It's been a LONG time since I played FF7, but I just thought of the question:

Why did Square decide to kill Aeris? I mean, she was a perfectly useful character! Did they not like the outcome of her? Did they want Cloud to end up unhappy and in grief for the rest of his life?

WHY DID AERIS HAVE TO DIE!? :( :sad:

Because they wanted some drama in the game that would lead to even more drama.

I love Aweis and she's my fav ffvii girl character and I didn't want her to die but if she didn't then Cloud wouldn't hate Sephiroth as much as he does now, and to keep players playing I suppose.
Also she died for the planet according to the storyline.

Authors don't kill characters because they hate them, but because they consider it the logical thing to do, or a crucial part of the story.

Aeris' death contributed to the game's atmosphere, it also establish Sephiroth as someone who is REALLY doing evil stuff.

Also, think of the game if Aeris DIDN'T die! She's my favorite character, so of course I don't want her to, but if she didn't die, there wouldn't be a twist in the story. Her death is what keeps them going on. Aeris being there when Cloud goes through his mako sickness wouldn't make sense, and the whole plot just wouldn't make sense. Square killed her because that's how they made the story. She needed to to die so she could return to the planet, and make holy "activate". (I think so anyway) It just wouldnt make sense with out her death.

I am a big Sephiroth fan, and still me and many friends of mine cried over it. But, if she didn't die, then, yeah, it would make no sense whatsoever.

I was reading another interesting theory before....

The producer of Shinra had lost someone special before. I person he had loved a lot, and he was in big pain, after this person died.
When he created FF-7, he was thinking about something, to make people sad too. He didn't want to be alone with his pain, he wanted other people to share the pain with him.

To do that, he wanted to create a young woman, nice and friendly, loved from the people...... He knew, if she's going to die, everybody will be sad too. :sad:

I don't know, if there is a true part about it, but I was shocked, when I read that. Too bad, I can't find the site anymore..... :(

The producer of Shinra had lost someone special before. I person he had loved a lot, and he was in big pain, after this person died.

interesting so hes was a real pain in the ass hes such a cry baby he wants us to feel pain not just him people make games to get away from reality not make people sad with there own reality in it
no one asked for his life story geez

It made the game far more emotionally endearing. That and having a kind of graphic death scene (despite the blood) might have been, and was, a bold move at the time. It creates a type of seriousness in a game that uses cartoonish graphics with the character models.

Originally posted by Aerith Gainsborough
I was reading another interesting theory before....

The producer of Shinra had lost someone special before. I person he had loved a lot, and he was in big pain, after this person died.
When he created FF-7, he was thinking about something, to make people sad too. He didn't want to be alone with his pain, he wanted other people to share the pain with him.

To do that, he wanted to create a young woman, nice and friendly, loved from the people...... He knew, if she's going to die, everybody will be sad too. :sad:

I don't know, if there is a true part about it, but I was shocked, when I read that. Too bad, I can't find the site anymore..... :(

Yeah. I just recently read that on Aeris' Shrine. The director lost his mom prior to the making, and so he created the life/death sequence. He wanted to share his pain with a sad part, touching music, and the loss of a great character, just like he he lost a great person to him.

What's so shocking about that...? You experience something, you want to convey this situation and the emotions you feel through your story.
Things influence you and give you ideas.

Erh. Don't make it look like the person wanted to take revenge on the world in general. ;) Like, "If I suffer, everyone suffers". "I'm taking you all down with me!"...
That's Kuja thinking there. XD

If they didnt have aeris die the game would be alot diffrent and alot more easy becuase her level 4 limit is really really good.

Originally posted by Tokiko
Aeris' death contributed to the game's atmosphere, it also establish Sephiroth as someone who is REALLY doing evil stuff.
In-diddly

Besides, if she didn't die, how would the Lifestream destroy meteor. It was her who did that!!! And who would they be fighting for. They weren't fighting just to save the planet, but for her, too!!