The Importance of Aerith's Sacrifice
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With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth just around the corner, we though it'd be fun to take a look at the impact of Aerith's death within the original version of Final Fantasy 7. In this specific video, we're therefore looking at why Aerith had to die, but also, what would have happened had she lived.
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Credits
Writers: Darryl, Colin
Editors: Matt - Hry
Sephiroth: Aerith's death is a canon event, Cloud.
Lmao he would ABSOLUTELY troll Cloud with that mess 🤣
Fixed point in time.
*Proceeds to neck slam cloud into the nearest train*
(｀_´)ゞ Think Cloud, THINK!!
God I hate spider verse for the "canon event" stuff 😭
When I first witnessed Aerith’s death, my baby sister had passed away about a month prior. To say I was in shambles would be an understatement. Aerith’s theme will never fail to get me in tears because of it. But after playing through the story, it made sense on why Aerith had to die. We were able to defeat Sephiroth because of it. It didn’t make it any less heart wrenching. I don’t know what route Rebirth will take, but I’m certain it will leave my heart ground to dust again.
Im sorry man. Rip to your sister
So sorry for your loss, friend. 💙 Thank you for sharing your experiences with us despite how much you'd still be hurting, FF7 means something different to all of us & as much as hearing Aerith's Theme makes your heart crumble, I hope the games & soundtrack have also helped you grieve properly & heal since then.
Much love, brother. 💜
She’s resting in peace and in a better place my brother 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 hopefully this game will bring you joy
RIP, my man. It’s crazy how media can connect us to something like this. Thank you for sharing. I’m down for any changes. We have FF7, super excited to see what changes may or may not occur.
RIP, the death of aerith never fails to make me cry, as does her theme. It is the only scene that consistently makes me cry.
I feel bad for anyone who took the time to learn all of her limit breaks and didnt know she wasnt going to make it.
It's been a long time, but she was my favorite character back in 1997, if I was allowed to have her in my party, she was in it. Healing Wind was the best. I was almost as furious as I was saddened to see her impaled like that. I can't say that I had all of her limit breaks, but if she didn't, she was close to it. I've always been guilty of excessively grinding in Final Fantasy games.
no way someone accidently gets her final limit break lol
@@luciusETRURlol exactly there’s no way someone who didn’t know the story would grind that much
@@resetbutton7982 magic-preferred players laugh in Planet Protector. It's also not _that_ hidden to explorers. The guy at the house asks for mythril and the old man's cave isn't that hard to find. The hardest part without a guide would be knowing to keep coming back after each battle til you get it.
oh so my first playthrough back in the day, good times good times
Aerith's fate at the Forgotten Capital wasn't a sacrifice. She was straight up murdered. She had no intention of dying there. All she wanted to do was to activate Holy and then return to the group until she was unfortunately killed by Sephiroth. She was successful at summoning Holy and it was activated while she was alive but was being sealed off by Sephiroth after her death.
Tifa later says this as well. "I think she didn't think she would die at all, but that she planned on coming back all along. She always used to talk about the 'Next time'. She talked about the future more than any of us... Although she never talked about it to us she must've had a rough life... I think Aerith looked forward to tomorrow and the future more than anyone... ...she must've had many many dreams......"
Not only that, but her last words to Cloud (and in the entire game) were "I'll come back when it's all over". She's more than the ethereal, sanitised martyr figure she's been popularly depicted as. If she learns more about her abilities and is able to let the party help her, there's no reason why she couldn't hypothetically survive this time
Yes, but her dying also meant releasing holy was possible. She knew she would moat likely have to die, she just really didn't want to, something they amplified even more in remake.
@sanchezharris5773 I agree with you that Aerith knew she was likely to die after the Temple of Ancients but just didn't want to, which would still make it a sacrifice on her part. Aerith went on alone to the Forgotten City for Cloud's sake saying in OG, "And let me handle Sephiroth. And Cloud, you take care of yourself. So you don't have a breakdown, okay?" She could tell Cloud was on the brink and was willing to fight his battle for him so that Cloud didn’t have to face Sephiroth and deal with a likely mental breakdown. Why else go alone? That means she realized that she was on her own and that she was likely in peril of dying at Sephiroth's hands as a result and went anyway.
Maiden who Travels the Planet shows that Aerith knew of the danger, planned to sacrifice herself, and also that her decision was for Cloud's sake: "Sooner or later Sephiroth was going to summon the giant meteor that will surely inflict an enormous amount of damage to the Planet . . . Aerith could sense from the whispers of the Planet that something could be done to prevent the worst from happening. She also knew that it was something that only she, the last remaining Cetra, could do. She could only obtain the in-depth knowledge from the Forgotten City. But heading there also meant that she would become the greatest obstruction to Sephiroth’s plans. That was where Aerith hesitated. Will she let all humans die or was she going to avoid such a disaster in exchange for her life… But she never did think about it and was already prepared. When she did hesitant about leaving Cloud in sorrow, she would think about how it wouldn’t save her companions or the people of the world. She had already made up her mind. There was no other choice. It was all for Cloud too. And so alone, she set off to the altar that was in the Forgotten City to find out what she had to do."
In Final Fantasy Dismantled, Aerith reflects on the Gold Saucer date and how she will never forget Cloud which has a ring of finality to it and also connotes she suspected she would die: “So, leave the Meteor stuff to me. You just worry about yourself, Cloud. Remember your own way… So you don’t have a breakdown. Then, I’ll be going now. When it’s all over, we can meet each other again. Oh, Cloud… Our date at the Gold Saucer was so much fun. The view from the gondola that night was really beautiful. I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget you, Cloud…” (p.164). I think Aerith's line "I'll come back when it's all over" is her trying to bolster Cloud after the events at the Temple of Ancients and is her talking about their reunion likely in the Promised Land in the very likely case she did end up dying.
Cloud actually says "I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet...", signifying he thought Aerith was making a sacrifice in OG, and that's when Tifa gives her opinion that she thought Aerith didn't think she would die with her reasoning as to why. Cloud never agrees with Tifa and just stops talking after that. I take Cloud's word over Tifa's here because he had the conversation with Aerith in his dream which gives him additional insight that Tifa does not have. This isn't the only time Cloud had an opinion related to Aerith that Tifa gives her own different take on as seen in Case of Tifa where Cloud says, "Denzel had collapsed in front of the church where Aerith used to be. That's why I thought Aerith lead him to me," and Tifa tells him, "Aerith didn't bring Denzel to you....Aerith brought that child to us, didn't she?" Cloud also doesn't say anything to Tifa there. I think both instances are Cloud letting Tifa have her opinion while carrying a different one himself.
Haven't watched the vid yet, but I've got a problem with calling Aerith's death a sacrifice. She didn’t go to the forgotten capital to die. Activating Holy didn't require her to die. She was murdered. Her death was supposed to be a subversion of the typical "noble sacrifice" death that had been exploited multiple times before in the FF series, and it was its meaninglessness that made Aerith's death different. A sacrifice has meaning by definition. Just my two cents.
THANK YOU. I don't know where this fandom got the idea that she sacrificed herself and has been spreading this lie for decades. It's like they didn't read and comprehend her words to Cloud in the Sleeping Forest "I'll come back when this is all over". And Tifa talking about how Aerith had plans for the future and she was excited about living life. If we wanna talk about sacrifice look to FFX
This is what makes her death tragic. She was young and had so much life left to live and experience. Sephiroth aka Jenova murdered Aerith to break Cloud mentally.
I think per the Remake series it will be a sacrifice. I think Aerith has a feeling of what the future holds. But yeah, in the OG, definitely not a sacrifice
@@BLa-lq2bs Which is why Remake sucks.
when you choose to fight for a cause, and die because of that choice, its a sacrifice. The lack of literacy is astonishing.
I absolutely love how the presence of Rebirth was looming over this entire video without being mentioned even once.
I had been waiting like waiting for the other shoe to drop 🤣
Such a strong character. I do struggle calling her death a sacrifice though. She was murdered. She fully intended to come back 😢
Aerith never meant to sacrifice herself. It's specifically mentioned in the game by Cloud and Tifa. She wanted to live.
This! I know the line “I’ll be there when it’s all over” can be interpreted a number of ways, but I always took it as she meant to return to the party alive after finishing casting Holy and recovering. I do think she knew the risks, but hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Alas, this optimism ended up being her fatal flaw in the end.
It’s also why a part of me hopes she doesn’t die in the Remake trilogy, even if my more rational mind thinks both her and Zack aren’t going to survive the new trilogy.
This, the white material had turned green, meaning her prayer had reached the planet meaning she didn't have to die. Which is what makes her death even more painful and pointless in a pragmatic way.
But it cemented our thirst for vengeance against sephiroth if it hadn't been solidified at that point.
And then later, when we learn just how badly cloud had been traumatized..
It makes sense when aerith tells cloud she wanted to meet "the real you" not the fake cloud that jenova had created by copying Zack fair.
@@Caterfree10I just don’t see how the game can have the same emotional impact of the original if Aerith lives, without killing an equivalently important character in Tifa. In which a) that completely breaks the plot in part 3 and Cloud’s recovery, and b) fans would stage a revolt.
Like I don’t want aerith to die, but if she makes it, what’s the alternative? Sephiroth wins in the end? Which man that would be something else 😂
she chose to fight for the cause, and died. Thats literally making a personal sacrifice.
I think from a meta story telling point of view, her death is important to 7 cause it makes the story that much more impactful with legitimate consequences and played a major role to the game being so popular
What always gets me is the heartbeat and ringing in the ears before her theme plays. Just perfectly captures the emotion/ feeling of sudden loss.
It really wasn't a sacrifice though- it's murder. She was never going to the Ancient city to activate holy with tte knowledge she would be actively murdered, it was more or less a terrible and unpredictable coincidence because while cloud was being influenced in some way by Sephiroth/Jenova (and I'm pretty sure Aerith herself was actively aware it was a huge problem after he both gave the black materia away and then started hitting her in the aftermath of the temple incident), no one could have known just how much control they had over Cloud, and that they were able to know where Aerith was going and what she was doing specifically because they used Cloud as a looking glass when Aerith contacted him in his dreams just after the temple incident.
She had her whole life ahead of her and was actively looking forward to it (and i think Tifa even questions that in the highwind near the ending of the game when her and Cloud talk to each other). The game even shows that she had managed to activate holy as well just before her murder happens, so she was succesful in the task she set out for as well.
I think what Aerith truly had in mind was that she would be able to sneak away from her friends long enough to activate holy in the anvient city, likely under the assumption that no one in the living world would know about its existence anymore- and be able to avoid whatever suspicious activities were happening to the group as a result of Clouds increasingly unstable episodes, and Sephiroths strange behavior specifically towards Cloud- just long enough to activate Holy and keep the world from being annihilated and then regroup with her friends and fuck up Sephiroth and Co. But she didn't want to completely ghost them all without so much as a 'I'm going to save the workd, ill be back at 8'; so she more or less telepathically told Cloud she would be doing something to stop meteor, and not to worry about her and she would be back soon enough- don't know why she chose him in oarticukar to oass off tge message, maybe because he was asleep- but she did. But unkowingky to everyone Jenova/Sephiroth were spying due to Clouds Jenova cells and it allowed them to actively be aware of what she was getting up to, and to stop it ASAP. I would even go as far to say they were actively toying with Cloud by trying to make him be the one to kill her, before finally intervening themselves after Clouds friends yell at him to stop it. But i truly do think she sealed her fate inadvertently as soon as she told Cloud what she was up to- i just really don't think Sephiroph would have been able to have actively known to go and repress Holy if Aerith had been able to activate it without telling anyone what she was up to in the first place.
But yeah, its still murder even if it happened to work out in the end one way or the other.
she chose to risk her life for the planet. how is that *not* a sacrifice? some of you really dont understand the meaning of the word.
the biggest WHAT IF in Final Fantasy History
I think that would be what if Sephiroth never went bat sh!t insane?
@@Dragon66898 I can also say that Sephiroth finding out the truth and go crazy was inevitable
My logical brain told me that she would come back like in most games/stories.
So I cried when she died and cried more when I realized she wasn't coming back 😢. (Played this in my 20s btw)
The intended way. I mean, that is what the whole point was.
Like seriously at least give us a replacement character with comparable powers so that the entire meta doesn't revolve around knowing that we're going to lose our best mage
That was part of the point though. If you had a replacement character ready to go like with cait sith's sacrifice at temple of the ancients her death would have felt less impactful. By not having some one waiting to fill her role it made the game harder and you had to work to overcome the loss. It made the grief much more realistic as you'd feel the loss Everytime you wanted to use her for something.
@@alexhensley1919 I don't want realism in a fantasy game
The fact that she died allowed her to merge with the planet and became her consciousness, in a way. Hence why the Lifestream reacts and push back the final asteroid.
It was kinda reused in the 1st Avatr movie where Grace joins with Pandora's soul and ends up helping Jake with all the wildlife fighting along them.
Aeriths theme never fails to make me bawl
Although Aerith did not intend to die, in death she rejoined the lifestream and became Sephiroth's counterpart.
In a way she transcended her physical body and was an even better position to aid the party. This was best shown in Rebirth's finale when she is now able to appear before Cloud to guide and console him, the same way Sephiroth did all through out Remake and Rebirth to taunt and manipulate Cloud
Aerith death never hits me until the Materia hits the ground and the ost comes in. 😭
I remember crying at this moment, and even through replays when I knew what was happening it still struck me emotionally. It would be easy to neglect using her as a key character leading up to the scene knowing her death was unavoidable but I always played with a balanced team and even occasionally maxed out her limits through grinding. RIP Aeris 😢 (incorrect translation intentional as this is how I knew her best). I’m excited to see how they rewrite her fate in the remake!
Me too I didn't play the original as a kid but recently I got to play it. It's a really good game I think. So is remake.
Honestly you could come up with narrative reasons they wouldn't lose if she lived.
Maybe he doesn't kill her but gets the White Holy Stone instead. She could have cast part of the spell and brought the planet more time.
The villain would still get a big ego and have his attention divided. The the party could go into the life stream to rid Cloud of the villains influence.
I just don’t know if that all works with Cloud experiencing this loss.
Like what you’re saying is true, but it’s so critical for his emotional journey.
It wasn't Sephiroth,not counting the flash back we only see the real Sephiroth TWICE in the original game.The first time is in the Northern Crater,he is in a mako coma encased in crystal.The second is at the very end of the game as he wakes from his coma due to the destruction of Jenova.Every other encounter is Jenova emulating Sephiroth,feeding Clouds hatred so that she can control him.
Yes I know all that!
sephiroth was entirely in control of jenova the entire game. everything 'jenova' did was a direct act of sephiroth
I think with these games being something different as they already established with Remake, then yeah. Maybe she could live. And then trying to answer the consequences of that... the consequences of getting what you want, well... that's an interesting idea and raises newer questions from a storytelling standpoint than just doing the same thing again. But... whatever happens as long as it suits and supports the story being told... then that's all that really matters.
The consequences of living a fantasy. Final Fantasy
Still for me the most iconic moment in gaming history. And the music just made it. She saved the world in death
I don't think Aerith had to die, because she already had the planet's will on her side, but would it have been harder?
I think so, but I think by this point Aerith was already coming into her own and who knows, there may have been her ancestoral Cetra that would have stepped in for her in the continuity where she lives.
I've been completely avoiding all FF7 media for months in the run up to Rebirth because of how bad Square is at spoiling their own games, but this video dealing with OG was a nice way to inhabit the world again for a few minutes. Thanks.
I remember this moment in my life very well as a teen. Very impactful…
Also it’s cool you mentioned the New Threat mod. I watched gameplay of it and it’s a very well made, passionate mod.
She didn't sacrifice herself, she was killed. It was a tragic thing, not a dramatic hollywood moment
Right? Everyone keeps saying her sacrifice was essential…where exactly is it said that Aerith had to die in order to summon Holy or save the planet? There was no prophecy saying such thing, If there is a chance she can be saved and Cloud and friends can still save the world I am for it and excited to see where it goes, heck maybe she can even get to ride on the Airship like she wanted.
^this^
Even though before playing I had seen glimpses of the death scene, when it happened I was completely shocked… Definitely was “the Final Fantasy” moment. ❤
There is also the implication that Holy couldn't have activated without a sacrifice to begin with. That a sacrifice is required to make Holy work.
which makes sense because the black materia also required a sacrifice, and the two are counterparts. two sides of a coin.
What’s beautiful about the original game is that it was true literary art, i.e. a number of parts were open to interpretation and therefore balanced discussion.
One of those moments was in regard to Holy, and how it interacted with Meteor. Many think it was “too weak” for Meteor, taking Red’s words as fact when it really was just hearsay. In reality, Holy’s purpose was to clear the Planet of all threats. Those “threats” could also include humans, and their machines that have been sucking the Planet dry, so dry that we could begin to hear its literal cries.
The vast majority of the time our party is sitting in the Highwind while everything was at a standstill right before Aerith did her thing, I believe the Lifestream was deliberating what was a threat during that time and was truly contemplating destroying Midgar outright. But that’s just me, and a clear angle to undermine the narrow/single-minded notion that Holy “was too weak”.
Nevertheless, FF7 Rebirth may truly answer your question. If they do decide to have Aerith live, we can find ourselves back in that same situation we were in before in the original where we watched everything go to shit, all hope was lost, but now a new miracle will be needed. Only time and Parts 2 and 3 of the FF7R project can possibly answer that question for us. Enjoy y’alls leap day, and avoid spoilers at all costs. Here’s to you Square 🍻
I would think if they wanted to they could have made work without Aerith death but Nomura made it clear that someone has to die in this story and no phoenix can save them. The main question is how? Nice video
I think the story would lose a lot. Without Aeris death, FF7 would be just another great game (there are ton of those). Her death is one of the main reasons why the game is so iconic. Yeah, FF6 and FF9 are pretty great, but they dont have the same space in zeitgeist that seven has. Because, they dont have that one singular moment that changes everything (I know FF6 has it shares, but this videos explain why is different).
@@rsrocha1984 I get that but to me again if they wanted to they could have switched out introducing lore reason to do so. The reason the video highlighted as to why it had to be Aerith making her death unique in the sacrifice could have been written in a way to include someone else.
I'd love to see a theory video on what'll happen in rebirth in terms of this topic. Would be amazing
I’m pretty sure that Aerith is going to die, but also going to live. The one we are traveling with will die, and the one with Zack will wake up from her coma, then the worlds will be united and so Aerith will both die and live, classic Schrodinger’s Aerith
This... actually seems very plausible and a story route I would be cool with. Let's just keep our hopes high and our expectations low...
..very low.
This sounds so freaking dumb. They are ruining the story.
@@PrimalMoodz"Dumb" and "ruining the story" are the collective understatement of the century. Should a plot like this be so horrifically bastardized it would put a permanent stain on not just Square's reputation but also degrade the value of the Compilation of FF7 AND of the entire Final Fantasy franchise, an outcry like no other would probably force Square's hand and result in plummeted sales numbers.
KH3 was already a slippery slope from the moment it released. Should Rebirth not live up to the sheer artistry of the original, Square might only have Kingdom Hearts and their lesser franchises left to count on if they hope to clean up their act.
Their dev teams were scattered, and thus, creative differences bred like rats in a cave. FFXVI's development cycle compared to Rebirth's come to mind.
Try to remember that this trilogy is a sequel to the original game. It is not a true "remake", nor was it intended to be. The misunderstanding of the Remake moniker is what has caused the fanbase to split. One could argue that Square-Enix brought this on itself through false advertising, but that then begs the question of how they would have marketed the game without spoiling the fact that it was actually a sequel all along. That would have completely shifted expectations and caused players to balk when they started playing only to find themselves playing through a reimagined version of the original game. The complaints would then have been: "OMG they said it was a sequel when it was just a convoluted remake! Those liars!" You see what I'm getting at here? Square-Enix was taking a risk either way. The only way they could have avoided all such criticism was to spoil the plot completely and ask for the player's understanding before they even picked up the controller. (A very bad idea btw.)
@lennethebeauty is completely correct on his theory, in my opinion. It matches my own thoughts on the matter. We'll find out in a few weeks.
Stellar video yet again. ❤
Interesting timing with this video, Rebirth just around the corner...
I felt bad when General Leo died. Aeriths death was DEVASTATING 😢
Based off of things like Ever Crisis and Traces of Two Pasts, its really obvious that Ifalna was presence during Aerith's childhood. And while she isn't as active during the main scenario of OG Aerith is still capable enough to communicate with the planet. I have a feeling we'd have a similar outcome, albeit Aerith calling out to the planet or Ifalna acting as a conduit for the "call". Especially since its very obvious in 2024 that Aerith/cetra will can live and be independent inside the life stream. Hence our entire REMAKE "sequel" and most of the plot of Advent Children.
Great video!!
I was so heart broken when she died when I first played it I almost stopped playing it
Aerith's death was basically the first major heart break many 90s kids myself included endured.
I like the idea that Aerith helps Tifa found back Cloud
That's the Biggest *WHAT IF......?* in Final Fantasy History right here.
Imagine if rebirth was written in a way where through actions, just like who you take on a date, would determine whether Aerith lived or died. And if it wasn't just minor changes, but two different directions completely. Even a mission failed scenario. I wonder how many discs they would need for that.
It was jenova that killed president shinra and Aerith. Sephiroth was dead and trying to reform his body in the northern crater. He wasn’t able to manifest through jenova, rather jenova was using her shape shifting abilities to appear as sephiroth to the party to move them forward as part of reunion. This is explained in the ultimania guides, better Japanese translations, and developer interviews.
I struggle to understand how a channel devoted to all things final fantasy isn’t aware of this.
Aerith dying is absolutely essential... it's such a huge, impactful part of the story and showed the emotional impact of a video game. I was heartbroken when she was killed, and trying to get through the Jenova fight with tears pouring down my face was tough. I always believed that Aerith knew everything that was going to happen and that she would have to sacrifice herself to save the planet; for me, it's that opening sequence of space and then Aerith's face appearing as she seemed deep in thought. It's also how the game ends too which I think ties into that. Just my personal opinion. This was a great video!!
Would actually ruin it if they changed it that she lived
@@novavarium4378100% agree. They are going to ruin a great story if she lives
It’s my understanding that Aerith’s death was, from a meta-narrative perspective, a means for one of the head developer’s processing of his own mother’s death.
The beautifully hopeful, yet haunting, theme of hers perfectly punctuates the notion of moving on amidst tragedy. There is no way that this story was going to be written without someone dying.
That it ended up being Aerith, I am concerned they are kind of locked into her fate at this point… if they mess with it too much all for the sake of subversion of player expectations, it could undermine everything that made her death happen in the first place.
Her death is like uncle Ben and Nora Allen’s death, they are fixed point in the timeline😢😢😢😢😢
Why are you making my chop onions before bed ?
Its just eye sweat
There's one line that sticks out to me for this and I don't remember it exactly, but it was around the time the Weapons emerged. I think it was Bugenhagen that said it, it was like 'whats good and whats bad, its up to the planet to decide, and the bad will disappear, I wonder which we humans are?' Then there was another line, I think by Tifa, asking Cloud if the stars knew how hard they were fighting for them (and the planet).
Makes me wonder if in the hypothetical Aerith lives timeline, that the planet might have been able to rally the lifestream on its own to bolster Holy after the party dealt with Sephiroth. Likewise, maybe Aerith still being alive, could have worked Cloud through his mental issues regarding Zack. Something similar to what New Threat showed in the Shinra Mansion side quest near the end of the game.
Remember that humanity became extinct a few centuries after the events of the OG. (This is alluded to in the game's final scene with Red XIII, and later confirmed by the developers.) Whether Aerith intended to sacrifice herself or not, it is safe to say she would NOT have approved of the planet's final judgement against mankind - a timeline that came about, in part, from her own actions. What's happening in Remake and Rebirth I think is an attempt by Aerith to change this final outcome. The whispers in Remake, manifestations of the planet's will to preserve history, tried and failed to stop her.
@@Lennis01 I always took it as just Midgar fell, and that no one lived there anymore. Like this one stain on the planet had been taken back by nature, and that people were still living elsewhere like always, just not using Mako anymore.
@@Scorp721 That was my first impression as well, until the developers told us otherwise. The particulars of the extinction event were never made known, as far as I am aware. Perhaps it will be included in the lore of Rebirth or the unnamed part 3.
Does anyone know which chapter in the novella shows Aerith helping Tifa to find Clouds mind in the lifestream? The entire arguement in this video is based on that info and it's something I never knew or heard of before.
I have always though the developers decided to kill her after the story was already written, because of the empty additional character placement during the final battle and discovering information about her parents at the Icicle inn and the character dialogue being removed.
4K UHD emotional damage relived!
Really interested to see how Rebirth will tackle this
I predict part 2 will play out the same in this regard, but then in part 3 there might be an option to save her. Also I really want to keep the promise to Elmyra.
My honest $.02: Aeris knew that she would die, due to seeing it in the Mako leak. Maybe that death, of the last known Ancient, triggered the Lifestream to destroy Meteor at the end. Or, maybe seeing Cloud and the party face Sephiroth moved the Planet, but Idk.
Edit: There’s a concept in Japanese romances called Shinju, or lovers’ suicide. Due to conflicting duties or stations or oaths, lovers would commit suicide together. Maybe Aeris thought similarly, and that’s why she took the risk…
im 50 hours into rebirth, im upto the date part so im completing side quests and have not got upto the death scene yet, now my brain is on fire, is she gunna live? because i now realise this new seph would Know aerith helps beat him in death, so keeping her alive and continuing to mess with cloud is actually to his advantage?! these are the ramblings of a almost 40 year old man! video games are the best mate
Well! I get the feeling we’ll soon find out. 👀
I feel like something has to be different. At the end of Remake Aerith said they could change "it" and make it all right. Change what? If she knew her death causes the world to be saved why not just accept it as she had. I feel like only her and Sephiroth are trapped in a sort of cycle only they realize. With both trying to change their fates.
The writers are trying to be clever and it's dumb as hell. They are ruining an amazing story
I hope the developers of Rebirth understand FF7 as well as you!
Thanks to Briana’s performance, it’s gonna hurt worse this time around.
Lmao her singing voice barely sounds ANYTHING like Aerith. 😂😂😂
If kept alive then she would find out that her father was Professor Gast , and that Hojo was the one responsible for killing Kim . Thus probably making the Hojo boss fight have more dialogue since both her and Vincent will have personal scores to settle
I have a friend who never played ff7 and has been spoiled by CZcams thumbnails when the first remake had a lot of buzz. I feel like for a CZcams channel with such a passion for Ff you would not wanna potentially spoil for new first timers
Another little tidbit to add, as far as Aerith surviving. Though its not technically necessary for the summoning of Holy, in order to save Aerith from Sephiroth, it would have required breaking her concentration on the prayer. As we remember, Holy doesn't actually activate until after Aerith is already dead, which means that the activation of it was essentially exact. So, if she was saved, its highly likely that she would have failed to summon holy, which has 2 major effects. First is the obvious. There would be nothing to counter Meteor. The second is less obvious. If the team went after Sephiroth in a desperate attempt to take out the summoner, Sephiroth wouldn't be holding Holy back, which means he would be that much more powerful in the fight. Considering that Meteor is considered the ultimate magic, that essentially cannot be countered, with Holy being the only real exception to that, Sephiroth's threat level against the party would skyrocket, if he wasn't focused on suppressing holy.
I just beat FF7 on the playstation for the first time like 6 month ago and pretty sure her name was Aeris.
Yes, it's a known localisation error, her canon name is Aerith.
@@SuperEkkorn eh if Aeris is whats in the OG shes Aeris to me. i don't need to play weeby detective games but to each their own.
It wasn't a localization error. Her name is Aeris because her Japanese name is Aerisu. It isn't Aerithu lol.
I like aerith being like a mother to them to guard them in the right path and she's the balance to the group being a little naughty girl and too friendly to them that's why many fans love her, it's just sad that they have to sacrifice her character, and for me despite the fact that there's no way a chance to save her i feel a little relief that aerith and zack reunite, atleast she's not alone in the AFTERLIFE and that's make me a little happy.
Hopefully they don't ruin this in rebirth
What do you mean @@PrimalMoodz
So far, it seems this is the alternate story SE is going for in the new FF7. I think either she's not going to die, or her death will be played out differently, and later in the story with Zack being involved as well as Cloud.
The trailer shows that there are now two Aeriths; one with Cloud and co., and the other in a coma when she is found by Zack. In Cloud's world, Tifa and Barrett are alive, while in Zack's world they appear to be dead. Also in Zack's world Zack himself is alive, and Biggs is also shown to be alive, while we definitely know that both Zack and Biggs died in Cloud's world. The implication is that important people cannot be both alive and conscious in both worlds at the same time. My theory is that the time-split is some kind of insurance policy engineered by the planet to maintain balance. Aerith cannot directly influence both worlds at the same time, yet if she somehow completely fails to salvage things in Cloud's world, there is another Aerith that can try to do the same thing from Zack's. My prediction is that Aerith will die in Cloud's world (probably not in the same way) and then immediately wake up from her coma in Zack's world. That will be the cliffhanger ending we'll have to live through and debate for the next three to four years.
@@Lennis01 Interesting. I haven't seen the trailer yet. It sounds like they're turning FF7 into String Theory which is convoluted. Kinda sounds like this is gonna turn out messy.
@@korndogz69 If I remember that earlier trailer correctly, Zack is said to have saved comatose Aerith from being killed by one of Sepheroth's thralls, indicating that Jenova/Sepheroth is aware of the threat Aerith poses, but that apparently he can't deal with the threat directly himself. This ties into the theory that important characters cannot exist in both worlds at once. Neither Sepheroth nor Aerith can consciously influence Zack's world while they are active/alive in Cloud's world. This throws the fate of Wedge into question also. Zack's world Biggs indicates that he is somehow the last surviving member of Avalanche, suggesting that Jesse is dead in both worlds, yet the fate of Wedge is less certain. It is strongly implied that Cloud world Wedge was killed when he was thrown out of the Shinra building by the whispers, but the screen faded to black before we could see him die. This could mean that he somehow didn't die in Cloud's world and just vanished, or it could mean that he possibly was thrown into Zack's world by the time-split to maintain the balance. Messy indeed, if this theory pans out. Why be so vague about Wedge's fate unless the devs intended to keep him alive for Rebirth?
@@Lennis01 I'm definitely interested to see how it all plays out.
I would argue that Aerith's death is when the "Are games art?" debate ended. Before then, there were deep stories in games. Characters did die but it was usually just sprites blinking out of existence. Final Fantasy VII was, arguably, the first time that a character's death was visceral, that made you feel it in a way that was more than just an absence of that character. It was also the first time I felt anger at a villain. The CG cutscenes are rough by today's standards, and they quickly became overused for a while but were important in cementing games as a legitimate art form.
Something tells me where going to see the answer to this real soon
Unfortunately yeah.
Damn you Nomura....
She would have recognized Zack from the photo and with Tifa's help figured out more about what really happened 5 years ago thereby preventing cloud from losing his mind and giving up the black materia. Sure in the original Tifa was hesitant to say anything, but with Aerith backing her up it might be different.
To extrapolate a little further, Aerith would put out that there's no way that Zack would have gone into tifa's room so those memories have to be real Cloud must have been there but Tifa didn't see him. Basic deductive reasoning. At that point I reckon the party would agree to figure it out later and then press on to stop sephiroth in the meantime
Aerith: and you're sure there was absolutely nobody else from Shinra that day?
Tifa: just that shy grunt who never said a word and never took his mask off and... always....stood...by.......no way.....
@@steakdriven That would just ruin the gut punch of the story. Ya'll just want a bland ass story with no tragedy at this point. Go play minecraft story mode.
@@JustKelso1993 Fuck. Gut. Punches.
@@JustKelso1993 I don't want bland stories, asshole.
If Aerith lives in rebirth, it's going to be an uphill battle for the gang. I'm ready!
Everyone will live and nothing matters
Personally I would be so *ucking hyped if Aerith survives that attack. But it would bring big anxiety for the rest of the games. Im in!
A lotttttt of people in the comments are willfully ignoring Chapter 18 of Remake and the fact that no matter what happens the original game exists, Aerith died in that, and this continuity is different.
Anyhow, I'm 39 and was 13 upon release of FFVII - it was my entry into the franchise and it was an incredibly well crafted and emotional journey. Remake was also absolutely out of this world, and if not for the "what if" factor I would bow out before Rebirth.
This is a story that has been played countless times by myself and many people, and I had no desire to even play Remake beyond seeing how cool Midgar was until I noticed that the devs were inserting the symbolism of the fact that they want to create a new story (which they've said countless times before being the reason they didnt want to be pressured into remaking ffvii and rehashing the story) via the Whispers, aka the purists.
The fact we're going into a new journey with these characters and still get the nostalgia and new impactful, beautiful moments is something that resonates with me so strongly as someone who actually grew up with this game.
Aerith's death is memed, joked about and she is a character that is pretty much dismissed by many people due to the fact that her death is known about, rendering her as little more than a plot device to a huge percentage of gamers. I'd like to see a different fate for her this time, and see what kind of world they may be able to create if the very last Cetra lives. The newest gameplay from State of Play shows she can manipulate the lifestream alive - she doesn't need to die to be able to manipulate it.
If someone else DOES die instead, such as Cloud or Tifa, I wonder if we'll still be hearing how "impactful" the meaning of death is. Or I wonder if it's because to a lot of gamers there's not as much at stake because it's a character they don't relate to as much.
Finally someone talks about this. People are already saying they will quit the game if Tifa dies.
Me: So you don't care about the theme of loss after all.
Amazing vid. I was very sad when Aeris died. But her death, along with the revelation of what really happened in Niblelheim helped to form my love of storytelling. The emotions a good story can bring. Altering her death in any way, cheapens not only the story, but also the character of Aeris.
She'll live in the end of the this game
I 100% agree. The story will be ruined if she lives.
@@PrimalMoodz no it wont
What gods, kings, armies and monsters could not do, this lowly flower girl from the slums did: she thwarted Sephiroth’s plans of godhood.
FINALLY someone understands, so sick of people saying she should survive in rebirth
Remake seems to be more like a continuation for the og story. Characters in Remake are having lots of flashbacks from og events.
It's freaking stupid. The writers are trying to be clever with two timelines and it's ruining the story. I hate it. And for some reason everyone is eating it up. Like wtf is wrong with everybody.
@@PrimalMoodznomura sucks at writing stories
Playing rebirth is going to give me the same anxiety as Playing crisis core. You know it's coming, and you just brace for it
Bit of a spoiler in the thumbnail the youngsters
real! some new fans with rebirth might not know about some really big parts of the game yet, maybe we should keep stuff on the down low
We don't know yet if Rebirth will keep this plot point
Hey Square threw all these spoilers in Remake we're just educating those who are too lazy to play the original
@@octo886 the og game and remake has been out for a while now, unless they are ignoring all discourse it has been talk ever since. If they still haven play the og by now they most likely will never play it. Still asking for a gag order for 2decade old game is just too much. Plus given the nature of the remake i would not be surprise if Aerith survive this time.
@@KPX01 Exactly. I hate how people are like "MuH SpOiLeRs!!!" over media that are decades old...
I think her death was absolutely vital to the themes of the OG game. Does that mean her death is vital to the Remake/Rebirth version of the story? I’m not so sure. I think her living could absolutely work thematically with what the new games are going for. I understand people not liking the idea, but for me it’s not just about not wanting her to die, but how I truly think that could work with the themes of the new story.
The story will be ruined if she lives. Or if they make some alternate reality where she lives.
@@PrimalMoodz I think it's entirely possible to make it work, but I'm holding off judgement until I see it for myself. It could certainly be done badly.
We'll see. Unfortunately I have low expectations. Remake already left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe I'm just wearing nostalgia glasses, but the OG story was perfect. In my opinion why change it. I feel like it's all just business. The writers are trying to be clever in order to sell to a wider audience. Fans of the OG will buy just to see what happens and newcomers get to experience something different. With that being said, money is obviously all that matters to Square. Not the content which made the OG so great. It's basically turning into the marvel universe.
Playing 4 after 7, I was destroyed watching everyone sacrificing themselves.
Basically, "We killed her because we knew you'd love her"
And all of those reasons is why she should survive in Rebirth:
1. Its expected: part of why her death was so meaningful it’s because no one saw it coming and it was what the developers wanted to feel that sudden loss just like in real life, Aerith death in Remake series is milked and everyone expects it so it’s not “special” anymore because the meaning is not there anymore even Aerith knows she will die.
2. Sephiroth doesn’t want that to happen: like the video says meteor got stopped because of the Lifestream and Holy combined forces as holy alone wasn’t enough, he knows what happened in Og so why would he kill Aerith as she caused more trouble for him dead than alive.
I thought this videa was going to have an error in it and did. The issue here is the notion that Aerith gained power in death (and assuming she could not gain that power in life.) Aerith does nothing in death that Cetra could not do in life.
Cetra could move the Lifestream like she does in the end. That was the whole reason for the Jenova Project to begin with, make people who could move the Lifestream to feed Mako reactors.
I loved that game I almost feel like crying about aeris death it was sad then and now
I was born in 83. "CD Roms" made me think about how much tech has advanced in my 41 years. Kids today are lucky.
Great video as always. I just wanted to speak out on behalf of the modding community. My name is Brad Howlett, aka Wolfman. I am the creator of the RedWerewolf and WereXIII mod that turns RedXIII into a biped with the help of numerous Modders in the community. If you would ever like a deep dive into what led up to the creation, I’d love to talk about it.
4:45 anyone know where i can find the rendition of this melody? I can't find it anywhere
I noticed that you mentioned parts about how Sephiroth can be anywhere he needs to be by using Jenova and how he could manipulate Cloud. Maybe in the future you can make a video discussing Reunion and how it plays into Rebirth or FF7 in general. I always thought Reunion was an advent children concept, but it was a thing HoJo theorized in the original game.
On another note, I also have a strong feeling that Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo will show up either in Rebirth DLC or Part 3, which would be a missed opportunity to not be called FF7:Reunion. DoC showed up in intermission, so why not AC.
they already said rebirth will not get any dlc.
@@saphcalThanks for letting me know since I haven't been following the news. Its good to know that we will get the whole story of Rebirth on the 29th.
The thing is that in order for sephiroth to win in rebirth, he will need to stop himself from killing aerith. It’s going to be interesting to see people’s reactions.
Aerith’s death is like Uncle Ben and Thomas and Martha Wayne.
It has to happen.
What game are these HD stylized PS graphics from? Is this a patch?
are you gonna do retrospective on the compilation of FFVII in honor of Rebith's release?
It's worth noting that if you use cheats to put Aerith back in the party, she has unique dialogue in later parts of the story. So there might have originally been a way to revive her or even stop her from dying altogether.
Since they said this will still lead to advert children . I kinda hope she is live at the end of rebirth, then figure her death is essential and somehow end up die again at the end of part 3.
I'd like to see a mod where a possessed puppet Cloud is killed by Barret or Vincent before handing over the black materia and where that would take the story. I'd assume it would make Tifa the new primary protagonist and force Sephiroth to jerryrig a corrupted weaker meteor to complete his plan, exhausting his own power or possibly exposing Jenova to the lifestream to boost his corrupted meteor. The presence of an activated Jenova triggering the planet's WEAPON defence mechanism. The story still has a martyr and a meteor, but instead of Aerith's holy sacrifice, it is the poor broken doll Cloud, taken advantage of and controlled by Sephiroth.
The Mideel dip in the lifestream would need to be omitted and reworked to the party taking a minute to regroup somewhere out of the way of Shinra, where Tifa explains to the party what actually happened five years ago and Aerith adding that she knew Zack _the EX-Soldier Cloud was pretending to be_ , giving resolution to that dangling plot thread.
As a "what if," it might be entertaining, but it would probably irritate more people than not.
15:40 I think if given the chance to save Aerith or not, if you do, the game is impossible to beat when you get to the end by design. If you need to restart the game because you don't have a backup save, too bad. Sometimes sacrifices are needed.
I want to say this:
I am totally on board with Aerith’s death in terms of story impact. Everything made sense: summoning of Holy, helping Cloud regain his memories, integrating with Lifestream so that Planet would fight back against Meteor.
But gameplay wise, it actually sucks that you lose her not at the end of the game, but roughly at the 2/3 of game’s completion.
I think that story could be made a bit different in terms of when events at Ancient Capital happen, so that you won’t lose a significant portion of playtime without Aerith in party.
This issue will be more apparent in Rebirth, since Aerith’s gameplay is totally unique.
And the absence of this gameplay in 3rd game will feel understandable but dissappointing nevertheless. My hope is that we will still be able to play as Aerith in 3rd game somehow.
Seeing as there are so many people wanting Rebirth to save Aerith(who completely miss the point of it all), thank you for making this.
Yeah... I just hope SE dont buy into this. People offen mistake what they want with what they need. If Aeris hadnt died in the original, FF7 wouldnt be half as popular as it is today, would probably not be popular enough to get a remake.
@@rsrocha1984 seriously you honestly think that her dying is the only good thing about the game? I think that's an insult to the game as a whole
@@steakdriven I dont know what part of what i said you understand as "the only good thing in the game". But hey, if you need a strawman, im here for you.
I get that point. I simply believe Aerith > Fate of the entire Planet!! 8)
@@steakdriven I don't think he said that. He said the death elevated the game to legendary status. And he's right.
3 days until Rebirth launches!!
Her death wrecked me for decades.
Not sure I’m ready to see her die again
I’m firmly in the Aerith must die camp but it’s interesting to think about for sure. Good video!
Same here, but also feels like there is more to what he explained as well, at least that is how it feels to me. And a well worth to watch video as well!
Aerith must die.
I'm honestly open minded about it. I think the video makes a great argument that I don't disagree with, but having grown up on reading comic books and sci-fi novels, I have always been fascinated about alternate timeline stories where a dead character survived, but another character died instead. I'm thinking of Spider-Gwen at the moment. Also, the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern of the late 90s meets his deceased girlfriend from an alternate timeline where he had died instead and she had become Green Lantern. In X-Men's Age of Apocalypse arc in the comics, we see an X-Men founded by Magneto after Xavier is killed when he is very young and where some dead mutants are now alive again and living mutants are now dead. There was a similar plot in the Netflix series Dark. And with the FF7 Remake series, we've got a living Zack walking around in a timeline where most of the main FF7 characters are apparently dead. But what all these stories have in common is that there's always a trade-off or another sacrifice that was made instead.
This is my biggest fear for Rebirth: that they change her fate. Her death was the defining moment of the original, that truly drove home the themes of the game. Even though there's a lot of people (and a lot that should know better IMO) that want her to live, I hope they do not do it... It would kill the trilogy if they do. Aerith must die. It is sad, but that's the whole point.
The ending to the original I find ambiguous and can be interpreted either the world being saved or meteor actually crashing into it. If the latter is what ultimately happens then Aerith’s sacrifice was all for not. I’m quite intrigued in seeing which direction Rebirth goes in this regard.
It would be like Romeo and Juliet waking up after poisoning themselves. It would undo the tragic yet unavoidable sacrifice the players originally had to suffer. That changed me as a kid, it was a lesson learned early in life that has stuck with me.
It was a tough pill to swallow
Romeo and Juliet wasn't a proper tragedy. They only died because of stupid circumstances
@@steakdriven I would argue that's the tragedy. It's a cruel fate that could have been avoided which makes it all the more heart breaking.
@@sharkeys makes the heart more infuriated is what it does. They didn't have far to fall, and they weren't brought down by their own flaws. They were fucked over by a risky plan that got screwed over because one guy couldn't do his job and get a message to romeo.
@@steakdriven hey it's a flawed story I wont lie. But stupidity can be tragic :P