Alright, as many of you know, I'm a huge Final Fantasy 7 fanboy. To the point where I can be more than a little biased, and I admit that.
I'm going to systematically go through and slowly but surely make a respect for a lot of characters from the Final Fantasy 7 franchise in this thread. This will include everything from combat feats, physical prowess, and miscellaneous qualities.
I'll start off doing one character at a time, but I'll move on from there to multiple when I get to some of the characters with less feats.
Who to start with?
Zack Fair
Some of you who have played FF7 might wonder why I am starting with him. Well, it's simple actually. Zack is the least physically enhanced main protagonist in the FF7 franchise (Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine), as well as less enhanced than any of the powerhouse villains (Weapons, Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Weiss, Nero, etc.)
Strength - Zack is enhanced beyond the limits of even the finest human athlete. He can easily bend and collapse steel under his own power, can leap vast distances, and can cut through reinforced steel.
Reflexes - Zack can block, deflect, and dodge gun fire with little to no problem
Speed - Zack can run at superhuman speeds, beyond those of the finest human athlete.
Vision - Zack can perceive bullets while they are in flight, much like Steve Rogers, he can "see faster".
Durability - Zack can withstand superhuman blows, as well as survive a barrage of bullets (both into his body and skull).
Training - Zack is one of the greatest fighters in all of Final Fantasy. Despite being the least enhanced, he has stood his ground against Sephiroth (though ultimately lost), Genesis, Angeal, and armies of super soldiers (who were enhanced to his level) and infantryman.
Swordsman - Zack's weapon of choice is the Buster Sword, though not his first sword, he showed a high level of mastery with it.
Crisis Core: Opening
This is a great showing of Zack overall. This is a training exercise.
1:10-1:23 - Survives a fall from the helicopter onto a moving train.
1:50-2:10 - Reflexes, and running speed
2:10-2:30 - Reflexes and fighting abiltiies.
2:30-2:50 - Jumping power, as well as ability. He detatches the rail cars with pinpoint accuracy at the end of his jump, which shows remarkable timing on his jump, and great understanding of his surroundings.
Zack is well trained, but how well trained?
Well, he's taken on a group of Genesis clones, who are above him in every physical sense, with a parasol (big umbrella) and while in swim trunks...(canon)
Ifrit is a godly being, Zack takes him on, and isn't able to finish him. Sephiroth shows up and finishes Ifrit off, but Zack survives and does pretty well, doesn't really show any signs that he needed help either.
Watch as little or as much as you want.
Zack Fair vs. Bahamut FURY
Bahamut Fury is something of a godly being, I'll be posting some more Bahamut videos later, he's no joke.
0:45-8:00 - Don't watch the whole thing, it's mostly gameplay, but he does defeat it
Allows him to take on Angeal
Angeal at this point merges with a bunch of monsters and becomes
0:50-1:05 - Dodges Angeal's first attack
1:10-2:30 - Defeat Angeal, though it's gameplay, and most people should know my stance on gameplay is that it's non-canon, only cutscenes are canon, but the feat of him defeating Angeal is still canon
2:45-4:00 - Inherits the Buster Sword
4:50-5:30 - Twirls that Buster Sword like it's no big deal. That's more impressive than you may think.
Even allows him to stand up to Sephiroth for quite some time
1:00-1:10 - This is actually a big deal. Notice Zack cuts down that reinforced door? Relatively impressive, but it's a feat that I will be coming back to over and over again throughout this thread. Why? It's the first time someone showed that cutting through heavy duty materials requires strength, and it's not because of their weapons.
3:00-3:30 - Blocks an attack from Sephiroth
3:30-6:00 - Again, gameplay is non-canon, and it stands to reason to state that Zack never even hit him, considering Sephiroth is completely unharmed in the following scene.
6:00-6:40 - Survives being flung around by Sephiroth, and even blocks his attacks.
Zack's first fight with Genesis. Note, Genesis is decaying at this point in the game, but he's still extremely enhanced, and this is before Zack gets the Buster Sword
0:20-0:40 - Zack bullrushes in, and attacks Genesis. However, notice how Genesis is still physically stronger than Zack
0:50-1:35 - Zack does pretty dang well against Genesis in this fight scene
1:36-End - This video skips the gameplay, but Zack defeats Genesis. Don't have to watch this portion, it's all story with no feats other than the one.
Zack fights Genesis when Genesis is revived to his full potential
2:10-2:40 - The Goddess empowers Genesis and makes him more powerful,
2:40-3:00 - Genesis is defeated (skips gameplay), Genesis emerges from the fight out of his empowered form, but in a non-decaying version of his original form, indicating at full strength.
3:10-3:45 - Genesis Provokes Zack into battle
3:55-End - You can see Zack defeated Genesis. It's proven it wasn't from physical superiority, but by sheer skill (as he was shown to be inferior in strength earlier, and when I get to Genesis you'll see why he's inferior in every other capacity).
Obviously not all of these are canon, as Zack can't summon Tseng everytime his emotions compel him to. But how this is supposed to work is Zack's emotional attachment to people enables him to replicate their ability to some extent. From Sephiroth's Octaslash to Aerith's Healing Wave
0:00-0:12 - Luck Manipulation from Cissnei
0:12-0:35 - Obviously non-canon
0:35-0:55 - Angeal is supposedly a powerful hand to hand fighter, so he replicates that
1:10-1:20 - Aerith's Healing Wave
1:30-1:45 - Sephiroth's OctaSlash
1:50-2:30 - Cloud's Meteor Rain
7:55-8:20 - Apocalypse, from Genesis
Summons
He can also summon powerful beings with the correct Materia. Including Ifrit, Phoenix, Odin, Bahamut, Bahamut FURY, and several others.
1:00-1:15 - Entire fight in slow motion, Zack is assaulted by other members of SOLDIER, who are enhanced to his level as well. He humiliates them
1:15-1:30 - Not even kind of afraid of the bullets fired at him.
4:40-5:00 - Zack puts down his sword down in front of Cloud to protect him, and confronts a large squad of Shinra troops armed with swords and guns with his bare hands.
5:00-5:10 - Zack easily perceives bullets and dodges them effortlessly.
5:10-5:30 - Slaughters a group of infantry and SOLDIER members with his bare hands, easily throwing them through hunks of wood and killing them with a single strike. Remarkable strength and striking power.
Last Order pt. 2
1:05-1:15 - Two infantryman, who are at least athletic human in terms of strength, can't even lift the Buster Sword out of place, with both of their combined efforts.
1:20-1:30 - Zack easily kills one of the infantryman with one swing, and then pulls the sword from the ground effortlessly with one hand.
4:20-5:30 - His fight with Sephiroth. Notice him getting plastered into walls, and etc. Good showing of durability here. Also launches out a blade beam at one point.
Last Order pt. 3
3:40-3:45 - With no indication of a sniper present, he senses to grab and move Cloud out of a sniper's line of fire. This is easily his greatest feat of enhanced perceptions.
His Best Feat:
Zack doesn't show that he takes them all out in this video. But the Canon ending is he takes out all but the last 3 soldiers in this video...that's an army taken out by 1 man. An army consisting of Shinra Infantry and SOLDIER members who again, are enhanced to his levels.
7:25-10:30 - Not only is the guy riddled with bullet holes in his chest, arms, and even bleeding from the top of his skull, but he's still talking, and he is still able to lift that Buster Sword with one arm! He doesn't survive this incident, but pretty impressive.
Willpower:
Zack is able to survive as a separate entity from within this lifestream. This is an impressive feat, considering there are billions if not trillions of consciousnesses within the lifestream.
The Maiden who Travels the Lifestream
Zack wakes up, and emerges in front of Aerith. She has no idea that he's even dead, so she did not conjure him.
"How can I save Cloud? How can I stop Meteor? I didn't think that Holy would be held back. At this rate, the Planet's going to end up the way Sephiroth wants it... What can I do? Tell me, Cloud..."
Aerith cried as she thought about the shattered Cloud that even her prayers wouldn't reach. His wrecked character could no longer be fixed. If he wasn't Cloud in the first place then, who was he? Knowing him only as a former member of Soldier, there was no way she could guess. She embraced the feeling of helplessness that she couldn't put into words.
"Cloud... I miss you. I miss the real you..."
Her whispers and thoughts became expanded into waves and spread out in the Mako.
Her memories of being with Cloud came to mind again. Her impression was that even though he wasn't very social, there was some cheerfulness about him.
"I felt something odd about him but, was everything really just made up and part of his false character? Cloud wasn't real at all? ...No, that can't be true. There were things that only Cloud could think of. Things that he done because he was Cloud. He was never an empty vessel to begin with!"
But she couldn't figure out the truth. Her thoughts just went in circles. Aerith delved into her memories again. Memories that showed Cloud's individuality. The way he walked. She remembered all his actions one by one...
Most of those thoughts merged into the Sea of Mako and awakened a character. The character recognized the image she recalled and "he" woke up.
"Aerith... Is that you?"
At first, Aerith couldn't remember whose voice it was because it was so sudden. Panicking, she turned round and saw a nostalgic face she hadn't seen for five years. He was her light taste of first love. He was also now a very dear friend who she hadn't seen ever since she heard nothing from him. He had the same character she saw in Cloud. Zack who had blue eyes that proofed he was in Soldier appeared before her. He had an image inferior to Aerith's solid image.
"Zack! Does that mean you're dead too?"
Although usually Aerith wasn't the one to ask obvious questions, it was the first thought that came to mind and she spoke out as if it was a reflex. Besides that, it was odd that such a seasoned and highly skilled Soldier would die. Even though she didn't know his whereabouts, she was sure that he was safe and living peacefully somewhere... She blamed herself for blindly believing in such a thing. This cruel reality was a strong shock for her.
""You too?"... Does that mean you're dead too, Aerith? Well, I was going to say the same thing anyway and then... How should I put this... Give my condolences?"
"You haven't changed one bit."
No matter what happened, Zack never lost his cheerfulness. As if saved by his cheerful personality, Aerith smiled weakly. Even though she knew that he was a member of Shinra's Soldier, it was that part of him that was charming to her.
"Lots of things happened. All terrible things. It all started when I was dispatched on a mission to the rural Nibelheim."
"Nibelheim?"
Off-Panel Feats:
Zack flees from Shinra for several months after he awakens, and travels around the planet carrying a comatose Cloud Strife. Shinra doesn't attack him until he decides to try to return to Midgar and visit Aerith. So he clearly has more than a bit of survival skills, especially considering how far it is between towns.
the Crisis Core opening is a simulation, so who knows whether falling on that train was the same as falling on a train.
Same goes for the Sepiroth/Genesis duel. They messed up the simulation room, but who knows whether all the other stuff could have happened.
I've heard that before, but what happens in there is as real as what happens in the real world. That's why they are so hesitant when Hojo starts developing those horrible programs for the training room (the one the other scientist recommend Zack NOT try because of it's high fatality rate). Which means the things that happen in the training room are very real, and can be extremely deadly.
Even the holographic projection of Sephiroth (which later is stated to be weaker than Sephiroth) was capable of cutting through Zack's SOLDIER sword, which is a real object.
Superhuman Strength - Cloud can leap superhuman distances, shove people through several floors of steel and concrete with a push, can slice through meters of steel/concrete effortlessly, and he wields a weapon so heavy that two athletic human beings can barely hope to budge it with their combined efforts (wields it with one hand).
Superhuman Reflexes - Cloud has dodged lightning after it has been fired, dodged bullets when the gun is pressed against his forehead, deflected, dodged, and blocked gunfire with zero effort, and fought multiple hypersonic foes simultaneously without sustaining injury.
Superhuman Durability - Cloud has continued to fight after being stabbed through the chest multiple times, as well as the arms, legs, and hands. He has tanked shots that shatter stone pillars without any harm to his person, been thrown through steel constructs without sustaining harm, and is all but immune to the effects of heat.
Superhuman Speed - He can move at superhuman speeds, greater than those of the finest athlete.
Memory Mimicry - Cloud, on multiple occasions, has mimiced the memories of others and added them to his own. The first person for him to do this to was Zack Fair, and he was able to copy most, if not all, of Zack's training, and replicate it to a greater degree (elaborate more on that later).
Levitation - Cloud can levitate and fly under his own power, and this may explain his aerial control when leaping.
Limit Breaks - For unexplained reasons, Cloud can access several powers similar to the way Zack Fair accesses his Digital Mind Wave for a variety of effects, including:
Braver - Sends out a cone of attacks capable of ripping through steel
Cross-Slash - Stuns or paralyzes an opponent momentarily
Blade Beam - Sends out a powerful energy beam from his sword, capable of stopping a rolling Earth attack
Climmhazard - Amplifies his cutting power to an unknown degree, but allows him to cut through things that his attacks normally would have no effect on.
Finishing Touch - A powerful wind attack that can fling a normal sized person over a hundred meters with but a swing of his sword.
Omnislash - A fifteen strike combo, used when an opponent opens up a vulnerability in their defense or fighting style, mainly used as a counter-attack
Omnislash version 6 - A thirteen strike combo directly through a person's soul.
Talented Engineer - Cloud customized his own motorcycle to hole all parts of his Fushion Sword, and regularly maintains it. Master Swordsman - Cloud is a master swordsman, capable of switching between one handed, two handed, and two weapon style seamlessly.
"You did it, Tifa. Thank you... I'm a little jealous of you but, do take care of Cloud and the upper world."
Tifa embraced Cloud tightly as he returned to his senses. Aerith watched as both of them returned to the surface while smiling like an affectionate mother.
It was a dazzling sight for Zack.
"Man, you know Aerith. Out of all the girls I've gotten along with, you truly are the best. After that mission, we could have stayed the way we were and might have been able to continue to go out with each other after I returned home. I hate Sephiroth. And I hate Shinra who's been hiding all the stuff they've been doing."
"Someone who's gotten along with so many girls can never become a lover."
"How mean. I'm nice to everyone."
"And that's your bad point. You're not simplistic and awkward like Cloud."
"Is that what you liked, Aerith?"
"Who knows. Things might have changed after five years."
"Heh."
Zack put on sad face as if he was sulking but then smiled carefree. It was the unchanged smile that Aerith knew from when they were young. When she was seventeen, it was what attracted her to him.
"It's not over yet but, I'm going to sleep for a while. It seems there's nothing I can do just now. But whenever you feel lonely, call me Aerith."
"Only if I get really lonely. Goodnight, Zack."
Giving a wave, the First Rank Soldier sank into the Mako. Believing that his role was not yet over, Zack settled down to sleep to save up his energy.
Aerith wasn't going to sleep. Because she was Cetra, she didn't seem tired at all.
She was happy. She was happy that she now knew the real Cloud and was able to watch over him, even though it was just for a short while.
And so, Tifa accomplished the task. Collating her own memories with that of Cloud's, she looked for the things that only the real Cloud could know. Proofing it all, the closed door was opened. Not leaving Soldier allowed Jenova's power that was implanted in Cloud to copy the Soldier traits of his close friend, Zacks. Drawing out the deep memories that were firmly clammed up inside all of that, she reconstructed his original character instead of the fake character he created to protect himself.
It was night and Cloud came back on a bike. It was a model that they had never seen before. Since then, he had been adjusting it whenever he could spare the time in between his job. He brought an engineer that he knew from somewhere to discuss about modifying his bike. It seemed a few other people came to help Cloud complete the modifications. Marlene and her young neighbourhood friends also watched. The scene reassured Tifa that they were really becoming a family in the world.
There were many times when Cloud had to leave Midgar for their supplies. The destination was mainly Kalm. He had to rent a bike or a truck or sometimes a chocobo but now, he had his own bike. Occasionally it seemed he would travel very far and manage to get some rare goods.
One night, there was a call for Cloud. After talking on the phone for a while, Cloud said he had to go out for a while.
"Where are you going?"
"How should I tell you this..."
Cloud told Tifa how there had many times when he was asked to deliver something while returning with supplies. The caller was one of the store owners who shared some of his vegetables with them. It seemed there was something that he wanted Cloud to deliver before the night was over by all means. Cloud gazed at Tifa like a kid who just had his secrets revealed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?
"Well... I'm sorry I kept quiet about it."
"About what?"
"Doing what I wanted."
Tifa burst out laughing. Cloud went on about how he got paid a little for delivering items. He felt guilty spending it all on the modifications for his bike. Tifa thought he was just like a kid. It may have been a little sad that Cloud had found another world that she didn't know about but, the fact that his world was expanding was a welcoming thought. Yes, it was similar to the feelings a mother would have. Tifa walked Cloud outside and was enjoying the new feeling that was blooming in her.
Because they are in a metaphysical plane of existence, it's only fair to assume they are physically equals, and that this is a contest of skill over stats.
0:55-1:10 - Sephiroth rips cloud to something similar to the astral plane, known as the lifestream
2:10-2:50 - Cloud owns the crap out of Sephiroth with omni-slash. a 15 strike combo
2:55-3:00 - Sephiroth is bleeding from several locations, confirming omni-slash, and his soul explodes into pieces (though he's not dead)
3:30-4:00 - Cloud exists within the lifestream, and pulls himself out and back to reality
4:10-4:40 - Holds himself and Tifa up with one hand, no signs of strain really
But only Cloud knew about his retreat. Having been exposed to Jenova's cells, there were traces of Sephiroth's conscious in him - Part of his conscious resonated with it. Cloud could feel the existence of his remnant somewhere inside the Lifestream, continuing to obstruct Holy even now.
Letting only his conscious enter the Sea of Mako, Cloud went in pursuit of him. Riding through the currents, his old enemy was waiting for him. Sephiroth's soul was not yet destroyed and was still a threat to the Planet.
In the world of conscious energy, their swords clashed with each other as they confronted. Sephiroth, the strongest Soldier and the most admired person, tore his long sword across Cloud like a beam of light. But Cloud wasn't afraid. Believing that he had won, Sephiroth raised his long sword for his next strike and at that instant, Cloud struck out at him unleashing all the strength he had. His large blade slashed into Sephiroth's body during that brief opening. His attack opened up another opportunity for him as he struck out at Sephiroth again. It was an unstoppable storm of slashes - fifteen unavoidable attacks one after the other, cut through Sephiroth.
The mad apostate angel smiled boldly. But the damage he had taken was far beyond what he could endure and his spiritual body started to fall apart as he laughed. Beams of light blasted out from inside his body as if they were cutting him apart. Sephiroth was destroyed. Cloud's nightmare that had been continuing since five years ago in Nibelheim finally came to an end.
The Holy that was no longer obstructed immediately came into action.
This time, Cloud had separated from his body and was now in an absentminded state but, in the abyss of the Mako world, he saw a hand there to guide him. It was white and delicate - it reminded him of the hand that gave him a flower in Midgar. Unconsciously, he stretched out his hand...
His conscious returned to his body. Tifa’s hand grasped his as the ground below him collapsed away.
Summary:
Cloud displays the following:
The ability to separate his own consciousness from his body, and exist in an astral state (the lifestream is like the astral plane)
Takes a blow from Sephiroth, and then proceeds to a 15 strike attack and rips Sephiroth's spiritual body into pieces.
Though guidance was needed, pulled himself back into his body.
Not stated, but definitely there: kept his consciousness separate from the lifestream, a collective of billions of minds and souls.
1:10-1:45 - Cloud gets the jump on a distracted Sephiroth (severely distracted, tired, etc.). More impressively is his ability to lift and wield the Buster Sword, this is prior to any of his enhancements.
2:05-2:40 - Cloud lifts and runs with the Buster Sword, even performs a leap attack of Super Human levels, prior to any enhancements. This may be because
2:40-4:20 - Cloud bleeding, stabbed, barely conscious overpowers a Sephiroth who has been bleeding out a pretty hefty wound (so reasonably lost a lot of strength). Still lifts him and throws him out the reactor though, so pretty impressive. Still manages to walk around for a bit too.
The rest of the video is just before him and Zack get carried off to be tested on,
Keep in mind: Cloud is affected by Geostigma, and nowhere near full strength for this fight.
0:20-0:40 - Cloud kills a few Shadow Creeps, as you can see, they are fast enough to keep up with the motorcycles
0:40-End - Cloud takes on Kadaj, Loz, and a ton of Shadow Creeps simultaneously. Notice his ridiculous bike skills, ability to block and dodge attacks from all enemies, and just his skill in general
1:26 - Bullet deflects off Cloud's goggles, barely scratches his forehead
Cloud vs. Loz and Yazoo round 2
Again, Cloud is affected by Geostigma here, so far from full strength
0:00-0:15 - Cloud dodges and deflects attacks from Yazoo (guy shooting gun), while dodging and blocking Loz (fist guy)
0:25-0:40 - Blade Beam
0:41-0:50 - Fights Loz and Yazoo spamming haste like no other
0:51-1:15 - Cloud deflects, dodges, and handles Loz and Yazoo simultaneously by himself
1:16-End - Kadaj fights Cloud and seems to have the upper hand.
Cloud vs. Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz
Again, Cloud is affected by Geostigma and it causes him extreme pain, so not fighting to the best of his abilities.
0:50-1:12 - Not only a good showing of reflexes and ability, but excellent motorcycle skills
1:15-1:21 - Dodging and dealing with Loz
1:35-1:40 - Good showing of his motorcycles durability, and his driving as well.
3:40-4:05 - Look at him handle these guys, pretty effortlessly to.
4:05-5:10 - Fast dodging, cuts a motorcycles in half, makes a fool out of these two, pretty handily too.
6:08-End - Cloud and Kadaj go toe to toe. Amazing showing of strength, speed, motorcycle skills, and how fast that thing can go.
2:45-3:20 - Cloud throws his sword with extreme expertise, then proceeds to lop through steel towers like they're nothing.
The Rest - The bullets fired by the guy in the red cloak (Vincent Valentine) can rip through reinforced steel like butter, but don't even kind of harm this thing. Same goes with Barrets shots. Over and above this, it's breath weapons are melting steel, blowing down steel structures, and leveling entire city blocks.
0:00-0:15 - Cloud can't even pierce this thing's hide
0:15-0:35 - Cloud performs some more strikes to no avail, and then performs Cross Slash, which stuns and knocks the thing out of the sky.
2:15-2:50 - Flies through it's breath attack, something that was melting steel in earlier scenes, with no affect to his person.
2:50-End - Climhazzard. His sword rips through that thing's spine with zero effort when performing this limit break. Then falls a couple hundred meters and lands with no problem, because he's awesome :P
0:40-0:50 - Notice the crater Cloud creates when someone BLOCKS his attack
2:25-2:40 - Keeps up with Sephiroth pretty well, gets thrown through a steel structure, no signs of injury
2:42-3:10 - Fight in the dark, does pretty dang well
3:11-3:20 - Shoves Sephiroth through several floors of this steel/concrete structure
3:30-3:35 - Limit Break: Braver, rips through the steel in the structure
3:35-3:55 - Not only leaps a hundred meters or more, keeps up with Sephiroth, and slices through a huge steel structure with zero issue while in midtravel
4:10-4:40 - Cuts through several pieces of steel and concrete, and then blocks an ambush from Sephiroth
4:41-5:10 - Fights Sephiroth, even while the platform his is on keeps turning, then cuts through a pieces of steel and concrete that looks about 4 meters thick and about 20 meters wide
5:15-5:40 - Dodges an attack by Sephiroth, then dodges, and block several more attacks. Gets thrown through a steel wall and emerges pretty unharmed.
5:40-6:05 - Emerges from the wreckage pretty unhurt, and ready for a limit. Comes in and throws out some pretty fast attacks, and then gets impaled in the chest.
6:10-6:35 - Gets launched twenty meters in the air, then gets stabbed through the arms, chest, legs, foot, and hand, and then thrown back into the structure below, and bleeds half to death.
7:45-8:55 - Cloud's greatest Limit Break, Omnislash version 6. Thirteen unblockable attacks right at someone's life force. Strikes so fast not even Sephiroth can react to them. That's really really fast.
He's got more, but they just confirm what's already been said, so I'll leave it at this for now.
The scene where Sephiroth said "I will never be a memory" in the FF7: AC film was nothing short of jaw-dropping for me. It was a powerful line and I honestly believed that Cloud was taken aback by it. It's safe to say that Sephiroth is my favorite character in the entire FF7 series. :P
FF7 certainly is noteworthy. It may not be my fav and I will never go so far as saying it's the "best" in the series. But it was undoubtedly the most influential and even allowed PS(One) to be the juggernaut of its time, killing Saturn in the process. It has its mark on history and has a lasting impact. An impact that changed a whole genre (JRPG) and a whole generation (5th gen aka 32 bit) of gaming.
Speed - Chocobo's can run at immense speeds, so fast they could likely surpass most cars on the road when they travel at their top speeds.
Strength / Stamina / Endurance - Chocobo's have immense amounts of endurance to match their speed, and have enough stamina to keep running for extremely long distances, allowing them to go several miles without need for rest.
Natural Choreographers - Chocobo's are natural choreographers, capable of dancing with each other with little to no warning to their kin. They would likely put the West Side Story crew to shame if they were to use their techniques more often.
Materia Regurgitation - It is common knowledge that scratching a chocobo behind it's ears causes it to regurgitate powerful materia. This is very painful to the chocobo, which is why it is very rarely done.....
Maximum Speed for a chocobo is 205 km/hr or 127.4 mph. However, 176 is more of a standard maximum, with the top competitors chocobo being 193 km/hr.
As you can see below, a standard race lasts about 1 minute (with a 176 kph Chocobo, which is about 2 miles or more), and doesn't fully drain their stamina. Realistically they should be able to push 12 miles or more before they reach a reasonable point of exhaustion (tired, but not burned out exhausted).
This was my first and favorite Final Fantasy (a bit bias as well about it) that I played almost six years ago. I've always been a gamer but never really grasped the idea of how emotional nor gripping a fictional world or storyline can be til I played VII thanks to my older brother who grew up on VII for getting me into the series back then.
It's funny really, before playing VII I used to watch the soap opera General Hospital where Cloud Strife's voice actor Steve Burton was on. I didn't know it was him at the time but Steve Burton's character was always my favorite on General Hospital and so happens Cloud's my favorite video game character. Back then I could relate to Cloud in ways with having psychological problems and finding yourself. I really like how he progressed from the beginning to the end of the game.
For five out of those six years I disliked Aerith out of spite since I was a major Tifa fan but now I appreciate both ladies seeing that they're wonderful in their own way. Plus I understand the storyline a lot more now too.
The first time I played VII I've actually cried a few times. Surprisingly not during the scene most people did but rather than other scenes that have touched me thanks to the music and dialogue. Playing VII has really changed my outlook on games. Besides VII though my favorites would be VIII and X.
Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid are both my favorite franchises ever and honestly? They both have truly impacted my life more than anything else has.
Final Fantasy VII was certainly great but I feel like its a bit overrated because its in 3D and the gaming community was larger in the days of its release.
Personally id say FF6 is the best FF game, and its not even the first I played!
With that said again, FF7 certainly is a great game.
Superhuman Strength - Sephiroth has immense strength. After running some math, it becomes clear Sephiroth could easily be Class 100+. He has thrown several hundred pounds over 50 meters and through several feet of steel/concrete effortlessly. He's also held several hundred pounds at the end of his 7 foot sword with one hand effortlessly for about a minute or so, with zero signs of strain. But more importantly, he impaled a giant snake on top of a huge tree, unknown as to how much effort he put into it, but it was done by him, and it was ridiculous. His greatest feat of strength puts him in the 60 ton range.
Superhuman Durability - Sephiroth has been struck several times by fire magic capable of destroying large steel structures without showing any signs of physical harm. He has also been thrown through several floors of steel, and stood at point blank range for a wave of heat strong enough to melt the steel beneath him without any visual signs of harm. Sephiroth has blocked an all out attack from Cloud, which was capable of leaving a 1-2 foot deep crater in the steel structure he was standing on, and showed no signs of strain across his body. He has been thrown through several floors of steel and concrete and emerged completely unharmed.
Superhuman Speed/Reflexes - Capable of blocking attacks from multiple sources effortlessly, as well as keep up with Cloud with zero difficulty. He can cover vast distances in a moments time both on foot and in flight.
Master Tactician - Sephiroth was capable of manipulating Shinra, Cloud's party, and pretty much everybody within the entire Final Fantasy franchise. Almost everybody became subject to his will at one time or another.
Genius Intelligence - Sephiroth was always a brilliant mind. He was capable of reading Hojo's entire library in a few weeks. After this, he falls into the lifestream and begins absorbing knowledge from there.
Phasing - Sephiroth can phase through solid objects, both in and out of flight.
Teleportation - Sephiroth can teleport both short range and long range distances, and has been known to do so in order to ambush his opponents.
Telepathy - Capable of reaching into a person's mind and trapping them, as well as other people, in that nightmare. He has done this feat once.
Illusion Casting - Capable of projecting illusions of individuals.
Invisibility - Via Illusion casting, he can make himself and others completely invisible.
Telekinesis - Sephiroth was able to collapse an entire steel/concrete structure with the wave of his hand.
Weather Manipulation - Sephiroth was able to turn the weather from sunny, to a full on storm with the flick of his hand.
Rain Darkness - Sephiroth can make clouds of darkness rain from the sky in order to conceal himself and obstruct his opponents vision.
Soul Energy Absorption - Sephiroth can absorb the corrupt souls of individuals after they have passed, or just plain absorb soul energy in its raw form if he is exposed to it.
Soul Manipulation - Sephiroth was able to create a powerful disease to infect the planet, and consume them more and more as their wills grew weaker and weaker. This was called Geostigma, as these people died Sephiroth was able to absorb them.
Natural Magic - Because of his extended time spent trapped within the lifestream, Sephiroth can cast most magic without the aid of materia.
Force Field Projection - Sephiroth can conjure immense, near impenetrable force barriers.
Astral Projection - Upon death, Sephiroth may project himself into the afterlife and continue to exist as an individual. He may also do this when he is living, but must abandon his vessel to do so.
Conjuration - Sephiroth created the three Remnants of Sephiroth, with one of them (Kadaj) to act as his vessel when he returns (because Cloud's party destroyed him in FF7). This is useless in combat, but hey, why not?
Long Ranged Attacks - Sephiroth is capable of cutting through several feet of steel from a distance with a single attack.
Weapon Materialization - Sephiroth can conjure the Masamune into his hands.
Flight - Sephiroth is capable of extremely fast self-sustained flight.
The Feats!
Many of these feats are from Jenova Sephiroth, which is essentially Jenova shapeshifted into Sephiroth with his consciousness and abilities. This is supposed to be weaker than the real Sephiroth, but contains his consciousness.
The Midgar Zolom is about 6-10 feet at it's thickest (based on Cloud's height), and about 110 feet long (based on Cloud's height again). Based on the average cobra weight I found (0.0451 ounces per cubic inch), this thing would weight 250-335
Sephiroth encountered one of these...and what was his solution to the problem? Well obviously a quick fight with it would be...too easy.
0:00-1:30 - Sephiroth teleports several times, displays flight, phase walking, etc.
1:30-2:30 - Talks about how he plans to absorb the Lifestream, aka Soul/Life energy.
19:30-20:45 - Sephiroth teleports in out of nowhere, displays flight, and then compels Cloud to give him the Black Materia (which is needed to call forth a giant meteor to crush a portion of the planet, but not destroy it). Cloud starts running to Sephiroth, but it's in slow motion, you can see Cloud's spirit attempting to save him from himself, but is unable to do so at this point in the game. Notice, while everything is slow motion, Sephiroth still whips off the screen in a moments time. Extremely high levels of speed here.
0:00-1:30 - Sephiroth teleports several times, displays flight, phase walking, etc.
19:30-20:45 - Sephiroth teleports in out of nowhere, displays flight, and then compels Cloud to give him the Black Materia (which is needed to call forth a giant meteor to crush a portion of the planet, but not destroy it). Cloud starts running to Sephiroth, but it's in slow motion, you can see Cloud's spirit attempting to save him from himself, but is unable to do so at this point in the game.
Sephiroth displays telepathy, speaking to everyone's minds within the northern crater, does some illusion casting, teleports more, flight, levitation etc.
6:45-7:00 - Sephiroth clone easily puts down Cloud and his party after appearing out of nowhere and flying into them with a single attack. Also, you can see he is somehow broadcasting his thoughts to everybody in the northern crater.
Note: the rest of this video is completely irrelevent, feel free to watch it if you REALLY want, but again, nothing special in there.
0:00-6:30 - Feel free to skim through it - Sephiroth drags the full party into Cloud and Tifa's darkest memory.
7:30-8:30 - Sephiroth KO's the entire party, and sends Barret into an illusions. When he comes out of the illusion, he can't see anybody. At that point Sephiroth, who has now cloaked himself to look like Tifa, appears and send Barret to the party, so that he may obtain the Black Materia he desires. At this point you see the whole party on the ground, KO'd and just coming to. Clearly a showing of illusion casting, invisibility, and mind assaults.
Forcefield Projection
Sephiroth creates this giant forcefield over the northern crater in the game. From halfway across the planet, they use this super powered canon powered by life energy and magic, and fire it hard enough to blow through this Weapon (giant thing firing at the city), and all the way to the northern most continent to burst the barrier.
Extends to the Metaphysical Plane of existence (LIfestream) for protection
Aerith knew one of the reasons why there was a place that the Lifestream couldn't approach. That place had a barrier that Sephiroth setup. The disaster that would fall from the skies, Jenova, brought with it a meteor that created an enormous scar on the Planet due to its impact. Now that place, where lots of energy was gathering to heal the scar, had become a cradle for Sephiroth's resurrection. The flows of life all around were drawn into the unnatural swirl, preventing a discarnate entity like Aerith from approaching it.
Final Fantasy 7: Before Crisis: Elfe vs. Sephiroth
Jump to 1:30
As you can see, blocking an attack from Sephiroth is more than enough to destroy the steel and concrete beneath their feet. This girl is empowered by something reminiscent of a god, which is why she was fast enough to block an attack from Sephiroth. She just finished slaughtering entire squads of Shinra infantry, and taking on an extremely skilled spy. However, after blocking an attack from Sephiroth, she looks pretty defeated. It's only through CIS that she escapes, realistically Sephiroth should have slaughtered her. Though this was early in his career, he was much less ruthless at this point.
Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core: Sephiroth vs. Genesis and Angeal
This is Junon. This is literally an entire city/military base rolled into one. That Cannon on top there is dang near the size of the city, and Sephiroth was able to effortlessly cut through both with melee attacks, and was able to slice then entire thing in half with a ranged attack.
Things to note:
Blocking these attacks are causing the steel structure beneath their feet to melt, this is from well over 3-4 meters away, meaning the heat generated here is extremely intense, yet Sephiroth isn't even sweating (nor is Gensis). He is fighting multiple Super Soldiers who outclass Zack Fair physically in every stat (yet he blocks and deflects their attacks with no effort), and this is portrayed as a fond memory of friends causing shenanigans for Sephiroth. So not really a serious fight for him.
0:20-1:25 - Sephiroth is outmatching both these guys in swordsmanship
1:45-1:50 - The attack from Genesis melts the steel beneath Sephiroth's feat, but doesn't even make him shed a bead of sweat.
2:15-2:50 - Cuts down every single stupid bolt, and emerges unharmed.
2:51-3:14 - Notice how easily his attacks rip through that cannon? Minimal effort
3:30-3:35 - Look at the power of the shockwave from the collision of those attacks. Melts and dents the steel beneath them.
Final Fantasy 7: Last Order: Sephiroth vs. Zack and Cloud
Cloud blindsides him here. But he destroys Zack like it's nobodies business. Zack defeated Angeal and Genesis, so Sephiroth trouncing him is kind of a big deal.
Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children, Complete: Cloud vs. Sephiroth
1:35-2:15 - Weather Manipulation
2:15-2:30 - Sephiroth causes it to rain clouds of darkness
3:00-3:20 - Cloud shoves him through several floors of the structure, he's completely unharmed
3:20-4:00 - Notice how he just sort of disappears, and then pieces of the structure start raining down on everyone. That's his speed and strength.
Throughout the rest of the video you can see Sephiroth instantly disappears and reappears, his speed is immense, without using magic. Over and above this, you can see him slicing through entire structures with no issue.
4:00-4:30 - Sephiroth uses TK, enough to collapse the entire top of a steel/concrete building with no real signs of effort on his part.
Note: This whole video is filled with reflex, stiking, strength, and durability feats.
As you can see, when Sephiroth appears, he instantly has his weapon conjured, and it is within his hands before you can even see it.
Soul Energy Absorption
The Maiden Who Travels the Planet
Chapter 5
Sephiroth pulls a loose soul out of the lifestream and into his body
"It was so foolish of me to compare myself to such a stupid human. I'm not in a good mood. I'm pretty annoyed. Leave quickly if you don't understand what I'm saying."
"I'll do that."
This old man couldn't be saved. On the throne where his desires rotted drifting away, he was going to remain there until he reached the end of his long years and his ego disappeared.
Just when Aerith turned her back towards President Shinra and was about to return on her journey...
Something strange happened. A strange wave separate from the Lifestream, rushed into the Sea of Mako shaking it violently. It was an ominous wave like a great pulse.
"What is this?"
Hearing the screams of the old man, Aerith spun round.
All she could see was the figure of the President being drawn away into the distance. Gradually, the speed picked up extremely fast.
He wasn't on a current. The old man was dragged away as if he was caught by gravity, picking up speed as he dropped. He was heading somewhere in the Sea of Mako, drawn away.
Leaving a long trailing scream of terror behind, President Shinra disappeared.
Aerith felt the pulse again. She knew what it was clearly this time. It was the same wave of the one who ended her life in the Forgotten City.
That man was lurking somewhere in the Lifestream.
"Sephiroth..."
The silver haired apostate angel smiled thinly as if taking away the wicked souls to hell. This time Aerith knew the danger wasn't over.
The Holy she had summoned was being suppressed just as it was about to work. The Planet's scar from long ago... Sephiroth was in the Northern Crater that was Jenova's "Promised Land", waiting for the moment when he would be reborn as his original self.
The Ultimate Destructive Black Magic Meteor was on the move. The devil's hammer that would descend from the distant heavens to smash the Planet was summoned.
Aerith knew one of the reasons why there was a place that the Lifestream couldn't approach. That place had a barrier that Sephiroth setup. The disaster that would fall from the skies, Jenova, brought with it a meteor that created an enormous scar on the Planet due to its impact. Now that place, where lots of energy was gathering to heal the scar, had become a cradle for Sephiroth's resurrection. The flows of life all around were drawn into the unnatural swirl, preventing a discarnate entity like Aerith from approaching it.
6:00-7:00 - Talks about how Sephiroth drew the clones to him. Earlier in the game, they are all sacrificing themselves by plunging into the lifestream, where he will absorb them.
Conjuration
Here, we see Sephiroth creates three agents to do his bidding, with one to serve as the basic image of himself, to which he will become whole again, the other two, mere aspects of him, to serve himself. This was while he was dead, Sephiroth actually died and stayed alive within the lifestream for six years, absorbing knowledge. These books are only in japanese, but a nice man was able to translate these books and put them online for everyone to read.
Despite mankind's troubles, life on the planet had returned to normal. The man became aware of the increase in spirits— they could be called the darkness of the heart— melding with the Lifestream. He cherished that lingering darkness. Even more so when he considered that the stigma he had left on the surface was what created it. He thought that he could possibly enjoy himself with that. Filling the Lifestream with this darkness.
The man hid himself within the life on the planet and traveled around the world, branding even more people with his stigma. On the surface there were many people who no longer had their normal lives, and at the man's temptation the dark parts of their hearts grew even larger.
Soon the man thought to himself; I want Cloud to know this is my doing. I want the humans to know this is my doing. For that he needed a body. There were things he wanted to say in his own voice. Things he wanted to shatter by his own hand.
He had decided he would use his Mother's power. With a fragment of Mother's body, I too can get a body again, the man thought. And so firstly, he tried to manifest on the surface as just a spirit, but his attempt failed. He had already returned the memories of his own appearance to the planet, and so he was not able to produce an image of himself. So the man found memories of a suitable appearance from the Lifestream, and with that form produced an image. It was the form of a boy. Soon the man remembered that being on the surface was incomparably more limited than the freedom of being a spirit. He created two more agents to do his work. These three were separate entities, and at the same time he himself. These three, created by the strength of the man's will and detached from the system of the planet, were both at once a part of reality and monsters out of fantasy.
The man thought of the future. As my servants are looking for Mother, if they come across someone who knows me, then from that spirit I can learn of who I once was. And with Mother's further assistance, I can become fully real. Even if there's something lacking, it doesn't matter. Cloud will make me complete.
When the Lifestream erupted onto the surface of the planet, the man had already surrendered his inconsequential memories to the planet. Memories from when he was a boy, of his few friends, of the battles when he was still unaware, of his life in bygone days– all these became a part of the inundation, encased around Meteor, and finally receded. At the same time, the core of his spirit, and those memories deeply related to it, moved from torrent to torrent, and traveled around the land, from city to city. When the people who were trying to escape, or those left unable to do anything but stand still, were enveloped by those streams, he decided to leave them with his stigma. If Cloud noticed that stigma, the man was certain that he would never disappear. As long as Cloud remembers me, I can continue to exist. Within the Lifestream, and on the surface. Even if my spirit disseminates, even if just one fragment of a memory courses around the planet, in the end I can count on Cloud’s consciousness to bring me back, the man thought.
It plagues those who fear they are about to die, and kills those who don't have the willpower to survive
"For now. I'll just have to bear with it until you find a cure, Yuffie."
What if I can't find a cure?—She just couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Ah—, the grave responsibility!"
Yuffie spent around two weeks looking after the patients.The number increased even though the new patients hadn't been in contact with those that were quarantined.
"It appears the disease isn't contagious. Even though a quarantine's been set up, the number of patients are still increasing. In other words, well—I'm sorry, my daughter."
Even when Godo apologised, Yuffie still didn't feel any more at ease. She didn't care about what happened any more. She just wanted to know the cause of it all. She had forced Nanaki to leave the village, ordering him to gather information about the disease. It was possible he would get infected too if he stayed.
"Hey, Yuffie. There's something I noticed—" said Yuri, "I've been thinking about why some people are infected and why others aren't."
"You learned something?"
"Yeah. The people here are those who have suffered from another kind of illness before and those who were heavily wounded by the overflowing Lifestream. In other words, they're all people that think they're going to die."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and it's not just my imagination. It's the truth. Even I—"
Yuri prevaricated.
"You thought you were going to die? When?"
"At the cave we went to. When I was soaked by that strange water and passed out—Hey!"
Yuri and Yuffie looked at each other.
"That water!?"
Perhaps the water was the cause of all this. Yuffie immediately went around asking the patients. She asked if they had drank or were soaked in some strange water.
However in the end, a clear conclusion couldn't be made. Everyone noticed the water's taste had changed after the Lifestream erupted and passed by. They had thought nothing of it because to the people of Wutai who pumped up underground water to use, the taste always changed whenever there was an earthquake. Apart from being soaked in the Lifestream being the cause, they felt they couldn't eliminate the possibility that the disease was somehow linked to the water and the condition the people were in at the time.
They reported their opinions to Godo.
Take care when using water. It is unknown if boiling the water will have any effect but make sure you do so before use.
Do not think you are going to die.
* * *
About a year afterwards, Yuffie kept to a routine - Spending two weeks taking care of the patients and two weeks travelling to look for a cure. Taking care of the patients made her feel the rush that she had to find a cure soon and whenever she left the village, she would be worried about them. It was what lead to her routine.
Personality
Overview
Watch 2:55-End
Willpower
Sephiroth is able to keep his consciousness alive, and separate from the lifestream. Even after his spiritual body was hacked to pieces by Cloud.
The man could sense the Lifestream trying to erode his spirit- the memories of his former experiences, thoughts and emotions. If he allowed himself be taken into the current, the being he once was would soon disseminate and disappear amongst the spirit energy cycling around the planet. The man thought this unacceptable. The planet was to be his to rule, and to become a part of that system would be nothing short of defeat.
The man sensed a large flux in the Lifestream. A sign of another, different defeat. When the Lifestream erupted onto the surface of the planet, the man thought that Cloud was no doubt certain of his victory. Cloud was the one who had twice sent the man into the Lifestream. The man knew that if one could hold onto some core of their spirit, then one could remain a separate entity, independent from the planet's system. Cloud. The man decided to make Cloud that core. And he wanted to let Cloud know of that. I'm still thinking of you. And I'll show you the proof of that as well.
Ruthlessness
Sephiroth I've seen referred to as a person who likes to toy with his victims before killing them. That's simply not true, he only does this with Cloud, because he hates Cloud, and wants to make him suffer.
This video doesn't show Sephiroth, but at about 11:00 through the end (feel free to skim rather than watch), the Jenova Clone of Sephiroth kills dang near everybody in Shinra Headquarters, and continues to the top floor and kills the President of Shinra. Now there is blood everywhere, and almost all the guards are dead, so it didn't just kill everything in it's path, it seems to have gone through and butchered what it could find....
Again, jump to 9:00 and skim through as much as you'd like. Sephiroth does not give pause, he kills everyone on the bottom floor of this Cargo Ship.
The ultimate showing of ruthlessness.
WARNING: If you haven't played FF7 but plan to (who knows why you waited til now), you can buy it off of the Playstation Network on the PS3 and play it. Do NOT watch this video if you plan on doing so, it ruins a crucial part of the game.
Yeah, I may have shed a tear during this scene, but what am I? Made of stone. This was the most heartbreaker scene, and still remains the most heartbreaking scene in video game history!
That's about all I have for Sephiroth. Well, I have a few hours more of videos and a couple dozen more pages of feats, but they would only expand on what's already being presented.
Athletic Human - Well, kind of. Aerith is about as well fit as someone who regularly keeps on their feet.
Magic - Aerith can cast magic without using materia
Healer - Aerith, after death, can heal people and rejuvenate people with a wide variety of uses.
Communicating via Astral Means - Before her death, Aerith could communicate with souls who had entered the lifestream. Often seeming to talk to herself when she was, in fact, communicating with those who had passed. After death, she could conjure souls to communicate with others, as well as communicate with others while being dead by manipulating the lifestream, and later, through unknown means.
Metaphysical Form - After her death, Aerith became a metaphysical being known as the Maiden. Essentially, she controls the lifestream, but must stay within the lifestream. While there, the concepts of time do not apply to her.
Soul Manipulation - Aerith has complete control of the life stream and any soul who has joined it. She can forcibly change the memories of souls who enter the lifestream. This includes of beings who are still alive and enter the lifestream.
Completely Control of the Lifestream - Because of Holy, aka White Materia, Aerith can manipulate the lifestream when needed. This is powerful enough to easily rip through the earth's crust, as well as steel constructs with zero issue and repel continent busting attacks.
Conjure Immense Barriers - Aerith initially stops meteor by creating an immense barrier around the impact zone, slowing it to a halt while the Lifestream gathers to destroy it.
Amazing Gardener - Even though no plants can grow where she lives (the slums), somehow she can grow flowers and plants. This has something to do with her being a Cetra (an ancient race in the FF7 universe)
The Lifestream - The Lifestream is unique in the fact that it exists both physically and metaphysically. It can be used as an energy source, but it also contains the lives and consciousness of everything that will every live, and has ever lived.
Communication with the Lifestream
9:50-12:30- Aerith's past, talks about her talking to souls within the lifestream, etc. etc.
I consider this to be her only canon limit breaker, as it is present in multiple sources. In FF7 by her herself as a limit breaker, and again in Crisis Core, as an ability Zack copies with his Digital Mind Wave.
0:40-0:50 - Healing Wave in this one, but it's the same thing.
Super Healing Ability
Cure Geostigma worldwide. This is post-death, when she's essentially a goddess.
3:40-4:15 - Aerith, even though she's gone, cure Cloud's Geostigma via the lifestream. The lifestream is also raining down and eating away at Kadaj (the bad guy), attempting to absorb him back into the lifestream
Super Healing Ability Part 2
You can see it raining. That's her making it rain the lifestream, and cures everybody of Geostigma and their wounds. Cloud who was previously stabbed multiple times and practically dead, is fully cured.
Super Healing Ability Part 3
0:10-1:00 - Cloud gets shot through the chest, and then gets blown to pieces via a super materia blast.
1:20-3:05 - Aerith, who is with Zack atm, communicates with Cloud while he's now deceased. Aerith doesn't want him dead yet, so she sends him back fully cured. And to prove she revives him, and he isn't just reawkening, he's woken up in the center of the church with a bunch of people standing over him.
3:05-3:20 - She apparently warned people that he was going to be there, and that she was bringing him back. Meaning she can communicate from beyond the grave.
Metaphysical Form
After her Death, Aerith became a soul version of herself:
She had reached the bottom of the lake. But even now Aerith continued to sink.
Her physical body after many years of losing its life was now held deep underwater, covered in plantation that was like powdered snow. It told of how she was now separated from her short twenty-two years of live for eternity. The vessel that had been separated from the soul was going to return slowly to the Great Earth in the pure water.
Aerith's consciousness was moving to the next lower level.
Nothing changed as she breathed lightly in the dust that floated around her. Aerith continued to sink through the heavy layer of precipitation. The only thing she could see was darkness... But it was a warm, tender lightless world where she didn't feel lonely.
She soon realized that it wasn't dust or mud that she was feeling. Her senses had adjusted so that she could feel the things around her. Her five senses were at a higher level that let her feel the true nature of the objects.
The world she could see now was not of darkness.
She was inside some faint green light that wrapped around her. At the same time, she recognised what she saw. Energy that was split into thousands no, millions of streams were flowing and circulating around every nook of the Planet. The flood of light that engulfed her was one of the streams that separated from the rest. The amount of Mako energy that the Planet had was far beyond human expectation and could not be presented by mere figures.
Aerith watched as if the Planet was beating with life. She watched the brilliance of the Lifestream that drifted around. She recognized the source of life of which everything returns to.
It was a place full of energy where countless souls were merged together along with their knowledge and experiences. Even their memories were unbound from them. But Aerith was "whole". She remained herself in the place where the consciousness of the dead flowed and swirled about, keeping the character she had when she was alive. She retained the consciousness of the Aerith Gainsborough she once was and she was now drifting with the Lifestream.
She didn't know that she would become this way.
As the last surviving Cetra, she had the role of maintaining the Great Earth’s richness during her life’s journey. Aerith talked to the Planet. Talked to the consciousness that was part of the Lifestream, that is. She was told that death was not the demise of life.
In the world of Mako - Aerith knew that the concept of time and distance here was different from the surface. Time seemed to flow by slowly and if she wanted, it could also flash by in the blink of an eye. The passing of time in the Mako held no meaning in the first place. The Planet's history was made up of accumulated memories, all merged together and were always by her side. There were memories of the present and also of the past. There was no way that Aerith could have seen all of them but, the events that were inscribed into the memories had surpassed time and were all linked together as a whole. It hinted that time was moving into the future in the world of the living. As those new memories from the surface merge together with the Planet, new life would be brought into the world as the energy from the Planet is delivered. That cycle told her how time flowed by one period after another.
Everything was linked to the insides of the Planet through the Lifestream. Even on the surface, in the most distant places, the flow of conscious energy would be delivered. On the other hand, there were places that were so close but yet, the energy couldn't reach. There were areas that existed where even the winding flow of Mako can’t get to. Aerith thought it must be the fault of all the Mako reactors. The energy was never meant to be used that way and if they continued to draw it out by force, it will eventually upset the balance. If the Planet could help humans live a easier life then it probably would have done so. But Shinra Inc. was going too far. If their greed was to continue, then the equilibrium of the Planet's life would collapse... Aerith remembered how flowers would only bloom in the church and how the city of Midgar was drenched in Mako.
"And that's why the people of Shinra wanted to know where the Promised Land was. A land abundant in Mako energy, where only the Cetra knew how to get to... But that place was here. It’s the place where everyone would reach in the end as they returned to the Planet. The land where the Shinra could obtain all the energy they wanted didn’t really exist, did it? It was all just a mistake."
She murmured as she let herself drift with the Lifestream. She gazed at the moving Mako world that had very little change.
Until now, Aerith thought the Lifestream had no scent. The way her soul perceived was sort of done with five spiritual senses - Hearing was how she felt the remnants around her and, sight was how faint or weak energy was perceived as images. It was true she could touch things too but in this world, you could say it was just an extension of sight.
There was no need to eat so clearly, there was no taste. She just knew when her sense of smell was working, even when there really was no scent. Even the blood that was on Dyne was only symbolical so there was no smell in this world. Aerith thought briefly about how sad it was that even flowers wouldn't have had any scent here.
She came across another soul.
It had the smell of something rotting. It was as if it wasn’t completely decomposed but yet, released a strong unpleasant smell as if it was starting to rot away. It was the kind of stench that made you frown.
It was the only spot that the Mako was weak. It was an area where the Mako was distorted as it flowed past it, unable to reform because of getting stuck there. An old man was there.
"Well well, that's a face I remember."
Just like his past life, the man wore an expensive suit that was tailored to fit his character. At a glance, Aerith could feel that he too retained an image that was almost as solid as hers. But the only things clear were his expensive clothing, shoes and ornaments. His face was very faint. He had chubby cheeks, a moustache that had been tidied up and he talked with a shaky voice just like that of an old man.
"Your name was... Doesn't matter. You're the girl that has the Ancients' blood flowing inside you. Am I right?"
"It does matter."
But Aerith had no intentions of telling him her name. The person before her was the former leader of Shinra Inc, President Shinra, the absolute authority of a corporation that surpassed and dictated the nations.
"I see, so you fell down here too. You're dead like me? In the same place?"
The President continued unable to hold back the joy in his tone. "We're reunited in the end as if we've been sent to another life together. The Planet really knows how to make arrangements. I really feel like I've gained something out of this."
"Gained something?"
It meant the same thing that Dyne said at first. But in Dyne's case it was mostly only cynicism towards himself. The old man was completely different. Aerith sensed from his thoughts that President Shinra was seriously thinking the way he was.
"You don't understand do you? The Ancients are more stupid than I thought. Well, that's why you refused cooperating with Shinra Inc so much. My my, what a pitiful and miserable life."
Under pressure with the Meteor drawing near, the Planet released its massive biological destructive Weapons and the flow of the Lifestream was disrupted by their activities. The amount of energy that surged up onto the surface was never seen before. Gushing out into Mideel, Cloud who was peacefully resting there with Tifa nursing him by his side, both of them get swallowed up into the Lifestream.
Both of them were engulfed by Mako as they fell into the Planet. For Cloud, it was the second time but for Tifa, it was her first experience.
Aerith risked everything she had in this golden opportunity.
She desperately tried to talk to Tifa who was about to get intoxicated by the highly concentrated Mako. Guiding her conscious, Aerith took her into Cloud's closed heart.
In truth, Aerith really wanted to do it herself. But she couldn't carry out the task. That's why she entrusted Tifa with it. She entrusted Tifa with all the feelings she had for Cloud in her heart. She entrusted them to the one that was going to "live" together with Cloud...
Which looked something like this in the game
Feel Free to watch none of it. It's pretty much meaningless out of context :P
The woman was an Ancient. Which explained how she was able to maintain her individuality even within the Lifestream. If she so wished she could become part of the planet at any time, but the woman thought it too early for that just yet.
The woman had sensed a different presence within the Lifestream cycling around the planet. It was the vehemence of a strong will, one that would never join with the planet. She knew this consciousness. It was the man who had taken her life. A merciless spirit hidden behind a beauteous wall. That spirit was now operating from within the Lifestream. The woman sensed that he was planning to exert his influence to the surface of the planet. She wondered what she could do.
Because it would be dangerous for her to come in contact with him, the woman tried to keep away from the man's consciousness. Because of this, she couldn't learn much of the man's plot. However, just once, when the man's spirit had suddenly appeared near her, she discovered that he had made his memories of Cloud the core of his being.
Cloud was her friend, her beloved — a symbol of what was important to her, and someone to be protected.
Can manipulate souls (this is much later than the Maiden story, so she's more proficient within the lifestream) and implant memories
Awakens nearly dead consciousnesses and implants her memories into the souls of others, and slowly cures the souls of the dead.
The woman discovered that there was a growing number of spirits within the Lifestream who refused to be absorbed by it. While they were different from the man's spirit, they rejected the Lifestream due to the same emotion. Hatred. Their feelings towards the planet were steeped in hatred, just like that man's. This is the result of his influence reaching the surface, she thought.
The woman drew closer to the souls that had just entered the Lifestream, spirits filled with hate, and tried to heal them. Beneath the surface of enmity were hidden memories. Memories from their lives as normal people. While unremarkable, they had many joyous memories as well. She released those thoughts and dissolved them into the Lifestream. Having lost the core of their emotions, the surface animosity disappeared. The woman had found a solution, however more and more spirits steeped in spite appeared, and it was too much for her to bear. She rushed through the Lifestream in search of other souls to help her. Ancients, on the verge of diffusing. These fragments of consciousness accepted her undertaking. When she found fragments of consciousness of people she had once known- pitifully few in number- she infused them with her own memories and sought their assistance. She had more spirits on her side now, but even so the hatred borne by that man did not decrease.
She then thought of Cloud, living in his reality up on the surface. In order to reduce the hatred lingering in the Lifestream, she would have to remove the hatred flooding the real world. The woman wondered if Cloud could help her. However, that might lead to Cloud getting hurt as well. The Cloud she knew had a very fragile heart.
Aerith Commands the Lifestream
This can be extremely devastating. It pretty much disintegrates anything in it's path, including this giant Meteor. Over and above that, this Meteor thing can regenerate, so completely annihilating it effortlessly is a big deal.
Aerith cried out. Her waves of thoughts expanded through the Sea of Mako. Carried by the Lifestream, it spread throughout the Planet.
"I can't do this alone. Lets all protect the Planet!"
The cry of the last Cetra shook the countless consciousnesses that she had awakened during her journey. The entire Planet's conscious was awakened. Of course, among them was also the consciousness of those that were suspended for their atonements. With their strong wills combined together, they managed to control the enormous energy of the Planet.
"I've been waiting for this! Lets light the fuse and blow that meteor away with a bang!"
"It's the Avalanche Lifestream Division’s turn! Now that Barret isn't here, I'm the leader!"
"Nooo! I wanted to try being a leader too! That's so unfair, Mr. Wedge!"
"You guys are never serious even though you're Barret's companions. Lets take this seriously and do it for Marlene."
Under their command, countless streams of light appeared on the surface, intertwining together with the Lifestream. Then covering the Planet protecting it like a net, it slipped beneath Meteor and pushed the battering ram from outer space back. The movement of light was like a valkyrie leading her immortal army, riding across the heavens.
"Hey Aerith, did you see Cloud's finishing?"
Zack guided his energy into the second wave as Meteor was thrown back losing its force. "That was one my sword techniques too. Doesn't it make you fall in love again?"
With enough space, Holy now started to take effect. Acting as a barrier, the parts of Meteor that came into contact with it was eroded into dust and was released into space. The Meteor was no longer a threat to the Planet and was now just helplessly waiting to be destroyed.
The Planet had avoided its destruction.
Aerith's thoughts were freed.
Aboard the Highwind, Cloud saw it. So did Tifa, Barret and the others. They saw Aerith's smile that never left their memories, appear in the Lifestream and gently, it faded away as it returned into the Planet.
As time started moving again, their sadness was healed a little.
And so, the records of life that the Planet created continued.
It was early morning. After releasing her chocobo, she ran down the familiar paths without looking up. She ran at full speed towards the house where she expected her father Godo to be. She didn't want anyone in town to know she was back yet. Even though she had decided she wanted to keep her worn clothes on, she wanted to give her face a wash at least.
Godo was standing by the door, hammering at a post.
"What are you doing?"
Godoh turned round when he heard Yuffie's voice.
"I'm back. It's all over."
Godo nodded with dignity—
"I'm glad you're back safe, Yuffie. But listen my daugther, the town is in much trouble. Help me. Wutai is in need of assistance from young people like you."
He lifted up a bag full of tools onto his back and started to walk towards the centre of town.
"Hey wait!"
Yuffie hastily followed. Her father seemed to be in a hurry and was walking briskly along.
"You've heard of what I've been involved in right? What happened to the welcoming party? Where is everyone?"
As Yuffie protested, she briefly talked about how she and her friends summoned the Lifestream and saved the planet. Godo stopped and turned round, looking at her with a dubious face.
"I know nothing about what you've done. What I know is that the world got dragged into a mess that the foolish Shinra and crazy Soldiers caused. In the end, the universe's will was to end that dispute and it summoned Meteor but, our planet defended itself by releasing the Lifestream and destroyed it—That is the way I understand it."
Godo spoke with a serious face.
"The universe's will? Who came up with that stupid story?"
"That is my interpretation. Perhaps the truth is different but, what I know is enough. And Yuffie. Don't go about saying you were involved. The effects of the Lifestream is vast. Even though people understand it saved the planet, there is still some who are unhappy at what has happened."
"What!"
Yuffie raised her fist, punching the air in protest.
"What's happened to the town—"
Yuffie looked around her as she talked, displeased with what she was hearing. She had never noticed it when she arrived but, many of the buildings were damaged. Amongst them was the ancient red roofed training hall which now had a large hole in its wall. She could see many of the tiles from the roof had fallen down too—
"What happened?"
"The Lifestream passed through here. It was a horrifying night when the buildings shook. Perhaps it's nothing compared to the victims in Midgar but, there are many old buildings here. You might not see much damage outside the structures but the posts and beams are probably broken. I won't be surprised if the buildings collapse some day. That's why I'm using this hammer to—What's wrong, Yuffie?"
Yuffie gazed at the people who were gathering around her and there repairing the buildings. Many of them were bandaged.
"Is everyone alright? Anyone badly wounded?"
"There's quite a number of people wounded. But not many of them are that severe."
"So they're few in number."
"You're right—But what can you do about it? Now come help me fix the buildings."
Personality
Aerith is a character who is known for being quirky, full of life, and passionate.
Aerith reaches out to Cloud
Earlier in the game, Aerith says she need Cloud to escort her home, and as payment she offers a date.
Fun part of the game, shows off her personality quite a bit.
This is the much younger version of Aerith from Crisis Core. She was a bit different in this era, much more shy, but still playful and friendly. A great character overall. A hard character to dislike, which is her role in the game, and she fits it very well.
You spend about an hour playing this game gathering all the stupid components for this stupid flower basket, and this is her response...I dunno why, but it made me like her more as a character (which I played these games and watched the movie as everything came out, so for me that was something I didn't think could happen).
She writes to Zack 89 times over his 4 year absents. This was an extremely touching moment, really shows how committed she is to the ones she is close to.
Saddest part of all Final Fantasy 7. Playing this game through, if you didn't feel something during this scene than you must be heartless, because this scene will always stick with me as the saddest scene of any game, possibly even any story I've had the pleasure of viewing (reading, watching, etc.). It was a huge risk on Square Soft's part to kill off such a likable character, but it paid off, because once this happens you are dead set on finishing this game and showing Sephiroth what a bastard he is!
Just watching the character's reaction to her death, Cloud's to be more specific. It just really drives the point home of the goal of this game. I don't think any game could motivate a person more than this scene. Crisis Core was after Final Fantasy 7, but during the original FF7 there was so much you learn about Aerith that when this happens, you just wanna jump into the game and beat the crap out of Sephiroth yourself. This moment is what makes Sephiroth the greatest Final Fantasy villain, and what made FF7 the greatest Final Fantasy for me. I'm a die hard fan and this is probably why, this moment here created the FF7 fan hype. Whether you hated the game for this happening, whether you hated the story because this happened, whether you were sad, or whatever. Everyone who played this game felt something during this scene, and even if you hated the game creators for making this happen, that just means they had you right where they wanted you. Because no game could ever spark emotion like this for me, not ever again, which is why FF7 will always remain my favorite game!
Unnecessary mid-page rant, and I'm not even done with the respect thread, but I had to put it out there!
Aerith was sinking. Lying stretched out with an expression as if she was asleep, she quietly sank into the cold and tranquil lake. The net of light scattered by the ripples of the surface danced upon her motionless body. It was as if it was trying to tie onto her.
Her kind face could no longer have those expressions that were full of energy. The feelings of joy and fun that would spread to everyone around her, the anger she had towards the weak, and the endless tears she had in sorrow... None of them were going to appear again.
Her body was going to be silenced for eternity.
However, that didn't mean the end of Aerith. She was watching. She wasn't watching through her beautiful green eyes but through her soul... She watched within a discarnate body filled with the energy of life, as it overlapped her physical body. She watched as the surface of the lake drew further away. She watched as the human shapes gazed at her from the hazy other world (the world where things were alive was another world to her). She watched Cloud's face which looked as if his heart was going to fall apart from the sadness of loosing her, the anger and hate he had for her being taken from him.
"Don't blame yourself. There's nothing to worry about anymore. It's going to be all right even if Meteor falls. So don't let yourself be dragged down by those feelings. Just think about how you can be yourself."
She tried to say it but her lips wouldn't move. There was no magic that would let her thoughts reach Cloud from her spiritual body as Cloud disappeared fast into the distance. The light that twinkled on the lake's surface became weak and distant as she sank. She fell smoothly into the depths of the Cetra ruins, The Forgotten City. Aerith, the last remaining survivor of the Cetra had fulfilled her mission to protect the Planet. The final place where she was supposed to reach had no boundaries no matter where she went...
Chapter 1
Yes. No matter where she went.
She had reached the bottom of the lake. But even now Aerith continued to sink.
Her physical body after many years of losing its life was now held deep underwater, covered in plantation that was like powdered snow. It told of how she was now separated from her short twenty-two years of live for eternity. The vessel that had been separated from the soul was going to return slowly to the Great Earth in the pure water.
Aerith's consciousness was moving to the next lower level.
Nothing changed as she breathed lightly in the dust that floated around her. Aerith continued to sink through the heavy layer of precipitation. The only thing she could see was darkness... But it was a warm, tender lightless world where she didn't feel lonely.
She soon realized that it wasn't dust or mud that she was feeling. Her senses had adjusted so that she could feel the things around her. Her five senses were at a higher level that let her feel the true nature of the objects.
The world she could see now was not of darkness.
She was inside some faint green light that wrapped around her. At the same time, she recognised what she saw. Energy that was split into thousands no, millions of streams were flowing and circulating around every nook of the Planet. The flood of light that engulfed her was one of the streams that separated from the rest. The amount of Mako energy that the Planet had was far beyond human expectation and could not be presented by mere figures.
Aerith watched as if the Planet was beating with life. She watched the brilliance of the Lifestream that drifted around. She recognized the source of life of which everything returns to.
Superhuman Strength - Tifa's strength is well above those of any normal human being, for unknown reasons.
Superhuman Durability - Tifa can withstand blows that would make a normal human being explode into pieces....
Superhuman Speed - Tifa can cover vast distances in a split second.
Superhuman Reflexes - Tifa can react to things in a moment.
Master Martial Artist - Tifa is a master at hand to hand fighting. It is not revealed what fighting styles she knows, but she focuses heavily on striking over submissions.
Tifa's Fighting Style and Her abilities
1:10-2:00 - Great showing of ability here, she tanks electrically charged shots from her opponent multiple times over, and it's shown that these attacks shatter concrete, but she blocks and tanks them without much sign of injury. You can also see her immense speed, and her acrobatic heavy strikes fighting style.
2:00-2:20 - Before Gravity pulls her to the ground she has time to re position herself on the wall, and lunge against her target. Then mops the floor with him at blinding speeds, tosses him into the air, and then smashes him to the ground.
3:10-3:35 - Smashes a church pew effortlessly with a backhand, and then tanks a lightning blast that shatters the concrete pillar behind her, and still remains conscious (though barely, and definitely worse for ware).
2:30-2:50 - Tifa handles a group of Shadow Creeps. These things can run 60 MPH or better, and can effortlessly throw a full grown human being 3-5 meters in the air, and they can tank a fire hydrant cap and the initially rush of water with only being mildly inconvenienced.
2:50-3:00 - With her kick, redirects a blast capable of leveling a city block
8:40-9:30 - Tifa, Cloud, and Aerith threaten this guy's balls....
Personality
Tifa is a great character because of her devotion to the group. She's funny, she gets into a b!tch slap competition with someone at one point throughout the game, she's kind, caring, and overall one of the best characters.
It was night and Cloud came back on a bike. It was a model that they had never seen before. Since then, he had been adjusting it whenever he could spare the time in between his job. He brought an engineer that he knew from somewhere to discuss about modifying his bike. It seemed a few other people came to help Cloud complete the modifications. Marlene and her young neighbourhood friends also watched. The scene reassured Tifa that they were really becoming a family in the world.
There were many times when Cloud had to leave Midgar for their supplies. The destination was mainly Kalm. He had to rent a bike or a truck or sometimes a chocobo but now, he had his own bike. Occasionally it seemed he would travel very far and manage to get some rare goods.
One night, there was a call for Cloud. After talking on the phone for a while, Cloud said he had to go out for a while.
"Where are you going?"
"How should I tell you this..."
Cloud told Tifa how there had many times when he was asked to deliver something while returning with supplies. The caller was one of the store owners who shared some of his vegetables with them. It seemed there was something that he wanted Cloud to deliver before the night was over by all means. Cloud gazed at Tifa like a kid who just had his secrets revealed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?
"Well... I'm sorry I kept quiet about it."
"About what?"
"Doing what I wanted."
Tifa burst out laughing. Cloud went on about how he got paid a little for delivering items. He felt guilty spending it all on the modifications for his bike. Tifa thought he was just like a kid. It may have been a little sad that Cloud had found another world that she didn't know about but, the fact that his world was expanding was a welcoming thought. Yes, it was similar to the feelings a mother would have. Tifa walked Cloud outside and was enjoying the new feeling that was blooming in her.
Overall she's a well written character, and essential to the story. It's hard not to like her as a character.
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