SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke

[Suteki]

I wish i could still remember how i initially reacted to Aerith dying in OG but i just can't anymore. It's a real shame honestly.

Still caching up, but as a previously rabid cloti, I still remember. I despised Aerith in my first playthrough because for some reason I thought that Cloud and Tifa were already a thing when I was a kid. I was following a guide for the game so I knew Aerith was going to die, and when she finally did, I bawled my eyes out. The injustice, the fact that someone that was just trying to do good went like that destroyed me.
Then almost ten years later I got some rabid cleriths bothering me in my little cloti bubble and I started to hate Aerith again because of what the LTD does to her character.
It wasn't until I saw some reasonable takes here and a Zerith friend explained some of her motivations that my hatred went away and now I actually like her.

 

[GamerSkull]

I don’t remember my reaction. I first played the game in 2010/2011 on a PSP. (I did play it before in 2007/2008 by borrowing a friend’s PS1 copy but never got past Shinra building). It’s funny how I can remember that but not the reaction to the death.

Although, I think I vaguely recall knowing about it beforehand. My introduction to Final Fantasy was through Kingdom Hearts. I bought the first one when KH2 was being marketed. I bought it mostly for the Disney at the time because I was young, and I remember being really interested in the FF characters. Ultimately, I looked them up and I think that’s when I found out about Aerith’s death. But it’s been so long that I just can’t seem to remember.

For reference. I was born in 1995 so I was only two when the game came out. So I think I was 10 when I first was introduced to it.

Funnily enough, this is probably why I don’t have an attachment to the name “Aeris” like some people do. As she was introduced to me as Aerith in Kingdom Hearts.

 

[nars305]

Although, I think I vaguely recall knowing about it beforehand. My introduction to Final Fantasy was through Kingdom Hearts. I bought the first one when KH2 was being marketed. I bought it mostly for the Disney at the time because I was young, and I remember being really interested in the FF characters. Ultimately, I looked them up and I think that’s when I found out about Aerith’s death. But it’s been so long that I just can’t seem to remember.

For reference. I was born in 1995 so I was only two when the game came out. So I think I was 10 when I first was introduced to it.

That’s so funny cause my intro to FF was KH too because I was a Disney kid. It was the only game I knew of to get when I first got my PS2.

That’s when I really started getting into video games. Played them when I was younger (born in 91), but it was mostly fighting games with my brothers.

 

[GamerSkull]

That’s so funny cause my intro to FF was KH too because I was a Disney kid. It was the only game I knew of to get when I first got my PS2.

That’s when I really started getting into video games. Played them when I was younger (born in 91), but it was mostly fighting games with my brothers.

My first video game was Spyro the Dragon on the PS1. First game and console I ever owned (slim version). Mostly played on demos in supermarket electronic sections before then.

 

[Hellenic]

Still caching up, but as a previously rabid cloti, I still remember. I despised Aerith in my first playthrough because for some reason I thought that Cloud and Tifa were already a thing when I was a kid. I was following a guide for the game so I knew Aerith was going to die, and when she finally did, I bawled my eyes out. The injustice, the fact that someone that was just trying to do good went like that destroyed me.
Then almost ten years later I got some rabid cleriths bothering me in my little cloti bubble and I started to hate Aerith again because of what the LTD does to her character.
It wasn't until I saw some reasonable takes here and a Zerith friend explained some of her motivations that my hatred went away and now I actually like her.

I wasn't a huge fan of Aerith ever really, though Remake did make me appreciate her a lot more. They ofc backpedaled with her again with Rebirth so rip that i guess. I wouldn't go as far as say i despised her ever, but i was always more into Tifa out of the two and liked the idea of Cloud and Tifa more from the get go.

I have reacted to other people playing through her death in OG years later and i did get teary in those moments at the very least, so i know i wasn't fully deadpan about her death when i experienced it myself. Though this could also just be me in general becoming a more emotional person over the years. Fairly small things get me going nowadays like just thinking about the Mideel section in OG gets me tearing up, and ofc it happens as i write this too.

I don't personally let peoples toxicity affect my enjoyment of the game or characters couse i can kind of detach them from each other. That said i wish they did just detach Aerith from the whole love triangle entirely, couse like others have said here, i think it kinda takes away from her character now, especially when the game goes out of it's way to lessen those kinda moments in general. It just feels like a waste to have her being LTD bait still instead of focusing on other things with her character but alas.

 

[Hellenic]

Oh true! So yeah lol replaced w/ an intimate Zerith scene and original dialogue given to Barret instead

that Cloud and Barret moment was so good. I really love it when Cloud is there for the guys.

 

[Ryushikaze]

I wish i could still remember how i initially reacted to Aerith dying in OG but i just can't anymore. It's a real shame honestly.

I knew it was coming. Her weapons were literally becoming too good to just give to a player compared to everyone else's gear, so I knew to expect a rug pull. It also wasn't the first time I'd had an RPG kill off the sisterly cleric-y type character. Hell, I'd had to kill one myself in Breath of Fire. I was mad about it, but it didn't shock me or make me cry.

 

[Eerie]

I played the OG on PC, must’ve been 25 or 26 at the time. My husband warned me: “don’t level her up, she dies”. Being kind of a completionist, I was glad to know beforehand lol.

But anyway I disliked her from the get go. Because when she started flirting I went “wtf, ok I’m going to tell her that I already have a gf” and she didn’t stop. Plus she was a hassle because she also was my first game over (Barret Aerith Red fight in the lift ). Anyway I didn’t like her from the get go. But the thing is, I didn’t like Cloud either lmao. I thought he was an arsehole. So while I liked Tifa, I didn’t ship CT until the LS, even kept telling Tifa she could do so much better since I felt the game was pushing CA.

So when Aerith died, I went “omfg finally!” followed by “noooooooo my materia!!!!”

Nowadays when I replay the OG I’m more like “come on Aerith, it’s time to go now”

For Rebirth when Holy hit the ground I went “ohhh… she’s gone for real” and finally felt sad. I am however not liking her as much as I did in Remake, and I’m not sure if that’s the result of her characterisation or of the horrible PR for this game. Only time will tell I guess.

 

[GamerSkull]

I played the OG on PC, must’ve been 25 or 26 at the time. My husband warned me: “don’t level her up, she dies”. Being kind of a completionist, I was glad to know beforehand lol.

Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? Were the keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bugs exclusive to it?

 

[Ryeleigh]

Hell, I'd had to kill one myself in Breath of Fire.

Which one was this? I immediately thought BOF4 but I'm not sure it was the one you meant.

Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? We’re keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bug exclusive to it?

I played the original PC version (disk and all, borrowed from my brother). I don't remember any problems with it aside from the chocobo races in the Gold Saucer, I think. I had to download a patch for that. I think I still have it saved somewhere. Admittedly, my memories are also very faint of that first experience, lol.

 

[GamerSkull]

Which one was this? I immediately thought BOF4 but I'm not sure it was the one you meant.


I played the original PC version (disk and all, borrowed from my brother). I don't remember any problems with it aside from the chocobo races in the Gold Saucer, I think. I had to download a patch for that. I think I still have it saved somewhere. Admittedly, my memories are also very faint of that first experience, lol.

How were the controls? And what was the problem with the races? That PC release is probably rare nowadays.

 

[Eerie]

Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? Were the keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bugs exclusive to it?

It was the original PC version I played when it was released I think lol. Which is why I lost materia when Aerith died

The controls were shit and I didn’t have any pad to play. There was an exclusive bug that came with it IIRC, the Junon parade had a bug that made it impossible to get a good score and I concur it was SHIT lmao I hated it.

 

[Ryeleigh]

How were the controls? And what was the problem with the races? That PC release is probably rare nowadays.

Honestly, I don't remember any problems with the controls? But I still play original Tomb Raiders without any problems whereas my brothers tried the first one a couple of years ago and was like, "the controls were terrible", lol. I was just ??? what are you talking about??? the controls are fine??? Of course they need a bit of getting used to since they're different from the WSDA + mouse combination.

As for the races... I think it was some kind of bug that crashed the game?

It was the original PC version I played when it was released I think lol. Which is why I lost materia when Aerith died

The controls were shit and I didn’t have any pad to play. There was an exclusive bug that came with it IIRC, the Junon parade had a bug that made it impossible to get a good score and I concur it was SHIT lmao I hated it.

Oh, I vaguely recall doing TERRIBLY at it, maybe that's why lmao.

 

[GamerSkull]

Honestly, I don't remember any problems with the controls? But I still play original Tomb Raiders without any problems whereas my brothers tried the first one a couple of years ago and was like, "the controls were terrible", lol. I was just ??? what are you talking about??? the controls are fine??? Of course they need a bit of getting used to since they're different from the WSDA + mouse combination.

As for the races... I think it was some kind of bug that crashed the game?


Oh, I vaguely recall doing TERRIBLY at it, maybe that's why lmao.

I actually do pretty bad on the Junon march even now. But I don’t have trouble with the Rufus send-off.

 

[Eerie]

I was told that bug was never patched and still subsisted in the Steam version.

 

[Suteki]

But anyway I disliked her from the get go. Because when she started flirting I went “wtf, ok I’m going to tell her that I already have a gf” and she didn’t stop.

This is exactly my problem with the LTD and the reason I used to despise Aerith (to my own detriment). If you're in the camp of "it's player choice", the game is still not really taking it into account and then at least one character is going to come off terrible, which there's no way is how the developers intended us to view them. But having a character constantly push for intimacy/flirting when the other has given nothing but "no thanks"/"I don't know what you're talking about" answers just makes players dislike the other side. Note that this applies to all three characters in the original depending on which lens you see them through. "Wavering between two heroines" paints all three of them as terrible friends.

Then REmake and REbirth come along and the developers completely change and add scenes just so we are not in the same situation again and it still doesn't matter cause well, it was LTD related back then, so clearly the [insert any moment between Cloud and either of the girls] is still LTD related and not just the developers trying to show you how they intended you to see the characters the first time around. It being Cloud and Tifa opening up and slowly growing to have the kind of relationship where you don't need words to understand how the other is feeling (as shown in OTWAS/ACC, however successfully that was), and Aerith being an extremely lonely girl experiencing boundless freedom for the first time and trying to engrave every moment of joy into her heart no matter how small while seeing those around her take the things she is cherishing so much for granted (as shown in pretty much all of her scenes with her trying to decipher the resentment/anger growing inside her but not wanting to change her positive outlook)

Cloud kissing Tifa in her date but then having the sector 5 dream date with Aerith is a great example of what I am trying to say, if you didn't see the first one, the second one can be read in multiple ways as has been discussed by better wordsmiths than me here. But if you have seen the kiss, it leaves a sour taste for a moment that is supposed to be bittersweet. All the love Aerith is showing towards everything and everyone gets tainted and confused instead of remaining an extreme expression of familial love as it was probably intended. Just like it happened with NPTK.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? Were the keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bugs exclusive to it?

There were plenty of bugs exclusive to it. The any% FF7 speedrun is a split category because of the Yuffie time travel glitch.

Which one was this? I immediately thought BOF4 but I'm not sure it was the one you meant.

The original one. Near the end of the game you have to fight your sister Sara when her body is being manipulated, and it's the perfect time to uncork the bottled Dragon hurt.

 

[Ryeleigh]

The original one. Near the end of the game you have to fight your sister Sara when her body is being manipulated, and it's the perfect time to uncork the bottled Dragon hurt.

Oh, of course. I think the "cleric-y type character" confused me, lol.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Oh, of course. I think the "cleric-y type character" confused me, lol.

I can see why you defaulted to BOF4 as well, BTW, it just came out after FF7. Damn good game.

 

[imach0c0]

I was quite shocked we got a scene with her in the water tower. Granted, it was a scene of her lamenting her lonely childhood but still. That place is sacred for CT imo. It makes me a little skeptical of how the devs will handle part 3, romance wise.

The water tower scene was an interesting choice to have that dialogue seeing how iconic it is to CT.

Having said that, perhaps there is relevance to Aerith because before she climbs the tower, she is standing at the same place Zack did (when he made the promise to visit her). And it was the last time they spoke to each other. With that context, it kinda adds weight to her lamenting over being lonely and not having what CT had. Though she was not childhood friends with Zack, he was the only person whom she shared a relationship where she could share moments of nostalgia and not feel lonely.

I wonder if the water tower is symbolic of "promises". One is fulfilled (CT) and the other is not (ZA).

 

[nars305]

I tried to play the OG myself but I cannot deal with the battles spawning every five seconds when I’m trying to figure out where to go.

 

[Eerie]

Today, a big CT account posted about Sephiroth using “Ai” when talking about “the things we love” and Cloud using it too to describe Tifa (I still don’t know why the LTD is a thing BTW considering the depth of “Ai”).

And Nojima himself weighed in about “Ai” vs “Koi” (if you wonder “Ai” is husband/wife type of love, “Koi” is considered more selfish). Anyway will we get Aishiteru from Cloud to Tifa in p3 is what I ask xD because damn, how did Nojima ended up there on a CT thread lol.

 

[Rin]

Today, a big CT account posted about Sephiroth using “Ai” when talking about “the things we love” and Cloud using it too to describe Tifa (I still don’t know why the LTD is a thing BTW considering the depth of “Ai”).

And Nojima himself weighed in about “Ai” vs “Koi” (if you wonder “Ai” is husband/wife type of love, “Koi” is considered more selfish). Anyway will we get Aishiteru from Cloud to Tifa in p3 is what I ask xD because damn, how did Nojima ended up there on a CT thread lol.

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They were actually responding to a tweet Nojima made about researching the differences between 「総受け」(total acceptance) and 「愛され」(loved), so the big CT account asked whether or not it's true that "Ai" /「愛 」(love) is not commonly used which led to that exchange you posted. (: Just for some additional context

 

[Eerie]

They were actually responding to a tweet Nojima made about researching the differences between 「総受け」(total acceptance) and 「愛され」(loved), so the big CT account asked whether or not it's true that "Ai" /「愛 」(love) is not commonly used which led to that exchange you posted. (: Just for some additional context

Thanks, I didn’t have the context since I don’t have twitter right now xD

Also for reference, Peko who is Japanese born, told me she’d would never use “Ai” to her mum she loves. “Ai” is so serious I was shocked when I saw that Cloud used it in JP for the Gongaga scene.

 

[Yoru]

Do you think Nojima sees all the horrible takes by Cult Clerith and opens his notepad every time to write down every sentence in order to destroy them one by one through in-game dialogue or a future novel?

Personally, it's my biggest FF7 headcanon.