Both Final Fantasy VII and Red Dead Redemption are among the most ionic video games of the past twenty-five years. Despite their obvious differences, they share one tragic similarity. In both titles, a major character dies. Neither Aerith nor John Marston make it to the end credits in their respective game.
Both scenes are burned into gamers' memories, but who did it better? The following list looks at convincing arguments for both sides. There is one other major similarity between them gamers know all too well; there's no way to bring them back. At least Marston gets more time in the spotlight during the prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2.
10 Marston's Death: He's The Playable Character
While Aerith is a party member, Cloud is the leader players control throughout the adventure. Marston, however, is the main protagonist of Red Dead Redemption, and his demise makes the player feel like they just lost a part of themselves. Gaming is unique for the way it puts the audience into the hero's shoes. When Marston dies, so does the player.
9 Aerith's Death: Happened First
Final Fantasy VII came out in 1997. Twenty-three years is long for any piece of fiction, but is basically ancient history in gaming. The scene is so memorable because few titles had done anything similar before. If a character died, it was usually a lesser support role and the execution was not as dramatic. At most they went down in the blaze of glory during battle.
8 Marston's Death: Fully Voice-Acted
By the time Red Dead Redemption came out in 2010, voice acting had become the norm. Rockstar Games also fully motion-captures their scenes, adding to realism. Voice acting brings the characters to life and makes them relatable. Rockstar always casts top notch talent, and Rob Wiethoff deserves special commendation for his role as Marston.
7 Aerith's Death: She Was More Innocent
Marston was a brutal outlaw, but found redemption in his family. While he had plenty of sins under his belt, he still didn't deserve to die.
Aerith, on the other hand, was a young, innocent woman whose only crime was attracting the attention of the evil Shinra Corporation. Especially when compared to Marston's rap sheet, Aerith was an angel wholly undeserving of her death.
6 Marston's Death: Feels More Unfair
Timing makes John's demise particularly tragic. By the time the Pinkertons come to do him in, he had already beaten Dutch and earned his new life with Abigail and his son. Aerith at least sacrificed herself for the good of the planet; Marston was mercilessly gunned down for no other reason other than to shine up an agent's career.
5 Aerith's Death: Happened In A Teen Rated Game
One comes to expect a degree of tragedy and brutality from Rockstar Games. There's a reason why they are often in the midst of controversy, after all. Final Fantasy VII, on the other hand, was rated teen. While it featured gruesome violence, the graphics at the time could not make the blood and gore too disturbing. Because of its softer tone, her death came as even more of a shock.
4 Marston's Death: More Realistic
Red Dead Redemption aimed to recreate the old west in a video game. Since most people who lived back then are now deceased, it is hard to say how accurate they were. The game certainly feels grounded, however, and the characters are more relatable because of it. As great a character Aerith is, the world is stylized and clearly not the real world. Although, with the remake's updated graphics and improved writing, her death may feel more real than ever in the future.
3 Aerith's Death: The Music And Boss Battle
Nobuo Uematsu has more iconic video game tunes among his compositions than most people can count. Many of these belong to the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack, including "Aerith's Theme." This somber piece of music plays while Sephiroth delivers the fatal blow to the beloved character.
Adding to the impact is the boss battle immediately after. Instead of the typical boss music, the deceased character's theme still plays as the gamer battles with their emotions to hold themselves together just long enough to defeat the monster.
2 Marston: The Tech
Graphics in 1997 could only do so much. By the time 2010 rolled around, the graphical fidelity could add intense emotional impact when needed. Seeing Marston gargle out his last breaths and fall to the ground while filled with bullets was too hard to bear, taking the scene to heights no prior generation in gaming could possibly achieve.
1 Aerith's Death: The Player Feels The Loss More
Marston's death occurs near the very end of Red Dead Redemption, with the player controlling his son for a quick, vengeful epilogue. Aerith bites it at the end of disc 0ne, a little over half-way through the main game. Because of how much time the player spends with her and how long the game has to go afterwards, the loss more heavily weighs on the player. It is not the tragic ending to a whole game, but a major tragedy both the player and the characters must deal with for the rest of the journey.