Much as I love FF7, Nei did it before Aerith!
Not to derail the thread here, but this is a hill I've been defending for
years.
Aeris' death was iconic, but it enjoyed the benefit of perfectly orchestrated music and then-groundbreaking FMVs. However, Nei's death was not only more emotionally impactful, it was downright
sinister on the part of Sega.
Phantasy Star 2 is a hard game, the player will likely die multiple times before reaching the boss battle against Neifirst. At this point, you treat it like anything else; you have no reason to think there's any meaningful consequences to losing, other than having to reload the save and trying again. But then you lose, and something unexpected happens - Nei dies, and permanently. You reset the game, give it a second shot, lose, and watch her die again. Maybe you're doing something wrong. You exit the dungeon, grind a bit, maybe upgrade her equipment, and try again. Maybe this time, you actually win ... but it still doesn't matter, she dies
either way, even if you win.
When Aeris dies, the player is merely an observer to tragedy. But when Nei dies, the player experiences it firsthand. And whether you win or lose the boss battle, death is inevitable - just as it is in real life.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.