#I haven't even gotten out of Midgar and I know Aerith matters for more than Holy

[greatwyrmgold]

Do as I say, not as I do, and don't get into arguments in a YouTube comment section. Even if the community is normally pretty chill.

So, a YouTuber I watch has been playing Final Fantasy 7, and just got to the point where Aerith gets Sephiroth'd. Someone in the comments argued that that scene might be done differently in the remake, since Aerith doesn't do anything in the plot. If you found some other way to introduce the White Materia, you could remove her.

I of course jumped in, pointing out that:

Aerith influences other characters in important ways (particularly Cloud and Tifa, the protagonist and arguable deuteragonist)

Arguing that a character is useless to the plot because you can remove them from the plot if you replace them with something that does the same thing is very silly.

After exchanging a few comments, I realized two things. First, the other guy does not seem to understand the second point. Second, said guy genuinely does not seem to think that any action Aerith takes that doesn't directly contribute to defeating the bad guy with a sword can matter.

To him, Aerith matters because she owns the White Materia and helps use Holy to stop Meteor from destroying the Planet. Nothing else matters.

Not her conversations with Cloud and the others. Not her refusal to put up with Cloud's tough loner persona. Not that time she convinced Cloud to wear a dress. Not her getting captured by Shinra, inspiring the rest of the party to rescue her (and the other experimental subject they found). Not her getting Marlene to safety, and making sure she'll be safe while Barret is out of Midgar. Not the lore about the Cetra she knows, or the discoveries made while following her, or even what she learns from talking with the Ancients or the Planet or whatever.

Apparently, Aerith matters because she owns a rock, and that's it.

What a #$%^ boring game Final Fantasy 7 would be if that were true.