In 1997, one of the most-remembered moments from Final Fantasy 7 was the murder of a beloved companion character, which resonated throughout the rest of the game and all of its subsequent follow-up media. Final Fantasy 7’s narrative hinges on that moment, and there didn’t seem to be any way around it without cheats until now.
Spoiler warning: If you don’t know who dies in this 27-year-old game or don’t want to know, stop reading now.
Aerith Gainsborough meets her end at the hands of Sephiroth, but as related by a Final Fantasy 7 speedrunner who goes by Luzbel, a way to skip past Aerith’s death was found by two other players: AceZephyr and Kuma.
The way to pull it off is more of a glitch than a cheat. When the player is riding a chocobo on the world map, there’s nothing that prevents them from walking to the Forgotten Capital, the site of Aeirth’s murder. If Aeirth is in the player’s party, she’ll see her own death and fight alongside the player against Jenova. The downside to this approach is that players won’t have a high level during the fight, and according to Eurogamer, the game will “softlock” during cutscenes if Aerith is in the party after the timeframe of her death.
Aerith’s fate was also one of the primary plot points in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth earlier this year, which demonstrates her enduring popularity among fans of the new series. The newly discovered glitch in the original game may spare Aeirth from death, but it’s not a perfect solution, and she wasn’t really meant to survive.
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