Aerith Gainsborough

Aerith Gainsborough, alternately known with the first name Aeris, and other times with the surname Gainborough, or Gainsbourg, is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII and a major character in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII; appearing in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. She is the last of the Cetra, an ancient race with powerful magical abilities, and so the Shinra Electric Power Company hunts her throughout her life seeking to exploit her powers.

Aerith is portrayed as an independent, outgoing and kind young woman who displays an intuitive understanding of others and is deeply in-tune with nature. During Final Fantasy VII, she is part of a love triangle of two women who are interested in Cloud Strife.

Name
In the English release of Final Fantasy VII, Aerith's name was transliterated as "Aeris" by. As the Japanese language does not have the "th" sound, and the closest thing is "su". The Japanese vocabulary does not permit many words to end without a vowel; the name "Aerith" circumvents the additional vowel sound of "u" (Aerisu), with Aerith sounding as 'Aeris' when spoken in Japanese.

Since Kingdom Hearts and in all related appearances since, her name has been "Aerith".

An article in GameFan magazine, volume 4 issue 5, from May 1996 shows the characters that were known at the time. In the issue Aerith's name was written as "Aerith", as opposed to "Aeris" found in the game. The magazine also translated Barret's name as "Bullet".

Although she was never seen referred to as Aerith in game prior to Kingdom Hearts, in the original Final Fantasy VII, before naming the character she is called "Aerith" by default. This is never seen by the player since the first time her name is seen is after the name select screen, where the name selection's default is Aeris. If the name selection screen never appeared her name would be Aerith. The same applies for Cloud, who is called Ex-SOLDIER in the game, but this is changed when the player gets to the name selection screen where the default on the name selection is "Cloud". The same also applies for Red XIII, who is called "Red" before naming him, but unlike the latter two, this is seen at the top of a dialogue box during the player's first interactions with him, and changes to "Red XIII" in the name selection screen.

The official English website for the 2012 PC re-release of Final Fantasy VII refers to her as "Aerith Gainsborough". Despite this, the translation of the game remains unchanged from the original 1998 PC release and the default name is still Aeris.

Appearance and personality
In Final Fantasy VII, Aerith wears a shin-length pink dress that buttons up with the front and a red bolero jacket. She wears brown boots and metal bracers on her wrists and around the edges of her jacket sleeves. In all her appearances Aerith's hair is drawn back in a thick plait with a large pink ribbon; within the ribbon she keeps the White Materia orb given to her by her mother.

Her segmented bangs frame her face and she has emerald green eyes. Aerith wears the same basic attire in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children with new details to her jacket, giving her two pockets on the breast and replacing the metal bands on the sleeves with leather belts. This is how Aerith appears in most of her spin-off appearances.

In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Aerith wears a blue and white dress with a red camisole underneath and white wedge sandals with pink straps. During their first date Zack Fair buys her the iconic pink hair ribbon, and later suggests Aerith continue to wear pink, likely prompting her wardrobe change to what is seen in Final Fantasy VII. In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- Aerith wears a pink, white and red top tied around the neck with buttons up the front, and a frilly white and green skirt. In Kingdom Hearts, Aerith wears a variation of her original Final Fantasy VII attire, abandoning the jacket and bracers, instead wearing a series of metal bracelets on one arm. She also wears a thick bright blue belt. Her outfit in Kingdom Hearts II is based on her Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- outfit, but her skirt is pink.

Aerith is upbeat and joyful, and several times in Final Fantasy VII attempts to cheer up her fellow party members. As she was raised in the Midgar Slums, Aerith maintains that she can take care of herself, and is capable of fighting off Shinra troops, as well as demonstrating more subtle forms of savvy. When Aerith has made up her mind about something, she will not listen to anyone who tells her otherwise. Aerith and Tifa can often be found spending time together when the party splits up and are good friends.

As a child, Aerith was reluctant to accept her Cetra heritage, and in Final Fantasy VII she admits to Cloud she considers herself alone, as she is the only remaining Cetra. She exhibits strange personality quirks at times, such as being afraid of the sky in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, and claiming she can "hear the wind calling her" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. These traits may be influenced by her Cetra heritage allowing her to communicate with the Planet.

Story
Aerith was born to Ifalna and Professor Gast Faremis in Icicle Inn on February 7th, 1985, making her half-human and half-Cetra. When she was barely twenty days old Professor Hojo tracked Gast down, killed him, and captured Ifalna and Aerith. The two became subject to numerous experiments at the hands of Hojo and Shinra as they researched the Cetra.

Seven years later, in 1992, Ifalna and Aerith escaped the Shinra Headquarters, but Ifalna was wounded and only made it as far as the train platform in the slums under Sector 7 before she collapsed. Elmyra was there to wait for her husband's return from the Wutai War and before passing, Ifalna asked her to keep Aerith safe and so Elmyra brought Aerith home with her.

For years Elmyra raised Aerith alone as her adopted daughter in the slums of Sector 5. Shinra relocated her, and Tseng of the Turks, who considered Aerith a friend, attempted to persuade her to join Shinra willingly instead of capturing her, but Aerith refused. At the time, the Wutai War was still waging and ate up most of Shinra's resources, which meant that the Neo Midgar project - the project Shinra primarily wanted Aerith for - was put on hold. As Aerith grew up she continued to hear the Planet speaking to her, and although she was reluctant to admit it, she was aware of her heritage as a Cetra and tried hard to hide it.

Aerith spent a great deal of time in the Sector 5 Church. Due to the Mako Reactors draining the life out of Midgar and the surrounding areas, little could grow in the area. Regardless, Aerith cultivated a flower patch out of the dirt under the church's floorboards.

Crisis Core/Before Crisis


In 0000, a fifteen-year-old Aerith first meets Zack Fair when he falls into the church from the Sector 5 Reactor. When he awakens, Zack mistakes being in heaven and Aerith as an angel, but she quickly corrects him. As a repayment for saving him, Zack suggests a date, but Aerith brushes him off. She shows him around, and Zack buys Aerith her trademark pink hair ribbon. The two go to the Sector 6 park and Aerith tells Zack she is afraid of SOLDIER members, as they frighten her for being experiments who love to fight. Zack says he is from SOLDIER, and she apologizes. Tseng calls Zack back to the Shinra Headquarters, but he promises to see Aerith again.

Aerith and Zack continue to speak frequently over his cellphone and see each other for the next two years, and after Angeal's death, Zack returns to the church and Aerith holds him as he cries. Zack suggests that Aerith sell flowers to make money, as flowers are a luxury item in Midgar and constructs flower carts for her. The two head out to the slums to sell flowers, but it does not go well. Aerith asks Zack for "a few tiny wishes", and Zack has her write them down for him on a piece of paper. This is the last time the two would see each other, as later that day Zack is dispatched to Nibelheim with Sephiroth. In the years after Aerith overcomes her fears and ventures above the plate to sell flowers.

In Episode 6 of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- Aerith sells flowers to Rude when he goes on his date with Chelsea. In Episode 11, on August 9th, 0002, the player Turk meets Aerith coming out of her house, surprised by the blooming flowers. Aerith tells the Turk she wishes to leave Midgar to see the world, as she can hear the wind calling to her. AVALANCHE arrives searching for her, and the player Turk helps Aerith evade them.

Shears defeats the player Turk and Aerith is taken to the church to meet the leader of AVALANCHE, Elfé. Elfé tells Aerith AVALANCHE wants to bring down Shinra and protect the Promised Land, and it would be in her best interests to ally with them. Aerith hears an "old voice" coming from Elfé, inadvertently leading to the discovery of the Turk spying on them from the rafters. After the Turk battles Shears and Fuhito, Elfé is stricken by a sudden weakness, and AVALANCHE retreats. Tseng arrives and the Turk allows Aerith to flee while they distract him.

When Zack escapes Shinra custody years later, the final Angeal Copy who was left watching over Aerith when Zack left Midgar, leaves behind a letter from Aerith as it fades. As Zack reads it he finds out Aerith has been doing well selling flowers in Midgar, and during the four years he has been gone she has written Zack eighty-nine letters, though he never receives the rest of them. Tseng has the letters and sends the Turks to find Zack before the Shinra army so they can save him and deliver them, but the Turks ultimately fail.

Aerith tends the flowers in the church, while, outside Midgar, Zack is gunned down by Shinra forces. She looks up and clasps her hands. Although in Final Fantasy VII Aerith states she is unaware of Zack's fate, it can be speculated that the final scenes in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- have retconned this to her sensing his demise.

Final Fantasy VII
On December 9, 0007, Aeris meets Cloud as he flees from the bombing of the Sector 1 Reactor. Cloud has the option to warn her to get to safety, buy a flower from her, or blow her off. Later, after a failed attack on the Sector 5 Reactor, Cloud falls into the church and wakes up on the flower bed.

Reno of the Turks comes to apprehend Aeris who asks Cloud to become her bodyguard, offering him a date as payment. Cloud helps Aeris escape and takes her home, but sneaks out during the night to return to Sector 7 alone. Aeris heads him off and Cloud agrees to bring her along. Taking a break in the Sector 6 playground, the pair see Tifa on a chocobo cart, and assume Don Corneo has kidnapped her.

Through an idea of Aeris, she and a crossdressed Cloud infiltrate the Don's mansion and try to rescue Tifa, who reveals she did not need rescuing and was trying to get information on Shinra from Don Corneo. Don Corneo tells them Shinra has learned where AVALANCHE's base of operations is, and is planning to drop the plate covering the sector to destroy the entire area. The party's attempts to stop Shinra fail, and Aeris is captured by Tseng while taking Barret's daughter Marlene to safety.

Cloud, Tifa and Barret attempt to rescue her from the Shinra Headquarters, but are captured themselves. Aeris's heritage is made known to them, and during their captivity, Sephiroth manifests through Jenova's remains to attack Shinra, and the group is freed from their cells in the process. Traveling with Cloud and his friends as they pursue Sephiroth, Aeris becomes close to them. In Gongaga the party runs into Zack's parents who haven't heard of him for years and Aeris reveals she used to be his girlfriend. Following a visit to Cosmo Canyon, she fully comes to terms with her powers and duties as the last Cetra, although the knowledge of her task makes her feel more alone. In Gold Saucer Aeris is one of the possible date options for Cloud, and if the two go out she talks about how much Cloud resembles Zack, but as she has got to know him better she has realized he is different as well.

The party tracks Sephiroth to the Temple of the Ancients, and Aeris uses her Cetra powers to help decipher the temple's mysteries and find the inner chamber. Sephiroth reveals his plan to use the Black Materia to call Meteor, the ultimate Black Magic. The temple itself transforms into the Black Materia, but Sephiroth manipulates Cloud into giving it to him. When Aeris attempts to stop Cloud, he attacks her and is knocked out by a party member. While he is unconscious Aeris contacts Cloud in a dream, and tells him that as the last Cetra only she can stop Sephiroth. When Cloud awakens, Tifa and Barret tell him Aeris is gone. Cloud follows the clues she had given him in the dream to the Forgotten Capital.

In a temple underneath the city, the party finds Aeris praying on an altar. As Cloud approaches her Sephiroth attempts to take control of him to make him kill her, but Cloud resists him. As Aeris finishes praying and lifts her head to see Cloud, Sephiroth, still using Jenova's body as a vessel transformed into his likeness, descends from the ceiling and impales her with the Masamune. Aeris collapses into Cloud's arms as her hair ribbon unravels, the White Materia bouncing off the altar into the water below.

Enraged, Cloud turns on Sephiroth, who detaches a part of Jenova's body to fight Cloud, transforming it into Jenova∙LIFE. After Jenova∙LIFE is dispatched and the party pays their respects to Aeris, Cloud carries her to the pool of water in the center of the city and lays her body to rest beneath the water. Reeve later brings the news of her death to Elmyra Gainsborough and consoles her.

Aeris was praying for Holy, the ultimate White Magic to defend against Meteor, called by the White Materia she wore in her hair. The party learns Aeris had succeeded in calling it just prior to her demise, but Sephiroth is blocking its power. After Sephiroth is defeated, Holy is released but by this time, the Meteor has fallen too close and Holy's energy is unfocused by its gravity. Within the Lifestream, Aeris commands it to emerge from the Planet and push Meteor back. This gives Holy the room and time it needs to fully focus its energy, and in January of 0008, Holy and the Lifestream destroy Meteor and save the Planet.

Novellas
Aerith's role in the Lifestream fending off Meteor is expanded in the novella Hoshi wo Meguru Otome, which depicts Aerith in the Lifestream immediately after her death helping to fight Sephiroth's influence over it as well as consoling other dead characters from the game. She reunites with Zack, whom she is surprised to learn is dead, and helps Tifa and Cloud when they fall into the Lifestream and into Cloud's Subconscious. When Holy fails to defeat Meteor, Aerith commands the Lifestream to push it back and help Holy destroy it.

Aerith is the central character in the On the Way to a Smile novella "Case of the Lifestream - White". As Sephiroth avoids dissolution and spreads Geostigma using the Lifestream tainted with his memories, Aerith tries to help heal the spirits of the dead and contain the damage being done to the Lifestream. Despite the help of the spirits of other Cetra, those infected with Geostigma die faster than Aerith can heal their spirits, so she resolves to try and contact Cloud and stop the infection on the Planet itself. Aerith considers creating avatars similar to Sephiroth, however, she decides against this as she would rather meet Cloud as he remembers her.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Aerith's appearance is first hinted at when Cloud and Tifa collapse wounded in the flowers of the Sector 5 Church - they later awaken healed. Aerith appears to Cloud in a vision as he rides to the Forgotten Capital to save the children of Edge from Kadaj. Standing behind him she questions his reasons for coming, and Cloud tells her he wants to be forgiven. When Aerith asks "by who?" Cloud turns to see her and the vision ends.

When he loses his cellphone during his fight with Kadaj and his brothers, Aerith leaves a message on it as it descends into a pool of water, assuring Cloud she never blamed him for her death. During the battle against Bahamut SIN, Cloud is consumed by Bahamut's attack, and in the midst of the fireball sees a vision of Aerith, who takes his outstretched hand and transfers enough energy to him for him to cut through Bahamut's attack and destroy it.

In the battle's aftermath Cloud pursues Kadaj and his brothers on motorcycle, eventually confronting Kadaj in the Sector 5 Church. Kadaj attacks Cloud with a blast of energy, destroying the flowerbed. Water full of energy from the Lifestream erupts in a geyser from the hole, healing Cloud of his Geostigma and sending Kadaj fleeing. Cloud follows him, and in their battle Kadaj absorbs Jenova's cells to become Sephiroth. Sephiroth covers Midgar in the corrupted Lifestream and as Marlene and Denzel watch it descend over the city, she senses Aerith's presence.

When Cloud defeats Sephiroth and he is transformed back into Kadaj, Aerith calls down healing rain over the city, healing most of the inhabitants of Geostigma. Hearing Aerith's voice and mistaking her to be his mother, Kadaj dissolves into the Lifestream. His brothers attack Cloud and the three are consumed in an explosion.

Floating in a void of white space, Cloud senses Aerith's presence and also mistakes her as his mother. She and Zack joke over people calling her that, and tell Cloud his place isn't with them yet. Cloud awakens in the water of the Sector 5 Church, and the Moogle Girl tells him "she" said to wait there and he would be back. Using the water, Cloud heals Denzel and the remaining children and the group celebrates. As Cloud surveys his friends he sees Aerith speaking to children near the entrance of the church, then walking to the light-filled doorway where Zack waits. Aerith turns and smiles assuring Cloud that "everything's alright", and she and Zack walk into the light, Cloud smiling as they fade. During the ending credits, Aerith stands among the fields of flowers as Cloud rides his motorcycle through the countryside.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, as Tifa is about to get crushed by falling foundation during the battle against Bahamut SIN, an image of Aerith about to meet her death at the hands of Sephiroth is superimposed over Tifa in Cloud's right eye. During the new ending, phones around Edge ring, and Aerith's unheard voice tells the children who answer to go to her church to be healed, confirming what was implied in the original release (that it was Aerith who directed the children there). Aerith is no longer seen on the field in the ending in Advent Children Complete during Cloud riding his motorcycle during the credits.

In Battle


Aeris is lacking in the physical stats, but makes up for it with her high magical stats. When Aeris first joins the party she is in the back row by default and her starting level is decided by the following formula:
 * [average party level -3]

The playable characters in Final Fantasy VII require slightly different amount of EXP to reach level 99. Aeris requires the most EXP for level 99: 2,484,643.

She wields various rods and staves that often have many Materia slots and boost her magic, making her most suitable for wielding Magic and Summon Materia. One of her weapons, the Fairy Tale, can be acquired in Gongaga and has seven Materia slots, the most of any weapon up to that point and for some time after.

Earlier, in the Train Graveyard, one can steal the Striking Staff, which has an attack of 32, an unusually high value for that point in the game, making her a useful physical attacker for a period when put in the front row or given the Long Range Independent Materia. However, as Aeris cannot be used after disc 1, her combat abilities are limited in comparison to the other party members who can acquire stronger weapons later in the game.

When Aeris leaves the party at the end of Temple of the Ancients, the player permanently loses the weapon and armor she was equipped with, but gets back her equipped accessory and Materia. It is possible to open the menu after the Demons Gate battle during the scene Cloud lunges at Aeris at the bottom of the pit that used to be the temple, and change her equipment.

Limit Breaks


As a White Mage-like character, Aeris's Limit Breaks revolve around healing and buffing the party, most of them restoring HP and curing status ailments. Aeris's ultimate Limit Break is Great Gospel, which fully heals the party and makes them temporarily invincible. For Aeris to use the technique it has to be taught to her on disc 1.

In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Healing Wave is a Limit Break used by Zack when Aerith's portrait lines up in the Digital Mind Wave. It acts similar to Great Gospel, healing Zack of all negative status ailments, granting him invincibility and restoring a large amount of AP, MP and HP, also increasing them beyond their max amounts if enough is healed. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Aerith calls healing rain to heal the people of Edge of their Geostigma, a reference to Great Gospel.

Boss
Aerith is fought as a boss in the Training Mode of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.

Creation and Development
Aerith was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with influence from director and scenario writer Yoshinori Kitase and Hironobu Sakaguchi. Yoshitaka Amano created conceptual artwork of Aerith for Final Fantasy VII, which also influenced her design. Her long dress was designed to appear ladylike and as a contrast to Tifa Lockhart's miniskirt. Making Aerith's dress with polygons was difficult at the time, but Nomura believed that thinking about how to make it move naturally would lead to improvement of skills and rendering. Her green eyes were meant to symbolize nature and also served as another contrast to Tifa's.

Aerith was, along with Cloud and Barret, one of the first three playable characters designed for Final Fantasy VII before more were added. An early demo of Final Fantasy VII includes Aeris in the attack on the Sector 5 Reactor with Cloud and Barret, but she does not appear outside of battle and does not speak to anyone. During early plans for the game Aerith was to have the Geomancer job class. Though the final product has no job system, Aerith's Limit Breaks manifest as her drawing power from the earth, a typical trait of Geomancers.

In the original development materials it is stated the DNA of her mother Ifalna, not Jenova, would have been used to create SOLDIERs, and Aerith herself would have been cheerful but naive regarding men, having never been in a relationship. In a subplot that was cut from the final game, Aerith would tell Cloud stories about a nameless SOLDIER who used to buy flowers from her years ago whom she fell in love with, but her feelings were unrequited. Cloud would have deduced the unnamed SOLDIER was Sephiroth, and would have gone out of his way to hide evidence of Sephiroth's true character from Aerith to avoid shattering her idealized vision of him. At an earlier point in development, it was considered that Sephiroth and Aerith would be brother and sister, a connection that was intended to be hinted at through their similar hairstyles. This was changed to Sephiroth being Aerith's former love, and then dropped. Tifa would also have told Aerith the truth about Cloud and the Nibelheim Incident, including Zack's presence there when the village was destroyed.

Though he has made humorous remarks to the contrary, Tetsuya Nomura has stated that Aerith's death was always planned to be part of the plot, even when she, Cloud and Barret were the only planned characters. In an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nomura stated the following:

When discussing the making of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, co-director Takeshi Nozue has said that Aerith's appearance was designed with particular detail, as it was believed fans would pay close attention to her when she appeared. Tetsuya Nomura stated that they knew from the beginning they would not show her face until the final scenes, and when her face was finally revealed, he thought she looked "cuter than ever".

The members of AVALANCHE wearing pink ribbons in memory of her was an added detail when it was noticed no one mentioned Aerith's name in the film, and that if she was not going to be mentioned in dialogue there should be visual indication that AVALANCHE remembered her. In the final scenes where Aerith turns to face Cloud in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, her facial structure is redesigned from its previous appearance, in addition to having sharper graphics from the film's different format.

Musical Themes
Aerith's musical theme is called "Aerith's Theme". Two other pieces focusing on Aerith, "Flowers Blooming in the Church" and "Water", are derived from this central piece. In addition, the background theme of Final Fantasy VII's final dungeon, "The Great Northern Cave", contains a motive from her theme, which is fitting, considering the party is making their journey through the cave to free the Holy spell she summoned.

A cover of "Aerith's Theme" with lyrics and the alternate title, "Pure Heart", was sung by Ritsuko Nakano (AKA Rikki) the singer of Final Fantasy X's vocal theme "Suteki da ne", as an additional song on the theme's album. Later versions, including versions with lyrics and orchestrated by Nobuo Uematsu, use the original title.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
Although not appearing in the game, Aerith's character profile is listed in the game manual.

Final Fantasy Tactics


An Aerith native to Ivalice makes a cameo appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics, where she is initially referred to as a "Flower Peddler" (or "Aeris" and "Flower Girl" respectively in the PlayStation version). Final Fantasy Tactics assumes that every character has a job, and even some plot characters who never participate in battle have a job assigned to them by the game's engine. Aerith is listed has having the Chemist job class, even though she is not a playable character.

Aerith and her mother owe a 30,000 gil debt with a band of ruffians. The criminals go so far as to suggest that Aerith should make the money by selling her body - but at this point Cloud Strife intervenes. After the fight, she asks if Cloud wants to buy a flower for 1 gil. When Cloud remains silent Aerith asks if something is wrong and if she reminds him of someone, to which Cloud responds "No... It's nothing" and leaves.

During the battle at Ziekden Fortress, Argath says "Had they been mongering flowers on some street corner, she would yet live", foreshadowing Aerith the Flower Peddler.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy


Aerith appears as a bonus character in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy fighting as an assist-only character and a tutor for those who purchase Dissidia Duodecim Prologus Final Fantasy and transfer the data to the game. She has two alternate outfits, her Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- outfit and an outfit based on concept art by Yoshitaka Amano.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Aerith appears as a playable sub-character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, obtained via collecting Red Crystal Shards from Dark Note bosses. At level 99, Aerith has decent stats, having high magic, high agility, decent luck and strength. However her HP is low. Despite her good magic, her magic abilities are mainly defensive.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Aerith appears as a summonable Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade. She is depicted in her default Final Fantasy VII outfit and default Kingdom Hearts outfit, as well as an event-related Shrine Maiden outfit. Her abilities are Freeze, Comet and Comet 2. She was first introduced in the event, Final Fantasy VII - Calamity from the Skies, in which her abilities and weapons were made usable in order to successfully combat Jenova∙LIFE and Jenova∙DEATH.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest


Aerith can be purchased for $0.99 like all other premium characters. She is unique in a way that she can heal units: Aerith uses Healing Wind to instantly revive a player's character. It does not cause the enemy to attack, so one can quickly bring back every character with her.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Aerith has multiple cards in the Japan-exclusive Final Fantasy trading card game published by Square Enix. One such card, depicting Aerith's promotional CG render, has the Planet Protector ability. Aerith's cards are wind-elemental.

Kingdom Hearts series


Aerith appears in the Kingdom Hearts series with Squall Leonhart, now referring to himself as "Leon", Yuffie, and Cid. The four form a resistance group against the Heartless, and in Kingdom Hearts II form the core of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, dedicated to restoring the ruined world to its former glory as the Radiant Garden. Together with Cloud, the five lived in Hollow Bastion nine years before the start of the game, but were forced to flee to Traverse Town when the Heartless invaded.

Aerith appears to be second-in-command to Leon, and is frequently seen by his side. She is knowledgeable of Cloud's feud with Sephiroth; telling Sora that Cloud was seeking Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and encouraging Cloud to settle his feud, certain that Cloud can find the light to combat the darkness Sephiroth represents. The ending shows Cloud reuniting with Aerith and the rest of the party at the library in Hallow Bastion. In the first Kingdom Hearts, she grants Sora an upgrade to his Cure magic.

In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Aerith senses something amiss in the reconstruction of Traverse Town Sora visits, and is aware upon meeting him that she should know who he is, something other characters, including Leon and Yuffie, do not realize at first. She later comes to the conclusion the three of them are recreations based on Sora's memories and do not actually exist, and warns Sora that his memories will attempt to deceive him as he continues on.

Aerith returns in Kingdom Hearts II as a member of the Restoration Committee. She spends her time assisting Cid and Leon with city planning. During the great battle in Hollow Bastion, she is seen healing her comrades, referencing her primary role as a White Mage in Final Fantasy VII. Her design is based on her Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- attire.

Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special
Aerith appears in the opening walking beside Cloud Strife. She, along with other Squaresoft characters from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series are playable characters in Itadaki Street Special, a game that resembles monopoly. It has only been released in Japan.

Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special Portable
Aerith reappears in this mobile-phone edition of Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable. While initially not part of the player roster, she was later added on July 1, 2010, following the game's release.

Other Media
In Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, there is an NPC flower vendor in the city of Dalaran is named Aerith Primrose, wearing clothing nearly identical to Aerith's Final Fantasy VII design.

Aerith's costume appears as downloadable content for , along with Cloud, Sephiroth, Vincent, and Tifa.

Yoshitaka Amano's "Tranquility" artwork of Cloud and Aerith is shown on a wall in a scene in Parasite Eve I. The picture was created by Amano to be used as a cover for the original Final Fantasy VII soundtrack.

In Parasite Eve II, there is a laboratory where Aya Brea tries to use a computer infected with a virus called "Fatekeeper". The anti-virus, "Cloud", is found inside the September issue of a magazine called "Aeris".

In Disney's movie Wreck-it Ralph, there is a message written in graffiti outside of Game Central Station that reads "Aerith Lives".

Etymology
Aerith's name is meant to sound similar to "earth" due to her connection to the Planet. In the September 1997 issue of the Famitsu magazine, it is said "Aeris" is the transaction of the word into katakana: "earth" turned into "earisu", Aerith's Japanese name.

Her Japanese name is phonetically similar to the English word "heiress" which echoes her role within the story as the last of the Cetra and the inheritor of the White Materia. Aeris is the name of the Goddess of Discord in Greek mythology, but it is traditionally spelled Eris.

Additionally, the Hebrew word עירית, ʻīrīṯ (the ṯ was pronounced th), refers to the flower. It is also a modern Hebrew girls' name, Irit. This might have been appropriate, considering Aerith's association with flowers. Because of the inexact way Hebrew treats vowels in writing, an alternate reading ʻērīṯ is also conceivable from an intuitive reading of the letters.

Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Many European surnames derive from locations.

Trivia

 * Aerith, along with Cloud, appears in the Final Fantasy VII technical demo for PlayStation 3, which recreates the opening sequence of Final Fantasy VII though her face is never fully shown; when her profile is shown early in the video, her hair blocks the viewer from seeing her clearly.
 * Aerith's Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- render appears within of the code for Dissidia Final Fantasy. This is believed to be because Dissidia Final Fantasy shares the same game engine as Crisis Core, so it is probably left over data. The image of a Crisis Core Tonberry also appears. Through hacking, this version of Aerith can be controlled. She cannot attack, only run around due to her lack of animations.
 * When returning to the Sector 5 Church, two different images of Aeris may be seen. One appears for a split second in the center of screen before disappearing, while in the other Aeris is seen tending the flowers before Cloud moves closer. It has been speculated this is meant to be her "ghost". For more information see Aeris's Ghost.
 * A Final Fantasy VII promotional poster of Aeris shows her standing before the Highwind, but she dies before the player obtains the Highwind as the party's airship. The poster refers to Aeris's desire to have a ride on the Highwind after seeing it in Junon.
 * Aerith was #1 on Gametrailers' Top Ten Babes Who Are Out of Your League.
 * Aerith shares her Japanese voice actress, Maaya Sakamoto, with Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and Diva from Final Fantasy Type-0.
 * Aerith's voice actress, Maaya Sakamoto, is married to Zack's voice actor, Kenichi Suzumura.
 * Aerith was voted #2 as Japan's favorite Final Fantasy female character.
 * The strawberry parfait sold in Square Enix's Artnia cafe comes with a pink ribbon reminiscent of Aerith.
 * Aerith is one of the few Final Fantasy characters who are not fully human, along with Cecil Harvey, Golbez, Yuna, Terra Branford and Seymour Guado.