Re: Ask/Answer

by Erel Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:11 am

Just to add to the whole 'spiral of death' speech, Final Fantasy Tactics {although not a main FF title, but humor me} had *Playable* character deaths when a player does not prepare his/her team adequately for he battle, but it can also be as comical as one wanting to kill them for good. And yes Final Fantasy tactics had generic characters that you hire, you name, and you build up. Some of them have no significance to the story at all, but some who had/have some part in the story can die permanently after a certain part of the game. Some also have a certain skill that no other have that if they die you might be Shit out of luck.

Okay so you might be able to reset and go back to a save point where the character is still alive {Mustadio died on me during the battle where Gafgarion led me to the believe that Ovelia was being executed, but turned out to be nothing more than a trap and it was my first playthrough and he died for good. Crystal and all.}, but what if the save point was a few hours away and you don't want to lose all that progress? The character that die might've been someone you spent HOURS grinding with and HOURs building up. At any rate, Death in FF isn't rare, Aerith's was the only one so well known because FFVII is the most 'popular' Final Fantasy so her passing to the other side became the most recognized.

As for the question, in my honest opinion, Aerith's fame is heavily influenced by her death. Without that death, she would probably have a fan base like a lot of FF characters, but it probably wouldn't be so big. Let's put it this way, as a character in the team, it took so much time and a LOT of Materia to build her up, pitiful in defense, mediocre in magic, and of course her melee was a joke {and yes I know, she isn't meant to hit but just to cast, but just pointing it out}. Although she did have a specific limit break that was rather useful {was it Great Gospel?} that took away all negative stats, healed party all members, and made everyone invincible for a *SHORT* amount of time, however to get it took a lot of grinding, which meant one has to use her a lot, and you can't even get it till it's so close to her taking Masamune in the back. I only used that damn limit break like four times out of all my five playthroughs of Final Fantasy VII.

Character wise? Well there had to be that love triangle. Her lineage as an Ancient made her pivotal to be able ot summon Holy. All FF has to have that 'White mage'/Princess/ Damsel/Nice Lady/Good Girl role so she didn't do anything special for me because most of the time those weren't my favorite female characters {Yuna was my exception} But what made me remember her the most and feel her *is* her death. So it is because she died that I feel like she has a fan base like this. I probably would still be indifferent about her if she never died in FFVII; now I just have this pity {for lack of a better word} that comes to mind when I think Aerith. If you ask me, I lean more towards Tifa so maybe its my bias for one character that makes me answer the way I do.

by RYCloud92 Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:12 am

I wasn't fully aware of the other character deaths, I knew other party members had died in other FF games but I had also heard that their stats carried over. So going on another theory did where the other deaths as dramatic as Aeriths, cause it is built up. Complete silence massive thud and heart beat sounds when she is stabbed, a haunting hum sound before the famous music plays, which continues to play through the next cut scene, boss fight and cut scene after that. Including Cloud's famous "doesn't matter" monologue.

I digress as a kid I liked Aerith but now I don't really know what to make of her. I lean more towards the other female characters, Yuffie and Tifa namely because Yuffie was trying to restore honour to her home and it made sense if she came across as a brat sometimes because she was "The Kid", and of course Tifa who was battling with both helping her memory f**ked childhood friend, trying to explain how much she felt for him and also trying to figure out if he was really who he was or a lie. Also points for finally showing how she felt ("Words aren't the only way to express your feelings") only to be watched by all the other members of the team and having to live with that for ever (in all fairness though when you have an airship nearby with some privacy who chooses to have sex in the middle of a field)

by The Cap'n Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:51 am

RYCloud92 wrote:I wasn't fully aware of the other character deaths, I knew other party members had died in other FF games but I had also heard that their stats carried over.

That only happened in V and IX.

V

Spoiler:

IX
Blank and Marcus' equipment roll over to Amarant and Eiko if you left those two with their equipment before they leave the party. If not, the two of them have either nothing but their weapon equipped or a few pieces of armor. I'll get back to you on that one because I can't remember honestly.

@Erel: Forgot about Tactics too. That's another point in the argument. The edgy, character loss thing has been in the series since the start so there's been no difference in the later games.

by Erel Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:03 pm

On the same note of the question but kind of digressing {my bad But I kinda want ot know}, once the crater was cracked open and the player is able to control Highwind anywhere in disc 3, was that apparition of Aerith in the church slums really suppose to be there? Or was it a glitch? Or was it really intended for the jap version of the 'revival of Aerith' that they never really followed through{I'm sure the last question is also the influence of that rumor that was around for a while}.

by RYCloud92 Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:25 pm

Well Square said from the moment go that Aerith was going to die, however it is hinted thanks to hackers that the area she dies in was supposed to be later in the game originally (at the very least during the climbing of North Crater). I say this because Hackers noted that originally Aerith was supposed to have some dialogue for those sections and from what I remember there was a cut cutscene from the game where she was supposed to learn of her parents. So most believe that the church slums bit was actually suppposed to be a little thing that happens if you retrun to the church with Aerith. Of course you can't get back to the church without the HighWind meaning that perhaps Aerith wasn't originally supposed to die untill you got it (which is hinted at in the "change to disc ..." screens where she is stood in front of it (not to mention dialogue that if this was true would be foreshadowing the event ("I've always wanted to be on an airship" "Well maybe I'll take you on someday" (something to that extent)))

So in short I reckon the "ghost" was supposed to be there but they removed it. I think they tried to change it for little easter egg for reference reasons but it can be activated before she dies too (at least I remember returing once with Aerith still in my team).

The whole Aerith death thing on a whole is a weird subject game wise, the amount of stupid revival theories makes me laugh. (one that I actually fell for was the "Black haired man in rocket town" one (I was a kid alright))

by Archangel Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:17 am

I have to agree with Ry on the effects with Aerith's death as well. I think that the music and sound effects probably played into it quite a bit. And regardless of all these other names of ppl dying or leaving being thrown about, none of them feel substantial to me. Idk, maybe I'm just being naive, if so forgive me for that, but Galuf was old and frail to begin with, so when he died and Krile replaced him it really wasn't a surprise. So I guess Square does kill members off, just not with the same tone that they did with Aerith. As for the other question, ya I do think Aerith's death has a lot to do with her fan base. She was something of a martyr, which of course going to score her some points, and she also symbolizes quite a bit in ff7. She is the face of innocence, hope, and she is unafraid to step up to tasks that don't fit her personality. When Sephiroth kills her, it represents the loss of innocence and for a brief while, all hope, as we see her materia float down into the water. Even without her death, I still enjoyed her character. Would she stick so much? No probably not, but I for one enjoyed that she had a calming personality, and she was without sin. She just fit that "girl next door" bill. It's nice to not always have obnoxious, annoying, purple haired chicks as the centerpiece, and I appreciated that.

On a final note, the closest game I've played recently from Square that fits the whole death thing with an impact is Nier--good game, you should all give it a go

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