Final Fantasy VII is a magnificently wonderful game, one which provides the user with an excellent story and very engaging combat. Even so, almost any person who has played the game can find at least one thing in it that does not please them. For many, this was the death of Aeris at the hands of Sephiroth. While there have been many rumors regarding her resurrection over the last couple of years, they have all been proved to be just that, rumors. It has now been discovered, however, that fans of the game do not have to live with her death any longer. Following is a proven method of bringing Aeris back to life:

Things you will need to complete this activity:

Four Tissues (lose battles at the arena)

One mastered Revive materia

The Buster Sword (Cloud's initial equipment, required because of the association with Aeris)

A substantial amount of playing time (Enough to level up the materia)

The PC or Playstation (PSX, Euro, Japanese, American) version of the game

Every player of the game is familiar with the revive materia, the one that contains the spells life and life2. What most do not know is the fact that this materia can gain AP even after it has been mastered, with an interesting result. Revive can be leveled up to level four, even though it only has three visible levels.

To obtain the extra level, you must first accumulate 800,000 AP after revive has been mastered (Depending on how you played the game, you may have to get up to 1,500,000 AP. The only way to do so is to use the Buster Sword, Cloud's first weapon(as far as is known, no other weapon works), and fasten the mastered revive materia to it. You should then go to a place where you can get lots of AP, such as the North Cave. Fight the Magic Pots (the ones that ask for elixirs) until you have accumulated the required AP. You should then have received another spell for revive, Resurrect.

It's obvious what you must use the new spell for. The next place that you must go is to Aeris' house in Midgar. If you have not already obtained the Sector 5 key, you must go to the Bone Village and have the diggers dig next to the airplane. Once you have the key, proceed to Midgar, and visit Aeris' house. Go to her room.

Nothing will happen at first, but you can spur on an important series of events if you use four tissues (lose or win fights in the battle arena) next to Aeris' bed. After you do this, Cloud will be overcome with grief, and will yell, "Why did you have to die?." Once he composes himself, the other people in your party will come out, and Cloud will discuss with them his desire to bring Aeris back to life. They will question you at first, but will soon be brought to agreement.

Your group will suggest that you visit the church in Midgar, where you may find some insight on how to get Aeris back.

On the way to the church, use the savepoint to access your PHS. Make sure that your party includes Cait Sith. Then enter the church (if this is your first time in it after disk one, you will see a ghost of Aeris). The two children who appear next to the flower bed will ask where the flower girl is, but will then notice the cat (Cait Sith) in your group. They will ask to play with the cat, and Cait will agree to it and leave the church with the children. The ghost of Aeris will then appear before you. She will mention the resurrect spell (which you should already have), and will tell you to go to the Ancient City, which is your next destination. Retrieve Cait Sith from the children and proceed.

At the city, go to the spot where Bugenhagen inserted the key (the waterfall with the crystal in the middle of it) and enter the waterfall. Here, Cloud will remember what Aeris told him, and will take the Revive materia out of his pocket (or wherever it was at the time). He will mutter, "I never got to tell you...," and begin to cry. Composing himself, Cloud will place the materia on the pedestal in the center of the waterfall and kneel before it in prayer. The materia glows brightly and begins to shimmer with a green light. It then turns into a ball of light and shatters. In front of Cloud, the crystal glows so brightly that he must hide his eyes from it. When the light goes down again, Cloud looks up and sees a ghostly image of Aeris, which tells him to go back to Midgar and enter the Church.

At the church, the image of Aeris will appear again, but this time it will not vanish. Your group inspects the flower bed, and Aeris gets up and walks towards you. It is then that you notice that she is not a ghost. As if to answer your unspoken question, Aeris looks at Cloud and says, "Don't worry, Cloud, it really is me... Maybe now we can do all those things that we never finished the first time around..."

You will now be able to fufill the promise you made to Aeris (That you would take her on the airship someday), a plot hole that simply would not make sense.