Spell My Name with an "S"/Video Games: Difference between revisions

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* "Aeris vs. Aerith" from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' is a [[Trope Codifier|canonical example]] <ref>and one that could've served as the [[Trope Namer]] if not for Asimov</ref> that can spawn enough [[Internet Backdraft]] ''[[Serious Business|to melt the polar icecaps]]''. It is always romanized as "Aerith" in Japan and used internationally in more current works, and some fans even use ''Earisu'' (the phonetic transliteration of the Japanese writing, エアリス). Aerith was subsequently chosen as a romanization because it sounds like "earth" when romanized, something that [[Word of God]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerith_Gainsborough#cite_note-kaitai-8\] confirmed at the time of the game's release in Japan. "Aeris" was chosen for the first English release because Sony handled the English release and their team felt it sounded better. Things got complicated by Square once they took over localization of their own titles again - by the time of ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'', Square had switched it back to "Aerith" outside of Japan. Some fans (including the ones editing Wikipedia and Final Fantasy Wiki) have struck a sort of compromise and use "Aeris" in regards to the game ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' and as "Aerith" when referring to all other games she appears in. If the game ever ''is'' remade, one can only guess how Square and their long-suffering fanbase will handle it.

** It doesn't help that "Aeris" is a Latin word with many other connotations that could be reasonably applied to the character, though these were unintentional since even the Japanese developers intended to get the "earth" homophone (and early concept art shows other spellings such as "Erith"). For example, try reading the [[Planet Eris]] trope without thinking of Aerith.

* Kaidan Alenko from ''[[Mass Effect]]'' often has his name spelled "Kaiden" by both Mass Effect fans and even [[BioWare]] themselves.