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Perhaps the most enduring matter of speculation concerning Final
Fantasy VII is whether or not Aerith was intended to die, whether her
death could be prevented, and whether or not she could be revived
after her death. In the case all of these matters, I will touch upon
them one at a time and reveal the truth.
First, to the matter of Aerith's death being preventable. It should be
kept in mind that there is no alternate FMV in the scene where
Aerith's death takes place. This can be ascertained easily through the
use of the PC Version of the game and reading all the FMV data on the
disc, or through any computer program that can read FMV data straight
off of the PlayStation game discs.
Granted, perhaps there would be no FMV if she didn't die. However, in
this eventuality, consider how much of the storyline would be altered
if Aerith did not die:
Aside from all the dialogue that speaks of Aerith in the past tense,
there's the fact that if she were to live, going to speak with
Bugenhagen during Disk 2 would be rendered unnecessary, going to the
City of the Ancients after, as well, as would the search for what
became of the White Materia, in which Bugenhagen sends the party off
to find the Key of the Ancients in order to activate the Ancient
Machine in the City of the Ancients.
It was only after activating that machine that the party learned that
the White Materia was glowing a pale green, meaning that Aerith's
prayer had went through and the White Materia had already been
activated. It was also the above incident that allowed them to learn
that Holy was activated, but wasn't moving because JENOVA/Sephiroth
was holding it back. Further, the party learns that the Junon Canon
had been moved and that Diamond WEAPON was approaching Midgar while
still at the City of the Ancients, which immediately preceded the
battle with Diamond WEAPON, the apparent death of Rufus Shinra, and
the final showdown with the Shin-Ra. This being the case, essentially
the entire manner in which things play out for the rest of the game
beyond Aerith's death would be altered in one form or another, with
the majority of these being major changes.
Also, in regard to both this matter, and the matter of Aerith being
revived, consider that the ending itself would have needed to be
altered, as she is not with the main party in the Northern Crater, nor
on the Highwind, and only a ghostly image of her appears in the wake
of the Lifestream during the ending. Considering how much of the game
would have needed to be altered, it's not at all possible for Aerith
to be revived -- or intended to be so in regard to the final version
of the script -- while preserving the integrity of the storyline
itself. Granted, it may yet be argued that in earlier versions of the
script, such a revival was intended but later removed -- and it's also
true that in the first draft of the script, Aerith was not intended to
die at all -- that simply isn't the case and is a matter which shall
be touched upon later; as far as the original draft of the script
goes, this examination is focusing solely on the developers'
intentions at the time of conceiving of Aerith's death.
To those who may argue that Gamesharks allow for Aerith to be revived,
and that there are even different lines that she will say from the
generic lines random other characters will say when in her place at
that point (such as the "I'm sick of this" line -- which can be seen
farther down -- after the snowboarding crash incident), keep in mind
that GameSharks only alter existing memory that is on the discs, and
that her lines are still -- nonetheless -- pretty generic, and nothing
significant in regard to the storyline, nor anything necessarily
Aerith-specific based on what is said. It's basically a rearranging
of what is already there, not something that can unlock new aspects of
the game, or be a key to unlocking the hidden parts of its storyline.
Characters such as Cid and Yuffie have lines as early in the game as
the Mithril Mines beyond the Chocobo Ranch, yet they're also generic
lines. With this in mind, any generic lines from Aerith beyond the
point in the game where she should be dead should not be regarded as
significant, nor indicative of a possible -- or intended --
resurrection.
It should also be pointed out that the Gamesharks don't provide access
to any scene involving a revival of Aerith. They simply allow
Aerith's battle and envrionment map renderings to be present when they
shouldn't be, just as Sephiroth can be placed into the player's battle
formation, as is shown in the pictures below:
Aerith
in the Snow.
Sephiroth
in the Party.
Sephiroth
in the Party (Part 2).
Sephiroth
in the Party (Part 3).
This function of Game Sharks and other gamecode-hacking programs is
simply to rearrange the existing code within the game. That's why one
can be at the Northern Crater on Disc 1. The entire game, in terms of
environment and battle maps, was placed on the first disc, but the
separate discs were needed due to the FMV sequences taking up so much
space. Being that the ending FMVs on Disc 3 are longer than almost all of
the other FMVs put together, it should be obvious that there's
no extra space for FMVs depicting altered versions of the ending,
featuring Aerith in the Northern Crater with the party, or on the
Highwind with them. In fact, Aerith being alive and being there would
completely screw-up what [i]is[/i] in the ending, such as Cloud seeing
Aerith's hand after the mental battle that occurs against Sephiroth's
form, Cloud saying "An answer from the Planet... the Promised Land...I
think I can meet her... there," and then Aerith appearing in the wake
of the Lifestream just as Meteor was being destroyed.
Further, being that there wasn't even enough space to take into
account in the FMVs that the player might do something as simple as
recruit Vincent or Yuffie -- due to them not being viewable in any
FMVs -- it should be very obvious that no such thing would be done
with Aerith in the event of a revival. For that matter, all of the FMV
coding on the discs can be read and copied straight from the discs
themselves with programs designed for just that purpose, and with the
PC Versions of the game, all the FMV sequences on the discs could be
saved straight off the discs. No alternate ending FMVs are present on
the third disc of the game in either the PlayStation or PC format of
any version of the game.
More to the concept of whether or not such a revival was ever
intended, all the game's FMV sequences, including the one in which
Aerith died and the ending FMV, were all made during 1995. They were
the first things that were made aside from the script that the game
would follow, made even before environment maps. The game wasn't
released in Japan until January 31, 1997. The FMVs were completed
more than a year before the game was released, and the final version
of the script was completed even before the FMVs.
While it has long been claimed by many that Final Fantasy VII was
incomplete, an intended resurrection of Aerith being left out due to
time constraints -- and true that the original Japanese release
suffered from time constraints, and despite pushing back the release
date a full month to work on the game longer, they still failed to add
in a pivotal scene of backstory (Cloud's flashback in the Shinra
Mansion basement on Disc 3 in which remembers his and Zack's escape
from Nibelheim) -- the game was completed in the half year of time
between the game's Japanese release and its North American release.
The additions made were on the order of a the flashback sequence in
the Shinra Mansion's basement on Disc 3, boss fight against Diamond
WEAPON, the two optional mega bosses (Ruby and Emerald WEAPONs), and a
few other small things in regard to Materia, equipment, and items that
were added into the North American release.
With the exception of the first addition mentioned in the previous
sentence, none of these were of absolutely pivotal importance to the
main plot, yet those who have argued that the game remained incomplete
even after its North American release expect for one to assume that
such comparatively insignificant matters were thrust to the forefront
of the developers' priorities, rather than an Aerith resurrection,
which would have been a massive plot element. Common consideration of
the order of priority, as well as consideration of the fact that the
pivotal plot addition of the flashback sequence in the Shinra
Mansion's basement render such an argument ridiculous.
At this point, I wish to present the most important bit of information
that argues against the notion of an Aerith resurrection having ever
been intended: The proof. During an interview in the May 2003 issue of
EDGE magazine, Tetsuya Nomura (Character Designer of Final Fantasy
VII) and Yoshinori Kitase (Director and Co-Scenario Writer of Final
Fantasy VII) speak on their respective intentions and hopes for
Aerith's death, and touch upon the matter of a resurrection.
Nomura, concerning Aerith's death:
"Back at the time we were designing the game, I was frustrated with
the perennial cliche where the protagonist loves someone very much and
so has to sacrifice himself and die in a dramatic fashion to express
that love. We found this was the case in both games and movies, both
eastern and western. But I wanted to say something different, something
realistic. I mean, is it right to set such an example to people?"
Kitase's follow up to Nomura's comments about Aerith's death:
"In the real world, things are very different. You just need to look
around you. Nobody wants to die that way. People die of disease and
accident. Death comes suddenly and there is no notion of good or bad
attached to it. It leaves, not a dramatic feeling, but a feeling of
emptiness. When you lose someone you loved very much you feel this big
empty space and think 'If I had known this was coming I would have
done things differently.' These are the feelings I wanted to arouse in
the players with Aerith's death relatively early in the game. Feelings
of reality and not Hollywood."
Kitase, concerning the fans' responses to Aerith's death, and the
possibility of her being revived:
"The world was expecting us to bring her back to life, as this is the
classic convention. But we did not. We had decided this from the
beginning. There was a lot of reaction from Japanese users. Some of
them were very sad about it, while others were angry. We even received
a lengthy petition addressed to our scenario writer asking for
Aerith's revival. But there are many meanings in Aerith's death and
that could never happen."
Here follow pictures of the interview quoted above within the
magazine, as well as pictures of the entire "Making of..." section for
that issue in which Final Fantasy VII was featured that month, and
also pictures of the cover of the magazine:
Kitase's
declaration of no intended resurrection.
Kitase's
declaration of no intended resurrection (Part 2).
Nomura's
thoughts concerning Aerith's death.
Nomura's
thoughts concerning Aerith's death (Part 2).
Nomura's
thoughts concerning Aerith's death (Part 3).
Kitase's
Thoughts on Aerith's Death.
Kitase's
Thoughts on Aerith's Death (Part 2).
Kitase's
Thoughts on Aerith's Death (Part 3).
EDGE
Magazine: May 2003; Issue 123.
"May
2003".
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII.
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII (Part 2).
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII (Part 3).
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII (Part 4).
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII (Part 5).
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII (Part 6).
The
Making of Final Fantasy VII (Part 7).
Here, we have proof from one of the core creators of Final Fantasy VII
that no such resurrection was ever intended, even from the inception
of the concept of Aerith's death.
Finally, I wish to emphasize once more that -- contrary to popular
belief -- neither the Japanese nor the International Version of FFVII
included an Aerith revival. As has been previously stated, the
Japanese Version didn't feature as much as the North American Version.
As for the International Version (re-release in Japan, and first
European release), it is identical to the version that North America
received, with the only exceptions being a few novelty items that are
available within the game (such as Johnny's Jacket), and a bonus disc
that came with the game in which vehicle schematics, an item list
featuring pictures of the items, and concept designs could be seen.
While North America has been shafted in regard to International
Releases ever since, with FFVII it did receive it in every capacity
that relates to the storyline itself. It was the first and only
version released in North America.
In conclusion, with all the evidence born of logical reasoning, as
well as the proof from the very lips of the Director/Co-Scenario
Writer of Final Fantasy VII -- who also happens to be the Producer of
Advent Children -- its is unquestionably fact that Aerith was never
intended to be revived.
Points often brought forward to argue that a revival of Aerith was
intended and why they don't actually support the notion:
(Note: These are taken from RTSmith005's contribution in falsehead's
Final Fantasy VII Plot Analysis FAQ at GameFAQs. I've reworded the
points that were made, but they still convey the same intention. Here
is the URL to that FAQ:
(Note: Right click on it, select "Copy Link Address" or its
equivalent on your browswer, then it into your address window and hit
"Go," as direct links to
GameFAQs' files do not work.)
Click
here.)
Point: At the bottom of the Northern Crater, before going down
to fight JENOVA, there's a spot for everyone to stand, but there's
also a ledge that's empty where Aerith could have been intended to
stand.
Response: Technically, there's more than just one spot where
Aerith could have conceivably been placed. This, in and of itself,
does nothing to suggest that the notion was intended by the
developers.
Point: For the battle against Bizarro Sephiroth, if the player
has acquired all the game's characters (this meaning including Vincent
and Yuffie), they will have only 8 party members, not enough to form
three full parties if prompted to do so when battling the boss.
Response: As with the matter of there being an "empty ledge"
above the area of the final battles, this alone does nothing to
support the notion.
Point: Throughout the game, Cloud has to make decisions that
extend favoritism to either Tifa or Aerith (or Barret or Yuffie, as
well), yet after Aerith's death, the matter is dropped and no longer
affects anything. Surely it was intended to affect more than just who
Cloud dates at the Gold Saucer.
Response: It does affect more than that. It affects the
dialogue and dynamic between Cloud and Tifa when they spend the night
together beneath the Highwind after Hojo's defeat and before the
descent into the Northern Crater.
Here follows comparisons of the scenes if Cloud has high to moderate
favoritism toward Tifa, or low favoritism towards her (note that
variations between the two versions will be marked in italics):
(Low favoritism)
Cloud
"What are you going to do, Tifa?"
Tifa
"Did you forget?"
"I'm... all alone. I don't have anywhere to go."
(Next scene.)
Tifa
"Everyone's gone..."
Cloud
"Yeah, we don't have anywhere or anyone to go home to."
Tifa
"You're right..."
Tifa
"But... I'm sure someday... they'll come back, don't you think?"
Cloud
"Hmm... I wonder...?"
"Everyone has an irreplaceable something they're holding on to..."
"But this time, our opponent..."
Tifa
"Hmm... But that's all right, even if no one comes back."
"As long as we're together. With you by my side, I'll never
give up no matter how bad it gets."
Cloud
"...... Tifa......"
Tifa
"No matter how close we are now... We were far apart before."
"But when we were in the Lifestream surrounded by all those
screams of anguish, I thought I heard your voice..."
Tifa
"...sniff... you probably don't remember this..."
"But deep in my heart I heard you calling my name... Or at
least I thought I did..."
Cloud
"I see."
"I think I've heard it, too."
"Then, it was Tifa's voice."
Tifa
"Cloud...? Do you think the stars can hear us?"
Tifa
"Do you think they see how hard we're fighting for them?"
Cloud
"I dunno... But..."
"Whether they can or not, we still have to do what we can. And
believe in ourselves..."
"I'll find the answer some day, as long as I keep trying."
Tifa
"Yes, that's right."
Cloud
"We've got a big battle tomorrow. We'd better get some sleep."
Tifa
"Umm. I guess you're right."
(Next scene.)
Cloud
"…It's almost dawn..."
Tifa
"H, huh...?"
Cloud
"Morning, Tifa. It's almost dawn."
Tifa
"Mmm… Good morning, Cloud."
Tifa
"Just a little longer… a little bit longer."
Tifa
"This day will never come again... So let me have this moment..."
Cloud
"......"
Tifa
"............"
(Next scene.)
Cloud
"We'd better go."
Tifa
"But, I still...!?"
Cloud
"It's all right, Tifa. You said so yourself yesterday."
"At least we don't have to go on alone."
Tifa
"Yes... That's right!"
Cloud
"Okay! Let's go!"
Tifa
"This airship is too big for just the two of us."
"Yeah, it's a little lonely without everyone."
Cloud
"Don't worry. It'll be okay."
Cloud
"I'll make a big enough ruckus for everyone."
Cloud
"Besides, I'm the pilot."
"No more flying around casually like before."
"We won't have time to feel lonely."
Tifa
"Huh!?"
Cloud
"It's moving......"
Cloud
"Barret! Cid!"
Barret
"O, oh...... is that okay with you?"
Cloud
"Red XIII!"
Tifa
"Why didn't you tell me!?"
Red XIII
"But, you know, Cid."
Cid
"Hey, Red XIII."
"If you butt in now, you never know what they'll say later......"
Tifa
"......Were you listening?"
::Tifa goes to the front of the Highwind and looks out the windows,
tapping her foot::
(High to Moderate Favoritism)
Cloud
"What are you going to do, Tifa?"
Tifa
"Did you forget?"
"I'm... all alone. I don't have anywhere to go."
(Next scene.)
Tifa
"Everyone's gone..."
Cloud
"Yeah, we don't have anywhere or anyone to go home to."
Tifa
"You're right..."
Tifa
"But... I'm sure someday... they'll come back, don't you think?"
Cloud
"Hmm... I wonder...?"
"Everyone has an irreplaceable something they're holding on to..."
"But this time, our opponent..."
Tifa
"Hmm... But that's all right, even if no one comes back."
"As long as I'm with you... As long as you're by my
side... I won't give up even if I'm scared."
Cloud
"...... Tifa......"
Tifa
"No matter how close we are... We were far apart... before
this."
"But when we were in the Lifestream surrounded by all those
screams of anguish, I thought I heard your voice..."
Tifa
"...sniff... you probably don't remember this..."
"But deep in my heart I heard you calling my name... Or at
least I thought I did..."
Cloud
"Yeah... At that time I heard you calling me."
"You were calling me back in from the stream of
consciousness in the Lifestream."
Cloud
"After all, I promised. That if anything were to ever
happen to you, I would come to help."
Tifa
"Cloud...? Do you think the stars can hear us?"
Tifa
"Do you think they see how hard we're fighting for them?"
Cloud
"I dunno... But..."
"Whether they are or not, we still have to do what we can.
And believe in ourselves..."
"Someday we'll find the answer. Right, Tifa?"
"That's what I learned from you when I was in the
Lifestream."
Tifa
"Yeah...... that's right..."
Cloud
"Hey, Tifa...... I...... There are a lot of things I
wanted to talk to you about."
Cloud
"But now that we're together like this, I don't know what
I really wanted to say..."
"I guess nothing's changed at all... Kind of makes you
want to laugh..."
Tifa
"Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tell people
what you're thinking..."
Cloud
"............"
(Next scene.)
Cloud
"............It's almost dawn..."
Tifa
"H, huh...?"
Cloud
"Sorry. Did I wake you...? It's almost dawn, Tifa."
Tifa
"Umm... G, good morning... Cloud."
"Give me a little longer... Just a little bit longer..."
Tifa
"This day will never come again... So let me have this moment..."
Cloud
"Yeah... okay."
Cloud
"This is probably the last time we'll have together......"
(Next scene.)
Tifa
"............"
Cloud
"We'd better go."
Tifa
"But, I still...!?"
Cloud
"It's all right, Tifa. You said so yourself yesterday."
"At least we don't have to go on alone."
Tifa
"Yes... That's right!"
Cloud
"Okay! Let's go!"
Tifa
"The airship is too big for just the two of us."
"Yeah, it's a little lonely without everyone."
Cloud
"Don't worry. It'll be okay."
Cloud
"I'll make a big enough ruckus for everyone."
Cloud
"Besides, I'm the pilot."
"No more flying around casually like before."
"We won't have time to feel lonely."
Tifa
"Huh!?"
Cloud
"It's moving......"
Cloud
"Barret! Cid!"
Barret
"O, oh...... is that okay with you?"
Cloud
"Red XIII!"
Tifa
"Why didn't you tell me!?"
Red XIII
"But, you know, Cid."
Cid
"Hey, Red XIII."
"If you butt in now, you never know what they'll say later......"
Tifa
"......Were you watching?"
::Tifa runs away and falls to the floor, holding her head in
embarassment. Vincent enters and everyone but Tifa turns to look at
him::
Screenshots, as well as a script comparison of the matter, can be
found here: Last
Night Under the Highwind.
Point: Aerith's ultimate weapon, the Princess Guard, has only
seven single slots for Materia and gains AP, whereas every other
character's ultimate weapon has eight slots consisting of four linked
segments, and with none of them gaining AP. This would suggest that
this wasn't really intended to be her ultimate weapon.
Response: If the player were to suddenly acquire a weapon for
Aerith that was far superior to the other weapons for her in terms of
its flexibility, specifically if it gained no AP, that could possibly
convey that this was intended to be her ultimate and final weapon,
thereby prematurely conveying her imminent permanent departure from
the party.
Point: Aerith's Umbrella weapon has a higher attack power than
her ultimate weapon, the Princess Guard, yet every other character's
best weapons have a higher attack power than any of their other
weapons. This could also suggest that this wasn't really intended to
be her ultimate weapon.
Response: Again, if Aerith were to suddenly acquire a weapon
far superior to her other weapons in every regard, that could possibly
convey that this was intended to be her ultimate -- and, thus, her
final -- weapon, prematurely conveying that Aerith's permanent
farewell would be soon.
Point: When the player acquires Aerith's final Limit Break, in
all likelihood, she is already dead, as one essentially must know what
they have to do to acquire and make use of it before her death, and
must go out of their way a great deal to do so, spending a large
amount of time in order to actually make use of it. This would
somewhat suggest that the player has it before they should.
Response: But the fact remains that the player can have it
before Aerith's death by making use of the Buggy supplied by Dio,
riding it into Costa del Sol and returning the to the Midgar
continent, then fulfilling the requirements for obtaining a piece of
Mithril, and later giving it to the Weapon Seller east of Gongaga in
exchange for the Great Gospel. Further, the player can make use of it
before Aerith's death provided that they raise her Limit Break levels
to the point that the Great Gospel item can be used to teach her this
final Limit Break.
The fact that she can get it before her death and use it completely
undermines this point in regard to reviving her. Further, consider
that if Aerith were meant to be revived, or were meant to remain
alive, that -- with her final Limit Break -- the latter Boss battles
of the game would be made ridiculously simple.
While true that it takes a great deal of time to actually acquire and
make use of it before Aerith's death, it's simply an extra challenge
for players to take on during the course of the game.
Point: In front of the steps up to the altar where Aerith dies
in the City of the Ancients, there is a doorway in the background that
cannot be reached. Programmers usually don't waste the time and effort
to put stuff like that in a game if there's not supposed to be a way
of reaching it or going through it.
Response: Final Fantasy's programmers pretty much always have
done that. For that matter, they do it in VII on more than once
occasion. In the first few minutes of the game even, there's a door
way right behind the first Save Point in the Mako Reactor that
AVALANCHE blows up, yet one cannot pass through this doorway. The
programmers even bothered to render doors that can be opened into
small rooms that contain absolutely no items and where no cutscenes
take place, such as what appears to be a storage room in the inn of
Sector 6's Wall Market. One can merely open the door and take about
one step forward before they can't go any further. Things like this
are just there to give the player the feeling of actually being in a
real world. The same is true of that doorway in the City of the
Ancients. If all we ever see or interact with/in is all there ever was
shown to be, it would be somewhat more difficult to immerse oneself
into the fictional world of the game, as this would remind them that
they are playing a game.
Point: If one looks at the floor of the altar when Cloud is
almost forced to kill Aerith, there is a spiral staircase. While it's
possibly intended to be the reflection of the spiral staircase above,
the glass dome around the altar Aerith is kneeling on should already
be reflecting it. There must be another staircase beneath the altar.
Response: There obviously isn't. Compare this picture of the
support column of the altar to the reflection on the floor when Cloud
stands before Aerith:
The
support column.
The
reflection.
Most obviously, the spiral staircase is too wide to go down through
that column, and when considering what its depth would be in regard to
that reflection, it would be far enough down that it would already be
below the point of the column where it became narrow.
For that matter, Aerith's death scene and that environment map are
riddled with mistakes as it is. Depending on the version one is
playing, when approaching the altar, she either has her back to the
stairs or is facing them. In any event, when Cloud gets up there and
holds his sword above her, she's facing the stairs. As the FMV of her
death begins, she is still facing the stairs. When the Sephiroth form
descends, it isn't wearing gloves, nor is there glass dome around the
altar any longer. When Aerith is skewered, not only is the Sephiroth
form now wearing gloves, but the stairs are behind both Aerith and the
Sephiroth form. When the FMV ends, the Sephiroth form is now facing
the stairs and there a glass dome around the altar once again.
One more mistake added to that list is hardly a surprise.
Point: There are solo FMV shots of each character in the game
manual or on its cover. All of these actually do occur in-game or
realistically could have (Tifa sitting on the well in Nibelheim,
Vincent sitting atop the Shinra Mansion and looking across Nibelheim,
Yuffie overlooking Wutai from atop Mt. Dachao, etc.), yet the shot of
Aerith depicts her looking at the Highwind at a close distance. When
Cloud first saw the Highwind at such a distance, Aerith was not with
him. Further, Aerith is dead before Tifa, Barret, and the others steal
the Highwind from Junon later in the game. Also notable is that she's
wearing a white skirt here instead of her pink one. This is a heavy
indication that the developers intended to revive Aerith.
Response: Aerith isn't wearing white in that FMV shot. She's
wearing her standard outfit. The manner in which the light shines on
her makes it appear as though she is wearing a white skirt, however,
the pink hue of her skirt can still be easily observed: Linkage.
As far as it having never occurred in-game goes, that's hardly to be
taken as an indication of the developers' intentions. For that matter,
the FMV shot of Barret Wallace involves him holding Marlene while
standing in Aerith's church. That hardly could have taken place during
the course of the game, as Barret doesn't see Marlene during the game
after leaving her in Elmyra's care, nor would the church have looked
the same if the scene had taken place after the game due to the damage
rendered to Midgar and the church during Meteor's descent (as can be
seen by comparing shots of the church during the game to shots of the
church in Advent Children):
Barret
and Marlene in Aerith's Church.
Aerith's
Church in Advent Children.
Supposing that Barret saw Marlene the day after Shin-Ra was defeated,
he would have gone to Kalm to see her and not to Midgar anyway.
While one may argue that Barret and Marlene had visited the church
before the game unfolds, that's rather going out on a limb, as it's
never suggested and needs to be kept in mind that Midgar is vast in
size and the odds of Barret having taken Marlene for a stroll through
the dangerous city to Aerith's church before they even knew Aerith is
unlikely. For that matter, just because Aerith wasn't with Cloud when
he saw the Highwind doesn't mean she couldn't have gotten as close to
it as he did. The other members of AVALANCHE had to find a way up to
the upper level of Junon somehow, after all, and we're not told much
of what they did or saw on the way, with the only exception being that
we're told that Aerith did see the Highwind:
(On the Shin-Ra Cargo Ship)
A soldier
"Umm.... It's me, Aerith."
Aerith
"Hey, Cloud. Did you see the Airship at Junon?"
Cloud
"...I heard it was big, but I didn't expect it to be THAT big."
Aerith
"That was REALLY something."
Point: From a conversation between Cloud and Tifa rather late
in the game, there's foreshadowing of a possible resurrection of
Aerith, as Tifa speaks of Aerith having always been one to speak of
the future:
Tifa
"I wonder what Aerith felt... when she was on that altar...?"
Cloud
"I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet..."
Tifa
"Really? I wonder? I don't think that's it at all."
"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..."
Response: The point here was not that Aerith had intended to
die and return, or that the developers intended her to do so. She,
indeed, had no idea that she was going to die, which is why she spoke
of the future and of coming back when things were finished with
Sephiroth. Based on the aforementioned interview in the May 2003 issue
of EDGE magazine, we can determine that the point of this scene was to
emphasise the realistic nature of death: It's unexpected and there's
no time to prepare for it:
Yoshinori Kitase on the Subject of Aerith's Death:
"In the real world, things are very different. You just need to look
around you. Nobody wants to die that way. People die of disease and
accident. Death comes suddenly and there is no notion of good or bad
attached to it. It leaves, not a dramatic feeling, but a feeling of
emptiness. When you lose someone you loved very much you feel this big
empty space and think 'If I had knowni this was coming I would have
done things differently.' These are the feelings I wanted to arouse in
the players with Aerith's death relatively early in the game. Feelings
of reality and not Hollywood."
Kitase's
Thoughts on Aerith's Death.
Kitase's
Thoughts on Aerith's Death (Part 2).
Kitase's
Thoughts on Aerith's Death (Part 3).
Point: Probably the strongest piece of evidence toward the
truth of this matter is that when you go back to Aerith's church on
Disc 3 of the game after getting the Key to Sector 5 in the Bone
Village, you'll see her ghost appear briefly. This is obviously part
of a side quest that wasn't fully completed.
Response: That "ghost" will actually appear even on Disc 1
while Aerith is still alive, appearing in the same manner as it
will on Disc 3 and disappearing just as quickly. One can return there
after Aerith has been kidnapped by Tseng on Disc 1 and see the image
the same as they can later in the game. For that matter, the children
in the church say nothing which would suggest the presence of Aerith
in any form. At best, it's simply Cloud's memories. In all likelihood,
it's probably a glitch.
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