For me, there were only a few "death" scenes that suprised me. And that was in my first RPG, FF4. They weren't chicken to "kill-off" a character in that game
The problem (for me) was that almost nobody STAYED DEAD!! Palom and Porom were revived by the Master (such a noble and selfless death scene, and they reverse it??), Yang didn't "really" die (twice), Rydia comes back stronger and more badass than ever, Cid refits TWO airships after he dies too (and considering he would have died either from the bomb OR the cave-in alone, it's just f'n stupid), and Edward survives too. Tellah is the only character that REALLY dies in that story (hell even the bad guys get 2nd chances, with the 4 elemental bosses coming back inside the Giant, and Golbez regenerating from a Hand), which made it more "happy-go-lucky" IMO, and less real. I still love the game, and it's only a minor blemish, but with the exceptions of Cid and Rydia, you didn't NEED any of the other characters to come back for a plot reason.
So in FFVII, part of me wanted to play with Aeris again, and part of me wanted her to STAY DEAD so that the loss was real. I was glad that she did stay dead for a real sense of loss in the story. Same with General Leo in FFVI, though that was less of a shock. Galuf dying in FFV was also essential, and right.
