Dismantled (1997, Nomura)
Q: Unlike with previous Final Fantasy games, the interpretation of this game’s ending seems to vary from person to person.
A: That was deliberate. Some people might think that the Northern Crater is the Promised Land, while others might say that every place rooted to the earth is its own Promised Land. Personally, I’m of the opinion that Midgar is the Promised Land, based on the fact that it’s full of vegetation at the end, and it’s the place where Aerith—an Ancient—directed all those currents of Lifestream. But I don’t know how Nojima, the lead scenario writer, would respond to that [laughs].
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Dreamaga (2003, Nojima)
Nojima says the ending of FFVII is pretty straightforward. The planet is still alive thanks to Cloud and his party, and smoke can be seen rising from Midgar, indicating humanity survived. However, Naora reveals he actually forgot to add the smoke into the FMV.
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Dreamaga (2003, Kitase)
Kitase says that with FFVII, he wanted to move away from the overblown and overly drawn-out happily-ever-after endings of FFV and VI. He liked the idea of suddenly cutting to 500 years in the future and showing the planet has been saved but explaining little else.
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Ultimania Omega (2005)
[Image caption:] Below them lies what used to be Midgar, the city of mako, now buried beneath lush vegetation and surrounded by flowing rivers.
[Image caption:] Mixed in among the chirping of birds and the gurgling of rivers, we can make out the sound of merry laughter…
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Electronic Gaming Monthly (2005, Kitase)
EGM: At the very end of FFVII, we see the epilogue to the whole story that takes place 500 years later, so really, you still have another 497 years’ worth of games and movies to fill in....
YK: Ha, maybe I’ll try to do that. In a way, I consider that epilogue to be the true happy ending of FFVII. Well, it’s a happy ending even though all the human beings are destroyed. [Laughs]
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ACRF (2006, Nomura)
Nomura says that Midgar was a place where people had abandoned the land since it was built on top of the slums, but the image of Midgar, 500 years in the future, shows that people returned to living with nature on the ground as they had in the past.
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