Current Events > FF7 question (spoilers)

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I haven't played this game in years so I don't remember the explanation but why didn't Tifa or Aerith call Cloud out on his confabulation about Nibelheim and that he wasn't in SOLIDER?

they didn't want to spoil the twist for him

Verdekal posted...

I haven't played this game in years so I don't remember the explanation but why didn't Tifa or Aerith call Cloud out on his confabulation about Nibelheim and that he wasn't in SOLIDER?

That was definitely a big plot hole. It looks like in Rebirth that Tifa is questioning him sooner though, and Aerith is probably keeping quiet because she doesn't want to alter fate TOO much, even though she obviously knows everything that happened in the original.

IMO, in Tifa's case it made the revelation later on in the game that Cloud actually WAS there, just not as a SOLDIER all the more poignant.

Aerith wasn't there, so she doesn't necessarily know he's lying, and Tifa's probably wondering how the hell Cloud knows exactly what happened when she thinks he wasn't there.

garan posted...

Aerith wasn't there, so she doesn't necessarily know he's lying, and Tifa's probably wondering how the hell Cloud knows exactly what happened when she thinks he wasn't there.

Didn't Cloud convince himself he was Zack? Aerith dated Zack.

I think Tifa's reasoning for not calling him out is out of some concern for him and didn't want to confuse him. I remember Maximilian Dood said everybody has their own good reasons for not immediately telling the truth, I just don't remember the specifics.

Verdekal posted...

Didn't Cloud convince himself he was Zack? Aerith dated Zack.

This. It was pretty obvious. Aerith should have picked up on it, too.

Xenogears15 posted...

This. It was pretty obvious. Aerith should have picked up on it, too.

Aerith does pick up on it. She says during the date scene that she would like to meet the real Cloud some day.

Verdekal posted...

Didn't Cloud convince himself he was Zack? Aerith dated Zack.

Aerith hadn't seen Zack in years, specifically since he left on that mission, and thus she didn't know the story of Nibleheim.

Tifa's just super super confused herself because Cloud is confidently talking about events he should have no idea about while simultaneously getting a bunch of the details wrong.

It might be a combination of Cloud knowing things he shouldn't (at least as far as Tifa knows) and her being grievously injured during that time period. She did see his face after being injured (or at least he took off his helmet, so this is a bit of an assumption on my part), it's not a stretch for her memories to get scrambled a bit.

garan posted...

Aerith hadn't seen Zack in years, specifically since he left on that mission, and thus she didn't know the story of Nibleheim.

Fine but he's dressed just like him with the sword and hair. I'm surprised Aerith didn't almost have a heart attack when she saw her boyfriend back from the dead with bleached hair.

Verdekal posted...

Fine but he's dressed just like him with the sword and hair. I'm surprised Aerith didn't almost have a heart attack when she saw her boyfriend back from the dead with bleached hair.

Zack's outfit is a SOLDIER uniform. It's not a look exclusive to him. And while the Buster Sword is an unique sword, giant swords are also a standard SOLDIER weapon as shown in Crisis Core.

Tifa knew Cloud was totally mentally fucked up.

https://youtu.be/tmo4MwSfVgE

This was Tifa's first time seeing Cloud since childhood when he went off to join SOLIDER (and failed, but I don't think Tifa ever knew he didn't make the cut). She didn't know he was one of the masked guards with Zack and Sephiroth.

She basically knew he was messed up and wanted to keep an eye on him, so she got him the job with Avalanche. Didn't question the things he was saying that made no sense either cause she was probably afraid of him snapping. It's also just extremely weird that he was so aware about this super dramatic moment in her life that he wasn't even around as far as she knew.

So pretty unhealthy for her to play along, but probably for the best since if she didn't keep him close by he would have went off to be apart of the Reunion with Sephiroth or something.

TheSavageDragon posted...

Zack's outfit is a SOLDIER uniform. It's not a look exclusive to him. And while the Buster Sword is an unique sword, giant swords are also a standard SOLDIER weapon as shown in Crisis Core.

Also Zack and Cloud look pretty different beyond hair color. They both have spikes, but still. Zack's are mostly pushed back too.

https://static0.gamerantimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/zack-v-cloud-featured-Cropped.jpg

Tyranthraxus posted...

Aerith does pick up on it. She says during the date scene that she would like to meet the real Cloud some day.

I totally missed that. Thanks.

GATTJT posted...

It might be a combination of Cloud knowing things he shouldn't (at least as far as Tifa knows) and her being grievously injured during that time period. She did see his face after being injured (or at least he took off his helmet, so this is a bit of an assumption on my part), it's not a stretch for her memories to get scrambled a bit.

Didn't she mumble something like, "You came back..." as Cloud lifted her to the side after Sephiroth slashed her?

The thing with the Nibelheim scene is that there are currently 3 (and soon to be 4) different adaptations of the same scene that add different details and such. You have the OG game, Crisis Core and the OVA adaptation that are all radically different in areas IIRC.

Xenogears15 posted...

Didn't she mumble something like, "You came back..." as Cloud lifted her to the side after Sephiroth slashed her?

I think that's only in the Kalm flashback, which considering who's telling that story, well...might have happened, might not have.

TheSavageDragon posted...

The thing with the Nibelheim scene is that there are currently 3 (and soon to be 4) different adaptations of the same scene that add different details and such. You have the OG game, Crisis Core and the OVA adaptation that are all radically different in areas IIRC.

And this is a good point lol, all these different depictions of that event just make determining the truth even more complicated

GameGodOfAll posted...

Also Zack and Cloud look pretty different beyond hair color. They both have spikes, but still. Zack's are mostly pushed back too.

https://static0.gamerantimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/zack-v-cloud-featured-Cropped.jpg

Good point.

BakonBitz posted...

I think Tifa's reasoning for not calling him out is out of some concern for him and didn't want to confuse him. I remember Maximilian Dood said everybody has their own good reasons for not immediately telling the truth, I just don't remember the specifics.

Yeah my mom dates a guy who lied about what he did in the military. He lied cause what he did was boring as shit and he was a little older than her and felt he had to make himself interesting. He was a good guy otherwise though

Sufferedphoneix posted...

Yeah my mom dates a guy who lied about what he did in the military. He lied cause what he did was boring as shit and he was a little older than her and felt he had to make himself interesting. He was a good guy otherwise though

Your mom literally dated Cloud

Tyranthraxus posted...

Your mom literally dated Cloud

Beat me to it

TheSavageDragon posted...

The thing with the Nibelheim scene is that there are currently 3 (and soon to be 4) different adaptations of the same scene that add different details and such. You have the OG game, Crisis Core and the OVA adaptation that are all radically different in areas IIRC.

It is called retcon, and on the bigger picture it doesnt change the story that much.
Except for Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, that one takes too many liberties. It can however still fit canon if Square really want to. Like being another alternative timeline caused by FF7R.
Or being a dramatic retelling, like a movie.
So exactly what changed between the different versions?
Crisis Core: Introduced Genesis. Cloud wasnt near when Genesis appeared so he missed it.
Sephiroth spent a week in the library instead of 3. Cloud could have remembered wrong because of the mako poisoning he gets later.
The Zack Sephiroth fight is longer. Cloud could have missed it and/or the mako poisoning could have messed it up.
Before Crisis: Adds a Turk into the mix that Cloud never see?
Dirge of Cerberus: No changes?
FF7R: Can be explained by mano poisoning and changed timelines.

As for Tifa not openly question his lies... She found her childhood friend outside the city, having mako poisoning, dressed as a Soldier 1st. She knew that his mind was fucked up and took care of him. She is surprised that he knows stuff that he is not supposed to know about, even if some of it is different from what she remembers, and she is afraid that it will break him if she pushes too hard.
As for Aeris wanting to meet the real Cloud... she probably understood that he had not fully recovered from the mako poisoning. She saw a kind soul in him that was trapped, and wanted to one day see the real him.

Tyranthraxus posted...

Your mom literally dated Cloud

Kinda. He had a boring ass job just driving a water truck. Claimed to be recon and said it was confidential stuff so they of course didn't put it officially in his records. He was otherwise the perfect man for her though. She can be hot tempered and most guys get hot tempered back and it just escalates and becomes a problem over time. He would just simply say "I'm not gonna argue with you" then walk away. Would piss her off at first but she'd eventually calm down and they'd have a civil discussion about whatever it was. He was the only one that knew how to handle her. I can to a degree but I'm not trying to get with her so yeah lol.