LOL! I finally know why Aerith had to die :P

[chibiken]

Well, there is a point in training her, because in the middle of the game around where she dies (Not exactly when, a little before she does), you will be forced to have her in your party, and you cannot switch her out, and you will have to go into a boss battle with her.

As the exact disc, I dont really know.

So what level she should be around by that battle?

I'm lyke at cosmo and she's already level 39.  Is that good enough?

Thanks!

[Bunnie-Maru]

Hmmm..I think thats good enough. Thats about the time you enter that weird area with the stairs I think.

[chibiken]

She's at like, 41 now.

I spent HOURS training in that junon alarm room.  Damn that place is AMAZING.  

Should I even bother getting her 3rd level limit break + 4th? (Well i already got the Mythiral *sp*  from the old man in the cave, but not the ACTUAL manual)  I have all of her limit breaks up to the 2nd level.

ALSO, can anyone tell me if i'm near the "middle" or "end" or Inbetween middle and end" of disc 1?

Right now, I JUST got to Nibelheim. (not in the flashback).
I'm about to go to in the shinra mansion, fight Lost Number, get Red's Cosmo Memory, and recruiting Vincent.

THANKS!  :love:

[Bunnie-Maru]

Honestly, I'd say it would help to get her 4th limit break. You're gonna need all the firepower you can get for this fight that comes up (though I cant remember it off the top of my head). Its probally not necessary, but then again, neither is Cloud's Omnislash...but it sure is helpful to have.

[Messiah99]

chibiken, Id say youre about 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through disc 1 at that point, give or take depending on

Spoiler: show

if you decide to do the Wutai subquests right away like I do.

As for her limit breaks, Id say get them, her 4th level is amazing, such a shame you only have it for a short time. It's one big cluster of helpfulness to the party, haha. It does the following IIRC:
Esuna on all party members
Restores all party member's HP fully(I forget if it recovers MP as well)
Makes party invulnerable temporarily (long enough to finish nearly any battle)

[Threesixty]

Oh Ged...there are a few things that lead me to believe that a resurection was thought upon... but the one that sticks out is this:

Cloud: By the way... Why is it that when you use materia you can also
use magic too?

Sephiroth: You were in SOLDIER and didn't even know that? ...the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet calling up magic...... or so they say.

Cloud: Magic...... a mysterious power...

Sephiroth: Ha, ha, ha!

Cloud: Did I say something funny?

Sephiroth: A man once told me never to use an unscientific term such as mysterious power! It shouldn't even be called 'magic'! I still remember how angry he was.

Cloud: What was that?

Sephiroth: Hojo of Shinra, Inc. ... An inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist. He was a walking mass of complexes.

Tifa: A Mako fountain... So this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is.

The last line is what gets me....combine it with what Cloud says when he looks at all those magical mirrors around the Ancient City. I forget what Cloud says, but he says that he doesn't understand, or something. I always thought that that magical fountain, and those Mirrors in the Ancient city were connected. But it is a part of FF7 that is never resolved....not even as a sidequest.

Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Yes, it is something, isn't it? Well, let's get to the subject. Eventually... all humans die. What happens to them after they die? The body decomposes, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows.  What about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls? The soul too returns to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet. In fact, all living things in the universe, are the same. The spirits that return to the Planet, merge with one another and roam the Planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'. Lifestream... In other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is a word that you should never forget. A new life... children are blessed with Spirit energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the Planet... Of course there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world. I've digressed, but you'll understand better if you watch this.

"Of course there are exceptions," sticks out like a sore thumb.

Cloud:  I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet...

Tifa: Really? I wonder? I don't think that's it at all. I think she didn't think she would die at all, but that she planned on coming back all along. She always used to talk about the 'Next time'. She talked about the future more that any of us..."

[chibiken]

chibiken, Id say youre about 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through disc 1 at that point, give or take depending on

Spoiler: show

if you decide to do the Wutai subquests right away like I do.

As for her limit breaks, Id say get them, her 4th level is amazing, such a shame you only have it for a short time. It's one big cluster of helpfulness to the party, haha. It does the following IIRC:
Esuna on all party members
Restores all party member's HP fully(I forget if it recovers MP as well)
Makes party invulnerable temporarily (long enough to finish nearly any battle)

Thanks!  Do you think it's a good idea to do the Wutai subquest right away or (save it later?  CAN you do it later in the game?)

As for aeris, gah, I dunno, It'll take quite a while for her to get all of her lv 3 limit breaks.  But i do find her Fury Brand quite useful!

[Bunnie-Maru]

Im not sure if you can do it later. I think its triggered by an event in the game. I specificly remember waiting until around the 3rd disc to get Vincent and Yuffie, and she didnt steal my materia when I went to do it on the third disc. I think I had to replay again to be able to do it and fight in the pagoda. Im not sure what exactly triggers it.

[Messiah99]

It can be done at any time, all that matters is that you have Yuffie as an available character, and go to Wutai Island.

[Threesixty]

I don't think it can be done anytime....you need to be able to get there. She makes a little comment about visiting her homeland after the Bronco crashes. That's when you can go...anytime after the crash.

[CloudSquall]

Im not sure if you can do it later. I think its triggered by an event in the game. I specificly remember waiting until around the 3rd disc to get Vincent and Yuffie, and she didnt steal my materia when I went to do it on the third disc. I think I had to replay again to be able to do it and fight in the pagoda. Im not sure what exactly triggers it.

its becuz u have to go on 2disc, thats what triggers it

[Messiah99]

its becuz u have to go on 2disc, thats what triggers it

Can't be, because I always did the Wutai and pagoda side quests right away as soon as I got the Tiny Broncho.

[Borman]

I dont think there were plans for a ressurection. but, using the info provided in the first post (which ive read elsewhere), maybe there was an alternate storyline BEFORE that phonecall. When making a game, you dont necessarily make it from beginning to end, rather you skip around. So maybe they hadnt planned on Aeris dying when they made the Northern Crater part. So all Im saying is maybe there was a change in major plot during development

[Bunnie-Maru]

I know you cant go whenever you want, because I could not do it when i got to the third disc (After I went into the crater atleast). I had Yuffie with me, no matter how many times I went in there, the Turks wernt in that cafe, and Yuffie never stole my materia. I remember that for a FACT, because when I went to do the Turtle Paradise flyer quests, and I went to the island, nothing happened at all, which was also around after I beat the game (Saved right before I went into the crater). So there IS a certain point where you cannot do it, I just dont know what it is. Maybe when the Weapon destroys that village, or when it comes up to Midgar.

As for Aeris' final limit break, all you need to do is get the Mythril from the dude in that cave and give it back to the weapon seller and pick the chest upstairs. The one downstairs is some piece of crap armor I think.

[Threesixty]

I bet you it's because you have the final confrontation with the Turks when you go back to Midgar.... YOu do that in the end of Disk2 I think. You get an option of fighting them or not fighting them. That's probably when the sidequest of Yuffie's turns off.

[Bunnie-Maru]

Yes, that would make sense, since the Turks are only there during the sidequest. Imagine my suprise when I was on Disc 3 and nothing happened. I had to re-do the game after I beat it to do the sidequests. That irked me a little. I always do the sidequests later. Im just determined to get to the goal, deal with the little crap later, focus on the main objective.

Biggest reason why I hated Final Fantasy 8. Atleast with X-2, you can go back with everything from your last save and do all the little crap you missed.