Aerith's journey to the Forgotten Capital

Someone on YouTube asked me an interesting question which I'd like to present to you guys for further feedback.

"In the original game, by what means do you think Aerith managed to travel to the Forgotten City all alone? I realise such exposition was unnecessary at the time owing to the format and times of the game. However it’s always bugged me. As a corollary, and part two of the question, how do you think they will handle this in Remake?"

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My response:

I assume Aerith hitched a ride from Gongaga to Costa Del Sol and then took a boat or something to Bone Village. Due to her connection to the planet, she probably managed to cross the Sleeping Forest without using the Lunar Harp. That's my guess anyway.

In the Remake, I'm sot sure if they need to add more. Sure, it might be cool to actually see her traveling there, though I suspect that would kill the pacing due to the lack of player involvement. But what if they made Aerith's journey to the Forgotten Capital playable? I don't think that's a good idea, at least for the main game. Stopping the main progression to focus on a single character that won't be playable anymore after this sequence feels unfulfilling gameplay-wise. It might be interesting material for a DLC, however.

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What do you guys think about this?

EDIT: It's canon that Aerith also used a Lunar Harp. Thanks Shademp for pointing that out!

One of the excavators mention Aerith using a Lunar Harp.

“The girl in pink that just went in also
  used a Lunar Harp to get through.”
  I want a Lunar Harp
  Not interested

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DLC material to flesh out some character perspectives sounds like a nice idea. Just make sure it feels like optional content and not something mandatory to understand what's going on.


Somewhat related, I really enjoy this fanart of Aerith arriving at the Forgotten City.

I think her finding/the Planet sendimg her a Black Chocobo to make the journey on should be sufficient.

@Shademp: Thanks for the info. I didn't remember that guy mentioning Aerith also using an Earth Harp.

Regarding DLC, I'm on the same page as you. Only relegate content to DLC if it doesn't fit into the main game due to pacing or other progression issues (NOT due to lack of dev time, game size or monetary reasons!).

Also, that fanart is amazing!

Because of the dream-like fashion in which she "tells" Cloud her plan ("I'll be going now...I'll come back when it's all over"), I feel like actually seeing it would ruin a lot of the feeling. FFVII was an early benchmark for games exhibiting truly cinematic qualities, after all, which is something that has only grown stronger in games over time. There's also the many times the cast discuss and reflect on what she did, one line in particular that sticks in my mind going something along the lines of "How did she feel, up on that altar...?". Actually getting to see Aeris tra-la-laing her way to the FC, and either being confident that she can claim her birthright and do this, OR consciously knowing that it's a suicide mission of sorts, for me would suck out a ton of the air, or art, of the sequence.

I've always carried something of a cruel headcanon that Cloud lead to Aerith's death by using the Lunar Harp to awaken the forest, hence why Aerith seemed to feel perfectly safe from Sephiroth, and why Sephiroth encouraged Cloud to follow her, instead of just killing her without his potential interference. Had Cloud not used the Lunar Harp to go after her, Sephiroth might not have been able to go anywhere near Aerith.

It's quite an insidious move in my opinion. I know it isn't accurate, but I like it better this way.

Sephiroth not being able to get past the Sleeping Forest would be pretty lame, though. I mean, if Aeris did it, and Cloud just did it, a trans-dimensional demi-god damn well better be able to do it. Only a bit earlier, he entered Cloud's DREAM to imply that he was going to murder Aeris. I do agree that the whole segment has a lot of insidiousness and cruelty to it, but I always saw it as Sephiroth moving his chess pieces...waiting to commit the act right before Cloud's eyes, followed by "because you are...a puppet", sets the stage for Cloud's ultimate breakdown at the North Crater.

Edit: Realized this sounds like I'm trying to convince you, I think your headcanon is actually cool in the "adding even more to Cloud's guilt/complicity" sense, just wanted to share mine as well

@ Vyzzuvazzadth

Thanks for asking my question! I finally took the plunge and signed up, hopefully in time for things hotting up on the FF7R front!

Excavator 3
You can awaken the Sleeping Forest if you have the Lunar Harp.
Once awake, they say the forest will open a road for you.
The girl in pink that just went in also used a Lunar Harp to get through.

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Excavator near Forest
The forest just beyond here is called the Sleeping Forest. Right now the forest is asleep and anyone who wanders in while it's asleep, it confuses. You can go in, but you may never come out...
But just now, a girl in pink and a man in a Black Cape went in. You think they'll be all right?

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I'm all in favour of people having their headcanons and sticking to them.