But while she may have died in the game, Aerith endures through fan fiction, fan art, and - of course - cosplay. (Image credits: Ally Tamara and Aequorinn)Īerith’s death is an important and irreversible moment in the story of Final Fantasy 7. She would have loved that, but she never gets to ride that airship.” Ally Tamara (L) and Aequorinn (R) in Aerith cosplay. That becomes really bittersweet for me because she was the most adventurous of the whole party. I really feel like the tragedy of it is encapsulated by that one key artwork where Aerith is looking up at the Highwind. ![]() And I think that's quite different to how death is usually handled in video games, certainly at this point in time. “It's just a horrible tragedy that happens. “Aerith does die activating the Holy spell, so there is this temptation to think of it as some noble sacrifice, but it's really not,” explains Aequorinn. I still haven't gotten over her death years later.” And for whatever reason, maybe it is her personality and just who she is, it's life-changing. I just loved her, it was just something about her character, she was so sweet and pure. “It was absolutely earth-shattering,” recalls Tamara. Tragically, Sephiroth fatally interrupts the ritual at the final moment. There, Aerith will call upon the ultimate white magic, Holy, which she hopes will protect the world from the impending doom. Having learned that villain Sephiroth plans to force a meteor to crash into the planet as part of his attempt to ascend to godhood, protagonist Cloud and his friends head to the Forgotten City. ![]() “That she's someone who doesn't take things too seriously, or rather she's full of life and tries to get everyone else to enjoy it along with her.”Īerith’s death comes out of nowhere, and happens just as Final Fantasy 7 gears up for its apocalyptic second half. “I really like that she's very teasing,” she adds. But then it couldn't be further from the truth.” “I kind of assumed because she dresses really conservatively, and you see the pictures of her praying, I thought she was going to be quite sweet but also kind of serious and boring and sort of self-sacrificial. “I think she's a really, really fantastic character where you can't judge her based on her appearance,” says Aequorinn, a UK-based cosplayer. “And she was just one of those characters that immediately I personally fell in love with.” “From the moment you meet her she's charming, she's very sweet, but she has a little bit of spunk here and there,” says Ally Tamara, a Final Fantasy fan and cosplayer from Canada. ![]() The revelation that she is the last remaining member of an ancient race positions her as vital to the plot, but it is her multi-layered personality that made fans fall in love with her. ![]() First introduced as little more than a flower merchant in the opening hour of Final Fantasy 7, she soon becomes a significant figure in the story’s central cast. This is the inside story of the players who re-wrote fate and resurrected Aerith Gainsborough.Īerith Gainsborough is one of the most beloved characters in RPG history. Over 25 years, rumour became myth, myth became hoax, and eventually hope became a way to genuinely save the flower girl from Midgar. The resonance Aerith had with fans is incomparable, and the emotional impact of her death left many players desperate for a resurrection. Video games had killed off significant characters before Final Fantasy 7, but this was different.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |