As far as I remember, Aeris was always supposed to die, even before Tifa was introduced.

Game files strongly suggest that Aeris was going to die in the Northern Crater (most likely during the first visit). This is shown through an unused cave that plays Aerith's theme in the N. Crater, alongside the fact that characters do not appear on the base map, as is common in all FMV scenes. The FMV where Aeris is killed by Sephiroth also holds a clue, with Sephiroth seemingly falling through two different scenes.

The game was incomplete in many other ways as well, a few other things missing included:


  • The objective of shutting down every Mako Reactor in the world, which was originally in the game's script but was instead handled by Reeve in-game.
  • The key items 'Letter from a Daughter' and 'Letter from a Wife' that were somehow related to Marlene.
  • Originally there were supposed to be more than 'three' underwater locations.
  • The apperance of Jenova in her humanoid form.

(All of this, I recieved just from reading some of the Ultimania guides. There is probably a lot more.)