Characters of Final Fantasy VII

Square's "Final Fantasy VII" was one of the first major console role-playing games released for the Sony PlayStation and was Square's largest game at the time. A major critical and commercial success, the game remains arguably the most popular title in the series, [: A young man from Sector 7 who has had a crush on Tifa since their childhoods in Nibelheim. He leaves Midgar and moves to Costa del Sol, turning up in several other locations along the way. In the short story "The Case of Denzel", a part of the novella "On the Way to a Smile", Johnny decides to open his own cafe in Edge City, Johnny's Heaven, after being inspired by Tifa's decision to build a new Seventh Heaven pub in the city. He would often tell his customers about how Tifa inspired him and would unknowingly lose most of his potentially regular customers to Seventh Heaven by doing so.

Godo

nihongo|Godo Kisaragi|ゴドー・キサラギ|Godō Kisaragi: Yuffie's father, and the leader of Wutai. Wutai was the enemy Shinra fought in a war that occurred around the time of Sephiroth's early life. As a condition of its surrender, Wutai was not allowed to possess any materia and was reduced to a tourist town. Like his daughter, Godo has a bit of an obsession with materia--he is just able to hide his obsession better than Yuffie.

Lucrecia

nihongo|Lucrecia Crescent|ルクレツィア・クレシェント|Rukuretsia Kureshento: Lucrecia is a female scientist who worked on the Jenova Project, alongside Professor Hojo and Professor Gast. She was Vincent’s love interest as well as Sephiroth's biological mother.

Lucrecia is estimated to have been born around 60 years before the events of the game. She worked as a Class A biotechnologist for the Shinra Electric Power Company under the direction of Grimoire Valentine, Vincent Valentine's father. Her thesis on Omega and Chaos had suffered much criticism and she was anxious to prove her colleagues wrong. During one of her investigations she happened upon the suspected location of the dormant Chaos. While performing an experiment with the recovered materials found at Chaos's resting place, an incident occurred which claimed Grimoire's life. This tragedy continued to haunt Lucrecia from hence forth and prohibited her from returning Vincent's affections out of guilt for causing his father's death. Out of desperation, she turned to her superior, Professor Hojo, and agreed to conceive a child for the Jenova Project.

During the events before "Final Fantasy VII", Lucrecia was assigned as an assistant to Professor Faremis Gast alongside Professor Hojo in the town of Nibelheim. They were to investigate the excavated specimen (later known as Jenova) from the Northern Crater which was suspected to be an Ancient (Cetra). Upon analysis they falsely believed it to be a Cetra and attempted to extract its cellular DNA in order to artificially produce soldiers with the Cetra's abilities. She used her unborn child as the subject of the Jenova Project's first in vivo experiment despite objections from Vincent Valentine. During pregnancy, Lucrecia began receiving visions of the horrors her unborn son would commit, and in an untimely encounter, discovered Vincent shot by Hojo. Fearing for his life, Lucrecia exposed him to the stagnated mako, causing the being known as Chaos to be absorbed into his body. Though his life was saved, he was left in a feral madness. Disgusted with all that she had done to those she cared about and the changes Jenova's cells had wrought in her own body, she attempted to kill herself. However, she was unable to easily die because of the presence of Jenova's cells in her body, and, thus, she isolated herself in a cave and trapped herself within mako crystals. During the events of "Final Fantasy VII", she is discovered by Vincent and the others, and she asks if Sephiroth had died yet. Vincent, hoping to help her rest in peace, tells her that he had. This is true, however, he does not tell her that Sephiroth is imposing his will on the world from death.

During the events of "Dirge of Cerberus", Vincent's past is revealed including his relationship to Lucrecia. Throughout the game, Lucrecia's resting form comes to Vincent, echoing "I'm so sorry." despite Vincent being uncertain as to why she is apologizing. More forms of Lucrecia come through the new character Shelke, whom downloaded the doctor's personality fragments into herself in order to track Vincent and the Protomateria. In conclusion, Lucrecia explains she is sorry for making so many mistakes and hurting Vincent, though is happy that he survived.

Marlene

nihongo|Marlene Wallace|マリン|Marin is the young daughter of Barret's friends, Dyne and Eleanor. Adopted by Barret after Eleanor's death during the burning of Corel and left with Elmyra during the game, she is kidnapped by Reeve. At the end of the game, she has been sent to Kalm by Reeve to keep her safe. She is voiced by Miyu Tsuzurahara in the Japanese version of "Advent Children" and Grace Rolek in the English version. In "Advent Children", she appears to live with Cloud, Tifa and an orphan named Denzel, while Barret is away searching for new power sources. In the film, she is kidnapped from Tifa by Loz in an effort to lure Cloud into a trap. It's through conversing with her and Vincent that Cloud comes to terms with his guilty conscience and decides to stop running from the inevitable battle. She's last seen in a photograph with the main cast holding Cait Sith. She's not mentioned or shown in "Dirge of Cerberus" despite a level taking place in Edge. Most likely, she was evacuated by the WRO.

eto

nihongo|Seto|セト: Red XIII's/Nanaki's father. He was believed to be a coward by Red XIII but later revealed to be a great hero who sacrificed his own life for the safety of Cosmo Canyon by keeping the Gi Tribe at bay. The poison arrows of the Gi Tribe turned Seto's body to stone. As Red XIII and Buganhagen visited his body, tears fell from Seto's stone eyes.

hera

Shera, or nihongo|Sierra|シエラ|Shiera in the original Japanese, is a soft-spoken and calm methodical scientist working on the Shinra No. 26 who ultimately caused Cid to cancel its launch: she feared one of the oxygen tanks was malfunctioning and refused to leave when Cid ordered her to. To save her life, Cid stopped the launch, but resented her for this, believing that she had cost him his dream of being the first man in space. Due to the guilt she felt for destroying his dreams, Shera subsequently devoted her life to Cid and pandered to his every whim, often while taking all kinds of verbal abuse and endless insults from him. However, he later came to have great respect for her after finding out that she had been right all along about the oxygen tank. Shera also saved his life on the later successful rocket launch by helping to remove debris trapping Cid on the rocket, as well as by repairing the emergency escape pod so that the party could escape the doomed rocket. In the novella "On the Way to a Smile", Shera had began work drilling oil in some badlands just east of Rocket Town, hoping to use oil as an alternative to the now-feared Mako energy and the almost primitive coal power. It is also revealed that she has contracted Geostigma during this time, although mention of her in future titles seems to indicate that she was cured of Geostigma by the lifestream infused water called forth by Aerith before she could die. Cid named the airship seen in "Advent Children" after her and is revealed in "Dirge of Cerberus" to have also married her.

hinra executives

nihongo|President Shinra|プレジデント神羅|Purejidento Shinra is the first President of the Shinra Company. He built it from a simple weapons development company to a corporation that controlled the world in a single generation. He was a remarkably capable manager who excelled at the science of predicting human nature and guiding public opinion. It was his theory that one could control the world by grasping the masses' hearts with money. He found the opinions of his son, Rufus, dangerous and ensured that they were kept away from company affairs by assigning him duties in "far away" lands. The President dedicated a large amount of Shinra Inc's resources and money into research of the Cetra with the hope of finding "The Promised Land" and building a powerful Mako Reactor there. President Shinra listens to Joseph Haydn's Oratorio, "The Creation" as the Sector Seven Plate collapses. When Shinra Inc finally managed to capture a living Cetra, President Shinra was murdered by Sephiroth.

Other executives of Shinra include Professor Hojo, as well as:
*nihongo|Heidegger|ハイデッガー|Haideggā|extra=IPA2|ˈhaɪdəgɐ: Head of Shinra's Public Safety Maintenance Department, which is simply a euphemism for Shinra's military, the elite SOLDIER unit and the Turks. Heidegger has a strong personality of his own but is generally seen as little more than a toadyish yes-man who sucks up to President Shinra and Rufus. It was he who masterminded the destruction of Sector 7 and the subsequent public relations exercise that implicated AVALANCHE with the crime. He attempted to assume control of the Shinra company after the WEAPON attack on Midgar that presumably kills Rufus but died shortly afterward when the Proud Clod (a mecha that he and Scarlet were piloting) exploded after a battle with AVALANCHE. Nicknamed as "Gya ha ha" by Reeve, for his horse-like laugh. He often punches any unlucky soldier nearby whenever he is angered. Possibly named after the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), or after the protagonist of the same name in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment".
*nihongo|Scarlet|スカーレット|Sukāretto: Head of Shinra's Weapons Development Department. Aspires to make the perfect weapon, but doesn't trust Heidegger to use it properly. Scarlet is one of the more evil-minded Shinra executives and was directly responsible for the destruction of Barret Wallace's home town of Corel and for the loss of Barret's forearm. She helps in creating a large mako cannon, Sister Ray, used to fight WEAPON. Like Rufus, she is both cunning and ruthless. Nicknamed as "Kya ha ha" for her peculiar laugh by Reeve. She died along with Heidegger in the explosion of the Proud Clod.
*nihongo|Reeve Tuesti|リーブ・トゥエスティ|Rību Tuesuti|extra=IPA: IPA| [ɹiv tuɛsti] : Head of the Urban Development Department, a job which in his own words makes him responsible for both the building and running of Midgar, hence his concerns about damages and rebuilding costs after Shinra collapsed the Sector 7 plate (concerns his colleages did not share). He has the job of overseeing the construction of upper Midgar and recognising the greater architectural vision of the Shinra regime (It is unclear as to whether or not he actually designed the city). He used Cait Sith as a way for him to spy on — and later aid — AVALANCHE. Along with Mayor Domino, he is one of the few officials in Shinra who has a genuine concern for the common people. He is briefly arrested by Heidegger's men after the apparent death of Rufus but is released in time to organise the evacuation of Midgar's population before the arrival of Meteor. Reeve later founded the World Regenesis Organization (WRO), an organization devoted to the environmental reclamation of the planet after the collapse of the Shinra Company. Reeve plays a significant role in "" and has a voice-over cameo in "Advent Children" provided by Jamieson Price (English) & Banjō Ginga (Japanese).
*nihongo|Palmer|パルマー|Parumā: The incompetent head of Shinra's seemingly defunct Space Exploration Department who has, nonetheless, managed to retain his place among the company's top ranking executives even though he serves no visible role in the company. Palmer is a bouncy, overweight man with some childlike behavior. He goes with Rufus to Rocket Town to steal Cid's plane, the Tiny Bronco. Although he is hit by a truck as he tries to escape Cloud and company, he — along with Reeve and Rufus — is one of the few Shinra executives to survive the events of "Final Fantasy VII". However, he has yet to make any further appearances in the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII".
*Mayor Domino: The Mayor of upper Midgar in name only. In practice Domino is little more than a figurehead and a puppet of the Shinra Corporation, with the real responsibility of running the city being in the hands of Reeve and Heidegger. Due to his lack of power and responsibilities he does not have a place in Shinra's executive cabinet and spends the majority of his time in his office on the 62nd floor of the Shinra building and, in the words of Heidegger, "feeding his face". Domino's deputy and sidekick, Hart is often with him and stands guard outside his office. Despite his cushy job with the company, Domino has little respect or admiration for his superiors and, like Reeve, shows concern about the welfare of the people within Midgar.

Lastly, the Shinra Manager is a middle manager in the Shinra company, who is mistreated and trodden upon by higher-ups such as Heidegger and Rufus. He is dedicated to the company, but his life is miserable. He wears a burgundy business suit and is encountered in the two train rides in Midgar, then sleeping in a bed in Junon. Later he visits Costa Del Sol, and in the end, he is back at the bed in Junon. Near the end of the game, if the player speaks to him, he will reveal that if all of the corporate heads indeed died when AVALANCHE attacked the Sister Ray, essentially, he would now be the president.

Weapons

The nihongo|Weapons|ウェポン|Wepon are immense, biomechanical entities created by the planet as a defense mechanism against threats to its survival. Six of the eight Weapons serve to exterminate anything and everything that threatens the planet, including humans.Cite book | year=2005 | editor=Studio BentStuff | title=Final Fantasy VII Ultimania | pages=215 | language=Japanese | publisher=Square Enix | id=ISBN 4-7575-1520-0] "Before Crisis" features the chronologically first Weapon to activate, Jade Weapon. The Diamond, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, and Ultima ("Ultimate" in English versions) Weapons were simultaneously awakened when Sephiroth summoned Meteor. Due to the protective barrier he erected around the Northern Cave, these combat-based Weapons turned their attention from Sephiroth to humanity, specifically where mako extraction was prevalent. "Dirge of Cerberus" shows the final Weapon, Omega, which was designed as an ark for the planet should it become irreparable, completely absorbing the Lifestream into itself to transport it elsewhere. Chaos is also considered a Weapon, as indicated in "Dirge of Cerberus"fix|link=Wikipedia:Contents|text=citation needed, despite its small size, fitting within a human body. Chaos functions to kill any survivors of the doomed planet, so their lives may return to the Lifestream before Omega's journey, though it also acts as a counter to the Omega Weapon's complete summoning. At the end of "Dirge of Cerberus", Chaos leaves Vincent Valentine's body, returning to the planet with Omega after the latter was kept from completing its function.In English versions of "Final Fantasy VII", "WEAPON" is a singular and group term for the beings presented in the game.

Zangan

nihongo|Zangan|ザンガン is Tifa's martial arts instructor, and rescued her after she was wounded by Sephiroth. In "Final Fantasy VII", his letter to Tifa (found in her piano) shed light on the events following the burning of Nibelheim and the coverup that ensued. Zangan was quite active and possessed some ability with magic, using Cure spells on Tifa as he transported her to Midgar.

"Before Crisis" characters

The main characters of "Before Crisis" are all Turks. The player chooses from eleven unnamed characters (five young men, five young women and one "legendary" Turk), each with his or her own backstory, personality, strengths and weaknesses. Six of these Turks also appear in "Last Order", where they act as support for Tseng, Reno, and Rude, but they are not given proper names and few have dialog. The female Turk with the short blond hair has been identified as Elena's older sister, however she has no canonical name and is only referred to as "Turk (Gun)" based on her weapon of choice. The female Turk identified as "Turk (Shuriken)" has been shown to appear in "" where she goes by the name "Cissnei", though she later remarks that it isn't her true name. After barely surviving the pre-"Final Fantasy VII" events of "Before Crisis", they make an appearance along with Veld in Midgar during the coming of the Meteor disaster and assist the other Turks in evacuating civilians. Their whereabouts during the majority of "Final Fantasy VII"'s events are currently unknown.

During most of "Before Crisis", Veld is the non-playable leader of the Turks. He is very particular on matters relating to succeeding in missions and very unforgiving when it comes to failure. Tseng considers him a role model and eventually succeeds him. Though many of his subordinates are intimidated by his severity, they all deeply respect him. When Heidegger usurps his position at one point during the story, Veld blackmails President Shinra into returning it. Formerly a resident of the town of Kalm, he had a daughter and wife that he believed perished when the town was razed due to his own misinterpreted commands. In actuality, his daughter survived, and is eventually revealed to be the leader of AVALANCHE, Elfé. He cares very deeply for the Turks, and does not wish for them to suffer any events similar to what he has; he also cares very much for his daughter, defecting from Shinra when he discovers she is alive. Veld appeared only in "Before Crisis", but is mentioned in "".

"Advent Children" characters

The main playable characters of "Final Fantasy VII" reappear in "Advent Children", with a focus on Cloud. The Turks also make appearances; as does Rufus, who was thought to have died in the original game. The three antagonists of the film are the "Sephiroth Remnants", the silver-haired remains of Sephiroth's will and spirit in physical form, whose goal is to retrieve Jenova's cells to resurrect Sephiroth. They are able to summon monstrous embodiments of tainted Lifestream called "Shadow Creepers".

nihongo|Kadaj|カダージュ|Kadāju is 16 years old, and the medium-haired cruel and vengeful young Remnant leader. He fights with a double-bladed katana called "Souba" and has materia embedded in his arm, with which he summons the Bahamut SIN. Kadaj serves as Sephiroth's avatar when he acquires and absorbs Jenova's cells into his body.

nihongo|Loz|ロッズ|Rozzu is 20 years old, buff, unsexy, ugly, jank, and also ugly, and don't forget ugly, and with a smidgen of ugly, and the short-haired broad and violent Remnant who fights primarily with a pile bunker on his wrist called "Dual Hound". He duels Tifa in Aerith's church. He and Yazoo die in an explosion of excessive materia atop the Shinra headquarters.

nihongo|Yazoo|ヤズー|Yazū with his sexily flowing long silvery hair, the essence of youth, is 18 years old and the long-haired calm Remnant who specializes in firearms, wielding a "Velvet Nightmare" gun. He shoots Cloud, intending to bring him to the Promised Land with them, before he and Loz die in an explosion of excessive materia atop the Shinra headquarters.

nihongo|Denzel|デンゼル|Denzeru, a young brown-haired boy. While his role in the film is minimal, he is the focus of a part of the tie-in series of novellas "On the Way to a Smile". Denzel's parents, a Shinra worker named Abel and a woman named Chloe, are stated to have died during the Sector 7 destruction in "Final Fantasy VII"; before dying, Abel entrusted Denzel to an inhabitant of Sector 5 named Arkham, and was subsequently raised by Ruvie Tuesti, Reeve's mother. When Ruvie dies in the chaos resulting from the Lifestream burst at the end of "Final Fantasy VII", Denzel settles in the Midgar ruins with Rix, a new friend, helping to collect material for the construction of the new town, Edge. Rix eventually leaves Denzel, who wanders and is eventually found by Cloud after suffering an episode from the Geostigma on his forehead. In "Advent Children", Denzel's Geostigma continues giving him problems to the point he agrees to accompany Yazoo and the others to be "cured". Denzel, along with the other children abducted, are taken to the Ancient City of the Cetra where they're baptized by Kadaj which makes them susceptible to manipulation by Kadaj and his brothers. After a failed rescue attempt by Cloud, Denzel and the other children are taken to Edge, acting as human barriers for Yazoo and Loz whom attempt to tear down the Midgar memorial. Denzel regains himself after Tifa protects him from Bahamut SIN and is cured of his Geostigma by Cloud using Aerith's purified water at the church with the other children. He is last seen at the end of the film in a photograph on Cloud's desk depicting the entire main cast, looking more happy than he did in a previous photo.

"Dirge of Cerberus" characters

is a first and third person shooter which centers on the back story of Vincent Valentine. Another character previously mentioned in the article who appears in the game is Reeve Tuesti, the former head of Shinra's Urban Development Department. In the game he leads the World Regenesis Organization and works with Vincent through the game. Hojo returns as well in flashbacks, and he then reappears in the penultimate moments of the game. The playable characters of Final Fantasy VII make cameo appearances, notably Cait Sith, who is controllable for a brief sequence. A new WEAPON is also introduced, Omega Weapon, which serves as an "ark" for the planet's Lifestream when a calamity arises. Genesis first appears in "Dirge of Cerberus", but is only referred to as "G".

* is a female character, who first appeared in a small role in "Before Crisis". She is a WRO scientist and is a supporter and aide to Vincent.

*, Vincent Valentine's father, is introduced in "Dirge of Cerberus". He appears in the game's flashbacks with Lucrecia Crescent, serving as her mentor.

* The nihongo|Tsviets|ツヴィエート|Tsuviēto are the highest ranking elite squad within Deepground and its chain of command.All of the members of the group are named after colors from different languages, hence the group's name, which is based on "цвет", the Russian word for "color".Fact|date=July 2007 Five members appear in the single player mode of the game, and at least one more member appears in the online mode. They include, .

"Crisis Core" characters

' focuses on Zack, whose full name is given as Zack Fair. The game also introduces Angeal Hewley, Lazard, Dr. Hollander, and Cissnei, a woman who first appeared as a generic unnamed Turk in "Before Crisis". Luxiere and Kunsel, two SOLDIER friends of Zack, also are introduced. Genesis, a character who appears briefly as "G" in the "Dirge of Cerberus" secret ending sequence, is involved more prominently in "Crisis Core". The goddess Minerva"' makes an appearance as a secret boss during a mission.

Lazard

nihongo|Lazard|ラザード|Razādo is the director of Shinra's SOLDIER department, Stefan Marks in the English release of Crisis Core. Lazard is also Rufus Shinra's older illegitimate half-brother, his mother being a woman from the slums who President Shinra abandoned. Lazard entered Shinra and received promotions at an exceptional speed to attain his present status within the organization, baring ill will towards Rufus and their father. As a result, Lazard secretly funded Hollander's research.

But when Hollander is found out to be a traitor also seeking revenge on Shinra, Lazard flees and ends up being infected with Angeal's cells and slowly turns into an Angeal copy--his desire for vengeance slowly turning into Angeal's desires to help Zack and the planet. In the end, Lazard dies after being attacked by the Shinra army while protecting Cloud outside the ruins of Banora.

Angeal

nihongo|Angeal Hewley|アンジール・ヒューレー|Anjīru Hyūrē: A SOLDIER 1st Class who acts as a mentor to other, lower ranking SOLDIERs, particularly Zack to whom he seems to have become something of a patron. He is voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue in the original Japanese version and by Josh Gilman in the English dub. He is a respected 1st Class and is well known for his sense of responsibility and wisdom and is a companion to Sephiroth and Genesis, the latter of whom he grew up with in the rural village of Banora. Angeal is the original owner of the Buster Sword, which was purchased for him by his late father using all the family's savings. He tends not to use the weapon, as it represented his honor and pride, claiming that "use brings about wear, tear and rust". After going on a mission to Wutai in order to locate Genesis, he does not return, leading Sephiroth to question his loyalty. Angeal's loyalty comes under even more scrutiny, when Angeal pretends to aid Genesis in the hopes of being able to convert him. Angeal abandons Genesis soon afterwards and faces Zack at the Midgar plate interior, revealing that he was the result of being born from his mother who was genetic manipulated through Project G, bearing two white wings on his right shoulder. He considers them the trait of a monster though Zack believes them to be "angel's wings". He also can assimilate the genetic structure of others into his body, using it on four monsters to become "Angeal Penanace" to force Zack to fight him so can not live as the monster he thinks he is. As he dies, Angeal gives Zack his Buster Sword and tells him to keep his honor as a Soldier. Angeal is last seen pulling Zack into the Lifestream after his death. Angeal's surname is derived from the Greek word "hyle" which is translated as "materia" in Latin. [cite web | title=Crisis Core Article from Dengeki PS2 3/9 | url=http://www.crisis-core.net/archive.php?archive=1199270707&subaction=list-archive& | publisher=Crisis-Core.net | accessdate=2007-03-07]

Gillian

Angeal's mother by Hollander, though Hollander was not her husband. Forced to live in Banora with the other traces of Jenova Project G, Gillian was a carrier of Jenova cells, which had mutated and adapted to her DNA, essentially being the source of the entitled "G Cells". Her DNA was injected into the unborn fetus of the Rhapsodos family, but the offspring, Genesis, turned out being a normal child with signs of degradation. She then gave birth to her own child, Angeal, whom showed no signs of degradation since he developed in "her" body with her cultured genetic mutation. A kindly woman ashamed of the part she played in the experiments, she met Zack shortly before killing herself so that Hollander and Genesis wouldn't be able to use her in their plots. She had been the only person in Banora spared by Genesis.

She is voiced in English by Takayo Fischer, with Masako Ikeda providing her voice for the Japanese version.

Hollander

nihongo|Professor Hollander|ホランダー|Horandā was originally head of Shinra's science division until Hojo took it from him, never forgiving for it. He is voiced by Shinya Ohwada in the original Japanese version and by Sterling Young in the English dub. Hollander is the father of Angeal and the creator of Project G, named after his wife who was injected with Jenova cells and her DNA structure copied unto Genesis. He sides with Genesis originally, serving to halt his degredation, until Genesis had no more use for his services. But Genesis let him live since he injected himself with the G cells, resulting with Hollander growing a small black wing and his body begins to deteriorate quickly. He dies trying to steal Cloud from Zack.

Cissnei

nihongo|Cissnei|シスネ|Shisune is a female Turks member whose place of birth is unknown, wielding a crimson Shuriken called "Rekka" in battle as her weapon of choice. Cissnei is not her real name according to her in-game dialogue, but she goes by it just the same.

She is beautiful and warm-hearted, and has a mothering side which can border on bossy, which often manifests in how she looks after her colleagues. While still in an orphanage at a young age, the Turks expressed an interest in recruiting Cissnei. In the history of the Turks, she is the youngest member to join. She was originally referred as "Shuriken (Female)" in ' until her appearance in '.

She befriends Zack and ends up helping him escape from the Shinra Army when they are being chased for escaping Hojo's Sephiroth Copy Project.

She is voiced in English by Carrie Savage, and by Asumi Nakata in Japanese.

Genesis

nihongo|Genesis Rhapsodos|ジェネシス・ラプソードス|Jeneshisu Rapusōdosu is a mysterious 1st-Class SOLDIER, said to have rebelled against Shinra and disappeared during the Wutai war. His birth is similar to Sephiroth, though he was infused with the cells of Gillian, Angeal's mother, who had been infused with Jenova cells by Hollander. He became best friends with Angeal when they were young, both joining SOLDIER together. It was only until after a sparring match with Sephiroth that Genesis started to show signs of having white hair and became weaker than he ever was. It was during the Wutai war that Genesis abandoned Shinra and kidnapped Dr. Hollander to help him stop his degradation. They used a machine stolen from Shinra to create copies of Genesis using his cells on suspected to be the Second- and Third-Class SOLDIERs who disappeared with Genesis at the beginning of Crisis Core.

Both Sephiroth and Genesis possess a single black wing, with Genesis' coming from his left shoulder, and Sephiroth's coming from his right. His weapon is a schiavona or similar true broadsword (a straight, thin, single-handed sword with a complex hilt).

He carries on his person a book called "LOVELESS," a famous play whose fifth act has been lost, and quotes from it frequently. Eventually, Genesis saw his chance of survival in Jenova's cells to stop his degradation. However, the Nibelheim incident removed any chances of that (he did attempt to tempt Sephiroth into joining himself and Angeal, but failed) until he learned of Cloud and Zack being injected with Jenova's cells, recovering a few strands of Zack's hair. Though he might have stopped the degeneration, Genesis was defeated by Zack, weakened to the point of being taken by Weiss. Soon after, records of Genesis' existence are erased and his fate unknown other than that his genetic makeup was emulated in the creation of the Deepground organization seen in "Dirge of Cerberus" and that he turned down Weiss' offer to join Deepground, instead sealing himself away until the planet needed to be protected. In the epilogue of "Dirge of Cerberus", Genesis appears to carry Weiss away while saying "its not time for slumber, we still have much work to do, my brother".

Genesis' appearance was modelled after that of the Japanese singer Gackt, who voiced him also in the Japanese versions of "Dirge of Cerberus" and "Crisis Core", and sang 'Redemption', the theme song for "Dirge of Cerberus". He is voiced in English by Robin Atkin Downes in the secret ending of "Dirge of Cerberus". Oliver Quinn provided the voice for him in the English version of "Crisis Core".

Reception and legacy

The characters of "Final Fantasy VII" have been overall well-received by critics. In late 2007, "Dengeki PlayStation" named Cloud Strife the best character of all time in their retrospective awards feature about the original PlayStation.cite web|url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/837/837350p1.html|title=Nomura Talks FFXIII|publisher=IGN |author=Gantayat, Anoop|date=2007-11-22|accessdate=2007-11-22] Aerith placed fifth and Tifa placed eighth and three other characters placed in the top 50: Sephiroth at fourteenth, Reno at fifteenth, and Yuffie at forty-second.Sephiroth remains one of the most popular villains in video game history, unanimously voted number one by the staff of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" in their "Top 10 Video Game Bosses" list in October 2005.cite book|year=2005|editor=Editors of EGM magazine|title=Electronic Gaming Monthly October, 2005|pages=72–73|language=English| publisher=Ziff Davis] During spring of the same year, Sephiroth won GameFAQs' best villain contest.cite web|url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/spr05|title=Spring 2005: Got Villains?|publisher=GameFAQs |author=GameFAQs Site Staff|date=2005|accessdate=2007-01-03]

Due to their popularity, several characters from "Final Fantasy VII" have made cameo appearances in other Square Enix titles, most notably the fighting game "Ehrgeiz" and the popular "Final Fantasy"-Disney crossover series "Kingdom Hearts".

References