A Final Fantasy fan crafted a creative cosplay that fused together two of the franchise’s most beloved characters, Aerith Gainsborough from the Final Fantasy 7 anthology and Princess Garnet of Alexandria from Final Fantasy 9. The Final Fantasy fan shared their fusion of Aerith and Garnet on social media, and pointed out where they got the inspiration behind their cosplay’s main designs.
Both Aerith and Garnet fulfill supportive and important roles in their respective Final Fantasy games. Both Garnet and Aerith are considered powerful White Mages in their own right, though Garnet is also classified as a Summoner due to her innate ability to call Eidolons like Shiva and Bahamut in battle. By comparison, Aerith’s access to Materia of various kinds gives her more versatility for dealing ranged damage and keeping Cloud and her friends safe. Additionally, Aerith can use Limit Breaks like Breath of Wind to keep her teammates healed, while Garnet can harness the power of Trance to boost her magic powers.
Final Fantasy Fan Combines The Attire of Aerith and Garnet Into A New Cosplay
While Garnet and Aerith hail from separate games, a fan sought to combine two of the Final Fantasy franchise’s best female characters into a new cosplay for all to see. On the Final Fantasy subreddit, a Reddit user named Lanaluuv shared her cosplay of Aerith in Garnet’s main colors. Garnet’s orange and white attire and red boots were placed onto Aerith’s iconic pink dress, with an orange corset in place of a red jacket. Aerith’s black boots were colored red to match Garnet’s boots, and Aerith’s rod was replaced by Garnet’s staff, with a red and white decorative bauble on top. However, Aerith’s long brown hair remained intact, despite Garnet sporting two distinct haircuts during the story of Final Fantasy 9.
In response, Lanaluuv stated that the inspiration for her Garnet-colored cosplay of Aerith was taken from the mobile and PC spin-off Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, which featured a crossover event with Final Fantasy 9 in late 2023. Lanaluuv stated that Garnet’s staff was modeled and printed by Himikosplay, and that she made Aerith’s outfit herself.
The Fate of The Final Fantasy 9 Remake
Although a remake of Final Fantasy 9 was stated to be in development thanks to the 2021 GeForce Now leaks, the project seems to be in development hell. Gaming industry insider NateTheHate stated in October 2025 that the project had been delayed, and did not state why. As of this writing, Square Enix has not confirmed if the FF9 remake is in active development, leaving the fate of the potential project in doubt.
However, fans of Final Fantasy 9 can still catch some references to the iconic PlayStation RPG in another Final Fantasy entry. Final Fantasy 14‘s ongoing Dawntrail expansion is filled with homages and callbacks to FF9 throughout the main story. A reference to Garnet herself is part of Dawntrail‘s current story cast, with Queen Sphene of Alexandria filling that particular niche.
Aerith’s Role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Third Part Has More Questions Than Answers
Warning: The Following Contains Major Spoilers For the Ending of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
During the Forgotten Capital segment of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Aerith’s iconic fate saw an equally shocking twist as the original incarnation, as she was seemingly slain by Sephiroth while she could also be seen and heard by Cloud. With more questions than answers seemingly afoot, it remains to be seen how Aerith’s fate will ultimately be decided in Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s final chapter. Given that Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said that the ending of the next FF7 Remake game may be satisfying, time will tell if Square Enix can hit the landing.
- Creation Year
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1987
- Developer(s)
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Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
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Square Enix
- Creator
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Hironobu Sakaguchi
- Latest Release
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Final Fantasy 16
- Creator(s)
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Hironobu Sakaguchi
