World of Warcraft’s tribute character to Final Fantasy 7’s Aerith found impaled by a greatsword after The War Within’s release
Beware: there are spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 below.
World of Warcraft has long paid homage to Final Fantasy 7’s sweetheart Aerith Gainsborough with an in-game character called Aerith Primrose, who happens to wear the same reddish-purpley clothes and normally sells flowers next to a church-like building. Now, that same Aerith can be found under a fat greatsword.
World of Warcraft’s surrogate Aerith has been living happily in Dalaran for years, but the new chaotic expansion The War Within lives up to its name and brings destruction to the floating city. It also forces Aerith to live up to her own fate, as you can see her skewered by a long sword in the video below.
It’s a little funny (and twisted) that Aerith’s death in Final Fantasy 7 is so iconic, you’d be hard-pressed to find an Easter Egg related to the game that didn’t somewhat touch on the scene where Sephiroth swoops down from above and breaks all our hearts (and, I assume, Aerith’s spine.)
Unlike her iconic demise in Final Fantasy 7, however, World of Warcraft’s flower vendor can actually survive the run-in with the big, sharp sword if players choose to save her.
That brutal scene has also been the subject of much discussion in the recent remake/sequel/alt-timeline-thing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Fans were left “confused” and divided and still engrossed as the scene was remixed for the JRPG’s finale, leaving many wondering what this meant for the trilogy’s third part. Even the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth explainer book couldn’t properly explain what was going on.