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** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', AfterTheEnd [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt of the World of Balance]] occurs, and right before Celes' awakening, there's a silent camera pan across the new, twilit face of the World of Ruin, driving home the point that nothing will ever be the same anymore.
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** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', AfterTheEnd [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt of the World of Balance]] occurs, and right before Celes' awakening, there's a silent camera pan {{pan}} across the new, twilit face of the World of Ruin, driving home the point that nothing will ever be the same anymore.
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** In ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', Jed always tries to keep a smile on his face even in the most desperate times, but his happy-go-lucky facade hides a pained man unsure of his purpose and considering himself inferior to others.
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** This trope is ''best'' demonstrated with ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'' which, in addition to establishing its own complicated lore and setting, is heavily inspired by previous games in the series. For example, part of the backstory is that there are ''multiple'' generations of {{Precursors}}, as an EternalRecurrence is that the world gets repeatedly destroyed during multiple eras of prosperity. Further, Hyur (Humans) are the most widespread race, but there are also the Elezen (Elves), Lalafell (Halflings/Dwarves), Rogaedyn (Giants), as well as the cat-like Miqote and Hrothgar. Most races from older ''Final Fantasy'' installments also return, such as the Bangaa and bunny-like Viera. There are also groups of "Beast races" which receive varying degrees of discrimination. There's an [[TheEmpire evil empire]] wielding advanced {{Magitek}}, a religious kingdom doused with heavy AnimeCatholicism and fighting a ForeverWar against dragons, multiple [[{{Wutai}} stand-ins for Japan]], an eternal struggle between entities of Light and Dark, and even giant {{Kaiju}} and HumongousMecha. And naturally, the series has most of its usual character classes, such as Paladins, Bards, Monks, White Mages, Black Mages, and of course, Ninja and Samurai.
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** This trope is ''best'' demonstrated with ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'' which, in addition to establishing its own complicated lore and setting, is heavily inspired by previous games in the series. For example, part of the backstory is that there are ''multiple'' generations of {{Precursors}}, as an EternalRecurrence is that the world gets repeatedly destroyed during multiple eras of prosperity. Further, Hyur (Humans) are the most widespread race, but there are also the Elezen (Elves), Lalafell (Halflings/Dwarves), Rogaedyn (Giants), as well as the cat-like Miqote and Hrothgar.Hrothgar and the draconic Au Ra. Most races from older ''Final Fantasy'' installments also return, such as the Bangaa and bunny-like Viera. There are also groups of "Beast races" which receive varying degrees of discrimination. There's an [[TheEmpire evil empire]] wielding advanced {{Magitek}}, a religious kingdom doused with heavy AnimeCatholicism and fighting a ForeverWar against dragons, multiple [[{{Wutai}} stand-ins for Japan]], an eternal struggle between entities of Light and Dark, and even giant {{Kaiju}} and HumongousMecha. And naturally, the series has most of its usual character classes, such as Paladins, Bards, Monks, White Mages, Black Mages, and of course, Ninja and Samurai.
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*** [[spoiler: Shuyin and Lenne]] from VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2. It’s an odd variant on the trope, as [[spoiler: they’re both [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Unsent]] but can’t pass on - Shuyin, because he’s [[AxCrazy lost it]] from the 1000 years of MindRape and Lenne, wants to calm him down.]] You end up ensuring they end up [[spoiler: TogetherInDeath]].
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FinalFantasy/TropesAToD | FinalFantasy/TropesEToH | FinalFantasy/TropesIToR | '''Tropes S To T''' | FinalFantasy/TropesUToZ
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* SecondPrize: The "don't get the prize you wanted" version appears in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' with the Blitzball minigame. In both cases, you'll often want the 2nd or 3rd prize instead of the first as the better moves and skills for the minigame are rarely the first prize's reward. This essentially forces you to [[DoWellButNotPerfect lose games to achieve this.]]
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* ThoseTwoGuys: [[StarWars Biggs and Wedge]], who appear in various guises in almost all of the games from ''VI'' onward (and who were retconned into ''IV'' by ''The After Years''), and [[RedShirt die horribly about half the time.]]
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* ThoseTwoGuys: [[StarWars [[Franchise/StarWars Biggs and Wedge]], who appear in various guises in almost all of the games from ''VI'' onward (and who were retconned into ''IV'' by ''The After Years''), and [[RedShirt die horribly about half the time.]]
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** Odin is depicted as a BlackKnight whose WeaponOfChoice is not the spear Gungnir, but the sword Zantetsuken. ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII''[='s=] incarnation is able to transform into a horse and use lightning powers. Odin in ''XIII'' is also the Eidolon of Lightning, who takes on the aesthetics of a {{Valkyrie|s}} in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and effectively the job of one in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII''. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''[='s=] incarnation of the character gave him attacks referencing Myth/NorseMythology such as Valknut, Einherjar and the aforementioned Gungnir. His horse Sleipnir often does not have the 8 legs associated with him (and in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is AKindOfOne).
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** Odin is depicted as a BlackKnight whose WeaponOfChoice weapon is not the spear Gungnir, but the sword Zantetsuken. ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII''[='s=] incarnation is able to transform into a horse and use lightning powers. Odin in ''XIII'' is also the Eidolon of Lightning, who takes on the aesthetics of a {{Valkyrie|s}} in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and effectively the job of one in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII''. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''[='s=] incarnation of the character gave him attacks referencing Myth/NorseMythology such as Valknut, Einherjar and the aforementioned Gungnir. His horse Sleipnir often does not have the 8 legs associated with him (and in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is AKindOfOne).
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** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' has an elf king living in a decrepit castle in the middle of nowhere, who supposedly dropped his crown in a dungeon. Despite the party having - presumably - heard about how a random dark elf, Astos, stole Matoya's crystal ball, they go through the dungeon and give the elf the crown. Guess who the elf was. Making things worse, the dungeon you have to go through to get the crown is (in the original game) a huge DifficultySpike over everything that came before.
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** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' has an elf king living in a decrepit castle in the middle of nowhere, who supposedly dropped his crown in a dungeon. Despite the party having - presumably - heard about how a random dark elf, Astos, stole Matoya's crystal ball, they go through the dungeon and give the elf the crown. Guess who the elf was. Making things worse, the dungeon you have to go through to get the crown is (in the original game) a huge DifficultySpike over more difficult than everything that came before.
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* ShesGotLegs:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Tifa's better known [[BoobsOfSteel for her rack]], but she's got a [[http://static.zerochan.net/Tifa.Lockhart.full.414887.jpg sizzling]] pair of legs to. In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', the former owner of 7th Heaven said he was looking for a new bartender with (quote): [[LampshadeHanging "big breasts and long legs!"]] to take over the place. Guess who got the job? [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake The remake]] only improves things by giving Tifa some thigh-high ZettaiRyouiki.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' both introduced Rikku with lingering pan shots up her very long legs. Further emphasized by her preference for hot pants (''FF X'') and her infamous micro-skirt + thong bikini combo in ''X-2''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'':
*** Vanille, who is not shy about it. Her promotional pictures feature her stretching out her legs.
*** Lightning. The cover of the game features her showing a lot of legs.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]] has four outfits. She wears tights in her base outfit, but her three alts all remove them, leaving her legs exposed -- and there's a lot of them ''to'' expose. Tifa and Lightning also return.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Tifa's better known [[BoobsOfSteel for her rack]], but she's got a [[http://static.zerochan.net/Tifa.Lockhart.full.414887.jpg sizzling]] pair of legs to. In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', the former owner of 7th Heaven said he was looking for a new bartender with (quote): [[LampshadeHanging "big breasts and long legs!"]] to take over the place. Guess who got the job? [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake The remake]] only improves things by giving Tifa some thigh-high ZettaiRyouiki.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' both introduced Rikku with lingering pan shots up her very long legs. Further emphasized by her preference for hot pants (''FF X'') and her infamous micro-skirt + thong bikini combo in ''X-2''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'':
*** Vanille, who is not shy about it. Her promotional pictures feature her stretching out her legs.
*** Lightning. The cover of the game features her showing a lot of legs.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]] has four outfits. She wears tights in her base outfit, but her three alts all remove them, leaving her legs exposed -- and there's a lot of them ''to'' expose. Tifa and Lightning also return.
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This page covers tropes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy''.
FinalFantasy/TropesAToD | FinalFantasy/TropesEToH | FinalFantasy/TropesIToR | '''Tropes S To T''' | FinalFantasy/TropesUToZ
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** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' pretty much puts each of its protagonists through one. But the prize goes to Hope Estheim. He was merely on vacation in Bodhum when the active Fal'Cie was discovered and everyone was sent to be [[KillEmAll purged]]. Before knowing that it meant killing them, it was thought that this meant sending them to Pulse, which people in Cocoon had been told was practically hell. After the train he's on is derailed, the civilians are riled up by Snow's group to fight back and Hope is left alone by his mother, who leaves to fight and protect him. Hope watches in horror as his mother falls to her death and he begins to blame Snow, whom he follows into the Vestige with Vanille. In the Vestige, Hope has to fight his way through, only to be branded a Pulse l'Cie. Now, he is the enemy of the entire planet and will be killed on sight, if the government gets their hands on him. And, unless he fulfills his Focus and turns into a crystal statue, he'll turn into an abomination. No wonder the kid's big scene included a FreakOut!
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** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' pretty much puts each of its protagonists through one. But the prize goes to Hope Estheim. He was merely on vacation in Bodhum when the active Fal'Cie was discovered and everyone was sent to be [[KillEmAll purged]].purged. Before knowing that it meant killing them, it was thought that this meant sending them to Pulse, which people in Cocoon had been told was practically hell. After the train he's on is derailed, the civilians are riled up by Snow's group to fight back and Hope is left alone by his mother, who leaves to fight and protect him. Hope watches in horror as his mother falls to her death and he begins to blame Snow, whom he follows into the Vestige with Vanille. In the Vestige, Hope has to fight his way through, only to be branded a Pulse l'Cie. Now, he is the enemy of the entire planet and will be killed on sight, if the government gets their hands on him. And, unless he fulfills his Focus and turns into a crystal statue, he'll turn into an abomination. No wonder the kid's big scene included a FreakOut!
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Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
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*** UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' . Near the end of the game, you can see [[spoiler: What amounts to a world-spanning tornado ravaging familiar locales from the previous games, including the above-mentioned Oerba]]. Justified considering the [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial very nature of the game.]]
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*** UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' . ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'': Near the end of the game, you can see [[spoiler: What amounts to a world-spanning tornado ravaging familiar locales from the previous games, including the above-mentioned Oerba]]. Justified considering the [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial very nature of the game.]]
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* StuddedShell: The Adamatoise type enemies have sharp spikes on their turtle shells. Later, more animated versions will even tuck themselves inside their shells and attack by spinning at the heroes.
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* TheStormbringer:
** Garuda, Lady of the Vortex, brings twisters and tornadoes wherever she goes. In fact, the heroes' struggle to reach her lair at all because of the enormous wind storm that would tear apart any airship short of Cid Garlond's ''[[CoolShip Enterprise]]''. The cutscene preceding her fight also has her descending from the sky as the winds pick up around her before the battle opens in the eye of the storm.
** The coming of Susano, Lord of the Revel, instantly turns clear blue skies into a rain storm. The rain escalates into a torrential downpour as Susano assails the party with thunderbolts and gushing waves in the final phase of the fight.
** Garuda, Lady of the Vortex, brings twisters and tornadoes wherever she goes. In fact, the heroes' struggle to reach her lair at all because of the enormous wind storm that would tear apart any airship short of Cid Garlond's ''[[CoolShip Enterprise]]''. The cutscene preceding her fight also has her descending from the sky as the winds pick up around her before the battle opens in the eye of the storm.
** The coming of Susano, Lord of the Revel, instantly turns clear blue skies into a rain storm. The rain escalates into a torrential downpour as Susano assails the party with thunderbolts and gushing waves in the final phase of the fight.
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* SacredBowAndArrows: Many of the higher level bows are named after gods or mythological figures, such as the Artemis Bow, Perseus Bow, and Yoichi Bow.
* SadClown: This type of archetype is present in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', usually on the party members' side.
** What do [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Barret Wallace]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Irvine Kinneas]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Wakka]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Balthier]], and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Sazh Katzroy]] have in common? They all use silly theatrics in one form or another in order to cover their personal tragedy--mainly losing loved ones to a devastating attack.
** Prompto from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' spends a lot of time cracking jokes and being the PluckyComicRelief, covering up his insecurities and [[spoiler:his origins as a clone created for military purposes by the Niflheim Empire.]]
** Then there's the villain Kefka Palazzo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', who is given this as an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. He's [[OmnicidalManiac trying to kill everyone and destroy everything]] while [[LaughingMad laughing maniacally]] because he [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds can no longer see the point in anything else]], and his last laugh (''after'' he dies) is a sobbing, sad one.
--->'''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Firion]]:''' ''[pre-match, if facing Kefka]'' I've never heard a sadder laugh.
* SadlyMythcharacterized: This series often depicts various mythological characters inaccurately.
** Gilgamesh is the prime offender. He is depicted as a MultiArmedAndDangerous Oni instead of the Sumerian king and eponymous character of ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. He's also obsessed with the Arthurian sword Excalibur. His human companion Enkidu also appears in several forms: a green demon, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII a green dog]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV a green chicken]].
** As a result of Copying several elements from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Bahamut is depicted as a dragon instead of the fish from Arabic Mythology. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' makes him a gigantic DragonKnight and the most powerful of the Astrals.
** Odin is depicted as a BlackKnight whose WeaponOfChoice is not the spear Gungnir, but the sword Zantetsuken. ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII''[='s=] incarnation is able to transform into a horse and use lightning powers. Odin in ''XIII'' is also the Eidolon of Lightning, who takes on the aesthetics of a {{Valkyrie|s}} in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and effectively the job of one in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII''. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''[='s=] incarnation of the character gave him attacks referencing Myth/NorseMythology such as Valknut, Einherjar and the aforementioned Gungnir. His horse Sleipnir often does not have the 8 legs associated with him (and in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is AKindOfOne).
** Shiva. In Hindu Myth, Shiva the Transformer is a male god who defends and changes the universe. Here Shiva is a [[GenderFlip female]] entity with power over Ice who is closer to a [[{{Youkai}} Yuki-Onna]]. The name might be a pun on the word "Shiver". ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' makes Shiva a pair of twins who can merge into a Motorcycle.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' included a set of bosses based on TheFourGods. One of those bosses is Fenrir, who is a bipedal white tiger representing Baihu. Fenrir in the [[Myth/NorseMythology original mythology]] was a wolf and a quadruped, not a tiger.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' uses summons different from the traditional mold (though Odin and Alexander are still in the game). Most of which are more akin to ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''. Among them are Brunhyldr (One of the Valkyries of Norse myth) as an Eidolon who can transform into a sports car.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a few cases.
*** Heavensward introduces Hraesvelgr of Myth/NorseMythology as a dragon instead of an eagle, as well as related to Nidhogg, Ratatoskr.
*** Also from Heavensward is the Primal Ravana, who is now depicted as an insectoid samurai. The actual Ravana was a MultipleHeadCase and less of a BloodKnight and more of a scholar.
* SavingTheWorld: What you will end up doing in several ''Final Fantasy'' games. Sometimes with the rest of the universe. ''XII'' bucked this trend, in that Ivalice as a whole is in no danger (outside of the potential collateral damage of a world war), but the main plot involves getting [[ArcWords the reins of history back into the hands of man]] after centuries of the Occuria controlling things.
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl:
** Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy Compilations'', especially ''Dirge of Cerberus''. Whether their relationship is romantic or an InterGenerationalFriendship is a matter of speculation.
** Though she dies at the end of the game's first half, Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough from the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' fit in fairly well until then.
** Squall/Rinoa and Irvine/Selphie from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''.
** Gender Inverted from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' with Tidus and Yuna.
* SceneryGorn:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' there's a place called Gorn Town that is essentially the abandoned ruin of an ancient town, complete with broken pillars, ruined buildings, and plants that have overgrown everything. It was renamed to Gohn in the GBA release, which somewhat ruins the joke.
*** The Ship Graveyard much earlier in the game also qualifies -- an entire dungeon made up of nothing but wrecked and ruined ships, many of which are submerged.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', AfterTheEnd [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt of the World of Balance]] occurs, and right before Celes' awakening, there's a silent camera pan across the new, twilit face of the World of Ruin, driving home the point that nothing will ever be the same anymore.
*** And then the ending cinematic indulges in SceneryPorn to show how despite all of the devastation, life (and hope) goes on.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' begins with this trope: a wretched cyberpunk metropolis of Midgar in birds-eye view... and then you fall into the shoes of terrorists blowing up a scary mad science installation.
*** Later, you have to climb a long rope to get up onto the top of the city to raid the Shinra Headquarters. On the way up you're treated to a view of the recently destroyed Sector 7, which really shows you the scale of how big of bastards Shinra are.
*** Another scene not that long afterwards (well, relatively; this is an [[RolePlayingGame RPG]] we're talking about) involves ''literal'' gore as well. Your party must outrun the Midgar Zolom to proceed, which, at this point in the game, is very strong. Upon escaping it, they prepare to enter the Mythril Mine... [[spoiler:and see the corpse of another Midgar Zolom impaled on a tree, courtesy of Sephiroth]].
** Trabia Garden in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. The garden Selphie was transferred from at the beginning of the game, it was only recently hit by missile strike. The devastation including bombed sportsground or makeshift graveyard among others really helps to convey a massive TearJerker to a player.
** The Necrohol of Nabudis and surrounding Nabreus Deadlands from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. The city was destroyed offscreen during the intro by [[spoiler:Reddas using Nethicite there]], an event comparable to using a nuke that is repeatedly acknowledged during the game. The necrohol itself is a half-decaying, dimly lit, partly submerged ruin full of mist, while surrounding lands are foggy marshes infested with undead. The ruins are also quite similar to Nalbina fortress - the place where you control Reks - by its layout, so you have an approximate reference to how the untouched place supposedly looked like.
** In Chapter 11 of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', you visit [[spoiler:Oerba Village, the hometown of Vanille and Fang, and find it a decaying, Cie'th-infested ruin, partially covered in crystal sand]]. It's one of the most powerful scenes in the game.
*** UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' . Near the end of the game, you can see [[spoiler: What amounts to a world-spanning tornado ravaging familiar locales from the previous games, including the above-mentioned Oerba]]. Justified considering the [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial very nature of the game.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' gives us Insomnia in the World of Ruin. While it's implied that the rest of the world is the same, Insomnia is the only place you get to explore. The once-bustling city is shrouded in eternal night, its streets littered with debris and crawling with daemons. One particularly breathtaking moment has you standing atop the tallest building looking down at the city, which is completely dead and silent.
* SceneryPorn: Starting from ''VI'', the series had a focus on rendering beautiful environments.
* ScienceFantasy: While the first games were predominantly medieval fantasy, the series began to dabble more with mixing sci-fi trappings in later titles:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' featured light sci-fi elements later in the game, including a prototypical SuperBoss in the form of the Warmech.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' remains largely medieval fantasy throughout, but also features a starship that takes the heroes to the moon, which was home to a long-lost technologically-gifted civilization.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' introduced the concept of {{Magitek}} to the series, with TheEmpire (which has a strong SteamPunk vibe) employing magically-empowered supersoldiers and outfitting their rank-and-file soldiers with [[MiniMecha magitek armors]]. One of your party members, Edgar, also makes extensive use of technological "tools" while also being king of a high-tech castle.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is set in an UrbanFantasy world with modern infrastructure and cars, motorcycles, and robots powered by TheLifestream.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has a strong CyberPunk aesthetic, with the game's resident high-tech society of Cocoon being powered by magically-empowered fal'Cie.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has MagicVersusTechnology in its setting, with the city-states of Eorzea, technologically lagging yet magically gifted, in a war against the Garlean Empire, whose people are physically incapable of using magic and compensate by making extensive use of magitek.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' is an UrbanFantasy game that looks otherwise indistinguishable from contemporary reality, with massive cities, cars and highways, and everything that comes with existing alongside VancianMagic, SummonMagic, [[EldritchAbomination daemons]], and TheEmpire using magitek.
* SchizoTech: Sometimes you get just a Standard Medieval Fantasy setting, other times, you get High-Tech airships, guns and futuristic stuff sprinkled on to that, not to mention the use of swords in even the most modern-leaning settings.
* ScrewDestiny: The ''Final Fantasy'' series as a whole seems to love this trope.
** The endgame of ''Videogame/FinalFantasyI'' leads to a massive time loop over the course of 2000 years involving the battles between the Warriors of Light and Garland. The Warriors kill him in their first battle, and he is revived by the fiends, sent back 2000 years, and kills the Warriors when they come to fight him, before sending the Fiends into the future. This cycle (Warriors kill Garland, Chaos kills Warriors, loop repeats) has apparently happened over and over and ''over'' again. However, the Warriors finally go "Screw this, you die now!" and finally defeat Chaos, breaking the time loop.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' plays with this on a meta level: [[spoiler: The Whispers are embodiments of the Planet's will, incarnations of destiny and arbiters of fate who try to keep events on track with that transpired in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII the 1997 game]] since those events ended with the Planet's survival. However, both [[AllLovingHero Aerith]] and [[BigBad Sephiroth]] have, through TheLifestream, become aware of how future events will transpire, and that if destiny is allowed to go on as it should, then it's going to ''royally'' screw over Sephiroth... so, naturally, he attempts to screw destiny first. And the easiest way to screw destiny is by [[ManipulativeBastard making the heroes attempt to screw destiny]], for example by goading them into starting the final boss fight against him within the Singularity, the Whispers realm, ''way'' before they're strong enough to actually win, thus forcing the Whispers to intervene, causing a fight to break out between the heroes and the Whispers [[XanatosGambit that the Whispers cannot win without screwing up destiny]]. Aerith, in the meantime, is torn between giving up, accepting her fate and eventually sacrificing herself for the safety of the Planet as she should, or defying destiny and putting her faith in the possibility of a better tomorrow at the expense of endangering the original timeline's much safer ending. She eventually settles for the latter and takes a proactive role in changing the course of events for the better]].
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', this trope is [[BigBad Ultimecia's]] entire motivating factor behind her actions. She's destined to die at the hands of [=SeeD=], so she decides to compress time, absorb it, and become a goddess to make up the rules herself. This trope is also subverted because, as a response to the intense persecution she suffered for being a Sorceress, she became the very monster everyone said she would become which is highlighted in a ''very'' [[LargeHam hamtastic]] [[NewEraSpeech speech]].
---> '''Ultimecia''' [[spoiler: in Edea's body]]: "...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations. Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. [[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHAHA]]."
** This becomes the cry of Yuna's party in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' when [[spoiler:Yunalesca confirms that the Final Summoning has absolutely no chance of killing Sin permanently because the Final Aeon that destroys Sin will become Sin in its place]].
*** Destiny gets to say Screw You in turn [[spoiler:by killing off Tidus. You only get to see him come back if you [[GuideDangIt meet very specific conditions]] in the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 sequel]]]].
** This turns out to be the main motivation of the villains in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' - Doctor Cid and Vayne Solidor in particular. [[spoiler: Their whole elaborate scheme was not concocted to take over Dalmasca, but to wrest control of humanity's future from [[JerkassGods the Occuria,]] and "put the reins of history back in the hands of man."]] By the end, the heroes are also saying the same thing, just a tad less homicidally than the WellIntentionedExtremist villains.
** The party in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' were BlessedWithSuck and became [[TheChosenOne l'Cie]], and in doing so were left with only two options, fulfill their [[MissionFromGod Focus]] and be [[TakenForGranite crystallized for all eternity]] or become mindless [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Cie'th]] for all eternity. Plus the party was given a particularly horrible Focus anyway. The party naturally opted to take a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]] in an attempt to change their destinies. This act inspired [[spoiler: Cid Raines]], who [[spoiler: was also a l'Cie, thus BlessedWithSuck as well]] to try and change his destiny as well. Unfortunately, this involved him [[spoiler: regrettably doing a FaceHeelTurn and fights against the party]].
*** Indeed, this is such a major theme of the story that the main antagonist's battle theme is titled ''Fighting Fate''.
*** Ironically, the ''villains'' are also fighting fate. [[spoiler:The entire reason the Fal'cie turn people into L'cie is because this is the only way they can work around their own hardwired limitations as magical machines. For all their contempt towards humans, the Fal'cie believe that humanity is ultimately stronger than them because they have free will.]]
** The story of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'' revolves around averting future calamity. As Urianger explains to the player, he had a vision of a future in which, with the destruction of the world of The First by the [[LightIsNotGood overwhelming imbalance of Light]], an Eighth Umbral Calamity would ensue in which the sudden influx of light aether from the destroyed First into the world of Hydaelyn, combined with TheEmpire unleashing a deadly chemical weapon at the end of their war with the Eorzean Alliance, would lead to the destruction of all civilization in Hydaelyn, in addition to the PlayerCharacter's death. [[spoiler:We later learn that Urianger didn't actually have this vision: rather, Urianger learned of this BadFuture from someone who actually lived through it. The Crystal Exarch, aka G'raha Tia, originally came from Hydaelyn, awakening after a long slumber in the Crystal Tower to a destroyed world, and sent himself and the Crystal Tower from this ruined future into the past on The First to change history.]]
** Interestingly, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', the ending [[spoiler: seems to avert this with a YouCantFightFate message. Noctis sacrifices himself to [[KilledOffForReal kill Ardyn once and for all]], purging the Starscourge just as the Astrals wanted. He fulfills his role as TheChosenOne, but in doing so he plays right into Ardyn's hands since Noctis and himself dying means the end of the Lucis Caelum bloodline]].
*** In the Episode Ignis DLC, [[spoiler: Ignis has the option of screwing destiny after beating the DLC at least once. After that a different option unlocks, ultimately leading to an alternate ending to FFXV. One in which Noctis (and Ravus) don't die and Ignis never loses his sight]].
** The framework for magic in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates]]'' makes it so that if you're strong enough, you can change fate. Played to a massive scale in the end of the game where [[spoiler:Chelinka doubles her power in order to make it so that the source of evil never existed, in order for the Twins to be happy with their parents... before the timeskip... keeping their memories of everything... and this also happened at the very beginning of the game...it's slightly confusing]].
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a couple of these. Garland tells Warrior of Light the war is destined to go on forever, and Warrior of Light replies with "screw destiny". Turns out [[spoiler: Garland is telling the truth - the war has been going on for centuries, and whenever one side loses, Shinryu revives them and the war keeps going]]. When all the other heroes find out about this, the motto of pretty much the entire party becomes "screw destiny". In fact, it later turns out that [[spoiler: the villains were hoping to end the cycle of war too]], so it's actually the ''entire cast'' following this trope, except Garland who loves the fact he gets to spend eternity fighting.
*** Made much more terrifying when you realize that, by screwing destiny in ''Dissidia'', the heroes are quite possibly instigating the 2000 year Time Loop in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', since [[spoiler: Garland's on his way to becoming Chaos in the end]].
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has this when [[spoiler:Yuna and company decide to try and defeat Sin without using the Final Aeon.]]
*** This is also how Tidus meets Yuna, and arguably, an EstablishingCharacterMoment; after learning that the apprentice summoner has been inside the Cloister of Trials for over a day, he decides to go in after her, yelling "Like I care!" when he's told it's taboo to do so. (in the HD Remake, you get a trophy named "The Right Thing")
*** This comes back later in the game, where Tidus yells "You can stuff your taboos!" Only this time, members of the party [[CharacterDevelopment join Tidus and help him out, rather than chastising him.]]
** This is the core of the philosophy of the [[BlackKnight Dark Knights]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', their origins tracing back to an Ishgardian knight of common birth who slew a corrupt man of the cloth, only to be condemned by the powers that be. The job quests surrounding the Dark Knights revolve around embracing one's inner darkness to serve a greater good, bringing justice to those who would otherwise be above the law, regardless of the cost to oneself.
** Ramza's entire story throughout all of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
** And possibly Marche's story in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. Though many fans see his motivation as "Screw your Happiness, I'm doing what's right."
*** Or just [[WhatTheHellHero "screw you"]], [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation depending.]]
*** Or just "Screw your [[LotusEaterMachine escapism]] [[EnfantTerrible at the expense of everyone else]]", depending ''depending''.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
*** Near the end of the game, you can talk [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad the Turks]] out of fighting you and into just walking away, seeing as how the Shinra Corporation has just been blown to pieces. Only works if you've established the rudiments of an OddFriendship with them by playing the Wutai side plot earlier, though.
*** Occurs in the "Weapon Raid" FMV where the Weapon is attacking Junon. After the initial barrage by the Shinra fails and the monster keeps on getting closer, troops on the waterfront are seen hightailing it out of there as the Weapon closes in.
** Near the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Biggs and Wedge -- who've been playing mid-boss to you for most of the game -- decide to drop their current assignment (guarding the door leading to the Boss) and just walk away to look for gainful employment elsewhere.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Maester Mika decides to send himself (effectively committing suicide) rather than face a world where Sin cannot be defeated.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'', all of the secret characters will do this in a Jagd if left unconscious (you can recruit them again). Unfortunately, [[NonStandardGameOver the main character doesn't have such immunity]].
* ScrewYourself:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud can visit a brothel. In one of the rooms he has one of his frequent psychotic episodes and hallucinates another him, crouched in pain by the hot tub. If you speak to the other Cloud, he berates the real Cloud for being in a place like this, and then leans in to kiss Cloud. The real Cloud passes out as their lips touch.
** And the Genesis Copies in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. [[spoiler:And if Angeal wasn't dead by the time, he and Lazard would have been candidates.]]
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka's]] MirrorMatch battle taunt resembles this trope (that or DistractedByMyOwnSexy):
--->'''Kefka:''' Who's ''that'' handsome devil?
* SeaSerpents:
** One of the series' most recurring entities is [[KrakenAndLeviathan Leviathan]], a massive finned serpent who rules over the oceans. His (or in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV two]] [[VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy cases]], her) signature attack is Tsunami/Tidal Wave, in which Leviathan raises the oceans to send them crashing down on the enemy. Depending on the game, Leviathan may be a good-willed monarch, an evil dragon, a bestial creature, or something in between.
** Jormungand (sometimes referred to as Midgardsormr) is also a recurring monster, but oddly enough it almost never appears in the ocean.
* SeeYouInHell:
** Borghen says this as his last words in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', [[spoiler:before springing a boulder trap that ultimately kills Josef]]. [[ExactWords He does.]]
** In the later remakes, [[spoiler:Borghen meets Josef in (what turns out to be) ''heaven'' as well]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' gets one of these in the DS remake.
--->'''Cagnazzo:''' The Drowned King, Cagnazzo, deposed! But the wicked are not wont to fall alone. In life, I was terrible... in death, steeped in terror greater still. Drink long and deep of it ere you die! I'll save a briny pit for you in hell! Muahahahaha!! (The walls of the room the party is in start to close in on them)
** Gets a variation in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' from Golbez to Cagnazzo; odder still, it's intended to be comforting. "Sleep in peace... for I, too, may join you in your hell someday."
** If your party leader is Lightning during the final battle with [[spoiler:Orphan]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', she will blatantly tell him to "find your own road to hell" at the start of the battle.
* SenselessSacrifice:
** Josef in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' sacrifices himself to save Firion, Maria, and Guy from Borghen's boulder trap in the Ice Cavern. The reason the party went to the Ice Cavern was to retrieve the Goddess Bell, the only way someone not of the Kashuan nobility could enter Kashuan Keep. But once you have the Goddess Bell and enter the Keep, it turns out that Gordon, [[DirtyCoward who had previously run away in the wake of the Dreadnought's wrath]], went to the Keep but couldn't get past the monsters. If you return to Hilda after Gordon joins, [[WhatTheHellHero she chews out Gordon]], aware that had he not run away when he was needed, Josef would not have died.
** Tellah from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' using a DangerousForbiddenTechnique to kill Golbez... who survives. Even worse since Tellah is the ''only'' character in the game to sacrifice himself and ''actually stay dead''. Not only does everybody else who attempts a HeroicSacrifice pull it off successfully[[note]]although they could usually have found another way; see StupidSacrifice[[/note]], they're able to stay alive no matter how impossible that should be. At the very least his use of Meteor snapped Kain out of his brainwashing who, in turn, saved Rosa's life, so it wasn't ''completely'' without merit.
** Every time the monster Sin rears its ugly head in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', a Summoner is sent on a quest for the Aeons in hopes of performing the Final Summoning that is said to be the only way to defeat Sin, a quest that invariably costs the Summoner his or her life. But as it's revealed, the Final Summoning does nothing to stop Sin for good, as the Final Aeon that destroys Sin becomes the new Sin. Unlike most other examples of the trope, [[IntendedAudienceReaction this one was SUPPOSED]] [[DeconstructedTrope to be senseless;]] the idea that the Final Summoning is the only way to combat Sin is [[IdiotBall a falsehood propagated by the local church.]]
*** Not surprisingly, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', Yuna rails against the entire idea of sacrificing one's life after her experiences with the Final Summoning debacle in the first game, opposing a plan in which Nooj would shoot Baralai, who was under possession by Shujin, and then kill himself once Shujin re-entered his body because she has lost too many of her friends to sacrifice and doesn't want battles where "we have to lose in order to win."
*** Subverted with regards to Cid: Every opportunity he has to suggest it, he suggests a suicide ramming run using the airship. Every time, he's shot down as there's far less suicidal means of success. Rikku even mocks him for it one time.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Serah was aware that she could [[PowerDegeneration very possibly die of]] [[BlessedWithSuck her visions]] when she set out on the final leg of the journey to stop Caius. So they fight him, and appear to fix the timeline; as expected, [[BittersweetEnding she drops dead]]. [[DownerEnding Except Caius' plan worked out perfectly]], [[TimeCrash chaos engulfs the world and]] ''[[TimeCrash all Time]]'' [[TimeCrash literally ends]]. He even shows up in the Secret Ending to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall taunt the player]] with the claim that ''all eventualities'' lead to his victory.
* SequelEscalation: Throughout the series, some sort of hit point inflation seems to be taking place. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', the final boss has 2000 HP in the original version. By ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' there are a few spells that will generally do 9999 points of damage. In some of the later games, a single attack will do that much. By ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' early enemies have hundreds of thousands, and each form of the final boss has over 5 million. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'''s optional super boss (well, the most powerful of several) has ''FIFTY MILLION'' and is so far still unmatched in the HP department. Make sure you've used the bathroom and gotten a snack before you start one of these battles.
** ''XIII'' continues this in a different way, though no boss approaches even half of 50 million, storyline bosses can reach several million, and Barthandelus, fought roughly halfway through the game, has more HP than the final boss of ''XII''. And the party members have the damage cap raised a digit, allowing normal attacks to hit for 99,999 HP, and with the Genji Glove equipped to raise that, 999,999 is possible, and can be reached fairly easily with maxed-out characters and the right set-up.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong:
** The whole point of the ''Wings of the Goddess'' expansion in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI''. [[spoiler:In fact, the player's version of Vana'diel was revealed to be the Set Right What Once Went Wrong outcome of the nine Cait Siths nudging the Crystal War into a better direction, until people from the other timeline decided to set wrong what once went right. Leads one to wonder how long the [[NeverLiveItDown Pandemonium Warden fight]] took in the "bad" version of the universe.]]
** The point of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' is to fix the timeline and help everyone find happiness while averting future disaster. [[spoiler:They fail, and cause a massive TimeCrash.]]
** The TimeCrash that the heroes cause halfway through ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' allows them to do this. [[spoiler:Visiting all the towns in the past lets them kill the demons that were corrupting or usurping many of the world's rulers through manipulation, plagues, and outright DemonicPossession. It also averts tragic events from their own timeline, like Lilibelle's death.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'': [[spoiler:the Crystal Exarch of the First (who is actually a denizen of the Source, G'raha Tia) hails from a BadFuture where the Garlean Empire brought about the end of the world by means of a deadly chemical weapon. To that end, he traveled through time and reality itself in an attempt to halt the coming calamity in the First, and in so doing, prevent calamity in the Source.]]
* SexierAlterEgo:
** Cloud's 'ex-SOLDIER' personality in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is a cool, hypercompetent, swashbuckling NinetiesAntiHero [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys who is irresistible to women]] and [[EvenTheGuysWantHim men]] - even though he's also a total jerk. His original personality is that of the unpopular town dork, and quite hesitant and awkward.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', it's implied that [[spoiler:Chocolina]] is actually this to [[spoiler:Dajh's Chocobo chick]]. This is later [[spoiler:confirmed]] in Sazh's DLC story. [[spoiler:As it turns out, she got caught in the distortion just like he did, and wanted to help the others just like they always helped her, so Etro gave her the form of an attractive woman and the ability to be everywhere at once]].
* ShadowArchetype:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud, a highly-experienced, sulky jerk, has repeated visions of a weak but kindly little boy that resembles himself. The boy is especially likely to appear when Sephiroth is performing MindRape on Cloud, and you can actually control him at some points (although he's limited to running around and cannot interfere with events). After Cloud's [[DrivenToMadness mental breakdown]], the boy helps talk Tifa through sorting out Cloud's FalseMemories, eventually shown symbolically 'merging' with Cloud to restore him to his real self. Cloud later admits that he was ashamed of his real self and repressed it, making and embracing delusions in order to [[ADarkerMe present a cooler exterior to the outside world]].
*** Vincent also counts as 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.
** ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' has Lumina, who seems to be some sort of evil twin for Serah. [[spoiler:In actuality, she's everything Claire Farron rejected as weakness as a child when she became "Lightning", now made flesh. Throughout the game, Lumina does some morally ambiguous things that ultimately end up working out for the best for Lightning's friends; some might say Lightning is doing the same by submitting to Bhunivelze's servitude. In their one-on-one talks, Lumina pokes and prods Lightning with facts that the savior herself denies or hides; that the "Serah" that appears to her is fake, that Hope in the Ark isn't quite genuine, and that Lightning needs to admit her own weakness and reach out to her friends for help. In the end, Lumina breaks down and cries at the prospect of being left alone in a dead world. When Lightning admits her weakness, she does the same.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the Warriors of Darkness, introduced late in ''Heavensward'' as counterparts to [[PlayerCharacter the Warrior of Light]] and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. [[spoiler:Like the Warrior of Light, the Warriors of Darkness were [[TheChosenOne the chosen champions of Hydaelyn]] from their own world in TheMultiverse, and they had succeeded in defeating the forces of darkness -- at a terrible cost. With their world on the brink of destruction due to [[LightIsNotGood the power of light overwhelming it]], they were manipulated by the [[GreaterScopeVillain Ascians]] into crossing over into the main world of the game and trying to plunge it into darkness under the misguided belief that it would save their own world. Thankfully, they are set straight and return to their own world to forestall its destruction.]]
* ShesGotLegs:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Tifa's better known [[BoobsOfSteel for her rack]], but she's got a [[http://static.zerochan.net/Tifa.Lockhart.full.414887.jpg sizzling]] pair of legs to. In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', the former owner of 7th Heaven said he was looking for a new bartender with (quote): [[LampshadeHanging "big breasts and long legs!"]] to take over the place. Guess who got the job? [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake The remake]] only improves things by giving Tifa some thigh-high ZettaiRyouiki.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' both introduced Rikku with lingering pan shots up her very long legs. Further emphasized by her preference for hot pants (''FF X'') and her infamous micro-skirt + thong bikini combo in ''X-2''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'':
*** Vanille, who is not shy about it. Her promotional pictures feature her stretching out her legs.
*** Lightning. The cover of the game features her showing a lot of legs.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]] has four outfits. She wears tights in her base outfit, but her three alts all remove them, leaving her legs exposed -- and there's a lot of them ''to'' expose. Tifa and Lightning also return.
* ShipTease:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'':
*** One would be forgiven for mistaking Locke rescuing Terra in the opening minutes and his promise to stay with her until her memory returns for a RescueRomance, but he quickly moves on to form [[MaybeEverAfter the closest thing]] the game has to an OfficialCouple with Celes.
*** Terra also gets a Ship Tease scene on an actual ''ship'' with first General Leo, then Shadow. Hell even Sabin protects Terra from Ultros‘s NaughtyTentacles
*** [[CasanovaWannabe Edgar]] gets at least one moment of teasing with every female party member, including [[{{Moe}} Relm]] of all people. [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the translation]], he either has the decency to act {{squick}}ed about it or else implies a JailbaitWait.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
*** There is a micro-DatingSim where one of the three girls ([[GayOption and Barret]]) can go on a date with Cloud.
*** Tifa's introduced in a BaitAndSwitch where we're meant to think she's the mother of Cloud's child before we realize the little girl is actually Barret's. Immediately after, she and Cloud reminisce about a [[ThePromise promise under the stars]] they had when they were kids. When Cloud tells the story of Nibelheim, he goes into her room and pokes around in her bedroom, and teases Tifa by pretending to have gone through her drawers (which makes her cross).
*** Cloud and Tifa get more explicit Ship Tease in ''Anime/AdventChildren'' where they have a SleepCute moment, and [[https://youtu.be/ch9Ttxku30s?t=39 an even greater tease]] in ''Anime/LastOrderFinalFantasyVII'' where Cloud [[BeautifulDreamer strokes Tifa's hair]] after [[BridalCarry carrying her away from danger]].
*** Aerith tells Cloud that if he acts as her bodyguard she'll go out with him, and we don't know if Cloud's participation is out of hatred for the Shinra or a desire for a date. When sitting around the fire in Cosmo Canyon Aerith talks about her being the last Ancient and how it makes her lonely, and Cloud tries to reassure her with [[VerbalBackspace 'but I'm...we're here for you, right?']] Cait Sith looks at Cloud and Aerith's horoscopes and [[ShipperOnDeck determines that they'd be a perfect match]] [[spoiler:just before she leaves your party and is killed by Sephiroth]]. At the end of the game, Cloud also talks about wanting to find Aerith in the Promised Land.
*** Yuffie will kiss Cloud if you take her on the Gondola.
*** Barret gets a lot of HoYay with Cloud, getting moved when Cloud talks with him about politics and nervously apologizing to him after realizing he's not all bad. If the player chooses to have Cloud compliment Barret's sailor suit ("a [[TheBear bear]] wearing a marshmallow"), they'll later find Barret locked in a room with a mirror, checking himself out. He even gets GayBravado flirting and the opportunity to date Cloud.
*** It even has instances of ShipTease with random male characters, like Mukki and Don Corneo.
*** Barret and Tifa get teased throughout, but particularly in the second disc where Aerith is gone and Tifa becomes Cloud's primary love interest. He gets jealous of her feelings towards Cloud, though it's unclear if it's because of his confused feelings about Cloud in general. She helps him look after his daughter, he calls her 'some kinda lady'...
*** The Turks get a bit. Rude admits to liking Tifa. Tseng asks Elena out for dinner, but has a certain amount of involvement with Aerith, who Reno says he 'likes'. Aerith doesn't seem interested, but she doesn't seem all that scared of him either, and she expresses attachment to him when she finds his unconscious body, saying he's one of the only people who really knows her.
*** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake The Remake]] continues this trend as well. Both [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUmA1oXt6I Aerith]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DyN9VtDjCc Tifa]] have moments with Cloud throughout - Tifa and Cloud reach for one another in the heat of battle, have a SuggestiveCollision, [[BackToBackBadass stand back to back]] [[BattleCouple together]] and Cloud has the option to comfort Tifa very intimately at the end - while Aerith is showing wearing the red dress for Don Corneo's mansion [[MaleGaze from Cloud's]] [[EatingTheEyeCandy perspective]], while fireworks go off in the background. There's even a moment where Cloud has both women holding his arms!
*** Surprisingly [[ThirdOptionLoveInterest Jessie]]! Gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uzi8gUVVY0&t=1s heaps of moments with Cloud]] compared to the original and unlike Tifa and to a lesser extent Aerith she doesn't hesitate to show him great affection. In the bike racing mini-game depending on how well the player does Jessie even kisses Cloud on the cheek causing him to become shy in an endearingly dorky fashion, then she outright invites him to her room later. [[spoiler: [[ShipSinking Unfortunately]] as [[ForgoneConclusion anyone whose played the original]] will remember Jessie is killed, in this continuity by falling rubble leading to a TearJerker where she's so glad that Cloud is the one to hear her last words before she dies]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
*** Tidus and Auron seemed to flirt a bit in Luca during Auron's reappearance. Between Auron saying things like [[DoubleEntendre "Come or don't come. It's your decision,"]] and Tidus assuming the position shortly thereafter, the UST was palpable. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAQmzOzh_yA See 6:15 and 6:38-7:00.]])
*** Depending on your [[RelationshipValues affection rating]], you can have Tidus outright tell Lulu or Rikku that he would rather have them in Guadosalam. Rikku will get a little weirded out (which makes sense given she and Tidus are LikeBrotherAndSister) while Lulu simply says "hmm, I could add you to my list."
*** Lulu gets teased with Wakka quite a bit since she used to date his brother. [[spoiler:Then come the sequel, they're an OfficialCouple with a baby on the way.]]
*** Rikku also gets a ShipTease with Gippal in ''X-2''. An optional conversation has him saying the two "were quite the couple", though Rikku denies it. However, she shows plenty of signs throughout the game such as ordering everyone to go and rescue him. The two are also seen leaving the Farplane together at the end.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'':
*** It's subtle, but there is a little ship teasing between [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Balthier and Fran]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIIRevenantWings''. When Tomas is trying to woo Fran, she mentions that Balthier's methods were different. You might also count the scene in the Pharos when the Sun Cryst explodes from the original game as rather shippy. Balthier's lines regarding Fran always have some kind of sexual undertone to them (but hey, don't all his lines?)
---->'''Balthier:''' "No one knows men like Fran does."
---->'''Balthier:''' "I always knew Fran didn't take well to being tied up. I just never knew how much. How about you?"
:::: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZ0cBZfO_c#t=2m10s This scene]] is also fairly shippy.
---->'''Fran''' (''cupping Balthier's cheek''): "Hadn't you best be off? That's what a sky pirate does, you fly, don't you?"
---->'''Balthier''' (''holding Fran's hand''): I suppose you'd better hang on then."
*** There's also some Ship Teases for Balthier/Ashe too, especially in the original game. During a scene closer to the end of the game, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTXIe7Bv1HY he seems rather agitated when Al-Cid flirts with her, prompting Fran to give him a knowing look.]] Also, in the scene in which [[spoiler:Balthier is risking his life to stop the Bahamut from destroying Rabanastre Ashe seems particularly scared that he might die, ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ultjsCoYXlo especially in the original Japanese version]]) The following is a translation of some of the scene:]]
---->'''Ashe:''' [[spoiler:"You... do you understand what you are doing?"]]
---->'''Balthier:''' [[spoiler:"Princess, there's no need for worry. Who do you think I am? I'm the hero of the story. And the hero never dies."]]
---->'''Ashe:''' [[spoiler:"Please, Balthier, hurry and get out of the Bahamut! [[CannotSpitItOut Please. If you die... if you die... I...]]"]]
---->[[spoiler:(''as the Strahl blasts away'')]]
---->'''Ashe:''' [[spoiler:"BALTHIER!!!!"]]
*** Ashe and Basch is also plausible. In the ending, Penelo writes to Larsa, and she tells him how she hopes Basch will see Ashe because she thinks Ashe misses him (which Basch reads after Larsa hands him the letter).
*** Penelo also gets a lot of scenes with Larsa in the first game, which could be construed as this, and they certainly seem to feel affectionately for each other.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'':
*** Aside from [[OfficialCouple Serah and Snow]], the rest is all up to interpretation, the biggest source of tease coming from [[TokenMiniMoe Vanille]] and [[TallDarkAndSnarky Fang]], whose relationship is so laden with LesYay their AmbiguouslyGay status is barely ambiguous at all.
*** ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' has a ''lot'' of [[TeenGenius Hope]]/[[BrokenBird Lightning]] tease. [[spoiler:Hope giving up the chance to be reborn with his parents in favor of saving Lightning, or Lightning desperately trying to grab his hand as his body disintegrates, are just a few of many examples.]] The rest (and, again, there's a ''lot'') can be found on the game's main trope page.
*** There's also this line, which is a ShoutOut to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Squall's promise]] [[OfficialCouple to Rinoa]].
---->'''Hope''' (''to Lightning''): "Even if the entire world hates you, I'll always be by your side."
*** All games from this trilogy have a bit of ship tease between Hope and Vanille. In the first one, during a side-quest event in Grand Pulse, Hope says to her "her smile makes him happy", which is immediately interpreted as a love confession by Vanille, judging her expression. But soon after saying that, Hope says this was a joke, angering her. In the second game during a dialogue in Yaschas Massif 110 AF, Hope seems concerned about Vanille's well-being. And in LR, Lightning seems to be aware Hope has a thing for Vanille in one dialogue.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
*** The PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light's relationships with many NPC is usually written with a bit of leeway for people to assume a romantic implication. There is also a case where within the fifth-anniversary livestream, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRJwAabzAY8 two]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzmMKtuEuVA segments]] were shown with the Warrior on various dates during the Rising that practically screams ship bait.
** ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'':
*** A series of scenes involves [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Firion]] trying to approach [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]] to talk to her, only for a string of {{Moment Killer}}s to scare him off. It turns out he lost his rose and she found it, and he's trying to ask for it back but is embarrassed about the HotBlooded rebel having to ask the resident ActionGirl for his flower (in his exact words, "a grown man asking for his flower back..."). However, the subtext is very thin, and is complete with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Cecil]] appointing himself Firion's [[ShipperOnDeck wingman]].
*** And then when he finally ''does'' get to talk to her, the Ship Tease still goes strong as Lightning returns it to him and notes that for both of them, the sight of that rose is the key to their memories[[labelnote:explanation]]In Firion's case, the phrase "Wild Rose" is a ContinuityNod to the Wild Rose Rebellion that Firion and his friends were a part of; in Lightning's case, her Eidolon-summoning crystal was shaped like a rose, and splitting it caused a shower of rose petals[[/labelnote]], and asks him to keep it safe because when he remembers everything, she might need it back for help with the same. He watches her leave with a dreamy smile.
*** Terra gets ship teases with Onion Knight, Cloud and Vaan. Vaan and Onion Knight appoint themselves her protectors, worrying about her safety and counselling her on following her heart to find out what she truly wants. Cloud meanwhile waxes poetic with her about their dreams for the future in spite of their self-doubts. When Cecil, again playing ShipperOnDeck, asks Onion Knight if he's fallen for her, he denies it, but in a fairly flustered manner.
* ShadowedFaceGlowingEyes:
** The {{Black Mage}}s wear [[RobeAndWizardHat blue robes with a yellow hat]], leaving their face obscured while their eyes glow from within. The design was initially due to the sprite limitations of the NES, but stuck around as graphics improved.
** [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' the appearance of a dark shadowy face with glowing eyes, but lack the traditional wizard attire of a Black Mage. They even have visible hair on their heads, but their faces are still darkened.
%%* ShockAndAwe: Thunder, Thundara, Thundaga, sometimes Thundaja, and a summon, usually Ramuh, but not always.
* ShutUpHannibal:
** Immediately after killing Aerith in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Sephiroth starts to give his umpteenth villainous speech about how everyone will live again as part of him when he absorbs the lifestream and becomes a new god... and Cloud's text box pops up and actually ''covers up'' most of Sephiroth's speech with the words "... Shut up."
*** Even the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Turks]] get one of this in on Don Corneo in Wutai, after Cloud And Friends and the Turks team up to release Yuffie and Elena from Corneo's clutches. Mostly they turn his ReasonYouSuckSpeech against him.
** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', Sephiroth's delivers one hell of one to [[spoiler:Genesis]]:
--->'''Sephiroth:''' Whether your words are lies meant to deceive me... or the truth that I have sought all my life... it makes no difference. '''You will rot'''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Garland tells Zidane to destroy Gaia, [[spoiler: since he's an ArtificialHuman created for exactly that purpose.]] Zidane refuses, obviously, but when Garland tries to push he delivers an amazingly snappy and spoilertastic comeback:
--->'''Garland:''' [[spoiler:Regrettable. I thought your soul would be a perfect choice for the new Angel of Death.]]\\
'''Zidane:''' [[spoiler:I ''am'' the new Angel of Death. Yours!!!]]
** Lightning in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' does this to [[spoiler:Orphan just before the [[MarathonBoss final]] final]] boss fight. He only manages a creepy laugh and three words before she gives him a lecture that lasts about a minute. But it is an awesome minute.
--->"You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, [[DeathSeeker waiting for someone to come and destroy you]]. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone! We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home, and we'll protect it or die trying! [[PreAssKickingOneLiner We live to make the impossible possible... that is our Focus!]]"
** Most of the boss battles in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' consist of you shutting up the enemy via superior firepower, as they will at various points through the battle [[IShallTauntYou taunt you]] about their supposed superiority until you defeat them. One of the most satisfying deliveries of such a Shut Up Battle is against [[TheScrappy Algus/Algrath]].
*** Elmdor shuts up Barinten/Barringten by having his assassin toss him to his death when he confronts Rafa on the rooftops of Riovanes Castle.
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has several examples. Ultimecia in particular not only gets a good snarky one from the [[TheCape Warrior of Light]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MBkVpRD2W0 "Are you finished talking?" ... "If you have no business with me, you should leave now. The world's time runs short. There is not a moment to waste with the likes of you."]]), she also gets an even more badass one from Squall after he defeats her in Shade Impulse: he responds to her preaching about time by [[TalkToTheFist finishing her off with his gunblade,]] [[KilledMidSentence before she'd finished talking.]]
*** Which of course is a reference to her [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII original game]] where she gives a similar speech during the final battle and gets struck down mid-sentence.
* ShutUpKirk:
** Kefka, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', gives a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments priceless]] one when faced with the heroes' NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech before the final battle.
--->'''Kefka:''' Sickening! You all sound like chapters from a SELF-HELP BOOKLET!
** He does it again in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', casually brushing off Terra's assertion that the meaning of existence can be found when one has something to protect:
--->'''Kefka:''' [[WordSchmord Meaning, schmeaning.]] This whole world's going bye-bye, you included!
** Garland brings up a similar rebuttal in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' when confronted by Zidane and three other party members at the end of disc three; after listening to them explain how they're better than him and how they know more than him ([[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords sometimes using arguments which don't apply to him in any way, shape or form]]) Garland challenges them to actually demonstrate their superiority.
---> Lecture me again when you are on the verge of death!
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': Just about everyone in the CrapsackWorld that is Ivalice have accepted the status quo and just want to be at the top of the heap. For daring to express a different opinion, Ramza is called variants of naive and foolish. (For example, in the battle against [[spoiler: Gafgarion]] when he makes his FaceHeelTurn, one of the things he can say to Ramza is: "Stop being such a child!") This rarely helps, as Ramza ends up killing most of them. And most of the rest end up being killed by the scheming Delita instead.
* SideQuest: Loads of them. For the first few games, they weren't more than "Go here, fight this guy, come back," but starting with ''IV'', they really became deeper and grew to become a staple of the series. Reached its logical conclusion in ''XII'', where doing every sidequest can take longer than doing the main story itself.
* SingleMindedTwins: Zorn and Thorn, from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. They habitually repeat what the other says (i.e. "what the other says they habitually repeat"), and their boss reveals they aren't even really two beings just before they merge into a single two-headed EldritchAbomination body for their final boss fight.
** ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series in general averted this.
*** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Palom and Porom]] is the first prime example. Palom is boastful and rude, Porom reserved and polite.
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Edgar is a ChivalrousPervert while Sabin is chaste, but acts without thinking.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': For Basch and Gabranth/Noah it's quite complicated, as their different personality might be due to the different "environment" they faced.
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' Alphinaud and Alisaie, despite being HalfIdenticalTwins in terms of their looks. While Alphinaud throws himself into the task of filling the shoes of their grandfather, Louisoix Leveilleur, and assisting the Scions of the Seventh Dawn in repelling the Garlean threat and restoring stability to Eorzea, Alisaie grows disgusted with Eorzea's politics and follows her own path, seeking the truth behind the Battle of Carteneau and Louisoix's disappearance and ultimately finding the Dreadwyrm Bahamut on the verge of resurrection. Alisaie is largely absent from the main story while Alphinaud remains a central figure throughout; this status quo changes towards the end of the Heavensward expansion, where Alisaie returns with a new costume, new abilities, and new purpose.
* [[SirSwearsALot Sir Swears-a-lot or Lady Swears-a-lot]]:
** Cid and Barret in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
---> '''Cid:''' "Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair, and ''[[MemeticMutation drink your goddamn tea]]!''"
** Compared to the rest of the cast of ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy]]'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Prishe]] drops mild swears much more often. Most notable are her quote for being called in as an assist character "It's about damn time!" and having "Aw hell!" instead of a death scream.
* SituationalDamageAttack: The Grudge (sometimes called Karma) attack deals damage to a character based on how many kills the character has made. So it'll likely kill the fighters and mages, while the healer will take very little damage (if any).
* SlidingScaleOfContinuity: The series are Level 0 (Non-Linear Installments). A couple of games had sequels or spin-offs; the others are each their own reality with their own characters, their own plot, their own setting... However, they share various nods to one another such as similar monsters, summons, chocobos, and characters named Cid.
** Curiously, the games are sometimes hinted to take place in a {{Multiverse}}, most notably with the character Gilgamesh, who is all but explicitly stated to be the same character across all his appearances, Ultros and Typhon have started getting similar treatment in recent releases (''XIII-2'' and ''XIV''), and the character Shinra from ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 X-2]]'', who seems to go quite a bit further than just a "shout-out" to the company from ''VII''. And then there's ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''...
*** ''XIV'' also featured Lightning directly from ''XIII'' to help promote ''Lightning Returns'', [[spoiler:while ''XI'''s Iroha seems to have somehow ended in Eorzea instead of returning to her future on Vana'diel at the end of ''Rhapsodies of Vana'diel'', and seems to be here to stay.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' directly connects the first six games in the series through aggressive CanonWelding. Each of those planets exists within the same universe, and their various magic crystals were put in place by the same outside observer.
* SmashMook: Particularly the Behemoths.
* SourOutsideSadInside:
** Squall Leonhart of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' puts an extraordinary amount of effort into being brusque, unsociable, and unsympathetic to others in order to keep anyone from getting too close to him. As the game progresses, it reveals that he does this because he's actually cripplingly insecure and desperately afraid of coming to care about and rely on others only to lose them, which he believes is inevitable.
** Lulu from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' is a milder example; she puts up a very cold, alienating front - being outright abrasive to Wakka, Tidus and (very occasionally) Yuna - but is revealed to just be an exceptionally sad person inside as the game progresses, due to the loss of [[spoiler:her fiancé, Chappu, Lady Ginnem, her first Summoner [[MyGreatestFailure due to her own inability]] and the fact that Yuna will die too once they finish the pilgrimage]].
** Lightning qualifies as this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', at least in the first few chapters of the game. She comes across as confrontational, aggressive, and outright cold with people she has just met. In reality, she's deeply concerned about her sister Serah and, considering that she herself was branded a L'Cie, had pretty firm justification for being under some heavy stress. She begins to open up to Hope and show more of her inner fragility as the plot advances.
* SpellLevels: Some games have tiers of spells that even have their own set of spell uses. It's a staple to have some more advanced spells under the naming format "[spell]", "[spell](a)ra", "[spell](a)ga", and "[spell](a)ja", though the English translations only began to use it since ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' (before, spells were simply named "[spell] 1", "[spell] 2", etc. due to limited characters). This naming system is carried over to the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series.
* SphereOfDestruction: The trademark design of the Ultima spell.
* SpinningOutOfHere: Several of the earlier games show teleportation this way.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Dissidia'' spawned a subseries of similar CrisisCrossover games that focus on iconic cast of past games. Aside from direct prequel ''Dissidia 012'', there's ''Theatrhythm'', ''Airborne Brigade'', ''All the Bravest'', and to a certain degree the Trading Card Game, all of which borrow gameplay terminology and character designs from ''Dissidia''.
* StableTimeLoop:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', the story begins when the Warriors of Light are sent to the nearby Temple of Chaos to kill the renegade knight Garland. [[spoiler:As Garland is dying, the four Elemental Fiends of the game magically send him two thousand years into the past, when he becomes the demon Chaos, and sends the four Fiends to the still-the-past future to seize control of the four Elemental Crystals. The Fiends take roughly four hundred years to obtain all the Crystals and use them to wreck the world until the present day, when the Warriors of Light fight Garland, slay the Fiends, and travel to the past to confront Chaos and die fighting him. The game ends when the Light Warriors kill Chaos and end the stable time loop.]]
** This is essential to the plot of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Because the main party kills [[spoiler:Ultimecia]] in a partially time-compressed realm, [[spoiler:she is able to give her powers to Edea, thirteen years in the game's past, before she perishes.]] This is what makes [[spoiler:Edea the perfect choice to possess for Ultimecia's plans]], and causes the main conflict in the present that leads to the need to destroy Ultimecia. Additionally, [[spoiler:after Edea inherits Ultimecia's powers in the past, the present-day Squall explains the concept of [=SeeD=] to her]], thus inspiring the creation of the mercenary organization he grew up in and setting up his own role in the events of the game. The Stable Time Loop is further illustrated by the futile efforts at one of the cast members to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong; she ultimately concludes that the past cannot be changed. That said, [[spoiler:when time uncompresses after Ultimecia's death, Squall is returned to the "present" and he and [[EarnYourHappyEnding everyone else in the main cast (including Edea) get to go on living the rest of their lives otherwise unaffected by the loop]]]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Small-time example in the form of Dajh naming the Chocobo chick "Chocolina". He named her after the quirky merchant of the same name. Where did she get ''her'' name from? Dajh, because she ''is'' the chick. She just happens to exist everywhere and at every moment in time, because she asked Etro for the ability to help Serah and Noel anywhere (and any''when'') during their journey.
*** Another example is the Proto-Fal'Cie Adam. The artificial Fal'Cie was reprogrammed by someone from the future to become malevolent, murdering its creators and ruling over humanity. Who reprogrammed it? It's the future self who was in turn also reprogrammed by its future self. [[spoiler: Eventually the whole event is erased from existence anyway.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Alexander primal is an ontological paradox MindScrew. The goblins summoned it using a robot cat (created by Alexander) and a book an NPC in our time wrote about it, these are sent back in time during one of the boss fights. A failed summoning in the past was the player characters travelling back in time (to drop off the book and the cat). The goblins observed this failed summoning and used it, along with the book and the cat, to summon Alexander. When it's defeated, the character that created the object that summoned Alexander to begin with is sent back in time centuries along with her fiancee, and they become the founders of their tribe (and their own ancestors). The instructions to create the object that summoned Alexander is sent back with them.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII'' the party is warned by their Elder that people in the Past are looking for the [[CoolShip Talon]] Units. In said Past, they meet the said Elder and ask where they can find Talon Units. Past Elder also is thinking about naming a town and asks for a name.
** An odd example from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesEchoesOfTime'': [[spoiler:A thousand years before the game starts, a shockwave from the future causes all the crystals to vanish from the world. Larkeicus, the villain of the story, gained immortality from these crystals and also used them to develop crystal-powered technology that he build an entire civilization upon, which naturally fell apart when the crystals vanished. A thousand years later, Larkeicus enacts a plot to build a tower as part of his scheme to prevent the shockwave that caused the crystals to vanish. Turns out the tower he built was the cause of the shockwave in the first place.]]
* StandardJapaneseFantasySetting: The series is the TropeMaker and TropeNamer for standard RPG magic classes (WhiteMage, BlackMage, etc.), and its Job system includes at least one of each class on the list, sometimes combining them into character in games with a smaller cast. Magic crystals are omnipresent, and usually significant to the plot. Elves and orcs are rare, but there's usually a few goblins as early enemies, ElementalRockPaperScissors slime enemies in the form of Flans, and at least one beastfolk race. Actual demons and gods are rare, with the role of religion typically instead going to otherworldly spirits or beasts (most commonly known as Eidolons) and their summoners.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasy'' is much more of a Standard Western Fantasy than the later games, fighting ''D&D'' specific monsters like liches and [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} mind flayers]] which became less common later in the series. But it did introduce the standard classes of Fighter, Thief, Monk/Black Belt, White Mage, and Black Mage, and included some then-unusual additions such as a HumongousMecha as a late-game boss and a CoolAirship.
** Moogles first appeared as forest-dwelling cute mascot race in ''III'' and have served in that capacity in every main entry from ''V'' onward.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' introduces summon magic, and the Land of Summons -- powerful magical creatures/spirits which can be magically called to the caster's aid. These appear in every subsequent entry, sometimes by names other than Summon or Eidolon -- on several occasions as the Kaiju-sized threat which levels a city or castle.
** The world of Ivalice, as seen in ''VideoGame/IvaliceAlliance'' games (starting with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', later appearing in a numbered entry in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''), is perhaps the straightest example, a densely historical setting of war and political intrigue. While Hume (humans) empires control most of the setting, there are many prominent beastfolk characters, from the lizard-like Bangaa and PigMan Seeq to the furry, masked Garifs and aloof, [[LittleBitBeastly rabbit-eared]] Vieras, who live in [[HiddenElfVillage secluded forest villages]].
** This trope is ''best'' demonstrated with ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'' which, in addition to establishing its own complicated lore and setting, is heavily inspired by previous games in the series. For example, part of the backstory is that there are ''multiple'' generations of {{Precursors}}, as an EternalRecurrence is that the world gets repeatedly destroyed during multiple eras of prosperity. Further, Hyur (Humans) are the most widespread race, but there are also the Elezen (Elves), Lalafell (Halflings/Dwarves), Rogaedyn (Giants), as well as the cat-like Miqote and Hrothgar. Most races from older ''Final Fantasy'' installments also return, such as the Bangaa and bunny-like Viera. There are also groups of "Beast races" which receive varying degrees of discrimination. There's an [[TheEmpire evil empire]] wielding advanced {{Magitek}}, a religious kingdom doused with heavy AnimeCatholicism and fighting a ForeverWar against dragons, multiple [[{{Wutai}} stand-ins for Japan]], an eternal struggle between entities of Light and Dark, and even giant {{Kaiju}} and HumongousMecha. And naturally, the series has most of its usual character classes, such as Paladins, Bards, Monks, White Mages, Black Mages, and of course, Ninja and Samurai.
* StarCrossedLovers:
** In the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' series, Aerith Gainsborough and Zack Fair are fairly happy at first, as shown in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', but then Zack goes on the infamous Nibelheim mission and disappears for years, ultimately [[DoomedByCanon dying just outside Midgar]] before he can reunite with Aerith. She never learns what happened to him and, in the meantime, briefly sees Cloud ([[spoiler:who happens to have been Zack's best friend]]) as a ReplacementGoldfish... but ultimately faces her own death at the blade of Sephiroth. They end up TogetherInDeath, as shown in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'':
*** Played with when it comes to Laguna and Julia. They have an attraction to each other during Laguna's military days, but it's not known if it ever progressed beyond that. Julia later wrote a song invoking this trope, as she believed Laguna to be killed in action. It is however a slightly straighter example for Laguna and Raine, who were together briefly, but Laguna left to rescue Ellone from Esthar soldiers. While he was gone, Raine died in childbirth.
*** {{Fanon}} liked to assign this to Squall and Rinoa (who are the children of Laguna and Julia respectively). A fan theory for years was that Ultimecia the BigBad of the game [[spoiler: was actually a future version of Rinoa, driven mad by Squall's death, due to sorceresses living longer]] (itself just {{Fanon}}). Square ultimately debunked this theory.
** This could apply to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'''s Tidus and Yuna with Tidus being [[spoiler: actually a dream of the Fayth]]. But [[spoiler: at the good ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', they are happily reunited.]]
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has [[spoiler:Lenne and Shuyin, whose romance was interrupted by the war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. As a summoner, Lenne was put onto the front lines to fight. Shuyin sought to use the machina Vegnagun to essentially commit genocide and stop the war. Although Lenne stopped him, both were killed. They couldn't be TogetherInDeath because of Shuyin's soul being trapped in the Den of Woe.]]
*** [[spoiler: Shuyin and Lenne]] from VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2. It’s an odd variant on the trope, as [[spoiler: they’re both [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Unsent]] but can’t pass on - Shuyin, because he’s [[AxCrazy lost it]] from the 1000 years of MindRape and Lenne, wants to calm him down.]] You end up ensuring they end up [[spoiler: TogetherInDeath]].
** Serah and Snow in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2''. The first game's ending was pretty good for them, then the sequel kicked in and Snow went on a quest to find Lightning. It all goes downhill from there. [[spoiler:Except in one of the ''Paradox Endings'', i.e. an alternate, non-official ending, where they go on adventures together.]]
** The Warrior of Light and Cosmos from ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', as well as [[spoiler:Cid and his wife, whose likeness they were created in]].
* StatusQuoIsGod:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the trope used as a plot point. The world of Spira is always under the constant threat of the gigantic monster Sin, that destroys everything it comes across. Summoners, who are the followers of the Yevon religion, go on pilgrimages so that they can obtain the final aeon and use it to kill Sin while [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing their lives in the process]]. This brings out a period known as the Calm where people can live in peace for a while (the current one is a record ten years) until Sin is reborn and the cycle starts all over again. The cycle has gone on for so long (a thousand years to be exact!) that nobody questions it. When the main character, Tidus, starts questioning everything and the teachings of Yevon, that's when everyone starts to wonder why things never change and they vow to actually change the status quo once and for all. Yevon doesn't like people questioning them and threatening the status quo (Yevon ruled all of Spira for a thousand years aren't going to let that go anytime soon), so they brand the main characters as traitors that are sentenced to death. [[spoiler: The party does find a way to defeat Sin once and for all while also exposing the lies that Yevon had upheld for a thousand years.]]
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a rare in-universe case of this. The heroes and villains have been waging war in the name of their gods for a while now, but every time one side comes within reach of winning, [[spoiler:Shinryu resets everything back the way it used to be]], starting the war over again. This is because [[spoiler:Shinryu made a deal with Cid, aka the Narrator, that he would keep the war going forever in a GroundhogDayLoop in order to temper Chaos into the ultimate force of destruction]]. In this case, God is in fact, keeping the status quo!
*** The game has some fun with this concept. [[spoiler:The villains' main plan involves killing Cosmos in such a way that [[KilledOffForReal not even Shinryu will be able to resurrect her]]. And they ''succeed''...sort of.]]
*** There's also the matter of the prequel actually being an ''aversion'' of this. It has several new characters, some pre-existing characters being on different sides, Kuja not being written poorly and thus acting like a completely different character, and the plot having a completely different focus. Everyone forgot this by the next status quo reset, which is why it ''seems'' like it's never changed in spite of actually changing.
* StepfordSmiler:
** Aerith from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' [[spoiler:is heavily implied to know how the events of the original story are "supposed" to go, including her fated death at Sephiroth's hands. She knows her days are probably numbered but she still clings to the idea that fate can be changed.]] She also maintains a cheerful demeanor and is a bonafide NiceGirl.
** Nearly the entire population of the world in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' is this way due to the CrapsackWorld setting. Sin, a whale monster that is size of a city, roams around the world and destroys everything in its path. The populace is lead to believe from the Church of Yevon that if everyone atones for their sins, then the Sin monster will go away for good. Despite people trying to do this for 1000 years, Sin still exists and you can see people trying not to crack as they keep insisting that things will be ok if they keep atoning for their sins, despite the fact that they know things have not changed for so long. You eventually find people that finally break out of their stepford smiler state and wonder if things are just hopeless.
*** Yuna from plays with this trope in a very interesting way: it's made very clear that she deliberately takes on the role of 'heroic savior of Spira' so as to inspire hope in the rest of the world even though she's much more scared and sad than she lets on, but it's not just a simple matter of her putting on a totally fake mask. In the infamous laughing scene, Yuna admits that she tries to smile even when she's feeling sad, and the more she does it the less sad she feels. Sure enough, as she encourages a reluctant Tidus to force himself to laugh with her, they end up actually falling over each other laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing is. So Yuna definitely does pretend to be much more happy, confident, and perfect than she actually feels, but to her it's less about putting on a mask as deliberately ''turning into'' that kind of person inside and out. [[spoiler:Also defeating Sin would mean her death; to add onto this, Tidus unintentionally teases her with promises of taking her to see his Zanarkand after her pilgrimage is over. Naturally, this causes her a great deal of emotional pain, and the only thing that really keeps her going is knowing that she is Spira's salvation and that she'd die a martyr. She breaks down when she learns that Yevon is corrupt, but later finds the strength to carry on and find another way.]]
*** Tidus's IdiotHero persona is mostly just an act to deal with his angst over his DisappearedDad. And he has a more traditional StepfordSmiler moment later on, after discovering that [[spoiler:defeating Yu Yevon will end his own existence.]]
** [[spoiler:Vanille]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is a perfect Depressed example. [[spoiler:Her unnaturally happy and positive attitude was just a way of running away from her past failures. She has an authentic death wish and blames herself for everything that has happened]].
*** Hope is implied to be Depressed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2''. When Serah and Noel first meet him, he mentions that everyone he was friends with disappeared from his life immediately after the fall of Cocoon. [[spoiler: Becomes more explicit in Academia 4XX - Hope sends himself on a one-way trip 400 years into the future because his father had died and there was nothing left for him in his own time]].
** Thancred in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' seems to be chipper and borderline ChivalrousPervert, but deep down, he resents himself for not being able to save Minfilia's father from being killed by a Gobbue several years ago and he also blames himself for not doing more to help out his fellow Scions. Thancred's constant self pushing to make himself useful gets him physically exhausted to the point where [[spoiler:he is weak enough to be possessed by Lahabrea for a while]].
** Prompto in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'''s affectedly optimistic attitude masks his secret about who and what he really is. He admits to Noctis that he knows he is an endlessly generous and cheerful 'giver' to his friends because he is convinced that he's faking being worth something. No matter how much the others reassure him that they like him for who he is, and even though he believes them, he can't make himself feel it.
** In ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'', even in the good / true ending, none of the characters are entirely happy about how things have turned out. [[spoiler:Reynn and Lann's parents, Lusse and Rorrik are dead and defeating the evil beings that had possessed their spirits only bought a bit of time for their spirit forms to bid good-bye to their children. Furthermore, Reynn and Lann have to leave Grymoire. But Lusse tells Reynn to not be sad and to "turn those corners up," then Reynn later says the same thing to the Champions of Grymoire as she and Lann are about to leave.]]
* StockWeaponNames: Names such as Excalibur, Masamune, and the series' own Ultima weapon.
* StockRPGSpells: Has the core FireIceLightning as offensive spells, a whole slew of ElementalPowers, curative magic, status buffs and debuffs, as well as status effects.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Almost every game has an example. Some stand out more than others (particularly ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 X-2]]''), but every game will feature at least one person like this. ''Final Fantasy'', however, is notable for its equal opportunity -- even the ''men'' are prone to this trope (Kuja can even put most of the ''girls'' to shame). There are too many to list in just one page.
** Both used and averted for the Viera, a race of bunny women. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', they wear pretty revealing clothes, especially Fran. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', only the Elementalist class is revealing while the rest are modest in clothing. The Seeq, [[PigMan a race of pigs]], [[FanDisservice are the]] [[MonsterModesty most stripperiffic.]]
** {{Summon|Magic}}er/BlackMagicianGirl Rydia, from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', was already skirting the line with her post-adolescence LeotardOfPower. Her outfit for the sequel, ''The After Years'', doesn't resemble clothes so much as strategically-applied, gravity-defying green paint. [[SheIsAllGrownUp Porom]] winds up with a Stripperiffic costume of her own, too; both of them actually had their clothing censored for the North American release of the game. Surprisingly, there's also a male example in [[spoiler:Golbez]] of all people.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by some of the [[AmazonBrigade female guards]] of Troia on the Nintendo DS version, a nation ruled by women. One of them even gets annoyed at being mistaken for a dancer.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', certain types of armor had a somewhat odd tendency to spontaneously gain ZettaiRyouiki when equipped on female characters, the [[CatGirl Mithra]] getting hit the most by it. However, there are also plenty of armor that looks exactly the same when equipped on both genders, ranging from practical armor and robes, to harnesses and subligar, which is stripperiffic even on the male characters.
** ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'' ran into the slightly peculiar situation of having to cover up a ''male'' character because playtesters found his outfit 'too sexy'. Originally a sort of skintight leather cloth glued over his chest that showed his sides, thong-lines, [[TattooAsCharacterType enormous tribal back-piece]] and butt, Wol ended up dressed in a (still very revealing) carapace with a little shoulder-cape.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' plays this for laughs with Godbert Manderville, the UltimateBlacksmith father of Hildebrand Manderville. Nine times out of ten, the man is walking around in his small clothes (re: his ''underwear and a pair of sandals'') and if he's wearing clothes anywhere else, the man'll have it shed sooner or later, usually before he opens up a massive can of whup-ass.
* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Probably every ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' has at least one stupid trap the player must fall into.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' has an elf king living in a decrepit castle in the middle of nowhere, who supposedly dropped his crown in a dungeon. Despite the party having - presumably - heard about how a random dark elf, Astos, stole Matoya's crystal ball, they go through the dungeon and give the elf the crown. Guess who the elf was. Making things worse, the dungeon you have to go through to get the crown is (in the original game) a huge DifficultySpike over everything that came before.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' has a point in the story where you return to your base and are told by just about every single person in the base that the queen has been acting very strangely, some speculating that she might have lost her mind after the death of the king. She then invites the lead protagonist to her bedroom specifically excluding the rest of his party. Considering that at worst, this is some kind of trap by the villains influencing the queen in some manner, and at BEST trying to sleep with a clearly very emotionally unstable person, you are still given no option but to follow her into the bedroom hop into bed and make no effort to resist at all. The truth is that the queen was replaced with a monster and the ONLY thing that saved the hero from getting stabbed in the back was that one of your party members was spying on you for fun.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'':
*** There's a point where the villains demands the last of the four crystals in exchange for the life of the protagonist's love interest. Instead of refusing or at the very least switching the real crystal out for a fake one like any other smart person would, our brainless heroes decide that the only option is to trade the world away for the life of one person. Even in this regard they nearly fail, as they hand over the crystal before they get their hostage back or even see that she's safe. In order to get her, they have to fight their way through a large dungeon and still barely manage to save her in time before she's executed.
*** Twice in the face of decisive battles, the party decides, "Let's make the women StayInTheKitchen!" Yes, they're the game's best spellcasters and the only reason they have made it this far. The men decide big boss battles are exactly where not to bring the heal spells and earth-shattering summons. Even worse, the first time they do this they get their asses handed to them and still get one of the girls abducted, but learn absolutely nothing from it. Admittedly, the first party split is suggested by the King of Fabul, and he has a good reason (both women have healing magic and the infirmary will need help.)
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', right after arriving in the second world, there is a scene where a monster kidnaps Lenna and Faris, and Bartz must fight it one-on-one so that he can be dragged off to the villain's hideout. Should he lose, he goes straight there, but if he wins, you'll be taken back to the area you were in, with a treasure chest that wasn't there before. It's quite obviously a trap (one containing sleeping gas, to be specific), but since Bartz can't leave the area and there's no other way to advance the story...
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the part where the emperor pretends to be regretful for what he's done and to lock Kefka away, while commanding you to go make peace with the Espers. There is no reason for your characters to believe this guy who's been a villain the whole game, but every attempt to assign blame or reject him has a "But Thou Must" that sets you up for the sudden but inevitable betrayal. To add insult to injury, the entire *nation* is in on the conspiracy, despite being decimated.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', you watch a sphere in which the two people doing terrible, horrible, very bad, no good things are instantly recognisable by their distinctive voices, but the characters [[FailedASpotCheck Fail A Spot Check]] and decide to trust these people.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesEchoesOfTime'', you have to help Larkeicus in return for his providing you with medicine... despite the main character having a recurring dream featuring him as an obviously evil figure since well before they met him. [[spoiler: Unsurprisingly, this results in him doing evil things and everything going wrong.]] Justified since [[spoiler: the plot centers around a StableTimeLoop; you are predestined to help Larkeicus, because every part of the main character's life up until this point is a direct consequence of Larkeicus's plot. Failure to help him would beget a GrandfatherParadox]]. As the hero, you receive a small crystal for your 16th birthday. You pull it out frequently. What happens when you do? [[spoiler: An innocent little female friend of yours is cursed by a mysterious illness with no apparent cure, the evil mastermind you defeated mere seconds ago is resurrected and vows to annihilate you, and an ancient peaceful immortal is transformed into a gigantic insane electric flying bird monster that tries to kill you.]] Thanks for the gift, mom!
* StupidSacrifice:
** Practically all of the sacrifice in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''.
*** Palom and Porom [[TakenForGranite turn themselves into statues]] hold a pair of [[AdvancingWallOfDoom advancing walls of doom]] in place. In the party, however, was a mighty sage who probably could have brought the castle down around them if he had thought of doing so. This mostly served as a gimmick to remove the characters from the party, as the number would otherwise have exceeded the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit. There's also the fact that Porom usually knows Teleport by the time this occurs, and there was absolutely no given reason for this slightly more logical way to escape not to work.
*** Speaking of Tellah, the pointlessness of his own sacrifice was part of the plot -- if he'd waited for everyone to wear Golbez down ''before'' using his CombinedEnergyAttack, his sacrifice might have done a bit more than knock the BigBad back (though it did free Kain from his control and might have also shaken Zemus' control of Golbez long enough for the latter to stop himself from killing his own brother. After all, anger makes you stupid and reckless.
*** All of the game's fake-out deaths are like this. Cid did not need to jump off the ship with a bomb -- he's more than capable of building advanced remote controls, so it's hard to believe he didn't have a remote-controlled detonator. Even assuming he didn't, jumping with the bomb would not alter its speed any. And going back a few minutes earlier, if all Yang did to stop the cannon was blow up the guns...why not just ''walk out of the room with everyone else and let Rydia set it on fire or use one of her summons?!'' There was no particular reason the sequence required him to stand in the room and die.
** ''[[VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus]]'' proves guilty of this on one occasion. When ImplacableMan Azul is attacking the party, Shalua holds the hydraulic door open for Vincent and Shelke to escape through. This wouldn't be so bad... except that Shelke had literally just finished demonstrating her ability to paralyze Azul indefinitely with a barrier materia. Even disregarding this, there was no need whatsoever for Shalua to stay behind to hold the door open, considering that it had an adjacent button to open it. Was it really too much trouble to just push the button again and open the door a second time?
*** Parodied in [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Dirge%20of%20Cerberus/Update%2027/index.html this Let's Play]]
** Explicitly invoked in ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy''. [[spoiler:Mog throwing himself at the Lich only to be mortally wounded, and admitting to doing so [[BecauseDestinySaysSo just because it was in the prophecy]] ends up shaking Wol's resolve in a prophecy that drives people to throw away their lives meaninglessly.]]
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Usually one of the [[RuleOfThree three female members of the party]] tends to have this.
** Celes from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', due to her BrokenBird status and the fact that she is initially cold and pessimistic before being defrosted by Locke. After the halfway point of the game, Celes becomes much more friendly towards the rest of the party and is altogether more optimistic and hopeful, to the point where she eventually becomes their unifying force.
** Cloud in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is flamboyantly cool, never failing to point out how little he cares about things, crack a cruel, deadpan joke or show off for attention. When he lets the act drop he's chivalrous, caring, sensitive, and displays a charming, eccentric sense of humor.
** In the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' prequel ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', pre-insanity Sephiroth is shown to be aloof, cool, and professional...but also capable of displaying concern (about his friends Genesis and Angeal), empathy (allowing Zack to return to Midgar to check on Aerith), and humor (to the point of cracking a wry joke or two).
*** Vincent. He speaks little and appears cold and uncaring at first. As the party gets to know him, he gradually shows a kind, helpful, and protective nature.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Squall Leonhart is cold with everyone besides Rinoa, to whom he is a DefrostingIceKing.
** Lulu in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', but tends to be more sardonic in nature.
** Fran in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', but more amiable than usual. She's just very quiet.
** [[HiddenHeartofGold Lightning]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': an EstablishingCharacterMoment in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GujB6SX8CLM#t=2m21s the introduction]] has her staring at a dandelion-like piece of fluff with her regular stoic expression. However, when she catches it her touch is gentle enough to keep it perfectly intact [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic until a gust of wind blows to pieces out of her hands]].
*** Fang could also qualify. She's aloof, cold, and snarky to everyone except Vanille. In her own words "I'll tear down the sky to save her."
* SummonMagic: Creatures that a particular class of character can invoke, and which represent most of the combat power for that character.
* SuperSoldier:
** TheEmpire in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' used [[PoweredByAForsakenChild drained magical power]] both to create [[MilitaryMage magic-wielding super-soldiers]] (called Magitek Knights in the translation, but simply ''madoushi'' -- mages -- in the original) and actual {{Magitek}}. Celes is an example of when it goes right, but Kefka is what happens when it goes [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity horribly]], [[OmnicidalManiac horribly]] ''[[AGodAmI wrong]]''.
*** It's even worse with Kefka than one initially thought, as [[PsychoPrototype he was the first of the Magitek Knights]].
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'' (and its associated Compilation works including ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'') include numerous {{SuperSoldier}}s, many of which were created using Mako energy, Jenova cells, a combination of both, and/or other experiments, to produce superhuman fighters with greatly improved combat abilities, including (but certainty not limited to) enhanced physical strength and speed. [=SOLDIERs=], members of Shinra's elite military unit, are carefully selected humans [[BioAugmentation treated with Mako energy and Jenova cells]] to produce superhuman combatants. Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal, while generally called [=SOLDIERs=] First Class, are actually prototypes for competing Shinra research projects directed to infusing humans with Jenova's genes.
*** Sephiroth was created by directly infusing a developing fetus with Jenova cells (Project S, headed by Hojo).
*** Unlike Sephiroth, Angeal was indirectly exposed to Jenova cells because his mother Gillian was the one injected with Jenova cells before his birth, while Genesis was exposed to Jenova cells even more indirectly with his mother being treated with cells harvested from Gillian (Project G, headed by Hojo's rival Hollander).
*** They also had radically different results. Sephiroth was by far the strongest of the three. Eventually, he gained the ability to control the Jenova Cells perfectly... in exchange for losing all his humanity. Angeal received a weaker power boost but inherited Jenova's ability to infuse other organisms with his cells to give them some of his power and vice versa. Genesis was a FlawedPrototype who shared Angeal's abilities but also suffered from degradation (as did his copies) -- and boy, does these cause problems.
*** Zack Fair, probably the strongest of the officially and 'conventionally' produced (i.e., non-prototype) [=SOLDIERs=].
*** Cloud Strife, while never an actual member of SOLDIER, has all the physical enhancements of a SOLDIER, thanks to Hojo's sadistic experimentation after the Nibelheim Incident.
*** Vincent Valentine, an ex-Turk who becomes a shapeshifter with superhuman physical abilities thanks to Hojo's and Lucrecia Crescent's experiments.
*** From ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', Weiss, Nero, Rosso, Azul, Shelke, and the other members of Deepground, who underwent SOLDIER-type treatments as well as special individualized experimentation to develop unique powers. It was said they used Genesis as the basis since his cells gained the ability to use Mako similar to Jenova, but without the degradation, loss of sanity (Well, okay, he did briefly lose his sanity, but for different reasons), and having a desire to smash a meteor into the planet to eat it for breakfast.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVIII's'' [=SeeDs=], who are superhumanly boosted, cast powerful magic, and able to summon deific beings to smite their enemies. These guys are apparently so badass that ''nine'' of them (in three-man teams) are expected to hold off an entire invading army, complete with artillery and killer walking robots. Twelve more ''candidates'' to become [=SeeDs=] are expected to assault and clear out an entire ''city'' of enemy soldiers.
*** Their single greatest advantage is actually the Guardian Forces, which allow, among other things, the casting of magic (which is insinuated as artificial and weak when used by anyone other than a Sorceress), the collection of magic, and the use of magic to increase abilities from well above average to omni-powerful. No other group specializes in junctioning magic, which is why [=SeeDs=] are so devastating. This makes a small, specialized group more than a match for most smaller armies, as long as they have specific objectives. The GF forces are capable of granting characters permanent stat boosts. If you assume the normal stat growth is "average" human stats, then it is the possible endgame for [=SeeDs=] to be 3-5 times stronger, faster, etc. using GF forces.
** A slightly less traditional form of the Super Soldier would be the black mages from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''.
*** Both [[spoiler:Zidane and Kuja]] would fit better as Super Soldiers in this game, but it was only because unlike the rest of the Genomes, they were given souls. Makes you think what would happen if the other Genomes had gotten their souls too...
** The yin to Cloud's yang, Lightning from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. She can fly (well, actually, manipulate gravity) while machine-gunning hordes of {{Mooks}}, and most amazingly do it all while protecting her modesty. And all that is before she gets her l'Cie powers.
*** Lightning was actually more of a {{Mook|s}} herself, roughly equivalent to a police sergeant, so it can be inferred that the stuff she had access to was probably the standard issue.
*** It is revealed through the story that millions of l'Cie were created and trained to fight the ancient War of Transgression in secret bunkers. ''Eight'' of them were sufficient enough to [[spoiler:bring down a ''planet'']], so only God knows what a full force was capable of.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome/FinalFantasy Here are the list of it.]]
* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: The series kinda has this, since you can use tents at save points, and there is usually a save point right before each boss. This practice started with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', however. Programming limitations kept save points from being used in the NES games, and to this day, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' is the only game whose remakes ''still'' don't let you save right before a boss. Screw up or find an unwinnable battle in the Dark World? Enjoy climbing the Syrcus Tower from the ground floor again!
** The beginning of the first TempleOfDoom in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. When you first enter the area, you have the option to save (in a menu prompt, not a normal SavePoint) and are fully healed automatically before having to fight a flying MiniBoss that can be difficult without the proper equipment.
** Save points in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games ''X'' through ''XII'' also heal and regenerate MP. It gets to the point where you start dreading the image of a save point deep within a dungeon.
** Especially in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' when you encounter [[spoiler:Crystalbugs, which [[ChestMonster look like save points]]]]...
** There is one part of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' (Bevelle) where you run down a fairly short linear corridor with save points at both ends, which features random encounters that give tons of AP and good items. [[spoiler: Especially notable given that Yuna [[CantCatchUp has been missing for a while, and is consequently missing a lot of levels relative to the rest of the party]]. A hint, perhaps.]] There is, of course, a ThatOneBoss at the other end. (On the other hand, the game is pretty clear that you're looking at a boss battle; it's just the difficulty that's the surprise.)
*** And then we have the Omega Dungeon, who lacks the generosity. A Save Sphere at the start, have fun fighting yourself through powerful fiends, including the horrible [[DemonicSpiders Great Malboro]] who always starts with a ambush and then goes to inflict a variety of Status effects on your party.
*** Generally, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' gives the player several save points with not-so-large space in between. Not only the case in Bevelle, though that one is by far the worst offender. On the Thunder Plains, in one version, there's even a Save Sphere right outside the Travel Agency and one right inside it. And "right outside" and "right inside" means what it sounds like. You only need to walk 5 steps at most from you enter, until you reach the sphere. The outdoor one is right adjacent to the door, so it almost even blocks it.
*** When you arrive in Sanubia Desert, your party is split up. As you collect each member again, you may notice that the game is giving out a lot of healing items (of note are Al Bhed Potions, which heal statuses and restore 1000 HP to everyone; you'll reach the maximum 99 very fast if you do any sort of exploring). [[spoiler:You may also notice that your only dedicated healer, Yuna, is the last person you need to find (after the only person who can actually use the Al Bhed Potions, Rikku). Guess who ''you'' won't be seeing for a long time...]]
** One interesting example in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' involves a point immediately after leaving Nibelheim. Traveling through an eerie passage, you get a savepoint at the very beginning of a largish room with a snakelike pathway, very innocuous, as many winding paths are common in areas throughout the game. In fact, there's a T-shaped intersection immediately after the save point. Head right, a chest and dead end. Head left, what some players consider ThatOneBoss, Materia Keeper.
*** Another interesting example (in fact, a subversion) in this opus is the infamous "Yuffie savepoint". Upon defeat Yuffie (a random encounter in a forest), you will be brought to a screen with her, and taking the right choices in the dialog tree when you speak with her will make her join you. Since it's very easy to get answers wrong in the dialog tree, a savepoint is generously offered on the screen before talking to her. The subversion? Taking the save point requires you to turn your back on her, which let her assault you, steal your money and flee. Damn ninja!
*** After [[SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear Yuffie steals the party's materia]], the player would expect all the random encounters to be a nightmare since everyone is now crippled with stat changes and no abilities other than items and attack. However, the random encounters drop powerful items like X-Potions (full healing), Phoenix Downs (revive), and powerful attack items as compensation for a severely disadvantaged party.
*** In addition, Wutai side quest is supposed to be done just after Temple of the Ancients. Incidentally, weapons you find as treasures in aforementioned temple all lack materia slots but compensate with almost double attack power than their contemporaries. They will come useful soon enough.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', first had a healing spring before the first boss battle in the Evil Forest. Later, right before the first Black Waltz, there's a split path. [[spoiler: On the left is a Moogle, which can save and heal you, and on the right is the cutscene for the boss. The problem is this: you need Vivi to free the Moogle from the block of Ice it's trapped in, but if you went right and then went back, Zidane's alone and Vivi can't help him. It doesn't help that the boss has to be fought with just Zidane, so if you went right first, Good Luck!]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': The game's FireIceLightning magic, Elemancy, is obtained by gathering energy from elemental deposits scattered around the world; outdoors, these take the form of odd spikes surrounded by their corresponding element, while indoors they're more like gas canisters filled with magic. Elemancy is an expendable, highly damaging tool, so elemental deposits are generally found only near havens (one of each deposit). Thus, finding an elemental deposit elsewhere tends to be this trope.
*** At the Disc of Cauthess, you'll find a surprising number of Fire deposits. Besides being thematic (the place is hot enough to avert ConvectionShmonvection), the last maneuver for the boss at the end involves dealing a large amount of damage in a brief time; it's perfectly possible to meet the requirement with Noctis' weapons (and technically the finisher happens nevertheless), but if you're doing a LowLevelRun the provided Elemancy makes it much easier.
*** Most large dungeons have at least one of each deposit scattered around the dungeon. Not all of the optional dungeons have bosses; if you find them all close to each other, prepare for a difficult boss fight.[[labelnote:*]]Fodina Caestino has ''two'' of each, but one set is around the haven and the others have very little energy; it's mostly {{Foreshadowing}} for the new Technique that Ignis gets at the end.[[/labelnote]]
*** While hunting Deadeye the Behemoth, a single, isolated Fire deposit is found after an OptionalStealth segment. There are also a bunch of [[ExplodingBarrels explosive barrels]] scattered around the boss fight down the next drop; hit one with a Fire spell while Deadeye is near for massive damage and bonus AP.[[labelnote:*]]This is also a DevelopmentGag; Deadeye was the boss of the ''Episode Duscae'' demo, where you got a proper tactical takedown and Prompto [[ShootTheFuelTank shot a gas canister]] for similar effect.[[/labelnote]]
*** During Chapter 13, in [[spoiler:Zegnautus Keep]], you'll find a room with ''four'' of ''each'' type deposit, all gathered together. There are also two vending machines, one for weapons and one for healing items. Down the elevator at the end of the following hallway, enter ThatOneBoss [[spoiler:Ravus daemonified]], who [[LightningBruiser cuts your allies down easily, crosses the battlefield in an instant if you try to get distance]], and [[DamageSpongeBoss has a ridiculous amount of HP for a mandatory boss]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'': the [[NewGamePlus second playthrough]] introduces Code Crimson missions, which are a prime example of CheckPointStarvation. There is only one relic terminal accessible during Code Crimson; the rest of the mission leading up to it is a StealthBasedMission, and the area after it is a boss fight during which you are ''under sniper fire''.
* SymbolSwearing:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' a man in the town Narshe says "Narshe is a neutral city. We want no war here. But that #@%!* empire won't listen."
** This is one of the things that a lot of people remember ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' for. Usually, it's Cid unleashing the grawlixes, but Barret was also prone (and Cloud uses it in one instance). In one case (when confronting Don Corneo in Wutai), Barret announces a string of symbols longer than any actual swear words. This was not a game that was otherwise entirely clean - the word 'shit' is used several times uncensored. Although in the PC version, it's censored this way as well.
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* TagalongKid:
** Vaan in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' -- a bit unusual in that he's the viewpoint character. Gameplay-wise (and keeping in mind that there's a large amount of GameplayAndStoryIntegration) Vaan is out and out the best character on the team, assuming you use him at all. This would seem to imply that Vaan is a [[TheBigGuy monster killing machine]] the team, fortunately, has lying around.
*** Later games show Vaan has gone into business as a [[ImpossibleThief god-like thief]] and have him be a skilled enough fighter to hold off a PhysicalGod for a long time. So, the FFXII team probably [[MagikarpPower didn't know what they had on their hands]]. As incidental as Vaan's inclusion on the team maybe, he's probably the single most powerful weapon at their disposal, if not instrumental to their success.
*** Vaan can be best described as an "[[TheAce Ace]]-in-training". You know how in fiction, really skilled Rouge-type or heroic type characters come from dirt-poor backgrounds? Well, that's Vaan. In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' he's still very young, but clearly has a lot of potentials, while ''Revenant Wings'' shows us how he went from Street Brat to the swashbuckler we see in later games.
*** Penelo went through a similar change. She played even less of a role in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' than Vaan did and her only purpose for tagging along was to make sure Vaan was staying out of trouble since he was the only family she had left. Her role was expanded upon in the spinoffs, but she's still mostly portrayed as Vaan's partner who makes sure he doesn't cause too much trouble.
** Hope in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is a civilian that was unlucky enough to be caught up in the Purge. He stubbornly follows [[TheHero Lightning]] for the bulk of the game. Unlike some kids, he's incredibly useful, because he has the [[SquishyWizard highest magic stat]] in the game.
* TakeMyHand:
** At the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', as the heroes escape from Kefka's [[LoadBearingBoss crumbling headquarters]], Celes drops Locke's bandana, an item of tremendous sentimental value to her. She hurries back to retrieve it, and as she does, the ground gives way underneath her. Locke himself (or Setzer, if you didn't re-recruit Locke in the game's second half) rushes to her rescue.
** In the ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud has a vision in which he's taking Aerith's hand, but the scene then shifts back to reality and he sees Tifa reaching out for him, only for the ledge beneath her to give way and for him to have to catch her and grab onto the platform.
** Happens several times in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'': after Angeal saves Zack from a monster in Wutai when the latter gets reckless, then Cloud reaches out to Zack as he goes to [[spoiler:confront the Shinra army outside of Midgar]], and at the very end, when [[spoiler:Zack dies and takes the hand of Angeal's spirit as he returns to the Lifestream.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' features a variation: when the [[spoiler:S.S. Liki is attacked by Sin en route to Kilika]], Tidus grabs a nearby rope-rail with one hand, and Yuna's hand with the other... only for her to slip, land hard on a cannon/harpoon gun and get saved by Kimahri a second later.
** Right at the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', Yuna falls off a cliff and is miraculously caught by Rikku and Paine. They're unable to pull her up at first, and thus spend a few moments struggling to hold onto her while complaining to their overly chatty MissionControl to shut up and petulantly pronouncing the predicament an especially "disasteriffic" one before finally managing to pull her up and fill in Brother on what was happening.
** Happened in a flashback in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' when Serah was taken prisoner by the Pulse fal'Cie and Snow was reaching out to save her... and failed.
*** Another, more successful attempt, is done at the end of the game between the main party. Fang and Vanille, however, are unreachable and perform a HeroicSacrifice becoming part of the crystal pillar holding up Cocoon.
* TakeThat: A recurring enemy is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_(cigarette) malboro]], which attacks with breath awful enough to inflict almost every ailment on its target.
* TearsOfJoy:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Garnet in the ending, [[spoiler:upon being reunited with Zidane, who she believed to be dead for a year. Combined with AngerBornOfWorry and TheGlomp too.]]
** Yuna cries these at the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' if you get the good ending [[spoiler:and she is reunited with Tidus.]]
* TechPoints: Usually called "AP", and often relates to a quirky new experience and character advancement system in each game.
* ThematicSeries: One of the most notable game examples. None of the numbered titles in the series are related to any of the others except by series-wide hallmarks, like the ATB battle system, Chocobos, Moogles, and the names of spells. Only four[[note]]five, if you count ''Legend of the Crystal'', an OVA set after ''Final Fantasy V''[[/note]] of them have sequels taking place in the same continuity as the original game. There are occasionally hints that one world is related to another, like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' hinting that it's related to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII the]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 XIII]] [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII trilogy]] having the same mythology as ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0''.
* ThemeNaming: A recent trend in ''Final Fantasy'' games, mainly ones written by Nojima, is having the protagonists' names related to weather or the sky, Like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]] or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]]. Chances are that, if you have a Dragoon in a ''Final Fantasy'' game, a weapon or the character will have the name Highwind. The most famous examples are [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Kain Highwind]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cid Highwind]].
* ThoseTwoGuys: [[StarWars Biggs and Wedge]], who appear in various guises in almost all of the games from ''VI'' onward (and who were retconned into ''IV'' by ''The After Years''), and [[RedShirt die horribly about half the time.]]
* TheThreeFacesOfAdam:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': Cecil and Pallom (Lord), Kain and Edge (Hunter), Yang and Tellah (Prophet)
** Just like the three female l'Cie in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' fit into TheThreeFacesOfEve pattern, the three males fit here: Hope is the Hunter, doggedly pursuing Snow to exact revenge throughout half the game; Snow is the Lord, commanding [[LaResistance NORA]] early on and then serving as the [[{{Determinator}} pillar of motivation]] for other l'Cie (his SignatureMove is even called "Sovereign Fist"); and Sazh is the Prophet, a [[OnlySaneMan lone voice of reason]] who only wants to save his son and live out his life in peace. Their ages also all fit.
* TheThreeFacesOfEve: The games, in general, have a pattern to their three playable females (and there are always three; see the Three Females Rule in the Grand List) are almost always represented as an Innocent Princess type, a Tough but Sexy Type, and a Perky Girl type. Occasionally this overlaps with the faces of Eve archetypes, although often times the Tough but Sexy character is not a seductress but more passively sexy.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' does a similar trick to the later ''VII'' in that it reverses the appearance and character of two of the girls. Rosa is pure Wife/Innocent Princess whose main desire is to be helpful, and who marries Cecil at the end. But Rydia looks sexy but is in personality the Perky Girl; Porom is a child, but hits people to keep them in line and is extremely clever and dangerous (being a brilliant mage and a spy).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'':
*** Lenna, the wife/innocent princess. Her main plots are about her family, specifically her quest to rescue her father, her backstory about her mother, and her connection to drakes, for which she will harm herself to any extent to protect.
*** Faris, the seductress/tough but sexy girl. She's a pirate who is shown as being sexually irresistible [[StupidSexyFlanders even when dressed as a man and passing]], with most of her crew having crushes on her. She also tries to kidnap the princess for ransom money and climbs up rope bridges with her teeth.
*** Krile is the child, fourteen and has supernatural sensitivity coming from her innocence. However, she's very much ''not'' perky, with the end of the game revealing her to be actively suicidal once her desire for revenge isn't sustaining her. (She does get one comic setpiece where she gets into a slap-fight with Bartz, though.)
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'':
*** Terra is the wife/innocent princess type - despite being the least stable of the three, she's the sweetest and most compassionate, and pretty level-headed regarding her role in the story. [[MeaningfulName No wonder her name means "earth".]]
*** Celes is the seductress/tough but sexy type - she's a {{Tsundere}} in her romance with [[LovableRogue Locke]], and she's also the tough one, being a [[LadyOfWar war general]].
*** Relm is the child/perky type - [[OldMaster Strago]] didn't even want her to be involved in any combat at first because of this. She's [[AdorablyPrecociousChild precocious]] and optimistic.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has an interesting version of this. For starters, one of the three women is an OptionalPartyMember, and secondly, the two who weren't looked like they played one role, but in fact, were the opposite:
*** [[BareFistedMonk Tifa]], who looks the part of the seductress, is in fact most reasonable and sensitive -- also the secret-keeper of the group (her last name, [[MeaningfulName Lockheart]] foreshadows this).
*** [[WhiteMagicianGirl Aerith]], who looks the part of the demure wife, is in fact flirty, street-wise, and the most assertive in her sexuality.
*** [[NinjaBrat Yuffie]] (the optional one) both looks and [[BrattyHalfPint acts]] like the child and is naïve and idealistic (if not particularly honest or trustworthy).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' uses these archetypes, but much more loosely than anything before (and most after), suiting the game's approach of using more psychologically realistic characters:
*** Rinoa is the wife and introduced with the nickname 'Princess'. Unlike the typical portrayal, she's quite bratty and selfish, but like the typical portrayal, she has pure, supernatural powers, and tries hard to bring out the main character's better nature (and even succeeds, sometimes).
*** Quistis is the seductress. She is experienced and in a position of authority, has a [[DawsonCasting highly mature appearance compared to the other characters]], flirts with the main character, and fights using a whip. Her apparent maturity is {{Deconstructed}} in that she was a prodigy who had achieved a high rank at 15, and she ends up sent back to her previous rank very early in the game due to [[FeetOfClay her atrocious social and emotional skills]], which repeatedly hobble her during the game.
*** Selphie is the child, her clearly high intelligence doing little to dampen her relentless enthusiasm and short attention span. Unlike the typical example, she's something of a DeadpanSnarker NightmareFetishist
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
*** Yuna is in the wife role, being unerringly calm and lives to helps others, self-sacrificing, soft-spoken, and graceful.
*** Lulu is in the seductress role, most obviously in how she dresses, the tone she uses when she speaks, and how she holds herself and moves around in her battle animations.
*** Rikku is in the child role, the fact that she is the youngest is exaggerated by her consistently upbeat personality, her sweet but shortsighted convictions, and her occasional ditziness.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has this in its three female party members.
*** [[SugarAndIcePersonality Lightning]] (believe it or not) plays the part of the wife. She's the most motherly and caring of the group -- particularly towards [[ParentalSubstitute Hope]] and (much later) Snow. She is also said to have acted this way around Serah.
*** [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer Fang]] plays the role of the seductress; she is the most flirty and provocative of the group, and is quite HotBlooded at times. Interestingly, these aspects of her personality originally belonged to Lightning (with Serah as the seventh party member and playing the part of the wife), but when Fang was [[GenderFlip made a woman]], they were given to her instead.
*** [[GenkiGirl Vanille]] is usually very bubbly and other characters will comment (or complain) about her childishness. [[spoiler:Vanille is actually [[StepfordSmiler putting a lot of that behavior up as a facade to hide her guilt]], but genuinely is like this otherwise]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' is more complicated; it has an all-male main cast where TheHero's three friends fill these archetypes - Prompto is childish and hyper, Ignis is [[FeminineWomenCanCook domestic and nurturing]], and Gladio is mean and sexy, with a hyper-gendered appearance and revealing outfit. Its prominent female side characters fold into this archetype too - Cindy and Iris are perky and childish, Aranea and Gentiana are seductive, experienced, and dangerous, and Luna is IncorruptiblePurePureness and so much a 'wife' that she is literally the hero's fiancée.
* ThunderHammer: [[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Thor%27s_Hammer_(weapon) Thor's Hammer]] is a recurring weapon throughout the series. It is often used to cast lightning magic or deliver lightning-charged strikes.
* TieredByName: The series in general does this for the spells: Fire -> Fira -> Firaga -> Firaja.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Here are the examples of characters forced to break from "lawful", or whose status as such is called into question.
** Cecil has a crisis of conscience at the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' based around this. He knows that what his king orders him to do is [[KickTheDog wrong]], but can't yet bring himself to disobey the man that he swore his allegiance as a Dark Knight to. However, Cecil makes his decision to turn from a Lawful non-Good character to Lawful/Neutral Good after he and his longtime friend, Kain, are used by the King of Baron to massacre an entire village of innocent summoners. He then spends the next section of the game [[TheAtoner atoning]] for the various sins he committed while under his king's orders and ultimately earning his redemption by being transformed into a Paladin: an exemplar of the side of good. It's even more difficult for Cecil since the king was also a father figure to him. [[spoiler: Good thing the one who gave him those awful orders wasn't the real king who was DeadAllAlong.]]
** Steiner and Beatrix both have to deal with this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' when they [[spoiler:turn against Queen Brahne after they realize her lust for power has driven her mad]]. Steiner in particular is extremely conflicted about this. It takes Steiner much longer to realize the truth compared to Beatrix and it isn't until Steiner actually witnesses [[spoiler: Brahne's lackeys, Zorn and Thorn, rip Garnet's SummonMagic out of her soul and learning that Brahne wanted Garnet dead and had her soldiers attack Beatrix (someone he had feelings for) for her betrayal that Steiner finally decides to go against the Queen and fight to protect the people he cares about]].
* TogetherInDeath:
** [[GrumpyOldMan Tellah]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' is reunited with his daughter Anna after [[PapaWolf he cast a deathly spell called "Meteor" to kill Golbez for revenge]].
** Aerith reunites with Zack in the Compilation of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''
*** Zack also reunited with his [[BigBrotherMentor mentor]] [[AntiVillain Angeal]] from ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. [[spoiler:Who Zack was forced to [[SuicideByCop kill Angeal]] after [[HumanoidAbomination he became monster]].]]
** Lenne and Shuyin from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. Both were shot and died by each other's side. Due to an odd set of circumstances, their spirits did not end up together... [[spoiler:at least, not until Yuna reunites them.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', [[spoiler:Lunafreya dies midway into the story, while Noctis [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices his life in the end]] to thwart her killer, [[BigBad Ardyn Izunia]]'s plans. TheStinger reveals that their souls have reunited in the afterlife, and they fall asleep in each other's arms to seal their eternal love.]]
*** Ignis ''tries'' to invoke this between himself and Noctis, [[spoiler:telling him of his plan to [[DrivenToSuicide die alongside him]] once Noctis completes his sacrifice. Ultimately averted, as Noctis is able to talk him down into continuing to live on for his sake.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate:
** General Leo in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is also a known case of this. In fact, the game likes to {{lampshade|Hanging}} the fact that the only reason why Leo is considered an antagonist is that he works with the Empire.
** Reeve in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', [[MegaCorp Shinra's]] head of Urban Development, seems to be the only person on Shinra's board of directors with a conscience or sense of ethics. [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn He eventually defects to AVALANCHE]] as a DoubleAgent.]]
** Among the Primals in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', there is [[ShockAndAwe Ramuh]]. Among the likes of Ifrit (who intends to brainwash everyone into his thrall) or Garuda (who wants to destroy everything except her followers), Ramuh is at worst territorial. He only wants to be summoned by his Sylph followers in case their forest home is in grave danger to protect it. Although he does believe HumansAreTheRealMonsters and is willing to bring down his judgment on them.
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'':
*** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Jecht]] is good, or at least neutral, despite being a member of the Warriors of Chaos, all composed of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' villains. Every other villain is out to either TakeOverTheWorld, or [[OmnicidalManiac destroy it]] - Jecht is just a rather lousy dad who wants to fetch his kid and go home. The reason he's siding with the villains is that [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Emperor Palamecia]] manipulated him into thinking that their victory would let him rejoin his son, Tidus. It's also revealed in the prequel that he was actually on Cosmos' side in at least the previous cycle. He probably would have remained there for the 13th cycle as well, had it not been for the Emperor's machinations.[[note]]Tidus, on Chaos' side at the time, sacrificed himself to save Yuna from one of the Emperor's attacks, prompting Jecht to transfer his life energy over to him. The Emperor, noticing Jecht's crystal (which Cosmos had provided to all of her warriors), got an idea to use them in the next cycle of conflict. From there, he kidnapped Jecht and had Chaos revive him as one of his own warriors for the following cycle.[[/note]] [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Golbez]]]], on the other hand, is a [[TheMole good guy posing as a villain]].
*** To a lesser extent, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Judge Magister Gabranth]]. In the 13th cycle, he's nothing more than a disgruntled jailer who serves as a warden for those no longer used in the conflict. Several of the lines are somber and hint that [[TheAtoner he wants nothing more than penance for his past transgressions]], while most of the other Chaos warriors mock him for his more admirable qualities. Compare this to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Shantotto]], who serves as Team Cosmos' TokenEvilTeammate (to the point that most of the villains revere her). Both of these are somewhat subverted in the prequel ''Duodecim'', as the two are actually affiliated with their respective deities this time around (however, Gabranth just seems to be [[MyMasterRightOrWrong doing his job]] and seems to be confronting Cosmos simply to end the war--thus lacking an ulterior motive unlike most of the others, while Shantotto is still a fair bit malicious, even towards her ally [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Prishe]]).
*** Also, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX Kuja]] is a bit of a [[TragicVillain tragic]] case. [[spoiler: He's actively working with the heroes Bartz, Zidane, and Squall, up until Kefka intervenes.]] He's even responsible for Cloud's HeelFaceTurn and [[spoiler:Terra's]] too. After he's defeated by [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]], Kefka [[spoiler: implants false memories to ensure his full-on villainy in the Thirteenth Cycle.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Lenna]] and Faris. The former is a well-educated, [[FriendToAllLivingThings selfless]] [[PrincessClassic princess]] while the latter is a rough, violent pirate captain who [[SweetPollyOliver passes herself off as a man]] (although her crew is well aware of her gender and keep quiet to avoid pissing her off.) Even the Job System acknowledges the dichotomy, as Lenna's outfits are stereotypically feminine while, with the sole exception of the Dancer class, Faris' would be equally appropriate on a man. Meanwhile, the third female on the team, Krile, is more of a child than anything. Furthermore, Lenna and Faris [[spoiler:are sisters. Faris is the elder]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has Terra (Girly-Girl) and Celes (Tomboy).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Aerith and Tifa, in an interesting inversion; the WhiteMagicianGirl in the pink dress is the boisterous one, and the CuteBruiser in the cropped shirt is secretive and nervous. In later installments of the ''FFVII Compilation'' [[spoiler:not involving Aerith, because she's dead]], Tifa's calmer and more motherly personality makes her the Girly Girl to hyper ninja Yuffie's more tomboyish ways. Funny enough, Aerith herself posthumously got a healthy dose of {{Chickification}} due to her IncorruptiblePurePureness being played up; her old sassy personality made way for a more demure one, which would have made her the Girly Girl to Tifa in the end; otherwise, both Aerith and Tifa now have the exact same girly personality, with Tifa being a tomboy only by virtue of her physical appearance and fighting style.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' brought this dynamic back to a certain extent mainly due to their personalities now being more accurate to the original game, with Tifa being more demure while Aerith finally regained her old feisty tomboy attitude back.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' the two trained mercenaries Quistis and Selphie against the sorceresses Edea and later Rinoa. Selphie is borderline enough to qualify as TomboyWithAGirlyStreak, evoking this contrast with Quistis.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has LittleMissBadass eidolon summoner Eiko and LadyOfWar Freya. Garnet/Dagger plays with the two types. She's an elegant princess and white mage, but is also an eidolon summoner and shows tomboy traits when trying to blend in as a commoner. At one point, a villager sees her picking up an oglop bug and tells her that girls are usually afraid of them, so she pretends to freak out over it.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has the Tomboyish Paine and the maternal and empathic Yuna. Rikku the third female protagonist, is a combination of the two.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is similar as it features three females. Fran is a {{Proud Warrior Race G|uy}}irl and sky-pirate while Penelo is TheHeart and a dancer. The third female Ashe is a combination, being the leader of LaResistance but also being a princess who has no problem wearing a PimpedOutDress when there isn't a war going on around her.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has two pairs. Guardian Corps soldier girl, Lightning and her sister, Serah, who wants to be a teacher. The other is Fang and Vanille.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak:
** Understated with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'''s Refia. She's the adoptive daughter of a blacksmith and has no problem with fighting, traveling, etc. But there is a bit of frill in her outfit and she sports a pair of earrings, plus she readily befriends girly-girl Salina and sympathizes with her boyfriend trouble.
** All three girls in both the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and the ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake Remake]]'', four girls if you count Jessie, in different ways. Aeris (Aerith), the most feminine in terms of physical appearance, has a girly outfit, loves flowers and fights using the conventionally feminine setup (in ''Final Fantasy'' [[MythologyGag mythology]]) of a staff and White Magic, but she wears big boots, has a pushy and fearless personality, takes the lead when flirting and talks in tough-girl, tomboyish slang in the Japanese version; however, she also has a terrifying fear of being abandoned and left alone. Tifa, who is relatively centrist on the {{Tomboy}} - GirlyGirl spectrum in comparison to the other two girls in terms of both appearance and personality, is an ass-kicking martial artist in minimalist clothing, but her personality is defined by her loyalty, supportiveness, [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]], empathy, and general 'quiet inner strength', as well as her desire for Cloud to rescue her someday. Yuffie, the most tomboyish, is a loudmouthed, fast-talking thief with a hugely inflated opinion of herself, but she talks in girly-girl-style ValleyGirl slang and is less brave than the other girls, often looking to Cloud to comfort her when she gets panicked or upset. And in the ''Remake'', Jessie tends to be somewhat aggressively flirtatious with Cloud, but she's also very bubbly, sweet, and kind, and although she is an ActionGirl, she sometimes still needs Cloud to rescue her every now and then.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' Paine is the most tomboyish of the three girls - with BoyishShortHair and an aggressive personality. However, a few of her Dressphere outfits are quite feminine (Songstress, Black Mage, Lady Luck, White Mage) and she enjoys giggling about boys with Rikku once or twice. Also, when the party is wondering whether it's really right for them to take a relaxing dip in a hot spring on sacred Mt. Gagazet grounds, she's the one who comments "No one's looking."
* TownGirls:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Freya is a Burmecian dragon knight, Garnet is a PrincessClassic, and Eiko is a BrattyHalfPint.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': Out of the three main playable characters; Rikku (neither), Yuna (femme), and Paine (butch).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': Fran is a ProudWarriorRaceGirl, Penelo is a soft-spoken dancer, and Ashe is the leader of LaResistance.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': Out of three female playable characters, Fang is the butch, Vanille is the femme, and Lightning is neither. It also helps that there is a lot of {{Subtext}} in [[HideYourLesbians Fang and Vanille's relationship]].
* TornadoMove: Aero is usually a tornado. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' adds the Illusionist spell Tornado. There's also Weak/Cyclonic/Tornado, which are typically used by enemies and removes a ''massive'' [[PercentDamageAttack percentage of your health]].
* TrainingFromHell:
** Although there's not a Training From Hell sequence per se, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'''s Balamb Garden military academy has a "Training Center" which consists of an area where live monsters (including T-Rexes) roam. The Training Center is the only Garden facility open to students at all hours; the infirmary, meanwhile, closes at curfew. It's also worth noting that the prerequisite for Garden's final exam involves traveling to a monster-infested cave to do battle with an elemental spirit; the field exam itself involves squads of teenagers being turned loose on an actual battlefield.
** In order to cure herself of her crippling (and painful to watch) FearOfThunder, GenkiGirl Rikku from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' spent a solid week in the Thunder Plains, a region with ''endless rain and lethal thunderstorms'' that are barely kept in check by a few lightning rods here and there.
*** The Chocobo training in the Calm Lands. At first, you just have to steer a wild chocobo (who likes to run in every direction but the one you need it to), but as you progress through stages, the trainer starts to throw blitzballs at you. And then starts to throw birds carrying ''more blitzballs''. By comparison, the race you're in training for is easy.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', [[spoiler: Barthandelus]] sends the party to [[spoiler: [[DeathWorld Gran]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Pulse]]]] to force them to become strong enough to [[spoiler: kill Orphan -- an act that would destroy Cocoon and everybody on it.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', the Goug Nightwatch (a gang of rather wimpy Moogles) beg your clan to "train" them. Said training obviously consists in beating the crap out of them.
* TragicKeepsake:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Setzer kept one of an old friend/rival/love interest Darill, who died in an accident before the start of the game. When Kefka ruined the world and Setzer is roused from his HeroicBSOD by Celes, he takes the group to her burial place to retrieve it, so they can use it to save the world. The keepsake? ''[[CoolAirship The Falcon]]''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': [[spoiler:Delita]] keeps [[spoiler:his dead sister Tietra's]] necklace as shown in the Zeirchele Falls meeting with Ramza.
* TraitorShot:
** The last shot of [[spoiler:Alyssa]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' is one of these. Mog actually notices, but apparently doesn't know what to make of it, and doesn't warn the heroes.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', after a hearing on whether to accept Doman refugees into Ul'dah, [[spoiler:Teledji Adeledji, who vouched for the refugees, is seen alone in the dimly lit meeting hall for the Syndicate with an underling, grinning deviously as he speaks of "revolution".]]
* TranquilFury:
** The BSOD has undertaken by the main antagonists of both ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' [[spoiler:the first by setting fire to a village, the latter by setting fire to ''an entire planet'']] are both done with just the hint of a serene smile on their faces... although both of these may be more properly described as DissonantSerenity.
** Sephiroth of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. In any scene he is, whether he is single-handedly fending off two super soldiers at the same time, or burning down a town, you will never see him raise his voice.
*** During the entire Nibelheim incident, the most you'll get from him is, "Don't TEST me..." (Ironically, that's right before he is defeated).
*** Expect this whenever Vincent is faced with Hojo. He usually becomes noticeably more talkative, emotional, and may employ the silent death glare.
** Considering Squall in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is NotSoStoic, an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation could have him being in a state of this for ''at least half of the game''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesTheCrystalBearers'', when protagonist [[GravityMaster Layle]] [[spoiler:attempts to crush [[BigBad Jegran]] to death after the latter kills Amidatelion]], the expression on his face seems almost like one of boredom.
* TransformationHorror:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'''s resident MadScientist Dr. Hojo, and what happens to him when he downs one of his serums when Cloud and Co face him. Back in the day when ''[=FF7=]''[='=]s graphics was top of the line, this looked horrifying.
** Many Sorceresses in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' appear to slowly mutate into no particular end form. One unnamed Sorceress boss looks less like a human being and more like a giant grub. Ultimecia's (quickly changing) OneWingedAngel forms deserve an honorable mention: first she fuses herself with a giant lion-like beast, and later turns into a form no less repulsive than the aforementioned grub woman.
** The Sin Eaters in the ''Shadowbringers'' story of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' are stated to be [[WasOnceAMan humans or other living things]] after they are transformed by the primordial light. A few people tell you that once a Sin Eater plants its seed in you via wounding you or other methods, you will become one of them in due time. Early on in the main story, you get to actually witness someone transform into a Sin Eater and it's not pretty; their whole body becomes white, they let out a blood-curdling scream, their faces become hard like plaster, they ''puke up light aspected vomit'', and then they finally transform into a winged monstrosity with a vaguely human-looking face.
* TraumaCongaLine:
** In VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV: Cecil has a crisis of conscience after being ordered to commit an immoral act for the King of Baron. Then he gets demoted for questioning the king and manipulated into carrying out another immoral act, which results in the destruction of an innocent village and the apparent death of his best friend Kain.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Before the game even '''''starts''''', Cloud Strife has already: (1) endured a lonely, alienated childhood; (2) been wrongfully held responsible for putting his childhood crush, the mayor's daughter, in a coma by the mayor and everyone in the town (3) been told he's not good enough to become a SOLDIER and gets stuck as a humble grunt trooper; (4) watched his hero Sephiroth destroy his hometown, kill his mother and nearly murder both his childhood crush Tifa and his good friend Zack; (5) suffered over four years of sadistic experimentation by a MadScientist which reduces him to a catatonic vegetable; and finally (6) helplessly watched Zack die in a gut-wrenching [[BolivianArmyEnding heroic last stand]] to protect him. All this results in Cloud suffering his first HeroicBSOD, a very understandable case of TraumaInducedAmnesia, and identity confusion.
*** '''THEN''', during the game itself, Cloud ends up being [[MindRape mind raped]] by the BigBad Sephiroth into: (1) nearly killing his teammate Aerith not just once, but twice; (2) handing over the ArtifactOfDoom to Sephiroth (again, twice); and (3) questioning [[TomatoInTheMirror not only his memories but his very identity as a real person]]. He's also forced to stand by and watch Sephiroth murder Aerith while being unable to do anything about it. Cue a second massive HeroicBSOD that requires a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind to fix.
*** ''Advent Children'' throws him back into massive depression and despair by making him and the orphan he's adopted suffer the painful and deadly disease Geostigma. The disease also allows Sephiroth to constantly {{Troll}} Cloud's subconscious, thereby making Cloud obsess about the promises he'd failed to keep and the lives he failed to save.
*** Fortunately, Cloud manages to avoid further major physical or emotional trauma in the sequel ''Dirge of Cerberus''. Vincent, however, is not so lucky.
*** All that said, Sephiroth himself suffers from this. At the start of Crisis Core, one of his best friends, Genesis, deserts Shinra. After failing to bring him back, Sephiroth's other best friend, Angeal, also deserts. He is tasked by Shinra to hunt them down and kill them, if necessary. During this, Genesis keeps trolling Sephiroth. Eventually, he learns that he is the result of a science experiment. Afterwards, he plans to leave Shinra because, well...it's Shinra, but before he can, on his last mission, he finds out that he is part Ancient. The Ancients died in a catastrophic event while the humans survived by hiding. And so begins his life of evil...hard to blame him, really.
*** Aerith also endures a lot of horrible things in her life, though she handles them much better. Her father was murdered when she was just a baby, then she and her mother were taken hostage so that Hojo could experiment on them. Her mother dies, and she spends the majority of her youth fleeing from the Turks. Then she is captured again, where the resident MadScientist tries to mate her with Red XIII. Shortly after this, she discovers she's the last remaining Cetra, and then Sephiroth kills her. Despite this, she remains an eternally hopeful IronWoobie.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' pretty much puts each of its protagonists through one. But the prize goes to Hope Estheim. He was merely on vacation in Bodhum when the active Fal'Cie was discovered and everyone was sent to be [[KillEmAll purged]]. Before knowing that it meant killing them, it was thought that this meant sending them to Pulse, which people in Cocoon had been told was practically hell. After the train he's on is derailed, the civilians are riled up by Snow's group to fight back and Hope is left alone by his mother, who leaves to fight and protect him. Hope watches in horror as his mother falls to her death and he begins to blame Snow, whom he follows into the Vestige with Vanille. In the Vestige, Hope has to fight his way through, only to be branded a Pulse l'Cie. Now, he is the enemy of the entire planet and will be killed on sight, if the government gets their hands on him. And, unless he fulfills his Focus and turns into a crystal statue, he'll turn into an abomination. No wonder the kid's big scene included a FreakOut!
* TrappedInAnotherWorld:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' both use this as the main plot for the player character, but handle it in different ways. Advance has the main character wanting to go back to the real world because running away from life's problems is not healthy. A2 has the main character wanting to go home so he doesn't worry his aunt, but is in no rush to go home and tries to enjoy the time spent in the fantasy world.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX''. The main character Tidus is a sports star from the great city of Zanarkand, who one day finds himself transplanted in the world of Spira, and his city was apparently annihilated... one thousand years ago. [[spoiler: It's revealed that Tidus's world, and Tidus himself aren't real to begin with.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'' has the PlayerCharacter whisked away to The First, an alternate plane of reality that makes up Hydaelyn's {{Multiverse}}. The "Trapped" part of the trope is downplayed, as a means for the player to travel freely between The First and the main game world, The Source, is quickly established. [[spoiler:The player's allies from The Source, on the other hand, are very much trapped in The First due to the Crystal Exarch botching his first attempts to summon the player.]]
* {{Treants}}: Treants, generally resembling walking trees of various sorts -- generally leafless, sometimes with topes broken off into stumps, and with faces in their trunks -- appear as monsters in various games, debuting in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. [[KillItWithFire They're weak to fire attacks]] and often found in forest areas, and [[Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids Triffids]], Ents and Elder Treants appear as [[EliteMook stronger]] {{Palette Swap}}s of the basic Treant.
* TrueCompanions:
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyV''. The four Light Warriors hold together through failure, poisonings, and [[spoiler:the death of one of their own]] without fail. Galuf even calls a retreat when he's [[spoiler:attacking Castle Exdeath]] to go and rescue the other three, alone. And in the ending, [[spoiler:a lonely Krile is told by the other three that there's no way she's going to be alone when they're around.]]
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the quintessential RagtagBunchOfMisfits that become True Companions. [[spoiler:Not even the end of the world can keep them apart]].
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' both stress the importance of having True Companions. Cloud needs his friends and comrades to be a complete and effectual person and in the ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' movie, Cloud actually ''calls'' the other characters his family.
*** It is revealed in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' that even Sephiroth had True Companions through Angeal and Genesis. Though that was not enough to stop Genesis and Angeal from leaving Sephiroth behind when they discovered their true origins and went rogue.
** The party from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', especially after they learn that [[spoiler:most of them grew up together in the same orphanage]].
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIX'' has a similarly strong message about the importance of true companions and how what you do and who you love is more important than where you come from. This is most strongly illustrated during the [[TropeNamer You Are Not]] [[YouAreNotAlone Alone]] sequence, when [[spoiler: Zidane's tendency to help people for no real reason other than it's the right thing to do pays off in spades. Broken in mind and spirit, he's in the middle of a HeroicBSOD when his friends risk life and limb to save him, because he'd have done it for them.]] It's absolutely beautiful.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX''. Although Tidus functions as the narrator, the story as a whole is centered around the exploits of Yuna's guardians, as mismatched and misfit as they were, in their efforts to protect her and defeat Sin. It's carried on to a lesser extent in FFX-2, with Yuna as [[TheProtagonist the main protagonist]], though much of the original cast has disbanded and moved on. Tidus's sword is even named "Brotherhood," and powers up as he grows closer to the party.
*** Somewhat played within that most of the party were already True Companions to Yuna ''before'' her pilgrimage: Rikku is her cousin, Kimahri and Auron knew her father, and Wakka and Lulu grew up with her on Besaid.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' we have a rare case where [[spoiler: the villains are this.]]
** The six main characters of ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'' form a powerful bond thanks to the fact that [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman the entire world wants to kill them]]. Especially poignant with Fang and Vanille, who come from an egalitarian culture where everybody shared everything and took the same last name. At one point when Vanille's hit rock bottom, Fang encourages her by reminding her that they have a new family now.
** The cast of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' are pretty buddy-buddy. The game's even been compared to taking a road trip with a bunch of friends from college.
---> '''Cid Sophiar''': Those ain't your bodyguards...they're your brothers.
** Class Zero, the heroes of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' are a class of fourteen teenagers [[TykeBomb who have been raised by their government as living weapons of war.]] Due to their life of constant military training, they aren't able to make friends with other kids their age, so they form a surrogate family among each other. They're so close that [[spoiler: in the end they die together, and when the two surviving members find the others' bodies, they are all holding hands.]]
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', the ten main heroes in this {{crossover}} are true companions and several smaller, fluctuating groups are as well. The concept serves as a major overarching theme across their stories.
* TrustPassword:
** Early on in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' the PlayerParty is sent on a mission to aid [[LaResistance an anti-government group called "The Forest Owls"]] and is given a Password to confirm their identity. Upon reaching the rendezvous point and saying the password to the group's representative ([[ButThouMust regardless of whether or not you gave the correct response]]), he takes you to meet the other members.
** During one side quest in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', Serah and Noel need to find six members of a military squad that have been split up. Since some of them are in completely different time periods, the commander tells Serah and Noel to use "Thunder", his call sign, as proof that the other men should follow his orders to cooperate with them.
*** Downplayed in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' when Lightning says the first half of their personal motto ("Keep your eyes front") and Hope fails to correctly finish the phrase ("I'll watch the rear") even after Lightning prompts him, so she stops trusting him. She doesn't know what's wrong with him [[spoiler: (he's possessed)]], but it's something big for him to forget that.
* {{Tsundere}}:
** Harsh (Tsun):
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': While Squall Leonhart is typically just standoffish, his interactions with both [[PluckyGirl Rinoa]] and [[HotBlooded Zell]] results in his developing a more hostile personality. These two, [[BelligerentSexualTension especially Rinoa]] constantly try to get Squall to open up throughout the game. By the end of the game [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-falhoCreH3c/TZfiipwS1OI/AAAAAAAABEs/oTc67gh6j8M/s400/squall+1.jpg give you a smile]].
*** Lulu from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', but only towards the men in the party; Yuna and Rikku she treats like little sisters, and she doesn't really interact with Kimahri or Auron, leaving Tidus and Wakka. Towards them (Wakka in particular) she is usually ''very'' harsh, aside from a few moments when she shows a sweeter side; most notably, in Luca, she holds Wakka up when he's too exhausted to stand (despite being half a head taller and much heavier), and compliments his performance in the game. By the sequel, the two of them are hitched, expecting a child, and she's almost completely lost her tsuntsun side.
** Sweet (Dere):
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has Rydia and Porom, towards Edge and Palom, respectively.
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', Penelo might be this to Vaan.
* TwinTelepathy:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', Porom ''knows'' when Palom's in trouble half the world away. This might seem odd, given that the two are PolarOppositeTwins, except for the one thing both have in common: [[AWizardDidIt magical prowess]].
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles: Ring of Fates'', Yuri and Chelinka can speak telepathically with each other after the TimeSkip, since Chelinka lost her voice after watching their adoptive father die. She's slowly trying to get better, though.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:S]]
* SacredBowAndArrows: Many of the higher level bows are named after gods or mythological figures, such as the Artemis Bow, Perseus Bow, and Yoichi Bow.
* SadClown: This type of archetype is present in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', usually on the party members' side.
** What do [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Barret Wallace]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Irvine Kinneas]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Wakka]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Balthier]], and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Sazh Katzroy]] have in common? They all use silly theatrics in one form or another in order to cover their personal tragedy--mainly losing loved ones to a devastating attack.
** Prompto from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' spends a lot of time cracking jokes and being the PluckyComicRelief, covering up his insecurities and [[spoiler:his origins as a clone created for military purposes by the Niflheim Empire.]]
** Then there's the villain Kefka Palazzo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', who is given this as an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. He's [[OmnicidalManiac trying to kill everyone and destroy everything]] while [[LaughingMad laughing maniacally]] because he [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds can no longer see the point in anything else]], and his last laugh (''after'' he dies) is a sobbing, sad one.
--->'''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Firion]]:''' ''[pre-match, if facing Kefka]'' I've never heard a sadder laugh.
* SadlyMythcharacterized: This series often depicts various mythological characters inaccurately.
** Gilgamesh is the prime offender. He is depicted as a MultiArmedAndDangerous Oni instead of the Sumerian king and eponymous character of ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. He's also obsessed with the Arthurian sword Excalibur. His human companion Enkidu also appears in several forms: a green demon, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII a green dog]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV a green chicken]].
** As a result of Copying several elements from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Bahamut is depicted as a dragon instead of the fish from Arabic Mythology. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' makes him a gigantic DragonKnight and the most powerful of the Astrals.
** Odin is depicted as a BlackKnight whose WeaponOfChoice is not the spear Gungnir, but the sword Zantetsuken. ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII''[='s=] incarnation is able to transform into a horse and use lightning powers. Odin in ''XIII'' is also the Eidolon of Lightning, who takes on the aesthetics of a {{Valkyrie|s}} in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and effectively the job of one in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII''. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''[='s=] incarnation of the character gave him attacks referencing Myth/NorseMythology such as Valknut, Einherjar and the aforementioned Gungnir. His horse Sleipnir often does not have the 8 legs associated with him (and in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is AKindOfOne).
** Shiva. In Hindu Myth, Shiva the Transformer is a male god who defends and changes the universe. Here Shiva is a [[GenderFlip female]] entity with power over Ice who is closer to a [[{{Youkai}} Yuki-Onna]]. The name might be a pun on the word "Shiver". ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' makes Shiva a pair of twins who can merge into a Motorcycle.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' included a set of bosses based on TheFourGods. One of those bosses is Fenrir, who is a bipedal white tiger representing Baihu. Fenrir in the [[Myth/NorseMythology original mythology]] was a wolf and a quadruped, not a tiger.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' uses summons different from the traditional mold (though Odin and Alexander are still in the game). Most of which are more akin to ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''. Among them are Brunhyldr (One of the Valkyries of Norse myth) as an Eidolon who can transform into a sports car.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a few cases.
*** Heavensward introduces Hraesvelgr of Myth/NorseMythology as a dragon instead of an eagle, as well as related to Nidhogg, Ratatoskr.
*** Also from Heavensward is the Primal Ravana, who is now depicted as an insectoid samurai. The actual Ravana was a MultipleHeadCase and less of a BloodKnight and more of a scholar.
* SavingTheWorld: What you will end up doing in several ''Final Fantasy'' games. Sometimes with the rest of the universe. ''XII'' bucked this trend, in that Ivalice as a whole is in no danger (outside of the potential collateral damage of a world war), but the main plot involves getting [[ArcWords the reins of history back into the hands of man]] after centuries of the Occuria controlling things.
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl:
** Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy Compilations'', especially ''Dirge of Cerberus''. Whether their relationship is romantic or an InterGenerationalFriendship is a matter of speculation.
** Though she dies at the end of the game's first half, Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough from the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' fit in fairly well until then.
** Squall/Rinoa and Irvine/Selphie from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''.
** Gender Inverted from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' with Tidus and Yuna.
* SceneryGorn:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' there's a place called Gorn Town that is essentially the abandoned ruin of an ancient town, complete with broken pillars, ruined buildings, and plants that have overgrown everything. It was renamed to Gohn in the GBA release, which somewhat ruins the joke.
*** The Ship Graveyard much earlier in the game also qualifies -- an entire dungeon made up of nothing but wrecked and ruined ships, many of which are submerged.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', AfterTheEnd [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt of the World of Balance]] occurs, and right before Celes' awakening, there's a silent camera pan across the new, twilit face of the World of Ruin, driving home the point that nothing will ever be the same anymore.
*** And then the ending cinematic indulges in SceneryPorn to show how despite all of the devastation, life (and hope) goes on.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' begins with this trope: a wretched cyberpunk metropolis of Midgar in birds-eye view... and then you fall into the shoes of terrorists blowing up a scary mad science installation.
*** Later, you have to climb a long rope to get up onto the top of the city to raid the Shinra Headquarters. On the way up you're treated to a view of the recently destroyed Sector 7, which really shows you the scale of how big of bastards Shinra are.
*** Another scene not that long afterwards (well, relatively; this is an [[RolePlayingGame RPG]] we're talking about) involves ''literal'' gore as well. Your party must outrun the Midgar Zolom to proceed, which, at this point in the game, is very strong. Upon escaping it, they prepare to enter the Mythril Mine... [[spoiler:and see the corpse of another Midgar Zolom impaled on a tree, courtesy of Sephiroth]].
** Trabia Garden in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. The garden Selphie was transferred from at the beginning of the game, it was only recently hit by missile strike. The devastation including bombed sportsground or makeshift graveyard among others really helps to convey a massive TearJerker to a player.
** The Necrohol of Nabudis and surrounding Nabreus Deadlands from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. The city was destroyed offscreen during the intro by [[spoiler:Reddas using Nethicite there]], an event comparable to using a nuke that is repeatedly acknowledged during the game. The necrohol itself is a half-decaying, dimly lit, partly submerged ruin full of mist, while surrounding lands are foggy marshes infested with undead. The ruins are also quite similar to Nalbina fortress - the place where you control Reks - by its layout, so you have an approximate reference to how the untouched place supposedly looked like.
** In Chapter 11 of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', you visit [[spoiler:Oerba Village, the hometown of Vanille and Fang, and find it a decaying, Cie'th-infested ruin, partially covered in crystal sand]]. It's one of the most powerful scenes in the game.
*** UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' . Near the end of the game, you can see [[spoiler: What amounts to a world-spanning tornado ravaging familiar locales from the previous games, including the above-mentioned Oerba]]. Justified considering the [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial very nature of the game.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' gives us Insomnia in the World of Ruin. While it's implied that the rest of the world is the same, Insomnia is the only place you get to explore. The once-bustling city is shrouded in eternal night, its streets littered with debris and crawling with daemons. One particularly breathtaking moment has you standing atop the tallest building looking down at the city, which is completely dead and silent.
* SceneryPorn: Starting from ''VI'', the series had a focus on rendering beautiful environments.
* ScienceFantasy: While the first games were predominantly medieval fantasy, the series began to dabble more with mixing sci-fi trappings in later titles:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' featured light sci-fi elements later in the game, including a prototypical SuperBoss in the form of the Warmech.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' remains largely medieval fantasy throughout, but also features a starship that takes the heroes to the moon, which was home to a long-lost technologically-gifted civilization.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' introduced the concept of {{Magitek}} to the series, with TheEmpire (which has a strong SteamPunk vibe) employing magically-empowered supersoldiers and outfitting their rank-and-file soldiers with [[MiniMecha magitek armors]]. One of your party members, Edgar, also makes extensive use of technological "tools" while also being king of a high-tech castle.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is set in an UrbanFantasy world with modern infrastructure and cars, motorcycles, and robots powered by TheLifestream.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has a strong CyberPunk aesthetic, with the game's resident high-tech society of Cocoon being powered by magically-empowered fal'Cie.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has MagicVersusTechnology in its setting, with the city-states of Eorzea, technologically lagging yet magically gifted, in a war against the Garlean Empire, whose people are physically incapable of using magic and compensate by making extensive use of magitek.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' is an UrbanFantasy game that looks otherwise indistinguishable from contemporary reality, with massive cities, cars and highways, and everything that comes with existing alongside VancianMagic, SummonMagic, [[EldritchAbomination daemons]], and TheEmpire using magitek.
* SchizoTech: Sometimes you get just a Standard Medieval Fantasy setting, other times, you get High-Tech airships, guns and futuristic stuff sprinkled on to that, not to mention the use of swords in even the most modern-leaning settings.
* ScrewDestiny: The ''Final Fantasy'' series as a whole seems to love this trope.
** The endgame of ''Videogame/FinalFantasyI'' leads to a massive time loop over the course of 2000 years involving the battles between the Warriors of Light and Garland. The Warriors kill him in their first battle, and he is revived by the fiends, sent back 2000 years, and kills the Warriors when they come to fight him, before sending the Fiends into the future. This cycle (Warriors kill Garland, Chaos kills Warriors, loop repeats) has apparently happened over and over and ''over'' again. However, the Warriors finally go "Screw this, you die now!" and finally defeat Chaos, breaking the time loop.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' plays with this on a meta level: [[spoiler: The Whispers are embodiments of the Planet's will, incarnations of destiny and arbiters of fate who try to keep events on track with that transpired in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII the 1997 game]] since those events ended with the Planet's survival. However, both [[AllLovingHero Aerith]] and [[BigBad Sephiroth]] have, through TheLifestream, become aware of how future events will transpire, and that if destiny is allowed to go on as it should, then it's going to ''royally'' screw over Sephiroth... so, naturally, he attempts to screw destiny first. And the easiest way to screw destiny is by [[ManipulativeBastard making the heroes attempt to screw destiny]], for example by goading them into starting the final boss fight against him within the Singularity, the Whispers realm, ''way'' before they're strong enough to actually win, thus forcing the Whispers to intervene, causing a fight to break out between the heroes and the Whispers [[XanatosGambit that the Whispers cannot win without screwing up destiny]]. Aerith, in the meantime, is torn between giving up, accepting her fate and eventually sacrificing herself for the safety of the Planet as she should, or defying destiny and putting her faith in the possibility of a better tomorrow at the expense of endangering the original timeline's much safer ending. She eventually settles for the latter and takes a proactive role in changing the course of events for the better]].
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', this trope is [[BigBad Ultimecia's]] entire motivating factor behind her actions. She's destined to die at the hands of [=SeeD=], so she decides to compress time, absorb it, and become a goddess to make up the rules herself. This trope is also subverted because, as a response to the intense persecution she suffered for being a Sorceress, she became the very monster everyone said she would become which is highlighted in a ''very'' [[LargeHam hamtastic]] [[NewEraSpeech speech]].
---> '''Ultimecia''' [[spoiler: in Edea's body]]: "...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations. Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler. [[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHAHA]]."
** This becomes the cry of Yuna's party in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' when [[spoiler:Yunalesca confirms that the Final Summoning has absolutely no chance of killing Sin permanently because the Final Aeon that destroys Sin will become Sin in its place]].
*** Destiny gets to say Screw You in turn [[spoiler:by killing off Tidus. You only get to see him come back if you [[GuideDangIt meet very specific conditions]] in the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 sequel]]]].
** This turns out to be the main motivation of the villains in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' - Doctor Cid and Vayne Solidor in particular. [[spoiler: Their whole elaborate scheme was not concocted to take over Dalmasca, but to wrest control of humanity's future from [[JerkassGods the Occuria,]] and "put the reins of history back in the hands of man."]] By the end, the heroes are also saying the same thing, just a tad less homicidally than the WellIntentionedExtremist villains.
** The party in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' were BlessedWithSuck and became [[TheChosenOne l'Cie]], and in doing so were left with only two options, fulfill their [[MissionFromGod Focus]] and be [[TakenForGranite crystallized for all eternity]] or become mindless [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Cie'th]] for all eternity. Plus the party was given a particularly horrible Focus anyway. The party naturally opted to take a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]] in an attempt to change their destinies. This act inspired [[spoiler: Cid Raines]], who [[spoiler: was also a l'Cie, thus BlessedWithSuck as well]] to try and change his destiny as well. Unfortunately, this involved him [[spoiler: regrettably doing a FaceHeelTurn and fights against the party]].
*** Indeed, this is such a major theme of the story that the main antagonist's battle theme is titled ''Fighting Fate''.
*** Ironically, the ''villains'' are also fighting fate. [[spoiler:The entire reason the Fal'cie turn people into L'cie is because this is the only way they can work around their own hardwired limitations as magical machines. For all their contempt towards humans, the Fal'cie believe that humanity is ultimately stronger than them because they have free will.]]
** The story of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'' revolves around averting future calamity. As Urianger explains to the player, he had a vision of a future in which, with the destruction of the world of The First by the [[LightIsNotGood overwhelming imbalance of Light]], an Eighth Umbral Calamity would ensue in which the sudden influx of light aether from the destroyed First into the world of Hydaelyn, combined with TheEmpire unleashing a deadly chemical weapon at the end of their war with the Eorzean Alliance, would lead to the destruction of all civilization in Hydaelyn, in addition to the PlayerCharacter's death. [[spoiler:We later learn that Urianger didn't actually have this vision: rather, Urianger learned of this BadFuture from someone who actually lived through it. The Crystal Exarch, aka G'raha Tia, originally came from Hydaelyn, awakening after a long slumber in the Crystal Tower to a destroyed world, and sent himself and the Crystal Tower from this ruined future into the past on The First to change history.]]
** Interestingly, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', the ending [[spoiler: seems to avert this with a YouCantFightFate message. Noctis sacrifices himself to [[KilledOffForReal kill Ardyn once and for all]], purging the Starscourge just as the Astrals wanted. He fulfills his role as TheChosenOne, but in doing so he plays right into Ardyn's hands since Noctis and himself dying means the end of the Lucis Caelum bloodline]].
*** In the Episode Ignis DLC, [[spoiler: Ignis has the option of screwing destiny after beating the DLC at least once. After that a different option unlocks, ultimately leading to an alternate ending to FFXV. One in which Noctis (and Ravus) don't die and Ignis never loses his sight]].
** The framework for magic in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates]]'' makes it so that if you're strong enough, you can change fate. Played to a massive scale in the end of the game where [[spoiler:Chelinka doubles her power in order to make it so that the source of evil never existed, in order for the Twins to be happy with their parents... before the timeskip... keeping their memories of everything... and this also happened at the very beginning of the game...it's slightly confusing]].
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a couple of these. Garland tells Warrior of Light the war is destined to go on forever, and Warrior of Light replies with "screw destiny". Turns out [[spoiler: Garland is telling the truth - the war has been going on for centuries, and whenever one side loses, Shinryu revives them and the war keeps going]]. When all the other heroes find out about this, the motto of pretty much the entire party becomes "screw destiny". In fact, it later turns out that [[spoiler: the villains were hoping to end the cycle of war too]], so it's actually the ''entire cast'' following this trope, except Garland who loves the fact he gets to spend eternity fighting.
*** Made much more terrifying when you realize that, by screwing destiny in ''Dissidia'', the heroes are quite possibly instigating the 2000 year Time Loop in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', since [[spoiler: Garland's on his way to becoming Chaos in the end]].
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has this when [[spoiler:Yuna and company decide to try and defeat Sin without using the Final Aeon.]]
*** This is also how Tidus meets Yuna, and arguably, an EstablishingCharacterMoment; after learning that the apprentice summoner has been inside the Cloister of Trials for over a day, he decides to go in after her, yelling "Like I care!" when he's told it's taboo to do so. (in the HD Remake, you get a trophy named "The Right Thing")
*** This comes back later in the game, where Tidus yells "You can stuff your taboos!" Only this time, members of the party [[CharacterDevelopment join Tidus and help him out, rather than chastising him.]]
** This is the core of the philosophy of the [[BlackKnight Dark Knights]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', their origins tracing back to an Ishgardian knight of common birth who slew a corrupt man of the cloth, only to be condemned by the powers that be. The job quests surrounding the Dark Knights revolve around embracing one's inner darkness to serve a greater good, bringing justice to those who would otherwise be above the law, regardless of the cost to oneself.
** Ramza's entire story throughout all of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
** And possibly Marche's story in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. Though many fans see his motivation as "Screw your Happiness, I'm doing what's right."
*** Or just [[WhatTheHellHero "screw you"]], [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation depending.]]
*** Or just "Screw your [[LotusEaterMachine escapism]] [[EnfantTerrible at the expense of everyone else]]", depending ''depending''.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
*** Near the end of the game, you can talk [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad the Turks]] out of fighting you and into just walking away, seeing as how the Shinra Corporation has just been blown to pieces. Only works if you've established the rudiments of an OddFriendship with them by playing the Wutai side plot earlier, though.
*** Occurs in the "Weapon Raid" FMV where the Weapon is attacking Junon. After the initial barrage by the Shinra fails and the monster keeps on getting closer, troops on the waterfront are seen hightailing it out of there as the Weapon closes in.
** Near the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Biggs and Wedge -- who've been playing mid-boss to you for most of the game -- decide to drop their current assignment (guarding the door leading to the Boss) and just walk away to look for gainful employment elsewhere.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Maester Mika decides to send himself (effectively committing suicide) rather than face a world where Sin cannot be defeated.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'', all of the secret characters will do this in a Jagd if left unconscious (you can recruit them again). Unfortunately, [[NonStandardGameOver the main character doesn't have such immunity]].
* ScrewYourself:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud can visit a brothel. In one of the rooms he has one of his frequent psychotic episodes and hallucinates another him, crouched in pain by the hot tub. If you speak to the other Cloud, he berates the real Cloud for being in a place like this, and then leans in to kiss Cloud. The real Cloud passes out as their lips touch.
** And the Genesis Copies in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. [[spoiler:And if Angeal wasn't dead by the time, he and Lazard would have been candidates.]]
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka's]] MirrorMatch battle taunt resembles this trope (that or DistractedByMyOwnSexy):
--->'''Kefka:''' Who's ''that'' handsome devil?
* SeaSerpents:
** One of the series' most recurring entities is [[KrakenAndLeviathan Leviathan]], a massive finned serpent who rules over the oceans. His (or in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV two]] [[VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy cases]], her) signature attack is Tsunami/Tidal Wave, in which Leviathan raises the oceans to send them crashing down on the enemy. Depending on the game, Leviathan may be a good-willed monarch, an evil dragon, a bestial creature, or something in between.
** Jormungand (sometimes referred to as Midgardsormr) is also a recurring monster, but oddly enough it almost never appears in the ocean.
* SeeYouInHell:
** Borghen says this as his last words in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', [[spoiler:before springing a boulder trap that ultimately kills Josef]]. [[ExactWords He does.]]
** In the later remakes, [[spoiler:Borghen meets Josef in (what turns out to be) ''heaven'' as well]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' gets one of these in the DS remake.
--->'''Cagnazzo:''' The Drowned King, Cagnazzo, deposed! But the wicked are not wont to fall alone. In life, I was terrible... in death, steeped in terror greater still. Drink long and deep of it ere you die! I'll save a briny pit for you in hell! Muahahahaha!! (The walls of the room the party is in start to close in on them)
** Gets a variation in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' from Golbez to Cagnazzo; odder still, it's intended to be comforting. "Sleep in peace... for I, too, may join you in your hell someday."
** If your party leader is Lightning during the final battle with [[spoiler:Orphan]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', she will blatantly tell him to "find your own road to hell" at the start of the battle.
* SenselessSacrifice:
** Josef in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' sacrifices himself to save Firion, Maria, and Guy from Borghen's boulder trap in the Ice Cavern. The reason the party went to the Ice Cavern was to retrieve the Goddess Bell, the only way someone not of the Kashuan nobility could enter Kashuan Keep. But once you have the Goddess Bell and enter the Keep, it turns out that Gordon, [[DirtyCoward who had previously run away in the wake of the Dreadnought's wrath]], went to the Keep but couldn't get past the monsters. If you return to Hilda after Gordon joins, [[WhatTheHellHero she chews out Gordon]], aware that had he not run away when he was needed, Josef would not have died.
** Tellah from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' using a DangerousForbiddenTechnique to kill Golbez... who survives. Even worse since Tellah is the ''only'' character in the game to sacrifice himself and ''actually stay dead''. Not only does everybody else who attempts a HeroicSacrifice pull it off successfully[[note]]although they could usually have found another way; see StupidSacrifice[[/note]], they're able to stay alive no matter how impossible that should be. At the very least his use of Meteor snapped Kain out of his brainwashing who, in turn, saved Rosa's life, so it wasn't ''completely'' without merit.
** Every time the monster Sin rears its ugly head in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', a Summoner is sent on a quest for the Aeons in hopes of performing the Final Summoning that is said to be the only way to defeat Sin, a quest that invariably costs the Summoner his or her life. But as it's revealed, the Final Summoning does nothing to stop Sin for good, as the Final Aeon that destroys Sin becomes the new Sin. Unlike most other examples of the trope, [[IntendedAudienceReaction this one was SUPPOSED]] [[DeconstructedTrope to be senseless;]] the idea that the Final Summoning is the only way to combat Sin is [[IdiotBall a falsehood propagated by the local church.]]
*** Not surprisingly, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', Yuna rails against the entire idea of sacrificing one's life after her experiences with the Final Summoning debacle in the first game, opposing a plan in which Nooj would shoot Baralai, who was under possession by Shujin, and then kill himself once Shujin re-entered his body because she has lost too many of her friends to sacrifice and doesn't want battles where "we have to lose in order to win."
*** Subverted with regards to Cid: Every opportunity he has to suggest it, he suggests a suicide ramming run using the airship. Every time, he's shot down as there's far less suicidal means of success. Rikku even mocks him for it one time.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Serah was aware that she could [[PowerDegeneration very possibly die of]] [[BlessedWithSuck her visions]] when she set out on the final leg of the journey to stop Caius. So they fight him, and appear to fix the timeline; as expected, [[BittersweetEnding she drops dead]]. [[DownerEnding Except Caius' plan worked out perfectly]], [[TimeCrash chaos engulfs the world and]] ''[[TimeCrash all Time]]'' [[TimeCrash literally ends]]. He even shows up in the Secret Ending to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall taunt the player]] with the claim that ''all eventualities'' lead to his victory.
* SequelEscalation: Throughout the series, some sort of hit point inflation seems to be taking place. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', the final boss has 2000 HP in the original version. By ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' there are a few spells that will generally do 9999 points of damage. In some of the later games, a single attack will do that much. By ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' early enemies have hundreds of thousands, and each form of the final boss has over 5 million. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'''s optional super boss (well, the most powerful of several) has ''FIFTY MILLION'' and is so far still unmatched in the HP department. Make sure you've used the bathroom and gotten a snack before you start one of these battles.
** ''XIII'' continues this in a different way, though no boss approaches even half of 50 million, storyline bosses can reach several million, and Barthandelus, fought roughly halfway through the game, has more HP than the final boss of ''XII''. And the party members have the damage cap raised a digit, allowing normal attacks to hit for 99,999 HP, and with the Genji Glove equipped to raise that, 999,999 is possible, and can be reached fairly easily with maxed-out characters and the right set-up.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong:
** The whole point of the ''Wings of the Goddess'' expansion in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI''. [[spoiler:In fact, the player's version of Vana'diel was revealed to be the Set Right What Once Went Wrong outcome of the nine Cait Siths nudging the Crystal War into a better direction, until people from the other timeline decided to set wrong what once went right. Leads one to wonder how long the [[NeverLiveItDown Pandemonium Warden fight]] took in the "bad" version of the universe.]]
** The point of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' is to fix the timeline and help everyone find happiness while averting future disaster. [[spoiler:They fail, and cause a massive TimeCrash.]]
** The TimeCrash that the heroes cause halfway through ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' allows them to do this. [[spoiler:Visiting all the towns in the past lets them kill the demons that were corrupting or usurping many of the world's rulers through manipulation, plagues, and outright DemonicPossession. It also averts tragic events from their own timeline, like Lilibelle's death.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'': [[spoiler:the Crystal Exarch of the First (who is actually a denizen of the Source, G'raha Tia) hails from a BadFuture where the Garlean Empire brought about the end of the world by means of a deadly chemical weapon. To that end, he traveled through time and reality itself in an attempt to halt the coming calamity in the First, and in so doing, prevent calamity in the Source.]]
* SexierAlterEgo:
** Cloud's 'ex-SOLDIER' personality in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is a cool, hypercompetent, swashbuckling NinetiesAntiHero [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys who is irresistible to women]] and [[EvenTheGuysWantHim men]] - even though he's also a total jerk. His original personality is that of the unpopular town dork, and quite hesitant and awkward.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', it's implied that [[spoiler:Chocolina]] is actually this to [[spoiler:Dajh's Chocobo chick]]. This is later [[spoiler:confirmed]] in Sazh's DLC story. [[spoiler:As it turns out, she got caught in the distortion just like he did, and wanted to help the others just like they always helped her, so Etro gave her the form of an attractive woman and the ability to be everywhere at once]].
* ShadowArchetype:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud, a highly-experienced, sulky jerk, has repeated visions of a weak but kindly little boy that resembles himself. The boy is especially likely to appear when Sephiroth is performing MindRape on Cloud, and you can actually control him at some points (although he's limited to running around and cannot interfere with events). After Cloud's [[DrivenToMadness mental breakdown]], the boy helps talk Tifa through sorting out Cloud's FalseMemories, eventually shown symbolically 'merging' with Cloud to restore him to his real self. Cloud later admits that he was ashamed of his real self and repressed it, making and embracing delusions in order to [[ADarkerMe present a cooler exterior to the outside world]].
*** Vincent also counts as 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.
** ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' has Lumina, who seems to be some sort of evil twin for Serah. [[spoiler:In actuality, she's everything Claire Farron rejected as weakness as a child when she became "Lightning", now made flesh. Throughout the game, Lumina does some morally ambiguous things that ultimately end up working out for the best for Lightning's friends; some might say Lightning is doing the same by submitting to Bhunivelze's servitude. In their one-on-one talks, Lumina pokes and prods Lightning with facts that the savior herself denies or hides; that the "Serah" that appears to her is fake, that Hope in the Ark isn't quite genuine, and that Lightning needs to admit her own weakness and reach out to her friends for help. In the end, Lumina breaks down and cries at the prospect of being left alone in a dead world. When Lightning admits her weakness, she does the same.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the Warriors of Darkness, introduced late in ''Heavensward'' as counterparts to [[PlayerCharacter the Warrior of Light]] and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. [[spoiler:Like the Warrior of Light, the Warriors of Darkness were [[TheChosenOne the chosen champions of Hydaelyn]] from their own world in TheMultiverse, and they had succeeded in defeating the forces of darkness -- at a terrible cost. With their world on the brink of destruction due to [[LightIsNotGood the power of light overwhelming it]], they were manipulated by the [[GreaterScopeVillain Ascians]] into crossing over into the main world of the game and trying to plunge it into darkness under the misguided belief that it would save their own world. Thankfully, they are set straight and return to their own world to forestall its destruction.]]
* ShesGotLegs:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Tifa's better known [[BoobsOfSteel for her rack]], but she's got a [[http://static.zerochan.net/Tifa.Lockhart.full.414887.jpg sizzling]] pair of legs to. In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', the former owner of 7th Heaven said he was looking for a new bartender with (quote): [[LampshadeHanging "big breasts and long legs!"]] to take over the place. Guess who got the job? [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake The remake]] only improves things by giving Tifa some thigh-high ZettaiRyouiki.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' both introduced Rikku with lingering pan shots up her very long legs. Further emphasized by her preference for hot pants (''FF X'') and her infamous micro-skirt + thong bikini combo in ''X-2''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'':
*** Vanille, who is not shy about it. Her promotional pictures feature her stretching out her legs.
*** Lightning. The cover of the game features her showing a lot of legs.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]] has four outfits. She wears tights in her base outfit, but her three alts all remove them, leaving her legs exposed -- and there's a lot of them ''to'' expose. Tifa and Lightning also return.
* ShipTease:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'':
*** One would be forgiven for mistaking Locke rescuing Terra in the opening minutes and his promise to stay with her until her memory returns for a RescueRomance, but he quickly moves on to form [[MaybeEverAfter the closest thing]] the game has to an OfficialCouple with Celes.
*** Terra also gets a Ship Tease scene on an actual ''ship'' with first General Leo, then Shadow. Hell even Sabin protects Terra from Ultros‘s NaughtyTentacles
*** [[CasanovaWannabe Edgar]] gets at least one moment of teasing with every female party member, including [[{{Moe}} Relm]] of all people. [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the translation]], he either has the decency to act {{squick}}ed about it or else implies a JailbaitWait.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
*** There is a micro-DatingSim where one of the three girls ([[GayOption and Barret]]) can go on a date with Cloud.
*** Tifa's introduced in a BaitAndSwitch where we're meant to think she's the mother of Cloud's child before we realize the little girl is actually Barret's. Immediately after, she and Cloud reminisce about a [[ThePromise promise under the stars]] they had when they were kids. When Cloud tells the story of Nibelheim, he goes into her room and pokes around in her bedroom, and teases Tifa by pretending to have gone through her drawers (which makes her cross).
*** Cloud and Tifa get more explicit Ship Tease in ''Anime/AdventChildren'' where they have a SleepCute moment, and [[https://youtu.be/ch9Ttxku30s?t=39 an even greater tease]] in ''Anime/LastOrderFinalFantasyVII'' where Cloud [[BeautifulDreamer strokes Tifa's hair]] after [[BridalCarry carrying her away from danger]].
*** Aerith tells Cloud that if he acts as her bodyguard she'll go out with him, and we don't know if Cloud's participation is out of hatred for the Shinra or a desire for a date. When sitting around the fire in Cosmo Canyon Aerith talks about her being the last Ancient and how it makes her lonely, and Cloud tries to reassure her with [[VerbalBackspace 'but I'm...we're here for you, right?']] Cait Sith looks at Cloud and Aerith's horoscopes and [[ShipperOnDeck determines that they'd be a perfect match]] [[spoiler:just before she leaves your party and is killed by Sephiroth]]. At the end of the game, Cloud also talks about wanting to find Aerith in the Promised Land.
*** Yuffie will kiss Cloud if you take her on the Gondola.
*** Barret gets a lot of HoYay with Cloud, getting moved when Cloud talks with him about politics and nervously apologizing to him after realizing he's not all bad. If the player chooses to have Cloud compliment Barret's sailor suit ("a [[TheBear bear]] wearing a marshmallow"), they'll later find Barret locked in a room with a mirror, checking himself out. He even gets GayBravado flirting and the opportunity to date Cloud.
*** It even has instances of ShipTease with random male characters, like Mukki and Don Corneo.
*** Barret and Tifa get teased throughout, but particularly in the second disc where Aerith is gone and Tifa becomes Cloud's primary love interest. He gets jealous of her feelings towards Cloud, though it's unclear if it's because of his confused feelings about Cloud in general. She helps him look after his daughter, he calls her 'some kinda lady'...
*** The Turks get a bit. Rude admits to liking Tifa. Tseng asks Elena out for dinner, but has a certain amount of involvement with Aerith, who Reno says he 'likes'. Aerith doesn't seem interested, but she doesn't seem all that scared of him either, and she expresses attachment to him when she finds his unconscious body, saying he's one of the only people who really knows her.
*** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake The Remake]] continues this trend as well. Both [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUmA1oXt6I Aerith]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DyN9VtDjCc Tifa]] have moments with Cloud throughout - Tifa and Cloud reach for one another in the heat of battle, have a SuggestiveCollision, [[BackToBackBadass stand back to back]] [[BattleCouple together]] and Cloud has the option to comfort Tifa very intimately at the end - while Aerith is showing wearing the red dress for Don Corneo's mansion [[MaleGaze from Cloud's]] [[EatingTheEyeCandy perspective]], while fireworks go off in the background. There's even a moment where Cloud has both women holding his arms!
*** Surprisingly [[ThirdOptionLoveInterest Jessie]]! Gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uzi8gUVVY0&t=1s heaps of moments with Cloud]] compared to the original and unlike Tifa and to a lesser extent Aerith she doesn't hesitate to show him great affection. In the bike racing mini-game depending on how well the player does Jessie even kisses Cloud on the cheek causing him to become shy in an endearingly dorky fashion, then she outright invites him to her room later. [[spoiler: [[ShipSinking Unfortunately]] as [[ForgoneConclusion anyone whose played the original]] will remember Jessie is killed, in this continuity by falling rubble leading to a TearJerker where she's so glad that Cloud is the one to hear her last words before she dies]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
*** Tidus and Auron seemed to flirt a bit in Luca during Auron's reappearance. Between Auron saying things like [[DoubleEntendre "Come or don't come. It's your decision,"]] and Tidus assuming the position shortly thereafter, the UST was palpable. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAQmzOzh_yA See 6:15 and 6:38-7:00.]])
*** Depending on your [[RelationshipValues affection rating]], you can have Tidus outright tell Lulu or Rikku that he would rather have them in Guadosalam. Rikku will get a little weirded out (which makes sense given she and Tidus are LikeBrotherAndSister) while Lulu simply says "hmm, I could add you to my list."
*** Lulu gets teased with Wakka quite a bit since she used to date his brother. [[spoiler:Then come the sequel, they're an OfficialCouple with a baby on the way.]]
*** Rikku also gets a ShipTease with Gippal in ''X-2''. An optional conversation has him saying the two "were quite the couple", though Rikku denies it. However, she shows plenty of signs throughout the game such as ordering everyone to go and rescue him. The two are also seen leaving the Farplane together at the end.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'':
*** It's subtle, but there is a little ship teasing between [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Balthier and Fran]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIIRevenantWings''. When Tomas is trying to woo Fran, she mentions that Balthier's methods were different. You might also count the scene in the Pharos when the Sun Cryst explodes from the original game as rather shippy. Balthier's lines regarding Fran always have some kind of sexual undertone to them (but hey, don't all his lines?)
---->'''Balthier:''' "No one knows men like Fran does."
---->'''Balthier:''' "I always knew Fran didn't take well to being tied up. I just never knew how much. How about you?"
:::: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZ0cBZfO_c#t=2m10s This scene]] is also fairly shippy.
---->'''Fran''' (''cupping Balthier's cheek''): "Hadn't you best be off? That's what a sky pirate does, you fly, don't you?"
---->'''Balthier''' (''holding Fran's hand''): I suppose you'd better hang on then."
*** There's also some Ship Teases for Balthier/Ashe too, especially in the original game. During a scene closer to the end of the game, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTXIe7Bv1HY he seems rather agitated when Al-Cid flirts with her, prompting Fran to give him a knowing look.]] Also, in the scene in which [[spoiler:Balthier is risking his life to stop the Bahamut from destroying Rabanastre Ashe seems particularly scared that he might die, ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ultjsCoYXlo especially in the original Japanese version]]) The following is a translation of some of the scene:]]
---->'''Ashe:''' [[spoiler:"You... do you understand what you are doing?"]]
---->'''Balthier:''' [[spoiler:"Princess, there's no need for worry. Who do you think I am? I'm the hero of the story. And the hero never dies."]]
---->'''Ashe:''' [[spoiler:"Please, Balthier, hurry and get out of the Bahamut! [[CannotSpitItOut Please. If you die... if you die... I...]]"]]
---->[[spoiler:(''as the Strahl blasts away'')]]
---->'''Ashe:''' [[spoiler:"BALTHIER!!!!"]]
*** Ashe and Basch is also plausible. In the ending, Penelo writes to Larsa, and she tells him how she hopes Basch will see Ashe because she thinks Ashe misses him (which Basch reads after Larsa hands him the letter).
*** Penelo also gets a lot of scenes with Larsa in the first game, which could be construed as this, and they certainly seem to feel affectionately for each other.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'':
*** Aside from [[OfficialCouple Serah and Snow]], the rest is all up to interpretation, the biggest source of tease coming from [[TokenMiniMoe Vanille]] and [[TallDarkAndSnarky Fang]], whose relationship is so laden with LesYay their AmbiguouslyGay status is barely ambiguous at all.
*** ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' has a ''lot'' of [[TeenGenius Hope]]/[[BrokenBird Lightning]] tease. [[spoiler:Hope giving up the chance to be reborn with his parents in favor of saving Lightning, or Lightning desperately trying to grab his hand as his body disintegrates, are just a few of many examples.]] The rest (and, again, there's a ''lot'') can be found on the game's main trope page.
*** There's also this line, which is a ShoutOut to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Squall's promise]] [[OfficialCouple to Rinoa]].
---->'''Hope''' (''to Lightning''): "Even if the entire world hates you, I'll always be by your side."
*** All games from this trilogy have a bit of ship tease between Hope and Vanille. In the first one, during a side-quest event in Grand Pulse, Hope says to her "her smile makes him happy", which is immediately interpreted as a love confession by Vanille, judging her expression. But soon after saying that, Hope says this was a joke, angering her. In the second game during a dialogue in Yaschas Massif 110 AF, Hope seems concerned about Vanille's well-being. And in LR, Lightning seems to be aware Hope has a thing for Vanille in one dialogue.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
*** The PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light's relationships with many NPC is usually written with a bit of leeway for people to assume a romantic implication. There is also a case where within the fifth-anniversary livestream, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRJwAabzAY8 two]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzmMKtuEuVA segments]] were shown with the Warrior on various dates during the Rising that practically screams ship bait.
** ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'':
*** A series of scenes involves [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Firion]] trying to approach [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]] to talk to her, only for a string of {{Moment Killer}}s to scare him off. It turns out he lost his rose and she found it, and he's trying to ask for it back but is embarrassed about the HotBlooded rebel having to ask the resident ActionGirl for his flower (in his exact words, "a grown man asking for his flower back..."). However, the subtext is very thin, and is complete with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Cecil]] appointing himself Firion's [[ShipperOnDeck wingman]].
*** And then when he finally ''does'' get to talk to her, the Ship Tease still goes strong as Lightning returns it to him and notes that for both of them, the sight of that rose is the key to their memories[[labelnote:explanation]]In Firion's case, the phrase "Wild Rose" is a ContinuityNod to the Wild Rose Rebellion that Firion and his friends were a part of; in Lightning's case, her Eidolon-summoning crystal was shaped like a rose, and splitting it caused a shower of rose petals[[/labelnote]], and asks him to keep it safe because when he remembers everything, she might need it back for help with the same. He watches her leave with a dreamy smile.
*** Terra gets ship teases with Onion Knight, Cloud and Vaan. Vaan and Onion Knight appoint themselves her protectors, worrying about her safety and counselling her on following her heart to find out what she truly wants. Cloud meanwhile waxes poetic with her about their dreams for the future in spite of their self-doubts. When Cecil, again playing ShipperOnDeck, asks Onion Knight if he's fallen for her, he denies it, but in a fairly flustered manner.
* ShadowedFaceGlowingEyes:
** The {{Black Mage}}s wear [[RobeAndWizardHat blue robes with a yellow hat]], leaving their face obscured while their eyes glow from within. The design was initially due to the sprite limitations of the NES, but stuck around as graphics improved.
** [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' the appearance of a dark shadowy face with glowing eyes, but lack the traditional wizard attire of a Black Mage. They even have visible hair on their heads, but their faces are still darkened.
%%* ShockAndAwe: Thunder, Thundara, Thundaga, sometimes Thundaja, and a summon, usually Ramuh, but not always.
* ShutUpHannibal:
** Immediately after killing Aerith in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Sephiroth starts to give his umpteenth villainous speech about how everyone will live again as part of him when he absorbs the lifestream and becomes a new god... and Cloud's text box pops up and actually ''covers up'' most of Sephiroth's speech with the words "... Shut up."
*** Even the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Turks]] get one of this in on Don Corneo in Wutai, after Cloud And Friends and the Turks team up to release Yuffie and Elena from Corneo's clutches. Mostly they turn his ReasonYouSuckSpeech against him.
** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', Sephiroth's delivers one hell of one to [[spoiler:Genesis]]:
--->'''Sephiroth:''' Whether your words are lies meant to deceive me... or the truth that I have sought all my life... it makes no difference. '''You will rot'''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Garland tells Zidane to destroy Gaia, [[spoiler: since he's an ArtificialHuman created for exactly that purpose.]] Zidane refuses, obviously, but when Garland tries to push he delivers an amazingly snappy and spoilertastic comeback:
--->'''Garland:''' [[spoiler:Regrettable. I thought your soul would be a perfect choice for the new Angel of Death.]]\\
'''Zidane:''' [[spoiler:I ''am'' the new Angel of Death. Yours!!!]]
** Lightning in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' does this to [[spoiler:Orphan just before the [[MarathonBoss final]] final]] boss fight. He only manages a creepy laugh and three words before she gives him a lecture that lasts about a minute. But it is an awesome minute.
--->"You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, [[DeathSeeker waiting for someone to come and destroy you]]. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone! We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home, and we'll protect it or die trying! [[PreAssKickingOneLiner We live to make the impossible possible... that is our Focus!]]"
** Most of the boss battles in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' consist of you shutting up the enemy via superior firepower, as they will at various points through the battle [[IShallTauntYou taunt you]] about their supposed superiority until you defeat them. One of the most satisfying deliveries of such a Shut Up Battle is against [[TheScrappy Algus/Algrath]].
*** Elmdor shuts up Barinten/Barringten by having his assassin toss him to his death when he confronts Rafa on the rooftops of Riovanes Castle.
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has several examples. Ultimecia in particular not only gets a good snarky one from the [[TheCape Warrior of Light]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MBkVpRD2W0 "Are you finished talking?" ... "If you have no business with me, you should leave now. The world's time runs short. There is not a moment to waste with the likes of you."]]), she also gets an even more badass one from Squall after he defeats her in Shade Impulse: he responds to her preaching about time by [[TalkToTheFist finishing her off with his gunblade,]] [[KilledMidSentence before she'd finished talking.]]
*** Which of course is a reference to her [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII original game]] where she gives a similar speech during the final battle and gets struck down mid-sentence.
* ShutUpKirk:
** Kefka, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', gives a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments priceless]] one when faced with the heroes' NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech before the final battle.
--->'''Kefka:''' Sickening! You all sound like chapters from a SELF-HELP BOOKLET!
** He does it again in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', casually brushing off Terra's assertion that the meaning of existence can be found when one has something to protect:
--->'''Kefka:''' [[WordSchmord Meaning, schmeaning.]] This whole world's going bye-bye, you included!
** Garland brings up a similar rebuttal in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' when confronted by Zidane and three other party members at the end of disc three; after listening to them explain how they're better than him and how they know more than him ([[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords sometimes using arguments which don't apply to him in any way, shape or form]]) Garland challenges them to actually demonstrate their superiority.
---> Lecture me again when you are on the verge of death!
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': Just about everyone in the CrapsackWorld that is Ivalice have accepted the status quo and just want to be at the top of the heap. For daring to express a different opinion, Ramza is called variants of naive and foolish. (For example, in the battle against [[spoiler: Gafgarion]] when he makes his FaceHeelTurn, one of the things he can say to Ramza is: "Stop being such a child!") This rarely helps, as Ramza ends up killing most of them. And most of the rest end up being killed by the scheming Delita instead.
* SideQuest: Loads of them. For the first few games, they weren't more than "Go here, fight this guy, come back," but starting with ''IV'', they really became deeper and grew to become a staple of the series. Reached its logical conclusion in ''XII'', where doing every sidequest can take longer than doing the main story itself.
* SingleMindedTwins: Zorn and Thorn, from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. They habitually repeat what the other says (i.e. "what the other says they habitually repeat"), and their boss reveals they aren't even really two beings just before they merge into a single two-headed EldritchAbomination body for their final boss fight.
** ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series in general averted this.
*** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Palom and Porom]] is the first prime example. Palom is boastful and rude, Porom reserved and polite.
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Edgar is a ChivalrousPervert while Sabin is chaste, but acts without thinking.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': For Basch and Gabranth/Noah it's quite complicated, as their different personality might be due to the different "environment" they faced.
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' Alphinaud and Alisaie, despite being HalfIdenticalTwins in terms of their looks. While Alphinaud throws himself into the task of filling the shoes of their grandfather, Louisoix Leveilleur, and assisting the Scions of the Seventh Dawn in repelling the Garlean threat and restoring stability to Eorzea, Alisaie grows disgusted with Eorzea's politics and follows her own path, seeking the truth behind the Battle of Carteneau and Louisoix's disappearance and ultimately finding the Dreadwyrm Bahamut on the verge of resurrection. Alisaie is largely absent from the main story while Alphinaud remains a central figure throughout; this status quo changes towards the end of the Heavensward expansion, where Alisaie returns with a new costume, new abilities, and new purpose.
* [[SirSwearsALot Sir Swears-a-lot or Lady Swears-a-lot]]:
** Cid and Barret in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
---> '''Cid:''' "Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair, and ''[[MemeticMutation drink your goddamn tea]]!''"
** Compared to the rest of the cast of ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy]]'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Prishe]] drops mild swears much more often. Most notable are her quote for being called in as an assist character "It's about damn time!" and having "Aw hell!" instead of a death scream.
* SituationalDamageAttack: The Grudge (sometimes called Karma) attack deals damage to a character based on how many kills the character has made. So it'll likely kill the fighters and mages, while the healer will take very little damage (if any).
* SlidingScaleOfContinuity: The series are Level 0 (Non-Linear Installments). A couple of games had sequels or spin-offs; the others are each their own reality with their own characters, their own plot, their own setting... However, they share various nods to one another such as similar monsters, summons, chocobos, and characters named Cid.
** Curiously, the games are sometimes hinted to take place in a {{Multiverse}}, most notably with the character Gilgamesh, who is all but explicitly stated to be the same character across all his appearances, Ultros and Typhon have started getting similar treatment in recent releases (''XIII-2'' and ''XIV''), and the character Shinra from ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 X-2]]'', who seems to go quite a bit further than just a "shout-out" to the company from ''VII''. And then there's ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''...
*** ''XIV'' also featured Lightning directly from ''XIII'' to help promote ''Lightning Returns'', [[spoiler:while ''XI'''s Iroha seems to have somehow ended in Eorzea instead of returning to her future on Vana'diel at the end of ''Rhapsodies of Vana'diel'', and seems to be here to stay.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' directly connects the first six games in the series through aggressive CanonWelding. Each of those planets exists within the same universe, and their various magic crystals were put in place by the same outside observer.
* SmashMook: Particularly the Behemoths.
* SourOutsideSadInside:
** Squall Leonhart of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' puts an extraordinary amount of effort into being brusque, unsociable, and unsympathetic to others in order to keep anyone from getting too close to him. As the game progresses, it reveals that he does this because he's actually cripplingly insecure and desperately afraid of coming to care about and rely on others only to lose them, which he believes is inevitable.
** Lulu from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' is a milder example; she puts up a very cold, alienating front - being outright abrasive to Wakka, Tidus and (very occasionally) Yuna - but is revealed to just be an exceptionally sad person inside as the game progresses, due to the loss of [[spoiler:her fiancé, Chappu, Lady Ginnem, her first Summoner [[MyGreatestFailure due to her own inability]] and the fact that Yuna will die too once they finish the pilgrimage]].
** Lightning qualifies as this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', at least in the first few chapters of the game. She comes across as confrontational, aggressive, and outright cold with people she has just met. In reality, she's deeply concerned about her sister Serah and, considering that she herself was branded a L'Cie, had pretty firm justification for being under some heavy stress. She begins to open up to Hope and show more of her inner fragility as the plot advances.
* SpellLevels: Some games have tiers of spells that even have their own set of spell uses. It's a staple to have some more advanced spells under the naming format "[spell]", "[spell](a)ra", "[spell](a)ga", and "[spell](a)ja", though the English translations only began to use it since ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' (before, spells were simply named "[spell] 1", "[spell] 2", etc. due to limited characters). This naming system is carried over to the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series.
* SphereOfDestruction: The trademark design of the Ultima spell.
* SpinningOutOfHere: Several of the earlier games show teleportation this way.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Dissidia'' spawned a subseries of similar CrisisCrossover games that focus on iconic cast of past games. Aside from direct prequel ''Dissidia 012'', there's ''Theatrhythm'', ''Airborne Brigade'', ''All the Bravest'', and to a certain degree the Trading Card Game, all of which borrow gameplay terminology and character designs from ''Dissidia''.
* StableTimeLoop:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', the story begins when the Warriors of Light are sent to the nearby Temple of Chaos to kill the renegade knight Garland. [[spoiler:As Garland is dying, the four Elemental Fiends of the game magically send him two thousand years into the past, when he becomes the demon Chaos, and sends the four Fiends to the still-the-past future to seize control of the four Elemental Crystals. The Fiends take roughly four hundred years to obtain all the Crystals and use them to wreck the world until the present day, when the Warriors of Light fight Garland, slay the Fiends, and travel to the past to confront Chaos and die fighting him. The game ends when the Light Warriors kill Chaos and end the stable time loop.]]
** This is essential to the plot of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Because the main party kills [[spoiler:Ultimecia]] in a partially time-compressed realm, [[spoiler:she is able to give her powers to Edea, thirteen years in the game's past, before she perishes.]] This is what makes [[spoiler:Edea the perfect choice to possess for Ultimecia's plans]], and causes the main conflict in the present that leads to the need to destroy Ultimecia. Additionally, [[spoiler:after Edea inherits Ultimecia's powers in the past, the present-day Squall explains the concept of [=SeeD=] to her]], thus inspiring the creation of the mercenary organization he grew up in and setting up his own role in the events of the game. The Stable Time Loop is further illustrated by the futile efforts at one of the cast members to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong; she ultimately concludes that the past cannot be changed. That said, [[spoiler:when time uncompresses after Ultimecia's death, Squall is returned to the "present" and he and [[EarnYourHappyEnding everyone else in the main cast (including Edea) get to go on living the rest of their lives otherwise unaffected by the loop]]]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Small-time example in the form of Dajh naming the Chocobo chick "Chocolina". He named her after the quirky merchant of the same name. Where did she get ''her'' name from? Dajh, because she ''is'' the chick. She just happens to exist everywhere and at every moment in time, because she asked Etro for the ability to help Serah and Noel anywhere (and any''when'') during their journey.
*** Another example is the Proto-Fal'Cie Adam. The artificial Fal'Cie was reprogrammed by someone from the future to become malevolent, murdering its creators and ruling over humanity. Who reprogrammed it? It's the future self who was in turn also reprogrammed by its future self. [[spoiler: Eventually the whole event is erased from existence anyway.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Alexander primal is an ontological paradox MindScrew. The goblins summoned it using a robot cat (created by Alexander) and a book an NPC in our time wrote about it, these are sent back in time during one of the boss fights. A failed summoning in the past was the player characters travelling back in time (to drop off the book and the cat). The goblins observed this failed summoning and used it, along with the book and the cat, to summon Alexander. When it's defeated, the character that created the object that summoned Alexander to begin with is sent back in time centuries along with her fiancee, and they become the founders of their tribe (and their own ancestors). The instructions to create the object that summoned Alexander is sent back with them.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII'' the party is warned by their Elder that people in the Past are looking for the [[CoolShip Talon]] Units. In said Past, they meet the said Elder and ask where they can find Talon Units. Past Elder also is thinking about naming a town and asks for a name.
** An odd example from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesEchoesOfTime'': [[spoiler:A thousand years before the game starts, a shockwave from the future causes all the crystals to vanish from the world. Larkeicus, the villain of the story, gained immortality from these crystals and also used them to develop crystal-powered technology that he build an entire civilization upon, which naturally fell apart when the crystals vanished. A thousand years later, Larkeicus enacts a plot to build a tower as part of his scheme to prevent the shockwave that caused the crystals to vanish. Turns out the tower he built was the cause of the shockwave in the first place.]]
* StandardJapaneseFantasySetting: The series is the TropeMaker and TropeNamer for standard RPG magic classes (WhiteMage, BlackMage, etc.), and its Job system includes at least one of each class on the list, sometimes combining them into character in games with a smaller cast. Magic crystals are omnipresent, and usually significant to the plot. Elves and orcs are rare, but there's usually a few goblins as early enemies, ElementalRockPaperScissors slime enemies in the form of Flans, and at least one beastfolk race. Actual demons and gods are rare, with the role of religion typically instead going to otherworldly spirits or beasts (most commonly known as Eidolons) and their summoners.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasy'' is much more of a Standard Western Fantasy than the later games, fighting ''D&D'' specific monsters like liches and [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} mind flayers]] which became less common later in the series. But it did introduce the standard classes of Fighter, Thief, Monk/Black Belt, White Mage, and Black Mage, and included some then-unusual additions such as a HumongousMecha as a late-game boss and a CoolAirship.
** Moogles first appeared as forest-dwelling cute mascot race in ''III'' and have served in that capacity in every main entry from ''V'' onward.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' introduces summon magic, and the Land of Summons -- powerful magical creatures/spirits which can be magically called to the caster's aid. These appear in every subsequent entry, sometimes by names other than Summon or Eidolon -- on several occasions as the Kaiju-sized threat which levels a city or castle.
** The world of Ivalice, as seen in ''VideoGame/IvaliceAlliance'' games (starting with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', later appearing in a numbered entry in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''), is perhaps the straightest example, a densely historical setting of war and political intrigue. While Hume (humans) empires control most of the setting, there are many prominent beastfolk characters, from the lizard-like Bangaa and PigMan Seeq to the furry, masked Garifs and aloof, [[LittleBitBeastly rabbit-eared]] Vieras, who live in [[HiddenElfVillage secluded forest villages]].
** This trope is ''best'' demonstrated with ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'' which, in addition to establishing its own complicated lore and setting, is heavily inspired by previous games in the series. For example, part of the backstory is that there are ''multiple'' generations of {{Precursors}}, as an EternalRecurrence is that the world gets repeatedly destroyed during multiple eras of prosperity. Further, Hyur (Humans) are the most widespread race, but there are also the Elezen (Elves), Lalafell (Halflings/Dwarves), Rogaedyn (Giants), as well as the cat-like Miqote and Hrothgar. Most races from older ''Final Fantasy'' installments also return, such as the Bangaa and bunny-like Viera. There are also groups of "Beast races" which receive varying degrees of discrimination. There's an [[TheEmpire evil empire]] wielding advanced {{Magitek}}, a religious kingdom doused with heavy AnimeCatholicism and fighting a ForeverWar against dragons, multiple [[{{Wutai}} stand-ins for Japan]], an eternal struggle between entities of Light and Dark, and even giant {{Kaiju}} and HumongousMecha. And naturally, the series has most of its usual character classes, such as Paladins, Bards, Monks, White Mages, Black Mages, and of course, Ninja and Samurai.
* StarCrossedLovers:
** In the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' series, Aerith Gainsborough and Zack Fair are fairly happy at first, as shown in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', but then Zack goes on the infamous Nibelheim mission and disappears for years, ultimately [[DoomedByCanon dying just outside Midgar]] before he can reunite with Aerith. She never learns what happened to him and, in the meantime, briefly sees Cloud ([[spoiler:who happens to have been Zack's best friend]]) as a ReplacementGoldfish... but ultimately faces her own death at the blade of Sephiroth. They end up TogetherInDeath, as shown in ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'':
*** Played with when it comes to Laguna and Julia. They have an attraction to each other during Laguna's military days, but it's not known if it ever progressed beyond that. Julia later wrote a song invoking this trope, as she believed Laguna to be killed in action. It is however a slightly straighter example for Laguna and Raine, who were together briefly, but Laguna left to rescue Ellone from Esthar soldiers. While he was gone, Raine died in childbirth.
*** {{Fanon}} liked to assign this to Squall and Rinoa (who are the children of Laguna and Julia respectively). A fan theory for years was that Ultimecia the BigBad of the game [[spoiler: was actually a future version of Rinoa, driven mad by Squall's death, due to sorceresses living longer]] (itself just {{Fanon}}). Square ultimately debunked this theory.
** This could apply to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'''s Tidus and Yuna with Tidus being [[spoiler: actually a dream of the Fayth]]. But [[spoiler: at the good ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', they are happily reunited.]]
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has [[spoiler:Lenne and Shuyin, whose romance was interrupted by the war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. As a summoner, Lenne was put onto the front lines to fight. Shuyin sought to use the machina Vegnagun to essentially commit genocide and stop the war. Although Lenne stopped him, both were killed. They couldn't be TogetherInDeath because of Shuyin's soul being trapped in the Den of Woe.]]
*** [[spoiler: Shuyin and Lenne]] from VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2. It’s an odd variant on the trope, as [[spoiler: they’re both [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Unsent]] but can’t pass on - Shuyin, because he’s [[AxCrazy lost it]] from the 1000 years of MindRape and Lenne, wants to calm him down.]] You end up ensuring they end up [[spoiler: TogetherInDeath]].
** Serah and Snow in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2''. The first game's ending was pretty good for them, then the sequel kicked in and Snow went on a quest to find Lightning. It all goes downhill from there. [[spoiler:Except in one of the ''Paradox Endings'', i.e. an alternate, non-official ending, where they go on adventures together.]]
** The Warrior of Light and Cosmos from ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', as well as [[spoiler:Cid and his wife, whose likeness they were created in]].
* StatusQuoIsGod:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the trope used as a plot point. The world of Spira is always under the constant threat of the gigantic monster Sin, that destroys everything it comes across. Summoners, who are the followers of the Yevon religion, go on pilgrimages so that they can obtain the final aeon and use it to kill Sin while [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing their lives in the process]]. This brings out a period known as the Calm where people can live in peace for a while (the current one is a record ten years) until Sin is reborn and the cycle starts all over again. The cycle has gone on for so long (a thousand years to be exact!) that nobody questions it. When the main character, Tidus, starts questioning everything and the teachings of Yevon, that's when everyone starts to wonder why things never change and they vow to actually change the status quo once and for all. Yevon doesn't like people questioning them and threatening the status quo (Yevon ruled all of Spira for a thousand years aren't going to let that go anytime soon), so they brand the main characters as traitors that are sentenced to death. [[spoiler: The party does find a way to defeat Sin once and for all while also exposing the lies that Yevon had upheld for a thousand years.]]
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a rare in-universe case of this. The heroes and villains have been waging war in the name of their gods for a while now, but every time one side comes within reach of winning, [[spoiler:Shinryu resets everything back the way it used to be]], starting the war over again. This is because [[spoiler:Shinryu made a deal with Cid, aka the Narrator, that he would keep the war going forever in a GroundhogDayLoop in order to temper Chaos into the ultimate force of destruction]]. In this case, God is in fact, keeping the status quo!
*** The game has some fun with this concept. [[spoiler:The villains' main plan involves killing Cosmos in such a way that [[KilledOffForReal not even Shinryu will be able to resurrect her]]. And they ''succeed''...sort of.]]
*** There's also the matter of the prequel actually being an ''aversion'' of this. It has several new characters, some pre-existing characters being on different sides, Kuja not being written poorly and thus acting like a completely different character, and the plot having a completely different focus. Everyone forgot this by the next status quo reset, which is why it ''seems'' like it's never changed in spite of actually changing.
* StepfordSmiler:
** Aerith from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' [[spoiler:is heavily implied to know how the events of the original story are "supposed" to go, including her fated death at Sephiroth's hands. She knows her days are probably numbered but she still clings to the idea that fate can be changed.]] She also maintains a cheerful demeanor and is a bonafide NiceGirl.
** Nearly the entire population of the world in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' is this way due to the CrapsackWorld setting. Sin, a whale monster that is size of a city, roams around the world and destroys everything in its path. The populace is lead to believe from the Church of Yevon that if everyone atones for their sins, then the Sin monster will go away for good. Despite people trying to do this for 1000 years, Sin still exists and you can see people trying not to crack as they keep insisting that things will be ok if they keep atoning for their sins, despite the fact that they know things have not changed for so long. You eventually find people that finally break out of their stepford smiler state and wonder if things are just hopeless.
*** Yuna from plays with this trope in a very interesting way: it's made very clear that she deliberately takes on the role of 'heroic savior of Spira' so as to inspire hope in the rest of the world even though she's much more scared and sad than she lets on, but it's not just a simple matter of her putting on a totally fake mask. In the infamous laughing scene, Yuna admits that she tries to smile even when she's feeling sad, and the more she does it the less sad she feels. Sure enough, as she encourages a reluctant Tidus to force himself to laugh with her, they end up actually falling over each other laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing is. So Yuna definitely does pretend to be much more happy, confident, and perfect than she actually feels, but to her it's less about putting on a mask as deliberately ''turning into'' that kind of person inside and out. [[spoiler:Also defeating Sin would mean her death; to add onto this, Tidus unintentionally teases her with promises of taking her to see his Zanarkand after her pilgrimage is over. Naturally, this causes her a great deal of emotional pain, and the only thing that really keeps her going is knowing that she is Spira's salvation and that she'd die a martyr. She breaks down when she learns that Yevon is corrupt, but later finds the strength to carry on and find another way.]]
*** Tidus's IdiotHero persona is mostly just an act to deal with his angst over his DisappearedDad. And he has a more traditional StepfordSmiler moment later on, after discovering that [[spoiler:defeating Yu Yevon will end his own existence.]]
** [[spoiler:Vanille]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is a perfect Depressed example. [[spoiler:Her unnaturally happy and positive attitude was just a way of running away from her past failures. She has an authentic death wish and blames herself for everything that has happened]].
*** Hope is implied to be Depressed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2''. When Serah and Noel first meet him, he mentions that everyone he was friends with disappeared from his life immediately after the fall of Cocoon. [[spoiler: Becomes more explicit in Academia 4XX - Hope sends himself on a one-way trip 400 years into the future because his father had died and there was nothing left for him in his own time]].
** Thancred in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' seems to be chipper and borderline ChivalrousPervert, but deep down, he resents himself for not being able to save Minfilia's father from being killed by a Gobbue several years ago and he also blames himself for not doing more to help out his fellow Scions. Thancred's constant self pushing to make himself useful gets him physically exhausted to the point where [[spoiler:he is weak enough to be possessed by Lahabrea for a while]].
** Prompto in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'''s affectedly optimistic attitude masks his secret about who and what he really is. He admits to Noctis that he knows he is an endlessly generous and cheerful 'giver' to his friends because he is convinced that he's faking being worth something. No matter how much the others reassure him that they like him for who he is, and even though he believes them, he can't make himself feel it.
** In ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'', even in the good / true ending, none of the characters are entirely happy about how things have turned out. [[spoiler:Reynn and Lann's parents, Lusse and Rorrik are dead and defeating the evil beings that had possessed their spirits only bought a bit of time for their spirit forms to bid good-bye to their children. Furthermore, Reynn and Lann have to leave Grymoire. But Lusse tells Reynn to not be sad and to "turn those corners up," then Reynn later says the same thing to the Champions of Grymoire as she and Lann are about to leave.]]
* StockWeaponNames: Names such as Excalibur, Masamune, and the series' own Ultima weapon.
* StockRPGSpells: Has the core FireIceLightning as offensive spells, a whole slew of ElementalPowers, curative magic, status buffs and debuffs, as well as status effects.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Almost every game has an example. Some stand out more than others (particularly ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 X-2]]''), but every game will feature at least one person like this. ''Final Fantasy'', however, is notable for its equal opportunity -- even the ''men'' are prone to this trope (Kuja can even put most of the ''girls'' to shame). There are too many to list in just one page.
** Both used and averted for the Viera, a race of bunny women. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', they wear pretty revealing clothes, especially Fran. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', only the Elementalist class is revealing while the rest are modest in clothing. The Seeq, [[PigMan a race of pigs]], [[FanDisservice are the]] [[MonsterModesty most stripperiffic.]]
** {{Summon|Magic}}er/BlackMagicianGirl Rydia, from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', was already skirting the line with her post-adolescence LeotardOfPower. Her outfit for the sequel, ''The After Years'', doesn't resemble clothes so much as strategically-applied, gravity-defying green paint. [[SheIsAllGrownUp Porom]] winds up with a Stripperiffic costume of her own, too; both of them actually had their clothing censored for the North American release of the game. Surprisingly, there's also a male example in [[spoiler:Golbez]] of all people.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by some of the [[AmazonBrigade female guards]] of Troia on the Nintendo DS version, a nation ruled by women. One of them even gets annoyed at being mistaken for a dancer.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', certain types of armor had a somewhat odd tendency to spontaneously gain ZettaiRyouiki when equipped on female characters, the [[CatGirl Mithra]] getting hit the most by it. However, there are also plenty of armor that looks exactly the same when equipped on both genders, ranging from practical armor and robes, to harnesses and subligar, which is stripperiffic even on the male characters.
** ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'' ran into the slightly peculiar situation of having to cover up a ''male'' character because playtesters found his outfit 'too sexy'. Originally a sort of skintight leather cloth glued over his chest that showed his sides, thong-lines, [[TattooAsCharacterType enormous tribal back-piece]] and butt, Wol ended up dressed in a (still very revealing) carapace with a little shoulder-cape.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' plays this for laughs with Godbert Manderville, the UltimateBlacksmith father of Hildebrand Manderville. Nine times out of ten, the man is walking around in his small clothes (re: his ''underwear and a pair of sandals'') and if he's wearing clothes anywhere else, the man'll have it shed sooner or later, usually before he opens up a massive can of whup-ass.
* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Probably every ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' has at least one stupid trap the player must fall into.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' has an elf king living in a decrepit castle in the middle of nowhere, who supposedly dropped his crown in a dungeon. Despite the party having - presumably - heard about how a random dark elf, Astos, stole Matoya's crystal ball, they go through the dungeon and give the elf the crown. Guess who the elf was. Making things worse, the dungeon you have to go through to get the crown is (in the original game) a huge DifficultySpike over everything that came before.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' has a point in the story where you return to your base and are told by just about every single person in the base that the queen has been acting very strangely, some speculating that she might have lost her mind after the death of the king. She then invites the lead protagonist to her bedroom specifically excluding the rest of his party. Considering that at worst, this is some kind of trap by the villains influencing the queen in some manner, and at BEST trying to sleep with a clearly very emotionally unstable person, you are still given no option but to follow her into the bedroom hop into bed and make no effort to resist at all. The truth is that the queen was replaced with a monster and the ONLY thing that saved the hero from getting stabbed in the back was that one of your party members was spying on you for fun.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'':
*** There's a point where the villains demands the last of the four crystals in exchange for the life of the protagonist's love interest. Instead of refusing or at the very least switching the real crystal out for a fake one like any other smart person would, our brainless heroes decide that the only option is to trade the world away for the life of one person. Even in this regard they nearly fail, as they hand over the crystal before they get their hostage back or even see that she's safe. In order to get her, they have to fight their way through a large dungeon and still barely manage to save her in time before she's executed.
*** Twice in the face of decisive battles, the party decides, "Let's make the women StayInTheKitchen!" Yes, they're the game's best spellcasters and the only reason they have made it this far. The men decide big boss battles are exactly where not to bring the heal spells and earth-shattering summons. Even worse, the first time they do this they get their asses handed to them and still get one of the girls abducted, but learn absolutely nothing from it. Admittedly, the first party split is suggested by the King of Fabul, and he has a good reason (both women have healing magic and the infirmary will need help.)
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', right after arriving in the second world, there is a scene where a monster kidnaps Lenna and Faris, and Bartz must fight it one-on-one so that he can be dragged off to the villain's hideout. Should he lose, he goes straight there, but if he wins, you'll be taken back to the area you were in, with a treasure chest that wasn't there before. It's quite obviously a trap (one containing sleeping gas, to be specific), but since Bartz can't leave the area and there's no other way to advance the story...
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the part where the emperor pretends to be regretful for what he's done and to lock Kefka away, while commanding you to go make peace with the Espers. There is no reason for your characters to believe this guy who's been a villain the whole game, but every attempt to assign blame or reject him has a "But Thou Must" that sets you up for the sudden but inevitable betrayal. To add insult to injury, the entire *nation* is in on the conspiracy, despite being decimated.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', you watch a sphere in which the two people doing terrible, horrible, very bad, no good things are instantly recognisable by their distinctive voices, but the characters [[FailedASpotCheck Fail A Spot Check]] and decide to trust these people.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesEchoesOfTime'', you have to help Larkeicus in return for his providing you with medicine... despite the main character having a recurring dream featuring him as an obviously evil figure since well before they met him. [[spoiler: Unsurprisingly, this results in him doing evil things and everything going wrong.]] Justified since [[spoiler: the plot centers around a StableTimeLoop; you are predestined to help Larkeicus, because every part of the main character's life up until this point is a direct consequence of Larkeicus's plot. Failure to help him would beget a GrandfatherParadox]]. As the hero, you receive a small crystal for your 16th birthday. You pull it out frequently. What happens when you do? [[spoiler: An innocent little female friend of yours is cursed by a mysterious illness with no apparent cure, the evil mastermind you defeated mere seconds ago is resurrected and vows to annihilate you, and an ancient peaceful immortal is transformed into a gigantic insane electric flying bird monster that tries to kill you.]] Thanks for the gift, mom!
* StupidSacrifice:
** Practically all of the sacrifice in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''.
*** Palom and Porom [[TakenForGranite turn themselves into statues]] hold a pair of [[AdvancingWallOfDoom advancing walls of doom]] in place. In the party, however, was a mighty sage who probably could have brought the castle down around them if he had thought of doing so. This mostly served as a gimmick to remove the characters from the party, as the number would otherwise have exceeded the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit. There's also the fact that Porom usually knows Teleport by the time this occurs, and there was absolutely no given reason for this slightly more logical way to escape not to work.
*** Speaking of Tellah, the pointlessness of his own sacrifice was part of the plot -- if he'd waited for everyone to wear Golbez down ''before'' using his CombinedEnergyAttack, his sacrifice might have done a bit more than knock the BigBad back (though it did free Kain from his control and might have also shaken Zemus' control of Golbez long enough for the latter to stop himself from killing his own brother. After all, anger makes you stupid and reckless.
*** All of the game's fake-out deaths are like this. Cid did not need to jump off the ship with a bomb -- he's more than capable of building advanced remote controls, so it's hard to believe he didn't have a remote-controlled detonator. Even assuming he didn't, jumping with the bomb would not alter its speed any. And going back a few minutes earlier, if all Yang did to stop the cannon was blow up the guns...why not just ''walk out of the room with everyone else and let Rydia set it on fire or use one of her summons?!'' There was no particular reason the sequence required him to stand in the room and die.
** ''[[VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus]]'' proves guilty of this on one occasion. When ImplacableMan Azul is attacking the party, Shalua holds the hydraulic door open for Vincent and Shelke to escape through. This wouldn't be so bad... except that Shelke had literally just finished demonstrating her ability to paralyze Azul indefinitely with a barrier materia. Even disregarding this, there was no need whatsoever for Shalua to stay behind to hold the door open, considering that it had an adjacent button to open it. Was it really too much trouble to just push the button again and open the door a second time?
*** Parodied in [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Dirge%20of%20Cerberus/Update%2027/index.html this Let's Play]]
** Explicitly invoked in ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy''. [[spoiler:Mog throwing himself at the Lich only to be mortally wounded, and admitting to doing so [[BecauseDestinySaysSo just because it was in the prophecy]] ends up shaking Wol's resolve in a prophecy that drives people to throw away their lives meaninglessly.]]
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Usually one of the [[RuleOfThree three female members of the party]] tends to have this.
** Celes from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', due to her BrokenBird status and the fact that she is initially cold and pessimistic before being defrosted by Locke. After the halfway point of the game, Celes becomes much more friendly towards the rest of the party and is altogether more optimistic and hopeful, to the point where she eventually becomes their unifying force.
** Cloud in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is flamboyantly cool, never failing to point out how little he cares about things, crack a cruel, deadpan joke or show off for attention. When he lets the act drop he's chivalrous, caring, sensitive, and displays a charming, eccentric sense of humor.
** In the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' prequel ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', pre-insanity Sephiroth is shown to be aloof, cool, and professional...but also capable of displaying concern (about his friends Genesis and Angeal), empathy (allowing Zack to return to Midgar to check on Aerith), and humor (to the point of cracking a wry joke or two).
*** Vincent. He speaks little and appears cold and uncaring at first. As the party gets to know him, he gradually shows a kind, helpful, and protective nature.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Squall Leonhart is cold with everyone besides Rinoa, to whom he is a DefrostingIceKing.
** Lulu in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', but tends to be more sardonic in nature.
** Fran in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', but more amiable than usual. She's just very quiet.
** [[HiddenHeartofGold Lightning]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': an EstablishingCharacterMoment in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GujB6SX8CLM#t=2m21s the introduction]] has her staring at a dandelion-like piece of fluff with her regular stoic expression. However, when she catches it her touch is gentle enough to keep it perfectly intact [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic until a gust of wind blows to pieces out of her hands]].
*** Fang could also qualify. She's aloof, cold, and snarky to everyone except Vanille. In her own words "I'll tear down the sky to save her."
* SummonMagic: Creatures that a particular class of character can invoke, and which represent most of the combat power for that character.
* SuperSoldier:
** TheEmpire in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' used [[PoweredByAForsakenChild drained magical power]] both to create [[MilitaryMage magic-wielding super-soldiers]] (called Magitek Knights in the translation, but simply ''madoushi'' -- mages -- in the original) and actual {{Magitek}}. Celes is an example of when it goes right, but Kefka is what happens when it goes [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity horribly]], [[OmnicidalManiac horribly]] ''[[AGodAmI wrong]]''.
*** It's even worse with Kefka than one initially thought, as [[PsychoPrototype he was the first of the Magitek Knights]].
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'' (and its associated Compilation works including ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'') include numerous {{SuperSoldier}}s, many of which were created using Mako energy, Jenova cells, a combination of both, and/or other experiments, to produce superhuman fighters with greatly improved combat abilities, including (but certainty not limited to) enhanced physical strength and speed. [=SOLDIERs=], members of Shinra's elite military unit, are carefully selected humans [[BioAugmentation treated with Mako energy and Jenova cells]] to produce superhuman combatants. Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal, while generally called [=SOLDIERs=] First Class, are actually prototypes for competing Shinra research projects directed to infusing humans with Jenova's genes.
*** Sephiroth was created by directly infusing a developing fetus with Jenova cells (Project S, headed by Hojo).
*** Unlike Sephiroth, Angeal was indirectly exposed to Jenova cells because his mother Gillian was the one injected with Jenova cells before his birth, while Genesis was exposed to Jenova cells even more indirectly with his mother being treated with cells harvested from Gillian (Project G, headed by Hojo's rival Hollander).
*** They also had radically different results. Sephiroth was by far the strongest of the three. Eventually, he gained the ability to control the Jenova Cells perfectly... in exchange for losing all his humanity. Angeal received a weaker power boost but inherited Jenova's ability to infuse other organisms with his cells to give them some of his power and vice versa. Genesis was a FlawedPrototype who shared Angeal's abilities but also suffered from degradation (as did his copies) -- and boy, does these cause problems.
*** Zack Fair, probably the strongest of the officially and 'conventionally' produced (i.e., non-prototype) [=SOLDIERs=].
*** Cloud Strife, while never an actual member of SOLDIER, has all the physical enhancements of a SOLDIER, thanks to Hojo's sadistic experimentation after the Nibelheim Incident.
*** Vincent Valentine, an ex-Turk who becomes a shapeshifter with superhuman physical abilities thanks to Hojo's and Lucrecia Crescent's experiments.
*** From ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', Weiss, Nero, Rosso, Azul, Shelke, and the other members of Deepground, who underwent SOLDIER-type treatments as well as special individualized experimentation to develop unique powers. It was said they used Genesis as the basis since his cells gained the ability to use Mako similar to Jenova, but without the degradation, loss of sanity (Well, okay, he did briefly lose his sanity, but for different reasons), and having a desire to smash a meteor into the planet to eat it for breakfast.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVIII's'' [=SeeDs=], who are superhumanly boosted, cast powerful magic, and able to summon deific beings to smite their enemies. These guys are apparently so badass that ''nine'' of them (in three-man teams) are expected to hold off an entire invading army, complete with artillery and killer walking robots. Twelve more ''candidates'' to become [=SeeDs=] are expected to assault and clear out an entire ''city'' of enemy soldiers.
*** Their single greatest advantage is actually the Guardian Forces, which allow, among other things, the casting of magic (which is insinuated as artificial and weak when used by anyone other than a Sorceress), the collection of magic, and the use of magic to increase abilities from well above average to omni-powerful. No other group specializes in junctioning magic, which is why [=SeeDs=] are so devastating. This makes a small, specialized group more than a match for most smaller armies, as long as they have specific objectives. The GF forces are capable of granting characters permanent stat boosts. If you assume the normal stat growth is "average" human stats, then it is the possible endgame for [=SeeDs=] to be 3-5 times stronger, faster, etc. using GF forces.
** A slightly less traditional form of the Super Soldier would be the black mages from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''.
*** Both [[spoiler:Zidane and Kuja]] would fit better as Super Soldiers in this game, but it was only because unlike the rest of the Genomes, they were given souls. Makes you think what would happen if the other Genomes had gotten their souls too...
** The yin to Cloud's yang, Lightning from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. She can fly (well, actually, manipulate gravity) while machine-gunning hordes of {{Mooks}}, and most amazingly do it all while protecting her modesty. And all that is before she gets her l'Cie powers.
*** Lightning was actually more of a {{Mook|s}} herself, roughly equivalent to a police sergeant, so it can be inferred that the stuff she had access to was probably the standard issue.
*** It is revealed through the story that millions of l'Cie were created and trained to fight the ancient War of Transgression in secret bunkers. ''Eight'' of them were sufficient enough to [[spoiler:bring down a ''planet'']], so only God knows what a full force was capable of.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome/FinalFantasy Here are the list of it.]]
* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: The series kinda has this, since you can use tents at save points, and there is usually a save point right before each boss. This practice started with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', however. Programming limitations kept save points from being used in the NES games, and to this day, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' is the only game whose remakes ''still'' don't let you save right before a boss. Screw up or find an unwinnable battle in the Dark World? Enjoy climbing the Syrcus Tower from the ground floor again!
** The beginning of the first TempleOfDoom in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. When you first enter the area, you have the option to save (in a menu prompt, not a normal SavePoint) and are fully healed automatically before having to fight a flying MiniBoss that can be difficult without the proper equipment.
** Save points in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games ''X'' through ''XII'' also heal and regenerate MP. It gets to the point where you start dreading the image of a save point deep within a dungeon.
** Especially in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' when you encounter [[spoiler:Crystalbugs, which [[ChestMonster look like save points]]]]...
** There is one part of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' (Bevelle) where you run down a fairly short linear corridor with save points at both ends, which features random encounters that give tons of AP and good items. [[spoiler: Especially notable given that Yuna [[CantCatchUp has been missing for a while, and is consequently missing a lot of levels relative to the rest of the party]]. A hint, perhaps.]] There is, of course, a ThatOneBoss at the other end. (On the other hand, the game is pretty clear that you're looking at a boss battle; it's just the difficulty that's the surprise.)
*** And then we have the Omega Dungeon, who lacks the generosity. A Save Sphere at the start, have fun fighting yourself through powerful fiends, including the horrible [[DemonicSpiders Great Malboro]] who always starts with a ambush and then goes to inflict a variety of Status effects on your party.
*** Generally, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' gives the player several save points with not-so-large space in between. Not only the case in Bevelle, though that one is by far the worst offender. On the Thunder Plains, in one version, there's even a Save Sphere right outside the Travel Agency and one right inside it. And "right outside" and "right inside" means what it sounds like. You only need to walk 5 steps at most from you enter, until you reach the sphere. The outdoor one is right adjacent to the door, so it almost even blocks it.
*** When you arrive in Sanubia Desert, your party is split up. As you collect each member again, you may notice that the game is giving out a lot of healing items (of note are Al Bhed Potions, which heal statuses and restore 1000 HP to everyone; you'll reach the maximum 99 very fast if you do any sort of exploring). [[spoiler:You may also notice that your only dedicated healer, Yuna, is the last person you need to find (after the only person who can actually use the Al Bhed Potions, Rikku). Guess who ''you'' won't be seeing for a long time...]]
** One interesting example in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' involves a point immediately after leaving Nibelheim. Traveling through an eerie passage, you get a savepoint at the very beginning of a largish room with a snakelike pathway, very innocuous, as many winding paths are common in areas throughout the game. In fact, there's a T-shaped intersection immediately after the save point. Head right, a chest and dead end. Head left, what some players consider ThatOneBoss, Materia Keeper.
*** Another interesting example (in fact, a subversion) in this opus is the infamous "Yuffie savepoint". Upon defeat Yuffie (a random encounter in a forest), you will be brought to a screen with her, and taking the right choices in the dialog tree when you speak with her will make her join you. Since it's very easy to get answers wrong in the dialog tree, a savepoint is generously offered on the screen before talking to her. The subversion? Taking the save point requires you to turn your back on her, which let her assault you, steal your money and flee. Damn ninja!
*** After [[SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear Yuffie steals the party's materia]], the player would expect all the random encounters to be a nightmare since everyone is now crippled with stat changes and no abilities other than items and attack. However, the random encounters drop powerful items like X-Potions (full healing), Phoenix Downs (revive), and powerful attack items as compensation for a severely disadvantaged party.
*** In addition, Wutai side quest is supposed to be done just after Temple of the Ancients. Incidentally, weapons you find as treasures in aforementioned temple all lack materia slots but compensate with almost double attack power than their contemporaries. They will come useful soon enough.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', first had a healing spring before the first boss battle in the Evil Forest. Later, right before the first Black Waltz, there's a split path. [[spoiler: On the left is a Moogle, which can save and heal you, and on the right is the cutscene for the boss. The problem is this: you need Vivi to free the Moogle from the block of Ice it's trapped in, but if you went right and then went back, Zidane's alone and Vivi can't help him. It doesn't help that the boss has to be fought with just Zidane, so if you went right first, Good Luck!]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': The game's FireIceLightning magic, Elemancy, is obtained by gathering energy from elemental deposits scattered around the world; outdoors, these take the form of odd spikes surrounded by their corresponding element, while indoors they're more like gas canisters filled with magic. Elemancy is an expendable, highly damaging tool, so elemental deposits are generally found only near havens (one of each deposit). Thus, finding an elemental deposit elsewhere tends to be this trope.
*** At the Disc of Cauthess, you'll find a surprising number of Fire deposits. Besides being thematic (the place is hot enough to avert ConvectionShmonvection), the last maneuver for the boss at the end involves dealing a large amount of damage in a brief time; it's perfectly possible to meet the requirement with Noctis' weapons (and technically the finisher happens nevertheless), but if you're doing a LowLevelRun the provided Elemancy makes it much easier.
*** Most large dungeons have at least one of each deposit scattered around the dungeon. Not all of the optional dungeons have bosses; if you find them all close to each other, prepare for a difficult boss fight.[[labelnote:*]]Fodina Caestino has ''two'' of each, but one set is around the haven and the others have very little energy; it's mostly {{Foreshadowing}} for the new Technique that Ignis gets at the end.[[/labelnote]]
*** While hunting Deadeye the Behemoth, a single, isolated Fire deposit is found after an OptionalStealth segment. There are also a bunch of [[ExplodingBarrels explosive barrels]] scattered around the boss fight down the next drop; hit one with a Fire spell while Deadeye is near for massive damage and bonus AP.[[labelnote:*]]This is also a DevelopmentGag; Deadeye was the boss of the ''Episode Duscae'' demo, where you got a proper tactical takedown and Prompto [[ShootTheFuelTank shot a gas canister]] for similar effect.[[/labelnote]]
*** During Chapter 13, in [[spoiler:Zegnautus Keep]], you'll find a room with ''four'' of ''each'' type deposit, all gathered together. There are also two vending machines, one for weapons and one for healing items. Down the elevator at the end of the following hallway, enter ThatOneBoss [[spoiler:Ravus daemonified]], who [[LightningBruiser cuts your allies down easily, crosses the battlefield in an instant if you try to get distance]], and [[DamageSpongeBoss has a ridiculous amount of HP for a mandatory boss]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'': the [[NewGamePlus second playthrough]] introduces Code Crimson missions, which are a prime example of CheckPointStarvation. There is only one relic terminal accessible during Code Crimson; the rest of the mission leading up to it is a StealthBasedMission, and the area after it is a boss fight during which you are ''under sniper fire''.
* SymbolSwearing:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' a man in the town Narshe says "Narshe is a neutral city. We want no war here. But that #@%!* empire won't listen."
** This is one of the things that a lot of people remember ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' for. Usually, it's Cid unleashing the grawlixes, but Barret was also prone (and Cloud uses it in one instance). In one case (when confronting Don Corneo in Wutai), Barret announces a string of symbols longer than any actual swear words. This was not a game that was otherwise entirely clean - the word 'shit' is used several times uncensored. Although in the PC version, it's censored this way as well.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:T]]
* TagalongKid:
** Vaan in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' -- a bit unusual in that he's the viewpoint character. Gameplay-wise (and keeping in mind that there's a large amount of GameplayAndStoryIntegration) Vaan is out and out the best character on the team, assuming you use him at all. This would seem to imply that Vaan is a [[TheBigGuy monster killing machine]] the team, fortunately, has lying around.
*** Later games show Vaan has gone into business as a [[ImpossibleThief god-like thief]] and have him be a skilled enough fighter to hold off a PhysicalGod for a long time. So, the FFXII team probably [[MagikarpPower didn't know what they had on their hands]]. As incidental as Vaan's inclusion on the team maybe, he's probably the single most powerful weapon at their disposal, if not instrumental to their success.
*** Vaan can be best described as an "[[TheAce Ace]]-in-training". You know how in fiction, really skilled Rouge-type or heroic type characters come from dirt-poor backgrounds? Well, that's Vaan. In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' he's still very young, but clearly has a lot of potentials, while ''Revenant Wings'' shows us how he went from Street Brat to the swashbuckler we see in later games.
*** Penelo went through a similar change. She played even less of a role in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXII'' than Vaan did and her only purpose for tagging along was to make sure Vaan was staying out of trouble since he was the only family she had left. Her role was expanded upon in the spinoffs, but she's still mostly portrayed as Vaan's partner who makes sure he doesn't cause too much trouble.
** Hope in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is a civilian that was unlucky enough to be caught up in the Purge. He stubbornly follows [[TheHero Lightning]] for the bulk of the game. Unlike some kids, he's incredibly useful, because he has the [[SquishyWizard highest magic stat]] in the game.
* TakeMyHand:
** At the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', as the heroes escape from Kefka's [[LoadBearingBoss crumbling headquarters]], Celes drops Locke's bandana, an item of tremendous sentimental value to her. She hurries back to retrieve it, and as she does, the ground gives way underneath her. Locke himself (or Setzer, if you didn't re-recruit Locke in the game's second half) rushes to her rescue.
** In the ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Cloud has a vision in which he's taking Aerith's hand, but the scene then shifts back to reality and he sees Tifa reaching out for him, only for the ledge beneath her to give way and for him to have to catch her and grab onto the platform.
** Happens several times in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'': after Angeal saves Zack from a monster in Wutai when the latter gets reckless, then Cloud reaches out to Zack as he goes to [[spoiler:confront the Shinra army outside of Midgar]], and at the very end, when [[spoiler:Zack dies and takes the hand of Angeal's spirit as he returns to the Lifestream.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' features a variation: when the [[spoiler:S.S. Liki is attacked by Sin en route to Kilika]], Tidus grabs a nearby rope-rail with one hand, and Yuna's hand with the other... only for her to slip, land hard on a cannon/harpoon gun and get saved by Kimahri a second later.
** Right at the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', Yuna falls off a cliff and is miraculously caught by Rikku and Paine. They're unable to pull her up at first, and thus spend a few moments struggling to hold onto her while complaining to their overly chatty MissionControl to shut up and petulantly pronouncing the predicament an especially "disasteriffic" one before finally managing to pull her up and fill in Brother on what was happening.
** Happened in a flashback in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' when Serah was taken prisoner by the Pulse fal'Cie and Snow was reaching out to save her... and failed.
*** Another, more successful attempt, is done at the end of the game between the main party. Fang and Vanille, however, are unreachable and perform a HeroicSacrifice becoming part of the crystal pillar holding up Cocoon.
* TakeThat: A recurring enemy is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_(cigarette) malboro]], which attacks with breath awful enough to inflict almost every ailment on its target.
* TearsOfJoy:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Garnet in the ending, [[spoiler:upon being reunited with Zidane, who she believed to be dead for a year. Combined with AngerBornOfWorry and TheGlomp too.]]
** Yuna cries these at the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' if you get the good ending [[spoiler:and she is reunited with Tidus.]]
* TechPoints: Usually called "AP", and often relates to a quirky new experience and character advancement system in each game.
* ThematicSeries: One of the most notable game examples. None of the numbered titles in the series are related to any of the others except by series-wide hallmarks, like the ATB battle system, Chocobos, Moogles, and the names of spells. Only four[[note]]five, if you count ''Legend of the Crystal'', an OVA set after ''Final Fantasy V''[[/note]] of them have sequels taking place in the same continuity as the original game. There are occasionally hints that one world is related to another, like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' hinting that it's related to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII the]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 XIII]] [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII trilogy]] having the same mythology as ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0''.
* ThemeNaming: A recent trend in ''Final Fantasy'' games, mainly ones written by Nojima, is having the protagonists' names related to weather or the sky, Like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]] or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]]. Chances are that, if you have a Dragoon in a ''Final Fantasy'' game, a weapon or the character will have the name Highwind. The most famous examples are [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Kain Highwind]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cid Highwind]].
* ThoseTwoGuys: [[StarWars Biggs and Wedge]], who appear in various guises in almost all of the games from ''VI'' onward (and who were retconned into ''IV'' by ''The After Years''), and [[RedShirt die horribly about half the time.]]
* TheThreeFacesOfAdam:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': Cecil and Pallom (Lord), Kain and Edge (Hunter), Yang and Tellah (Prophet)
** Just like the three female l'Cie in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' fit into TheThreeFacesOfEve pattern, the three males fit here: Hope is the Hunter, doggedly pursuing Snow to exact revenge throughout half the game; Snow is the Lord, commanding [[LaResistance NORA]] early on and then serving as the [[{{Determinator}} pillar of motivation]] for other l'Cie (his SignatureMove is even called "Sovereign Fist"); and Sazh is the Prophet, a [[OnlySaneMan lone voice of reason]] who only wants to save his son and live out his life in peace. Their ages also all fit.
* TheThreeFacesOfEve: The games, in general, have a pattern to their three playable females (and there are always three; see the Three Females Rule in the Grand List) are almost always represented as an Innocent Princess type, a Tough but Sexy Type, and a Perky Girl type. Occasionally this overlaps with the faces of Eve archetypes, although often times the Tough but Sexy character is not a seductress but more passively sexy.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' does a similar trick to the later ''VII'' in that it reverses the appearance and character of two of the girls. Rosa is pure Wife/Innocent Princess whose main desire is to be helpful, and who marries Cecil at the end. But Rydia looks sexy but is in personality the Perky Girl; Porom is a child, but hits people to keep them in line and is extremely clever and dangerous (being a brilliant mage and a spy).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'':
*** Lenna, the wife/innocent princess. Her main plots are about her family, specifically her quest to rescue her father, her backstory about her mother, and her connection to drakes, for which she will harm herself to any extent to protect.
*** Faris, the seductress/tough but sexy girl. She's a pirate who is shown as being sexually irresistible [[StupidSexyFlanders even when dressed as a man and passing]], with most of her crew having crushes on her. She also tries to kidnap the princess for ransom money and climbs up rope bridges with her teeth.
*** Krile is the child, fourteen and has supernatural sensitivity coming from her innocence. However, she's very much ''not'' perky, with the end of the game revealing her to be actively suicidal once her desire for revenge isn't sustaining her. (She does get one comic setpiece where she gets into a slap-fight with Bartz, though.)
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'':
*** Terra is the wife/innocent princess type - despite being the least stable of the three, she's the sweetest and most compassionate, and pretty level-headed regarding her role in the story. [[MeaningfulName No wonder her name means "earth".]]
*** Celes is the seductress/tough but sexy type - she's a {{Tsundere}} in her romance with [[LovableRogue Locke]], and she's also the tough one, being a [[LadyOfWar war general]].
*** Relm is the child/perky type - [[OldMaster Strago]] didn't even want her to be involved in any combat at first because of this. She's [[AdorablyPrecociousChild precocious]] and optimistic.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has an interesting version of this. For starters, one of the three women is an OptionalPartyMember, and secondly, the two who weren't looked like they played one role, but in fact, were the opposite:
*** [[BareFistedMonk Tifa]], who looks the part of the seductress, is in fact most reasonable and sensitive -- also the secret-keeper of the group (her last name, [[MeaningfulName Lockheart]] foreshadows this).
*** [[WhiteMagicianGirl Aerith]], who looks the part of the demure wife, is in fact flirty, street-wise, and the most assertive in her sexuality.
*** [[NinjaBrat Yuffie]] (the optional one) both looks and [[BrattyHalfPint acts]] like the child and is naïve and idealistic (if not particularly honest or trustworthy).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' uses these archetypes, but much more loosely than anything before (and most after), suiting the game's approach of using more psychologically realistic characters:
*** Rinoa is the wife and introduced with the nickname 'Princess'. Unlike the typical portrayal, she's quite bratty and selfish, but like the typical portrayal, she has pure, supernatural powers, and tries hard to bring out the main character's better nature (and even succeeds, sometimes).
*** Quistis is the seductress. She is experienced and in a position of authority, has a [[DawsonCasting highly mature appearance compared to the other characters]], flirts with the main character, and fights using a whip. Her apparent maturity is {{Deconstructed}} in that she was a prodigy who had achieved a high rank at 15, and she ends up sent back to her previous rank very early in the game due to [[FeetOfClay her atrocious social and emotional skills]], which repeatedly hobble her during the game.
*** Selphie is the child, her clearly high intelligence doing little to dampen her relentless enthusiasm and short attention span. Unlike the typical example, she's something of a DeadpanSnarker NightmareFetishist
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
*** Yuna is in the wife role, being unerringly calm and lives to helps others, self-sacrificing, soft-spoken, and graceful.
*** Lulu is in the seductress role, most obviously in how she dresses, the tone she uses when she speaks, and how she holds herself and moves around in her battle animations.
*** Rikku is in the child role, the fact that she is the youngest is exaggerated by her consistently upbeat personality, her sweet but shortsighted convictions, and her occasional ditziness.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has this in its three female party members.
*** [[SugarAndIcePersonality Lightning]] (believe it or not) plays the part of the wife. She's the most motherly and caring of the group -- particularly towards [[ParentalSubstitute Hope]] and (much later) Snow. She is also said to have acted this way around Serah.
*** [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer Fang]] plays the role of the seductress; she is the most flirty and provocative of the group, and is quite HotBlooded at times. Interestingly, these aspects of her personality originally belonged to Lightning (with Serah as the seventh party member and playing the part of the wife), but when Fang was [[GenderFlip made a woman]], they were given to her instead.
*** [[GenkiGirl Vanille]] is usually very bubbly and other characters will comment (or complain) about her childishness. [[spoiler:Vanille is actually [[StepfordSmiler putting a lot of that behavior up as a facade to hide her guilt]], but genuinely is like this otherwise]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' is more complicated; it has an all-male main cast where TheHero's three friends fill these archetypes - Prompto is childish and hyper, Ignis is [[FeminineWomenCanCook domestic and nurturing]], and Gladio is mean and sexy, with a hyper-gendered appearance and revealing outfit. Its prominent female side characters fold into this archetype too - Cindy and Iris are perky and childish, Aranea and Gentiana are seductive, experienced, and dangerous, and Luna is IncorruptiblePurePureness and so much a 'wife' that she is literally the hero's fiancée.
* ThunderHammer: [[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Thor%27s_Hammer_(weapon) Thor's Hammer]] is a recurring weapon throughout the series. It is often used to cast lightning magic or deliver lightning-charged strikes.
* TieredByName: The series in general does this for the spells: Fire -> Fira -> Firaga -> Firaja.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Here are the examples of characters forced to break from "lawful", or whose status as such is called into question.
** Cecil has a crisis of conscience at the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' based around this. He knows that what his king orders him to do is [[KickTheDog wrong]], but can't yet bring himself to disobey the man that he swore his allegiance as a Dark Knight to. However, Cecil makes his decision to turn from a Lawful non-Good character to Lawful/Neutral Good after he and his longtime friend, Kain, are used by the King of Baron to massacre an entire village of innocent summoners. He then spends the next section of the game [[TheAtoner atoning]] for the various sins he committed while under his king's orders and ultimately earning his redemption by being transformed into a Paladin: an exemplar of the side of good. It's even more difficult for Cecil since the king was also a father figure to him. [[spoiler: Good thing the one who gave him those awful orders wasn't the real king who was DeadAllAlong.]]
** Steiner and Beatrix both have to deal with this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' when they [[spoiler:turn against Queen Brahne after they realize her lust for power has driven her mad]]. Steiner in particular is extremely conflicted about this. It takes Steiner much longer to realize the truth compared to Beatrix and it isn't until Steiner actually witnesses [[spoiler: Brahne's lackeys, Zorn and Thorn, rip Garnet's SummonMagic out of her soul and learning that Brahne wanted Garnet dead and had her soldiers attack Beatrix (someone he had feelings for) for her betrayal that Steiner finally decides to go against the Queen and fight to protect the people he cares about]].
* TogetherInDeath:
** [[GrumpyOldMan Tellah]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' is reunited with his daughter Anna after [[PapaWolf he cast a deathly spell called "Meteor" to kill Golbez for revenge]].
** Aerith reunites with Zack in the Compilation of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''
*** Zack also reunited with his [[BigBrotherMentor mentor]] [[AntiVillain Angeal]] from ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. [[spoiler:Who Zack was forced to [[SuicideByCop kill Angeal]] after [[HumanoidAbomination he became monster]].]]
** Lenne and Shuyin from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. Both were shot and died by each other's side. Due to an odd set of circumstances, their spirits did not end up together... [[spoiler:at least, not until Yuna reunites them.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', [[spoiler:Lunafreya dies midway into the story, while Noctis [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices his life in the end]] to thwart her killer, [[BigBad Ardyn Izunia]]'s plans. TheStinger reveals that their souls have reunited in the afterlife, and they fall asleep in each other's arms to seal their eternal love.]]
*** Ignis ''tries'' to invoke this between himself and Noctis, [[spoiler:telling him of his plan to [[DrivenToSuicide die alongside him]] once Noctis completes his sacrifice. Ultimately averted, as Noctis is able to talk him down into continuing to live on for his sake.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate:
** General Leo in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is also a known case of this. In fact, the game likes to {{lampshade|Hanging}} the fact that the only reason why Leo is considered an antagonist is that he works with the Empire.
** Reeve in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', [[MegaCorp Shinra's]] head of Urban Development, seems to be the only person on Shinra's board of directors with a conscience or sense of ethics. [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn He eventually defects to AVALANCHE]] as a DoubleAgent.]]
** Among the Primals in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', there is [[ShockAndAwe Ramuh]]. Among the likes of Ifrit (who intends to brainwash everyone into his thrall) or Garuda (who wants to destroy everything except her followers), Ramuh is at worst territorial. He only wants to be summoned by his Sylph followers in case their forest home is in grave danger to protect it. Although he does believe HumansAreTheRealMonsters and is willing to bring down his judgment on them.
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'':
*** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Jecht]] is good, or at least neutral, despite being a member of the Warriors of Chaos, all composed of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' villains. Every other villain is out to either TakeOverTheWorld, or [[OmnicidalManiac destroy it]] - Jecht is just a rather lousy dad who wants to fetch his kid and go home. The reason he's siding with the villains is that [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Emperor Palamecia]] manipulated him into thinking that their victory would let him rejoin his son, Tidus. It's also revealed in the prequel that he was actually on Cosmos' side in at least the previous cycle. He probably would have remained there for the 13th cycle as well, had it not been for the Emperor's machinations.[[note]]Tidus, on Chaos' side at the time, sacrificed himself to save Yuna from one of the Emperor's attacks, prompting Jecht to transfer his life energy over to him. The Emperor, noticing Jecht's crystal (which Cosmos had provided to all of her warriors), got an idea to use them in the next cycle of conflict. From there, he kidnapped Jecht and had Chaos revive him as one of his own warriors for the following cycle.[[/note]] [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Golbez]]]], on the other hand, is a [[TheMole good guy posing as a villain]].
*** To a lesser extent, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Judge Magister Gabranth]]. In the 13th cycle, he's nothing more than a disgruntled jailer who serves as a warden for those no longer used in the conflict. Several of the lines are somber and hint that [[TheAtoner he wants nothing more than penance for his past transgressions]], while most of the other Chaos warriors mock him for his more admirable qualities. Compare this to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Shantotto]], who serves as Team Cosmos' TokenEvilTeammate (to the point that most of the villains revere her). Both of these are somewhat subverted in the prequel ''Duodecim'', as the two are actually affiliated with their respective deities this time around (however, Gabranth just seems to be [[MyMasterRightOrWrong doing his job]] and seems to be confronting Cosmos simply to end the war--thus lacking an ulterior motive unlike most of the others, while Shantotto is still a fair bit malicious, even towards her ally [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Prishe]]).
*** Also, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX Kuja]] is a bit of a [[TragicVillain tragic]] case. [[spoiler: He's actively working with the heroes Bartz, Zidane, and Squall, up until Kefka intervenes.]] He's even responsible for Cloud's HeelFaceTurn and [[spoiler:Terra's]] too. After he's defeated by [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]], Kefka [[spoiler: implants false memories to ensure his full-on villainy in the Thirteenth Cycle.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Lenna]] and Faris. The former is a well-educated, [[FriendToAllLivingThings selfless]] [[PrincessClassic princess]] while the latter is a rough, violent pirate captain who [[SweetPollyOliver passes herself off as a man]] (although her crew is well aware of her gender and keep quiet to avoid pissing her off.) Even the Job System acknowledges the dichotomy, as Lenna's outfits are stereotypically feminine while, with the sole exception of the Dancer class, Faris' would be equally appropriate on a man. Meanwhile, the third female on the team, Krile, is more of a child than anything. Furthermore, Lenna and Faris [[spoiler:are sisters. Faris is the elder]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has Terra (Girly-Girl) and Celes (Tomboy).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Aerith and Tifa, in an interesting inversion; the WhiteMagicianGirl in the pink dress is the boisterous one, and the CuteBruiser in the cropped shirt is secretive and nervous. In later installments of the ''FFVII Compilation'' [[spoiler:not involving Aerith, because she's dead]], Tifa's calmer and more motherly personality makes her the Girly Girl to hyper ninja Yuffie's more tomboyish ways. Funny enough, Aerith herself posthumously got a healthy dose of {{Chickification}} due to her IncorruptiblePurePureness being played up; her old sassy personality made way for a more demure one, which would have made her the Girly Girl to Tifa in the end; otherwise, both Aerith and Tifa now have the exact same girly personality, with Tifa being a tomboy only by virtue of her physical appearance and fighting style.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' brought this dynamic back to a certain extent mainly due to their personalities now being more accurate to the original game, with Tifa being more demure while Aerith finally regained her old feisty tomboy attitude back.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' the two trained mercenaries Quistis and Selphie against the sorceresses Edea and later Rinoa. Selphie is borderline enough to qualify as TomboyWithAGirlyStreak, evoking this contrast with Quistis.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has LittleMissBadass eidolon summoner Eiko and LadyOfWar Freya. Garnet/Dagger plays with the two types. She's an elegant princess and white mage, but is also an eidolon summoner and shows tomboy traits when trying to blend in as a commoner. At one point, a villager sees her picking up an oglop bug and tells her that girls are usually afraid of them, so she pretends to freak out over it.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has the Tomboyish Paine and the maternal and empathic Yuna. Rikku the third female protagonist, is a combination of the two.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is similar as it features three females. Fran is a {{Proud Warrior Race G|uy}}irl and sky-pirate while Penelo is TheHeart and a dancer. The third female Ashe is a combination, being the leader of LaResistance but also being a princess who has no problem wearing a PimpedOutDress when there isn't a war going on around her.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has two pairs. Guardian Corps soldier girl, Lightning and her sister, Serah, who wants to be a teacher. The other is Fang and Vanille.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak:
** Understated with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'''s Refia. She's the adoptive daughter of a blacksmith and has no problem with fighting, traveling, etc. But there is a bit of frill in her outfit and she sports a pair of earrings, plus she readily befriends girly-girl Salina and sympathizes with her boyfriend trouble.
** All three girls in both the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and the ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake Remake]]'', four girls if you count Jessie, in different ways. Aeris (Aerith), the most feminine in terms of physical appearance, has a girly outfit, loves flowers and fights using the conventionally feminine setup (in ''Final Fantasy'' [[MythologyGag mythology]]) of a staff and White Magic, but she wears big boots, has a pushy and fearless personality, takes the lead when flirting and talks in tough-girl, tomboyish slang in the Japanese version; however, she also has a terrifying fear of being abandoned and left alone. Tifa, who is relatively centrist on the {{Tomboy}} - GirlyGirl spectrum in comparison to the other two girls in terms of both appearance and personality, is an ass-kicking martial artist in minimalist clothing, but her personality is defined by her loyalty, supportiveness, [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]], empathy, and general 'quiet inner strength', as well as her desire for Cloud to rescue her someday. Yuffie, the most tomboyish, is a loudmouthed, fast-talking thief with a hugely inflated opinion of herself, but she talks in girly-girl-style ValleyGirl slang and is less brave than the other girls, often looking to Cloud to comfort her when she gets panicked or upset. And in the ''Remake'', Jessie tends to be somewhat aggressively flirtatious with Cloud, but she's also very bubbly, sweet, and kind, and although she is an ActionGirl, she sometimes still needs Cloud to rescue her every now and then.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' Paine is the most tomboyish of the three girls - with BoyishShortHair and an aggressive personality. However, a few of her Dressphere outfits are quite feminine (Songstress, Black Mage, Lady Luck, White Mage) and she enjoys giggling about boys with Rikku once or twice. Also, when the party is wondering whether it's really right for them to take a relaxing dip in a hot spring on sacred Mt. Gagazet grounds, she's the one who comments "No one's looking."
* TownGirls:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Freya is a Burmecian dragon knight, Garnet is a PrincessClassic, and Eiko is a BrattyHalfPint.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': Out of the three main playable characters; Rikku (neither), Yuna (femme), and Paine (butch).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': Fran is a ProudWarriorRaceGirl, Penelo is a soft-spoken dancer, and Ashe is the leader of LaResistance.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': Out of three female playable characters, Fang is the butch, Vanille is the femme, and Lightning is neither. It also helps that there is a lot of {{Subtext}} in [[HideYourLesbians Fang and Vanille's relationship]].
* TornadoMove: Aero is usually a tornado. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' adds the Illusionist spell Tornado. There's also Weak/Cyclonic/Tornado, which are typically used by enemies and removes a ''massive'' [[PercentDamageAttack percentage of your health]].
* TrainingFromHell:
** Although there's not a Training From Hell sequence per se, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'''s Balamb Garden military academy has a "Training Center" which consists of an area where live monsters (including T-Rexes) roam. The Training Center is the only Garden facility open to students at all hours; the infirmary, meanwhile, closes at curfew. It's also worth noting that the prerequisite for Garden's final exam involves traveling to a monster-infested cave to do battle with an elemental spirit; the field exam itself involves squads of teenagers being turned loose on an actual battlefield.
** In order to cure herself of her crippling (and painful to watch) FearOfThunder, GenkiGirl Rikku from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' spent a solid week in the Thunder Plains, a region with ''endless rain and lethal thunderstorms'' that are barely kept in check by a few lightning rods here and there.
*** The Chocobo training in the Calm Lands. At first, you just have to steer a wild chocobo (who likes to run in every direction but the one you need it to), but as you progress through stages, the trainer starts to throw blitzballs at you. And then starts to throw birds carrying ''more blitzballs''. By comparison, the race you're in training for is easy.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', [[spoiler: Barthandelus]] sends the party to [[spoiler: [[DeathWorld Gran]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Pulse]]]] to force them to become strong enough to [[spoiler: kill Orphan -- an act that would destroy Cocoon and everybody on it.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', the Goug Nightwatch (a gang of rather wimpy Moogles) beg your clan to "train" them. Said training obviously consists in beating the crap out of them.
* TragicKeepsake:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Setzer kept one of an old friend/rival/love interest Darill, who died in an accident before the start of the game. When Kefka ruined the world and Setzer is roused from his HeroicBSOD by Celes, he takes the group to her burial place to retrieve it, so they can use it to save the world. The keepsake? ''[[CoolAirship The Falcon]]''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': [[spoiler:Delita]] keeps [[spoiler:his dead sister Tietra's]] necklace as shown in the Zeirchele Falls meeting with Ramza.
* TraitorShot:
** The last shot of [[spoiler:Alyssa]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' is one of these. Mog actually notices, but apparently doesn't know what to make of it, and doesn't warn the heroes.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', after a hearing on whether to accept Doman refugees into Ul'dah, [[spoiler:Teledji Adeledji, who vouched for the refugees, is seen alone in the dimly lit meeting hall for the Syndicate with an underling, grinning deviously as he speaks of "revolution".]]
* TranquilFury:
** The BSOD has undertaken by the main antagonists of both ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' [[spoiler:the first by setting fire to a village, the latter by setting fire to ''an entire planet'']] are both done with just the hint of a serene smile on their faces... although both of these may be more properly described as DissonantSerenity.
** Sephiroth of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. In any scene he is, whether he is single-handedly fending off two super soldiers at the same time, or burning down a town, you will never see him raise his voice.
*** During the entire Nibelheim incident, the most you'll get from him is, "Don't TEST me..." (Ironically, that's right before he is defeated).
*** Expect this whenever Vincent is faced with Hojo. He usually becomes noticeably more talkative, emotional, and may employ the silent death glare.
** Considering Squall in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is NotSoStoic, an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation could have him being in a state of this for ''at least half of the game''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesTheCrystalBearers'', when protagonist [[GravityMaster Layle]] [[spoiler:attempts to crush [[BigBad Jegran]] to death after the latter kills Amidatelion]], the expression on his face seems almost like one of boredom.
* TransformationHorror:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'''s resident MadScientist Dr. Hojo, and what happens to him when he downs one of his serums when Cloud and Co face him. Back in the day when ''[=FF7=]''[='=]s graphics was top of the line, this looked horrifying.
** Many Sorceresses in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' appear to slowly mutate into no particular end form. One unnamed Sorceress boss looks less like a human being and more like a giant grub. Ultimecia's (quickly changing) OneWingedAngel forms deserve an honorable mention: first she fuses herself with a giant lion-like beast, and later turns into a form no less repulsive than the aforementioned grub woman.
** The Sin Eaters in the ''Shadowbringers'' story of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' are stated to be [[WasOnceAMan humans or other living things]] after they are transformed by the primordial light. A few people tell you that once a Sin Eater plants its seed in you via wounding you or other methods, you will become one of them in due time. Early on in the main story, you get to actually witness someone transform into a Sin Eater and it's not pretty; their whole body becomes white, they let out a blood-curdling scream, their faces become hard like plaster, they ''puke up light aspected vomit'', and then they finally transform into a winged monstrosity with a vaguely human-looking face.
* TraumaCongaLine:
** In VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV: Cecil has a crisis of conscience after being ordered to commit an immoral act for the King of Baron. Then he gets demoted for questioning the king and manipulated into carrying out another immoral act, which results in the destruction of an innocent village and the apparent death of his best friend Kain.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Before the game even '''''starts''''', Cloud Strife has already: (1) endured a lonely, alienated childhood; (2) been wrongfully held responsible for putting his childhood crush, the mayor's daughter, in a coma by the mayor and everyone in the town (3) been told he's not good enough to become a SOLDIER and gets stuck as a humble grunt trooper; (4) watched his hero Sephiroth destroy his hometown, kill his mother and nearly murder both his childhood crush Tifa and his good friend Zack; (5) suffered over four years of sadistic experimentation by a MadScientist which reduces him to a catatonic vegetable; and finally (6) helplessly watched Zack die in a gut-wrenching [[BolivianArmyEnding heroic last stand]] to protect him. All this results in Cloud suffering his first HeroicBSOD, a very understandable case of TraumaInducedAmnesia, and identity confusion.
*** '''THEN''', during the game itself, Cloud ends up being [[MindRape mind raped]] by the BigBad Sephiroth into: (1) nearly killing his teammate Aerith not just once, but twice; (2) handing over the ArtifactOfDoom to Sephiroth (again, twice); and (3) questioning [[TomatoInTheMirror not only his memories but his very identity as a real person]]. He's also forced to stand by and watch Sephiroth murder Aerith while being unable to do anything about it. Cue a second massive HeroicBSOD that requires a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind to fix.
*** ''Advent Children'' throws him back into massive depression and despair by making him and the orphan he's adopted suffer the painful and deadly disease Geostigma. The disease also allows Sephiroth to constantly {{Troll}} Cloud's subconscious, thereby making Cloud obsess about the promises he'd failed to keep and the lives he failed to save.
*** Fortunately, Cloud manages to avoid further major physical or emotional trauma in the sequel ''Dirge of Cerberus''. Vincent, however, is not so lucky.
*** All that said, Sephiroth himself suffers from this. At the start of Crisis Core, one of his best friends, Genesis, deserts Shinra. After failing to bring him back, Sephiroth's other best friend, Angeal, also deserts. He is tasked by Shinra to hunt them down and kill them, if necessary. During this, Genesis keeps trolling Sephiroth. Eventually, he learns that he is the result of a science experiment. Afterwards, he plans to leave Shinra because, well...it's Shinra, but before he can, on his last mission, he finds out that he is part Ancient. The Ancients died in a catastrophic event while the humans survived by hiding. And so begins his life of evil...hard to blame him, really.
*** Aerith also endures a lot of horrible things in her life, though she handles them much better. Her father was murdered when she was just a baby, then she and her mother were taken hostage so that Hojo could experiment on them. Her mother dies, and she spends the majority of her youth fleeing from the Turks. Then she is captured again, where the resident MadScientist tries to mate her with Red XIII. Shortly after this, she discovers she's the last remaining Cetra, and then Sephiroth kills her. Despite this, she remains an eternally hopeful IronWoobie.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' pretty much puts each of its protagonists through one. But the prize goes to Hope Estheim. He was merely on vacation in Bodhum when the active Fal'Cie was discovered and everyone was sent to be [[KillEmAll purged]]. Before knowing that it meant killing them, it was thought that this meant sending them to Pulse, which people in Cocoon had been told was practically hell. After the train he's on is derailed, the civilians are riled up by Snow's group to fight back and Hope is left alone by his mother, who leaves to fight and protect him. Hope watches in horror as his mother falls to her death and he begins to blame Snow, whom he follows into the Vestige with Vanille. In the Vestige, Hope has to fight his way through, only to be branded a Pulse l'Cie. Now, he is the enemy of the entire planet and will be killed on sight, if the government gets their hands on him. And, unless he fulfills his Focus and turns into a crystal statue, he'll turn into an abomination. No wonder the kid's big scene included a FreakOut!
* TrappedInAnotherWorld:
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' both use this as the main plot for the player character, but handle it in different ways. Advance has the main character wanting to go back to the real world because running away from life's problems is not healthy. A2 has the main character wanting to go home so he doesn't worry his aunt, but is in no rush to go home and tries to enjoy the time spent in the fantasy world.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX''. The main character Tidus is a sports star from the great city of Zanarkand, who one day finds himself transplanted in the world of Spira, and his city was apparently annihilated... one thousand years ago. [[spoiler: It's revealed that Tidus's world, and Tidus himself aren't real to begin with.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: Shadowbringers'' has the PlayerCharacter whisked away to The First, an alternate plane of reality that makes up Hydaelyn's {{Multiverse}}. The "Trapped" part of the trope is downplayed, as a means for the player to travel freely between The First and the main game world, The Source, is quickly established. [[spoiler:The player's allies from The Source, on the other hand, are very much trapped in The First due to the Crystal Exarch botching his first attempts to summon the player.]]
* {{Treants}}: Treants, generally resembling walking trees of various sorts -- generally leafless, sometimes with topes broken off into stumps, and with faces in their trunks -- appear as monsters in various games, debuting in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. [[KillItWithFire They're weak to fire attacks]] and often found in forest areas, and [[Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids Triffids]], Ents and Elder Treants appear as [[EliteMook stronger]] {{Palette Swap}}s of the basic Treant.
* TrueCompanions:
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyV''. The four Light Warriors hold together through failure, poisonings, and [[spoiler:the death of one of their own]] without fail. Galuf even calls a retreat when he's [[spoiler:attacking Castle Exdeath]] to go and rescue the other three, alone. And in the ending, [[spoiler:a lonely Krile is told by the other three that there's no way she's going to be alone when they're around.]]
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the quintessential RagtagBunchOfMisfits that become True Companions. [[spoiler:Not even the end of the world can keep them apart]].
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' both stress the importance of having True Companions. Cloud needs his friends and comrades to be a complete and effectual person and in the ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' movie, Cloud actually ''calls'' the other characters his family.
*** It is revealed in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' that even Sephiroth had True Companions through Angeal and Genesis. Though that was not enough to stop Genesis and Angeal from leaving Sephiroth behind when they discovered their true origins and went rogue.
** The party from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', especially after they learn that [[spoiler:most of them grew up together in the same orphanage]].
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIX'' has a similarly strong message about the importance of true companions and how what you do and who you love is more important than where you come from. This is most strongly illustrated during the [[TropeNamer You Are Not]] [[YouAreNotAlone Alone]] sequence, when [[spoiler: Zidane's tendency to help people for no real reason other than it's the right thing to do pays off in spades. Broken in mind and spirit, he's in the middle of a HeroicBSOD when his friends risk life and limb to save him, because he'd have done it for them.]] It's absolutely beautiful.
** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX''. Although Tidus functions as the narrator, the story as a whole is centered around the exploits of Yuna's guardians, as mismatched and misfit as they were, in their efforts to protect her and defeat Sin. It's carried on to a lesser extent in FFX-2, with Yuna as [[TheProtagonist the main protagonist]], though much of the original cast has disbanded and moved on. Tidus's sword is even named "Brotherhood," and powers up as he grows closer to the party.
*** Somewhat played within that most of the party were already True Companions to Yuna ''before'' her pilgrimage: Rikku is her cousin, Kimahri and Auron knew her father, and Wakka and Lulu grew up with her on Besaid.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' we have a rare case where [[spoiler: the villains are this.]]
** The six main characters of ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'' form a powerful bond thanks to the fact that [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman the entire world wants to kill them]]. Especially poignant with Fang and Vanille, who come from an egalitarian culture where everybody shared everything and took the same last name. At one point when Vanille's hit rock bottom, Fang encourages her by reminding her that they have a new family now.
** The cast of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' are pretty buddy-buddy. The game's even been compared to taking a road trip with a bunch of friends from college.
---> '''Cid Sophiar''': Those ain't your bodyguards...they're your brothers.
** Class Zero, the heroes of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' are a class of fourteen teenagers [[TykeBomb who have been raised by their government as living weapons of war.]] Due to their life of constant military training, they aren't able to make friends with other kids their age, so they form a surrogate family among each other. They're so close that [[spoiler: in the end they die together, and when the two surviving members find the others' bodies, they are all holding hands.]]
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', the ten main heroes in this {{crossover}} are true companions and several smaller, fluctuating groups are as well. The concept serves as a major overarching theme across their stories.
* TrustPassword:
** Early on in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' the PlayerParty is sent on a mission to aid [[LaResistance an anti-government group called "The Forest Owls"]] and is given a Password to confirm their identity. Upon reaching the rendezvous point and saying the password to the group's representative ([[ButThouMust regardless of whether or not you gave the correct response]]), he takes you to meet the other members.
** During one side quest in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', Serah and Noel need to find six members of a military squad that have been split up. Since some of them are in completely different time periods, the commander tells Serah and Noel to use "Thunder", his call sign, as proof that the other men should follow his orders to cooperate with them.
*** Downplayed in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' when Lightning says the first half of their personal motto ("Keep your eyes front") and Hope fails to correctly finish the phrase ("I'll watch the rear") even after Lightning prompts him, so she stops trusting him. She doesn't know what's wrong with him [[spoiler: (he's possessed)]], but it's something big for him to forget that.
* {{Tsundere}}:
** Harsh (Tsun):
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': While Squall Leonhart is typically just standoffish, his interactions with both [[PluckyGirl Rinoa]] and [[HotBlooded Zell]] results in his developing a more hostile personality. These two, [[BelligerentSexualTension especially Rinoa]] constantly try to get Squall to open up throughout the game. By the end of the game [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-falhoCreH3c/TZfiipwS1OI/AAAAAAAABEs/oTc67gh6j8M/s400/squall+1.jpg give you a smile]].
*** Lulu from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', but only towards the men in the party; Yuna and Rikku she treats like little sisters, and she doesn't really interact with Kimahri or Auron, leaving Tidus and Wakka. Towards them (Wakka in particular) she is usually ''very'' harsh, aside from a few moments when she shows a sweeter side; most notably, in Luca, she holds Wakka up when he's too exhausted to stand (despite being half a head taller and much heavier), and compliments his performance in the game. By the sequel, the two of them are hitched, expecting a child, and she's almost completely lost her tsuntsun side.
** Sweet (Dere):
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has Rydia and Porom, towards Edge and Palom, respectively.
*** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', Penelo might be this to Vaan.
* TwinTelepathy:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', Porom ''knows'' when Palom's in trouble half the world away. This might seem odd, given that the two are PolarOppositeTwins, except for the one thing both have in common: [[AWizardDidIt magical prowess]].
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles: Ring of Fates'', Yuri and Chelinka can speak telepathically with each other after the TimeSkip, since Chelinka lost her voice after watching their adoptive father die. She's slowly trying to get better, though.
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