In honor of the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary in 2018, from January 22 to February 28, Square Enix held a “Farewell Stories Exhibition” at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo. As the title implies, the exhibits were focused on the sad “farewell” stories of the Final Fantasy series, exploring tragic good-byes and tear-jerking deaths experienced by the games’ heroes. Unsurprisingly, the exhibition offered a special emphasis on Cloud and Aeris – who, without a doubt, has the most famous and culturally iconic death scene not only in the Final Fantasy series, but RPG history.
It’s unsurprising, then, that Cloud and Aeris’s images were used to advertise the event.
As on these advertisements, which appeared in Tokyo (alongside ads featuring Final Fantasy X’s tragic couple, Tidus and Yuna), Cloud’s featured line is:
「指先がチリチリする。口の中はカラカラだ。目の奥が熱いんだ！」
Cloud Strife, Aeris’s death scene
“My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!”
And Aerith’s featured line is from her date with Cloud:
「わたし、あなたをさがしてる」 / 「あなたに……会いたい」
Aeris Gainsborough, date with Cloud
“I’m searching for you.” / “I want to meet… you.”
Cloud’s line was also used on other promotional materials for the event.
The tagline for the event was this
あなたがもう一度、会いたい人は誰ですか。
(“Who is the person you want to meet once again?”)
This obviously applies to each of the Final Fantasy heroes who lost someone precious to them, not the least of whom is Cloud, who lost Aeris. Interestingly, this line also seems to reflect Aeris’s line, “I want to meet you.”
The exhibition’s pamphlet highlighted Cloud’s loss. It did, of course, include a section about Zack as well – Cloud’s dearest friend who died before the events of the game and plays a large part in his present identity crisis – but unsurprisingly, the larger emphasis is on Aeris. The pamphlet included images and quotes of Cloud and Aeris’s more romantic moments, including Aeris contracting Cloud as her bodyguard in exchange for one date, their actual date at Gold Saucer, and Cloud’s heart-wrenching reaction to her death.
It also includes a general description of Final Fantasy VII‘s farewell story. Let’s look at the text the pamphlet, as well as display information, and how they described the Clerith tragedy:
FINAL FANTASY VII met with global acclaim on its release for its CG backgrounds, 3-D characters, futuristic setting, and storytelling that turned RPG conventions on their head. The story follows the lead character Cloud, but it is the heroine, Aerith, who opens Cloud’s eyes and helps bring him closer to understanding the mystery that is his past. Through her, we draw closer to the truth of the story.
Pamphlet, first paragraph
Released in 1997, FINAL FANTASY VII was the first installment of the series developed for the PlayStation. This scene, in which the heroine Aerith is lost, is easily the most shocking and tragic in the story. No one expected to say goodbye to such a major character in the middle of the story. Rumors of a secret way to revive Aerith spread, and it was clear players were having a hard time saying goodbye to her too. Even now, twenty years later, it still feels like a shocking turn of events.
Pamphlet, second paragraph
With an iron grip on mako, the planet’s life-energy, the mega-corporation Shinra controls the power that makes everything in the Mako City of Midgar run. Working against them, the underground organization AVALANCHE takes on a mercenary – an ex-Shinra SOLDIER named Cloud. While on-mission, Cloud encounters a girl named Aerith inside a church in the Midgar slums. Aerith is under surveillance by the Shinra Company, and so Cloud joins her as her bodyguard. Gradually, Aerith’s warm cheer begins to melt Cloud’s frosty exterior. Yet their time together is all too short. Aerith’s life is taken by Cloud’s rival, Sephiroth. Cloud must now face his sorrow, and the truth about himself. Sephiroth’s destructive ambition must be stopped – the fate of the planet hands in the balance. Stepping into the spotlight of our story, Cloud takes on a burdden even heavier than the sword that hangs across his back.
Exhibit description
The main display for Final Fantasy VII featured a blown up image of Cloud laying Aeris to rest, with a monitor playing the footage of her death and funeral embedded in the middle.
She was gone in the blink of an eye.
But the pain never went away.Aerith awoke the ultimate magic to protect the planet and the people she loved. Yet her life came to a sudden end at the hands of Sephiroth, a man bent on seeing the world destroyed. Even the usually stoid Cloud couldn’t hide his grief at the unexpected death of an irreplaceable companion. “My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning.” True words, revealing Cloud’s deep sorrow.
Additionally, the exhibit featured a museum of sculptures depicting various tragic scenes from the array of games. For Final Fantasy VII, the featured art piece was a recreation of Cloud laying Aeris to rest using wine glasses.
This high-tech exhibition showcased many Final Fantasy “farewell stories” using an augmented reality audio system that linked to the attendee’s smartphone. By standing next to one of the 150 audio “beacons” installed at the venue, attendees could connect with their phones to hear synchronized game background music (including Flowers Blooming in the Church, the theme that plays at Cloud and Aeris’s reunion), character voices, and display information through their headphones, creating a multimedia experience.
Square Enix recreated a section of Aeris’s church and flowerbed where Cloud and Aeris reunited, and attendees could walk through it as part of a special exhibition titled “The Words Aerith Left Behind (エアリスの遺した言葉).” While taking in the display, attendees could hear a monologue written by Kazushige Nojima and performed by Aeris’s Japanese voice actor Maaya Sakamoto. These mysterious snippets of memories seemed to correlate with different parts of Aeris’s life, her feelings of isolation, her relationship with Zack, and of course, her love for Cloud.
The official description for the event was this:
Aerith met a tragic death in the story of the original game. In this exhibition, the “Sector 5 Church” where Aerith and the protagonist Cloud first met will be recreated. Freely walk around the inside of the church while listening to a monologue of Aerith’s memories specially recorded for this exhibition. Additionally, never before seen image boards for the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake and more will also be on display.
Scenario by Kazushige Nojima, voice-over by Maaya Sakamoto
The connection to Final Fantasy VII Remake is intentional, and suggests that Aeris’s monologue may not only offer nostalgia into the original game, but also special insight into Remake. Here is the full page of the Japanese monologue:
The event was bilingual. Attendees could read an official translation of the monologue on their smartphones as they wandered Aeris’s church. Examples shared by one attendee showed the following:
A translation of the monologue is here:
“I hate the sky, it carries away everyone I love.”
“Stamp… Stamp! Guess, you’re gone too.”
“In new love, one can forget old love, so the story goes. Is that so? Is it okay my heart hurts?” (Note: official translation unknown, this is my translation.)
“This is a strange place. Flowers bloom all year long. The seasons never change–my feelings never change. I’m stuck.”
“Sometimes I see someone who has the same eye. Same as you, I mean. And I wonder, should I ask: do you know him? do you know where he is?”
“I know goodbye will be hard. But when I think of meeting someone new, I still get so excited. It’s cruel.”
“Things won’t last forever. Sure, it’s lonely. It’s sad. But I can say “bye” with a smile, right?”
“That’s it. I give up! I can’t stop thinking of you. Ugh, I can’t stand this!”
“Helloooo~ Wake up. It’s almost morning.”
“You came. Thank you, I’m glad. But you’re already….”
“You’re so far now. I’m so far from you. Oh, I’m rising. The sky is carrying me away. I can see you, you’re crying. Don’t cry, you’ll make it rain.”
Words Left by Aerith
These thoughts seem to represent different moments in Aeris’s life, from her grief at losing her mother and Zack to falling in love with Cloud – and then saying goodbye to him, too.
It’s interesting as well to note that this monologue, shared in 2018, is the first instance of “Stamp” being reference. This mascot dog was introduced in Final Fantasy VII Remake, which was not released until 2020. The meaning behind this reference is not clear, but on merit of it existing at all, it seems that Nojima wrote this monologue with Remake well in mind.
(Which is no surprise, as the exhibit also debuted never-before-seen artwork for Remake.)
In conclusion, this beautiful event captured the tragedy of Cloud and Aeris, alongside other tragic couples such as Tidus and Yuna or Noctis and Lunafreya, with museum-like precision and care, offered a deeper glimpse into the characters, and even teased Final Fantasy VII Remake. It is a painful, but touching exhibition.
Earth & Sky: A Cloud x Aeris Love Story 