[q=Deathjester]FFVII was designed and produced when Sakaguchi was going through a bit of a rough patch, and I think Aeris' death in particular reflects that. The fact that the game in its entirety is a lot "darker" than other FFs is another manifestation of that.[/q]Oh yeah, as I recall his mother had just died; Aeris' death was a reflection of that. I think something was said about how that'd never be changed, because it was a direct reference to his real-life tragedy.
How many years has it been since this game was released? I wonder how long it will take before people stop with the 'Aeris shouldnt have died' nonsense.
It's been going strong since 1997, and it won't stop until people give up on the FFVI spoiler"General Leo shouldn't have died" nonsense.