Quote Originally Posted by Quinter Wonderland View Post
Her purpose was to be a hugely overpowered White Mage. If she hadn't died, she would likely feature on many people's "Best FFVII Team" and would be known for that.

Also, in what way is having a massive impact on gamers and gaming as a whole not "the right reason"? Nobody talks about Vincent because he had no impact on the gaming world, nobody talks about Amarant for the same reason. Most characters from most FF games don't get talked about because they never affected anything. Aerith gets talked about because she did.
Vincent got his own game and got a good showing in Advent Children. It's the only game I remember where the joint least important character (besides Yuffie) ends up getting more popular afterwards