The Final Fantasy titles of today are well known and fondly regarded for the deeply convoluted plots that their stories tend to revolve around, and Final Fantasy VII was easily the biggest leap forward in terms of nearly esoteric storytelling. Elements like the Lifestream, Mako energy, and the vague, mysterious nature of Jenova ensured that players really needed to keep up in order to make any sense of the events unfolding before them.
Naturally, a plot demanding what can sometimes be a frustratingly complex mess of lore is bound to yield a few holes here and there, which is what this list is going to focus on. Below are ten plot holes that Final Fantasy VII never resolved. Note that these have to be plot holes presented in the original Final Fantasy VII - while further entries in the universe like Advent Children and Crisis Core might resolve some plot holes that were in the original, any plot holes that they might've presented themselves aren't eligible for inclusion.
10 Cloud Surviving Zack's Last Stand Makes No Sense
Towards the end of the optional cutscene following Cloud and Zack escaping from the mansion, Shinra troops finally catch up with them and Zack makes his heroic final stand. He cuts down a few of them, but they eventually overwhelm and kill him on a precipice overlooking Midgar.
The troops notice the ailing Cloud, and the commanding officer decides to just leave him there. Sure, it probably looks like Cloud's seen better days, but as an escapee privy to intimate knowledge surrounding the events at Nibelheim, it makes absolutely no sense that they'd just leave him behind as a possible loose end.
9 What About Zack's Parents?
When the party visits Zack's hometown of Gongaga during a brief interlude on disc two, they can run into Zack's parents, whom haven't heard from him in more than ten years. Seeing Cloud's telltale Mako eyes and SOLDIER uniform, they ask if he might've heard of him.
If Aeris, Tifa, or both of them are in the party, they provide clear recognition of the name, but hastily exit the scene instead. Why not let the poor folks know about his fate? It's even more strange that Shinra didn't contact them as part of a cover up.
8 So, Phoenix Down Won't Revive Aeris?
This one might elicit a roll of the eyes from well established Final Fantasy VII fans, as it's a common point of contention. But could Aeris' tragic death have been averted through the power of the series' classic, life-saving, cure all consumable?
This usually refuted by saying that the characters are "knocked out" when they reach zero HP, making the phoenix down more akin to smelling salts. A few points run counter to this, one being that phoenix down actually kills undead creatures, since it has the opposite effect on them, another hinges on the idea that it works on characters that have been subjected to the "death" or "death sentence" status effects.
7 Why Does Tifa Trust Cloud To Begin With?
When your childhood friend shows up out of nowhere after several years of being AWOL, suffering from delirium, claiming a bunch of crazy things happened that you have a spotty recollection of at best, and is acting really creepy in general, should your first reaction be to invite him into your super secret rebel group of wanted criminals?
Probably not. In fact, that likely seems like the worst idea that anyone's ever had. But Tifa didn't seem to think so. In fact, she seemed to think that's exactly what the doctor ordered.
6 How Does AVALANCHE Avoid Being Found?
The top secret base that AVALANCHE operates out of is smack dab in the middle of the Midgar Slums, in a highly conspicuous and active bar run by Tifa. While that's fine and dandy at a glance, it really doesn't hold up very well to further scrutiny.
Are all of the bar's patrons against Shinra? The members of AVALANCHE don't seem particularly stealthy in their comings and goings, and for the most part, they seem to run about the area with little regard for their own secrecy. Wouldn't someone be tempted to turn them in for some sort of reward?
5 How Did Cloud Get So Strong?
Shinra's SOLDIER program produces the best of the best when it comes to fighting troops, so it's understandable that Zack Fair would have an easy time cutting through dozens upon dozens of Shinra regulars without even breaking a sweat. Cloud, however, is a different story.
He's infused with Mako energy, but he never made the cut for SOLDIER, instead training and serving as a regular Shinra grunt. It's doubtful that Zack was able to properly train him over the course of the Nibelheim mission, much less while he was incapacitated afterwards. So how did Cloud manage become such a skilled combatant?
4 How Exactly Does Marlene Bartend While Tifa And Barret Are Away?
The idea that AVALANCHE's secret base is sits in the middle of a highly trafficked area of the slums elicits enough questions, but there's a pretty obvious talking point presented when Tifa leaves the bar in the care of Marlene to join the AVALANCHE crew on a mission.
During the events of Final Fantasy VII, Marlene is four years old. Processing that in its entirety, a four year old girl is bartending in a seedy bar situated at the heart of the most dangerous, impoverished area in all of Midgar. Regardless of her level of maturity for her age, this simply doesn't add up.
3 Supernova Literally Destroys The Solar System (So Who Needs Meteor?)
Final Fantasy VII's climactic final encounter with Sephiroth is a thing of absolute spectacle, a grandiose battle entirely fitting to the game's conclusion. Well, perhaps a little too grandiose, considering one of Safer-Sephiroth's attacks actually involves destroying the greater majority of the solar system.
If Sephiroth has such an insanely powerful ability at his disposal, why is summoning Meteor to destroy the planet to begin with such a big deal? How do any of the party members even survive such an attack? Shouldn't the game effectively be over once, you know, the solar system has been totally vaporized?
2 How Did Red XIII Get Puppies?
The "500 Years Later..." after credits scene shows Red XIII running across a barren landscape to some overgrown ruins with a few puppies in tow. The puppies themselves present a bit of a head-scratcher, considering Red XIII is supposed to be the last of his species.
So, where did they come from? Some of the franchise's deeper lore actually provides a possibility that Red XIII isn't really the last of his species in the form of Deneh, a female counterpart to Nanaki. However, she's entirely absent during the events of Final Fantasy VII, and Red XIII still seems thoroughly convinced that he's the only one of this kind, so her existence presents more questions than it does answers.
1 Humanity Destroyed Itself? How? When? Why?
Final Fantasy VII's wildly vague after-credits ending begs a lot of questions, the most prominent of which is probably "Where are all the people?" All that's witnessed is Red XIII taking a leisurely stroll over a landscape that seems perfectly devoid of them.
Director Yoshinori Kitase has all but confirmed that humanity is, indeed, completely destroyed by then, which teases out all of the obvious questions. What happened? Did the events of Final Fantasy VII repeat themselves, only without Cloud and the gang around to save them? The world may never know.