8 Iconic Moments From Each Era Of Games
5. The Death of Aerith - Final Fantasy VII
Is there any more devastatingly iconic moment in the history of video games than Aerith's death in the original Final Fantasy VII?
After players spent a few-dozen hours being thoroughly charmed by this flower girl with far more to her than meets the eye, it's a literally cutting cruelty to see her run through by villain Sephiroth.
It's a genuinely shocking death - one which sucks the air out of any room the game is played in, and yet energises players to fight through their red-hot tears and give Sephiroth a well-deserved stomping.
But it's the more delicate choices that truly make Aerith's death so memorable - the gorgeously directed cutscene in which Cloud places Aerith's body in the Lifestream, for instance.
While the wishy-washy treatment of Aerith's demise in the Final Fantasy VII remake project has proven seriously divisive with fans, the original scene left an entire generation of gamers shook while proving what heights video games could reach in the hands of incredible artists.