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Perhaps the biggest question of 2024 in the JRPG space is, "Will Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?” No other game coming out has stakes quite like this. Anyone who has played through the original FF7 knows what happens: Sephiroth appears at the end of Disc 1 and slays the flower girl, removing her from your party forever. It’s a tragic moment and one of the most memorable cutscenes in RPG history. I still remember how I felt when I first played the game in 1998.
That said, it’s not necessarily a given that she’ll meet the same fate. So we ask today, will Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? While yes I’ve played the game in a preview session, we were nowhere near the end of the game. None of this is based on information I have from that particular session. Here’s how I think it’s all going to go down.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.
Will Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
The notion of “Will Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?” has been on my mind since the beginning of this year. Once we started seeing Rebirth trailers and learning more about what’s to come, I had no choice but to face this possibility. Nomura has confirmed that the end of the second game will be the Forgotten Capital. For those who aren’t as familiar with FF7 on the PlayStation, this is where Aerith perishes originally.
We also know, thanks to the latest trailer, that “someone” is going to die and that they are most definitely female. This revelation occurs in the “Theme Song” trailer that debuted a few weeks ago. Marlene speaks to Zack and gives him the unfortunate news but makes him promise to keep it secret:
“When she wakes up, the scary man is gonna kill her!”
This is interesting on its own, but we also have to consider those creepy spirits from Final Fantasy 7 Remake. They are doing everything they can to keep the canon timeline going as it should. If that’s the case, though, how is Zack still alive? He definitely died before FF7 took place - dying at the end of Crisis Core, defending Cloud from the hail of ShinRa bullets.
Something is out of place in the timeline, and it needs to be set right again. This could happen in one of a few ways in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth if you ask me. None of them involve Tifa or Yuffie dying, though.
This is all about the flower girl and her timeline. Will Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? The answer is a staunch maybe. I knew I wouldn’t get an answer about this when I spoke to Naoki Hamaguchi about the game, so there was no point in asking. Here are our potential finale options:
1) Zack bites the bullet for Aerith
This option is the one that interests me the most, purely for the chaos that it would create. If the spirits are trying to keep the timeline on course, and Aerith survives, that could make things very interesting for the FF7 finale, which will no doubt appear several years down the road.
Zack is armed with the knowledge that his girlfriend is going to be killed at the hands of Sephiroth. In this instance, he dives in the way, at the last moment, being impaled by Masamune, Sephiroth’s blade. Likely, he would shove Aerith out of the way and die in her stead.
2) Everything goes as planned in the original timeline
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ends right where Aerith dies in the first place, the Forgotten Capital, home of the Ancients. Perhaps Zack doesn’t get there in time. We don’t know if he tells anyone else or keeps Marlene’s secret safe.
If that’s the case, things will go exactly as planned, and everyone’s favorite flower girl will drop at the hands of Sephiroth. I know fans worldwide are preparing themselves for this. It’s not going to be easy to watch her die again. However, there’s one more possibility.
3) The timeline corrects course, and both die at the end
The more I think about the question of “Will Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?”, the more drawn I am to this possibility. I don’t know if this is what will happen, but if you want a real tragedy, I think this is the best way to go.
In this instance, Zack tries to take the fatal blow for Aerith, but she refuses. Or they share a romantic moment in the Forgotten Capital, and Sephiroth, not willing to wait, drops both of them at the same time. Now, that would make for a truly unforgettable moment. If you want maximum tragedy, let go of both characters at once.
I don’t know with any certainty what will happen at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. While I did take part in a preview session of the upcoming game, I don’t know what’s coming next. Just like the rest of the fanbase, I’ll have to wait and see. However, it’s sure to be a moment we never forget.
