FF7 unanswerables *big spoilers*

[Bob The Mercenary]

Hopefully they're not unanswerable, but here goes. These are questions that me and my friend are both having trouble figuring out about Final Fantasy 7.

-Is the Cloud you find in Mideel the same Cloud you have been with the whole time?

-Has Jenova been controlling Cloud for the entire game with the specific intent of getting Sephiroth the Black Materia?

-What happened to the original Cloud? Did he really die?

-The Cloud from the flashbacks in the Shinra uniform...was he the Cloud that supposedly died or the Cloud that you play as from the beginning?

[Krylo]

1 Yes
2 Sort of. Jenova was being controlled by Sephiroth, but Jenova did alter Cloud's memories to make him more easily controlled. And, Sephiroth was the one who wanted the black materia, Jenova was just in Cloud's blood stream fucking with him, and as a way for Sephiroth to get to him.

So, in other words: No. Sephiroth was controlling Cloud through Jenova, but only during the times when he had a break down. Other than that it was just a combination of the Jenova cells and Cloud's own psyche trying to protect himself from his past.

3 No. Cloud is the same Cloud as the entire time. The original Cloud was brought into the Shinra Mansion by Hojo and injected with Jenova cells and then bombarded with mako energy to attempt to make a Sephiroth clone... and this fucked up his head

4 Again. No Cloud died. Cloud just believed that he was a Soldier because of his mind protecting him from his past and Jenova's influence on his mind. He was the one in the Shinra uniform. The other guy was Zack, Aeris's ex-boyfriend and Cloud's friend.

There ya go.

[Funka Genocide]

how did you know all that stuff! I've played through the game at least 5 times and I couldn't even think to ask those questions in the first place! It has been an awfully long time I'll admit, but are there officially sanctioned tid bits of information they don't mention in the game?

would you know if the japanese version had more information?

also!

-what exactly was Sephiroth? and what ended up happening to Cait Sith?

[BitVyper]

It's been a long time since I played the game, but let me see if I remember correctly:

I believe Sephiroth was the son of Hojo and Lucrecia. Lucrecia appears to have had Jenova cells in her, so Sephiroth got it from her, and probably underwent all the Mako crap later when he joined Soldier. Sephiroth however, seems to believe that Jenova is his mother, or at least, he did at one point. Whether he ever discovered the truth isn't really said, but since he was somewhat indisposed for the better part of several years, I would assume he didn't. Then again, the only time he really refers to Jenova as 'mother,' is in the flashbacks if I recall correctly. I am lead to believe that the original Japanes is a little more clear on some points, such as his motivations. For instance, it seems at one point as though he believes it is his divine right to 'take back the planet,' and that he is doing it for his mother, however later revelations would lead one to believe that he's really just doing everything for himself. It also becomes a little difficult to tell who is really in control; him, or Jenova. Certainly Jenova might have the same goals, plus, both the grand plan, and Sephiroth's attitude seem a little divine, another thing I might expect from a godlike being. In this case, Sephiroth would be to Jenova, what Zeal is to Lavos, more of a puppet than anything. Then again, Sephiroth did seem pretty clever, and I am lead to believe that he orchestrated his own death at the hands of Cloud for some greater purpose (as I said, it's been awhile since I really looked into this). My only issue is with his attitude. Flashback Sephiroth and present Sephiroth seem completely different, though we don't really get enough speach from either to make any definitive conclusions. Still, flashback Sephiroth, before the insanity sets in, doesn't seem particularily arrogant about anything, not even overconfident really. He's calm, level headed, and maybe a little withdrawn, but not socially inept, though we do see some beginnings of his future arrogance after he reads every book in the library. However, the attitude still doesn't seem right, but then again, he did have years to change, and it is certainly possible that Jenova could have affected him without actually destroying his sense of self. What causes me to believe that Sephiroth is in control is simply that the others with Jenova cells become representations of Sephiroth, not Jenova. Again though, it gets a little bit tricky, because almost every time one attacks the party, the battle is with Jenova, not Sephiroth, but the final battle, which I am lead to believe is Cloud symbollically conquering the last of his Jenova cells, is against Sephiroth. Of course, that could just be how he percieves them. My point about present Sephiroth seeming a little more selfish in his designs would be another good reason to think that Jenova is the one in control. As I said before, flashback Sephiroth seemed more intent on doing things with her and for her, which is wholly different from present Sephiroth's attitude, or so it would seem. Seems a little contradictary in any case. Anyway, like I said, I haven't played the game in ages, so my info might be a bit off. Speculation is fun though.

Does anyone perhaps remember if present Sephiroth ever referred to Jenova as a separate entity from himself, by name? That would certainly be a key piece of evidence one way or another.

Edit: Oh, and as for Cait Sith; I assume you're talking about Reeve, and I have no frickin clue. Either I don't remember, or it is never mentioned. I think he was with some evacuation in Midgar, wasn't he?

[Meister]

It's been a long time since I played, but I think Sephiroth is Hojo's and Lucretia's (was that her name) son who was infused with Jenova cells while in the womb. This gave him superhuman fighting abilities, but also drove him to question his heritage. The discovery that he was nothing but an experiment sent him over the edge, and he started regarding Jenova as his mother and himself as a member of her race.

As for what he was at the end, I gather the Sephiroth we saw through the whole game was an illusion and the real Sephiroth was in the northern crater all the time, where he had been carried by the planet's lifestream after he fell in it in Nibelheim. I think he mutated to Bizarro Sephiroth because of exposure to mako.

I don't have any idea what exactly was up with the one-winged angel form...
Take this with a grain of salt since, as I said, it's been a while.

You might also want to check out www.gamefaqs.com. There's a very detailed storyline guide up there.

[BitVyper]

I think the final form was just trendy at the time. Probably still is. As I recall, the actual explanation on the other Sephiroth you see throughout the game is just that it's him possessing other people through their Jenova cells, or something along those lines. I'm not entirely sure how he got to the northern crater after 'dying,' but that appears to be his real body. Perhaps it was simply because the lifestream was naturally flowing there to heal the planet's wound?

Whew, had one too few ones in that colour thing. Fixed it now though.

[Cloud Strife]

Just clarifying that Krylo's got it covered for the answers, and a bit of my own add-on, to the speculation here:

Meister, gotta say, it's obvious he wasn't an illusion. How would he be able to physically kill Aeris otherwise? Doesn't quite work, sorry. BitVyper, though, you've got a good idea there, though I don't remember an exact explination.

As for Reeve/Cait Sith, Cait Sith is just a construct, there's many bodies of him, as is shown at the Temple of the Ancients. Reeve himself, on the other hand...it's never really shown what happened to him, a loose end. If I remember correctly, he was taken to the holding cells where Cloud and the gang were held in Disc one, so he may have been killed by the meteor, I don't really know for sure.

Then again, it's been years since I've played, so...
*grumblegrumblestolengrumble* ><

[Krylo]

Bit: I'd say it's obvious that Sephiroth is in control BECAUSE you always fight Jenova bits when you run into him. He throws something at you that turns into a huge Jenova... THING and you fight it. If Jenova was the one in control it's doubtful that it would be using itself as a disposable foot soldier, while Sephiroth was using it as just that.

[Meister]

Ahem. Yeah, out of all scenes I probably shouldn't have forgotten that one. >_>

[IHateMakingNames]

Sephiroth was controlling the other 12 Jenova Cell expirments (The tattooed people), who were the Sephiroths Cloud and Co fight. One of those guys killed Aeris.

[ronny]

1. Cloud is the same all the game
2. Jenova didn't controlled anything
3. IHMN is right! Sephirot controlled the other 12, and the "Winged angel" you fight is the real Sephirot. Don't you love it?
4. Sephirot was never controlled
5. I won't spoil about Cait Seith. It was specifically stated in the game.

It brings back beatiful memories.....
Now, I'm going to my home to play FF7 for the N'th time.

[Outbounder]

Bizzaro Exdeath did an awesome plot analysis about five monthes ago:
The Final Fantasy 7 Story Guide (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=5530)

[Dynamite220]

That was a wonderful analysis. He obviously did his reserch. I had a question, but I know the answer now.

[Edwardo Magnifico]

I'm gonna say this now. I have never played any final fantasy aprat from 1&2 dawn of souls, and kingdom hearts. But I know loads thanks to http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/ I think I put this somewhere else. I'll admit there are some things in FF7 that were never explained, but those will be answered in the movie. Oh, and the kingdom hearts cloud, so much cooler.

[qXRaverBoiXp]

I can really only pitch my 2 cents in on one thing. My belife is that the reason that Past Sephiroth is so different than Present Sephiroth, is all the time he spent in the lifestream, that had to increase his consiousness, and since he wasnt your average human (even though cloud wasnt, he was nothing compared to Seph) it couldve had a different effect that it did on our hero, Possibly giving him the knowledge of ages! Wasnt that what materia was? Crystallized knowledge? and Materia is made from the life stream, so.... I think he learned alot during his "death" and I DO support the idea that the lifestream carried him to North Crater, since it WAS going there to heal the wound. Well thats all I got!