Final Fantasy VII

Best: The death of Aerith

Talk about a cultural reset. The death of Aerith remains an unforgettable moment in the Final Fantasy compendium almost 30 years later, and for good reason. Even for a PlayStation game, the visual composition of the moment is still incredibly striking. Aerith is shown praying as Sephiroth descends with his sword drawn. The moment has become widely known by even non-fans at this point, which takes a lot of the surprise out of it for newcomers. But at the time, it was a gut punch that floored players as they lost a beloved party member before they’d even switched over to the second disc. What remains to be seen is how Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will handle this, as breaking away from the established story has become a major part of what the remake games contend with, but even Final Fantasy VII Remake’s late-game flash forwards are already teasing this moment and whether or not it happens will be a key story beat for this reimagined story.

Worst: The localization

While Final Fantasy VII is largely considered the series’ peak, the game’s localization is notoriously rough. The errors range from name changes like calling Aerith “Aeris” to just some nonsensical dialogue that has been memed to hell and back for almost three decades. We even have a pretty extensive deep dive into it here at Kotaku that’s worth checking out. Luckily, video games are much better about this now than they were in the 90s, but Final Fantasy VII remains a case study in how a poor localization can undermine otherwise good writing that still manages to resonate with players.