several interpretations. Overcome by emotion due to the power of music? TearsOfJoy at finally expressing her feelings? Sadness at what can never be due to nearing her fated ending, or Cloud possibly expressing interest in Tifa or another party member? Or maybe joy achieving a secret dream of being a broadway musical star? Others speculate that the song might be about Aerith's feelings for Zack, and that Aerith only began writing the song after Tifa told her that Zack and Cloud knew each other, which could mean that she is crying over the fact that the man she loves is likely dead. Others still speculate that the song is probably about her feelings for both Cloud and Zack, and she wrote it to express both her mourning for her first love and her sorrowful longing for her second love.

* There's also the question of whether [[spoiler: Ovelia loved him back, or if that was just StockholmSyndrome at a time when she was already emotionally vulnerable from [[TomatoInTheMirror learning about her true origins]], plus sympathy for Delita's [[WellIntentionedExtremist noble outward ambitions]] which faded gradually as she started to see [[ShootTheDog what Delita was capable of doing]] to bring about those ends. There's pretty much no question that Delita was manipulating her, even if he really did love her. Very few healthy relationships start with a kidnapping, after all. All things considered, [[InconsistentSpelling perhaps the poor girl's name would be]] [[ShoutOutToShakespeare better spelled as]] [[TheOphelia "Ophelia?"]]]]

* Whether or not Kain was sincere about killing Rydia in Mist. On the one hand he seemed pretty serious while he was saying it. On the other, he replies "I thought you'd say that" and lays out a detailed plan for defecting from Baron the instant Cecil intercedes.

* Locke Cole: TragicHero or creep with attachment issues? How much does he care (initially or later) about Celes and Terra as people versus generic women he can use to make up for his perceived failure? Even if he is [[spoiler:keeping Rachel preserved in hopes of someday finding Phoenix, the whole sequence with her body and the obviously unhinged undertaker is still pretty weird]]. There's also a discrepency between the first and second translations for how well he takes Rachel's final wishes to heart. In the SNES version, his line in the "self-help speech" to Kefka implies that he does intend to move on with his life, but in the retranslation he simply repeats his commitment to protecting "someone" (Celes), indicating that he's still trapped in his DulcineaEffect complex.

* Terra, is her Esper form just a simple transformation, or does the Esper have its own will and mind separate from the human side? In the case of the latter, is it an entirely different person from Terra, or just another side of her personality?

** Did Aerith genuinely fall in love with the real Cloud before her death, or was she purely attracted to his false persona leading him to ack like Zack?

** How complicit was Barnabas in [[spoiler:Ultima's]] plan? Was he being manipulated into doing his bidding somehow? Did he realize the full implications of his master's schemes and was all for it, or was he tricked or lied to? Or was Barnabas so delusional and devoted to his religion that he actually thought that in some twisted way, he was doing the right thing?
** How does Anabella truly feel about her family? While her contempt for Clive is obvious, her relationships with Elwin and Joshua are less clear-cut. The scene of her and Elwin in their bedroom can be interpretated as her trying to win him over to her line of thinking, with the subsequent implication her betraying the Duchy to the Empire only came about because she was unsuccessful. For Joshua, it's clear she cares about him and is heartbroken at his death, but is that out of geniune love for him or a vicarious attachment to his status as the Phoenix? Was her having Olivier with the Emperor proof all she wanted was a powerful son, or had she simply moved on in the decade between Joshua's death and Olivier's birth? The confrontation with her at Twinside supports both views, as she claims her motives for betraying the Duchy and joining the Empire were to produce a son from both the lines of Bahamut and the Phoenix who would be the world's savior, meaning she intended to replace Joshua with a 'better' son even before he died. But she's also clearly saddened at the mention of Joshua and hasn't gotten over his death nearly twenty years later.
** When the game was first released, it was generally assumed that the love between Benedikta and Cid was romantic. However, after the ''Final Fantasy XVI Ultimania'' confirmed that Cid was 44 years old after the first timeskip whereas Benedikta was only 28 years old, many have started to interpret their love as familial, specifically a surrogate father-daughter relationship, rather than romantic, due to their 16-year age gap, especially since Benedikta was only 15 when she first met Cid, who would have been 31, more than twice Benedikta's age at the time and well into adulthood while Benedikta was still a minor. Others choose to interpret that Benedikta's feelings were romantic while Cid's were familial.