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* DeadPersonConversation: With [[SpiritAdvisor Aerith]] in ''Advent Children''.
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[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudstrife_8244.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudac_2980.png[[/labelnote]] to see Cloud in his ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudac_2980.png[[/labelnote]] to see Cloud in his ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
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[[caption-width-right:250:Click
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-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''
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* {{Adorkable}}: At times. He says things like "let's mosey" and has never been on a date before.
----
* {{Adorkable}}: At times. He says things like "let's mosey" and has never been on a date before.
to:
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''
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''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''
* {{Adorkable}}: At times. He says things like "let's mosey" and has never been on a date before. Beneath his impersonation of Zack, this is his true personality.
----
* {{Adorkable}}: At times. He says things like "let's mosey" and has never been on a date before. Beneath his impersonation of Zack, this is his true personality.
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* BadassBiker: In ''Advent Children'' he spends much of the film riding Fenrir looking cool, and in several fight scenes fights ''while'' riding it.
* BadassNormal: Even before Hojo's experiments.
* {{BFS}}: His Buster Sword is emblematic of this trope.
* BadassNormal: Even before Hojo's experiments.
* {{BFS}}: His Buster Sword is emblematic of this trope.
to:
* AscendedFanboy: He idolised Sephiroth while growing up and got to fight at his side during the Nibelheim mission. Subverted in that he was only a Shinra mook at the time. Also, Sephiroth’s actions made him a case of BrokenPedestal for Cloud.
* BadassBiker: One remarkable segment in the original game is Cloud driving a bike with one hand while slaying Shinra mooks with the other. In ''Advent Children'' he spends much of the film riding Fenrir looking cool, and in several fight scenes fights ''while'' riding it.
* BadassNormal: Even before Hojo'sexperiments.
experiments. As an inexperienced 16-year old, he managed to defeat even Sephiroth when they clashed.
* BatterUp: One of his weapons is the Nail Bat, who can be found in the Temple of the Ancients or bought for 2800 gil at Junon after obtaining the Highwind.
* BeneathTheMask: Cloud spends most of the original game posing as the cold, aloof and confident mercenary he believed Zack to be. After Tifa restores his true personality during their time in his consciousness in the Lifestream, he admits to putting up a persona to protect his fragile ego.
* {{BFS}}: His Buster Sword is emblematic of thistrope.trope, though his other swords are no slouch either, such as the Ultima Weapon.
* BadassBiker: One remarkable segment in the original game is Cloud driving a bike with one hand while slaying Shinra mooks with the other. In ''Advent Children'' he spends much of the film riding Fenrir looking cool, and in several fight scenes fights ''while'' riding it.
* BadassNormal: Even before Hojo's
* BatterUp: One of his weapons is the Nail Bat, who can be found in the Temple of the Ancients or bought for 2800 gil at Junon after obtaining the Highwind.
* BeneathTheMask: Cloud spends most of the original game posing as the cold, aloof and confident mercenary he believed Zack to be. After Tifa restores his true personality during their time in his consciousness in the Lifestream, he admits to putting up a persona to protect his fragile ego.
* {{BFS}}: His Buster Sword is emblematic of this
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* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Downplayed but present, Sephiroth is implied to be subtlety influencing him throughout the game to make Cloud do what he wants.
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* BlueIsHeroic: He is the main hero and wears a blue outfit. Played with when he was a mook at Shinra: he was still a good person but wore the blue uniform of an evil company. He goes on to wear black outfits after the original game.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Downplayed but present, Sephiroth is implied to besubtlety subtly influencing him throughout the game to make Cloud do what he wants.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Downplayed but present, Sephiroth is implied to be
* CantDropTheHero: Averted. There are a few segments where you can play as a party without him, most notably when Cloud becomes comatose and has to stay in Mideel.
* TheComicallySerious: Cloud tries to keep his laid back and stoic demeanor even when faced with the weirdest and most humorous situations, such as the cross-dressing sidequest.
* DarkIsNotEvil: After the original game, he starts wearing black outfits, but is still as heroic as ever.
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* DependingOnTheWriter: Cloud ranges from self-doubting and insecure AntiHero to a cocky and confident badass, sometimes in the same appearance. Justified due to the two or three personas he's adopted and come to terms with, an entirely consistent personality is probably not going to result from this.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables. Badass indeed.
* DisappearedDad: Was raised by his mother instead.
* DisguisedInDrag: The infamous crossdressing quest in Wall Market.
* DoomedHometown: In the backstory, Nibelheim was destroyed several years ago.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables. Badass indeed.
* DisappearedDad: Was raised by his mother instead.
* DisguisedInDrag: The infamous crossdressing quest in Wall Market.
* DoomedHometown: In the backstory, Nibelheim was destroyed several years ago.
to:
* DependingOnTheWriter: Cloud ranges from self-doubting and insecure AntiHero to a cocky and confident badass, {{Badass}}, sometimes in the same appearance. Justified due to the two or three personas he's adopted and come to terms with, an entirely consistent personality is probably not going to result from this.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn thetables. Badass indeed.
tables.
* DressingAsTheEnemy: In Junon, Cloud disguises himself as a Shinra mook participating in Rufus’ welcoming ceremony, where he also has to learn the marching protocols.
* DisappearedDad: Was raised by his motherinstead.
instead. It seems his father died when Cloud was young.
* DisguisedInDrag: The infamous crossdressing quest in WallMarket.
Market, which he undertook to save Tifa.
* DoomedHometown: In the backstory, Nibelheim was destroyed several yearsago.ago by Sephiroth.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Subverted. Cloud’s first appearance has him stylishly jumping from a train and acting like a cold and uncaring jerk. Yet, this entire personality displayed turns out to be a fabrication.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the
* DressingAsTheEnemy: In Junon, Cloud disguises himself as a Shinra mook participating in Rufus’ welcoming ceremony, where he also has to learn the marching protocols.
* DisappearedDad: Was raised by his mother
* DisguisedInDrag: The infamous crossdressing quest in Wall
* DoomedHometown: In the backstory, Nibelheim was destroyed several years
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Subverted. Cloud’s first appearance has him stylishly jumping from a train and acting like a cold and uncaring jerk. Yet, this entire personality displayed turns out to be a fabrication.
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* {{Flanderization}}: In the original game, Cloud was only angsty and showed insecurities on occasion during appropriate situations, and was perfectly fine by the end of the game. In all other appearances, he's constantly a brooding loner.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: From Shinra's perspective, Cloud was just another mook they employed to do their dirty work. He would later kill their greatest warrior after he went insane, help bring an end to their company and power, and became the WorldsBestWarrior.
* GuestFighter:
** He appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late 1990s.
** He guested in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'
* FromNobodyToNightmare: From Shinra's perspective, Cloud was just another mook they employed to do their dirty work. He would later kill their greatest warrior after he went insane, help bring an end to their company and power, and became the WorldsBestWarrior.
* GuestFighter:
** He appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late 1990s.
** He guested in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'
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* FashionableAsymmetry: Cloud wears only one shoulder pad, on his left shoulder. It’s best seen in his official artwork, but is a feature of most of his outfits in the Compilation.
* {{Flanderization}}:In If you haven't played the original game, Cloud was only you'll be surprised at how ''non'' angsty Cloud was. He ''did'' angst and showed insecurities on occasion during appropriate situations, express hesitation and was insecurities, but only at key points and for good reasons, and at the end of the game seemed perfectly fine fine. In his appearances since, he has been an angsty brooding loner. SquareEnix states outright in ''The Reunion Files'' (basically the ''Ultimania'' for ''Advent Children'') that they regressed his personality back to a mindset they thought fans would be more familiar with, making this a case of PanderingToTheBase. In all fairness, it'd be downright absurd to think he'd just be emotionally fixed by the end of the game. In all other appearances, he's constantly a brooding loner.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: From Shinra's perspective,Anyone who might go through what Cloud was just another mook they employed to do their dirty work. He would later kill their greatest warrior after he went insane, help bring an end through might need a few years to their company and power, and became the WorldsBestWarrior.
fully reconcile. Like 30 of them.
*GuestFighter:
** He appeared inGuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late 1990s.
* HairContrastDuo: Cloud falls into this with three characters.
**He guested in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Cloud (shortish spiky hair, golden blond, pragmatic but unstable) and his rival Sephiroth (really long flowing hair, silver, otherworldly and collected).
** Cloud (short blond spiky hair, pessimistic and more innocent) and his idol Zack (long black spiky hair, optimistic and more experienced). Note also that Zack's hairstyle was actually based on an early design forWii U]]'Cloud's that was changed because it wasn't striking enough - Cloud is the main character, while Zack is a backstory character whose entire existence is obscured from the player, with the ironic concept that he's a more 'main character'-type person than Cloud.
** Cloud, (male, short blond hair, cool and collected when he's not being mind raped) and Tifa (female, long brown/black hair, enthusiastic (but keeps a lot of secrets to herself, and suffers for it).
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Despite adopting the persona of a cold and distant mercenary, at his core Cloud is a noble and heroic man.
* HairstyleInertia: The flashback sequences in Nibelheim and later installments in the Compilation show that Cloud had that same spiky hair as a child and as a teenager.
* {{Flanderization}}:
* FromNobodyToNightmare: From Shinra's perspective,
*
** He appeared in
* HairContrastDuo: Cloud falls into this with three characters.
**
** Cloud (short blond spiky hair, pessimistic and more innocent) and his idol Zack (long black spiky hair, optimistic and more experienced). Note also that Zack's hairstyle was actually based on an early design for
** Cloud, (male, short blond hair, cool and collected when he's not being mind raped) and Tifa (female, long brown/black hair, enthusiastic (but keeps a lot of secrets to herself, and suffers for it).
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Despite adopting the persona of a cold and distant mercenary, at his core Cloud is a noble and heroic man.
* HairstyleInertia: The flashback sequences in Nibelheim and later installments in the Compilation show that Cloud had that same spiky hair as a child and as a teenager.
* HeroicResolve: In his actual showdown with Sephiroth in the past, he managed to toss him into the Lifestream chasm below them, while being stabbed in the gut by his sword and lifted in the air. Keep in mind Cloud isn’t a part of SOLDIER was just a lowly mook at the time.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: So much that he attempted to adopt a whole different personality from his own because he really hated it that much. Fortunately, he grows out of it and learns to accept himself for who he is.
* HeroicWillpower: Cloud fails at this throughout the game, with his issues of self-identity and self-loathing making him an easy puppet to Sephiroth’s mind controlling. However, he fully achieves this at his very final battle with Sephiroth, who is trying to break Cloud again, without success.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: So much that he attempted to adopt a whole different personality from his own because he really hated it that much. Fortunately, he grows out of it and learns to accept himself for who he is.
* HeroicWillpower: Cloud fails at this throughout the game, with his issues of self-identity and self-loathing making him an easy puppet to Sephiroth’s mind controlling. However, he fully achieves this at his very final battle with Sephiroth, who is trying to break Cloud again, without success.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: As a child, he thought himself better than the other kids, though it’s heavily implied he does it out of self-loathing. The arrogant mercenary persona he puts on throughout the game also fits.
* InstantExpert: Cloud is shown driving multiple vehicles throughout the game. He drove a motorbike, a dune buggy given to his party by Dio, pilots a submarine and the Highwind.
* InterspeciesRomance: Cloud is a human who has a growing attraction to Aeris, the last of the Cetra race. Subverted when he ultimately hooks up with Tifa, a human like him.
* InstantExpert: Cloud is shown driving multiple vehicles throughout the game. He drove a motorbike, a dune buggy given to his party by Dio, pilots a submarine and the Highwind.
* InterspeciesRomance: Cloud is a human who has a growing attraction to Aeris, the last of the Cetra race. Subverted when he ultimately hooks up with Tifa, a human like him.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Subverted. Cloud isn't actually a jerk, his personality created after the events leading up to Zack's death is.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Subverted. Cloud isn't actually a jerk, his personality created after the events leading up to Zack's death is. After accepting himself for who is, we see Cloud is a brave and heroic man.
* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: After the WEAPON attack in Mideel, Cloud and Tifa fall into the Lifestream, where she then enters his mind and help him discover who he truly is.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Two of his swords are the Murasame and the Yoshiyuki, though Cloud generally favors western styled broadswords.
* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: After the WEAPON attack in Mideel, Cloud and Tifa fall into the Lifestream, where she then enters his mind and help him discover who he truly is.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Two of his swords are the Murasame and the Yoshiyuki, though Cloud generally favors western styled broadswords.
* LikesOlderWomen: When it comes to his attraction to Aeris, which is one year older than him. In fact, his mother once suggested that he find an older girlfriend. Subverted in that he hooks up with Tifa, who is one year younger than Cloud.
* MadeOfIron: He survived a huge fall from the Shinra Headquarters to the Midgar Church and also managed to overpower Sephiroth while being impaled on the chest by him.
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* MommasBoy: Her death at the hands of Sephiroth is one of his (many) grudges against him.
* {{Mook}}: In his backstory he was just another one of the Shinra guards the party guns down the entire game.
* {{Mook}}: In his backstory he was just another one of the Shinra guards the party guns down the entire game.
to:
* MommasBoy: Cloud describes his mother as “vibrant” and once invited Zack to come to his house and try her cooking. Her death at the hands of Sephiroth is one of his (many) grudges against him.
* {{Mook}}: In hisbackstory he backstory, it is shown this was his true rank within Shinra. He was just another one of the Shinra guards the party guns down the entire game.
* {{Mook}}: In his
* MusclesAreMeaningless: Cloud is portrayed as a rather odd-looking and emaciated young man yet he wields the Buster Sword like if it was nothing. It is justified because of his Mako enhancements.
* NewMeat: He’s the most recent addition to AVALANCHE when the story begins. In fact, the very first line of the game has Barret calling him “newcomer”.
* NewMeat: He’s the most recent addition to AVALANCHE when the story begins. In fact, the very first line of the game has Barret calling him “newcomer”.
* OneHandedZweihander: In the original game alone, Cloud slashed Shinra mooks with one hand on the Buster Sword and the other riding a bike. Also, his famous victory animation has him twirling his blade with one arm.
* TheParalyzer: Cross-Slash, one of his Limit Breaks, can randomly cast Stop on an opponent.
* PeopleJars: Cloud was subject to this for years alongside Zack at Shinra’s hands. Both being thouroughly experimented on before Zack broke out and rescued Cloud along the way.
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: At least in the original game, Cloud wore a blue outfit while Aerith had a pink dress. Later games have him wearing black.
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: At least in the original game, Cloud wore a blue outfit while Aerith had a pink dress. Later games have him wearing black.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: Cloud still wears the same SOLDIER outfit even after he’s working against them. Subverted in that he never was actually part of SOLDIER and his current costume is just one Zack found and gave to him.
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* SwordBeam: Blade Beam, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, fires a blast of energy from his sword.
* TakeUpMySword: When Zack dies, Cloud takes his sword and keeps his dreams of honor and heroism alive in his own way.
* ThisLoserIsYou: He was a {{Deconstruction}} of RPG protagonists at the time.
* TakeUpMySword: When Zack dies, Cloud takes his sword and keeps his dreams of honor and heroism alive in his own way.
* ThisLoserIsYou: He was a {{Deconstruction}} of RPG protagonists at the time.
to:
* SwordBeam: Blade Beam, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, fires a blast of energy from his sword.
sword. When targeting multiple opponents, additional beams sprout from the original to attack the other targets.
* TakeUpMySword: When Zack dies, Cloud literally takes up his sword and keeps his dreams of honor and heroism alive in his own way.
* ThisLoserIsYou: He was a {{Deconstruction}} of RPG protagonists at the time. He idolised Zack so much that he pretended to be like him, and has to learn to be his own person.
* TakeUpMySword: When Zack dies, Cloud literally takes up his sword and keeps his dreams of honor and heroism alive in his own way.
* ThisLoserIsYou: He was a {{Deconstruction}} of RPG protagonists at the time. He idolised Zack so much that he pretended to be like him, and has to learn to be his own person.
* TookALevelInBadass: From a story standpoint, he went from a shy, bullied kid to a powerful warrior who defeated the all-powerful Sephiroth. Gameplay-wise, this is represented with his lackluster stats in the flashback sequence when compared to how he began the game.
* TragicKeepsake: The Buster Sword is not just for combat: It’s also Cloud’s way of carrying on Zack’s legacy and dreams. He learns to do it by being his own person however, and not pretending to be Zack.
* TraumaCongaLine: Goes through all of this before the game even starts:
** Hoped to join SOLDIER but didn't end up strong enough. So he joined the regular military, befriending Zack and Sephiroth. Then he watched his idol fall into mass-murdering insanity and god-delusion and seemingly defeated him along with Zack.
** Then, the two get captured by Shinra and are subjected to horrific experiments with Mako. Zack managed to break out and rescue Cloud from their fate, but is gunned down by mooks, and Cloud could do nothing but watch.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Given the massive amount of tragedy he experienced before the game even started, he developed this, pretending to be his fallen friend Zack.
* TraumaCongaLine: Goes through all of this before the game even starts:
** Hoped to join SOLDIER but didn't end up strong enough. So he joined the regular military, befriending Zack and Sephiroth. Then he watched his idol fall into mass-murdering insanity and god-delusion and seemingly defeated him along with Zack.
** Then, the two get captured by Shinra and are subjected to horrific experiments with Mako. Zack managed to break out and rescue Cloud from their fate, but is gunned down by mooks, and Cloud could do nothing but watch.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Given the massive amount of tragedy he experienced before the game even started, he developed this, pretending to be his fallen friend Zack.
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* WeaponTwirling: As part of his victory animation, his spins his sword in the air before shoulder it over his back.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A certain, ahem, [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_Cloud_Artwork.png "noble incident"]].
* WorldsStrongestMan: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
* WouldHitAGirl Twice with Aerith. Once in the Temple of the Ancients, second in Forgotten Capital, where she was praying. With a {{BFS}}. Neither time intentional, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy he was a puppet]].
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In ''Advent Children'' where he has contracted the fatal Geostigma.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A certain, ahem, [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_Cloud_Artwork.png "noble incident"]].
* WorldsStrongestMan: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
* WouldHitAGirl Twice with Aerith. Once in the Temple of the Ancients, second in Forgotten Capital, where she was praying. With a {{BFS}}. Neither time intentional, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy he was a puppet]].
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In ''Advent Children'' where he has contracted the fatal Geostigma.
to:
* WeaponTwirling: As part of his victory animation, his spins his sword in the air before shoulder shouldering it over his back.
back. He can do it with a rifle when disguised as a Shinra soldier during Rufus’ welcoming ceremony in Junon.
* WhatTheHellHero: He beats up Aerith in the Temple of the Ancients, causing her to leave the party. Granted, he was being controlled, but still…
* WhiteMaleLead: Cloud is the protagonist in a noticeably diverse cast for its time and even today, with a black man (Barret), an Asian woman (Yuffie) and two furries (Red XIII and Cait Sith). Averted within AVALANCHE, where Barret is the leader.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A certain, ahem, [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_Cloud_Artwork.png "nobleincident"]].
incident"]]. So wholesome that Don Corneo can choose him!
*WorldsStrongestMan: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
* WouldHitAGirlWouldHitAGirl: Twice with Aerith. Once in the Temple of the Ancients, second in Forgotten Capital, where she was praying. With a {{BFS}}. Neither time intentional, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy he was a puppet]].
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In ''Advent Children'' where he has contracted the fatal Geostigma. He does live on to appear in ''Dirge of Cerberus'', however.
* WhatTheHellHero: He beats up Aerith in the Temple of the Ancients, causing her to leave the party. Granted, he was being controlled, but still…
* WhiteMaleLead: Cloud is the protagonist in a noticeably diverse cast for its time and even today, with a black man (Barret), an Asian woman (Yuffie) and two furries (Red XIII and Cait Sith). Averted within AVALANCHE, where Barret is the leader.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A certain, ahem, [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_Cloud_Artwork.png "noble
*
* WouldHitAGirl
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In ''Advent Children'' where he has contracted the fatal Geostigma. He does live on to appear in ''Dirge of Cerberus'', however.
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[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px-CaithDirge-1.jpg]]
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[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px-CaithDirge-1.jpg]]org/pmwiki/pub/images/cait_sith_doc.png]]
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!![[center:'''Navigation''' [[Characters/FinalFantasyVII Main]] | Playable Characters | [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIIShinraInc Shinra Inc]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIISOLDIER SOLDIER]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIIDeepground Deepground]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIIOtherAntagonists Other Antagonists]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIIOtherCharacters Other Characters]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIIBosses Bosses]] ]]
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* YoungerThanTheyLook: Even though he's 32, he can be easily mistaken for a decade older. The years of chainsmoking help to justify this slightly.
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* AlwaysVSexy: Vincent is one of the more alluring and mysterious characters.
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* {{Bishonen}}: [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Soldier-2nd-Class-Zack-zack-fair-7523031-1024-768.jpg Of course]], after all, he's a Creator/SquareEnix protagonist.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his badass persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
to:
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his badass persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
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* LoveMakesYouDumb[=/=]LoveMakesYouCrazy: Despite knowing that Shinra is hunting him with orders to kill, he still attempts to return to Midgar, Shinra's headquarters, to see Aerith again.
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* LoveMakesYouDumb[=/=]LoveMakesYouCrazy: LoveMakesYouDumb: Despite knowing that Shinra is hunting him with orders to kill, he still attempts to return to Midgar, Shinra's headquarters, to see Aerith again.
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* ShirtlessScene[=/=]SwimsuitScene: The Costa del Sol scene in ''Crisis Core'' features Zack in his swim trunks hanging out at the beach.
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* ShirtlessScene[=/=]SwimsuitScene: ShirtlessScene: The Costa del Sol scene in ''Crisis Core'' features Zack in his swim trunks hanging out at the beach.
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* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: In a way. When she died, her spirit returned to the Lifestream, but she was powerful enough to remain sentient within it. This allows her to command it when necessary, and help lost souls find atonement and peace.
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* FireWaterJuxtaposition: As part of her EvilCounterpart dichotomy with Sephiroth, Aerith is associated with water via Great Gospel and the Lifestream, contrasting Sephiroth's fire associations via the Nibelheim Incident and his Supernova attack.
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* NotMeThisTime: There's a variation on this during the Wutai sequence. As the party approaches Wutai, they are confronted by a group of Shinra soldiers. Yuffie comments, "I have nothing to do with this one!" As they had already been suspicious (but didn't yet know that she had done anything), this clues them in when, during the battle with the soldiers, she's gone and so is all their materia.
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* FromNobodyToNightmare: From Shinra's perspective, Cloud was just another mook they employed to do their dirty work. He would later kill their greatest warrior after he went insane, help bring an end to their company and power, and became the WorldsBestWarrior.
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* {{Badass}}: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
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* WorldsStrongestMan: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
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moderator restored to earlier version
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* {{Badass}}: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
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* CreepyJazzMusic: He has a catchy jazz organ tune as his {{leitmotif}}, which fits both his status as TheGambler and his being a bit of a {{Jerkass}}.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his badass persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
to:
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''CrisisCore''.''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his badass persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
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Apparently not a trope
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* BrownEyes: One of the most level-headed and down to earth party members for it.
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* DependingOnTheWriter: Cloud ranges from self-doubting and insecure AntiHero to a cocky and confident {{Badass}}, sometimes in the same appearance. Justified due to the two or three personas he's adopted and come to terms with, an entirely consistent personality is probably not going to result from this.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables. {{Badass}} indeed.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables. {{Badass}} indeed.
to:
* DependingOnTheWriter: Cloud ranges from self-doubting and insecure AntiHero to a cocky and confident {{Badass}}, badass, sometimes in the same appearance. Justified due to the two or three personas he's adopted and come to terms with, an entirely consistent personality is probably not going to result from this.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables.{{Badass}} Badass indeed.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables.
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* {{Badass}}: He's a muscular black man who walks around shirtless and fights with an ArmCannon. His ultimate weapon can hit the damage cap the easiest out of the game's weapons.
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* {{Badass}}: She beats up enemies such as giant robots and mutated monsters with martial arts.
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* {{Badass}}: He's the game's Dragoon character, so it comes with the territory. In ''Advent Children'', he made Bahamut SIN flinch by stabbing it on the head!
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* BoisterousBruiser: One of his reasons for joining the party is because he likes the idea of "numbskulls" fighting Shinra. Plus, [[{{Badass}} he can back every word of his boasts up]].
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* BoisterousBruiser: One of his reasons for joining the party is because he likes the idea of "numbskulls" fighting Shinra. Plus, [[{{Badass}} he can back every word of his boasts up]].up.
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* {{Badass}}: Immensely so. He fights by invoking mutations on himself to turn into hulking monsters.
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* {{Badass}}: She may not look the traditional part, but she is indeed a ninja and as powerful as demanded. Her personal sidequest has her taking on five {{Duel Boss}}es, ending with her own father, the ruler of Wutai and implied to be one of their strongest ninja. She kicks his ass.
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* {{Badass}}: The beginning of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' firmly establishes him as this, and it only gets better from there... up until, [[DoomedByCanon well, you know.]]
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his {{Badass}} persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
to:
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his {{Badass}} badass persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
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* WhatTheHellHero He beats up Aerith in the Temple of the Ancients, causing her to leave the party. Granted, he was being controlled, but still...
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* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late 1990s.
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* GuestFighter: In GuestFighter:
** He appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late1990s.1990s.
** He guested in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'
** He appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late
** He guested in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'
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Woman In Black is being de-wicked and cut.
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* WomanInBlack: She's got the outfit in ''Advent Children'', but (as with everything involving Tifa and appearance-based personality cues) subverted to hell and back. She's not scary and menacing, she's kindhearted and sweet.
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-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''
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-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''
''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''
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* {{Bishonen}}: [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Soldier-2nd-Class-Zack-zack-fair-7523031-1024-768.jpg Of course]], after all, he's a SquareEnix protagonist.
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* {{Bishonen}}: [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Soldier-2nd-Class-Zack-zack-fair-7523031-1024-768.jpg Of course]], after all, he's a SquareEnix Creator/SquareEnix protagonist.
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* {{Flanderization}}: If you haven't played the original game, you'll be surprised at how ''non'' angsty Cloud was. He ''did'' angst and express hesitation and insecurities, but only at key points and for good reasons, and at the end of the game seemed perfectly fine. In his appearances since, he has been an angsty brooding loner. SquareEnix states outright in ''The Reunion Files'' (basically the ''Ultimania'' for ''Advent Children'') that they regressed his personality back to a mindset they thought fans would be more familiar with, making this a case of PanderingToTheBase. In all fairness, it'd be downright absurd to think he'd just be emotionally fixed by the end of the game. Anyone who might go through what Cloud went through might need a few years to fully reconcile. Like 30 of them.
to:
* {{Flanderization}}: If you haven't played In the original game, you'll be surprised at how ''non'' Cloud was only angsty Cloud was. He ''did'' angst and express hesitation showed insecurities on occasion during appropriate situations, and insecurities, but only at key points and for good reasons, and at the end of the game seemed was perfectly fine. In his appearances since, he has been an angsty brooding loner. SquareEnix states outright in ''The Reunion Files'' (basically the ''Ultimania'' for ''Advent Children'') that they regressed his personality back to a mindset they thought fans would be more familiar with, making this a case of PanderingToTheBase. In all fairness, it'd be downright absurd to think he'd just be emotionally fixed fine by the end of the game. Anyone who might go through what Cloud went through might need In all other appearances, he's constantly a few years to fully reconcile. Like 30 of them.brooding loner.
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* TeamDad: He's the oldest of the party and is gruff and rude, but cares for them in his own way.
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* TeamDad: He's the third oldest of the party and is gruff and rude, but cares for them in his own way.
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* AllYourPowersCombined[=/=]MegaManning: According to [[AllThereInTheManual the Ultimania guide]], this is how Zack learns his Limit Breaks -- he meets someone, and upon doing so, learns how to copy their Limit Break and modify it to create his own, such as Meteorain->Meteor Shots and Healing Wind->Healing Wave.
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* AllYourPowersCombined[=/=]MegaManning: AllYourPowersCombined: According to [[AllThereInTheManual the Ultimania guide]], this is how Zack learns his Limit Breaks -- he meets someone, and upon doing so, learns how to copy their Limit Break and modify it to create his own, such as Meteorain->Meteor Shots and Healing Wind->Healing Wave.
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* PowerCopying: In ''Crisis Core'', Zack's Digital Mind Wave ability allows him to copy and adapt others characters' {{Limit Break}}s.
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A member of AVALANCHE and Cloud's childhood friend. She also owns a bar called "7th Heaven" in Sector 7 of Midgar. Though she realizes something is wrong with Cloud's memories she doesn't speak up until it's too light. After helping reform Cloud's true self she tries to support him and encourage him to find his own path that he wants.
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A member of AVALANCHE and Cloud's childhood friend. She also owns a bar called "7th Heaven" in Sector 7 of Midgar. Though she realizes something is wrong with Cloud's memories she doesn't speak up until it's too light.late. After helping reform Cloud's true self she tries to support him and encourage him to find his own path that he wants.
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%% Zero Context Examples have been commented out and need context to be uncommented.
[[foldercontrol]]
[[foldercontrol]]
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[[folder:Cloud Strife]]
!! Cloud Strife
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudstrife_8244.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudac_2980.png[[/labelnote]] to see Cloud in his ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
->''"I pity you. You just don't get it at all... there's not a thing I ''don't'' cherish!"''
-->Voiced by: Creator/TakahiroSakurai (Japanese), Steve Burton (English)
A former top-ranking member of Shinra's elite paramilitary unit, SOLDIER. Now working as a mercenary-for-hire, Cloud takes a job with the anti-Shinra organization AVALANCHE to bring down his old employers. It's revealed during the game that he isn't what he seems: Cloud failed to qualify for SOLDIER and instead took a job as an infantryman. During a mission to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and his best friend and SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair, Sephiroth went berserk and injured Cloud and Zack, who were taken away as lab experiments for Professor Hojo. Zack broke them out years later but died in the escape, and Cloud, suffering from a great deal of physical and psychological trauma, impressed Zack's memories on his own, creating a false past and a false personality to match it. After the truth is revealed he suffers a HeroicBSOD, but thanks to a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, he comes to terms with who he is and rebuilds his persona from the ground up.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis''.
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''
* {{Adorkable}}: At times. He says things like "let's mosey" and has never been on a date before.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: No matter the circumstance, Cloud drops everything to save Tifa and/or Aerith if they're in danger.
* {{Angst}}: Boatloads of it. Most of it's {{justified|Trope}} too -- if you came to the realization that the life you thought you had lived was a lie and you had spent the last four-five years comatose due to lab experiments after your hero and idol burned your hometown to the ground and left you for dead, you'd probably have some issues to work through too.
* AnimalMotifs: Wolves, specifically Fenrir, the name of the wolf that follows him in ''Advent Children'' and of his CoolBike, which debuted in the same movie. However, this only applies to that movie.
* AnimeHair: Cloud's infamous hair in ''Final Fantasy VII'' consists of several sharp spikes jutting into the air. ''Advent Children'' and related ''Compilation'' materials toned down the spikes to something more realistic.
* AntiHero: ClassicalAntiHero who [[JerkassFacade pretends to be]] a PragmaticHero. He arguably evolved into an actual hero by the end of the first game.
* {{Badass}}: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
* BadassBiker: In ''Advent Children'' he spends much of the film riding Fenrir looking cool, and in several fight scenes fights ''while'' riding it.
* BadassNormal: Even before Hojo's experiments.
* {{BFS}}: His Buster Sword is emblematic of this trope.
* BifurcatedWeapon: His Fusion Sword in ''Advent Children'' is ''six'' {{BFS}}s in one.
* {{Bishonen}}: Cloud is quite pretty for a man. In the game's infamous Wall Market sequence, a cross-dressing Cloud can beat out Tifa and Aerith as Don Corneo's girl of choice for the night.
* BladeSpam: Omnislash, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, in a series of fifteen sword attacks.
* BlowYouAway: Finishing Touch, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, launches a tornado at opponents.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Downplayed but present, Sephiroth is implied to be subtlety influencing him throughout the game to make Cloud do what he wants.
* BreakTheHaughty: As a child, Cloud avoided the other village children because he thought of himself as superior to them and like most boys his age, tried to become a hero like his idol Sephiroth by joining SOLDIER and was promptly rejected. However, it seemed like his claims of superiority was more a case of him trying to justify his own loneliness.
* CatchPhrase: "Not interested", repeated several times in the original game, usually as a choice in dialogue trees. In the expanded universe it's used much less often, but still pops up enough to count. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Bartz]] lampshades it in ''Dissidia'' when he mimics Cloud's voice in a match with him.
* ChickMagnet: [[GirlNextDoor Tifa]], [[MysticalWaif Aerith]], and [[MauveShirt Jessie]] have feelings for him. If you choose [[ShipTease Yuffie]] as the Golden Saucer date, she kisses Cloud on the cheek on the gondola ride.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: His relationship with Tifa, who also grew up in Nibelheim with him. Because both of them CannotSpitItOut though, it's ambiguous how far the romantic angle goes.
* ClassicalAntiHero: Crippling self-doubt and insecurity, tons of angst and guilt, and as a kid he was a loser and a failure.
* ColonyDrop: Meteorain, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, shoots small meteors at opponents.
* {{Courier}}: His career after the events of the main game; he became a deliveryman that traveled the planet.
* CrashIntoHello: Granted it was a roof, not a person, but it's how Cloud and Aerith got formally acquainted; he crashed through the roof of her church and woke up on the flowerbed with her standing over him.
* DeadpanSnarker: Cloud has a very dry wit and tends to make small quips completely straightfaced. Under his false persona in ''VII'' wasn't as deadpan as later, but more snarky.
-->'''Rufus''': Cloud, you're an ex-SOLDIER, aren't you? \\
'''Cloud''': In my head.
* DeadPersonConversation: With [[SpiritAdvisor Aerith]] in ''Advent Children''.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: Cloud's essentially been copying an ''actual'' SOLDIER named Zack through most of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''.
* DeclarationOfProtection:
** He [[ThePromise promises]] such to Tifa, and later becomes Aerith's bodyguard.
** In ''Advent Children'', he feels this way towards his entire family, which causes problems as his track record of success isn't very impressive.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Cloud ranges from self-doubting and insecure AntiHero to a cocky and confident {{Badass}}, sometimes in the same appearance. Justified due to the two or three personas he's adopted and come to terms with, an entirely consistent personality is probably not going to result from this.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables. {{Badass}} indeed.
* DisappearedDad: Was raised by his mother instead.
* DisguisedInDrag: The infamous crossdressing quest in Wall Market.
* DoomedHometown: In the backstory, Nibelheim was destroyed several years ago.
* FakeMemories: Though it's something of a journey to figure out how and why he has them.
* {{Flanderization}}: If you haven't played the original game, you'll be surprised at how ''non'' angsty Cloud was. He ''did'' angst and express hesitation and insecurities, but only at key points and for good reasons, and at the end of the game seemed perfectly fine. In his appearances since, he has been an angsty brooding loner. SquareEnix states outright in ''The Reunion Files'' (basically the ''Ultimania'' for ''Advent Children'') that they regressed his personality back to a mindset they thought fans would be more familiar with, making this a case of PanderingToTheBase. In all fairness, it'd be downright absurd to think he'd just be emotionally fixed by the end of the game. Anyone who might go through what Cloud went through might need a few years to fully reconcile. Like 30 of them.
* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late 1990s.
* HeroesPreferSwords: {{BFS}}'s are preferred, although he does have a few katanas. As an infantryman, however, he favored an [[CoolGun assault rifle]] and [[DualTonfas police baton]].
* ILetGwenStacyDie: He stood helpless and watched as Sephiroth killed Aerith. More in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'' than in the game.
* IllGirl: Well, Ill Guy. In ''Advent Children'', Cloud is suffering from Geostigma which also causes some ugly seizures. He was also afflicted with Mako Poisoning in the game.
* JackOfAllStats: Cloud has all around good stats and can fight with magic or weapons as needed.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Subverted. Cloud isn't actually a jerk, his personality created after the events leading up to Zack's death is.
* LightningBruiser: Cloud moves fast and has enough HP and stamina to take a good hit, and when he hits back it hurts a lot. Spin-offs like ''Dissidia'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' instead depict him as a MightyGlacier, moving and attacking slowly but doing a lot of damage.
* LonersAreFreaks: As a child he was anti-social and constantly got into fights because other kids picked on him.
* MeaningfulName: Cloud Strife, reflecting his inner turmoil and troubled life.
* TheMentallyDisturbed: Cloud's an emotionally fragile young man who remembers things that never happened, suffers from bouts of depression, has a history of shutting down when life becomes too much to handle, and has serious problems with acknowledging his own self-worth. In spite of this, he soldiers on, and manages to overcome or mitigate many of these issues.
* MommasBoy: Her death at the hands of Sephiroth is one of his (many) grudges against him.
* {{Mook}}: In his backstory he was just another one of the Shinra guards the party guns down the entire game.
* MrFanservice: Well-built, handsome, heroic, and very badass.
* OccultBlueEyes: They also glow because of his Mako infusion; this is a mark of all members of SOLDIER.
* OnlyICanKillHim: Spin-offs seem to give him this role regarding Sephiroth, who shrugs off beatings from the [[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Warrior of Light]] or [[KingdomHearts Sora]].
* ParentalSubstitute: To Denzel. In ''Advent Children'', he even becomes a DisappearedDad.
* PromotionToParent: Raises Marlene and Denzel with Tifa after the events of original game.
* TheQuietOne: On his own Cloud is a fairly shy and silent figure.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Initially, what draws Aerith to Cloud is his resemblance to Zack.
* RightHandedMirror: To Sephiroth. Both are the result of experimentation with Mako and Jenova cells, but while right-handed Cloud regains his sanity and becomes a hero, Sephiroth descends into an OmnicidalManiac.
* SuperSoldier: SOLDIER was comprised of humans who were exposed to large amounts of raw Mako (giving them their distinctive GlowingEyes) and, in some cases, injected with Jenova cells, granting them superhuman strength, speed, and agility. While Cloud was never in SOLDIER, Hojo's experiments were similar, if not identical, to the process of creating a SOLDIER.
* SwordBeam: Blade Beam, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, fires a blast of energy from his sword.
* TakeUpMySword: When Zack dies, Cloud takes his sword and keeps his dreams of honor and heroism alive in his own way.
* ThisLoserIsYou: He was a {{Deconstruction}} of RPG protagonists at the time.
* TomatoInTheMirror: See DeadPersonImpersonation. When he finds out the truth he does not take it well at all.
* TooManyBelts: In ''Advent Children''. The retconned SOLDIER 1st Class costumes from ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' that he wears has two.
* {{Troll}}: Through dialogue options, it's very possible to make Cloud give some pretty dickish responses purely for the lulz of it all. He even appears to be this canonically, as shown from his frequent teasing of Barret during the Midgar section of the game. It gets dropped for the most part after he undergoes his HeroicBSOD, which indicates that it may well have been another element he picked up from Zack.
* TroubledButCute: He wears all black and copes with a lot of mental issues, but is very good-looking and has a good heart.
* UnknownRival: Hojo doesn't remember who he is when they have their last battle.
-->'''Cloud:''' At least remember my name!
* WeaponTwirling: As part of his victory animation, his spins his sword in the air before shoulder it over his back.
* WhatTheHellHero He beats up Aerith in the Temple of the Ancients, causing her to leave the party. Granted, he was being controlled, but still...
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A certain, ahem, [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_Cloud_Artwork.png "noble incident"]].
* WouldHitAGirl Twice with Aerith. Once in the Temple of the Ancients, second in Forgotten Capital, where she was praying. With a {{BFS}}. Neither time intentional, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy he was a puppet]].
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In ''Advent Children'' where he has contracted the fatal Geostigma.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Barret Wallace]]
!! Barret Wallace
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barretwallace_7673.png]]
->''"You gotta understand somethin'... I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene... but I gotta fight. 'Cause if I don't... the planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'!"''
-->Voiced by: Masahiro Kobayashi (Japanese), Creator/BeauBillingslea (English)
The boisterous leader of AVALANCHE, a group of eco-terrorists trying to prevent Shinra from draining the planet's life energy in the name of profit. His cause is actually a cover for a personal vendetta against Shinra. He later comes to terms with his grudge and accepts responsibility for the damage AVALANCHE caused, vowing to save the planet the right way. He lost his right hand in a Shinra attack and had it replaced with a variable prosthetic
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
* AngryBlackMan: Especially early in the game, he has a very short temper. It's {{justified|Trope}} later on in the game when Barret explains just ''why'' he's so angry to begin with.
* AntiHero: He's frequently angry and fighting for personal reasons, but deep down he's a good person.
* ArmCannon: Although some of his weapons turn it into a PowerFist instead.
* ArtificialLimbs: His gun arm is able to transform into a robotic hand in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
* {{Badass}}: He's a muscular black man who walks around shirtless and fights with an ArmCannon. His ultimate weapon can hit the damage cap the easiest out of the game's weapons.
* BigGood: From ''his'' perspective in the beginning of the game, given that he's leading AVALANCHE and giving orders to Cloud & co. He gradually comes to realize that maybe he wasn't quite as noble as he thought.
* BoisterousBruiser: CharacterDevelopment turns Barret into one of these later on. He's still emotional and outgoing, but no longer quite as trigger-happy.
* CaptainErsatz:
** He looks and acts ''very'' similar to Creator/MrT. When he got a voice actor for later appearances he even talks like him.
** The audiobooks for ''On the Way to a Smile'' has him sound more like Chi [=McBride=].
* ChainsawGood: One of his gun-arms is a chainsaw attachment.
* ClusterFBomb: Not exactly an F-bomb, but Barret is very prone to cursing up a storm when he flies into a rage.
* EnergyBall: Big Shot and Mindblow fire orbs of energy. Big Shot is orange, Mindblow is blue.
* HandicappedBadass: He's missing his right arm, but he makes it work by replacing it with an ArmCannon and kicking ass with it.
* HotBlooded: Barret is very open and eager in his desire to topple Shinra.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's angry and foul-mouthed, but is a good man deep down.
* KillSat: Satellite Beam brings down a laser strike from above.
* MightyGlacier: He's slow and not very good with magic, but he can take a tremendous amount of punishment and is very good at blowing things up with his gun weapons.
* MoralityPet: His daughter, Marlene, is the only thing keeping him from going off the deep end. Barret is aware of this trope and notes if he didn't have Marlene motivating him to be a good dad for her, he may have become something worse a long time ago.
* MoralMyopia: Initially, he doesn't care about the lives of many people besides Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie (who all die really early on) and Marlene and Tifa. He fights Shinra primarily out of revenge and his self-righteous SavingTheWorld claims are just his self-justification. This would count as MoralDissonance, if Cait Sith didn't [[WhatTheHellHero call him out for it later on,]] and later his acknowledgement that it was wrong.
* MoreDakka: Angermax fires 18 attacks from his gun-arm at random enemies. Numerous strategies rely on maximizing his power for 18 hits of 9,999 damage, making it the most powerful attack in the game against single foes.
* OneHitKO: Hammer Blow has a chance to instantly kill the target.
* PapaWolf: You do not hurt Marlene, unless you want the full fury of his rage brought down on you.
* ParentalSubstitute: He's not really Marlene's dad, but acts as such.
* PermaStubble: Has a very short beard to compliment his action-oriented occupation.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: ''Advent Children'' prettied him up somewhat. And gave him ''a fishnet vest.''
* RocketPunch: His JokeWeapon replaces his gun-arm with a giant red fist.
* ScaryBlackMan: He's large and intimidating in addition to having a gun attached to his arm.
* ShootTheTelevision: An NPC mentions that he once did this using his gun arm with a Sector 7 television monitor that was displaying a broadcast by President Shinra. He didn't win any fans that day, as the only other television in Sector 7 was in AVALANCHE headquarters.
* SirSwearsALot: Alongside Cid, most of the cursing in the game comes from him.
* TheSouthpaw: Necessary, his right hand is an assault weapon.
* SwissArmyWeapon: His gun-arm has numerous different attachments besides guns.
* ThisIsADrill: One of his gun-arms attaches a drill to his arm.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Grenade Bomb fires a grenade at opponents.
* WalkingTheEarth: Novellas set after the game say that he grew restless living in Edge and set out into the world to find a way to atone for his actions in AVALANCHE. He seems to have settled on "help fix the mess he created" as of ''Advent Children''.
* WaveMotionGun: His final Limit Break Catastrophe has him leap into the air and fire a ''massive'' laser at opponents.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: At first. He later acknowledges that his actions might not have been best.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: His solution to most problems seems to involve MoreDakka.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tifa Lockhart]]
!! Tifa Lockhart
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tifalockhart_6982.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tifalockhartac_8199.png[[/labelnote]] to see Tifa in her ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
->''"Uniforms, soldiers, war. I hate 'em all. They take away the things and people you love... I wish they'd all disappear."''
-->Voiced by: Ayumi Ito (Japanese), Creator/RachaelLeighCook (English)
A member of AVALANCHE and Cloud's childhood friend. She also owns a bar called "7th Heaven" in Sector 7 of Midgar. Though she realizes something is wrong with Cloud's memories she doesn't speak up until it's too light. After helping reform Cloud's true self she tries to support him and encourage him to find his own path that he wants.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Final Fantasy Dissidia Duodecim]]'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* ActionGirl: Tifa's far better with her fists than with magic.
* ActionMom: Due to her ParentalSubstitute relationship with Denzel.
* {{Badass}}: She beats up enemies such as giant robots and mutated monsters with martial arts.
* BadassAdorable: Whenever she goes deredere to Cloud, which is... damn near the whole time.
* BadassDamsel: Despite being able to kick her fair share of ass, Tifa still needs to be saved by Cloud now and then.
* BadassNormal: Tifa doesn't have an ancient heritage, or Mako in her veins, but she can still keep up with the best of them.
* BareFistedMonk: Her combat style is based on this character class.
* BareYourMidriff: Her [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII in-game]] outfit bares a lot of midriff. Her ''Advent Children'' one only shows a sliver.
* TheBartender: Tifa tends bar at 7th Heaven.
* BoobsOfSteel: Big boobs? Check. Strongest female? Check. The Trope picture? Check.
* BrownEyes: One of the most level-headed and down to earth party members for it.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Does as much damage with her fists as others with actual weapons. Then there's her LimitBreak which [[SerialEscalation continually gets bigger and bigger until her fist causes an explosion]].
* TheChick: By being TheHeart of the team that keeps them together.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: She and Cloud grew up together in Nibelheim and end up living together as a family after the game's events.
* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: In ''Case of Tifa'', she asks Cloud if he loves her while he's sleeping. Her voice wakes him up, and she quickly changes the question.
* CuteBruiser: Possibly the cutest member of the team, and rivals Cloud as the physically strongest.
* DangerouslyShortSkirt: Tifa does a lot of flips and kicks wearing a very short black miniskirt. In ''Advent Children'' she switches to ModestyShorts under a skirt-like apron.
* DesperationAttack: Two of her weapons have damage formulas that boost her attacking power when she's at low HP, has status ailments inflicted, and/or allies are KO'd.
* DistressedDamsel: On occasion, interestingly it is her romantic fantasy to be the damsel in distress that a dashing hero will save.
* GirlNextDoor: Lived next door to Cloud pre-series.
* GirlyBruiser: She is feminine, yes, but she is the strongest of the female party members.
* GlassCannon: Tifa can deal out a lot of punishment in a fight, but she has a harder time taking it.
* GuestFighter: Cameos as a playable character in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''.
* HairColorDissonance: In some depictions her hair is light brown, while other times it's such a dark brown it looks black.
* MamaBear: To Marlene and Denzel. Threatening either of them will result in a brutal pounding into the floor boards.
* MeaningfulName: Tifa ''Lockhart'' has a habit of keeping secrets locked away inside her heart.
* MeteorMove: Her Meteor Strike Limit Break has her lift a foe into the air and hurl them to the ground.
* MissingMom: Her mother died when Tifa was eight years old.
* MsFanservice: Short skirt, big boobs, long legs, Tifa ticks all the boxes.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: Her arms are thin but her punches are powerful!
* NoPronunciationGuide: Some fans are unclear on whether to pronounce her name with a short "I" or a long "E". Officially, the latter is correct.
* PowerFist: Some of her gloves add claws or other attachments to make her blows stronger.
* PromotionToParent: To Marlene and Denzel, although she could be viewed as more of a ParentalSubstitute to the former.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Beat Rush is a quick punch combo.
* RapunzelHair: It even had to be cut to help the animation along in ''Advent Children''.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Dark haired and very pale skin, likely to show her status as a YamatoNadeshiko.
* ShesGotLegs: Her miniskirt shows off a lot of leg.
* {{Shoryuken}}: Dolphin Blow is an uppercut with a blast of water.
* ShrinkingViolet: Can be very shy in regards to her feelings.
* SilkHidingSteel: More like 'Steel Hiding Silk' as she looks like a BikerBabe, runs a bar, and fights with her bare hands, but inside she's more feminine than Aerith with her DistressedDamsel fantasy with Cloud, her domestic skills, and role as TeamMom in the main group and AVALANCHE.
* SmurfettePrinciple: If you don't get Yuffie, after Aerith dies Tifa is your only girl.
* SupremeChef: Although it is an InformedAttribute since you never see her cook, characters comment that she's good at it.
* TeamMom: To AVALANCHE. The home base chef who worries about them.
* ThirdPersonSeductress: Very curvy and shapely, wears skimpy clothing, and beats up enemies with her bare hands.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Seems to be a Tomboy yet plays the Girly Girl to Aerith's Tomboy. [[SubvertedTrope Rare spin of traditional character design.]] [[CharacterizationMarchesOn The two have since swapped roles]] for the expanded universe and spin-offs -- Tifa isn't a traditional tomboy, but is still depicted as much more of one than Aerith is now, who in turn is more girly.
* UnwantedHarem: {{Gender inverted|Trope}} version. Tifa was very popular with the guys, Cloud included, in Nibelheim, but she wasn't romantically interested in any of them.
* WolverineClaws: Several of her weapons have three claws attached to the back.
* WomanInBlack: She's got the outfit in ''Advent Children'', but (as with everything involving Tifa and appearance-based personality cues) subverted to hell and back. She's not scary and menacing, she's kindhearted and sweet.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Let's see here, devotion to the man she loves, check. Good domestic skill, check. TeamMom, check. Iron heart that is strong enough to snap TheHero out of his HeroicBSOD, check please. She has everything except a connection to [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Wutai/Japan]] and the attached cultural trappings.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Aerith Gainsborough]]
!! Aerith (Aeris) Gainsborough
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px-Aerithsface-1.jpg]]
->''"Just hang in there. Someday we'll look back at these hard times and laugh."''
-->Voiced by: Creator/MaayaSakamoto (Japanese), Mandy Moore[=/=]Mena Suvari[=/=]Andrea Bowen(English)
A young woman who sells flowers for a living in the slums of Midgar. Her years on the streets have given her a outgoing, street-smart but caring attitude. She is the last living Cetra, a precursor race who were driven to extinction by JENOVA. Having dated Zack Fair for a number of months, she finds herself attracted to his shadow in Cloud. Her independent nature leads to disaster when she decides to take the burden of defeating Sephiroth all by herself, abandoning the party and traveling to the Forgotten Capital alone. This leaves her vulnerable to attack, and [[ItWasHisSled she is killed by Sephiroth]].
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts''. "Dissidia 012"
* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: After Zack has been missing for four years, Aerith has mostly moved on from him; however there are some hints that she was never as over her FirstLove as she would like.
* ActionGirl: She's pretty hands on for a WhiteMagicianGirl.
* AncientArtifact: The White Materia her mother gave her, which makes her the only person able to cast [[HolyHandGrenade Holy]].
* {{Big Damn Hero|es}}ine: And after her own death. Repeatedly.
* BigGood: She arguably evolves into this role posthumously near the end of the original game, and ''definitely'' plays this in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]].'' Being so powerful she can command the Lifestream to help protect the planet, the other heroes view her as watching over them and helping them from afar.
* BraidsOfAction: Bouts of being the DistressedDamsel aside, Aerith lives by the BigDamnHeroes trope and is no stranger to combat.
* TheCameo: An alternate version of her appears in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
* TheChick: Shares this role with Tifa, she's similarly kind and caring and at times gives the party the strength to keep fighting.
* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: The game's somewhat infamous love triangle comes to a crashing close when one of the two ladies involved gets a sword through the gut.
* DistressedDamsel: A bit pluckier than the norm, although there's still a whole level dedicated to rescuing her. Not to mention at the beginning of the game, when you have to save her from Shinra soldiers by crushing them with barrels (although you do have the option of making her fight them herself).
* DoomedByCanon: Contrary to all rumors of ways to save her or revive her, when the credits roll at the original game's end, Aerith will not be there to see it.
* DoomedMoralVictor: She succeeded in calling Holy and giving the planet the chance to save itself from Meteor, but it attracted Sephiroth's notice and cost her her life.
* {{Flanderization}}: In her original game, Aerith was pure hearted, spiritual and caring, but was also stubborn, flirty, independent and witty. However, SE has ramped up the IncorruptiblePurePureness, emphasizing her connection to the planet and de-emphasizing her more headstrong character traits in favor of generic sweetness and innocence. Her ''Dissidia 012'' Ultimania profile describes her as having "[[TheIngenue the innocence of a little girl]]". This is the same woman that threatened to ''[[GroinAttack rip off]]'' a mafia don's balls.
* GreenEyes: Emphasizing her spiritual nature and powerful bond with the planet.
* HairDecorations: Her famous hair ribbon adds a lot to her cuteness.
* HalfHumanHybrid: Her father was a normal human while her mother was a Cetra, but this has little bearing on her status as an Ancient.
* HappilyAdopted: By Elmyra, who actually finds little!Aerith by the side of her dying mother Ifalna in the local train sation, and takes her in to fulfill Ifalna's dying wish.
* HartmanHips: Her bust is nowhere near as large as Tifa's, and it's hard to tell if ShesGotLegs because she wears full-length dresses. However, Aerith still has [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110227161509/finalfantasy/images/9/93/Aeris-FFVIIArt.png her]] [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110224134016/finalfantasy/images/3/37/Aerith-DissidiaAlt1.png womanly]] [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110224033548/finalfantasy/images/9/9f/Itadaki-Aerith2.png attributes]].
* HealingHands: Her Healing Wind, Pulse of Life and Great Gospel Limit Breaks all restore HP to the party.
* HerHeartWillGoOn: Following Zack's disappearance she remained loyal to his memory for a time, but eventually moved on with her life.
* IconicItem: In every appearance, even in concept art, Aerith has her hair ribbon. ''Crisis Core'' takes time to specifically show where she got it and why she continues to wear one years later. The White Materia also serves as one to a lesser degree.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: She meets her end when Sephiroth stabs the Masamune through her stomach.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Compared to other party members, Aerith doesn't have many character flaws, being good-hearted and noble from start to finish. All that change is she comes to terms with her heritage and embraces the legacy she's been left.
* InnocentFlowerGirl: But not ''too'' innocent. In the Wall Market section, she selects what is implied to be an incredibly provocative red dress for herself, and it's her idea in the first place to have Cloud dress in drag to get into Don Corneo's mansion. She seems to actually ''want'' Don Corneo to pick her as his girl, complimenting him on his taste if he does. In contrast to Tifa and Cloud who are just doing it for the mission, Aerith has no qualms at all and evidently finds the whole thing fun, irrespective of the threat.
* IWillWaitForYou: Subverted, she told this to Zack in their last phone conversation, but not knowing what happened to him after four years with no word, she said she was moving on in her last letter.
* KillTheCutie: The sweetest and most loving party member is the one among them who dies.
* TheLancer: Early on, her selfless and spiritual nature contrasts Cloud's JerkWithAHeartOfGold ex-SOLDIER. Later on her growing acceptance of her Cetra heritage make her a foil to Cloud's rising doubts over his identity.
* LastOfHisKind: Aerith is the last known Ancient in the entire world.
* LittleDeadRidingHood: She's the only party member aside from Cait Sith to wear red, marking her for death.
* LovingAShadow: Initially interested in Cloud because of his resemblance to Zack, her first boyfriend. And that they both [[MeetCute fell through the church roof]] while she was tending the flowers and wearing the same uniform. However, getting her on the date scene will have her admit that she would like for Cloud to open up to her so she can know the [[{{Foreshadowing}} real him]].
* MagicalNativeAmerican[=/=]SpaceJews: A fantasy themed combination of the two. For the former, her Cetra heritage gives her an innate connection to the planet and makes her more inclined to use magic than normal humans. For the latter, the Cetra were wandering nomads seeking "the Promised Land". Note also Aerith's curly hair.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: The spin-offs almost turn her into a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, what with her comments that she's afraid of the open sky and she can hear the wind calling her name. And let's not forget that ''she'' was the one who suggested Cloud [[WholesomeCrossdresser cross-dress]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext to save Tifa...]]
* MeaningfulName: Aerith's name was created to resemble and sound like the English word Earth referencing her connection to the planet as well as adding contrast to the sky based name Cloud.
* MessianicArchetype: The last of her kind, born of a union between a human and another race, spiritually enlightened, becomes a willing martyr and dies to save the planet.
* MyGirlBackHome: She's the only reason Zack decided to return to Midgar.
* MysticalWaif: This young girl is the guardian of Holy, the ultimate protective magic that can save the planet.
* TheParalyzer: Seal Evil paralyzes enemies.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Her pink dress, and many of her outfits in spin-offs, are pink.
* PlotlineDeath: The infamous FMV sequence of Sephiroth stabbing her. In turn has led to jokes asking why Cloud didn't try a Phoenix Down.
* PluckyGirl: She's spirited and playful and never backs down from anyone.
* ThePollyanna: Despite how awful and traumatic her life has been, Aerith remains happy and well-adjusted.
* RedHerring: Aerith is presented as a possible love interest on the first disk to make the PlayerPunch that much harder.
* {{Sacrificial Lion}}ess: Her death sends shockwaves through the party and the fanbase alike, and is a warning Sephiroth is done playing around with you.
* SecondLove: Cloud, as her first love was Zack.
* SummoningArtifact: It's emphasized that with how humanity has turned out, Holy might save the planet but kill off mankind too.
* SimpleStaff[=/=]MagicStaff: She fights with various rods and staves.
* SilkHidingSteel: A sweet and lovely lady who recruits Cloud to be her body guard. Her Holy spell is the only threat to the BigBad's EvilPlan
* SneakyDeparture: She leaves the party to head to the Forgotten City while Cloud is unconscious. Early in the game she defies it; when Cloud tries to pull this trope on her while staying at her home, she slips out herself and intercepts him, demanding to come along.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The original English translation had her name as "Aeris."
* SpiritAdvisor: To Cloud in ''Advent Children''.
* SquishyWizard: The most powerful magically but can't take a hit well.
* StatusBuff: Her Limit Break Fury Brand [[CursedWithAwesome inflicts Fury status]] on her allies and and fills their Limit Bars.
* StreetSmart: "I was raised in the slums. I'm used to danger."
* TheTease: She's rather flirtatious and open with her interest in Cloud.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Has the definitive attitude of a tomboy, [[SubvertedTrope sharply contrasting her appearance, personality, hobbies, weapon, and limits]].
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Cheerful and loving, all the party adores her, and she's the only one of them who isn't some shade of AntiHero. Yeah, she was doomed from the start.
* WhiteMagicianGirl: Although with the Materia system, she easily becomes a RedMage.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Looks the part well, but is more rebellious and flirty than the standard. Nor does she have the cultural baggage assiociated with [[FantasyCounterPartCulture Wutai/Japan]]. OTOH, she plays the trope straighter in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Red XIII]]
!! Red XIII (real name: Nanaki)
[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px-Red_XIII_2007_version-1.jpg]]
->''"What a fascinating story..."''
-->Voiced by: Masachika Ichimura (Japanese), Creator/LiamOBrien (English)
A strange creature who joins Cloud's group after being rescued from the Shinra HQ. Red XIII was the name he received as a specimen designation while held captive and experimented upon by Professor Hojo. Even though he is 48 in human years, his age is comparable to around 15 to 16 years old by his own species' standards and is very wise. He fights alongside Cloud and his allies to fulfill his duty to the Planet to defend it as a warrior.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
* CartoonCreature: The series never assigns a name to Red's species, which combines various feline and canine traits. Characters occasionally refer to him as lion-like, but his association with the moon and howling to express himself is more like a wolf.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Although he obviously wasn't meant to ''look'' like him, Tetsuya Nomura imagined that Red XIII would be voiced by Creator/SeanConnery. When he had a spoken line in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', it was done as an imitation of Sean Connery.
* DemotedToExtra: He appears considerably less in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'' than the other characters, and is only seen at the very last cutscene in ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''. According to the makers, this is because his fur is a pain to animate well.
* HappilyAdopted: He views Bugenhagen as his grandfather, since he raised him after Red's real parents were gone.
* IncendiaryExponent: His tail is constantly alight with a flame on the tip.
* IntellectualAnimal: He is very wise and intelligent, more than most of the human characters in the game actually.
* JackOfAllStats: He's fast and good with both physical and magical attacks, and has decent HP.
* LifeDrain: Blood Fang absorbs HP and MP from enemies.
* LightEmUp: Stardust Ray bombards enemies with stars of light.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', he was meant to sound like Sean Connery.
* ParentalAbandonment: His mother [[MissingMom died protecting Cosmo Canyon]], and he believed his father [[DisappearedDad left her alone to die]] [[YoureNotMyFather because he was afraid of fighting]]. Turns out he didn't run away but went fighting the monsters that were attacking from behind; he won but was [[TakenForGranite petrified]]. And he is still [[AndIMustScream alive and conscious]].
* RedHerring: When the group notes the Sephiroth Clones have numbers tattooed on them, Red begins to worry if his number "XIII" means he's one as well and if he'll also begin to lose his mind. But he doesn't, and WordOfGod says he wasn't a member of the Sephiroth Clone project, the number was assigned to him for a different reason.
* StatusBuff: Lunatic High and Howling Moon grant status buffs on him and/or his allies.
* TalkingAnimal: His ability to talk stands out to the party and freaks them out when he reveals it.
* TeenGenius: Despite being a teenager by his species' standards, he's the wisest and most intelligent member of the party.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Until he befriends [[TrueCompanions Cloud and the others]], his life is one of misery. The branding of "XIII" marked his capture by Shinra when things got even worse.
* WaveMotionGun: His ultimate Limit Break, Cosmos Memory, blasts enemies with a giant beam of orange energy.
* YouAreInCommandNow: He becomes the leader of Cosmo Canyon after his grandfather's death.
* YouAreNumberSix: Hojo tattooed "XIII" on his leg to mark him as one of his experiments. Red tells the party when he joins them that "Red XIII" is a name that holds no meaning to him, and they can call him that or anything else as they wish.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cait Sith]]
!! Cait Sith
[[quoteright:230:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px-CaithDirge-1.jpg]]
->''"There's plenty of stuffed toys like my body around, but there's only one me!"''
-->Voiced by: Creator/HideoIshikawa (Japanese), Greg Ellis (English)
A cat riding a giant stuffed toy Moogle, working as a fortune-teller in the Gold Saucer. He is really a puppet controlled from far away by Reeve, Shinra's head of Urban Development. Even though Reeve works with the evil Shinra, he develops a keen interest in saving the planet. He is useful to the party, as he knows all about the Shinra's plans. Despite his playful and carefree persona in the form of Cait Sith, Reeve is actually a sombre and serious man, though he does harbor a good heart with a natural worry for others.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' (as a summon).
* AmbiguousRobots: The series flip-flops between Cait Sith being a stuffed toy, a robot with fur, or a combination of both. It's likewise not clear how much autonomy he has, if any.
* CatGirl: The "Lucky Girl" limit break is a picture of a cat girl in a FurBikini.
* CatsAreMean: Double subverted. He has a very cheery personality but is an extreme JerkAss in the beginning. Later, it's completely subverted.
* DeathFromAbove: His Toy Box Limit Break drops a random object on enemies to crush them, including [[ColonyDrop meteors]].
* ExpendableClone: Reeve is implied to have several Cait Sith robots on standby for usage if one is lost or damaged. We see two in ''VII'', and in ''Dirge of Cerberus'' one introduces itself as "Number 6".
* TheGambler: His Limit Breaks are themed after dice and slot machines, and you recruit him in the Gold Saucer, a hot tourist spot.
* HeadPet: He rides on the head of his Moogle toy.
* HeelFaceTurn: Goes from being a mouthy Shinra-supporting JerkAss to a good guy who pulls his weight to save the planet.
* HealingHands: [[MagicDance Mog Dance]].
* {{Jerkass}}: He eventually gets his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]]. And then loses the {{Jerkass}} part almost entirely.
* LuckBasedMission: His Slots and Dice both do random things.
* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Transform
* TheMole: Cait Sith is actually controlled by Reeve of Shinra, but still [[ReverseMole decides to remain with you]] once discovered. The trope is later inverted when he essentially becomes a spy for AVALANCHE within Shinra, despite starting the other way around.
* NoPronunciationGuide: His name seems easy to pronounce, but it's actually the name of a Gaellic mythological creature pronounced 'Kett Shee'.
* OneHitKO: Game Over kills all enemies, bypassing death protection.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: This was how Reeve is exposed in the Japanese version of the game. Reeve speaks with a Kanto dialect and Cait Sith with a Kansai dialect. When stressed due to Hojo taking over the Mako Cannon, Reeve inadvertently speaks to Scarlet and Heidegger in Kansai, then Cait Sith speaks to Cloud and the others in Kanto. Thus they realize that he's Reeve.
* RandomizedDamageAttack: Cait Sith's Dice LimitBreak, which rolls several dice and then inflicts damage equal to the result multiplied by 20 to one enemy.
* ReverseMole: He spies on AVALANCHE for Shinra, but comes to sympathize them and then starts feeding them Shinra info instead.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: He's an anthropomorphic cat that rides on a Moogle. It's hard to get cuter than that.
* SquishyWizard: He has high magic stats, but his defenses and HP are poor.
* StatusBuff: Lucky Girl makes all the party's attacks critical hits.
* TeamPet: Probably the only one who has their ''own'' TeamPet (his giant moogle).
* TokenGoodTeammate: Prior to his HeelFaceTurn was the only executive who actually gave a rats ass about the common people.
* TotalPartyKill: Death Joker, often the result of a failed attempt at Game Over. Bypasses death protection too.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: When they initially find out what he really is, they initially keep him around because Reeve is holding Marlene hostage. Shortly after he performs a HeroicSacrifice at the Temple of the Ancients to get them the Black Materia, earning their trust for real.
* WhatTheHellHero: Calls out Barret for his bombing missions from earlier in the game. It comes off as somewhat hypocritical, however, since he's... y'know, with the Shinra, but Reeve was never crazy about the killing of innocents to begin with.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cid Highwind]]
!! Cid Highwind
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cidhighwind_434.png]]
->''"Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn TEA!"''
-->Voiced by: Kazuyuki Yama (Japanese), Chris Edgerly (English)
A gruff airship pilot with dreams of going into space. He is the most uncouth of the protagonists; he constantly swears and loses his temper, and chain-smokes cigarettes. Despite this, he has a good heart, and is even voted temporary leader of the party at one point. He fits into the archetype of a father type character.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts,'' minus the swearing.
* AcePilot: His backyard is fully of flying ships he's piloted, and he commands the party's airships.
* ArtisticAge: He is really 32 years old. You wouldn't think so considering his appearance in the game. In ''Advent Children'', he looked more his age.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite the fact that he verbally abuses his girlfriend, Shera, constantly throughout the game, he really does deeply care for her. He even names his new airship after her, and finally marries her throughout ''Advent Children'' and ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus.''
* {{Badass}}: He's the game's Dragoon character, so it comes with the territory. In ''Advent Children'', he made Bahamut SIN flinch by stabbing it on the head!
* BadassBookworm: He doesn't show too much of it, but it requires a lot of patience, technical knowledge, and general intelligence to fly and maintain any aircraft. Cid's seen to be competent with light aircraft, a zepellin-like airship, and a jet-type one, and was he hand picked to be the world's first astronaut and man in space.
* BadassNormal: One of the most prominent examples. He doesn't have innate magical powers, an assault weapon for a hand, combat training, or genetic enhancements. He's got a home made spear and dynamite.
* BerserkButton: Cid's pretty protective of his toys, such as the Tiny Bronco and the Highwind. He's also extremely upset about Shinra's decision to cancel its space program.
* BladeOnAStick: Fights with various types of spears and lances.
* BoisterousBruiser: One of his reasons for joining the party is because he likes the idea of "numbskulls" fighting Shinra. Plus, [[{{Badass}} he can back every word of his boasts up]].
* ClusterFBomb: He's much worse about this than Barret.
* DeathFromAbove[=/=]JumpPhysics: His Boost Jump, Hyper Jump and Dragon Dive Limit Breaks, where he leaps and descends to attack enemies.
* GogglesDoNothing: Despite wearing a pair of goggles on his head, Cid never pulls them down. Likely they're there to tie into his pilot theme.
* GrumpyOldMan: Well, he's only 32, but that's old by Japanese anime[=/=]video game standards.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: He can pilot almost everything.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He swears, smokes, is verbally abusive to pretty much everybody, but he gave up his dream to save Shera, genuinely tries to make amends to her, fights tooth and nail for the planet, joins the WRO, and gives a passionate speech about the need to protect the planet.
* LeeroyJenkins: He certainly has this attitude, even if he doesn't actually ruin any plans for the party, as shown by his gung-ho attitude about fighting Shinra.
* LifeDrain: Dragon drains HP from enemies to heal him.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: His ultimate Limit Break Highwind has him call in his airship of the same name to fire missiles at the enemy party.
* MythologyGag: He is pretty much a meta-reference to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', from appearance to moves.
* ScienceHero: Openly puts his faith in science, and his piloting skills are vital to the party.
* SeniorSleepCycle: Depicted as having one in-game, apparently as part of his grumpy old man portrayal. When the party is forced to stay at the Ghost Hotel in the Gold Saucer, Cloud's speech apparently puts him to sleep. Later, he is seen napping on the bridge of the Highwind just before Barret declares him to be the new leader. Finally, if the player chooses him to accompany Cloud on a gondola ride at Gold Saucer's Round Square, he will doze throughout the entire ride.
* SirSwearsALot: Whatever cussing doesn't come from Barret likely comes from Cid.
* SpamAttack: Big Brawl is a series of rapid slash attacks.
* SmokingIsCool: Except when it's censored out... and yet still clearly visible.
* TeamDad: He's the oldest of the party and is gruff and rude, but cares for them in his own way.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Dynamite has him throw a stick of dynamite at enemies.
* YouAreInCommandNow: His brief stint as team leader in Disc 2.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Vincent Valentine]]
!! Vincent Valentine
[[quoteright:217:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/resized-vincent_3266.jpg]]
->''"Cool, huh? I guess that's just the way I am... sorry."''
-->Voiced by: Shougo Suzuki (Japanese), Creator/SteveBlum (English)
Main character of ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''. He is a former member of the Turks with a mysterious past that ties him to Cloud and his group.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''
-> Spinoff/other game appearances: ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* AlliterativeName: '''V'''incent '''V'''alentine.
* AlwaysVSexy: Vincent is one of the more alluring and mysterious characters.
* AntiHero: He's shouldering a lot of guilt and is cold and stoic, but he's a good person beneath it and fights for what's right.
* TheAtoner: He fights to redeem himself for his failure to stop Hojo's experiments.
* {{Badass}}: Immensely so. He fights by invoking mutations on himself to turn into hulking monsters.
* BadassCape: His iconic red mantle that he wears over his shoulders.
* BeMyValentine: His name hints to his tragic past and unrequited romance.
* TheBerserker: When he enters his transformations as his Limit Breaks, he becomes uncontrollable for the rest of the battle and attacks until all enemies are dead.
* {{Bishonen}}: Long-haired and fair-skinned.
* BreakoutCharacter: Despite having some of the lowest stats in the game, he has become one of the most popular characters in the series. He was even popular enough to star in his own spinoff title.
* CoolGun: His main weapon and most notably his "Cerberus", a massive Tri-barelled revolver.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: In ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', Vincent pulls off amazing feats of GunFu, SupernaturalMartialArts, and gravity-defying superhuman agility that would make [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] jealous. But only in cutscenes; when you're controlling him, he can't do any of these things, and in fact, he can barely jump.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: To put it mildly. Vincent's past directly connects him to the creation of Sephiroth, something he blames himself for letting happen at Hojo's hands.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Vincent is very quiet and mysterious, and looks plain unsettling.
* FiringOneHanded: All of his weapons work this way, even the rifles!
* FrankensteinsMonster: His Hell Gigas Limit Break, which attacks with [[ShockAndAwe Livewire]] and Gigadunk.
* GuestFighter: Cameos as a fighter in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''.
* GunFu: The spin-offs have established him utilizing this with his handguns.
* GunsAreWorthless: Subverted in the original game. His guns aren't very useful when he uses them to shoot enemies thanks to his low attack, but when he uses them to focus his magic they're very handy indeed, since his magic stat is much better.
* TheGunslinger: In ''Dirge Of Cerberus'', he fights with a variety of firearms and is a crack shot with all of them.
* HockeyMaskAndChainsaw: His Limit Break Hell Masker, with the attacks [[ChainsawGood Splattercombo]] and [[StandardStatusEffects Nightmare]].
* IneffectualLoner: As cool as Vincent is, he keeps to himself thanks to his troubled past and naturally quiet nature.
* LonersAreFreaks: He's naturally antisocial and keeps to himself.
* LoveHurts: He fell in love with Lucrecia, who happened to be in a relationship with [[MadScientist Hojo]]. When Vincent protested Hojo using their child in his experiments, it got him a bullet in the gut for his trouble, and he became an experiment himself.
* MasterOfNone: He had fairly lackluster stats in the original game.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: He looks and acts like a ninja vampire, and can shapeshift into CaptainErsatz forms of famous movie monsters, namely Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, and Jason Vorheez.
* OddFriendship: With Yuffie. Despite polar-opposite personalities, they get along well.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Physically, he looks about 27, but he's chronologically in his early to mid 50s after sealing himself in a coffin.
* OneWingedAngel: In ''Dirge of Cerberus'', he gains control over his transformations and becomes Chaos for the final battle.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can skip recruiting him in ''VII'', but official canon establishes he did join the party.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: His Chaos form is a giant black and red winged demon. In ''VII'' it's his ultimate Limit Break and attacks with [[RazorWings Chaos Saber]] and Satan Slam. ''Dirge of Cerberus'' expanded it into Vincent's SuperpoweredEvilSide that Lucrecia had forced upon him to save his life.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Invoked by his bestial Galian Beast form, which attacks with [[RapidfireFisticuffs Berserk Dance]] and [[PlayingWithFire Beast Flare]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Has crimson eyes. His human model for ''Dirge of Cerberus'' reveals it's their natural color.
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Some of his weapons, most notably the Peacemaker.
* {{Sealed Good in a C|an}}offin: After Hojo was done experimenting on him, Vincent was horrified by what he had become and went to sleep in a coffin in Shinra Manor for years.
* SecretCharacter: Finding him requires a short sidequest to reveal him.
* ShadowArchetype: A heroic version but nonetheless he fits. A brooding loner haunted by the loss of a woman he loved at the hands of his arch-enemy? Vincent is what Cloud might become if he doesn't learn to cope with his issues. WordOfGod shares this viewpoint.
* ShapeShifter: Can change into a wolf, a FrankensteinsMonster, a HockeyMaskAndChainsaw style [[SlasherMovie slasher]], or the bat-winged and positively demonic [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Chaos]] during his {{Limit Break}}s.
* SquishyWizard: He's the most magic-inclined character after Aerith, but his other stats are poor.
* TheStoic: Very calm and not prone to a lot of emotion.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Chaos, a demonic entity sealed inside of him.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Despite being cold and antisocial, Vincent has a wit about him.
* TheUndead: Vincent is, to all intents and purposes, a walking corpse animated only by Chaos. The resemblance to a vampire is purely intentional (although he's actually closer to a zombie when you get right down to it).
* VoluntaryShapeShifting: Zigzagged. He changes form at will, but can't change back until battle ends.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Yuffie Kisaragi]]
!! Yuffie Kisaragi
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuffiekisaragi_1848.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuffiekisaragiac_7891.png[[/labelnote]] to see Yuffie in her ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
->''"I am the champion of the earth and the sky. I am the conqueror of evil. The single white rose of Wutai... Yuffie Kisaragi!"''
-->Voiced by: Creator/YumiKakazu (Japanese), Christy Carlson Romano[=/=]Creator/MaeWhitman (English)
An outlandishly-dressed ninja girl from the Japanese-lookalike town of {{Wutai}}. As a rebellious and cocky tomboy, Yuffie desires to restore her homeland Wutai to the glorious nation it was before being conquered by Shinra. Despite her sometimes obnoxious personality, she is friendly, helpful, and willingly helps the party in their battles.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* ActionGirl: Not quite as much as Tifa, but she can still kick some serious ass.
* AntiHero: She's cheerful and helps the party save the world, but initially joins them for selfish reasons and is overall can be quite a brat at times.
* {{Badass}}: She may not look the traditional part, but she is indeed a ninja and as powerful as demanded. Her personal sidequest has her taking on five {{Duel Boss}}es, ending with her own father, the ruler of Wutai and implied to be one of their strongest ninja. She kicks his ass.
* BadassAdorable: She's a skilled ninja and can fight monsters many times her sizes, and looks so cute while doing it.
* BareYourMidriff: All her outfits across her many appearances show off her navel.
* BrattyHalfPint: In the original game, she can be very loud-mouthed and rude.
* DiagonalCut: Greased Lightning slashes the enemy diagonally and it takes a few seconds before they notice and take damage. They don't actually slide apart though, since it may not always be a fatal attack.
* DishingOutDirt: Landscaper manifests as her sending a shockwave through the dirt to make the ground underneath the enemy party erupt.
* FragileSpeedster: Yuffie's very fast, but when she gets hit, it hurts.
* FuumaShuriken: Her weapon is a giant shuriken.
* GenkiGirl: Is almost eternally energetic, cheerful, and upbeat.
* GlassCannon: Whether throwing her boomerangs or using materia, Yuffie's very good at damaging the enemies. It's when they hit her back that she has problems.
* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''.
* HealingHands: Clear Tranquil heats the party's HP.
* HeirToTheDojo: She's the daughter of the leader of Wutai and his heir to the legacy of ninja the nation prides itself on.
* HiddenDepths:
** She is one of the characters who Cloud can date on the RomanceSidequest, and while not as tender as Tifa or Aerith is rather sweet, and is the only one of the three to kiss him. She also lays into Cait Sith a lot more than the other women when she finds out he's holding Marlene hostage.
** The reason she's obsessed with Materia? She wants the power it holds because she's disgusted with how Wutai went from a respected ninja civilization to a tourist attraction after Shinra conquered it, and wants Materia in the hopes of changing things and maybe restoring some dignity to the town.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As bratty as Yuffie acts, she has a good sense of morals deep down and wants to do the right thing.
* LightEmUp: Gauntlet blasts enemies with a column of light from below.
* LoveableRogue: She's out to steal the party's Materia, but has sympathetic reasons for it and manages to be likable in the meantime.
* {{Ninja}}: Raised in a society of them and is one herself.
* NinjaBrat: She's only 16 during the original game.
* OddFriendship: With Vincent.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can skip recruiting her, but she still has a lot to do in the storyline. This is because the character designers liked her and salvaged a lot of the planned content for her when she and Vincent were moved from mandatory to optional due to time constraints.
* PluckyGirl: Energetic and spirited and always ready to fight for Wutai.
* ThePrankster: She's constantly scheming ways to trick the party out of their Materia, and then to evade them when they chase her to Wutai.
* RebelliousPrincess: Her dad's the lord of Wutai, and he's not at all happy that she ran away from home.
* RunningGag: Her motion sickness is brought up whenever you're on a vehicle.
* ShipTease:
** Out of all the characters you can choose to take on a date to the Gold Saucer, she is the only character who kisses Cloud.
** With Vincent in ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', especially when Vincent seemingly dies taking out Omega. Whether it's because she likes him or is simply concerned because he's a comrade is still open to debate.
* SmallNameBigEgo: She's prone to giving herself grandiose titles and treating herself like a legendary ninja hero. She may be skilled but she's not as great or famed as she pretends.
* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: "Wutai Theft" is the former TropeNamer, though she doesn't fit the actual trope definition. At one point Yuffie swipes all the party's Materia and takes off with it, and you have to track her down and get it back.
* SpamAttack: Bloodfest and Doom of the Living consist of her rapidly hitting enemies with her weapon over and over.
* StickyFingers: She is absolutely obsessed with getting her hands on Materia, no matter the cost.
* {{Tomboy}}: Described as such in the [=FF7=] Ultimania.
* TheTrickster: She's rebellious to her father, treacherous to the party, and does it all with a grin and a wink.
* WaveMotionGun: Her ultimate Limit Break All Creation is a giant purple ray of energy.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: After the team talks her down and finds out why she stole their Materia, they let her back in the group.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: All of her outfits include shorts.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Averted. She's the only one who has a connection to Wutai, yet she is neither polite, domestic, interested in its culture, nor family oriented.
* ZettaiRyouiki: In most of her spin-off appearances, exact grade varies.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Zack Fair]]
!! Zack Fair
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zack_896.png]]
->''"Boy oh boy... the price of freedom is steep."''
-->Voiced by: Creator/KenichiSuzumura (Japanese), Rick Gomez (English)
An energetic SOLDIER that was Cloud's best friend, he accompanied Sephiroth on the Nibelheim mission, where he was critically wounded and turned into a lab experiment for Hojo. Though he escaped several years later and took Cloud with him, he was caught and gunned down by Shinra. The dying Zack entrusted his Buster Sword to Cloud, who inadvertently also assumed a fake identity based on Zack's life and personality. ''Crisis Core'' explores his adventures prior to Nibelheim as he deals with the conspiracies that infested SOLDIER during its glory days.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''Advent Children'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis''
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts: Birth by Sleep'' as the most adorable hero-in-training ever, ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* TheAce: He's handsome, friendly, and a flirty ladies man, in addition to being a powerful and respected SOLDIER. {{Justified|Trope}}, in that this was intentional to have him contrast sharply with Cloud's ClassicalAntiHero.
* {{Adorkable}}: Zack can be very endearingly awkward at times.
* AllYourPowersCombined[=/=]MegaManning: According to [[AllThereInTheManual the Ultimania guide]], this is how Zack learns his Limit Breaks -- he meets someone, and upon doing so, learns how to copy their Limit Break and modify it to create his own, such as Meteorain->Meteor Shots and Healing Wind->Healing Wave.
* AnimeHair: Zack has a lock of sharply spiked black hair. It changes styles during ''Crisis Core'' to show his growing maturity and aging, but it's still spiky.
* AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]]: He works for Shinra, and helped to end the Wutai War leaving the place in the condition is seen in [=FF7=], but his interests were [[HeroicNeutral starting a new life and protecting Cloud.]] It wasn't until after it became clear that Shinra wasn't going to stop hunting them down that Zack opposed them.
* {{Badass}}: The beginning of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' firmly establishes him as this, and it only gets better from there... up until, [[DoomedByCanon well, you know.]]
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Besides his influence on Cloud's past, Zack was the guy who named the 7th Heaven bar, bought Aerith her iconic hair ribbon and suggested she sell flowers, and is partly responsible for sparking Yuffie's obsession with Materia.
* {{BFS}}: He fights using the Buster Sword. He wields a standard CoolSword before he inherits it.
* {{Bishonen}}: [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Soldier-2nd-Class-Zack-zack-fair-7523031-1024-768.jpg Of course]], after all, he's a SquareEnix protagonist.
* BladeSpam: His Chain Slash and Octaslash DMW attacks are rapid slash combos.
* BreakoutCharacter: Arguably bigger than Vincent. Both got their own spinoff, but not only is Zack's better received, but Zack got the honor even though he only appeared in an optional flashback, as opposed to being a former playable character.
* ChickMagnet: Almost as much as Cloud. Case in point: Aerith ''and'' Cissnei in the same game. Way to go Zack.
* ColonyDrop: Meteor Shots fires meteors at enemies.
* DoomedByCanon: ''Final Fantasy VII'' spoiled his eventual death long before ''Crisis Core'' came out. With Zack's death a pivotal piece of backstory, there was no way he could survive.
* DoomedMoralVictor: Though he defeats Genesis and keeps the pride and honor of SOLDIER alive, he dies defending Cloud from impossible numbers of Shinra forces.
* ForegoneConclusion: Since ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' is a prequel to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and Zack's the hero in the game, it's fairly expected when he dies at the end.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Of Cloud. He remembers him again later in the story, causing him to have a HeroicBSOD, but he gets better.
* {{Genki|Girl}} Guy: He's very energetic and excitable; Angeal has nicknamed him "the puppy" for it. His CharacterDevelopment has him temper it into a more mature and focused type of character without losing his lightheartedness.
* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', he makes a cameo.
* GunshipRescue: His Air Strike DMW attack has Zack call Tseng to bring in a Turk helicopter to unleash machine gun and missiles on enemies.
* HealingHands: Healing Wave fully restores his stats.
* HeroesPreferSwords: He fights exclusively with swords, as with all SOLDIER members.
* InstantRunes: Apocalypse creates a red rune of energy below enemies that shocks them.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his {{Badass}} persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Zack is always eager to prove himself and fight to do the right thing.
* LastStand: At the end of ''Crisis Core'' he finds himself standing alone against dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Shinra infantry. He recites Angeal's ArcWords and charges in swinging, bringing down all but three before he's too weak to keep standing.
* LimitBreak: His [=DMW=] attacks.
* LoveMakesYouDumb[=/=]LoveMakesYouCrazy: Despite knowing that Shinra is hunting him with orders to kill, he still attempts to return to Midgar, Shinra's headquarters, to see Aerith again.
* ManlyTears: After [[spoiler:Angeal's]] death, he breaks down in the church and sobs while Aerith holds him.
* MeaningfulName: He didn't have a last name until ''Crisis Core'', when he was given the last name "Fair" to invoke the imagery of "fair weather", contrasting Cloud's name.
* MrFanservice: He's handsome and well-built, and has a scene where he walks around on the beach in swim trunks.
* NiceGuy: Zack is everyone's friend and this trope is the reason why, he's just very pleasant and friendly.
* OneManArmy: Being the sole playable character in an Action RPG, Zack racks up a body count in the multiple thousands. Highlighted at the very first mission of the game, where Zack's objective is to storm and capture a Wutai fort by himself. He does it with ease; keep in mind he's still "just" Second Class at this time. A series of missions pits Zack against swarms of Shinra infantryman, culminating in a battle with ''1000'' soldiers.
* PosthumousCharacter: In ''VII'' and beyond, he's long dead.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Rush Assault is a barrage of lightning-fast punches ending with an explosive diving tackle.
* RightHandedMirror: As Cloud is, he is this to Sephiroth. Their backstories and origins are even more similar, but Zack becomes a hero while Sephiroth descends further and further into madness and villainy.
* ScarsAreForever: The X-shaped scar on the lower part of his cheek. [[spoiler:Angeal gave it to him in pushing Zack to kill him.]]
* ShirtlessScene[=/=]SwimsuitScene: The Costa del Sol scene in ''Crisis Core'' features Zack in his swim trunks hanging out at the beach.
* StatusBuff: Lucky Stars makes all his attacks Critical Hits for a time.
* SuperSoldier: As a SOLDIER, he has superior strength, reflexes, healing, stamina, and magic proficiency.
* TakeUpMySword: The {{Retcon}}ned ending to ''Crisis Core'', and his inheritance of said sword from his mentor.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He's six-feet tall, dark-haired and wears dark outfits, and is very good-looking.
* TogetherInDeath: Him and Aerith, but it's more like Together In The Lifestream. Interesting because most people's consciousness will dissolve into the Lifestream after death.
[[/folder]]
!! Cloud Strife
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudstrife_8244.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloudac_2980.png[[/labelnote]] to see Cloud in his ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
->''"I pity you. You just don't get it at all... there's not a thing I ''don't'' cherish!"''
-->Voiced by: Creator/TakahiroSakurai (Japanese), Steve Burton (English)
A former top-ranking member of Shinra's elite paramilitary unit, SOLDIER. Now working as a mercenary-for-hire, Cloud takes a job with the anti-Shinra organization AVALANCHE to bring down his old employers. It's revealed during the game that he isn't what he seems: Cloud failed to qualify for SOLDIER and instead took a job as an infantryman. During a mission to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and his best friend and SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair, Sephiroth went berserk and injured Cloud and Zack, who were taken away as lab experiments for Professor Hojo. Zack broke them out years later but died in the escape, and Cloud, suffering from a great deal of physical and psychological trauma, impressed Zack's memories on his own, creating a false past and a false personality to match it. After the truth is revealed he suffers a HeroicBSOD, but thanks to a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, he comes to terms with who he is and rebuilds his persona from the ground up.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis''.
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''
* {{Adorkable}}: At times. He says things like "let's mosey" and has never been on a date before.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: No matter the circumstance, Cloud drops everything to save Tifa and/or Aerith if they're in danger.
* {{Angst}}: Boatloads of it. Most of it's {{justified|Trope}} too -- if you came to the realization that the life you thought you had lived was a lie and you had spent the last four-five years comatose due to lab experiments after your hero and idol burned your hometown to the ground and left you for dead, you'd probably have some issues to work through too.
* AnimalMotifs: Wolves, specifically Fenrir, the name of the wolf that follows him in ''Advent Children'' and of his CoolBike, which debuted in the same movie. However, this only applies to that movie.
* AnimeHair: Cloud's infamous hair in ''Final Fantasy VII'' consists of several sharp spikes jutting into the air. ''Advent Children'' and related ''Compilation'' materials toned down the spikes to something more realistic.
* AntiHero: ClassicalAntiHero who [[JerkassFacade pretends to be]] a PragmaticHero. He arguably evolved into an actual hero by the end of the first game.
* {{Badass}}: Cloud is Sephiroth's only competition for the most powerful character in the setting, and considering every time they clash he overpowers him he may even be stronger.
* BadassBiker: In ''Advent Children'' he spends much of the film riding Fenrir looking cool, and in several fight scenes fights ''while'' riding it.
* BadassNormal: Even before Hojo's experiments.
* {{BFS}}: His Buster Sword is emblematic of this trope.
* BifurcatedWeapon: His Fusion Sword in ''Advent Children'' is ''six'' {{BFS}}s in one.
* {{Bishonen}}: Cloud is quite pretty for a man. In the game's infamous Wall Market sequence, a cross-dressing Cloud can beat out Tifa and Aerith as Don Corneo's girl of choice for the night.
* BladeSpam: Omnislash, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, in a series of fifteen sword attacks.
* BlowYouAway: Finishing Touch, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, launches a tornado at opponents.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Downplayed but present, Sephiroth is implied to be subtlety influencing him throughout the game to make Cloud do what he wants.
* BreakTheHaughty: As a child, Cloud avoided the other village children because he thought of himself as superior to them and like most boys his age, tried to become a hero like his idol Sephiroth by joining SOLDIER and was promptly rejected. However, it seemed like his claims of superiority was more a case of him trying to justify his own loneliness.
* CatchPhrase: "Not interested", repeated several times in the original game, usually as a choice in dialogue trees. In the expanded universe it's used much less often, but still pops up enough to count. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Bartz]] lampshades it in ''Dissidia'' when he mimics Cloud's voice in a match with him.
* ChickMagnet: [[GirlNextDoor Tifa]], [[MysticalWaif Aerith]], and [[MauveShirt Jessie]] have feelings for him. If you choose [[ShipTease Yuffie]] as the Golden Saucer date, she kisses Cloud on the cheek on the gondola ride.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: His relationship with Tifa, who also grew up in Nibelheim with him. Because both of them CannotSpitItOut though, it's ambiguous how far the romantic angle goes.
* ClassicalAntiHero: Crippling self-doubt and insecurity, tons of angst and guilt, and as a kid he was a loser and a failure.
* ColonyDrop: Meteorain, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, shoots small meteors at opponents.
* {{Courier}}: His career after the events of the main game; he became a deliveryman that traveled the planet.
* CrashIntoHello: Granted it was a roof, not a person, but it's how Cloud and Aerith got formally acquainted; he crashed through the roof of her church and woke up on the flowerbed with her standing over him.
* DeadpanSnarker: Cloud has a very dry wit and tends to make small quips completely straightfaced. Under his false persona in ''VII'' wasn't as deadpan as later, but more snarky.
-->'''Rufus''': Cloud, you're an ex-SOLDIER, aren't you? \\
'''Cloud''': In my head.
* DeadPersonConversation: With [[SpiritAdvisor Aerith]] in ''Advent Children''.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: Cloud's essentially been copying an ''actual'' SOLDIER named Zack through most of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''.
* DeclarationOfProtection:
** He [[ThePromise promises]] such to Tifa, and later becomes Aerith's bodyguard.
** In ''Advent Children'', he feels this way towards his entire family, which causes problems as his track record of success isn't very impressive.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Cloud ranges from self-doubting and insecure AntiHero to a cocky and confident {{Badass}}, sometimes in the same appearance. Justified due to the two or three personas he's adopted and come to terms with, an entirely consistent personality is probably not going to result from this.
* {{Determinator}}: Cloud ''never'' gives up, even when all the odds are against him. Take the Nibelheim Incident; even with no powers or procedures yet performed to make him stronger, Cloud charges Sephiroth, widely considered the most powerful man on the planet, head-on. And even when impaled on his sword and hoisted into the air, he finds the strength to overpower him and turn the tables. {{Badass}} indeed.
* DisappearedDad: Was raised by his mother instead.
* DisguisedInDrag: The infamous crossdressing quest in Wall Market.
* DoomedHometown: In the backstory, Nibelheim was destroyed several years ago.
* FakeMemories: Though it's something of a journey to figure out how and why he has them.
* {{Flanderization}}: If you haven't played the original game, you'll be surprised at how ''non'' angsty Cloud was. He ''did'' angst and express hesitation and insecurities, but only at key points and for good reasons, and at the end of the game seemed perfectly fine. In his appearances since, he has been an angsty brooding loner. SquareEnix states outright in ''The Reunion Files'' (basically the ''Ultimania'' for ''Advent Children'') that they regressed his personality back to a mindset they thought fans would be more familiar with, making this a case of PanderingToTheBase. In all fairness, it'd be downright absurd to think he'd just be emotionally fixed by the end of the game. Anyone who might go through what Cloud went through might need a few years to fully reconcile. Like 30 of them.
* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', an obscure fighting game made by Square in late 1990s.
* HeroesPreferSwords: {{BFS}}'s are preferred, although he does have a few katanas. As an infantryman, however, he favored an [[CoolGun assault rifle]] and [[DualTonfas police baton]].
* ILetGwenStacyDie: He stood helpless and watched as Sephiroth killed Aerith. More in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'' than in the game.
* IllGirl: Well, Ill Guy. In ''Advent Children'', Cloud is suffering from Geostigma which also causes some ugly seizures. He was also afflicted with Mako Poisoning in the game.
* JackOfAllStats: Cloud has all around good stats and can fight with magic or weapons as needed.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Subverted. Cloud isn't actually a jerk, his personality created after the events leading up to Zack's death is.
* LightningBruiser: Cloud moves fast and has enough HP and stamina to take a good hit, and when he hits back it hurts a lot. Spin-offs like ''Dissidia'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' instead depict him as a MightyGlacier, moving and attacking slowly but doing a lot of damage.
* LonersAreFreaks: As a child he was anti-social and constantly got into fights because other kids picked on him.
* MeaningfulName: Cloud Strife, reflecting his inner turmoil and troubled life.
* TheMentallyDisturbed: Cloud's an emotionally fragile young man who remembers things that never happened, suffers from bouts of depression, has a history of shutting down when life becomes too much to handle, and has serious problems with acknowledging his own self-worth. In spite of this, he soldiers on, and manages to overcome or mitigate many of these issues.
* MommasBoy: Her death at the hands of Sephiroth is one of his (many) grudges against him.
* {{Mook}}: In his backstory he was just another one of the Shinra guards the party guns down the entire game.
* MrFanservice: Well-built, handsome, heroic, and very badass.
* OccultBlueEyes: They also glow because of his Mako infusion; this is a mark of all members of SOLDIER.
* OnlyICanKillHim: Spin-offs seem to give him this role regarding Sephiroth, who shrugs off beatings from the [[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Warrior of Light]] or [[KingdomHearts Sora]].
* ParentalSubstitute: To Denzel. In ''Advent Children'', he even becomes a DisappearedDad.
* PromotionToParent: Raises Marlene and Denzel with Tifa after the events of original game.
* TheQuietOne: On his own Cloud is a fairly shy and silent figure.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Initially, what draws Aerith to Cloud is his resemblance to Zack.
* RightHandedMirror: To Sephiroth. Both are the result of experimentation with Mako and Jenova cells, but while right-handed Cloud regains his sanity and becomes a hero, Sephiroth descends into an OmnicidalManiac.
* SuperSoldier: SOLDIER was comprised of humans who were exposed to large amounts of raw Mako (giving them their distinctive GlowingEyes) and, in some cases, injected with Jenova cells, granting them superhuman strength, speed, and agility. While Cloud was never in SOLDIER, Hojo's experiments were similar, if not identical, to the process of creating a SOLDIER.
* SwordBeam: Blade Beam, one of his {{Limit Break}}s, fires a blast of energy from his sword.
* TakeUpMySword: When Zack dies, Cloud takes his sword and keeps his dreams of honor and heroism alive in his own way.
* ThisLoserIsYou: He was a {{Deconstruction}} of RPG protagonists at the time.
* TomatoInTheMirror: See DeadPersonImpersonation. When he finds out the truth he does not take it well at all.
* TooManyBelts: In ''Advent Children''. The retconned SOLDIER 1st Class costumes from ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' that he wears has two.
* {{Troll}}: Through dialogue options, it's very possible to make Cloud give some pretty dickish responses purely for the lulz of it all. He even appears to be this canonically, as shown from his frequent teasing of Barret during the Midgar section of the game. It gets dropped for the most part after he undergoes his HeroicBSOD, which indicates that it may well have been another element he picked up from Zack.
* TroubledButCute: He wears all black and copes with a lot of mental issues, but is very good-looking and has a good heart.
* UnknownRival: Hojo doesn't remember who he is when they have their last battle.
-->'''Cloud:''' At least remember my name!
* WeaponTwirling: As part of his victory animation, his spins his sword in the air before shoulder it over his back.
* WhatTheHellHero He beats up Aerith in the Temple of the Ancients, causing her to leave the party. Granted, he was being controlled, but still...
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A certain, ahem, [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_Cloud_Artwork.png "noble incident"]].
* WouldHitAGirl Twice with Aerith. Once in the Temple of the Ancients, second in Forgotten Capital, where she was praying. With a {{BFS}}. Neither time intentional, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy he was a puppet]].
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In ''Advent Children'' where he has contracted the fatal Geostigma.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Barret Wallace]]
!! Barret Wallace
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barretwallace_7673.png]]
->''"You gotta understand somethin'... I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene... but I gotta fight. 'Cause if I don't... the planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'!"''
-->Voiced by: Masahiro Kobayashi (Japanese), Creator/BeauBillingslea (English)
The boisterous leader of AVALANCHE, a group of eco-terrorists trying to prevent Shinra from draining the planet's life energy in the name of profit. His cause is actually a cover for a personal vendetta against Shinra. He later comes to terms with his grudge and accepts responsibility for the damage AVALANCHE caused, vowing to save the planet the right way. He lost his right hand in a Shinra attack and had it replaced with a variable prosthetic
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
* AngryBlackMan: Especially early in the game, he has a very short temper. It's {{justified|Trope}} later on in the game when Barret explains just ''why'' he's so angry to begin with.
* AntiHero: He's frequently angry and fighting for personal reasons, but deep down he's a good person.
* ArmCannon: Although some of his weapons turn it into a PowerFist instead.
* ArtificialLimbs: His gun arm is able to transform into a robotic hand in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
* {{Badass}}: He's a muscular black man who walks around shirtless and fights with an ArmCannon. His ultimate weapon can hit the damage cap the easiest out of the game's weapons.
* BigGood: From ''his'' perspective in the beginning of the game, given that he's leading AVALANCHE and giving orders to Cloud & co. He gradually comes to realize that maybe he wasn't quite as noble as he thought.
* BoisterousBruiser: CharacterDevelopment turns Barret into one of these later on. He's still emotional and outgoing, but no longer quite as trigger-happy.
* CaptainErsatz:
** He looks and acts ''very'' similar to Creator/MrT. When he got a voice actor for later appearances he even talks like him.
** The audiobooks for ''On the Way to a Smile'' has him sound more like Chi [=McBride=].
* ChainsawGood: One of his gun-arms is a chainsaw attachment.
* ClusterFBomb: Not exactly an F-bomb, but Barret is very prone to cursing up a storm when he flies into a rage.
* EnergyBall: Big Shot and Mindblow fire orbs of energy. Big Shot is orange, Mindblow is blue.
* HandicappedBadass: He's missing his right arm, but he makes it work by replacing it with an ArmCannon and kicking ass with it.
* HotBlooded: Barret is very open and eager in his desire to topple Shinra.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's angry and foul-mouthed, but is a good man deep down.
* KillSat: Satellite Beam brings down a laser strike from above.
* MightyGlacier: He's slow and not very good with magic, but he can take a tremendous amount of punishment and is very good at blowing things up with his gun weapons.
* MoralityPet: His daughter, Marlene, is the only thing keeping him from going off the deep end. Barret is aware of this trope and notes if he didn't have Marlene motivating him to be a good dad for her, he may have become something worse a long time ago.
* MoralMyopia: Initially, he doesn't care about the lives of many people besides Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie (who all die really early on) and Marlene and Tifa. He fights Shinra primarily out of revenge and his self-righteous SavingTheWorld claims are just his self-justification. This would count as MoralDissonance, if Cait Sith didn't [[WhatTheHellHero call him out for it later on,]] and later his acknowledgement that it was wrong.
* MoreDakka: Angermax fires 18 attacks from his gun-arm at random enemies. Numerous strategies rely on maximizing his power for 18 hits of 9,999 damage, making it the most powerful attack in the game against single foes.
* OneHitKO: Hammer Blow has a chance to instantly kill the target.
* PapaWolf: You do not hurt Marlene, unless you want the full fury of his rage brought down on you.
* ParentalSubstitute: He's not really Marlene's dad, but acts as such.
* PermaStubble: Has a very short beard to compliment his action-oriented occupation.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: ''Advent Children'' prettied him up somewhat. And gave him ''a fishnet vest.''
* RocketPunch: His JokeWeapon replaces his gun-arm with a giant red fist.
* ScaryBlackMan: He's large and intimidating in addition to having a gun attached to his arm.
* ShootTheTelevision: An NPC mentions that he once did this using his gun arm with a Sector 7 television monitor that was displaying a broadcast by President Shinra. He didn't win any fans that day, as the only other television in Sector 7 was in AVALANCHE headquarters.
* SirSwearsALot: Alongside Cid, most of the cursing in the game comes from him.
* TheSouthpaw: Necessary, his right hand is an assault weapon.
* SwissArmyWeapon: His gun-arm has numerous different attachments besides guns.
* ThisIsADrill: One of his gun-arms attaches a drill to his arm.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Grenade Bomb fires a grenade at opponents.
* WalkingTheEarth: Novellas set after the game say that he grew restless living in Edge and set out into the world to find a way to atone for his actions in AVALANCHE. He seems to have settled on "help fix the mess he created" as of ''Advent Children''.
* WaveMotionGun: His final Limit Break Catastrophe has him leap into the air and fire a ''massive'' laser at opponents.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: At first. He later acknowledges that his actions might not have been best.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: His solution to most problems seems to involve MoreDakka.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tifa Lockhart]]
!! Tifa Lockhart
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tifalockhart_6982.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tifalockhartac_8199.png[[/labelnote]] to see Tifa in her ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
->''"Uniforms, soldiers, war. I hate 'em all. They take away the things and people you love... I wish they'd all disappear."''
-->Voiced by: Ayumi Ito (Japanese), Creator/RachaelLeighCook (English)
A member of AVALANCHE and Cloud's childhood friend. She also owns a bar called "7th Heaven" in Sector 7 of Midgar. Though she realizes something is wrong with Cloud's memories she doesn't speak up until it's too light. After helping reform Cloud's true self she tries to support him and encourage him to find his own path that he wants.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Final Fantasy Dissidia Duodecim]]'', ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* ActionGirl: Tifa's far better with her fists than with magic.
* ActionMom: Due to her ParentalSubstitute relationship with Denzel.
* {{Badass}}: She beats up enemies such as giant robots and mutated monsters with martial arts.
* BadassAdorable: Whenever she goes deredere to Cloud, which is... damn near the whole time.
* BadassDamsel: Despite being able to kick her fair share of ass, Tifa still needs to be saved by Cloud now and then.
* BadassNormal: Tifa doesn't have an ancient heritage, or Mako in her veins, but she can still keep up with the best of them.
* BareFistedMonk: Her combat style is based on this character class.
* BareYourMidriff: Her [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII in-game]] outfit bares a lot of midriff. Her ''Advent Children'' one only shows a sliver.
* TheBartender: Tifa tends bar at 7th Heaven.
* BoobsOfSteel: Big boobs? Check. Strongest female? Check. The Trope picture? Check.
* BrownEyes: One of the most level-headed and down to earth party members for it.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Does as much damage with her fists as others with actual weapons. Then there's her LimitBreak which [[SerialEscalation continually gets bigger and bigger until her fist causes an explosion]].
* TheChick: By being TheHeart of the team that keeps them together.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: She and Cloud grew up together in Nibelheim and end up living together as a family after the game's events.
* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: In ''Case of Tifa'', she asks Cloud if he loves her while he's sleeping. Her voice wakes him up, and she quickly changes the question.
* CuteBruiser: Possibly the cutest member of the team, and rivals Cloud as the physically strongest.
* DangerouslyShortSkirt: Tifa does a lot of flips and kicks wearing a very short black miniskirt. In ''Advent Children'' she switches to ModestyShorts under a skirt-like apron.
* DesperationAttack: Two of her weapons have damage formulas that boost her attacking power when she's at low HP, has status ailments inflicted, and/or allies are KO'd.
* DistressedDamsel: On occasion, interestingly it is her romantic fantasy to be the damsel in distress that a dashing hero will save.
* GirlNextDoor: Lived next door to Cloud pre-series.
* GirlyBruiser: She is feminine, yes, but she is the strongest of the female party members.
* GlassCannon: Tifa can deal out a lot of punishment in a fight, but she has a harder time taking it.
* GuestFighter: Cameos as a playable character in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''.
* HairColorDissonance: In some depictions her hair is light brown, while other times it's such a dark brown it looks black.
* MamaBear: To Marlene and Denzel. Threatening either of them will result in a brutal pounding into the floor boards.
* MeaningfulName: Tifa ''Lockhart'' has a habit of keeping secrets locked away inside her heart.
* MeteorMove: Her Meteor Strike Limit Break has her lift a foe into the air and hurl them to the ground.
* MissingMom: Her mother died when Tifa was eight years old.
* MsFanservice: Short skirt, big boobs, long legs, Tifa ticks all the boxes.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: Her arms are thin but her punches are powerful!
* NoPronunciationGuide: Some fans are unclear on whether to pronounce her name with a short "I" or a long "E". Officially, the latter is correct.
* PowerFist: Some of her gloves add claws or other attachments to make her blows stronger.
* PromotionToParent: To Marlene and Denzel, although she could be viewed as more of a ParentalSubstitute to the former.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Beat Rush is a quick punch combo.
* RapunzelHair: It even had to be cut to help the animation along in ''Advent Children''.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Dark haired and very pale skin, likely to show her status as a YamatoNadeshiko.
* ShesGotLegs: Her miniskirt shows off a lot of leg.
* {{Shoryuken}}: Dolphin Blow is an uppercut with a blast of water.
* ShrinkingViolet: Can be very shy in regards to her feelings.
* SilkHidingSteel: More like 'Steel Hiding Silk' as she looks like a BikerBabe, runs a bar, and fights with her bare hands, but inside she's more feminine than Aerith with her DistressedDamsel fantasy with Cloud, her domestic skills, and role as TeamMom in the main group and AVALANCHE.
* SmurfettePrinciple: If you don't get Yuffie, after Aerith dies Tifa is your only girl.
* SupremeChef: Although it is an InformedAttribute since you never see her cook, characters comment that she's good at it.
* TeamMom: To AVALANCHE. The home base chef who worries about them.
* ThirdPersonSeductress: Very curvy and shapely, wears skimpy clothing, and beats up enemies with her bare hands.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Seems to be a Tomboy yet plays the Girly Girl to Aerith's Tomboy. [[SubvertedTrope Rare spin of traditional character design.]] [[CharacterizationMarchesOn The two have since swapped roles]] for the expanded universe and spin-offs -- Tifa isn't a traditional tomboy, but is still depicted as much more of one than Aerith is now, who in turn is more girly.
* UnwantedHarem: {{Gender inverted|Trope}} version. Tifa was very popular with the guys, Cloud included, in Nibelheim, but she wasn't romantically interested in any of them.
* WolverineClaws: Several of her weapons have three claws attached to the back.
* WomanInBlack: She's got the outfit in ''Advent Children'', but (as with everything involving Tifa and appearance-based personality cues) subverted to hell and back. She's not scary and menacing, she's kindhearted and sweet.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Let's see here, devotion to the man she loves, check. Good domestic skill, check. TeamMom, check. Iron heart that is strong enough to snap TheHero out of his HeroicBSOD, check please. She has everything except a connection to [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Wutai/Japan]] and the attached cultural trappings.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Aerith Gainsborough]]
!! Aerith (Aeris) Gainsborough
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px-Aerithsface-1.jpg]]
->''"Just hang in there. Someday we'll look back at these hard times and laugh."''
-->Voiced by: Creator/MaayaSakamoto (Japanese), Mandy Moore[=/=]Mena Suvari[=/=]Andrea Bowen(English)
A young woman who sells flowers for a living in the slums of Midgar. Her years on the streets have given her a outgoing, street-smart but caring attitude. She is the last living Cetra, a precursor race who were driven to extinction by JENOVA. Having dated Zack Fair for a number of months, she finds herself attracted to his shadow in Cloud. Her independent nature leads to disaster when she decides to take the burden of defeating Sephiroth all by herself, abandoning the party and traveling to the Forgotten Capital alone. This leaves her vulnerable to attack, and [[ItWasHisSled she is killed by Sephiroth]].
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts''. "Dissidia 012"
* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: After Zack has been missing for four years, Aerith has mostly moved on from him; however there are some hints that she was never as over her FirstLove as she would like.
* ActionGirl: She's pretty hands on for a WhiteMagicianGirl.
* AncientArtifact: The White Materia her mother gave her, which makes her the only person able to cast [[HolyHandGrenade Holy]].
* {{Big Damn Hero|es}}ine: And after her own death. Repeatedly.
* BigGood: She arguably evolves into this role posthumously near the end of the original game, and ''definitely'' plays this in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]].'' Being so powerful she can command the Lifestream to help protect the planet, the other heroes view her as watching over them and helping them from afar.
* BraidsOfAction: Bouts of being the DistressedDamsel aside, Aerith lives by the BigDamnHeroes trope and is no stranger to combat.
* TheCameo: An alternate version of her appears in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
* TheChick: Shares this role with Tifa, she's similarly kind and caring and at times gives the party the strength to keep fighting.
* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: The game's somewhat infamous love triangle comes to a crashing close when one of the two ladies involved gets a sword through the gut.
* DistressedDamsel: A bit pluckier than the norm, although there's still a whole level dedicated to rescuing her. Not to mention at the beginning of the game, when you have to save her from Shinra soldiers by crushing them with barrels (although you do have the option of making her fight them herself).
* DoomedByCanon: Contrary to all rumors of ways to save her or revive her, when the credits roll at the original game's end, Aerith will not be there to see it.
* DoomedMoralVictor: She succeeded in calling Holy and giving the planet the chance to save itself from Meteor, but it attracted Sephiroth's notice and cost her her life.
* {{Flanderization}}: In her original game, Aerith was pure hearted, spiritual and caring, but was also stubborn, flirty, independent and witty. However, SE has ramped up the IncorruptiblePurePureness, emphasizing her connection to the planet and de-emphasizing her more headstrong character traits in favor of generic sweetness and innocence. Her ''Dissidia 012'' Ultimania profile describes her as having "[[TheIngenue the innocence of a little girl]]". This is the same woman that threatened to ''[[GroinAttack rip off]]'' a mafia don's balls.
* GreenEyes: Emphasizing her spiritual nature and powerful bond with the planet.
* HairDecorations: Her famous hair ribbon adds a lot to her cuteness.
* HalfHumanHybrid: Her father was a normal human while her mother was a Cetra, but this has little bearing on her status as an Ancient.
* HappilyAdopted: By Elmyra, who actually finds little!Aerith by the side of her dying mother Ifalna in the local train sation, and takes her in to fulfill Ifalna's dying wish.
* HartmanHips: Her bust is nowhere near as large as Tifa's, and it's hard to tell if ShesGotLegs because she wears full-length dresses. However, Aerith still has [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110227161509/finalfantasy/images/9/93/Aeris-FFVIIArt.png her]] [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110224134016/finalfantasy/images/3/37/Aerith-DissidiaAlt1.png womanly]] [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110224033548/finalfantasy/images/9/9f/Itadaki-Aerith2.png attributes]].
* HealingHands: Her Healing Wind, Pulse of Life and Great Gospel Limit Breaks all restore HP to the party.
* HerHeartWillGoOn: Following Zack's disappearance she remained loyal to his memory for a time, but eventually moved on with her life.
* IconicItem: In every appearance, even in concept art, Aerith has her hair ribbon. ''Crisis Core'' takes time to specifically show where she got it and why she continues to wear one years later. The White Materia also serves as one to a lesser degree.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: She meets her end when Sephiroth stabs the Masamune through her stomach.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Compared to other party members, Aerith doesn't have many character flaws, being good-hearted and noble from start to finish. All that change is she comes to terms with her heritage and embraces the legacy she's been left.
* InnocentFlowerGirl: But not ''too'' innocent. In the Wall Market section, she selects what is implied to be an incredibly provocative red dress for herself, and it's her idea in the first place to have Cloud dress in drag to get into Don Corneo's mansion. She seems to actually ''want'' Don Corneo to pick her as his girl, complimenting him on his taste if he does. In contrast to Tifa and Cloud who are just doing it for the mission, Aerith has no qualms at all and evidently finds the whole thing fun, irrespective of the threat.
* IWillWaitForYou: Subverted, she told this to Zack in their last phone conversation, but not knowing what happened to him after four years with no word, she said she was moving on in her last letter.
* KillTheCutie: The sweetest and most loving party member is the one among them who dies.
* TheLancer: Early on, her selfless and spiritual nature contrasts Cloud's JerkWithAHeartOfGold ex-SOLDIER. Later on her growing acceptance of her Cetra heritage make her a foil to Cloud's rising doubts over his identity.
* LastOfHisKind: Aerith is the last known Ancient in the entire world.
* LittleDeadRidingHood: She's the only party member aside from Cait Sith to wear red, marking her for death.
* LovingAShadow: Initially interested in Cloud because of his resemblance to Zack, her first boyfriend. And that they both [[MeetCute fell through the church roof]] while she was tending the flowers and wearing the same uniform. However, getting her on the date scene will have her admit that she would like for Cloud to open up to her so she can know the [[{{Foreshadowing}} real him]].
* MagicalNativeAmerican[=/=]SpaceJews: A fantasy themed combination of the two. For the former, her Cetra heritage gives her an innate connection to the planet and makes her more inclined to use magic than normal humans. For the latter, the Cetra were wandering nomads seeking "the Promised Land". Note also Aerith's curly hair.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: The spin-offs almost turn her into a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, what with her comments that she's afraid of the open sky and she can hear the wind calling her name. And let's not forget that ''she'' was the one who suggested Cloud [[WholesomeCrossdresser cross-dress]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext to save Tifa...]]
* MeaningfulName: Aerith's name was created to resemble and sound like the English word Earth referencing her connection to the planet as well as adding contrast to the sky based name Cloud.
* MessianicArchetype: The last of her kind, born of a union between a human and another race, spiritually enlightened, becomes a willing martyr and dies to save the planet.
* MyGirlBackHome: She's the only reason Zack decided to return to Midgar.
* MysticalWaif: This young girl is the guardian of Holy, the ultimate protective magic that can save the planet.
* TheParalyzer: Seal Evil paralyzes enemies.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Her pink dress, and many of her outfits in spin-offs, are pink.
* PlotlineDeath: The infamous FMV sequence of Sephiroth stabbing her. In turn has led to jokes asking why Cloud didn't try a Phoenix Down.
* PluckyGirl: She's spirited and playful and never backs down from anyone.
* ThePollyanna: Despite how awful and traumatic her life has been, Aerith remains happy and well-adjusted.
* RedHerring: Aerith is presented as a possible love interest on the first disk to make the PlayerPunch that much harder.
* {{Sacrificial Lion}}ess: Her death sends shockwaves through the party and the fanbase alike, and is a warning Sephiroth is done playing around with you.
* SecondLove: Cloud, as her first love was Zack.
* SummoningArtifact: It's emphasized that with how humanity has turned out, Holy might save the planet but kill off mankind too.
* SimpleStaff[=/=]MagicStaff: She fights with various rods and staves.
* SilkHidingSteel: A sweet and lovely lady who recruits Cloud to be her body guard. Her Holy spell is the only threat to the BigBad's EvilPlan
* SneakyDeparture: She leaves the party to head to the Forgotten City while Cloud is unconscious. Early in the game she defies it; when Cloud tries to pull this trope on her while staying at her home, she slips out herself and intercepts him, demanding to come along.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The original English translation had her name as "Aeris."
* SpiritAdvisor: To Cloud in ''Advent Children''.
* SquishyWizard: The most powerful magically but can't take a hit well.
* StatusBuff: Her Limit Break Fury Brand [[CursedWithAwesome inflicts Fury status]] on her allies and and fills their Limit Bars.
* StreetSmart: "I was raised in the slums. I'm used to danger."
* TheTease: She's rather flirtatious and open with her interest in Cloud.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Has the definitive attitude of a tomboy, [[SubvertedTrope sharply contrasting her appearance, personality, hobbies, weapon, and limits]].
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Cheerful and loving, all the party adores her, and she's the only one of them who isn't some shade of AntiHero. Yeah, she was doomed from the start.
* WhiteMagicianGirl: Although with the Materia system, she easily becomes a RedMage.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Looks the part well, but is more rebellious and flirty than the standard. Nor does she have the cultural baggage assiociated with [[FantasyCounterPartCulture Wutai/Japan]]. OTOH, she plays the trope straighter in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Red XIII]]
!! Red XIII (real name: Nanaki)
[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px-Red_XIII_2007_version-1.jpg]]
->''"What a fascinating story..."''
-->Voiced by: Masachika Ichimura (Japanese), Creator/LiamOBrien (English)
A strange creature who joins Cloud's group after being rescued from the Shinra HQ. Red XIII was the name he received as a specimen designation while held captive and experimented upon by Professor Hojo. Even though he is 48 in human years, his age is comparable to around 15 to 16 years old by his own species' standards and is very wise. He fights alongside Cloud and his allies to fulfill his duty to the Planet to defend it as a warrior.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
* CartoonCreature: The series never assigns a name to Red's species, which combines various feline and canine traits. Characters occasionally refer to him as lion-like, but his association with the moon and howling to express himself is more like a wolf.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Although he obviously wasn't meant to ''look'' like him, Tetsuya Nomura imagined that Red XIII would be voiced by Creator/SeanConnery. When he had a spoken line in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', it was done as an imitation of Sean Connery.
* DemotedToExtra: He appears considerably less in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'' than the other characters, and is only seen at the very last cutscene in ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''. According to the makers, this is because his fur is a pain to animate well.
* HappilyAdopted: He views Bugenhagen as his grandfather, since he raised him after Red's real parents were gone.
* IncendiaryExponent: His tail is constantly alight with a flame on the tip.
* IntellectualAnimal: He is very wise and intelligent, more than most of the human characters in the game actually.
* JackOfAllStats: He's fast and good with both physical and magical attacks, and has decent HP.
* LifeDrain: Blood Fang absorbs HP and MP from enemies.
* LightEmUp: Stardust Ray bombards enemies with stars of light.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', he was meant to sound like Sean Connery.
* ParentalAbandonment: His mother [[MissingMom died protecting Cosmo Canyon]], and he believed his father [[DisappearedDad left her alone to die]] [[YoureNotMyFather because he was afraid of fighting]]. Turns out he didn't run away but went fighting the monsters that were attacking from behind; he won but was [[TakenForGranite petrified]]. And he is still [[AndIMustScream alive and conscious]].
* RedHerring: When the group notes the Sephiroth Clones have numbers tattooed on them, Red begins to worry if his number "XIII" means he's one as well and if he'll also begin to lose his mind. But he doesn't, and WordOfGod says he wasn't a member of the Sephiroth Clone project, the number was assigned to him for a different reason.
* StatusBuff: Lunatic High and Howling Moon grant status buffs on him and/or his allies.
* TalkingAnimal: His ability to talk stands out to the party and freaks them out when he reveals it.
* TeenGenius: Despite being a teenager by his species' standards, he's the wisest and most intelligent member of the party.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Until he befriends [[TrueCompanions Cloud and the others]], his life is one of misery. The branding of "XIII" marked his capture by Shinra when things got even worse.
* WaveMotionGun: His ultimate Limit Break, Cosmos Memory, blasts enemies with a giant beam of orange energy.
* YouAreInCommandNow: He becomes the leader of Cosmo Canyon after his grandfather's death.
* YouAreNumberSix: Hojo tattooed "XIII" on his leg to mark him as one of his experiments. Red tells the party when he joins them that "Red XIII" is a name that holds no meaning to him, and they can call him that or anything else as they wish.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cait Sith]]
!! Cait Sith
[[quoteright:230:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px-CaithDirge-1.jpg]]
->''"There's plenty of stuffed toys like my body around, but there's only one me!"''
-->Voiced by: Creator/HideoIshikawa (Japanese), Greg Ellis (English)
A cat riding a giant stuffed toy Moogle, working as a fortune-teller in the Gold Saucer. He is really a puppet controlled from far away by Reeve, Shinra's head of Urban Development. Even though Reeve works with the evil Shinra, he develops a keen interest in saving the planet. He is useful to the party, as he knows all about the Shinra's plans. Despite his playful and carefree persona in the form of Cait Sith, Reeve is actually a sombre and serious man, though he does harbor a good heart with a natural worry for others.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' (as a summon).
* AmbiguousRobots: The series flip-flops between Cait Sith being a stuffed toy, a robot with fur, or a combination of both. It's likewise not clear how much autonomy he has, if any.
* CatGirl: The "Lucky Girl" limit break is a picture of a cat girl in a FurBikini.
* CatsAreMean: Double subverted. He has a very cheery personality but is an extreme JerkAss in the beginning. Later, it's completely subverted.
* DeathFromAbove: His Toy Box Limit Break drops a random object on enemies to crush them, including [[ColonyDrop meteors]].
* ExpendableClone: Reeve is implied to have several Cait Sith robots on standby for usage if one is lost or damaged. We see two in ''VII'', and in ''Dirge of Cerberus'' one introduces itself as "Number 6".
* TheGambler: His Limit Breaks are themed after dice and slot machines, and you recruit him in the Gold Saucer, a hot tourist spot.
* HeadPet: He rides on the head of his Moogle toy.
* HeelFaceTurn: Goes from being a mouthy Shinra-supporting JerkAss to a good guy who pulls his weight to save the planet.
* HealingHands: [[MagicDance Mog Dance]].
* {{Jerkass}}: He eventually gets his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]]. And then loses the {{Jerkass}} part almost entirely.
* LuckBasedMission: His Slots and Dice both do random things.
* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Transform
* TheMole: Cait Sith is actually controlled by Reeve of Shinra, but still [[ReverseMole decides to remain with you]] once discovered. The trope is later inverted when he essentially becomes a spy for AVALANCHE within Shinra, despite starting the other way around.
* NoPronunciationGuide: His name seems easy to pronounce, but it's actually the name of a Gaellic mythological creature pronounced 'Kett Shee'.
* OneHitKO: Game Over kills all enemies, bypassing death protection.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: This was how Reeve is exposed in the Japanese version of the game. Reeve speaks with a Kanto dialect and Cait Sith with a Kansai dialect. When stressed due to Hojo taking over the Mako Cannon, Reeve inadvertently speaks to Scarlet and Heidegger in Kansai, then Cait Sith speaks to Cloud and the others in Kanto. Thus they realize that he's Reeve.
* RandomizedDamageAttack: Cait Sith's Dice LimitBreak, which rolls several dice and then inflicts damage equal to the result multiplied by 20 to one enemy.
* ReverseMole: He spies on AVALANCHE for Shinra, but comes to sympathize them and then starts feeding them Shinra info instead.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: He's an anthropomorphic cat that rides on a Moogle. It's hard to get cuter than that.
* SquishyWizard: He has high magic stats, but his defenses and HP are poor.
* StatusBuff: Lucky Girl makes all the party's attacks critical hits.
* TeamPet: Probably the only one who has their ''own'' TeamPet (his giant moogle).
* TokenGoodTeammate: Prior to his HeelFaceTurn was the only executive who actually gave a rats ass about the common people.
* TotalPartyKill: Death Joker, often the result of a failed attempt at Game Over. Bypasses death protection too.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: When they initially find out what he really is, they initially keep him around because Reeve is holding Marlene hostage. Shortly after he performs a HeroicSacrifice at the Temple of the Ancients to get them the Black Materia, earning their trust for real.
* WhatTheHellHero: Calls out Barret for his bombing missions from earlier in the game. It comes off as somewhat hypocritical, however, since he's... y'know, with the Shinra, but Reeve was never crazy about the killing of innocents to begin with.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cid Highwind]]
!! Cid Highwind
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cidhighwind_434.png]]
->''"Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn TEA!"''
-->Voiced by: Kazuyuki Yama (Japanese), Chris Edgerly (English)
A gruff airship pilot with dreams of going into space. He is the most uncouth of the protagonists; he constantly swears and loses his temper, and chain-smokes cigarettes. Despite this, he has a good heart, and is even voted temporary leader of the party at one point. He fits into the archetype of a father type character.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts,'' minus the swearing.
* AcePilot: His backyard is fully of flying ships he's piloted, and he commands the party's airships.
* ArtisticAge: He is really 32 years old. You wouldn't think so considering his appearance in the game. In ''Advent Children'', he looked more his age.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite the fact that he verbally abuses his girlfriend, Shera, constantly throughout the game, he really does deeply care for her. He even names his new airship after her, and finally marries her throughout ''Advent Children'' and ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus.''
* {{Badass}}: He's the game's Dragoon character, so it comes with the territory. In ''Advent Children'', he made Bahamut SIN flinch by stabbing it on the head!
* BadassBookworm: He doesn't show too much of it, but it requires a lot of patience, technical knowledge, and general intelligence to fly and maintain any aircraft. Cid's seen to be competent with light aircraft, a zepellin-like airship, and a jet-type one, and was he hand picked to be the world's first astronaut and man in space.
* BadassNormal: One of the most prominent examples. He doesn't have innate magical powers, an assault weapon for a hand, combat training, or genetic enhancements. He's got a home made spear and dynamite.
* BerserkButton: Cid's pretty protective of his toys, such as the Tiny Bronco and the Highwind. He's also extremely upset about Shinra's decision to cancel its space program.
* BladeOnAStick: Fights with various types of spears and lances.
* BoisterousBruiser: One of his reasons for joining the party is because he likes the idea of "numbskulls" fighting Shinra. Plus, [[{{Badass}} he can back every word of his boasts up]].
* ClusterFBomb: He's much worse about this than Barret.
* DeathFromAbove[=/=]JumpPhysics: His Boost Jump, Hyper Jump and Dragon Dive Limit Breaks, where he leaps and descends to attack enemies.
* GogglesDoNothing: Despite wearing a pair of goggles on his head, Cid never pulls them down. Likely they're there to tie into his pilot theme.
* GrumpyOldMan: Well, he's only 32, but that's old by Japanese anime[=/=]video game standards.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: He can pilot almost everything.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He swears, smokes, is verbally abusive to pretty much everybody, but he gave up his dream to save Shera, genuinely tries to make amends to her, fights tooth and nail for the planet, joins the WRO, and gives a passionate speech about the need to protect the planet.
* LeeroyJenkins: He certainly has this attitude, even if he doesn't actually ruin any plans for the party, as shown by his gung-ho attitude about fighting Shinra.
* LifeDrain: Dragon drains HP from enemies to heal him.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: His ultimate Limit Break Highwind has him call in his airship of the same name to fire missiles at the enemy party.
* MythologyGag: He is pretty much a meta-reference to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', from appearance to moves.
* ScienceHero: Openly puts his faith in science, and his piloting skills are vital to the party.
* SeniorSleepCycle: Depicted as having one in-game, apparently as part of his grumpy old man portrayal. When the party is forced to stay at the Ghost Hotel in the Gold Saucer, Cloud's speech apparently puts him to sleep. Later, he is seen napping on the bridge of the Highwind just before Barret declares him to be the new leader. Finally, if the player chooses him to accompany Cloud on a gondola ride at Gold Saucer's Round Square, he will doze throughout the entire ride.
* SirSwearsALot: Whatever cussing doesn't come from Barret likely comes from Cid.
* SpamAttack: Big Brawl is a series of rapid slash attacks.
* SmokingIsCool: Except when it's censored out... and yet still clearly visible.
* TeamDad: He's the oldest of the party and is gruff and rude, but cares for them in his own way.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Dynamite has him throw a stick of dynamite at enemies.
* YouAreInCommandNow: His brief stint as team leader in Disc 2.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Vincent Valentine]]
!! Vincent Valentine
[[quoteright:217:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/resized-vincent_3266.jpg]]
->''"Cool, huh? I guess that's just the way I am... sorry."''
-->Voiced by: Shougo Suzuki (Japanese), Creator/SteveBlum (English)
Main character of ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''. He is a former member of the Turks with a mysterious past that ties him to Cloud and his group.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''
-> Spinoff/other game appearances: ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* AlliterativeName: '''V'''incent '''V'''alentine.
* AlwaysVSexy: Vincent is one of the more alluring and mysterious characters.
* AntiHero: He's shouldering a lot of guilt and is cold and stoic, but he's a good person beneath it and fights for what's right.
* TheAtoner: He fights to redeem himself for his failure to stop Hojo's experiments.
* {{Badass}}: Immensely so. He fights by invoking mutations on himself to turn into hulking monsters.
* BadassCape: His iconic red mantle that he wears over his shoulders.
* BeMyValentine: His name hints to his tragic past and unrequited romance.
* TheBerserker: When he enters his transformations as his Limit Breaks, he becomes uncontrollable for the rest of the battle and attacks until all enemies are dead.
* {{Bishonen}}: Long-haired and fair-skinned.
* BreakoutCharacter: Despite having some of the lowest stats in the game, he has become one of the most popular characters in the series. He was even popular enough to star in his own spinoff title.
* CoolGun: His main weapon and most notably his "Cerberus", a massive Tri-barelled revolver.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: In ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', Vincent pulls off amazing feats of GunFu, SupernaturalMartialArts, and gravity-defying superhuman agility that would make [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] jealous. But only in cutscenes; when you're controlling him, he can't do any of these things, and in fact, he can barely jump.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: To put it mildly. Vincent's past directly connects him to the creation of Sephiroth, something he blames himself for letting happen at Hojo's hands.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Vincent is very quiet and mysterious, and looks plain unsettling.
* FiringOneHanded: All of his weapons work this way, even the rifles!
* FrankensteinsMonster: His Hell Gigas Limit Break, which attacks with [[ShockAndAwe Livewire]] and Gigadunk.
* GuestFighter: Cameos as a fighter in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''.
* GunFu: The spin-offs have established him utilizing this with his handguns.
* GunsAreWorthless: Subverted in the original game. His guns aren't very useful when he uses them to shoot enemies thanks to his low attack, but when he uses them to focus his magic they're very handy indeed, since his magic stat is much better.
* TheGunslinger: In ''Dirge Of Cerberus'', he fights with a variety of firearms and is a crack shot with all of them.
* HockeyMaskAndChainsaw: His Limit Break Hell Masker, with the attacks [[ChainsawGood Splattercombo]] and [[StandardStatusEffects Nightmare]].
* IneffectualLoner: As cool as Vincent is, he keeps to himself thanks to his troubled past and naturally quiet nature.
* LonersAreFreaks: He's naturally antisocial and keeps to himself.
* LoveHurts: He fell in love with Lucrecia, who happened to be in a relationship with [[MadScientist Hojo]]. When Vincent protested Hojo using their child in his experiments, it got him a bullet in the gut for his trouble, and he became an experiment himself.
* MasterOfNone: He had fairly lackluster stats in the original game.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: He looks and acts like a ninja vampire, and can shapeshift into CaptainErsatz forms of famous movie monsters, namely Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, and Jason Vorheez.
* OddFriendship: With Yuffie. Despite polar-opposite personalities, they get along well.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Physically, he looks about 27, but he's chronologically in his early to mid 50s after sealing himself in a coffin.
* OneWingedAngel: In ''Dirge of Cerberus'', he gains control over his transformations and becomes Chaos for the final battle.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can skip recruiting him in ''VII'', but official canon establishes he did join the party.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: His Chaos form is a giant black and red winged demon. In ''VII'' it's his ultimate Limit Break and attacks with [[RazorWings Chaos Saber]] and Satan Slam. ''Dirge of Cerberus'' expanded it into Vincent's SuperpoweredEvilSide that Lucrecia had forced upon him to save his life.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Invoked by his bestial Galian Beast form, which attacks with [[RapidfireFisticuffs Berserk Dance]] and [[PlayingWithFire Beast Flare]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Has crimson eyes. His human model for ''Dirge of Cerberus'' reveals it's their natural color.
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Some of his weapons, most notably the Peacemaker.
* {{Sealed Good in a C|an}}offin: After Hojo was done experimenting on him, Vincent was horrified by what he had become and went to sleep in a coffin in Shinra Manor for years.
* SecretCharacter: Finding him requires a short sidequest to reveal him.
* ShadowArchetype: A heroic version but nonetheless he fits. A brooding loner haunted by the loss of a woman he loved at the hands of his arch-enemy? Vincent is what Cloud might become if he doesn't learn to cope with his issues. WordOfGod shares this viewpoint.
* ShapeShifter: Can change into a wolf, a FrankensteinsMonster, a HockeyMaskAndChainsaw style [[SlasherMovie slasher]], or the bat-winged and positively demonic [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Chaos]] during his {{Limit Break}}s.
* SquishyWizard: He's the most magic-inclined character after Aerith, but his other stats are poor.
* TheStoic: Very calm and not prone to a lot of emotion.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Chaos, a demonic entity sealed inside of him.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Despite being cold and antisocial, Vincent has a wit about him.
* TheUndead: Vincent is, to all intents and purposes, a walking corpse animated only by Chaos. The resemblance to a vampire is purely intentional (although he's actually closer to a zombie when you get right down to it).
* VoluntaryShapeShifting: Zigzagged. He changes form at will, but can't change back until battle ends.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Yuffie Kisaragi]]
!! Yuffie Kisaragi
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuffiekisaragi_1848.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuffiekisaragiac_7891.png[[/labelnote]] to see Yuffie in her ''Advent Children'' attire.]]
->''"I am the champion of the earth and the sky. I am the conqueror of evil. The single white rose of Wutai... Yuffie Kisaragi!"''
-->Voiced by: Creator/YumiKakazu (Japanese), Christy Carlson Romano[=/=]Creator/MaeWhitman (English)
An outlandishly-dressed ninja girl from the Japanese-lookalike town of {{Wutai}}. As a rebellious and cocky tomboy, Yuffie desires to restore her homeland Wutai to the glorious nation it was before being conquered by Shinra. Despite her sometimes obnoxious personality, she is friendly, helpful, and willingly helps the party in their battles.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* ActionGirl: Not quite as much as Tifa, but she can still kick some serious ass.
* AntiHero: She's cheerful and helps the party save the world, but initially joins them for selfish reasons and is overall can be quite a brat at times.
* {{Badass}}: She may not look the traditional part, but she is indeed a ninja and as powerful as demanded. Her personal sidequest has her taking on five {{Duel Boss}}es, ending with her own father, the ruler of Wutai and implied to be one of their strongest ninja. She kicks his ass.
* BadassAdorable: She's a skilled ninja and can fight monsters many times her sizes, and looks so cute while doing it.
* BareYourMidriff: All her outfits across her many appearances show off her navel.
* BrattyHalfPint: In the original game, she can be very loud-mouthed and rude.
* DiagonalCut: Greased Lightning slashes the enemy diagonally and it takes a few seconds before they notice and take damage. They don't actually slide apart though, since it may not always be a fatal attack.
* DishingOutDirt: Landscaper manifests as her sending a shockwave through the dirt to make the ground underneath the enemy party erupt.
* FragileSpeedster: Yuffie's very fast, but when she gets hit, it hurts.
* FuumaShuriken: Her weapon is a giant shuriken.
* GenkiGirl: Is almost eternally energetic, cheerful, and upbeat.
* GlassCannon: Whether throwing her boomerangs or using materia, Yuffie's very good at damaging the enemies. It's when they hit her back that she has problems.
* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''.
* HealingHands: Clear Tranquil heats the party's HP.
* HeirToTheDojo: She's the daughter of the leader of Wutai and his heir to the legacy of ninja the nation prides itself on.
* HiddenDepths:
** She is one of the characters who Cloud can date on the RomanceSidequest, and while not as tender as Tifa or Aerith is rather sweet, and is the only one of the three to kiss him. She also lays into Cait Sith a lot more than the other women when she finds out he's holding Marlene hostage.
** The reason she's obsessed with Materia? She wants the power it holds because she's disgusted with how Wutai went from a respected ninja civilization to a tourist attraction after Shinra conquered it, and wants Materia in the hopes of changing things and maybe restoring some dignity to the town.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As bratty as Yuffie acts, she has a good sense of morals deep down and wants to do the right thing.
* LightEmUp: Gauntlet blasts enemies with a column of light from below.
* LoveableRogue: She's out to steal the party's Materia, but has sympathetic reasons for it and manages to be likable in the meantime.
* {{Ninja}}: Raised in a society of them and is one herself.
* NinjaBrat: She's only 16 during the original game.
* OddFriendship: With Vincent.
* OptionalPartyMember: You can skip recruiting her, but she still has a lot to do in the storyline. This is because the character designers liked her and salvaged a lot of the planned content for her when she and Vincent were moved from mandatory to optional due to time constraints.
* PluckyGirl: Energetic and spirited and always ready to fight for Wutai.
* ThePrankster: She's constantly scheming ways to trick the party out of their Materia, and then to evade them when they chase her to Wutai.
* RebelliousPrincess: Her dad's the lord of Wutai, and he's not at all happy that she ran away from home.
* RunningGag: Her motion sickness is brought up whenever you're on a vehicle.
* ShipTease:
** Out of all the characters you can choose to take on a date to the Gold Saucer, she is the only character who kisses Cloud.
** With Vincent in ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', especially when Vincent seemingly dies taking out Omega. Whether it's because she likes him or is simply concerned because he's a comrade is still open to debate.
* SmallNameBigEgo: She's prone to giving herself grandiose titles and treating herself like a legendary ninja hero. She may be skilled but she's not as great or famed as she pretends.
* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: "Wutai Theft" is the former TropeNamer, though she doesn't fit the actual trope definition. At one point Yuffie swipes all the party's Materia and takes off with it, and you have to track her down and get it back.
* SpamAttack: Bloodfest and Doom of the Living consist of her rapidly hitting enemies with her weapon over and over.
* StickyFingers: She is absolutely obsessed with getting her hands on Materia, no matter the cost.
* {{Tomboy}}: Described as such in the [=FF7=] Ultimania.
* TheTrickster: She's rebellious to her father, treacherous to the party, and does it all with a grin and a wink.
* WaveMotionGun: Her ultimate Limit Break All Creation is a giant purple ray of energy.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: After the team talks her down and finds out why she stole their Materia, they let her back in the group.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: All of her outfits include shorts.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Averted. She's the only one who has a connection to Wutai, yet she is neither polite, domestic, interested in its culture, nor family oriented.
* ZettaiRyouiki: In most of her spin-off appearances, exact grade varies.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Zack Fair]]
!! Zack Fair
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zack_896.png]]
->''"Boy oh boy... the price of freedom is steep."''
-->Voiced by: Creator/KenichiSuzumura (Japanese), Rick Gomez (English)
An energetic SOLDIER that was Cloud's best friend, he accompanied Sephiroth on the Nibelheim mission, where he was critically wounded and turned into a lab experiment for Hojo. Though he escaped several years later and took Cloud with him, he was caught and gunned down by Shinra. The dying Zack entrusted his Buster Sword to Cloud, who inadvertently also assumed a fake identity based on Zack's life and personality. ''Crisis Core'' explores his adventures prior to Nibelheim as he deals with the conspiracies that infested SOLDIER during its glory days.
-> Appears in: ''FFVII'', ''Advent Children'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis''
-> Spinoff appearances/other series appearances: ''KingdomHearts: Birth by Sleep'' as the most adorable hero-in-training ever, ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}''
* TheAce: He's handsome, friendly, and a flirty ladies man, in addition to being a powerful and respected SOLDIER. {{Justified|Trope}}, in that this was intentional to have him contrast sharply with Cloud's ClassicalAntiHero.
* {{Adorkable}}: Zack can be very endearingly awkward at times.
* AllYourPowersCombined[=/=]MegaManning: According to [[AllThereInTheManual the Ultimania guide]], this is how Zack learns his Limit Breaks -- he meets someone, and upon doing so, learns how to copy their Limit Break and modify it to create his own, such as Meteorain->Meteor Shots and Healing Wind->Healing Wave.
* AnimeHair: Zack has a lock of sharply spiked black hair. It changes styles during ''Crisis Core'' to show his growing maturity and aging, but it's still spiky.
* AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]]: He works for Shinra, and helped to end the Wutai War leaving the place in the condition is seen in [=FF7=], but his interests were [[HeroicNeutral starting a new life and protecting Cloud.]] It wasn't until after it became clear that Shinra wasn't going to stop hunting them down that Zack opposed them.
* {{Badass}}: The beginning of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' firmly establishes him as this, and it only gets better from there... up until, [[DoomedByCanon well, you know.]]
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Besides his influence on Cloud's past, Zack was the guy who named the 7th Heaven bar, bought Aerith her iconic hair ribbon and suggested she sell flowers, and is partly responsible for sparking Yuffie's obsession with Materia.
* {{BFS}}: He fights using the Buster Sword. He wields a standard CoolSword before he inherits it.
* {{Bishonen}}: [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Soldier-2nd-Class-Zack-zack-fair-7523031-1024-768.jpg Of course]], after all, he's a SquareEnix protagonist.
* BladeSpam: His Chain Slash and Octaslash DMW attacks are rapid slash combos.
* BreakoutCharacter: Arguably bigger than Vincent. Both got their own spinoff, but not only is Zack's better received, but Zack got the honor even though he only appeared in an optional flashback, as opposed to being a former playable character.
* ChickMagnet: Almost as much as Cloud. Case in point: Aerith ''and'' Cissnei in the same game. Way to go Zack.
* ColonyDrop: Meteor Shots fires meteors at enemies.
* DoomedByCanon: ''Final Fantasy VII'' spoiled his eventual death long before ''Crisis Core'' came out. With Zack's death a pivotal piece of backstory, there was no way he could survive.
* DoomedMoralVictor: Though he defeats Genesis and keeps the pride and honor of SOLDIER alive, he dies defending Cloud from impossible numbers of Shinra forces.
* ForegoneConclusion: Since ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' is a prequel to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and Zack's the hero in the game, it's fairly expected when he dies at the end.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Of Cloud. He remembers him again later in the story, causing him to have a HeroicBSOD, but he gets better.
* {{Genki|Girl}} Guy: He's very energetic and excitable; Angeal has nicknamed him "the puppy" for it. His CharacterDevelopment has him temper it into a more mature and focused type of character without losing his lightheartedness.
* GuestFighter: In ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', he makes a cameo.
* GunshipRescue: His Air Strike DMW attack has Zack call Tseng to bring in a Turk helicopter to unleash machine gun and missiles on enemies.
* HealingHands: Healing Wave fully restores his stats.
* HeroesPreferSwords: He fights exclusively with swords, as with all SOLDIER members.
* InstantRunes: Apocalypse creates a red rune of energy below enemies that shocks them.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold [=/=] {{Troll}}: Implied in the original game and then retconned with ''CrisisCore''. Cloud in the original game could give some pretty dickish responses in the dialogue trees. The game's [[TheReveal Reveal]], where it's learned that he based his {{Badass}} persona on Zack's, seems to indicate that he picked this up from Mr. Fair. ''Crisis Core'', however does away with all of this and writes Zack as a heroic and energetic NiceGuy. WordOfGod and creation materials have given a HandWave that Cloud's fake persona was based on ''his'' image of a SOLDIER rather than specifically Zack.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Zack is always eager to prove himself and fight to do the right thing.
* LastStand: At the end of ''Crisis Core'' he finds himself standing alone against dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Shinra infantry. He recites Angeal's ArcWords and charges in swinging, bringing down all but three before he's too weak to keep standing.
* LimitBreak: His [=DMW=] attacks.
* LoveMakesYouDumb[=/=]LoveMakesYouCrazy: Despite knowing that Shinra is hunting him with orders to kill, he still attempts to return to Midgar, Shinra's headquarters, to see Aerith again.
* ManlyTears: After [[spoiler:Angeal's]] death, he breaks down in the church and sobs while Aerith holds him.
* MeaningfulName: He didn't have a last name until ''Crisis Core'', when he was given the last name "Fair" to invoke the imagery of "fair weather", contrasting Cloud's name.
* MrFanservice: He's handsome and well-built, and has a scene where he walks around on the beach in swim trunks.
* NiceGuy: Zack is everyone's friend and this trope is the reason why, he's just very pleasant and friendly.
* OneManArmy: Being the sole playable character in an Action RPG, Zack racks up a body count in the multiple thousands. Highlighted at the very first mission of the game, where Zack's objective is to storm and capture a Wutai fort by himself. He does it with ease; keep in mind he's still "just" Second Class at this time. A series of missions pits Zack against swarms of Shinra infantryman, culminating in a battle with ''1000'' soldiers.
* PosthumousCharacter: In ''VII'' and beyond, he's long dead.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Rush Assault is a barrage of lightning-fast punches ending with an explosive diving tackle.
* RightHandedMirror: As Cloud is, he is this to Sephiroth. Their backstories and origins are even more similar, but Zack becomes a hero while Sephiroth descends further and further into madness and villainy.
* ScarsAreForever: The X-shaped scar on the lower part of his cheek. [[spoiler:Angeal gave it to him in pushing Zack to kill him.]]
* ShirtlessScene[=/=]SwimsuitScene: The Costa del Sol scene in ''Crisis Core'' features Zack in his swim trunks hanging out at the beach.
* StatusBuff: Lucky Stars makes all his attacks Critical Hits for a time.
* SuperSoldier: As a SOLDIER, he has superior strength, reflexes, healing, stamina, and magic proficiency.
* TakeUpMySword: The {{Retcon}}ned ending to ''Crisis Core'', and his inheritance of said sword from his mentor.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He's six-feet tall, dark-haired and wears dark outfits, and is very good-looking.
* TogetherInDeath: Him and Aerith, but it's more like Together In The Lifestream. Interesting because most people's consciousness will dissolve into the Lifestream after death.
[[/folder]]
