One of the joys of the original Final Fantasy VII is unlocking everyone’s limit breaks and finding all of their weapons. But one character needs to gather all of her best stuff before she departs the party for good, that being our beloved flower girl, Aerith (or Aeris, as we’re talking about the original game here).
Read More: Final Fantasy VII: The Kotaku Retro Review
Buy Final Fantasy VII: Humble Bundle
You can acquire Aerith’s ultimate limit breaks and weapons rather early in the game (certainly before most of the other characters). So let’s go over when she leaves you for good, and where to find all her stuff.
Aerith’s point of no return
So you know Aerith is gonna die. Obviously, you’ll need to go through everything listed in this guide before she meets her fate. Aerith leaves the party after the Temple of the Ancients sequence, so make sure you wrap up all of her tasks before you enter that temple.
Aerith’s Limit Breaks (and how to use the remaster to quickly get all of them)
Limit Breaks in the original Final Fantasy VII are broken up into four levels, with the first three offering two unique abilities per character. Each time you earn a new Limit Break level, you’ll learn that level’s first ability. Here’s how you progress Aerith’s Limit Breaks in FF7 (this pattern applies to other characters as well, but the activation and kill count differs from character to character):
- Activate “Healing Wind” 8x
- Kill 80 enemies with Aerith
- Activate “Breath of Earth” 6x
- Kill 80 enemies with Aerith again
- Activate “Planet Protector” 5 times
Recent re-releases of FF7 which have the 3x speed and god mode options make this process super simple. Killing 80 enemies is still a trek, but Aerith has great magic stats. Equip her with a powerful piece of magic materia and combine those spells with the “All” support materia to target multiple enemies. This becomes even more effective if you grind random encounters in areas with frequent enemies. Forests in the Junon Region are great for this, as is the Mythril Mine you pass through after outrunning the Midgar Zolom.
Aerith’s Ultimate Limit Break
As you may already know, to unlock a character’s ultimate Limit Break in FF7, you’ll need to find the manual that teaches it (and of course have gotten all three prerequisite Limit Break levels).
Once you get the Buggy after escaping from Corel Prison by way of the chocobo race, you’ll want to drive it to Costa del Sol. Make sure to drive the Buggy into Costa del Sol. Don’t get out of the vehicle.
Read More: So You Want To Play The Original Final Fantasy VII?
Take the cargo ship back to the starting continent and drive the Buggy across the river to the northwest of Junon. You’ll find a cave with a dude catching a nap. Talk to him and he’ll tell you how many battles you’ve fought. As long as your total number of battles ends in two matching odd numbers (133, 199, 77, etc) you’ll be awarded Mythril.
After you grab this item, progress the story up until you get the Tiny Bronco ship. Then, head over to the house southeast of the Gold Saucer and chat with the NPC there. If you give him Mythril, he’ll offer you a large or small treasure chest. Open the small one to earn Great Gospel. Then, in the menu, navigate to Great Gospel and select and activate Great Gospel to teach Aerith her ultimate Limit Break.
Read More: Playing Final Fantasy VIII In 2024: Everything You Need To Know
Great Gospel not only heals the entire party’s HP and MP during battle, but also cures them of any status conditions—a key point of difference between using Great Gospel and the “God Mode” feature in recent rereleases of FF7.
All of Aerith’s staffs
Girliepop flower gal has 11 staves to whack her enemies with. You can find each of them in the following places:
- Guard Stick (default weapon)
- Mythril Rod (buy at Wall Market)
- Full Metal Staff (buy in Kalm or Junon)
- Striking Staff (Steal from Eligor in the Train Graveyard or Harpy in the Gold Saucer area. Otherwise buy in Gongaga or Junon)
- Prism Staff (Buy in Cosmo Canyon)
- Aurora Rod (Buy in Wutai)
- Wizard Staff (Buy in Junon or find in Mt. Corel)
- Wizer Staff (Buy in Junon or find as a drop from Gi Nattak in the Cave of the Gi)
- Fairy Tale (Buy in Junon or find as a drop from the Turks fight in Gongaga)
- Umbrella (Score 5000 points in Speed Square at the Gold Saucer)
- Princess Guard (Room 4 in the Temple of the Ancients clock sequence)
Aerith’s death is easily one of the most tragic moments in gaming. But at least with this guide, you’ll see her going out in top tier shape.