The Final Fantasy series typically centers each of its mainline entries around a group of unlikely heroes finding themselves thrust into the midst of a world-saving mission. In that regard, Final Fantasy VII is your typical Final Fantasy game, but thanks to its incredible character designs from Tetsuya Nomura and unique blending of the series’ swords and sorcery aesthetic with a dystopian cyberpunk future, Final Fantasy VII has both one of the best settings and best narratives of any game in the series. Of course, it’s all the characters in Final Fantasy VII that ultimately elevate the game’s story to its place as a fan-favorite, including the game’s incredible protagonist and antagonist.
In what would become a recurring theme throughout the series beginning with Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VII’s hero Cloud, and its antagonist Sephiroth have a history together. Their shared backstory and dynamic with one another make each the perfect foil for the other, and it’s those personal stakes that make the game’s central conflict so interesting and engaging. Similarly, the supporting cast that accompanies Cloud on his adventure ranks among some of the best characters in the entire series, including a love interest whose tragic fate remains one of the most affecting moments of any video game.
Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife is the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII and arguably one of the coolest-looking heroes in all of Final Fantasy. After leaving his hometown of Nibelheim as a teenager, Cloud travels to the capital city of Midgar in hopes of joining the Shinra military and eventually joining its elite force, SOLDIER. It’s during this tenure as a military operative that Cloud comes across and eventually begins to work with Sephiroth, the legendary war hero and SOLDIER operative whom Cloud idolizes. Eventually, though, Sephiroth’s descent into madness leads him and Cloud to come into a direct conflict with one another, and afterward Cloud leaves SOLDIER until winding back up in Midgar. When players first meet Cloud, he is part of the eco-terrorist organization Avalanche as a mercenary-for-hire, unsure of where his life is going.
Tifa Lockhart
Cloud’s childhood friend and the owner of the 7th Heaven bar in Midgar’s Sector Seven slums, Tifa is also a member of Avalanche and is fighting for the future of the planet. Following the disaster in Nibelheim (the very same one that saw Cloud end up leaving SOLDIER), Tifa no longer has a home and realizes the danger that Shinra poses toward the planet. She eventually meets Avalanche leader Barret Wallace, and together the two run clandestine operations within the city of Midgar in hopes of bringing down the massive energy company. She harbors romantic feelings for Cloud but also expresses concern and trouble over his demeanor and memories, hinting at the discrepancy that exists between Cloud’s psyche and reality.
Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith is another resident of the city of Midgar and has a chance encounter with Cloud after his first mission for Avalanche. Later, the two cross paths once again, only during their second meeting Cloud needs to come to Aerith’s rescue at the hands of the Turks, Shinra’s group of elite enforcers. Aerith is kind and has a special connection to the planet, which is later revealed to be due to her being one of the last remaining Ancients. The Ancients, or Cetra, are the original inhabitants of the planet but suffer a cataclysmic genocide following the arrival of Jenova, or “The Calamity From the Skies”. Aerith wishes to join up with Cloud and have him continue to be her “bodyguard”, despite her adoptive mother’s wishes. Like both Cloud and Tifa, Aerith has a mysterious connection to Sephiroth and SOLDIER.
Barret Wallace
Barret is the headstrong and passionate leader of Avalanche, who continually reminds everyone around him about the dire fate of the planet if someone doesn’t step up against Shinra. Both he and his daughter Marlene live at the Seventh Heaven bar alongside Tifa, and the building also happens to serve as the secret headquarters for Avalanche’s eco-terrorist strikes against Shinra. Barret knows firsthand the danger that Shinra presents toward the fate of the planet, having had his former hometown completely decimated by the mako reactor the company built there years before the events of Final Fantasy VII. He doesn’t like Cloud, but he reluctantly accepts his help as an ally within Avalanche thanks to his combat prowess.
Red XIII
Though he may look like a cross between a wolf and a tiger, Red XIII is actually a sentient being capable of thought, feeling, and speech. The party meet Red within Professor Hojo’s lab while rescuing Aerith from the Shinra Corporation, and he willingly joins up with the party so that he can return to his hometown. Red’s species is one on the brink of extinction, and his “grandfather” Bugenhagen also happens to be one of the world’s foremost experts on the nature of mako, the lifestream, and the fate of the planet. Though he initially only agrees to join temporarily, Red XIII decides to permanently take up arms with Cloud and his companions for the fate of the planet in the fight against Sephiroth.
Yuffie Kisaragi
Initially, Yuffie is a random encounter that players will come across in the overworld, with the character attempting to steal the party’s Materia. After getting her to join up with them, she eventually is successful in stealing all of Cloud and his companions’ Materia, taking them back to her hometown of Wutai. Yuffie hopes that stockpiling all the world’s Materia will give Wutai a fighting chance in a second war with the Shinra Electric Company, who years prior forced a ceasefire and a surrender of Wutai following a lengthy war. Thankfully, Yuffie learns the error of her ways and joins up with Cloud as a true ally, though she always keeps an eye on the party’s Materia just in case.
Cait Sith
After arriving at the Gold Saucer in hopes of tracking down Sephiroth, the party meets the mysterious and enigmatic Cait Sith. This cat riding an animatronic Moogle purports to be a fortune teller and capable of helping the party, joining up with them before Cloud can even have a chance to refuse. Eventually, Cait Sith reveals itself to be a spy and a robot, with none other than Shinra Head of Urban Development Reeve Tuesti at the controls. Despite spying on and manipulating the party, Reeve communicates a desire to help Cloud and his companions successfully stop Sephiroth and foil Rufus Shinra’s plans, stating his concern for the fate of the planet. Ultimately, the party agrees to keep Cait Sith (and, by extension, Reeve) on as an ally.
Cid Highwind
Cid Highwind is an ace pilot and the designer of the rockets for the failed Shinra Space Program. Under direction from Shinra executive Palmer, Cid would construct a massive spacefaring rocket, only to have the project quite literally blow up in his face. He blames his girlfriend/assistant Shera for the accident and the crushing of his dreams of becoming an astronaut, leading him to have somewhat of a sour disposition and come off as a jerk when the party first meets him. When Palmer attempts to steal Cid’s only remaining means of flight, he agrees to help the party for no reason other than not wanting Shinra to take away his ability to soar through the skies. Eventually, he acts as the party’s airship captain, with the stolen Shinra vessel even earning the name the Highwind after him.
Vincent Valentine
Vincent Valentine is perhaps one of the more tragic characters in Final Fantasy VII, a former Turk who Professor Hojo experiments on and seals away so that he can forcefully impregnate his girlfriend Lucrecia with the embryo of the Jenova Project. As Lucretia carries the embryo (which becomes Sephiroth) to term, Vincent lies in suspended animation, only reawakening after Cloud and his companions stumble across his coffin in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. After realizing that Cloud and his friends are after similar goals of stopping Professor Hojo, Vincent joins up with the party as a powerful ally and shapeshifter.
Biggs
Biggs is a fellow member of Avalanche whom Cloud meets on his first mission with the group, serving as the team’s reconnaissance expert and mission planner. Though he’s one of the more capable members of the group in terms of combat ability, he still is a far cry behind both Cloud and Barret. He also is much more even-headed and calm than Barret, while also appreciating Cloud’s help within the group and trying to convince him to stay and join them on more missions. Outside of Avalanche, Biggs is a bit of a folk hero within the Sector Seven slums, often helping out at the nearby orphanage. He dies during the fight to prevent the Sector Seven plate from falling in the original Final Fantasy VII but is seen to have survived in the Remake.
Wedge
Like Biggs, Wedge is another of the Avalanche members that Cloud meets on his first mission with the group. He is an impressionable and happy-go-lucky guy who looks up to both Barret and Cloud and wants to help the planet in any way he can. Despite Cloud’s constant assertion that he’s only with Avalanche for money, it’s Wedge who continually provokes Cloud and second-guesses his reasons for joining them, believing that Cloud truly cares for the planet and has a good heart. Also similar to Biggs, Wedge helps around Sector Seven by taking care of all the animals that wander the streets, with the many stray cats being his favorite project in particular. Like Biggs, he dies during the attack on the Sector Seven plate in the original Final Fantasy VII but survives in the new continuity.
Jessie
Jessie Rasberry is one of the more integral members of Avalanche as the group’s resident engineer and tech expert. It is Jessie who is responsible for building the bombs the group uses to destroy mako reactors, and it’s her skill at hacking and tinkering with machines that allow the Avalanche members to travel through Midgar incognito. It’s obvious from the first time players meet Jessie that she harbors some romantic feelings toward Cloud, and the Remake continuity of Final Fantasy VII shows that she comes from a wealthy family that lives on the surface of the plate. Rather than enjoy her privilege at the cost of others going without, Jessie takes to the slums and fights against the Shinra Corporation’s poisoning of the planet.
Sephiroth
The main antagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is both one of the series’ best villains and one of its more tragic characters. Sephiroth’s existence results from the combination of human DNA with that of an alien being known as Jenova, with his “mother” being nothing more than a surrogate that carries him to term. After his birth, Sephiroth spends his entire life in special conditioning programs to become the ultimate member of SOLDIER, receiving heavy doses of mako exposure and significant combat training. As a member of SOLDIER, Sephiroth’s missions become the stuff of legend, and he earns a place in Final Fantasy VII’s world as a kind of celebrity superhero, having singlehandedly been responsible for several major Shinra victories ending the war with Wutai.
Sephiroth eventually learns the truth of his parentage and existence, and the knowledge that he is a genetically engineered demigod sends him into a spiral of madness from which he never recovers. Believing himself to be the last surviving member of the Ancients, he intends to claim the planet for himself as its rightful heir, but not before exterminating all life using the Black Materia to summon a cataclysmic meteor.
Jenova
While “Jenova” is the name that Shinra gives to the organism they find within the ice at the Northern Crater, the truth is that this extraterrestrial being doesn’t have an actual name. 2000 years before the events that take place in Final Fantasy VII, an alien crash lands on the planet, creating the Northern Crater from the force of its impact. This alien quickly infects the Lifestream and begins sending its genetic material out to infect the planet’s inhabitants, the Cetra (whom Shinra refers to as “The Ancients”). This proves to be disastrous for the Cetra, leading to the near-extinction of the species and a last-ditch effort to contain the “Calamity From the Skies”. The Cetra are successful, sealing the organism within the ice only for it to be found centuries later during a Shinra expedition.
The Shinra scientists mistakenly believe the creature they name “Jenova” to be an Ancient without realizing that it’s actually a malicious alien life form. These same scientists developed the Jenova Project to genetically engineer humans with Jenova’s DNA, believing that they could re-create the Ancients and have them lead Shinra to the prophesied “Promised Land” of ever-flowing mako energy. This project leads to the creation of Sephiroth, who eventually begins to gather all creatures containing Jenova’s DNA to the Northern Crater as part of an event he calls “Reunion”.
Gast Faremis
One of the two scientists responsible for discovering Jenova, Gast is more altruistic and simply wishes to learn more about the planet and its history, rather than exploit it for the profit of Shinra. Eventually, Gast comes into contact with the true last-remaining Cetra, a woman named Ifalna. The two fall in love and eventually that love bears fruit in the form of a child — Aerith. The three live together peacefully near the Northern Crater as Gast continues his research into the Cetra, their history, and the Promised Land before Professor Hojo and Shinra soldiers arrive to kidnap and experiment on Ifalna and Aerith. Gast unfortunately dies while trying to protect his wife and daughter, leaving them helpless and at the mercy of Professor Hojo.
Professor Hojo
If there’s one character in Final Fantasy VII who might be more of a villain than Sephiroth, it is undoubtedly Professor Hojo. After competing with Gast for being one of Shinra’s lead scientists, the two of them successfully discover the organism Jenova while on an expedition in search of the Promised Land. While Gast leaves to conduct research into the history of the planet and its original inhabitants, the Cetra, Hojo sets his sights on the genetics of Jenova, eventually devising a project to combine human DNA with that of the alien being. Additionally, it is Professor Hojo who discovers the genetically altering properties of mako, creating the SOLDIER program in the process.
Hojo is directly responsible for Gast’s murder at the hands of Shinra soldiers, eventually kidnapping his wife and daughter to subject them to ruthless experiments in hopes of unlocking the secret to their genetic code. He is also the person responsible for kidnapping and impregnating the unwilling Lucretia with the embryo of Sephiroth, only to eliminate her after the birth. More of a mad scientist than a scientist, Hojo is either directly or indirectly responsible for almost all of the events that contribute to Final Fantasy VII’s main conflict.
Ifalna
What little the player learns about Ifalna comes from either Aerith’s limited memories of her birth mother or the security footage that the party discovers in Gast’s home the first time they visit the Northern Crater. As it turns out, Ifalna is the last living Cetra, having taken refuge in the same spot where her people successfully defeated Jenova centuries prior. Her chance meeting with Gast leads to the two falling in love and her giving birth to Aerith, only for her to be kidnapped and subjected to horrific experiments at the hands of Professor Hojo after Gast’s death. She somehow successfully escapes the Shinra labs only to die, but not before giving care of Aerith over to Elmyra Gainsborough.
Zack Fair
If Zack looks familiar to players, that’s because he is essentially the basis on which Cloud derives his entire identity following the wiping of his psyche. Players learn about Zack Fair from a series of flashbacks showing that it is he, and not Cloud, who serves alongside Sephiroth during the infamous Nibelheim mission and Sephiroth’s descent into madness. At the time, Cloud is just an average Shinra grunt who is on the mission with them, having failed to ever make it into SOLDIER. When Sephiroth mortally wounds Tifa and knocks out Zack, Cloud takes up Zack’s sword and uses it to kill Sephiroth. In the aftermath, Hojo finds both Cloud and Zack, with Zack serving on other missions before eventually dying in the original continuity and Cloud lying dormant in a mako tank for years. In the Remake continuity, one of the bigger reveals involves Zack Fair still being alive.
Bugenhagen
Bugenhagen is Red XIII’s “grandfather” and the elder of Cosmo Canyon. Within this village, he serves as one of the planet’s foremost experts on mako energy, the Lifestream, Materia, and the fate of the planet and all of its lifeforms. As such, he is somewhat of a folk hero for Avalanche, with Barret expressing that it’s always been his dream to meet Bugenhagen and see the environmentalist work being done at Cosmo Canyon. It is Bugenhagen who reveals the impending death of the planet to Cloud and his companions, as well as the means necessary to prevent or at least stall it. When those plans go belly-up, Bugenhagen guides a last-ditch effort to use the White Materia and prevent the destruction of the planet.
President Shinra
President Shinra is the CEO and founder of the Shinra Electric Company, the most powerful organization in the world of Final Fantasy VII. Similar to a cross between a billionaire entrepreneur and a dictator, President Shinra uses money as a means to control the planet, building mako reactors wherever possible to provide creature comforts to humans at the cost of destroying the environment. He comes off as villainous, but truthfully his only concern is the continual profitability of the Shinra corporation, which he achieves through any means possible. In both the original Final Fantasy VII and the Remake, President Shinra meets his end at the tip of Sephiroth’s blade, the legendary Masamune, leaving his son Rufus to take his place.
Rufus Shinra
Rufus is all too happy to learn of his father’s death and his ascension to the head of the Shinra corporation, using it as an opportunity to shift to his way of doing things. When he and Cloud first meet, he vows to control the world using fear rather than money, stating that only fear will keep the people in line and prevent further disruptions to the company’s plan for global domination. Eventually, Rufus ends up fighting on the same side as Cloud and his companions, although he does declare them enemies of the state and sentence them to execution.
Reeve Tuesti
Reeve is one of the few Shinra executives with a conscience, objecting to the President’s plan to crush the Sector Seven slums and place the blame on Avalanche. As the head of Shinra’s Urban Development arm, Reeve has a vested interest in the continued success and livelihood of everyone on the planet, prompting him to spy on Cloud and his companions and assist them via the remote-controlled Cait Sith. Reeve eventually reveals that he’s the one controlling Cait Sith and asks for Cloud’s forgiveness so that he can continue to help them stop Sephiroth and save the world.
Scarlet
Scarlet serves as the sole female executive on the Shinra board of directors and uses that position to be as ruthless and as cunning as possible. Her position as the head of weapons development for Shinra’s military arm sees her plan several devastating attacks to help the company win the war with Wutai, regardless of the cost to civilian life. She and Heidegger often find themselves working together thanks to Palmer’s ineptitude and Reeve’s conscience making him object to their plans. In addition to being the one responsible for the destruction of Barret’s hometown, she also personally oversees Tifa’s (unsuccessful) public execution.
Heidegger
Heidegger is essentially President Shinra’s right hand, a position which he desperately clings to after his death by being the ultimate sycophant to his son Rufus. Despite his obvious bumbling, Heidegger is a force to be reckoned with and has an incredibly violent and ruthless track record within the company. After serving as one of the chief military planners for Shinra during the war with Wutai, Heidegger would go on to gain control of the Turks, using them as an elite strike force for clandestine Shinra missions. Along with President Shinra, Heidegger’s primary goal is to discover the Promised Land prophesied by the Cetra as the spot for the development of Neo Midgar.
Palmer
Palmer is a Shinra executive who serves no real purpose other than previously heading up the failed Shinra Space Program. Following that disasterous debacle, he mostly acts as an errand boy for President Shinra and Rufus, with his ineptitude continually on full display. When he returns to the site of the Shinra Space Program to force Cid into giving him the Tiny Bronco, the party are able to quickly defeat Palmer and take him off the playing field permanently.
Mayor Domino
Domino serves as the Mayor of Midgar, though his position is mostly as a figurehead and he holds no real power. His constantly being at the behest of the Shinra board of directors leads to some obvious resentment and an eventual switching of sides, although it’s only to further serve his own interests and not something intent on helping Cloud and his allies. The original Final Fantasy VII sees Domino help Cloud and his allies reach the higher floors within the Shinra building, while the Remake expands this role to have him go so far as to alter the security camera footage to mask their intrusion.
Elena
Elena is the newest member of the Turks, which leads to her continually second-guessing herself in the field and constantly seeking the approval of her peers. As a result, she humorously spills the groups secrets to Cloud and his allies on several occasions while conversing with her commanding Turks. Her work ethic makes her disapproving of Reno and Rude’s cavalier approach to their place as Turks, and she also harbors a not-so-secret affection for the Turks’ leader, Tseng.
Reno
©Final Fantasy character model
Reno is another member of the Turks, most often appearing alongside his longtime partner Rude. Of the Turks, Reno has perhaps the most obvious hesitations about the nature of their job, continually remarking that the nature of their work is most often to cause misery. Despite his cynicism, though, Reno is one of the most skilled members of the group and takes his missions seriously when push comes to shove. Outside of combat, though, Reno is all too happy to ignore Cloud and his allies in favor of a little rest and relaxation on Shinra’s dime.
Rude
The silent and stoic Rude is a foil to his partner Reno, who is comparatively vocal and open about his feelings on being a Turk. Rude serves as a great foil to his partner, acting as the consummate professional in nearly every situation and maintaining the air of dignity that the Turks have from their years as a successful organization. Players will fight either Reno, Rude, or both of them together several times throughout Final Fantasy VII before the two eventually decide it’s not worth it to work for Shinra anymore. Together, both Reno and Rude assist in the evacuation of Midgar during the attack by Diamond Weapon.
Tseng
Tseng is the leader of the Turks and arguably its most dangerous and skilled operative. However, within the continuty of Final Fantasy VII, his place as leader mostly sees him giving orders to his other Turks and rarely entering the fray of combat. Thanks to Aerith’s association with Zack Fair and her place as the sole surviving Ancient, Tseng has an interest in her that occasionally extends beyond work into something more personal. Regardless, he takes his place as the Turks leader seriously, successfully carrying out the goals of both President Shinra and Rufus Shinra. After suffering near-fatal wounds at the hands of Sephiroth, though, Tseng has a change of heart and decides to help Cloud and his allies.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Digital Storefront Artwork.