Some Final Fantasy characters start mysteriously, but their backstories grow over time. Auron from Final Fantasy 10, for example, opens with Tidus in Zanarkand, disappears for a while, and then reappears without saying much, but by the end of the game, he turns out to be a vital piece of how everything comes together.
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Other Final Fantasy characters, including ones specifically from Final Fantasy 10, are underutilized. They may have a cool debut or design, but the following examples just don't amount to anything really exciting or memorable. The only thing that makes these characters compelling outside their games is fan theories.
There will be spoilers for all the games listed.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Edward Chris Von Muir
This Prince Is A Popper
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Square
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Edward is one of the rotating party members in Final Fantasy 4, a game that never settles down until the very last round of dungeons. He’s an early addition, the Prince of Damcyan who ran away with Anna, the daughter of a powerful mage named Tellah.
As they eloped, Anna was tragically cut down, and Edward was too cowardly to do anything about it, leading to a big confrontation with Tellah. Edward is a Bard, and not a very powerful one at that, so he’s not a great party member, nor does he grow up to be an amazing character later on. The game doesn’t do enough to redeem Edward and then just forgets about him in the end.
Gogo
Who Is It?
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Fantasy Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix, Square
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Final Fantasy 6 has one of the biggest playable character rosters in Final Fantasy history, and not everyone gets their time in the sun. Gogo is a good example of an optional character who appears in the last half of the game. Gogo lives inside a monster, and he barely speaks upon meeting him, and then not much after that, either.
He’s a Mime class, meaning he has no original talents of his own, but players can make good use of his copy abilities to deal some significant damage in battle. Because he is so covered up, there are theories about his existence, like the remains of Emperor Gestahl, Daryl, who has a connection to Setzer, or Baram, who shared a connection with Shadow. The fan theories can be compelling, but the game itself drops the ball on making Gogo important.
Rashard Zangan
Tifa’s Fighting Coach
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Zangan is a minor character in Final Fantasy 7 and Tifa's martial arts teacher. Players meet him when Cloud tells his backstory about being a SOLDIER while the party stays in Kalm. In the flashback, Zangan is found in Nibelheim’s Inn, and after Sephiroth’s attack, he is seen rescuing people during the fire. However, after the flashback, that’s it.
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Final Fantasy 7 gives him a bit more time in the in Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children's depiction of the incident, along with redoing his scenes in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. For such an important connection to Tifa, even the remake doesn't do enough to showcase how mighty Zangan is supposed to be. Caped heroes always deserve more time to shine, and this one is no different.
The Black Waltzes
Abracadabra And Gone In A Flash
There are three Black Waltzes in Final Fantasy 9, and they serve as the villains for the game's first major arc. Unlike the other factory-made Black Mages, the Black Waltzes have more unique talents and are stronger. Black Waltz 1 can be found in the Ice Cavern, Black Waltz 2 is encountered when trying to leave the airship field in Dali, and Black Waltz 3 pursues players in their airship.
All three boss fights are iconic in the game, and also help fill in more about another party member, Vivi, but after all three are defeated, they're never mentioned again. Because they play such a key role so early in the game, players may expect more from them.
Tidus's Mother
A Broken Home
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Tidus is the protagonist of Final Fantasy 10. He has a lot of daddy issues with his father, Jecht, who obviously gets a name, a cool character design, and a significant part in the story around his and Tidus' past. Tidus’s mom looks like a normal female NPC, and the creators didn’t even bother to give her a name.
Canonically, her name is “Tidus’s Mother,” and she appears in a few flashbacks throughout the game. She died from an illness or a broken heart, as Tidus believes, when Jecht left the family, which is one major reason why he hates his dad so much. The game spends a lot of time brewing on this hatred and the connection Tidus and Jecht share, so it just felt like the mom was going to have some sort of late-game presence like Jecht does. Instead, even though she's Tidus' main motivation, we never really learn anything about her.
Reks
Oh, No Bro
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Reks is the first playable character in Final Fantasy 12, and he seems set up to be the protagonist. During a night siege, players battle through a castle dungeon, and at the end, Reks is betrayed and dies. Reks is the brother of Vaan, the actual protagonist, who resembles him quite a bit. When a family member is killed in a story, usually that fuels someone toward revenge or answers, but Reks' death doesn’t amount to much for Vaan.
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Reks may as well not even be related to Vaan. That’s how much he matters to him beyond a few choice scenes. It’s one of those opening setups that seems like it’s going to pay off later in the game, like with Reks coming back as someone else, but beyond the twin complex between Basch and Noah, he is completely unimportant to the rest of the story.
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret
Your Princess Is In Another Game
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Language, Mild Blood, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Lunafreya is the promised bride of Noctis, the protagonist in Final Fantasy 15. The two never really share a scene together because the entire journey is about Noctis traveling to Lunafreya before the Empire can take her out. Unfortunately, she has to sacrifice herself to save her city, thus ending the couple’s wedding plans early.
There were plans to give Lunafreya more time in the story through her own DLC adventure, but that project was canceled, along with several other character-focused DLCs. Lunafreya is definitely an important character in the story who does help move the plot forward, but it’s also not enough, as she dies just as things start to get interesting. It would have been nice to see what the team had planned for Lunafreya in her DLC.
Argath Thadalfus
Of Broth And Bean
Argath is a major character and party member in the early chapters of Final Fantasy Tactics, but is only controlled by AI. Argath is a nobleman who happens upon Ramza and Delita and decides to join their band of knights to restore honor to his name. He turns into a villain by the end of the first arc, going so far as to kill Tietra, Delita’s sister, as he sees both characters as common street trash beneath him.
This causes a ripple to form between Delita and Ramza, so it could be said that Argath does get a major theme in the plot rolling. However, he also dies in this battle and does not come back. Tactics has a bit of a villain problem, as there are far too many and no central one to really hate or focus a story around. Argath could have been that villain, one as iconic as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. Instead, he's just one of many.
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