Vincent Valentine

General VG character
name = Vincent Valentine


caption = Vincent Valentine artwork by Tetsuya Nomura
series = "Final Fantasy" and "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII"
firstgame = "Final Fantasy VII"
artist = Tetsuya Nomura
voiceactor = Steve Blum
japanactor = Kazuhiro Nakata ("Ehrgeiz")
Shōgo Suzuki (all other appearances)
inuniverse = Final Fantasy character
class = Ex-Turk
weapon = Handgun (named "Cerberus" in "Dirge of Cerberus"), "Griffon" (Machine Gun, "Dirge of Cerberus"), "Hydra" (Rifle, "Dirge of Cerberus"), and Ultima ("Dirge of Cerberus)
race = Human/caucasian (Genetically enhanced)
home = Unknown
age = 27 ("Final Fantasy VII")
60 (as of "Dirge of Cerberus")
height 6' 0 1/2" (1.84 m)
bloodtype = Anihongo|Vincent Valentine|ヴィンセント・ヴァレンタイン|Vinsento Varentain is a fictional character in the role-playing game "Final Fantasy VII" and the protagonist in the third-person shooters ' and '. He makes several appearances in the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" series, while also being present in the fighting game "Ehrgeiz". Vincent possesses many abilities, including immortality, shapeshifting, high stamina, and high healing abilities.

The English voice actor of Vincent is Steven Blum, while the Japanese voice actor was Kazuhiro Nakata in "Ehrgeiz" and Shōgo Suzuki in all other appearances.

Creation and influence

In the video game, Vincent appears as a tall, lean, brooding man with long, unkempt black hair wearing a ragged red cloak and mantle over black clothes. His left arm below the elbow is covered by a metallic, golden gauntlet. Although previously suggested to be a prosthetic, the refined character design used in "Advent Children" and "Dirge of Cerberus" shows that it is merely a gauntlet with long claws covering an ordinary, albeit gloved, hand. It is also interesting to note that brass claws are an ancient Greek characteristic typical to monsters (such as a gorgon, with brass claws and wings), which would be in line with Vincent's monstrous associations. His cloak covers the lower half of his face and is held closed by a series of buckles increasing his brooding mysterious nature (a similar method was used for Auron in "Final Fantasy X"). His eyes are distinctly colored red. This is natural, not caused by experimentation on him, as his father Grimoire Valentine has identical eyes (Lucrecia notes this in a "Dirge of Cerberus" flashback). As of "Advent Children", his weapon of choice changed to a triple-barrel revolver named "Cerberus". The name derives from the dog's heads that adorn each of the 3 barrels as well as the silver charm that hangs from the hilt. [cite web|title=Final Fantasy Die-Cast Replica: Vincent Valentine's Cerberus - Final Fantasy Master Arms at BigBadToyStore|url= http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SEP10035&mode=retail|accessdate=2007-02-23]

Character designer Tetsuya Nomura has explained that Vincent Valentine's character shifted from that of Horror researcher, to detective, to chemist, finally arriving at the figure of a former member of the Shinra Company's Turks with a tragic past, only part of which involves being used as a human test subject. It has been further explained that his crimson mantle was added to symbolize the idea of Vincent carrying a heavy weight—related to death—on his shoulders.cite web|author=Khosla, Sheila|year=2003|title=Tetsuya Nomura 20s|url= http://flaregamer.com/b2article.php?p=81&more=1|publisher=FLAREgamer| accessdate=2006-04-13]

Vincent is a playable character in the PlayStation version of "Ehrgeiz" along with Tifa, Cloud, Sephiroth, Yuffie and Zack, though — like the other "Final Fantasy VII" characters featured in the game — he has no storyline in the game. His alternate costume is his Turk uniform seen in flashbacks in the original game. In this state he also had considerably shorter and different styled hair.

Tetsuya Nomura commented in an interview that he wanted Vincent to appear in the "Kingdom Hearts series". [http://www.khinsider.com/info/nomura2.shtml] Instead, he opted to model Cloud's look in the series after Vincent due to Cloud sharing many of the dark traits that Vincent shows in "Final Fantasy VII". Cloud bears a red cape that covers the lower half of his face, and has golden claws on the fingers of his left hand.

Fictional biography

Vincent Valentine was a Turk, noticeably having shorter hair than his current appearance, and assigned to guard the scientist Lucrecia Crescent, who previously worked with Vincent's father, Grimoire Valentine. Over time, the two fell in love, but Lucrecia decided instead to carry the child of Hojo, head of the Science Department, for an experiment relating to Jenova's cells. Eventually, she began seeing visions of what her son, Sephiroth, would become and became sick. In anger, Vincent confronted Hojo on the matter, only to be shot in the stomach. Hojo then experimented on Vincent, which resulted in him gaining the abilities of immortality, strength, stamina, healing, and the ability to transform into powerful beasts. However Vincent still remained a lifeless corpse, and was then disposed of by Hojo. In an effort to save him, Lucrecia infused stagnant Lifestream, which carried a being called Chaos, into Vincent. To keep Chaos under control, Lucrecia implanted Protomateria into him. Regaining consciousness to find the place deserted and horrified at what he became, Vincent believed that this was payment for his sin, not being able to save Lucrecia. To further his punishment, he locked himself in one of the coffins in the Shinra manor basement. Though briefly waking up to converse with the leader of the Turks, Verdot, he doesn't leave the basement and join the outside world until 30 years later.

Appearances

"Final Fantasy VII"

After sleeping for years, Vincent is found by Cloud, who had managed to retrieve the key from the safe. Vincent was surprised by Cloud's knowledge of Sephiroth, recognizing him as Lucrecia's son, and demands an explanation. Cloud tells him about everything that had happened and the atrocities Sephiroth has committed, but this only served to make Vincent feel even more guilty for his failure and he shuts himself back in the coffin. After some further coaxing from Cloud, he emerges from the coffin again and tells who he was and about Lucrecia, before sealing himself again. But when Cloud leaves the room and begins to head back upstairs, Vincent catches up to him and joins Cloud after learning that his group may eventually meet up with Hojo with whom he had an understandable vendetta.

For the remainder of "Final Fantasy VII", Vincent plays a very minor role and very little story is centered around him. The only other time that there is any focus on Vincent is when they use the submarine to travel through an underwater cave and surface in a small lake surrounded by mountains. They find a cave in one of the surrounding mountains, and inside the cave Vincent finds Lucrecia, who in her pain and regret had sealed herself away in mako crystals. Reviving briefly, Lucrecia asks Vincent if Sephiroth is still alive, but he lies to her, telling her that he is dead in order to spare her the pain of learning about the atrocities that Sephiroth had committed. He later gets his wish to battle Hojo when the group discover him in Midgar, and joins the battle against him.

Related "Final Fantasy VII" appearances

In "", Vincent is seen in his normal attire having a conversation with Verdot, leader of the Turks at that time, in the Shinra basement.

In "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children", Vincent first appears rescuing Cloud from Kadaj and his gang, transforming into an intangible monster evocative of his cloak. He reveals to Cloud the cause of Geostigma, of Kadaj's intentions to merge with the remaining Jenova cells to bring about Sephiroth's rebirth, and that he rescued two of the Turks, Tseng and Elena, from them. He later showed up to help his friends defeat the Bahamut SIN summoned by Kadaj. It was Vincent who told his friends not to help Cloud and let him face his own personal battle against Sephiroth, confident in Cloud's ability to win. He was seen in the end with the rest of the characters and appears in a picture all of them took together.

In "", Vincent acts as the central character, working with Reeve and the "World Regenesis Organization" to eliminate an organization called "Deepground". Deepground targets Vincent for he unknowingly carries the Protomateria inside his body. It eventually is forcefully ripped from his body by the Deepground Tsviet . Though he survives, he becomes plagued with flashbacks and feels the stress of Chaos's desire to kill. Eventually he confronts the Deepground leader, , who he discovers has been possessed by the digitalized mind of Hojo. Hojo reveals information on Vincent and his plans to awaken Omega, whose original purpose was to absorb the Lifestream and leave the planet when it was destroyed. With gathered information, Hojo created the plan to awaken Omega early. However, the renegade Deepground member, , urges Vincent to take control of Chaos power, and Vincent battles Weiss, succeeding due to Weiss's pure Lifestream force being contaminated by his brother, Nero. When Weiss enters the Lifestream, Hojo's mind dispersed, but Omega was awakened. The full power of Chaos was also drawn out, but with the effort of Shelke, Vincent reaquires the Protomateria and takes control of Chaos's true form, succeeding in destroying Omega's mortal shell, freeing the Lifestream. He survives this attack, with Chaos joining Omega in returning to the planet until they are truly needed. Vincent thanks Lucrecia in her cave, now understanding she was the reason he survived and leaves her resting place, able to begin his life anew.

The mobile game "" also uses Vincent as the main player, and takes place during "Dirge of Cerberus". It recounts what happened when Vincent was traveling by helicopter to Shinra Mansion and was attacked by Deepground. He fights his way to Shinra Mansion, destroying many Deepground soldiers and a battle bot.

Lastly, he is briefly encountered in "" when he is found sleeping inside a coffin by the protagonist of the game, Zack Fair. Due to the camera angle and darkness, he is not physically seen.

"Other appearances"

Vincent appears in the fighting game "Ehrgeiz" as an unlockable fighting character. His Turk uniform serves as his alternative costume.

Reception

Vincent is often seen as one of the more popular characters in the "Final Fantasy VII" conglomerate, even rivaling the main character, Cloud Strife, and the main antagonist, Sephiroth, who is often voted to be one of the most popular villains ever. Vincent's popularity has also lead to merchandise being created related to ' and ' [cite web |url=http://www.square-enix-shop.com/jp/list_product.cfm?game_cat_id=3&site_id=1|title=Dirge of Cerberus at SE Store|publisher=Square Enix|accessdate=2008-04-13 |language=Japanese ] , games where he was the central character, as well as action figures being released. [cite web |url=http://www.square-enix-shop.com/jp/dsp_product.cfm?product_id=311|title=Action Figure at SE Store |publisher=Square Enix|accessdate=2008-04-13 |language=Japanese ]

References

External links

* [http://na.square-enix.com/games/ff7/vincent-char.html Vincent Valentine character profile] at the official Square Enix "Final Fantasy VII" site
* [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Vincent_Valentine Vincent Valentine at the "Final Fantasy Wiki"]

http://www.freewebs.com/natakusigndon/index.htm - awsome vincent valentine shrine