20 Iconic Gaming Moments You Must See Before You Die

3. R.I.P Aerith - Final Fantasy VII

Square Enix
Square Enix

Some pretty big stuff went down in 1997. The UK gave Hong Kong back to China, Microsoft officially became the world's most valuable company, and the very first Harry Potter book was released.

But forget all of that rubbish: we all know that the most important event that took place was the release of Final Fantasy VII and, by extension, the death of Aerith.

All of those hours you spent levelling up the poor girl, growing attached to her innocence and then BAM, Square Enix punched you in the gut so hard that you felt as if you'd been winded for a good few hours.

If I'm honest, I never really gave two figs about Aerith's passing - I just thought it was a brave move by Square to kill off one of the game's main protagonists out of nowhere. Love it or hate it, it's a character death that's left a lasting impression on the industry, and I can't wait to see it in glorious current-gen when the remake is released.

Contributor
Contributor

Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.