8. The Revival of General Leo (Final Fantasy VI)

Aerith is far from the only fan-favorite Final Fantasy character to die, with General Leo Christophe from Final Fantasy VI previously perishing at the hands of Kefka. Leo can be re-added to the player’s party through the use of cheat codes, but players began searching for more legitimate ways to seemingly resurrect Leo in the game. Interestingly, there is a way to keep Leo in a limited capacity, albeit through an in-game glitch.

In a new game, when the party splits into three groups, play through Sabine and then Locke’s scenarios, saving the game at Figaro Cave and progressing to the airship without dying or saving. After returning to the flying continent, a random encounter will be trigger and, if the player dies on purpose, they’re returned to Figaro Cave, but with access to the airship. After completing the cave, Leo’s sprite will appear in Banon’s scenario. However, he will only appear in certain areas, making this half-true urban legend nothing more than a curio from a glitch rather than a full resurrection.

7. Finding Zack Flair (Final Fantasy VII)

Throughout Final Fantasy VII, Cloud makes references to his best friend Zack Flair, who is only seen in flashbacks through cutscenes in the game. Fans began to wonder if Zack actually made a secret appearance in the game, speculating that a Sephiroth clone in Sector 5 of the Midgar sewers was actually Cloud’s long-lost buddy. Supporting this rumor was Aerith’s comment about the clone, remarking she wasn’t strong enough to heal him.

Urban legends posited that if Aerith was fully leveled, she could heal the sick clone, restoring his memories to reveal that he was actually Zack all along. With Aerith only having access to the sewers for a short amount of time, players would have to grind considerably to get her level up to its proposed strength. However, all this hard work would be for nothing, with Aerith never changing her dialogue option to heal the clone and no discernible connection between the clone and Zack found in the game files, leaving Cloud’s friend strictly a bittersweet memory.

6. The Secret Nero Family (Final Fantasy IX)

13 years after the initial release of Final Fantasy IX, an online forum seemingly discovered a secret side quest in the game involving the Nero family in Lindblum. Shared by user The_Kusabi_ on GameFAQs, the quest was on the fourth disc of the game and involved players visiting the family after traveling to Memoria every time they completed a major event (like a boss or cutscene). Every visit would introduce a new member of the Nero family and, after the entire family was introduced, players would receive a secret item for their due diligence.

Like the Leo resurrection in Final Fantasy VI, the Nero family quest is also true, interestingly enough. There are 17 possible trigger events to introduce new members of the Nero family, with nine family members introduced in all, granting the player a Protect Ring from a treasure chest in the Nero family hideout in Lindblum. The Nero side quest isn’t a high-stakes adventure, but any means, but that it went unnoticed to Western audiences for 13 years makes it something of a fun Easter egg.