No. 20 to 11

I can’t believe it. Next week this is all over. Seems like it only just began, and now it’s about to end. Well, let’s get into it. Numbers 20 to 11. The characters who missed out on a top 10 position.

20. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

“Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away.”

“Oh my god, he killed Aerith”. “You bastard”. This one winged angel came to being as a result of Professor Hojo injecting Jenova cells into the foetus that Lucrecia Crescent was carrying. As a result, they created what is essentially a super soldier. Sephiroth was told that his mother was a woman named Jenova, who died during childbirth. Later in life, he was driven to insanity when he found documents that caused him to think that Jenova was a Cetra, and that the human race betrayed the Cetra 2000 years ago. This causes him to take his vengeance on mankind.

19. Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI)

"Life... dreams... hope... Where do they come from? And where do they go? Such meaningless things... I'll destroy them all!"

Was this guy in The Dark Knight? Nah, he wasn’t this crazy. A lot of things spring to mind when Kefka is mentioned: psychopath, maniac, evil and destructive barely cover the extent of this clown’s mental instability. Very little is known about his early life. It is known that he was made into a Magitek knight sometime prior to the game, giving him extraordinary magical abilities at the cost of his sanity. He also gave a slave crown to Terra, which he tested the effectiveness of by killing Imperial soldiers. His evil laugh has been rumoured to scare Chuck Norris.

Please note: Of the twenty three villains on this list, Kefka is the highest ranked of them. If you can call some of them villains.

18. Cecil Harvey (Final Fantasy IV)

"I've worn this darkened armor for so long now, there's no mote of light left in me. Not even... in my heart."

And now, we have a moon-man. No, seriously. Cecil is the child of a human mother (Cecilia) and a Lunarian father (Kluya), just like his brother Theodor (also known as Golbez). After the death of their mother, Theodor abandoned Cecil outside of Baron, where the king found him. As he grew up, he made friends with Kain and Rosa (the latter of which he eventually marries). Cecil was a talented knight and leader of the Red Wings before he spoke out against the king stealing the crystals. Vowing to never take orders from the king again, he becomes a paladin.

17. Cid Highwind (Final Fantasy VII)

"Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn TEA!"

If Bender from Futurama was a human being, this is most likely who he’d be. The foul-mouthed chain-smoking dragoon has had dreams of going into space since he was born. However, when he finally got the chance to, he hit the emergency stop so the blast wouldn’t kill Shera who was doing a safety check. Shinra then cut funding to the space program, and Cid blames Shera for never achieving his dream. He forgives her though when he is accidentally launched into space and one of the oxygen tanks explodes. He’s so thankful he even names an airship after her.

Please note: Of the seven Cids to make the list, Cid Highwind was the highest ranked. Like we didn’t @#^%ing see that coming.

16. Laguna Loire (Final Fantasy VIII)

“But...who cares!? I speak with passion, from the heart! That's what matters most.”

“Squall, I am your father”. “Whatever”. As a young man, Laguna joined the Galbadian Army, though his dream is to be a journalist. While in the army, he meets his friends Kiros and Ward. Laguna was in love with Julia, but before they could progress their relationship Laguna and his friends are sent to Centra. While on the mission, Laguna throws the team off a cliff to avoid being killed. Laguna ends up in Winhill being cared for by Raine (who he later marries) and her daughter Ellone. When Ellone is kidnapped, Laguna leaves a pregnant Raine to find her.

15. Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)

“Words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel.”

BOOBS! Sorry, but really, BOOBS! What else is there to think about with Tifa? The owner of Final Fantasy’s best rack is a member of the anti-Shinra resistance group AVALANCHE, and hires Cloud (her neighbour when she was growing up) to work for them. Little does she know that Cloud was in their hometown of Nibelheim when it was destroyed. Tifa is the person to restore Cloud’s mind back to normal after his memories got mixed up and made him think he was Zack. Oh, and there’s one last thing I think I forgot to mention about Tifa: BIG BOOBS!

14. Rikku (Final Fantasy X)

“You can cram your happy festival, you big meanie!”

Those eyes, they’re freaking hypnotic. The energetic Al Bhed girl saves Tidus by convincing her friends not to kill him, then taking him on their ship. The two were separated when Sin suddenly attacked them. They meet again on the Moonflow, after Tidus and Wakka had defeated a machina (that Rikku was controlling) that had kidnapped Yuna, which she’d done to stop Yuna dying on her pilgrimage. For a while she keeps her lineage hidden from Wakka, due to his hatred of Al Bhed. However, she was forced to speak Al Bhed in front of him to stop Brother attacking.

13. Zack Fair (Final Fantasy VII)

“That kid, he told me the natural sky scared him. As I thought, it felt fulfilling. Those wings, give them to me too. Because it kinda feels... nice. If you meet Aerith, I'll be counting on you. Hey... Now I've become a hero, right?”

Ladies and Gentlemen: Zack Fair. The man Cloud wished he could be. From a young age, Zack always dreamed of becoming a SOLDIER 1st Class like Sephiroth, and with the help of his mentor Angeal Hewley, he succeeds. Zack was killed before the events of Final Fantasy VII; however he is the main protagonist of Crisis Core. Zack was killed in a huge gunfight, where he handed his Buster Sword over to Cloud before he died. However, Cloud’s mind (having been heavily traumatised by Professor Hojo’s experiments, Tifa getting wounded, Mako poisoning and Zack’s death) makes him think he’s Zack.

12. Terra Branford (Final Fantasy VI)

“It's not the net worth of one's life that's important. It is the day to day concerns, the personal victories, and the celebration of life... and love!”

The “main” character of Final Fantasy VI, Terra is the daughter of a human named Madeline, and an Esper named Maduin. At the age of two, she was kidnapped by Emperor Gestahl when his empire raided the Land of Espers. As a result, she became a WMD for the empire. However, Kefka had other plans for her, and gave her a slave crown which made her kill many elite soldiers. She is a very powerful red mage, and has the unique ability to turn into an esper. The short version is: do NOT, under any circumstances, piss Terra off. Ever.

Please note: Of the eleven characters from Final Fantasy VI to make the list, Terra ranked the highest.

11. Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII)

"That was my sin, and this...this is my punishment."

Holy crap, a vampire! Okay, not quite, but he does have the superhuman strength and speed, regeneration, immortality, sleeping in a coffin and shape shifting (still more vampire than Edward Cullen). Despite only being a secret character in Final Fantasy VII, his popularity has led to him having an appearance in all parts of this arc, including main character in Dirge of Cerberus. Even though he isn’t actually seen in Crisis Core, Zack mentions seeing someone in a coffin, before closing the lid and walking away. Unlike most characters in this arc, Vincent’s attire changes very slightly (if at all).

That’s it for this week. The top ten are next week. Can you guess who will make it to number 1? How about a little game? The picture below is a hint for all the characters in the top 10. Can you figure it out from that? We’ll see. See you next week.