Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters - IGN (original) (raw)
It's not quite the 10th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII anymore. The game dropped in America in the fall of 1997, so right now it's more like the 10th-and-a-half. With the release of Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, though, Square Enix has only just now closed the book on what may be its most beloved RPG saga. The whole story's told, every loose end tied off, and our heroes are (mostly) living happily ever after now.
A lot of things went into making FFVII a breakthrough hit. Technologically, it marked the beginning of a new age in RPGs, with flat old-school sprites giving way to modern 3D worlds. You can't chalk it all up to flashy graphics and cinematics, though. FFVII's cast features a handful of all-time favorites, characters that gamers all over the world fell for.
Everyone, of course, has their personal number one (and two, and three, and probably 10, 11, or 12). Since we all love an old-fashioned argument starter, though, here come our choices for Midgar's top 10.
Honorable Mentions
Well never know just what she looked like to start with.
She doesn't quite qualify for the main top 10, because let's be honest with ourselves – you probably have to have a few spoken lines to count as a "character." Consider Jenova more of a nifty-looking plot device, since her numerous mutated alien forms made for great stomach-turning boss monsters. She was also the centerpiece of a classic cinema sequence, as Sephiroth wrenched her bizarre "masked" coffin down from the wall of the Nibelheim mako reactor.
Vincent Valentine
Man, you look pale. Are you sure youre feeling okay?
Nowadays, Vincent's look is just a little played. There's been a lot of water run under the gothsploitation bridge over the last 10 years, not least by the Final Fantasy series itself – the bad guys in Advent Children could really have used a little bit more color in their fashion diets. In his time, though, Vincent was a heck of a striking character design, and FFVII's 3D engine made his shape-shifting Limit Breaks some surprisingly scary stuff. Remembering Advent Children also recalls one of the movie's most visually inventive scenes, made possible by Vincent's awesome prehensile cape.
10. Cait Sith
The most famous robot cat on a porky Moogle of all time.
For the folks out there who think they're hardcore, here's a quick quiz question. How do you pronounce "Cait Sith"? It's not spelled like it sounds, to put it mildly – you say it "Kett Shee," which comes from old Irish, a language that was conceived from the start to make non-native speakers look stupid. Consider it one of many little practical jokes that the robot cat and his big pet moogle play on everyone around them. Their biggest punch line, of course – they're actually working for Shinra – didn't exactly go over all that well, but still, it's hard to hate these guys for long.
9. Red XIII
His lack of opposable thumbs aint gonna save you.
An encore pop-quiz for the hotshots out there: what's Red XIII's real name? "Red XIII," you may remember, is a nickname Hojo gave him -- "Red" for his flaming crimson fur, plus the experiment designation the Shinra mad scientist burned into his flanks. His adoptive father, however, named him Nanaki, and presumably that's the name he went by after returning home to Cosmo Canyon). While he's no longer the only confirmed survivor of Final Fantasy VII's explosive climax (an honor Advent Children sadly stole from him), he's still one of the most distinctive characters in the history of the series.
8. Cid Highwind
Hey, Barrett, you got a cigarette?
Every Final Fantasy game has a Cid, and every Cid is different. In Final Fantasy VIII, he's a mild-mannered educator. In Final Fantasy V, he's an aging, retired genius. Then there's Cid Highwind, the greatest of all Cids, the missing link between Chuck Yeager, Werner von Braun, and John Constantine. He grouses, chain-smokes, swears up a storm, wipes battlefields clear with one swing of his lance, and wants nothing more than to travel to the stars in his own custom-built rocket ship. Truly, a role model for our times.
Even when she was a kid, she had a mouth on her.
Yeah, for a while there, she's a pain in the neck. When she's not making off with your materia, though (or making you work through confusing conversation trees to try and recruit her into the party full-time), Yuffie belongs in the Wacky Sidekicks wing of the RPG hall of fame. She's cute, she's funny, she swings a shuriken the size of the rims on Jay-Z's Bentley – it's an unbeatable combination. It's no surprise that Square would use a lot of the Yuffie formula (albeit without the giant shuriken, more's the pity) for Rikku in Final Fantasy X.
6. Zack Fair
From background filler to his very own game.
A couple of years ago, Zack wouldn't be here. In plain old Final Fantasy VII, he had about as big a role as Jenova – he was part of the plot, sure, but he didn't have a whole lot to say. The PSP's Crisis Core gave him a leg up, though, letting him star in his own adventure and fill in a little of the personality he was missing. It's not spoiling much to say he dies at the end (since he already checked out in FFVII's flashbacks), but his check-out scene in Crisis Core is just about as epic as it gets in videogames.
5. Reno
You can always tell Reno. Hes the one who doesnt look like a total stiff.
Shinra's infamous goon squad, the black-suited Turks, tends to fade into one big amorphous, black-and-white blob. Most of them look like background characters cut out of Reservoir Dogs. One member has always stood out from the pack, though – everyone's favorite loud-mouthed, fire-haired, face-tattooed tough guy. Reno was a cult fave even before Advent Children, where he gave the movie some desperately-needed comic relief. Since then, his un-tucked style and uncensored attitude has kept converting more and more fans.
Not to mention, the movie made her a smidge less top-heavy.
It's hard to sing Tifa's praises without sounding just a little teeny-weeny bit sexist. After all, she is well-known for many different reasons, but two of those reasons tend to stand out ahead of the others. Seriously, though, Tifa helped drive a tradition of tough, independent RPG heroines. She stood by her man when the situation called for it, but she didn't mind doing some damage on her own time, either. There's never been a part-time bartender this dangerous, and Advent Children proved her day job doesn't mean she's lost a step.
3. Cloud Strife
Cheer up, emo Cloud.
He's the guy on the box cover, so he has to at least make the top three, right?
Maybe he's getting sold a little bit short, here, but maybe it just goes to show how many legends FFVII gave to the videogaming pantheon. The spiky blond hair is still as famous as just about anything else in the game, and the same goes for his legendarily improbable Buster Sword. It's not just the look that made him memorable, though – in his time, he was a surprisingly complex hero for a videogame, and he helped pave the way for even more involved and engaging characterizations to come.
A face you cant help but fall for.
As of this writing, Final Fantasy VII came out ten years, six months, three weeks, and a day ago. Is it okay to mention what happens to Aerith at the end of the game's first disc? Very few characters who don't even make it halfway through a story become quite this beloved, but Aerith made the most of her limited time center stage, not to mention her few brief appearances afterward. She's part girl-next-door, part angel come to earth – no wonder she became a gaming icon.
1. Sephiroth
Seriously - How does he get his hair to do that?
Some Final Fantasy games are famous for their heroes. Just as often, though, the bad guys are the ones that really stick with you. Kefka Palazzo (from Final Fantasy VI) is another well-known example of the phenomenon, but Sephiroth is probably the heavyweight champion of Final Fantasy villains.
Part of it's the look – admirers worldwide went nuts for the long silver hair and piercing blue eyes. But at the same time, you couldn't help but sympathize with him, too. Trying to blow up the world with a giant meteor probably qualifies as flying off the handle, but nevertheless, he had his reasons. Besides which, once again, no would-be world-destroyer has ever looked this good since.
Like what you see? Hate what you don't? We figured as much – Leave us your rant in the Comments section, and vote for your favorite FF character in the poll below.