Super Smash Bros Ultimate Mod Adds Final Fantasy VII Remake's Aerith
A new mod for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gives Princess Zelda a costume patterned after Final Fantasy VII Remake's Aerith Gainsborough. Nintendo’s blockbuster mascot crossover fighting franchise has seen guest contestants from even beyond the company’s vast library of first-party franchises, with legendary Final Fantasy VII hero Cloud Strife first lending his massive Buster Sword into the fray in 2014’s Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. His archnemesis Sephiroth would follow in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch, being revealed as a DLC character during The Game Awards 2020 livestream.
The final guest DLC character to be added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was Kingdom Hearts’ protagonist Sora, who has battled against both Cloud and Sephiroth in his home series. Not too long after Sora was revealed in a special livestream last October, Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai confirmed that he will be taking a break from the series, indicating that it will be quite some time before players can look forward to any new characters being added to Smash’s large and incredible roster of icons from gaming’s past and present. In the meantime, modders have been making their own additions to this now-legendary line-up, modding in Smash Bros versions of characters like Sora’s fellow Keyblade wielder Roxas or even the often asked-for Crash Bandicoot.
As reported by Game Rant, prolific Super Smash Bros. Ultimate modder LN_310 has posted an alternate costume for Princess Zelda based on Final Fantasy VII’s Aerith Gainsborough on GameBanana. This alternate skin recreates Aerith’s famous brown hair, pink dress, and red jacket from the original Final Fantasy VII, and LN_310 included various screenshots that place her in Smash Bros. stages that correspond to famous locations from Final Fantasy VII - such as Garreg Mach Monastery representing Aerith's church or the Fountain of Dreams standing in for the City of the Ancients.
As the last remaining member of the ancient race known as the Cetra and a member of the main party, Aerith is an important character in the world of Final Fantasy VII. She’s first introduced as an unassuming flower vendor in the dingy slums of Midgar, where she meets Cloud and the members of Team AVALANCHE as they battle against the corrupt Shinra corporation. She has made multiple appearances in both the Final Fantasy VII expanded universe and the Kingdom Hearts series, and her most recent showing in 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake has drawn praise for reestablishing her personality as a sweet girl with a slight mischievous streak - as shown when Aerith humorously wields a steel chair against one of Don Corneo’s minions while rescuing Tifa at the Honey Bee Inn.
Princess Zelda of the Legend Of Zelda series is a fitting stand-in for Aerith in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as both are gentle but brave female leads who wield incredible magic powers and are often romantically involved with a sword-wielding hero. LN_310’s Aerith Gainsborough mod does a solid job of recreating her classic look from Final Fantasy VII Remake and provides anyone who wishes to download it yet another classic gaming icon to battle the likes of Mario and Kirby in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Source: GameBanana (via Game Rant)