The game must constantly remind us that the planet is, indeed, dying. Aerith, though she clearly knows more than she lets on, is cast here as slightly naïve and shortsighted, reacting to what she sees on the surface even though the danger has never been greater. An existential threat looms just over the horizon.
Her problem, and ours, is that Square Enix, the studio behind the game, has built a world that really is beautiful, filled with pleasurable diversions.
