A lot of eyes are on theFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy when it comes to what changes might be made to one of the most iconic stories in gaming. Remake introduced the idea of fate to the series, and showcased it in physical form with beings known as Whispers. At the end of the game though, the party takes on the strange spectres and defeats them, essentially killing the idea of a predefined path for them, otherwise known as the plot of the original game.
Anything could happen inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but there are certain things that must remain immovable. Moments that should not change, regardless of how much you mess with history.
Aerith must die.
Final Fantasy 7 released in 1997 for the original PlayStation and is widely credited as being the game that opened Western audiences up to Japanese role-playing games. It’s one of the most beloved and famous games in history, to the extent thatRobert Pattinson spoke about the classic during an interview where he specifically mentioned both spellings of Aerith(depending on the translation used, the Japanese spelling of the character’s name can either be Aeris or Aerith).
The game is remembered so fondly, largely thanks to its story and world building. You’re immediately thrust into a fantastical realm that you’ll never forget, with characters you’ll fall in love with and narrative beats that will scar you for life. This includes the death of Aerith, which happens at the end of the first disc and serves as the impetus for the emotional turmoil that Cloud and friends will come to face.
So why can’t we change that? What’s wrong with the idea of making it so Aerith isn’t the one who dies, or making it so nobody dies at all? First, it’s important to note that I’m absolutely not against the idea of Aerith not dying in Rebirth. I’m not against the idea of them swerving long-time fans and killing somebody else either, before ultimately murdering Aerith in the final part of the trilogy. What I am against is them not killing her at all.
But again, why? Why do I want this character to die so badly? Am I just an extremely bloodthirsty person? Well, it’s complicated.
Aerith represents the death of purity. She’s the last of her species, she’s easily the most upbeat character in the entire game, and she isn’t cynical about the broken world she lives in. She knows this world can get better, and it can, but not with her in it.
That’s not to say that everything up until Aerith’s death in the original game is light-hearted. It’s not exactly a happy experience, and grows incredibly dark at times, but it’s much lighter prior to the flower girl’s passing. After Aerith dies, everything suddenly shifts, becoming far darker and more foreboding, to the extent that the ultimate threat against the world is revealed, and it’s literally somebody taking the form of a god to destroy everything.
Like her ex-boyfriend and the now very much alive Zack Faire, Aerith works best as a force hanging over the other character’s heads. Zack is going to be a main driving force in Rebirth, but I’m under no illusion that he’ll still be alive at the end of the trilogy. He’s the reason Cloud is the way he is, he’s the impetus behind the motivations of at least two main characters (Cloud and Aerith), and he leads Crisis Core to an absolutely devastating crescendo. All of these would be completely lost if you kept him alive, and similarly, you’d lose too much in the latter half of Final Fantasy 7 if Aerith stayed breathing.
I’m not a bloodthirsty demon. I just believe that killing off Aerith is necessary for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the games that follow to tell their story, and that keeping her alive causes key character growth from the original game simply not to happen. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, you can’t keep a character alive just because their death caused you to get emotional as a child. To preserve the original story of Final Fantasy 7, Aerith must die.
