WHAT SUPPORTS THIS RUMOR: Originally there was a rumor spread by a certain individual named Ben Lansing who claimed that Square had originally been working on a scenario which, if completed, would allow you to bring Aerith back to life using a special materia. The reason why people thought he had so much crediblity is because he said he was a former temporary worker for Square USA, and the information he presented to the 'outside world' seemed impossible for someone to know unless they had been affiliated with Square. In the game itself, there is an Independent Materia called 'Suichuu Kokyuu' which means 'Underwater Breath/Respiration'. You can only get it using a Game Shark code. According to Mr. Lansing's story, you needed a materia that would let you go underwater in order to revive Aerith, so this could be that materia that he was referring to, since there are no other materia in the game with that name or power. Also, if you return to Midgar City in Disc 2 or 3, you will see a flickering image of Aerith in the church that Mr. Lansing claimed was left in by mistake--it was supposed to be followed by a sequence with Cloud talking to Aerith's ghost. Lansing also gave several reasons for Square removing the revival process, including the fact that Square was pressed for time. This is true--Square had already delayed the game once and finished it shortly before it was shipped, and the obvious incompleteness of the ending adds even more credence to his story. Also, before the final battle, there is an extra ledge that no one is standing on. And if you are able to make three groups, one group will only have two members. Some people say that that proves that there should have been an extra member in your party, who would be Aerith. WHAT CONTRADICTS THIS RUMOR: Mr. Lansing claimed that the materia that would let you go underwater was a yellow (Command) materia. The 'Suichuu Kokyuu' materia is purple (Independant) instead. Also, it has no known effect in the game, even if one has follows the instructions concerning the Materia that Lansing explained in his message. Furthermore, he claimed that there were two alternate endings you could see if Aerith was revived, but it has been proven that there are no extra FMV ending files on any of the discs, and even if the ending wasn't an FMV sequence, no one has yet discovered any of quotes or graphics that might have been used in either of the 'alternate' endings. Most people also overlook the fact that, although it's difficult, you CAN get her 4th level Limit Break before her death near the end of Disc One--it was originally thought that if you couldn't get it normally, why would it be in the game unless Aerith could get it after her revival? Now, of course, that has been proven to be false. One part of Lansing's story is rather interesting since it has yet to be fully proven or disproven. To get the underwater breathing materia, according to him, you had to get the Area 5 Key during the first disc, take Aerith to meet the General, then go into Midgar City and meet the General's sick friend. Aerith would care for him, but he would still die. Because Aerith tried to help, the General would remember her and give Cloud the Suichuu Kokyuu materia in Disc 2. According to Lansing, the one thing that prevents you from doing this little side-quest is the Area 5 Key, which was removed in the first disc only. He insists that the quest could be partially completed with a Game Shark. Now, you get the Area 5 Key by digging at the Excavator's Site. But you can't even dig at the site until after Aerith's left for the Ancient City. So you'd need two codes, one to be able to dig up the Key, and another one to stick Aerith back in your party (that last part is easy enough to do :)) Even assuming you had a GS code to simply put the Area 5 Key in your inventory, you'd run into another problem almost immediately: while you do see the General leaving the town after rescuing Aerith from the church in Midgar, he doesn't appear outside of the city until the second disc, which means that Lansing wasn't exactly right; _two_ things were removed from the game, if his story is true. And the General is a key part of this so-called sub-quest. That would seem to prove his story false right there, but the General didn't give the materia until after you had cared for his sick friend (the guy living in the tube near Aerith's house). If you were able to get back into Midgar with Aerith, and _anything_ happened when you met the sick man, that alone would be very important; according to Lansing, the whole point of this quest is to be able to revive Aerith later, so if it's in there, it may be for the reason he stated. And if the General appeared when you left and gave you the Underwater Breath materia or gave it to Cloud in Disc 2, as Lansing states, then that would be the first piece of hard evidence to come forward concerning the rumor. The game's plot is also a large obstacle in the way of this rumor. While it seems that Square could have changed the plot in order to 'cover up' the removed revival process, that would be a lot of dialogue to change. Even the bit with Aerith in the church after her death is explained in the game. The biggest contradiction is that Aerith has NO lines of her own in any of the other discs, even if a Game Shark code is used to access her in later discs. Also, the game freezes if she enters any conversation/event in the later discs, further discrediting the rumor. The only times she speaks is when she's saying a quote that any character in your party would say at the time (such as just after crashing during the snowboard event). She also has no extra weapons available to her in later discs, unlike any other character. MY OPINION: No, you cannot revive Aerith. If you really have to play with her, just use my Game Shark code, okay? :) --------------------------------------------------------------------- What about extra characters? Aside from Vincent and Yuffie, isn't it true that you can have Sephiroth or 'Young Cloud' join your party? And what about the character called 'Baakusa'? --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT SUPPORTS THIS RUMOR: The fact that Sephiroth does join your party, at least for a time. Like any playable character, he can fight, cast magic, and even use magic outside of battle. Plus, you can move him around and check his stats. If you use a Game Shark code, you can dequip and equip him with materia and other equipment. As for Baakusa, he is supposed to be an imp (better known as a kappa to Japanese gamers) that was removed from the game due to time contraints, as the rumor goes. Using the same code that enables Sephiroth to join your party at any time, you can also see two extra character portraits, made up of red hiragana (characters used in the Japanese alphabet). One of those could belong to Baakusa. And Young Cloud has his own portrait, his own stats, and can use materia. He can equip things, raise levels, and be controlled in battle just like a normal ally. Throughout the game, Cloud battles his 'self'--that second self could be the younger part of him, or Young Cloud. WHAT CONTRADICTS THIS RUMOR: Even with Sephiroth in your party, he is still controlled by the computer. And like with the GS code that lets you use Aerith, Sephiroth cannot have a conversation or appear on the screen without the game hanging, indicating that he has no lines in the game, not even 'general quotes' that any ally might say. Furthermore, he has no weapons available to him aside from the Masamune (which doesn't even have it's own icon; see below), and his portrait cannot appear on the PHS screen. To add to that, Sephiroth does not have any Limit Breaks; if you use the GS code, it says that he has Vincent's, which is impossible*. While one of the two portraits could conceivably be for Baakusa, the translations of the characters spell out 'Now Printing'. A likely conclusion for this would be that this was used while the portraits were still being drawn/decided upon, a theory that is further backed up by the fact that in the FF7 demo disc, none of the characters have the same portraits used in the finished version (in fact, Cloud has Young Cloud's portrait!) If you load up either of the 'Now Printing' portraits using a Game Shark code, you'll see that they don't have their own stats/limit break/etc. Also, each character in FF7 uses his own type of weapon, but Baakusa has none, while even Sephiroth had a weapon (although the icon with it was Vincent's gun, indicating that perhaps you would never be able to buy/receive new weapons for Seph, which further discredits that rumor). The 'Now Printing' portrait won't fit in the PHS screen, either. How could Young Cloud join your party--through a time warp? Remember, Cloud's flashback takes place several years ago. Even if you could get Young Cloud, what would the point be? Young Cloud doesn't have a Limit Break; use a code and it says you have Cait Sith's (which is a bug since Young Cloud, like Sephiroth, can't use it, even if you activate a Game Shark code to have an fully-filled Limit Meter). And the Cloud in your party can do everything Young Cloud could do, too. He also starts at a higher level. Like the other 'hidden' characters, Young Cloud's portrait is messed up if you try to stick him in the PHS screen. So even if you could get Young Cloud, why would you want him? * Vincent is NOT Sephiroth, despite what some people say. The only reason why Vincent and Seph seem to have some similar abilities in terms of 'glitch' weapons and 'glitch' Limit Breaks is because Vincent is considered by the game to be the last normal character in the game before Sephiroth. Although he comes before Cid in the 'Character Select' code, that's because the nine playable characters appear in the earliest order that you could receive them. In terms of Limit Breaks and weapons, Vincent always appears before Sephiroth, and the only reason why the handgun icon is used for Sephiroth's Masamune is because you're not able to equip Sephiroth with other weapons--the designers of the game had no need to make an icon because no one could ever see it normally, so they just used Vincent's. Even if you don't believe this, Vincent's past (he was a former Turk) goes against the plot--and Sephiroth was already alive at the time (in his human form...I'm not talking about the 'copy' Sephiroths that you see throughout the game. Sephiroth protects his body by placing it in the Crater, but before he learned that he was inhuman, he only used his real body). And no, I don't believe the theory that Seph could have controlled his alternate form of 'Vincent' by mind control, the same way that Reeve controls Cait Sith. If I got the plot confused--well, hey, I can't read any of it, so don't blame me. MY OPINION: Vincent and Yuffie are the only 'hidden' characters in the game--the only time when Sephiroth is in your party is during Cloud's flashback at Kalm Town in Disc 1 (when Cloud is replaced by Young Cloud), and there is no character named 'Baakusa'. Once again, if you just have to have either Seph or Young Cloud in your party, try a GS code. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Well then, what about the 'Chocobo Control' materia? You can have a Chocobo join your party if you use the materia, can't you? ------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT SUPPORTS THIS RUMOR: There is a chocobo 'portrait' in the game, just like the one that your allies have. Also, the chocobo isn't a true enemy in the game, he/she will only atack if you hit it first. Plus, you can ride around on them and breed them, so perhaps they're friendly enough to want to fight alongside your allies. WHAT CONTRADICTS THIS RUMOR: The portrait is used simply for the purpose of naming a Chocobo during the breeding scenario in Disc 2 onwards. Should you use a Game Shark code to add the portrait to your party, you'll see that it doesn't have it's own stats/limit breaks/etc, and the portrait glitches in the PHS menu. And, there are no weapons in the game made for a Chocobo to use. Most importantly, there isn't even a 'Chocobo Control' materia in the game, and you can't control Chocobos using 'Ayatsuru', either. Even if you could, you could probably only make them attack someone, not join your party. If they did have such a command, it would be the sole exception out of every other controlled monster's commands in the entire game. MY OPINION: There is no way to have a Chocobo join your party at any time during the game. If you think about it, all these rumors contradict each other. There are nine spaces in the PHS screen, and supposing you could revive Aerith, they would all be filled. But, one character is always leading the party, so that clears up a space. None of the hidden characters portraits will work in the PHS screen. However, Cloud's portrait fits in the PHS screen, so that would leave three free spaces (your active party). So it must be possible, right? Wrong. There are four rumored characters: Sephiroth, Young Cloud, Baakusa, and the Chocobo. So where would the fourth one go? And if you say that they'd all fit if you couldn't revive Aerith, then, okay, you may be right--but that means that the rumor about bringing Aerith back to life is false, and if it's true, one of the above rumors is also false. If you say that maybe they only join for a little while (maybe while Cloud is recuperating in Mideel or for the period of time between Aerith's death and the first chance you would have to supposedly 'revive' her), then that would also be an event unlike any other event in the game. Sephiroth is only in your party for a little while, but remember that it's not really your current party--it's just Young Cloud and Sephiroth during Cloud's flashback. --------------------------------------------------------------------- What about other endings in the game? Let's ignore the whole Aerith thing for a moment? Doesn't the ending in FF7 seem a bit unfinished? Could it be possible that there are alternate endings, just like in Chrono Trigger? --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT SUPPORTS THIS RUMOR: Frankly, most everyone agrees that the ending does seem a little incomplete. And Mr. Lansing said that the 'main' ending was supposed to have scences with Vincent and Yuffie in it. In terms of FF7's plot, the ending seems to wrap up Cloud's history and his troubles, but you never hear about anyone else, with the exception of Red 13 (and that's not explained either). Taking the Aerith rumor into consideration, throughout the game, Cloud is in situations in which he either must pick Aerith over Tifa or show that he is a caring guy or an uncaring guy. But, these choices affect the game in a very minor manner--the characters reactions change a little, and the 'date' scene in the Gold Saucer changes depending on the choices you made, but after Disc 1, the whole thing is dropped. According to information concerning the other endings, Aerith lives happily with Cloud or commits suicide (read the Documents section below) because of Cloud's actions. Considering the number of times when Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith get involved in a situation like the ones I mentioned, it seems very likely that there could be other endings. WHAT CONTRADICTS THIS RUMOR: People have searched the third disc and have proven that there are no extra ending FMVs. Even if the endings didn't use FMV, this goes against the design of the main ending. And despite replaying the game, no one has yet found a significantly different path to take, (failing all 4 Huge Materia quests has virtually no effect on the game's course) nor have they found any other endings. MY OPINION: I hate to say it, but it seems that there's only one ending in the game. I think that there could have been other endings planned, though, even if they were never actually completed or put on the discs. I don't know if people have tried searching Disc 1 or 2 for the alternate endings, but it seems a little odd to have to switch to an earlier disc to see an ending sequence, so there may not be any endings on those discs, either. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Okay then. Square DID cut stuff out of FF7, for whatever reason. There WAS going to be more in the game originally, right? ----------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT SUPPORTS THIS RUMOR: Just about everything :) There are disabled Materia in the game, unused portraits (albeit possible test portraits at that), a seemingly unfinished ending, and the fact that Disc 3 seems incredibly rushed, which would be likely considering that Square announced that FF7 would be a 3-disc game instead of a 2-disc game very late into their production of the RPG. There are many graphical glitches that could have been easily fixed (such as when you view most characters up close), and both the actual game itself and the mini-games could have used some playtesting (as people and game reviewers have both said). One rather interesting point that no one has yet mentioned is that there are three spaces for each Limit Break level, both in the Main Menu sub-screens and on the red window that appears when use use a Limit Break in battle--it could be that characters were originally going to have extra Breaks, but this was dropped when the programmers began to run short on time. WHAT CONTRADICTS THIS RUMOR: Few games that are designed are ever released exactly the way they were thought up. This is due to a number of reasons; lack of money, time contraints (which Lansing hinted as being the biggest reason why Square may have cut things out of the game), or lack of interest from both the programmers and the consumers. FF7 is a complete game in terms of being able to play, understand, and beat it, so it was released in a 'usable' form. And even using GS codes, it has been discovered that there are no other Limit Breaks in the games aside from the ones your characters can normally get in the game. MY OPINON: Cuts in the game? Absolutely! Like I said above, not every game is released exactly the way it was intended to, but I think the main reason why everyone got ticked off about FF7 is because so much was removed at the last moment. There's only one ending on the disc, in my view. Does that mean that Square never planned any other endings? Of course not! In my honest opinion, I do think there were going to be more hidden characters, and I do think that Square may have toyed with the idea of being able to revive Aerith. Just because none of this is evident in the final version doesn't mean it never happened. FF7 was put together very hastily and it seems like the programmers may have changed their minds as to what works and what doesn't throughout the game. The 'Materia Select' code and the extra character portraits show that. Even if the portraits were just test images to be used before the real ones were put in, you think the programmers would clean things up and remove them before putting out the finished title. Same for the 'Active Battle' debugger that happens as a result of the Item Select Game Shark Code. And the sudden change from 2 discs to 3 before FF7 was released was also very convincing--there's only one new area on the third disc. Everything else, from the bonus areas to the Ultima Weapon, all show up first on the second disc. If you think about it even more, what's the difference between discs except for FMV? The 'FMV Viewing Trick' proves that ALL the discs have the same program on them; I played through several areas of each disc that would seem specific to that disc with another FF CD in the PlayStation, and they all loaded and played (like the snowboard and submarine sequences, which aren't available in Disc 1, or the whole first few hours of the game, which can't be reached in Disc 2 or 3 since Area 7 of Midgar City is destroyed early on in Disc 1.) The only difference between Disc 1 and 2, and 3 are the FMV files, but all the discs have at least some of the same FMV on them (the lift in Junon Town, the observatory in Cosmo Canyon, and the sky lift going to and from the Gold Saucer are on all three discs, and the bit with the rotating silver car can be found on Discs 1 and 3, at the least). So yeah, I'd say that FF7 definitely has had some parts that were not implemented and/or cut out for various reasons. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Will FF7 be just like the Japanese version when it is released in English? Will anything be added or removed? Who's handling the translation if there's no more Squaresoft? ----------------------------------------------------------------- (All the information below is from PSX Power except where mentioned) Apparently, FF7 _will_ be changed when it is released in the US. In addition to the obvious translation of text, the following changes will be made: - 'The overall difficulty setting during battle sequences will be balanced.' Thank goodness for this one! This means that instead of a single character being able to wipe out a boss all by him/herself, you might actually have to _plan_ a strategy in order to win the battle! The bad part about this is that the HPs and stats of the monsters will probably be changed, making my monster list useless *sniff*. - 'The interface with the Materia exchange will be improved, allowing gamers more choices during gameplay.' The exact wording of this is a little unclear, but it would seem as if the Materia system will be altered so as to be a little more user- friendly. It's not bad as is, but it could use some improvements, such as a command to dequip all characters (active or not) of their Materia. It'd also be nice if you could equip/exchange Materia in battle. What really needs reworking is the Item Menu (you can't equip weapons in battle, like you could in other FF games. It'll also be interesting to see what they do about the 'item organizing' commands, since one of them arranges items according to the Japanese alphabet.) - 'Additional "Weapon" monsters have been added.' Apparently, the two Weapons that you don't fight (the one that attacks Junon by sea and the one that attacks Midgar by land) will be fightable in the US version. Furthermore, if you go to: http://www.gamefan.com/hot/archive/7_97/pics/ You can see pictures of a green Weapon running around underwater (and there's a timer going as well). There are also pictures of a red Weapon monster stomping around in the KoreruSabaku (Corel Desert; it's the huge 'dirt pit' around the Gold Saucer). You may only be able to fight this monster via the Buggy or the Highwind. - 'A few select scenes have been augmented to clarify the storyline.' Sony claims that 'no portion of the story has been changed'. So, it seems that all that will happen is that many of the unresolved and unexplained events in FF7 will be made more clear, such as Cloud's real past, the connection between Sephiroth and the Jenova project, and other events. The above statement doesn't mention anything about repairing the apparently unfinished ending sequence, but perhaps they'll put in a few lines of text explaining what happens to our heroes after the end of the game. - You will now have 10 spaces to enter a character's name instead of six (this info comes straight from the UnOfficial Squaresoft Homepage). Some of you already saw this coming. After all, 'Sephiroth', 'Vincent', and 'Cait Sith' are all longer than six letters, when spelled in English. Furthermore, this modified version of FF7 will also be released in Japan as well (in Japanese, of course). Now, this may just be speculation on my part, but the agreement between Sony and Square (as I see it) is that nothing that is normally in the game will be removed or altered. This does _not_ prevent them from removing the disabled materia, the 'test' character portrait, and any reference to Aerith's ressurection. I wouldn't be surprised if the 'augmented scenes' change includes removing certain mentions of Aerith's death from Buugen Haagen's conversations, and I'm sure that the guy standing outside Midgar City in Disc 2 and 3 will have his dialogue re-worded to a certain extent. This is just my opinion, but it seems very likely to me, since Sony can do this without anyone knowing (aside from those of us with GameSharks :)) I had always been wondering what the translators would do about the disabled stuff (call it 'dummy' materia, actually translate it into English, or something else), but it looks like it could just be removed. The actual translation of the game is being handled by Sony, since Squaresoft (USA Squaresoft, mind you) has been disbanded ever since the release of Secret of Evermore some time ago. However Square is working in conjunction with Square USA when it comes to adding the extra stuff (such as the Weapon monsters). ========================================================================= THE DOCUMENTS ========================================================================= Here are the documents the 'Rumors and Speculaton' section was based upon (it was also based upon personal experience, use of GS codes, and newsgroup discussions, particularly in alt.games.final-fantasy). All have been edited for space and so that they could fit this guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This original document below was located at Miranda's Cafe (the address is in the Special Thanks section): ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aerith's Ressurection NOTICE A) You *cannot* ressurect Aerith B) We do not have the required Game Shark Codes to revive her C) We have NO FURTHER INFORMATION regarding her revival ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The True Aeris Story This was posted on the FF Discussion Group by Lansing, a temp worker for Square who did some of the translations. It lays to rest (finally) the rumors of Aerith's ressurection: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh no. They did it. I wouldn't have known, because I had access to the full set of FF7 info... but they did. I guess this means that I should have actually played through things to see if anything had changed, instead of getting tired of the game after translation purposes. I think everyone is gonna kill me for my insolence, because I really should have played through the game more fully before I said anything to make sure it was still possible. Throughout the past few weeks, I, myself, have been wondering why people were having such a hard time reviving Aeris, because according to everything I saw through the scenario translation process, it could be done fairly easily. Here's the Aeris revival process, in full. First off, throughout the game, you must make the logical choice of things to say to Aeris to indicate that you like her. You must never hurt her in any way by choice. What happens in scenarios, however, cannot be avoided (Aeris' beating by Cloud, for instance). Also, with the sick man. There is no medicine, but you could have Aeris tend to him and make him feel better, by learning about her heritage and returning to Midgar in the first CD. By doing this, the "GENERAL" as people call him, would trust you, and request you go buy his dying friend something from the store. A simple quest. After doing so, the GENERAL would tell you thanks, and that if there was anything else you need ever, to ask him for help. You then see a scene with his friend dying. A sad scene. :( Now, continue through the game as normal, and after Aeris dies, go on to the second CD. Once here, return to Midgar with the key from CD1, and the GENERAL will ask you where the nice girl (Aeris) is. You explain that she has died, by Sephiroth, and that there is no hope in reviving her. There would be a chance, but only if you could go deep under the waters of the floating castle (where Aeris died). The GENERAL would tell you that he thinks he may be able to help, and to come back later. After this meeting, you were to go on to Aeris' church, where there would be a long scene with her spirit. If you had been nice to her, she would express a desire to return to help you. After doing this, return to the GENERAL, who would provide you with a Yellow materia that allowed the entire group to travel through water. With this, you could return to the floating palace, go up to Mr. Fish, and once you touched him, you would be transported under water, to a cavern, where, at the end, lay Aeris' orb/life essence. With this orb, Bugen Hagen could complete the ress process, and you could move on to a happier life with a neater ending. Well, the FMVs were all completed on time, but a lot of coding was not. They then delayed the games release by a month (Dec -> Jan). However, it seemed that even by late December, the coding STILL wasn't finished, so Square told production to wrap it up quickly. In order to get the game out on time, SqJP sacrificed what could have been a miraculously better game than FF7... The main coding that was not finished dealt with manipulating the transparent polygon of Aeris' spirit in the church. Since they were forced to wrap production up to meet the many-delayed deadline, they had to stop with the Aeris process unfinished. So, to keep things from ever happening, they simply removed the one item that allowed any hint of the process to take place... The Key to Midgar, from the first CD. This completely stopped the ability to ressurect Aeris. HOWEVER, they left out the removal of one thing, and that was the split- second of seeing the ghost of Aeris once you return to the church. Unforunately, this, along with the insanely big size of the ending MOV, are the only hints to Aeris' existence that we have. Other than the original FF7 scriptline, from which all the above information came. I ran across this info while talking to John H. (another temp like me) trying to get some US script from him for our channel's page. Also, Seph wanted it. I asked him if it would be alright for me to release the script info in an altered form, and to release info on gameplay, such as Aeris' death/ress. Then he told me the deadline story, and I almost had a heartattack. He said that the process can still be done to its completion, sans a couple of scenes, with the Game Shark, but until someone develops a MOV player that handles multiple sector files, the true ending will not be seen. Oh, and about the ending... There were supposed to be scenes with the hidden characters, but things got cut short, so they weren't added, and the end of the ending was terrible, without even the typical "THE END" in the stars. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is part of an email sent to me from James Smith: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- First of all, the game is 'unfinished'. You may have heard rumors of thos, but I can swear they are true. The major thing removed was a large scenario by which you can revive Aerith. In December, when the game development was being finished, Square got a bit lazy and as a result just pulled the whole revival process. In fact, the movie files and code for the revival all exist on the discs, but a small part where you could get the key to Midgar in disc 1 was removed, making the whole process impossible. Game Shark allows the parts with her alive again on disc 2 and 3 possible, but the two other endings are inaccessible.. (Yes, there are two endings, one in which Aerith commits suicide) Removing the revival also removed the possibility of getting another secret character, and imp, which I believe you had on your list as KanjiMaru (I've not seen anything much regarding the char, but that he had only 1 limit etc.) and strangely, I had heard nothing of 'Kanjimaru 2'. The chocobo part is another secret in the game. Interestingly, from what I've gathered this part may still be accessible, but I'm not yet sure. Basically it's a materia that lets you control your chocobos, which I've been told is not a very large deal anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Smith's second message is: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In response to your question , we met about three months or so ago only, (online). Because of his relation to Square, he could not reveal the method to get Aerith back, that is until he left Square at the end of March. Well, the end of March came, and he left Square. Before he did, he was talking with a friend about getting some scripts and the full method in perfect steps for all the secrets, when his friend told him about the whole removal of it. I think it was in your FAQ the bit about seeing the ghost of Aerith in the church. Ever noticed how fast the ghost dissapears? It doesn't fade, and it's not even there for long. It was at this point that an Video sequence was supposed to start. But Square just deleted the key, and several parts hinting at her death, but they did forget the ghost. Yes, the game will freeze in parts of the second disc, but you have noticed that she does in fact have dialog. But there is no real point in the discussing the matter. It's impossible in the Japanese version, because even with the Gameshark it cannot be viewed in it's entirety. And having discussed it with Lansing, it will not be fixed for American release anyway. (Or, it is not scheduled to, which is unlikely to change) If you'd like to know more about it, I can basically tell you pretty much everything you want. The other two endings you recieved if: 1. You revive Aerith and were nice to her through decisions throughout the game. 2. You revive Aerith and were mean to here through decisions throughout the game. Come to think of it, why isn't Bakuusa's portrait displayed with those others? Hmm, that too is a question I need to get some help on. BTW, Lansing said that another thing that was 'forgotten' was a portrait of Bakuusa on the save game files. The portrait is supposed to appear randomly of a 1 in 30 chance, so clearing a slot and saving/deleting should find it pretty easily. I'll try to find out more so as to clear the confusion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's some more info. from Mr. Smith: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, it's been a while since I've talked to you, and I've gained a little information on the whole revival process. I hope you will put it in your next FAQ, as it clears a few things up and makes me look less like I'm just 'spreading rumors' :) Lansing left the web permanently. I tried to contact him, but he is gone. For those who believe that Aerith was never meant to be revived, I do pass along this: Lansing insisted that the second and third endings were on the disc. Yet, by using PSXVideo you can plainly see that only three ending files (The 'trip' to last boss, the ending, and Red XIII segment.) So in at least one place there is no validity to his statements. Yet I could be wrong here too. And what of the 'Chocobo control' materia? This is not so clear either-- I truthfully don't have much knowledge past what anyone else knows--that it's a rumor without basis. Additionally, the secret endings, as Lansing said, were that Aerith and Tifa argue over Cloud, Aerith attempts suicide, when in the mad rush Cloud accidentally kills her. How much does this sound like a Squaresoft ending? I'm really not so sure. I do however believe strongly that Aerith was intended to be revived, and that Kappa/Bakuusa was indeed supposed to be there. Does it not make sense? But I think perhaps there is true proof that she was intended to be revived. Why the so sudden dissapearance in the Church? Why does she have dialog at points after her death, but in contrast, why does she only have dialog in certain spots? I think we will truly never know-- Square will never tell. Yet I believe that in early pictures a 'breathing underwater' materia was in fact shown, though you as a reader can verify this just as much as any other rumor. Laid to rest, I don't think we'll find much more than we now know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's Andrew Vestal's take on the whole Aerith rumor--this document is no longer at his homepage (the address at the top of the FAQ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Final Fantasy VII is Complete Many have written me, concerned: Aerith dies. You can't bring her back. You ask that I start a petition--after all, my first one worked! Square rushed the game, you say, and released it before it was finished. Originally, you could bring her back! Make Square give us the TRUE Final Fantasy VII! And I smile and politely go about my day's business. But, lately, I have received too many of these letters to ignore them, and I must I make my views known. Square is a video game publisher: they make games. Why? To make money. But, then, why are movies made? TV shows aired? Books published? Magazines written? Newspapers produced? For the same reason: to make money. Only a fool, however, would argue that no important movie or book had ever been made. Rightful works of art have appeared in each medium. And Square has done more than any other video game publisher to move video games out of the realm of mere children's entertainment and into their rightful place alongside other media. Square delayed the release of Final Fantasy VII by a full month. They have also delayed the release of Final Fantasy Tactics, SaGa Frontier, Bushido Blade, and Tobal 2. Every Playstation game announced to date! Their profits for the year took a serious hit. Their stock value wavered. Yet the games were delayed because a substandard product would not be worthy of the Square name. But Square, sadly, can't delay games forever. Final Fantasy VI's ending was originally to have an Amano sketch for each character, but cartridge limitations demanded they be cut. Chrono Trigger's End of Time was to be majestic and crystalline. Characters such as Janus and Schala were, tragically, cut at the last moment. And who knows what other parts of Square's games never made the final cut? Square cannot always put everything they want into a game; eventually, they must say "the game is finished" and release it. Some still insist the game is unfinished. I should start a petition to demand the game be "fixed," they say. These people misunderstand the power of the petition. The Final Fantasy VII Translation Petition asked for fair and equitable treatment. It asked that the game not be censored or cut; that it remain in its original form; that Americans receive, finally, a Final Fantasy game the way it was written. The petition was succesful, and I am proud to have supported it, because it asked for justice. A petition to demand the insertion of Aerith's ressurection, however, would ask for preferencial treatment. It would selfishly demand more than others have already received. It would ask Square to retouch a finished product at gamers' whims. It would ask for these things out of greed, and I cannot support it. Square offers you the Venus de Milo, and you would send it back because it has no arms. There are rumors that an alternative, superior ending exists, unaccessible because of Aerith's permanent death. Those rumors are nothing but LIES. The ending you see is the ending Square originally intended: the largest movie file on the third disc. The ending, as well, is perfectly satisfactory; there's nothing "lackluster" about it. A "better" ending (with Aerith ressurected) is an impossibility. If she had been ressurected, then she would commit suicide before the end. This is true! Cloud would try to stop her and fail, for her death is inevitable. Aerith knew her death was absolutely necessary. Do not presume to know more than she. And most importantly . . . Aerith should stay dead. A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist. - Steward Alsop Aerith's death is a tragedy. I truly do believe this. So was Tellah's. So was General Leo's. So was the death of every person who ever sacrificed themselves for a greater cause. But unlike deaths in previous Square games, Aerith's death carries long-lasting repercussions that echo long after her passing. For Aerith did not die senselessly. Aerith meant to die. Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live. - Henry Van Dyke Aerith knew her actions would mean her end. But she faced death anyway, aware that only in death could she avert the coming disaster and save her world. She gave her life intentionally, purposefully, and with full knowledge of the consequences. No one ever, EVER forgets that; the tragedy of her loss is what keeps the small party together. Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas Even in death her presence is felt. Her memory guides and leads the party on its quest. Her spirit appears in silent reminder of her selfless act. Aerith died. She died! And she died honorably. Dear, beauteous death, the jewel of the just! - Henry Vaughan If Prince Hamlet came back from the dead, would his indecision be meaningful? If King Lear recovered, would we learn from his folly? And if Aerith were disinterred mere hours after her death, would her sacrifice have any importance? Square should be honored that the death of a character brings about this outcry. It is touching testament to the games' power: the characters are truly loved. And grief is a natural reaction to the death of a loved one. As is denial. Now, Square fans must proceed to the next stage: acceptance. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sun on ripened grain. I am the soothing, gentle rain. When you awake in morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die. - Anonymous Aerith Gainsborough gave her life so that the world might live. May she rest in peace. . . . she smiled, in the end. - Cloud Strife ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, here's some speculation about the 'disabled' Materia Orbs and the Aerith rumor from Ian Kelley: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materia 11. Suichu Kokyu 16. Booster ???? I have no clue whatsoever what the hell either of these Materia do. My best guess is that they were materias thought up very early in the gamemaking process, and were scrapped very early on, since neither of them seems to have abilities that make any sense whatsoever. I was a little intrigued by the Suichu Kokyu one so I did a little investigation on that using my computer...I'll talk about it later. 26. Housoku This is great! I cracked up when I saw this one. It's a joke materia put in by the programmers. "Housoku" means "Law" in the sense of what lawyers do. The skill given was "Zeninage" (Throw money) so I guess the programmers are trying to say you have to throw away your money if you want to hire a lawyer. Hehehe...^_^ 3F Mbarrier 42 Reflect 43 Refuab(???) These were all pretty interesting. It gives you insight onto how the programmers initially intended to make the Barrier type spells. The first teaches you "Mabarrier" 3 times...obviously not a finished Materia, like Booster. The description says it allows you to cast "Mabarrier." Reflect teaches you "Reflect" and "Wall," and Refuab (whatever the hell that's supposed to be) teaches you Wall. My best guess is this: When they first started programming the game, they wanted to have all of the spells on the "Barrier" Materia that is actually used on separate Materia. Then they decided to put Reflect and Wall together on one materia, then just gave up and put Barrier, Mbarrier, Reflect, and Wall all on one Materia, the one we see in the game itself. If you do a little searching I bet you will find a Materia with just "Barrier" on it, and maybe a Materia with Barrier + Mbarrier on it. Now for the stuff on the Suichu Kokyu Materia... This interested me, cause for a moment I actually thought that Square was being stupid enough at some point to actually be thinking about having Aerith be ressurectable. Therefore, I booted up my Disk Block Editor on my computer, and since I have Japanese system software on my computer, I converted the ASCII values of each of the blocks to Japanese fonts so I could read the dialogue. And this is what I found that is *really* interesting: It took me an hour, but I eventually found the section where Bugenhagen is in the place where Aerith died. Around that area, I found some lines of dialogue that I don't remember before. (I am paraphrasing this cause I don't remember the lines verbatim) 1. "But at the floor of the ocean is impossible..." The middle of this sentence started at the beginning of a sector but the previous sector did not have the first part of the sentence...possibly this could be if that the Ascii values for a single character get split in half it turns the first part into garble, and it might have split the character in the sector before. Either that, or the beginning of the sentence is stored in another sector. Anyhow, this came just like 2 sectors before the sentence where they talked about whatever the hell it was you needed at the bottom of the ocean. 2. "[The] White Materia is necessary", literally. This was about 10 sectors or so after the first line I don't remember. Since this could mean anything, it might have been there before and I just don't remember. Anyhow, after seeing this, I have some possible theories for the purpose of the Suichu Kokyu Materia. There's not a hell of a lot of evidence, but my guess is that either: 1) The materia is needed to leave the submarine to get the key or whatever the hell it was underwater that you needed to get. Either that, or the programmers initially intended for you to go underwater some way other than the sub to get that key. 2) The materia is needed to get at the White Materia that dropped into the Water right after Aerith gets killed. I think the first theory makes more sense, since I found no dialogue evidence towards a search or subquest for the White Materia, but it does seem awfully strange that during that FMV sequence they show us in minute detail what is happening to the White Materia, when you would think that they would be focusing on Aerith, who is in the process of dying. ^_^ My best bet though is that that Materia would be needed to let you get out of the sub, either to retrieve the key or whatever, or enter the sunken plane. It does make sense...after all, the monsters in the sunken plane are stronger than most of the monsters in the last dungeon, yet you get access to that place towards the beginning of Disk 2. If there was supposed to be some key to getting in there that you could only get *after* getting the sub, it might make sense, and the Suichu Kokyu Materia would be a prime contender IMO for that key, if such a situation really were to exist. Of course, this is all just conjecture. It is really interesting though, and I plan to do more research...including finding the exact address values of any fishy dialogue I see. It's cool, with those earlier Barrier Materias, you can see how the programmers planned the game mechanics to go one way, then changed their minds. It's a waste of space though to leave stuff like that in; they should have just deleted it. And oh yeah, one other thing...a search for the ascii values of the word "Fukkatsu" (Revive, bring back to life, etc.) turned up nothing that had anything to do with Aerith...I guess the rumor about her ressurection being possible in any way, shape, or form was just some guy jumping to conclusions. Oh well, I guess it's more dramatic anyway to have her die and stay dead anyway. And it wouldn't make sense to have Square revive a dead character in one of their games, that's not like them anyway. The closest they came to that was in Chrono Trigger, but that was less a revival and more of a "jump in time + grab him before he gets killed" kind of thing.