I take it everyone here looked on in deep absolute dreadful horror as the great Sephiroth came hurtling down, masamune in hand, and murdering our beloved flower girl.

But we were warned, kinda, that this would happen.

If you all remember there were a couple of clues to what would happen to her.

The two I can remember of the top of my head are...

1) Cait Siths fortune telling. "What you seek will be yours but you will lose something dear..." Some "fortune" teller... <_<
But in all honesty I just set it aside throughout the rest of the disk. It wasn't until Aeris had died that I slapped myself for not being able to guess. Made it more of a tragedy really.

2) Aeris always talking about the next time. It's like she knew from the start something would happen to her. It always made we wonder, if she knew this she did well to keep it hidden.

When these things came up in the game when you first played it, what did you thik of them and what was your immediate reaction when the realisation smacked you in the face?

I had the game spoiled for me unfortunately. But it was horrible to see first hand. I wondered more about what Cloud would do and how he would react since she was very important to him and he didn't know how to express himself that well.

But just seeing what happened was so sad. As much as I love Sephiroth as a character, I really hated him at that moment. I guess that is what Square was trying to make the player do as well.

When I first played it I didn't understand english very much...so I didn't knew what was gonna happen... :no:

Actually, fortune comes from fortuna, latin, and it means destiny, not luck. ^_^ Just some info for you! It helps so you won't think bad about the character (or the machine, can't remember who said it...but it was Caith Sith, right?) :geek:

You're right that we were kinda warned about what would happen to Aerith, but it never occurred to me as I played the game. It wasn't until after her death that I realized what Cait Sith's prediction in the Gold Saucer had meant.

I was shocked when she died, and I literally cried my eyes out. How I ever managed to kill Jenova Life, I'll never know - since I wasn't even paying attention to the battle. I couldn't continue the game for several days afterward, and even then I'd just play it for short spurts. Aerith was my favorite character in the game besides Cloud. I hated replacing her in the party with a different character because other characters just couldn't "measure up" to Aerith. I enjoyed her charm, her optimism, her beauty, her grace, her outlook on the events, and the way she dealt with other characters, especially Cloud. And despite what other people say about her fighting skills, I always found her to be a useful party member. The loss of Aerith left a huge, gaping hole in the game for me and her role in the game was far more significant to me than any part Tifa ever played in it.

I guess that's why I still believe that Aerith will be central to the events of AC. Despite the claims of some people that Tifa has the leading female role in AC, I can't believe it. In my opinion, Aerith was a far more significant character in the game than Tifa. Because of that, Aerith deserves a significant role in the sequel and I find it hard to believe that Square wouldn't acknowledge that in AC.

Yeah, when I first saw her die I was just like that...I didn't cry but I was so stunned that I don't even know how I beat that thing... :ermm:

I was like that too, Aly.

Even though I already knew she would die, I had come to love her character so. When I had gotten near to the part where she was gonna die. I stopped playing for awhile. Not really wanting to see it. Then I continued. When she died, I had tears in my eyes and yelling at the tv screen, "NOOOOO!!!!!". I beat Jenova Death out of pure new found hatred for Jenova and Sephiroth. I couldn't play the game for awhile after that. Then at the end of the final battle, all I was thinking was, this is for Aeris. Sounds kinda weird but yeah... :blush:

I don't think I've seen any RPG, or any game for that matter that could accomplish this so well.

But remember... to try to stick to discussing the prophecy of her death.

Needles to say I was oblivious until it happened.

If I hadn't known about the her death previously, I probably wouldn't have noticed the signs of her death. But, that's just me. Since, I did know about it, I did notice the signs. It made me sad. :(

I'm curious what you see as being a prophecy to her death in the game other than Cait Sith's prediction. I don't remember Aerith talking about "the next time". I do remember her talking about the future a great deal, and things that she wanted to do such as riding the Highwind some day.

So what did you see in the game that would serve as a prophecy to her death other than Cait Sith's prediction? :unsure: I know that I wasn't expecting her death at all.

Even though I knew she would die, it was HARD to fight that boss with dry eyes. I had my family behind me (since I played the PC version first. Greatest Christmas present EVER) and I couldn't just start crying in front of the computer. :lol:

After that whole scene finished, the game just wasn't that interesting to me anymore. I barely played and I made myself keep playing just to see if there was going to be anymore Aeris references. Fortunately there were, and the speech that Cloud makes about not knowing until it was too late, etc. kinda inspired me to finish the game for the first time.

Aeris was my favorite character at first and I thought the comic I saw in a game magazine was just that, a comic. I was half surprised that she died but the impact it left on me was like I saw it without even knowing.

For me, just the fact that Aerith spoke about the future so much was like a prophecy of her death in itself. It's like in war films, the soldier who speaks most about the future and what he's going to do after the battle is over is always the one who doesn't go home. With everything Aerith said about the future, I could see the dramatic irony mounting up. Especially in the scene where she asked Cait Sith to predict her fortune with Cloud. (Before I played it, I knew someone would die in VII, but I'd never been told who it was.) But still, when Cloud caught up to her in the Forgotten City I genuinely thought he would climb to the altar and they'd leave the city, I didn't think she'd die so soon. (Mind you, it wasn't really 'soon', it was a third of the way through the game. But it always feels too soon whenever I replay the game and reach the Temple of the Ancients.)

What Cait Sith said: "What you pursue will be yours but you will lose something dear." just points out to us that Aerith is someone who is dear to Cloud. :woot:

The first time I played the game and read those words, I shuddered; my hairs stood on their ends. It felt horrible... and I felt afraid. I was like, "Something bad is going to happen..."
And then to my surprise, at the end of disc one, Aerith dies. :cry:
But oh well, at least I know that Aerith is someone who is dear to Cloud. :/

Actually, I accidently found out that Aerith was gonna die when I saw all those petitions on the internet to revive her :P so I kinda expected her to die. But as I got further to the game, especially after the date scene, I grew to love her more and I kinda dreaded seeing her die. After Sephiroth killed her I actually cried :cry:. That was the first time a video game ever made me cry (Metal Gear Solid was the second ;)).

As for prophecy, since I knew she was gonna get killed, I kinda figured out what Cait Sith meant on his fortune-telling...

Do you know why Sackaguchi killed off Aeris? Because he wanted us to feel what he was feeling at the time. His mother had passed away recently.

He thought by getting us to love a character so much, who always spoke fondly and was hopeful for the future and then have her die tragically, would be the most effective way to get his current emotions across.

Well done Hinronbou. You succedded.

Madame Batolli. Your too right about the how the one who always hopes and has plans for the future is the one to always die. Final Fantasy VII was a war filim in in itself.

I knew it was going to happen before it happend but that just made it worse. As I got closer to the fateful moment I played less and less often and I don't know how I beat Jenova-Life because my heart just wasn't in the game anymore. After that it took me several days to work up the nerve to play again and even then it felt like a giant vacume had just sucked all the fun out of the game and it was really hard to play for a while.
<--- :cry:

Yeah, unfortunately, I had Aerith's death spoiled for me, too. I already knew she was gonna die, so Cait Sith's prediction kind of made sense. Gawd, I cried like a baby when she died, though. Knowing she was going to die didn't make it any easier to see. :cry:

Yeah, that is what I think, too. :D However, you won't find a CloTi out there that will admit it. They just try to say that Cait Sith was full of it, blah, blah, blah... :rolleyes:

Yep, that's right! ^_^ It was Sakaguchi's idea to kill off a character. Here is Nomura's explanation of Aerith's death and what they wanted to accomplish by it:

"To tell you the truth, FFVII's theme was 'life'. We had instructions from Mr. Sakaguchi saying, 'More than depicting life in the theme, you have to depict life and death. Anyhow you have to portray death.' With the death of a character, we wanted to have the player feel pain. So to do so, portraying the death of the heroine Aerith would be the most painful and important/heavy [on the feelings/emotions]. So, to portray death properly, it was decided that we would show Aerith's death."

So, it was Sakaguchi's idea to kill off a character, and he did not specify which one. That was decided later. It is interesting to see that they wanted to make the most of the death, a death that would affect the players and the characters the greatest... and they picked Aerith, the heroine of FFVII. So, basically, this just sunk one of the CloTis favorite arguments, that Nomura "hated Aerith" and "killed her off to get rid of her because she was weak" and that Nomura wanted to "sub Tifa in for Aerith to be Cloud's girlfriend". In fact, these interviews show just how IMPORTANT Aerith's death was meant to be. :D

Like many people here, I had known Aerith was going to die before I played the game (although it was still difficult to deal with when it happened... sniffle).

But no doubt, there definitely is a lot of foreshadowing of her death throughout the game. In addition to the two examples we've discussed so far (the Cait Sith scene in the Temple of the Ancients and Aerith constantly "talking about the future") there is another scene that particularly sticks out in my mind:

the scene on the Shinra ship on the way to the Costa Del Sol, where Aerith asks (begs) you to take her for a ride on an Airship one day. She's the one who's most excited about the prospect, yet she dies before you get one. For some reason, this exchange particularly struck me.


Later in the game well after her death, as we all know, Cid laments that he wished he could have given her a ride in the airship. This is interesting in of itself, but is even more so considering that when Aerith says this to Cloud, Cid is not yet in your party.

Notice how Aeris' change disk screen has her staring at the Highwind in the background. It portrayed her wish to fly on it.

But it is actually out of date. That screen was made before the decision to kill her was made. Why theu didn't change it later on is a mystery. Maybe to throw the audience off?

Ahhh, forgot about that as well, good call Lost. I'm sure Square left it in on purpose, just like I'm sure they left the scene on the ship between Cloud and Aerith and the scene on the Highwind with Cid in on purpose. I get the feeling the Highwing-Aerith references were left in specifically to emphasize the impact of her death to the viewer.

Agreed with Buhon.
After that, whenever we saw the screen, we were like "poor darling, she wanted to fly on that! But she didn't have the chance! Kill Sephy kill! " heehee

Well for me, it's really funny. Me bro bought this unofficial guide for us. And we were reading and playing through the game at the same time. And there was this page that told us to "save this slot and NEVER delete it!"
So we're like huh? what the hell is going on? Is there some error or difficult bosses coming up or something? ... and then ta da - the death scene. *sob*
Wot a cute unofficial guide author I must add.

One of the reasons I despise Cait Sith so much is because he was the one who prohecised Aeris' death. I know Sephiroth killed her but Cait Sith was giving hints.

THAT... THAT BASTARD!!!

Awww... Cait Sith didn't even know what that prophecy meant! I thought that Cait Sith loved Aerith as much as the other characters, and he also gave the prophecy that Cloud and Aerith should be married. I think Cait Sith/Reeve would have loved to see Aerith alive and felt horrible about her death.

What made it worse for me when Aeris died is that I was so distracted and mad I lost the fight... I couldn't bear to watch it happen again so I stoped playing for awhile. On the bright side, since I accidentally killed them they got to see Aeris... :unsure: :rolleyes:

As soon as the battle againt Jenova Life began Cloud immediatly had a limit break ready for the bastard.

Cait Sith did like Aeris I'll agree but I'll never forgive him for prophecising her death and turning traitor.

Hell... he was usless anyway.

Huh? :huh: The game shows them seeing Aerith if they get killed in the Death Scene? :blink: I can't remember my party ever dying in the fight with Jenova. That doesn't happen, does it? :unsure:

I got the game spoiled for me too, but my hormones hadn't kicked in yet, so I didn't really care, and something is wrong with my copy of the game. If you don't put a certain setting on my PS2, some of the FMVs get left out, so I didn't actually see it the first time. Then after I started reading some fanfics about Cloud and Aerith, that's when my hormones kicked in, and I realized I loved Aerith just as much as Cloud. I know, it's sad I have a crush on a video game character. But anyway, after I saw the FMV when I played the game through a second time, I was like O.O I had tears in my eyes, and then Sephiroth started saying all that stuff. I was like, "F*** you Sephiroth!!! You bastard!!! " And I used my anger to kill Jenova, then I turned the game off, went to my room and cried. T_T

haha, sorry, I wasn't clear. I was joking around since I managed to have them all die to I figured they could go with Aeris to the promised land or lifestream. My humor sucks, sorry! :lol:

Just to stay remotely on topic...I had no idea that Aeris was going to die, and was very shocked and moved when it did happen (and Cloud's reaction tore me to pieces), and on replaying the game, I did pick up on a lot of the hints, and Cait Sith's fortune stood out for me as the most jarring and poignant. :cry:

Now, now, I'll have none of this Cait Sith/Reeve bashing. I'm quite a fan of his. He's a sweetheart and I'm very protective of him! ^_^

I agree wholeheartedly with Anastar on the issue of his personal feelings for Aeris - he seemed very close to her, and seemed to like her just as much as the other characters did. I'd even venture that he was one of the party members (alongside Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie) that were closest to Aeris whilst she was alive, too. They were a very tight-knit group, after all, and both Aeris and Cait Sith/Reeve are very friendly, upbeat and cheerful, so it's easy for me to imagine them getting along very well. It's clear that her opinion and goodwill mean a lot to him too, because her supportive attitude, as well as her forgiveness and compassion at the Temple of the Ancients makes him "so happy". It seems very clear to me me that he never wished her any harm. I'd even go as far as to speculate as to whether or not Reeve had a bit of a crush on our favourite flower-girl... :whistle:

I honestly don't see how unwittingly prophecising Aeris' death is a reason to hate his character. It's not as if accidentally and unknowingly predicting it made it happen. Cait Sith may have been giving hints, but it's not as if he was at all aware of it. Plus, he also predicted that Cloud and Aeris were perfect for each other! And anyway, as the old saying goes - don't shoot the messenger! Especially if the messenger is an adorable robotic cat riding a giant moogle! :moogle:

As for the traitor issue, I can't say that I agree with that either. A traitor has to be someone who was originally on your side. Reeve doesn't fall under this category because he was never on your side in the first place. He doesn't "turn traitor", because that was always his objective. That was his job. He's like an undercover cop! He doesn't betray you because he was never loyal to you in the first place. His whole motive for joining your party was to spy on you, report your movements to Shinra and occasionally interfere with things (ie: the Keystone incident). It may feel like a betryal from the party's perspective, but not from his. But you have to remember that this doesn't make him a bad person, because from his perspective Avalanche is a murdering, terrorist-organisation that he's helping bring to justice so that they can't kill any more people. Remember that he's an executive who does genuinely care for the people and wants what's best for them. But despite this, he still comes to see Avalanche as human beings and care for them and their goals, and he does feel guilty for his behaviour. He also doesn't seem the type to turn Aeris over to a guy like Hojo either, so he's a decent person. And he fully redeems himself by betraying Shinra (which is a real betaryal, too) just to help Cloud and the group - when it comes to the crunch, and he has to pick a side, it's your side he chooses.

Plus, he doesn't agree with dropping the Plate on Sector Seven or blowing people up. It's a good moral stance! What's not to like? ^_^

Anastar:

I couldn't agree with you more on this. To me, Aerith's role is definitely more important than Tifa's. I felt the story of the game had revolved mostly around her, the Cetras, the Planet, and Cloud finding himself. I was throughly amazed to hear some claim that Tifa was the main heroine of VII. Just because Aerith died and Tifa survived at the end does not make Tifa the main heroine. :no: It's really what role they played in the game that counts...talk about being brainless, eh? :mad:

And Lost Mercenary...I agree with you that we had all been warned before hand, but just like you, I didn't really even think about Cait Sith's prediction or some of the things Aerith had said/maybe hinted at until after her death. Those things made a lot of sense to me afterwards, of course. So very tragic...and believe me, I was quite upset with Square there for a while. :(

When Cait Sith said that, at the Gold Saucer, I had a feeling something was going to happen... The first thing that popped into my head, when I saw, "Something dear" was Aeris! (Imagine that) Afterward, I shook it off, thinking, "square would never kill off such a character," but when I got to the Ancient Capital, and I saw her... I started to cry, right there. These started off as relief tears, I thought it was beautiful, that Cloud had finally gotten to Aeris, that he had come for her, and when they stood there, staring at each other, I was so happy Cloud had found her. Right when Sephiroth came down, I swear, my jaw hit the floor. I actually slapped myself, not believing the sight, but it was true... :sad: I cried, and cried, and cried... Her death scene was enough, but playing the music during the battle right afterward, was so depressing. It brought back so many memories of her during the game, and at her funeral scene, I cried even harder. Aeris was a truely beautiful person, in spirit, mind, and body, and she didn't deserve to die. What made me cry even harder, was that she was so innocent, and good, and such people do not deserve such a fate. :no:

That is okay, I was thinking the same exact thing. But I was in utter disbalife when it happend. It was all so sad. I was 8 the first time I played the game so I did not really understand but then when I played again about two years ago, I was dumbfounded. I litarilly threw my cup at the Tv then stared and started to Cry, then I thought it was a dream or something but it never was and Fighting Janove made killing her more the better since Janova's "son" killed Aeris. Then at the final battle with sephiroth, I let him taste all the power I had. I had everything full my magc was maxed and I was level 99 and I let him have everything I had. Then when I was attacking him I was like. "You killed Aeris, now I kill you. I love you Aeris." then sephirtoh got killed and I was just so happy that I cried and thought Aeris can finally rest in peace.


And I really think Aeris will come back in FF7AC. If sephiroth can, why not her. I think the meteria that "does nothing" will revive her or something. But I just hope in my heart she will come back.

Cait Sith didn't know what the fortune meant, and he asked Cloud to come so that he could find out. He was even surprised, and showed it openly to Cloud (and the person you brought along... could be Red XIII...). I think he even expected a silly little thing that says, "Your lucky color today will be violet!" :rolleyes:

I beat JENOVA Death (was that the form? :unsure: ) with dry eyes, but it was HARD, trying to control those tears. When I look back, I keep thinking, "I'm going to kill you, you ***insert profanity which starts with 'bi' and ends with 'otch'***!!!!"

And I killed her/him/it in five turns. :devil: All that she/he/it was able to do was do one silly Aqualung.

^ Not entirely true.

The reason he gave for joining the party was nothing more than a roose to get into the group. He was a Shinra Spy remember.

I never thought of that before. If Sephiroth can come back, why not Aerith?
But then their deaths had different circumstances...but how would that affect their coming back? Hmmm... :unsure:

Back to the prophecy...I was really annoyed when a Cloti in a board said that Cait Sith's prophecy "you will lose something dear" was not centered on Cloud but on the whole party "because Aerith symbolized hope for all of them". He/she used this to 'disprove' that Aerith was particularly special to Cloud. Okay, so Aerith symbolized hope, eh? But a few sentences later, this Cloti went back to bashing Aerith's character. Hypocrite

I really don't think Sephiroth has been resurrected. Vincent said that if the SHM had Jenova's head, they could create another Sephiroth. Nothing was said about resurrecting Sephiroth. I think he's existing more like an "unsent" in FFX.

I've heard that one before. That one's as silly as saying that Cloud doesn't cry at Aerith's death. <_<

I haven't played FFX yet so I don't know what an "unsent" is. The phrase "I won't be just a memory" seems to indicate that he is really back, in his physical body. If he hasn't been resurrected, then maybe he never really died at all...? But how is that possible, we saw him die. :unsure:

*BUMPS*

I started a crappy topic like this last year, about Cait Sith's Prediction. ^_^ I think I will post my lovely comments here too. :lol:

"You will lose something dear"... I don't think Cait Sith really did know what it meant, but I guess it was kind of a clue that Squaresoft wanted to put in. :ermm: My feelings are mixed on this subject...

LOL, I quite agree. ^_^ Even though he was a rotten two-faced rat, he turned out right in the end, and he was the one who SPELT IT OUT that Cloud and Aerith are meant to be together. :cleris: Those that deserve to die, live, and can play a special part in the future... those that deserve to live, die, yet their story ends at that point. ^_^ Cait Sith had a special part to play... sacrificing himself in the Temple... pronouncing that he should Cloud and Aerith's matchmaker-preacher... telling Cloud what his favourite colour is... :lol: And so on. :)

You know...I'm honestly beginning to fall in love with Cait XD, I love the kitty, he's so cute (is a cat lover anyway).

I didnt know, back when I played the game for the first time at my Uncle's house (I was babysitting all night and stayed up until like 5am playing), that Aerith would die...no clue...I had the net at the time, but since I was only a beginner to FFVII, I didn't get too into it, or know many others who would be into it as well (my Uncle gave me the game because he doesnt like turn-based RPG).

I remember sitting on the couch, watching the beautiful FMV...and then down came Seph...and WHAM...I dropped the controller on the floor and started bawling. I think I was only 15 at the time. After I beat Jenova, I saved, and had to turn it off. I couldn't believe my favorite character had just died...I was numb...honestly numb.

I never noticed about the prediction before, because honestly I had no idea...but when I thought back on it, I figured Cait must have either known, or he really did tell fortunes well because he wanted to be friends with Aerith so much.

I honestly could see it coming, i just didn't want to accept it. My one favorite character that i really really liked, to die. :no: I just couldn't accept it. But, one way or another it came. And i hated it! :mad:
Why did she have to die! Damn you!

hey i think i've heard that somewhere...many who live deserve to die and many who die deserved to live...i cant put my finger on it.
i started playing this game in 2001 and by that time it was all over the internet it was plain who would die.
still, it was incredibly difficult to get through that scene, i probably took half an hour to beat Jenova because i wasn't paying attention to the fight...