Final Fantasy VII Main Characters

* Zack Fair
* Genesis Rhapsodos
* Angeal Hewley
* Tseng
* Lazard
* Cissnei
* Cloud Strife
* Sephiroth
* Vincent Valentine
* Aerith Gainsborough
* Kadaj
* Tifa Lockhart
* Yuffie Kisaragi
* Barret Wallace
* Cid Highwind
* Red XIII (Nanaki)
* Cait Sith

Zack Fair

A young man from Gongaga who would one day become one of ShinRa's strongest First Class SOLDIERs, Zack is Crisis Core's protagonist and only playable character. He works hard under his mentor Angeal to climb the ranks and achieve his dream of becoming a hero. He is known for being laid back, and a bit of a flirt, extremely kind, loyal, and having superior skills in combat. Despite this, he despises killing, and strives to protect people above all else, and despises those with no regard for life.

Genesis Rhapsodos

An enigmatic SOLDIER First Class with an even more puzzling past. Raised as the son of the landlord of Banora, he has only recently been made aware of his connection to the Project G. Upon learning the truth, he strikes against Shinra as the leader of the Genesis Army. There is more to this movement than simply revenge, as Genesis seeks to find the answers to the mystery locked inside epic poem “Loveless.” By the time of Final Fantasy VII, all evidence of him has been destroyed and covered up with the exception of 3 brief records.

Angeal Hewley

A respected SOLDIER First Class, a mentor to Zack, and the original owner of the Buster Sword. He comes from the small town of Banora where his best friend was Genesis. His family is extremely frugal, a trait he has inherited though he does entertain a few hobbies. He is unaware of the circumstances of his birth and their revelation causes a great deal of confusion in him and strain between him and his comrades.

Tseng

A member (and later the head) of the Turks.He originally met Zack through a mission they were partnered together on. Over the course of the SOLDIER’s time with Shinra, they worked together several times and had a fairly good working relationship together. In a twist of fate, Tseng was in charge of cleaning up the Nibelheim incident, as well as rescuing and later hunting down Zack and Cloud.

Lazard

The executive manager of SOLDIER at the time of Crisis Core. Though he doesn’t have any experience in combat, his concise instructions and composed demeanor has won him the respect and loyalty of his subordinates. His quick ascent to his current position has him often compared to Rufus Shinra who has made the same sort of meteoric rise. For all of his politeness and niceties though, there seems to be another side to him glimpsed through his messages to SOLDIER rife with allusions to “injustice” and “the darkness of Shinra.”

Cissnei

An orphan prodigy who was taken in by Shinra for combat training. She is the youngest member in the history of the Turks and fights with a huge shuriken called “Rekka.” She and Zack cross paths several times, though it appears to be more than simply coincidence, and the two share an amiable friendship with hints of deeper feelings.

Cloud Strife

A failed experiment of The Jenova Project, Cloud Strife led AVALANCHE to defeat Sephiroth at the end of FFVII. In the two years following, he established the Strife Delivery Service to ferry goods across the lands using his bike, Fenrir. Cloud was also infected with Geostigma that covered his left arm in sores, which he hid under a long, black sleeve. The loss of Aerith during their travels weighed heavily on his mind, and the combination of all these drove Cloud to leave Seventh Heaven and stay in her church.

With the emergence of Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, Cloud was forced to fight again when they kidnapped children from Edge. With the encouragement of his friends, and the otherworldly reassurances of Aerith, he was able to battle his inner demons to emerge victorious in a final battle with Sephiroth. His Geostigma was healed by Aerith's rain, and Cloud closed his story in Advent Children with a soft glimpse of a peaceful smile.

Vincent Valentine

A former Turk, Vincent was charged with protecting the group of scientists involved in The Jenova Project: Gast, Lucrecia Crescent and Hojo. He fell in love with Lucrecia, but it went unrequited when she chose Hojo instead. After the birth of Sephiroth, Vincent confronted Hojo, only to be shot and put in a state of permanent agelessness by the mad scientist. He was discovered locked in a coffin by Cloud under the ShinRa mansion in Nibelheim.

Vincent apparently kept tabs on the development of Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz -- as he was able to inform Cloud of their origins after saving him from a disastrous battle at the Sleeping Forest. Vincent surprised Cloud when admitting that he had never tried to find forgiveness for his sin of failing Lucrecia, the woman he loved, which spurred the swordsman to pick himself up. He was also the only member of AVALANCHE not to have a cellphone, which shocked Marlene so that she almost scolded him for it.

Vincent traveled to Edge to, thus, buy a phone -- and also assist his former comrades in battling Bahamut Sin.

Sephiroth

The legendary member of SOLDIER, Sephiroth goes insane when he learns of Jenova and plans to take the planet back for his mother. However when confronted by a rookie Cloud, he jumps into the lifestream, taking Jenova's head with him.

Sephiroth's body drifts via the lifestream to the Northern Crater, where he is able to return years later due to his strong will. Armed with the knowledge of the lifestream, he is able to manipulate Cloud as well as manifest himself to the group throughout the game.

After obtaining the black materia, he is able to summon meteor in which he plans to destroy the planet and become a god. Ultimately he is defeated by cloud in a battle that exists in both the physical and mental planes.

Advent Children centers around the Reunion occurring. For Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, that is their ultimate goal. But they do not realize that they are actually doing Sephiroth's bidding. For him to return and to continue what he was unable to do at the end of FFVII.

When Kadaj merges with Jenova, Sephiroth is able to return and Cloud is face to face with his nemesis. Sephiroth never forgave Cloud for the problems he had caused him, and for the defeat he was given and is focused on setting things right.

Although Sephiroth is once again defeated, his final words "I will not remain a memory" hint that perhaps we haven't seen the last of him.

Kadaj

One of the three Silver Haired Men [unofficial name], Kadaj is the leader of the group. He is evil, cruel and manipulating, showing no remorse for his actions and not letting anyone get in the way of his goal.

Along with Loz and Yazoo, Kadaj is searching for 'Mother' [Jenova]. However little does he realize that he is actually doing Sephiroth's bidding, through the desire that Sephiroth has to return.

Although Sephiroth is the ultimate enemy in Advent Children, Kadaj is the main enemy. Kadaj's plan is to use the children to bring about the Reunion. Enticing them to do his bidding by offering them a new existence, and telling them of the planet making the children suffer by affecting them with Geostigma.

Kadaj's ultimate showdown is with Cloud, the enemy of Sephiroth, also being the enemy of the three men.


Character note: the three SHM all represent aspects of Sephiroth's character. Kadaj represents Sephiroth's cruel side.

Aerith Gainsborough

Aerith was the last of the Cetra, a group of people closely attuned to the Planet. A half-Cetra, she was the daughter of Professor Gast and Ifalna. The Shinra believed she held the secret to the Cetra's Promised Land -- but Aerith also held the key to saving the Planet from Sephiroth, for she was the only one capable of activating the White Materia, summoning Holy to counter the effects of Meteor. Aerith died while praying for Holy in the Forgotten City of the Ancients, by the blade of Sephiroth's Masamune. Her death enraged Cloud, and continued to haunt him despite his defeat of Sephiroth at the end of FFVII.

Aerith returned in Advent Children, assisting Cloud from the afterlife, reassuring him of his guiltlessness in her death. She also provided the rain that healed the Geostigma disease that had infected Cloud, Rufus and many children; and saved Cloud after he was shot by Yazoo. She provided comfort in her departure, walking through her church doors, framed by light.

Tifa Lockhart

Cloud Strife's childhood friend from Nibelheim, martial artist Tifa Lockhart was the owner of the Seventh Heaven bar in Midgar and an original member of rebel group, AVALANCHE. She fought against Shinra Inc. with Barret, and later accompanied Cloud on his journey to defeat Sephiroth. Tifa held the key to unlocking Cloud's true past, and continued support him two years after FFVII.

She rebuilt the Seventh Heaven bar in Edge with the help of Barret and Cloud, and continued to look after Marlene in Barret's absence. She was regularly frustrated by Cloud's condition and his insistence at segregating himself from his friends, culminating in a desperate, exasperated argument in Advent Children after Marlene was kidnapped by Loz. Tifa later joined the rest of the regrouped AVALANCHE in battling Bahamut Sin in Edge.

Yuffie Kisaragi

Daughter of Godo, Lord of Wutai, Yuffie Kisaragi was a spunky, headstrong ninja adamant about recovering her hometown's lost glory in the war with ShinRa. She embarked on a trip to collect (or steal) materia, which led her to meet with AVALANCHE and eventually join them (for their materia). After the battle with Sephiroth, Yuffie surprisingly entrusted the group's materia to Cloud, who left them idly on the floor of Aerith's church.

Yuffie has called Cloud before to inform him of the missing children from Wutai, but made her return by parachuting into Edge to assist the group in their fight against Bahamut Sin. Her landing showed that Yuffie had yet to get over her motion sickness, something that plagued her during her travels on the Highwind.

Barret Wallace

Hailing from Corel, Barret swore revenge on ShinRa Inc. when his hometown was destroyed by their malfunctioning Mako Reactor. He lost his best friend, Dyne, his wife, Eleanor and in his right arm in the ensuing conflict; all that he had left was Marlene, Dyne's young daughter whom he adopted under his care. Barret formed AVALANCHE with Tifa, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge and fought against the ShinRa in Midgar by bombing their Mako Reactors.

Barret helped Tifa and Cloud rebuild the Seventh Heaven bar in Edge, but left soon after its opening to look for a new source of energy. On the last day before his departure, he spent the night talking with his precious daughter. He regularly called back to speak to Marlene, but only returned to Edge when Bahamut Sin was attacking the city to battle alongside his former comrades.

Cid Highwind

Cid Highwind was originally an aspiring astronaut under the ShinRa Space Program, but his dream of going to space was crushed with the cancellation of the project as the ShinRa chose to delve into Mako energy instead. Cid, himself, pushed the abort button when Shera refused to leave the rocket before her repairs were done. Coarse and brash, Cid continued to live in Rocket Town until joining AVALANCHE to fight Sephiroth. The Highwind, his airship, was destroyed when the group escaped from the crumbling Northern Crater.

Cid returned two years later in his new ship, the Sierra (named after Shera) to assist Cloud and Tifa in protecting Edge from Bahamut Sin's attacks.

Red XIII (Nanaki)

Originally known as Nanaki, Red XIII was the last of his species, a wolf/dog hybrid capable of human speech. He was imprisoned as an experimental subject by Hojo of ShinRa Inc., who attempted to cross-breed him with Aerith in an attempt to create a Cetra with a longer lifespan. He escaped when Cloud, Tifa and Barret broke into ShinRa Headquarters to rescue Aerith.

Red XIII had always lived believing his father was a coward, but a trip to Cosmo Canyon proved that his father had been protecting their homeland all along. He continued to accompany Cloud in pursuit of Sephiroth, and returned two years later to assist AVALANCHE in battling Bahamut Sin in Edge.

Cait Sith

Cait Sith was a talking black cat perched atop a giant, white moogle. It was actually a robot controlled from elsewhere by Reeve, a top employee of ShinRa. Inc. While originally a spy who gave Tseng the Key to the Temple of the Ancients, Cait Sith continued traveling with AVALANCHE and eventually turned to their side, redeeming himself by sacrificing his puppet body to gain the Black Materia.

While Reeve continued to rebuild Midgar by forming the World Regeneration Organization, he sent Cait Sith (sans the white moogle) to assist AVALANCHE in their battle against Bahamut Sin in Edge. He fought alongside Red XIII, perched on his back.