[quote name='blueshinra']I once read somewhere that it was likely written in to contrast with what happens next to Aeris. The Cait Sith Temple scene seems to be making fun of RPG death and/or "death" scenes that in the end don't matter much for one reason or another (for example: certain previous FF games), but then it's almost immediately followed up by one that does.
So in short, the idea was that Cait Sith dies, but not really, and that leaves you less prepared for Aeris dying for reals.[/QUOTE]
Hm, I'm not sure if I'm willing to throw the writers that huge a bone, but it's an interesting explanation. I feel like if it were a parody it should have been more exaggerated, because while that would be really cool, it's really quite a subtle thing for players to have to notice, especially those not familiar with the genre.
And Sakaguchi continues to do this sort of thing to this day, like in the opening scenes of The Last Story where he kills a character, has drama unfold around death sequence, but then brings her back to life the very next moment with no questions asked. It would be like if Aeris swam out of the lake and rejoined your party after all the dialogue was said and done. It's that jarring, and I don't know why he does it.
