Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most popular video games Square Enix ever made, considered by many to be one of the most influential RPGs of all time. A key reason for the game's success was its beloved characters, such as Aerith Gainsborough, one of the party members that players can use to defeat enemies.
Since Final Fantasy 7 released back in 1997 on the PlayStation, Aerith has made a lot of appearances in other Square Enix games, including the Final Fantasy 7 Remake and some Kingdom Hearts titles. These two versions of her character, however, are quite different from each other.
Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake version of Aerith is very similar to the original game's. A love interest to Final Fantasy 7 Remake's main character, Cloud Strife, Aerith was originally introduced as a flower saleswoman who gave him a flower at the start of the game. She seemed like a minor character at first, before meeting Cloud again and learning that they have a common enemy, Shinra. Knowing that Aerith was the last Ancient, a race with spiritual and magical powers, Shinra wanted to use her for their own benefit and tried to convince her to join them for years.
As Aerith and Cloud got to know each other more, they discovered that one of Cloud's comrades, Tifa, was brought to Don Corneo, a creepy crime lord that considered marrying her. After rescuing Tifa, Aerith and she became good friends, and Aerith decided to join them in their battle against Shinra. While protecting Marlene, the leader of AVALANCHE's daughter, Aerith was finally captured by Shinra. AVALANCHE rescued Aerith shortly after, causing her to also become friends with AVALANCHE's leader, Barret. Towards the end of the game, Aerith and the members of AVALANCHE opposed the fate that the original Final Fantasy 7 had planned for them, fought Sephiroth, and began a new, unexpected journey, leaving players to wonder how this new trilogy of remakes will be different from the game they're based on.
Aerith in Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts, Aerith was originally from a world called Radiant Garden, along with other characters from the Final Fantasy games: Yuffie, Cid, and Squall, who is known as Leon in Kingdom Hearts. However, after Maleficent attacked their world, turning it into Hollow Bastion, the Final Fantasy characters traveled to Traverse Town together and lived there for the next nine years.
In the beginning of the original Kingdom Hearts game, Donald and Goofy were sent on a mission by their King Mickey to find a keyblade wielder. Aerith and her friends, aware of Donald and Goofy's mission, helped them find Sora. Aerith and the rest of the Final Fantasy characters that resided in Traverse Town continued to assist Sora, Donald, and Goofy however they could in the first game. Sora, Donald, and Goofy eventually went to Hollow Bastion themselves, where they defeated Maleficent. Afterward, Aerith and her friends returned to the world they came from, hoping to rebuild it to what it once was.
Between the events of the original Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2, Aerith became a member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, along with Leon, Yuffie, and Cid. Their goals were to turn Hollow Bastion back into Radiant Garden and defend the world from the Heartless, Nobodies, and any other threat that came their way. During this time, Cloud also found his way to Hollow Bastion and became friends with Aerith. When Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey reunited with Aerith and her friends in Kingdom Hearts 2, a huge army of Heartless and Nobodies attacked them. Aerith and Yuffie fought alongside each other in the battle, helping defeat all the enemies.
Once the Heartless and Nobodies were defeated, the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee were finally able to turn their world back into Radiant Garden. Aerith's most recent appearance in the series was in the ReMind DLC for Kingdom Hearts 3, in which Riku visited Radiant Garden to ask the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee to help locate Sora, who had disappeared at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3. While the role they may play in helping find Sora has yet to be discovered, fans hope to see more of Aerith and the other Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts 4.
Similarities and Differences Between the Two Versions of Aerith
In both the Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Kingdom Hearts' portrayal of Aerith, she was introduced trying to live a simple, quiet life before joining a group of fighters in order to defeat enemies that were a threat to her. However, Aerith had a more important role in AVALANCHE than she did in the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee due to the stakes in each conflict and what was expected of her.
In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, she regularly fought against Shinra as much as the rest of her party did. Her Kingdom Hearts counterpart, on the other hand, stayed on the sidelines and would heal her allies who fought rather than joining the battle herself. Ironically, while Shinra treated Aerith cautiously as she was the last Ancient, the heartless and nobodies in Radiant Garden had no reason to treat her differently from anyone else they attacked. This is very interesting as, due to how weak the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee's enemies are, Shinra is a bigger threat to everyone else.
Aerith also went through a traumatic experience in both Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is likely a huge reason why she cares so much about children. In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Aerith's mother died trying to protect her from Shinra. In order to keep her safe, Aerith's mother asked Elmyra, who was a stranger to her, to take care of her. The loss of her mother and the sudden change in her life was a lot for Aerith to go through at such a young age.
In Kingdom Hearts, there is no mention of Aerith's parents, so it is very likely that they, along with the majority of people who lived in Radiant Garden, were either killed or separated when Maleficent attacked their home. Going through these hardships as a kid resulted in Aerith caring deeply for kids. When she first met Sora in Kingdom Hearts, he was only 14 years old, and she's always done what she could for him. She has also expressed concern for Kairi, who she may have known since she was born, seeing as how Kairi lived in Radiant Garden for the first few years of her life. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's version of her character, however, clearly shows this side of Aerith more, as she spends a lot of time taking care of the children in her neighborhood. It will be interesting to see more similarities between these two versions of Aerith when and if they are further explored in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Kingdom Hearts 4.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available on PC, PS4, and PS5.
