Top 10 Final Fantasy Characters

Final Fantasy, really, is all about the characters. The characters drive the story forward. It is the characters who you fall in love with, who you care about, who you emotionally engage with. It is the characters, their design, personalities, and, of course, kick ass special attacks, that make Final Fantasy so beloved. To mark the release of the latest in the franchise, Final Fantasy XIII - read our verdict here - we thought we'd cast our mind back and recount our favourite characters from Square Enix's fantasy universe. Some are easy to predict. Some... less so. And yes, even some FFXIII characters make the cut.

Tifa Lockhart - Final Fantasy VII

Let's talk about love triangles. Cloud clearly fancied Aeris, but she was more interested in Sephiroth, or was that Zak? Anyway, she died, so that left Tifa, owner of the 7th Heaven bar and member of terrorist group AVALANCHE. She quite obviously fancied Cloud but wasn't really doing it for him. Got that? Good. Tifa's no-nonsense approach and brutal punches endeared her to those who found Aeris too sickly sweet to swallow. She didn't suffer any of Cloud's emo crap, and wasn't afraid to tell him to get over himself when he was sulking. She was as sexy as she was confident, too. She had nice legs and big breasts. What more could we ask for?

Cid - various

There's a Cid in almost every Final Fantasy game. From VII's chain-smoking Cid Highway to XII's wonderfully-named Doctor Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, Cid's usually an airship pilot, or a mechanic, or a tinkerer of some description. But in recent times he's expanded his skill set, and even taken an interest in the more villainous side of Final Fantasy character life. The aforementioned Doctor Cid was a bad guy - the first Cid villain in a Final Fantasy game. And, without wanting to spoil anything for you new Final Fantasy XIII owners out there, that game's Cid is a... how shall we put it... interesting fellow, too. Now, the question we want answered is: why? Why have a Cid as a recurring character name in the Final Fantasy series? What is it about the name Cid, that Square Enix loves so much? Answers on a postcard please.