Five events that could change in Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2

Aerith’s Death

If Final Fantasy VII is known for any one moment, it’s when Sephiroth nearly forces Cloud to kill Aerith, and then — when Cloud resists with the help of his friends — appears to finish the job himself. In 1997, this sort of heavy scene in a video game was nigh unheard of, and it hit gamers with all the force of a megaton hammer.

Nowadays, dramatic character deaths are much more common in gaming…but still. If Cloud and his friends defeated destiny, paving the way for “boundless, terrifying freedom,” then the biggest question has to be whether Aerith still has to die so the planet can survive.

It’s a hard question to answer, and I don’t envy Square Enix the responsibility. On the one hand, Aerith’s death is the most iconic scene in the original game. On the other…it was freaking heartbreaking. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Final Fantasy VII fan who didn’t lament that it happened.

The good news is that Square Enix seems to be fully aware of how much weight this decision carries. Unlike in the original game, where Aerith’s death is a total twist, Remake foreshadows it from her and Cloud’s very first encounter, when Sephiroth appears to taunt Cloud that he’s “too weak to save anyone.” Ugh.

So how could this go down in Remake? Could Aerith escape death, and help Cloud and the others in their quest to stop Sephiroth? Could Zack factor into her survival in some way?

Or is her fate so set in stone that not even defying destiny itself could save her?

With any luck, we won’t need to wait another five years to find out.

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