10 OBVIOUS Video Game Plot Holes (That Actually Aren't)
2. Final Fantasy VII - Why Couldn't Aeris Be Resurrected?
It is one of gaming’s most heartrending deaths, a death that cuts so deep that it continues to fuel one of gaming’s most enduring ‘plot-holes,’ that Cloud could have used Phoenix Down to raise Aeris from the dead.
To understand we must examine what the game defines as ‘dead.’
Remember, Final Fantasy VII’s turn-based combat is an abstract representation of real combat. In real combat the characters would actively defend themselves, reducing the impact of enemy attacks. Thus, suffer a hit that renders them immobile or unconscious and they would be incapacitated – termed KO’d in-game – but not killed. After the battle the injured but very much alive characters can be tended to.
Aeris’ case is different. She is struck while defenceless, leaving her critically wounded. Though the injury is not instantly fatal, Cloud believes that it is, or is at least terminal.
Crucially, an enraged Cloud then fights a boss battle against Jenova. Tragically, this delay costs Aeris her life. When Cloud returns she truly is dead, and beyond the power of some Phoenix Down to save.
KO’d characters don’t die. Aeris did. Though stark, the solution to this ‘plot-hole’ really is that simple.