
Originally Posted by
Squall of Seed's FAQ
Aerith Did Not Sacrifice Herself-
One of the larger misperceptions of Final Fantasy VII is that Aerith
intentionally sacrifced herself for the Planet, knowing that her death would
be needed in order to save the world. This was simply not the case.
In the May 2003 issue of EDGE magazine (issue 123), there is a six-page
"Making of..." feature on Final Fantasy VII in which Yoshinori Kitase
Director and Co-Scenario Writer of Final Fantasy VII) and Tetsuya Nomura
(Character Designer of Final Fantasy VII) were interviewed and asked about
various points concerning Aerith's death. During the course of this interview,
Nomura says the following:
"Back at the time we were designing the game, I was frustrated with the
perennial cliche where the protagonist loves someone very much and so has to
sacrifice himself and die in a dramatic fashion to express that love. We found
this was the case in both games and movies, both eastern and western. But I
wanted to say something different, something realistic. I mean, is it right to
set such an example to people?"
Kitase follows that up with this:
"In the real world, things are very different. You just need to look around
you. Nobody wants to die that way. People die of disease and accident. Death
comes suddenly and there is no notion of good or bad attached to it. It leaves
not a dramatic feeling, but a feeling of emptiness. When you lose someone you
loved very much you feel this big empty space and think 'If I had known this
was coming I would have done things differently.' These are the feelings I
wanted to arouse in the players with Aerith's death relatively early in the
game. Feelings of reality and not Hollywood."
With Kitase's words about death being unexpected in mind, consider Cloud's
dream in which he speaks to Aerith in the Sleeping Forest. Aerith intended to
handle Sephiroth on her own, and then come back:
Aerith
"And let me handle Sephiroth."
Aerith
"And Cloud, you take care of yourself."
Aerith
"So you don't have a breakdown, okay?"
Cloud
"What is this place?"
Aerith
"This forest leads to the City of the Ancients... and is called
Sleeping Forest."
Aerith
"It's only a matter of time before Sephiroth uses Meteor."
"That's why I'm going to protect it. Only a survivor of the Cetra,
like me, can do it."
Aerith
"The secret is just up here."
Aerith
"At least it should be. ...I feel it. It feels like I'm being led by
something."
Aerith
"Then, I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over."
Also consider Tifa's insight into her friend's intentions:
Tifa
"I wonder what Aerith felt... when she was on that altar...?"
Cloud
"I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet..."
Tifa
"Really? I wonder? I don't think that's it at all."
"I think she didn't think she would die at all, but that she planned
on coming back all along."
"She always used to talk about the 'Next time'."
"She talked about the future more that any of us..."
The in-game dialogue of Final Fantasy VII not only serves to contradict the
notion that Aerith sacrificed herself, but the words of two of the game's core
developers establishes that she did not sacrifice herself.