When I was little, my cousin told me a secret to get through Final Fantasy VII without problems: I just had to give everything to Aerith. Yes, to Aerith. As we all know now, Cloud’s romantic interest died at the end of Disc 1 and it was impossible to resurrect her, although magazines of the time assured us – just as they did with the existence of Mew – that it was possible if we met some very specific requirements. Of course, over the years mods have made it possible for us to play the game with her, but it was still more of a curiosity than anything else. Until now.
Aerith, I am like the Aerith
And indeed, after all, the magazines of the time were right! It is possible that Aerith does not die and you can continue with her for the rest of the game although, of course, she will not have any plot or dialogues of any kind. This new glitch will effectively skip the death scene, but afterwards you can continue having her in your team without any major issues.
This glitch has been discovered by speedrunners (of course), who have not only found a way to complete the first disc in just two hours, but also, as a side effect, discovered that by doing so, Aerith can be saved and continue in your team without using any external mod to the game. However, I could spend hours writing if you want to understand how the trick works.
It involves continuously and repeatedly mounting and dismounting a chocobo shortly after leaving Midgar for the first time, which allows Cloud to walk across the ocean and reach the City of the Ancients, where Aerith meets her fateful destiny. Be careful: after dying at the hands of Sephiroth, you cannot immediately bring her out to fight. However, she can be in reserve until you pass that section and then use her freely until the end of Final Fantasy VII.
Although it is impressive (it is!), it should be noted that if you do the trick, you will reach this point at a very low level and it will be easy to finish you off… But it is a shortcut that has just been discovered, so it’s only a matter of time before speedrunners know exactly how to skip it. And then we can say, with all certainty, that Aerith lives again.