Would...

November 18, 2007, 11:55 PM

The death at the end of disk one been as effective and powerful as it was, if it wasn't Aerith Sephiroth killed?

Could they have killed any of the other characters and made it as great a scene as it was?

Tifa - Possibly
Barret - No
Nanaki - No
Cid - No
Vincent - No
Cait Sith - since he already "died" at the temple it couldn't work with him
Yuffie - not really, she wouldn't have been in the party long enough to make an impact upon the party.

So, really, i think that Tifa and Aerith are the only ones who could have been killed, to create the most memorable gaming scene of all time. Why? Because, if they killed a male character it wouldn't really have the sense of tragedy and drama that a womans death would have. We also have to consider Clouds reaction, could he have gone all emotionally crippled - crying and shaking at Barrets or Vincents death? no. Aerith or Tifas? yes. Cloud was closest to Aerith and tifa to, so as a player you'd feel a greater sense of loss towards the more prominent characters death than, say, Cids death.

Discuss.

November 19, 2007, 12:08 AM

Of course it has to be one of the "love interests", since you effectively relate so much more to Cloud, him being the main character. And so the player also feels slightly more affection and feels stronger about Tifa and Aeris. So, no it would be nowhere near as powerful if it was anyone else except Tifa.
However, to make it extreme, they should have killed off Cloud.

November 19, 2007, 8:22 AM

Heh heh heh, kill Cloud before he has chance to blubber... Tifa would probably be affected most if that happened!

I would cry if Vincent died....

November 19, 2007, 11:43 AM

Hmmmm... yes. Tifa and Aerith would both be the "main" candidates for Spehiroth to kill, because they were close to Cloud's heart. However, if Aerith were NOT killed, the entire storyline would change after that. So, it would've made it more dramatic if Tifa died, but it would've also changed the series of events after.

November 19, 2007, 12:47 PM

I think Aerith is the most effective death because of her seeming innocence. She isn't a casualty of war, but a brutal victim in the whole thing. Tifa is predisposed to combat, whereas Aerith is a meek woman. At least, that's my opinion.

November 19, 2007, 3:28 PM

^ I agree, Aeris' death is the most effective, but for some other reason.

I believe that Aeris knew - through her Cetra ways - that for the Planet to prevail against Sephiroth's wrath, a necessary sacrifice had to be made. It was clear from the beginning that no one had the strength to take Sephiroth out - he was simply too powerful.

Aeris therefore had to take matters into her own hand. Being a Cetra (i.e. the one with the closest connection with the Planet) she sacrificed herself to tap into the fullness of the Lifestream's potency, becoming the Deus ex Machina that finally destroys Meteor at the end of the game.

November 19, 2007, 5:15 PM

I pretty much agree with Adamant on this one. It had to be her. Sephiroth wouldn't have killed the others, at least not gone out of his way to do so. He knew Aerith/Aeris was a threat.

Besides, could you imagine the simplicity of the game if you had Aerith/Aeris' limit breaks to fall back on all the time?=P

November 19, 2007, 11:03 PM

^ Yeah, I mean imagine playing through the entire game with Great Gospel at your disposal! Boy! That would be sweet!

Quote:

Anyways, it has led me to believe that Cloud would probably be most upset if Don Corneo died, maybe more so than Tifa or Aeris? Heh heh, just a thought

That would be hilarious! And then you'll have a touching cut-scene with Cloud sending Corneo to a watery grave in the City of the Ancients. xD

November 19, 2007, 11:16 PM

yeah aerith and tifa were definitely the 2 main characters that grew on me the most, and clearly the ones who grew on cloud the most as well. i definitely agree that they're probably the only 2 that could have had the wow effect aerith did.

November 19, 2007, 11:40 PM

No more off topic posts about Don Corneo dying and stuff like that please guys.

I think, that to acheive the Wow factor they had to kill the kindest, most innocent member of the group - in this case Aerith. Had they killed someone like, Barret, the reaction from Cloud would have been "NO!" and a group gasp, instead of Cloud sobbbing over a corpse.