Final Fantasy Record Keeper I To VII / Characters

Playable characters in Final Fantasy Record Keeper originating from games I through VII.

Warrior of Light

Role: Warrior of Light

"A warrior blessed by the crystals and chosen to stand against the powers of darkness. After rescuing Sarah, the princess of Cornelia, from the evil knight Garland, he sets out on a journey to save the world."

Heroes Prefer Swords: Naturally for him, most of his Relics are swords.
Holy Hand Grenade: His element is Holy.
Prestige Class: His default Soul Break Class Change boosts his ATK, DEF, MAG, and RES by 30% for 25 seconds.
Recursive Adaptation: He's based on the Dissidia Warrior of Light in appearance, attacks, and skillset, where Dissidia had already used him as a stand-in for all four Warriors of Light from Final Fantasy.
Red Is Heroic: His "Classic Red" Wardrobe Record recolors his armor and hair red, like the original Final Fantasy Fighter.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Radiant Sword and Crossover. Radiant Sword is a Knight ability that deals four physical Holy attacks and buffs the party's Holy damage every third use. Crossover is a knight ability that does 6 Holy physical attacks
Shield Bash: Several of his Soul Breaks involve him using his shield to attack.

Garland

Role: Warrior of Chaos

"A former, proud knight of Cornelia, Garland kidnapped Sarah when she did not return his affections. Though the Warriors of Light defeated him, Garland escaped two thousand years back through time, becoming the source of an evil that threatened to envelop the world."

Casting a Shadow: His element is Dark.
Morph Weapon: He retains his shapeshifting sword from Dissidia for Soul Break animations and some of his Relics.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Chaos Bringer, a Darkness move that does 5 single target Physical Dark attacks and briefly raises his attack by 30% and lowers his defense and resistance by 30%.
Theme Naming: A lot of his attacks allude to his transformation into Chaos: Discord Incarnate, Glimpse of Chaos, Scion of Malice, Dark Rebirth, etc.

Sarah

Role: Princess

"The princess of Cornelia, Sarah was kidnapped by Garland and hidden away in the Chaos Shrine until the Warriors of Light came to her rescue."

Holy Hand Grenade: What limited offensive Soul Breaks she has deal Holy damage.
Magic Music: Several of her Soul Breaks allude to her gifting the Lute to the Warriors of Light via this trope; Ballad of Corneria, Age-Old Hymn, Ballad of Light, and Ancient Lute.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Sacred Prayer. Unlike most other party healing Hero Abilities, it restores a fixed amount of HP to the party, 1500, but also gives them a damage reduction barrier to even it out.
White Magician Girl: She's a healing and buffing character.

Wol

Role: Blank

"Wol is a "Blank," one of the young men who wash ashore the strange land of Palamecia without any memory of their past. Through his travels, he learns a great deal about himself as much as the secrets behind the laws and the great prophecy that rule over Palamecia."

Dishing Out Dirt: Initially with no fixed element, he settled up with Earth.
Holy Hand Grenade: His secondary element is Holy.
Jack of All Stats/Master of None: Wol has a massive ability pool; Combat 3, Support 5, Celerity 4, Dragoon 3, Monk 4, Thief 4, Samurai 4, Knight 5, Sharpshooter 5, and Heavy Physical 5. However, his inability to access the top-tier Rarity 5 and 6 abilities in most those schools severely limits him, and there's not many useful ways to combine these different ability schools anyway. He ended up being focused in Knight and Heavy Physical later.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Dancing Edge, which deals five Holy/Earth hits and imperils those elements.
Support Party Member: The FFI event that came with its corresponding Neo Torment gave Wol his Legend Dive, which is a Haste + Instacast 3. Combined with his access to Support 5*, which he gained a few weeks prior, it makes Wol the third Entrust Bot in the game after Shelke and Morrow. Wol also gains in the same event a second Burst Soul Break that works like Ramza's Battle Cry on entry, but acts like a set of Heavy abilities on its commands.

Echo

Role: Spirit

"A spirit fabled to haunt the mountains of Palamecia. Legends say that Echoes guide travelers who listen to them toward troves of fantastic treasure. Though traditionally only a disembodied voice, Wol is somehow able to see her physical form."

Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Echo's Prize, a dancer ability that heals the party for a fixed amount of HP that increases with each use up to rank 4.
Support Party Member: Not as effective as Wol, but she has access to a varied pool of buffs and debuffs. She's also an efficient Party Starter with her Ultra and second LMR that allows her to perform her first action with no cast time.
The Red Mage: She has a mix of Soul Breaks to heal and buff the party, and damage and debuff enemies.
Theme Naming: Many of her Soul Breaks bear the "Gift" suffix or have her own name in them.

Master

Role: Master

"A warrior blessed by the Crystals to stand against the forces of darkness. The master was once an ordinary monk, a fighter who favors his bare fists above any weapon, until he was raised to the class of master after returning from the Citadel of Trials and presenting Bahamut with proof of his courage."

Bare-Fisted Monk: He's the evolution of the class.
Critical Hit Class: His Soul Breaks variably boost critical hit chance and damage, reflecting the Rarity 5 Monk skills that have innately higher critical hit rates.
Elemental Powers: He specializes in Earth, Fire, and Lightning damage, with his later relics being all three on their initial damage and granting him an Elemental Infusion for whichever element his next attack deals.
Glass Cannon: His Awakening heavily lowers his Defense and Resistance, but in return he gets a large Attack boost and a high chance to dualcast his Monk abilities on top of the Awakening's innate dualcasting.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Fighting Frenzy, a Monk ability that deals 5 physical Earth, Fire, or Lightning attacks with an increasing multiplier with each use and debuffs the enemie's Defense, Resistance, and Mind.

Matoya

Role: Witch

"An eccentric witch who lives in a cave in the company of her talking brooms. Matoya can brew most any potion imaginable, but her eyes have failed her, and she relies on a crystal eye to see."

Black Mage: An offensive spellcaster focused on Witch abilities.
Fire, Ice, Lightning: Her Soul Breaks specialize in tri-elemental damage.
Obvious Rule Patch: The event that added her Awakening to the game also added a Fire-elemental 6* Witch ability, so Matoya could make full use of all three of her elements. The ability was quite clearly only intended for this purpose, because at the time no one else who could use 6* Witch abilities wanted or needed a Fire-elemental one.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Inner Eye, a Witch ability that deals 6 magic Fire, Ice, or Lighting attacks with a long delay.
Squishy Wizard: Being that she specializes in Witch abilities that deal many hits, Matoya can deal some impressive damage. But she takes hits as well as you'd expect from a half-blind old woman.

Meia

Role: Azure Witch

"A heretic known as the Azure Witch. Meia uses her innate beauty and mystical powers to manipulate the Blanks, as she plots her revenge against the world of Palamecia."

Lady of Black Magic: A beautiful, dangerous, powerful mage.
Making a Splash: Her element is Water.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Pallida Mors which does six magical single target water attacks.
Summon Magic: While she's comforable using both Black Magic and Summon skills, her Soul Breaks reference the latter with Famfrit being invoked in several of them.

Thief (I)

Role: Thief

"One of the jobs chosen by the Crystals to stand against the powers of darkness as a Warrior of Light. The thief employs natural dexterity and uncanny luck to battle his way to victory."

Blow You Away/Poisonous Person: His elements are Wind and Poison.
Secret Art: His hero ability is Invisibreak, a Thief ability which deals six Wind or Poison hits with a long casting time, but gets faster with each use.
Support Party Member: His second Awakening puts him into this role — it gives the party very nice stat buffs, a damage-reduction barrier, and a boost to their weakness-hitting attacks. But it doesn't afford the Thief himself anything special beyond the standard Awakening benefits.

Final Fantasy II

Firion

Role: Rebel Soldier

"A young orphan taken in by Maria's parents along with his friend Guy. A natural leader, Firion rises quickly as a warrior for the Rebels."

Characterization Marches On: He began as a dedicated Holy character, but being that he had no Holy commands to make use of his Holy Soul Breaks with, he later diversified into Fire/Ice/Holy Soul Breaks to go with his Samurai skillset, and his Brave Mode powers up on Samurai abilities. Then he got a Balance Buff to have Knight 5 and started getting tri-elemental Soul Breaks, so he can run all three elements now.
Heroes Prefer Swords: His main Soul Break weapons are swords.
Holy Hand Grenade: His initial element was Holy before he diversified.
Playing with Fire/An Ice Person: His secondary elements besides Holy are Fire and Ice.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Wild Rose and Lord of Arms. Lord of Arms deals an additional hit than Wild Rose, but Wild Rose heals the user and has slightly higher power on its individual hits.
Something about a Rose: Several of his Soul Breaks contain the word "Rose" in them in reference to the Wild Rose Rebellion.
Spam Attack: His Double Trouble Soul Break increases his attack speed more and more with each attack, while his Burst Weaponsmaster starts at one hit and increases with each use, up to eight.
Theme Naming: Carrying over from Dissidia, several of his Soul Breaks have the suffix "of Arms".
Useless Useful Spell: His early Soul Breaks grant him Infused Holy, but Firion had no physical Holy attacks to make use of it. A fourth-year event gave him a long-overdue buff to have Knight 5, allowing him to get proper use of his Holy affinity.

Maria

Role: Rebel Warrior

"A young woman who seems bold and independent, yet fears losing those around her. Maria and her brother Leon were separated when the Palamecian Empire attacked their hometown, and she worries after him constantly."

Black Mage: Offensive spellcasting is her niche.
Colony Drop: Meteor XVI and Meteor Swarm LXIV are exactly what they sound like; Maria conjuring meteors to attack enemies.
Dishing Out Dirt: Her element is Earth.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Kerplode VIII, an Earth Magic attack that deals six hits.
Serial Escalation: Reflecting that spells in Final Fantasy II maxed at level 16, Maria's Soul Breaks go up to that and then double in numeral as she gets better ones. She began with Thunder XVI and Meteor XVI. Then came Kerplode XXXII and Magma XXXII (32). Then she got Meteor Shower LXIV and Sagittarius LXIV (64). She finally hit the "Cap" with Armageddon XCIX (99), her Synchro.

Guy

Role: Rebel Soldier

"A young man taken in by Maria and Leon's family. Guy's imposing figure belies his gentle and somewhat naive nature. Before moving to his adopted home, Guy was raised by wolves, leaving him with only rudimentary speaking skills, but giving him the innate ability to communicate with beasts."

Dishing Out Dirt: Earth-elemental fighter.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Gigantbreak, which deals five Earth hits to a target and lowers their Earth resistance.

Leon

Role: Dark Knight

"A young man separated from his family and friends during the Palamecian Empire's attack on his hometown. Seduced by the power of the empire, he becomes a dark knight in its service."

Black Knight: As a Dark Knight he wields the powers of darkness to fight.
Casting a Shadow: Dark is his element.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Darkness Breaker, a six-hit Darkness ability.
Theme Naming: Many of his Soul Breaks have the suffix "of Darkness", paralleling Firion's "of Arms" naming.

Minwu

Role: Court White Wizard

"A white wizard from the mystic land of Mysidia, Minwu faithfully served the royal family of Fynn. But after the kingdom of Fynn fell, he put his talents to use as a member of the rebels."

Combat Medic: As with any White Mage, he has an array of healing Soul Breaks, but he also has offensive Soul Breaks that let him help out with attacking too.
Holy Hand Grenade: His offensive Soul Breaks are Holy, including a Burst directly named Holy XVI; he later upgraded to Holy XCIX.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Holy VIII. It deals six Holy attacks to one enemy.
White Mage: One of the iconic ones for the series, he specializes in healing Soul Breaks and holy-elemental damage.

Gordon

Role: Kashuan Prince

"The younger prince of Kashuan. Long haunted by his abandonment of his realm and older brother, whom he left to die at the Empire's hands, he eventually gained the courage to fight and take on the mantle of his royal birth."

Cowardly Lion: Several of his Soul Breaks refer to the fact that he considers himself a coward, but has the potential to be a great leader.
Magic Knight: His Attack and Magic are equally decent, and he has Black Magic 3, White Magic 4, and Support 6. However, he is mostly a physical character on account of his poor offensive spellcasting pool.
Playing with Fire: Fire-elemental character.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Show of Resolve. Reinforcing his role as a supporter, it acts like Entrust and also gives the target one turn of faster actions.
Support Party Member: His niche is buffing the party and debuffing enemies.

Leila

Role: Pirate Captain

"A pirate captain working out of the town of Paloom, Leila has a pirate's tongue, but her heart is true. Her natural protective instincts prevent her from standing by while others are beset by trouble."

Elemental Powers: She has a truly impressive array of them thanks to her Pirate's Cloud Soul Break, which lets her dualcast Thief and Sharpshooter abilities. This lets Leila be effective with Wind, Poison, and Fire attacks through the Thief school; Water, Ice, and Fire via Sharpshooter; and she still has her innate Poison Soul Breaks.
Making a Splash: Her secondary element early in the game was Water, with Poison being her focus. Later Relics transitioned her to be pure Water, but her Hero Ability lets her run Poison still.
Poisonous Person: Her initial element was Poison, before she shifted to have a dual-focus on Poison and Water with more emphasis on the latter.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Pirate Anchor, a five-hit Water/Poison Thief ability that debuffs the target's ATK/MAG.
Shock and Awe: Her default Soul Break is Thunder II, though she otherwise has no Lightning affinity.
Theme Naming: "Pirate's" is used as a prefix for many of her Soul Breaks.

Ricard Highwind

Role: Dragoon

"A proud dragoon who fights hand in glove with his trusted wyvern mount. Ricard travels in search of the fabled Ultima Tome, powerful magic he means to wield against the empire that destroyed his homeland of Deist."

Blow You Away: His primary element is Wind.
Dragon Knight: The first Dragoon of the series.
In a Single Bound: Naturally, he specializes in Jump attacks.
The Power of Friendship: Ricard has an unusual thematic focus in that he synergizes best with a party of other Dragoons. His Super Soul Break Highwind Secrets gets stronger depending on how many party members are able to use Dragoon abilities, his Ultra Soul Break Winged Roar grants Dragoons in the same row as Ricard no air time on their next Jump attack and a boost to their Dragoon abilities after Ricard uses a Dragoon ability, and his Awakening Soul Break The Last Dragoon has a Brave Mode with a lv3 command that allows everyone in the party to cast their next Jump attack instantly, grants a boost to their Dragoon abilities and makes their next Jump attack trigger twice automatically. He later got a Sync Soul Break, Dragoon Tempest, that gives him a quad-elemental focus in Wind, Lightning, Water, and Dark — these are the elemental affinities of other Dragoons, allowing Ricard to join any Dragoon team and pull his weight.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Pride of Deist, a six-hit quad-elemental Wind, Lightning, Water, and Dark Jump attack.
Shock and Awe: Later Relics gave him Lightning as a secondary element. Fittingly for the franchise's first Dragoon, Ricard is the only Dragoon able to make full use of the Dragoon school's main elements.

Josef

Role: Rebel Agent

"A rebel agent who lived in the cold northern village of Salamand. Firion and his party came to Josef's aid after imperial forces took his daughter hostage, and in gratitude he joined them."

Bare-Fisted Monk: His Weapons are claws and his main offense is Monk abilities.
An Ice Person: His specialty is Ice.
Heroic Sacrifice: Many of his Soul Breaks reference his famous one. Infamously, one of his Unique Soul Breaks Noble Sacrifice raises the party's Attack, but KO's Josef.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Hero's Flurry and Hero's Smash. Hero's Fury deals four hits of Ice damage and gives all allies a 10% damage reduction barrier, while Hero's Smash deals six hits of Ice damage with no other effect.
Support Party Member: Many of his Soul Breaks, even the offensive ones, grant some sort of benefit to allies, variably casting a status buff on them, raising their stats, or healing them. He's also the holder of the II Realm Chain.
Theme Naming: Many of his Soul Breaks and his Hero Abilities bear the prefix "Hero's" or "Heroic".

Scott

Role: Kashuan Prince

"First Prince of the Kingdom of Kashuan, and Gordon's older brother. Scott meets Firion at a pub in the town of Fynn, where he had taken refuge after suffering a grievous wound."

Battle Couple: His relationship with Hilda is referenced with his Ring of Love and Undying Flames Soul Breaks; the latter grants him Infused Fire, but only is Hilda is in the party and alive.
Magic Knight: Invoked but defied. His profile directly calls him "Physical/Magic Hybrid", but his Magic stat is poor, on-par with most physical characters, and his spellcasting pool is limited to Black Magic 3 andd White Magic 4, making his magical proficiency an Informed Attribute. At least he can carry a support spell if you need it.
Playing with Fire: His element is Fire.
The Power of Love: Many of his Soul Breaks carry an additional benefit if either Hilda or Gordon, his wife and his brother, are in the party with him.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Ring of Love, a Spellblade ability thar does 6 physical fire attacks and is more powerful either Gordon or Hilda are in the party and alive.
Spellblade: His best proficiency is the Spellblade school, enforced by his Fire affinity.

Hilda

Role: Princess of Fynn

"Crown princess of the Kingdom of Fynn, which has fallen to the Palamecian Empire. In her wounded father's stead, Hilda leads a rebellion against the Empire from a base in Altair. "

Magic Music: She can use Bard abilities, and one of her Legend Materia has a chance to heal the party when using a Bard ability. All of her Record Materia in some way are based on the Bard school or the Instrument equipment type.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Wild Rose Prayer, it gives the party a small reduction barrier that reduces damage for one turn and heals the party for around 1500 HP.
White Mage: Dedicated healing character.

The Emperor

Role: Emperor of Palamecia

"The leader of Palamecia, a militaristic empire bent on world domination. The Emperor has an insatiable lust for power, and he wields terrible magic to summon demons to do his bidding. The armies of Palamecia have brought countless kingdoms under his rule."

Blow You Away: His tertiary element is Wind.
Casting a Shadow: He can use the Darkness ability school and he has Dark as his primary element.
Colony Drop: His Hero Ability is his Signature Move Starfall, raining meteors on enemies.
Dishing Out Dirt: His secondary element is Earth.
Elemental Powers: For years he shifted between focuses — his first Burst was Wind focused with an Infusion while the second is Earth and Dark with an Earth infusion, and along the way he got an Ultra that is Wind and Earth and lowers the enemy's Earth resistance. His later Relics after his Awakening boost his aptitude with all three, bringing solidarity to his myriad tools. However, he's still more focused on Dark by virtue of a handful of Relics that only work for that element.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Starfall and Repetence Thorns. The former does three Magic Dark, Earth, and Wind attacks and briefly imperils the target with all three elements for five seconds. Whille the latter is a Black Magic ability that does 5 Dark, Earth, or Wind attacks.
Something about a Rose: His Ultra Soul Break is called Repentence Thorns and lets him use the follow-up attack Anguished Rose, symbolically twisting the sigil of the Wild Rose Rebellion into something dark to serve him.
Took a Level in Badass: The Emperor's split elemental focus throughout the game's run made it difficult for him to put together an effective kit since they all pulled his build in different directions. His Awakening and later tools, including his Hero Abilities, his let him specialize in any of his three elements he likes, and his tools that only work for one of them can be used to focused him as needed.

Final Fantasy III

Onion Knight

Role: Onion Knight

"Chosen by the Wind Crystal to become a Warrior of Light when he wandered into the Altar Cave, whereupon he set out from his village on a quest to save the world. Though the Onion Knight's abilities were meager at the outset, he finally gained the power to stand against the source of the world's unrest itself."

Foil: Eventually became one to Bartz. They both have a quad-elemental focus, but Bartz is a physical fighter using Spellblades, while the Onion Knight is a magical fighter using Black Magic. Downplayed once Onion rebounded with better physical aptitude.
Glass Cannon: At Level 99 with his Legend Sphere complete, he has Attack, Magic, and Mind stats among the higher tiers of the game. His HP is mediocre, though, and his Defense and Resistance are pitiful.
Jack of All Stats: His Legend Materia give him a lot of versatility with dualcasting for Black Magic, Celerity, and Ninja abilities, and he has a lot of Soul Breaks that can valuable buffs to the party and increase his own damage output. However, he has few Soul Breaks with an elemental infusion built into them and his own stats are not outstanding, so while he can be a good chain builder and support fighter, he isn't the best option for a primary DPS character.
Magic Knight: His stats and ability pool let him function perfectly well as either physical fighter, offensive spellcaster, or supportive spellcaster. His small pool of elemental physical skills means he has more versatility in a spellcasting role, and later relics focus more heavily on his spellcasting potential, but he's still great in the physical elements he does have. He eventually got a second Arcane Overstrike and Awakening for Celerity and Ninja, and then later a second Hero Ability that deals physical damage, letting him pull his weight on physical teams.
Magikarp Power: In two ways.
- Reflecting how the Onion Knight class worked in III, his stats are pitiful until he hits Level 90, then they increase dramatically each level until he's a powerhouse at Level 99.
- His ability pool access is limited to just Rarity 3, but his Record Spheres let him unlock access to Rank 5 of them.
Making a Splash: Though he mostly focuses on his quad-elemental theme, he occasionally gets tools that focus him specifically in Water. Unlike Bartz, Onion Knight has no way to focus in his other three elements other than his Glint.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Like Tyro, Onion Knight's dive has twelve jobs, with six of them unlocking his Legend Dive. To unlock each 4* sphere, however, you need Onion Knight Motes, which you must buy on the Gysahl Shop, and the upper ones give him access to 5* on many ability schools. His Legend Dive itself is also unusual; rather than a weak LM in the middle and a strong LM in the end, Onion Knight has his two Legend Materias at the end, giving Dualcast for both Black Magic and Celerity.
Ret-Canon: In a similar vein to the Warrior of Light: While Onion Knight's sprites are ambiguous, his soul breaks and certain associations make it clear that he's taking cues from his Dissidia interpretation.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Onion Wizardry and Multi-Hit, quad-elemental abilities that deal five hits; Onion Wizardry is Black Magic and Multi-Hit is Celerity.
Sixth Ranger: An interesting example: Onion Knight is a protagonist seperate of the remake quartet and it is thus very rare that both them and Onion Knight appear in the same game. Implications such as the Nemesis easter egg text and Onion Knight's Chain and Awakening Soul Breaks do suggest that they do work together, making him this.

Luneth

Role: Warrior of Light

"A young man raised by Elder Topapa in the hinterlands village of Ur. The Wind Crystal chose him to be a Warrior of Light destined to save the world. He has a strong sense of justice, and he won't back down to anyone."

Blow You Away: His element is Wind.
Casting a Shadow: He has Darkness 5, though actual use for it outside of niche moments is rare.
Composite Character: Luneth used to occasionally be used as a stand-in for Onion Knight prior to the latter joining the game. A remnant of this can be seen in two of Luneth's earliest Soul Breaks, Swordshower and Blade Torrent, which are actually based on Onion Knight's moves from Dissidia Final Fantasy.
Dragon Knight: Played with. His Wind element and Dragoon Empowered Sphere nudge players to building him as a Dragoon, but only his Glint+ gives him any buffs that would focus him specifically in Dragoon skills. All of his Soul Breaks function with any Wind ability, which he can utilize through his Celerity and Spellblade skillsets as well as Dragoon.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Jump, a six-hit Wind Jump that has zero airtime.

Arc

Role: Warrior of Light

"A shy young man who grew up with Luneth, Arc is discerning and intelligent, and can often be found with his head buried in a book. Considerate and kind, he strives hard to live up to his destiny as a Warrior of Light."

Combat Medic: His White Magic and Summon proficiencies make him capable in two offensive elements as well as a good healer.
Holy Hand Grenade: His primary element is Holy.
Jack of All Trades: He is mostly attuned to White and Summon magic, though he also has Black Magic 4. Could also count as a Mythology Gag given that the Sage in III is also proficient in those same fields.
Making a Splash: His Soul Breaks have a Water theme, even when they're not offensive, and when they are it's his secondary element after Holy.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: His Hero Ability is a Hybrid ability between Black Magic and White Magic damage types, while most Hybrid abilities are Black Magic and Physical. This is because Arc is both an offensive summoner and a healer. The only other character to have such a Hero Ability is Exdeath.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Altruist Leviathan, a White Magic ability which deals five hits of Holy/Water damage to a single target.
White Magician Girl: Defies the convention; among the four DS orphans, Refia, the sole female party member, is a physical brawler, and Arc is the healer.

Refia

Role: Warrior of Light

"A young woman raised by a blacksmith in Kazus. As she travels the land as a Warrior of Light, she seeks to find her true self. Her opposition to the powers of darkness is beyond question, and though she seldom lets it show, she has a caring heart."

Action Girl: She's a Monk archetype, beating enemies up with her bare hands.
Bare-Fisted Monk: She has the stats and ability pool of a Monk.
Critical Hit Class: Her Soul Breaks and Legend Materia variably boost critical hit rate, critical hit damage, or trigger on a critical hit to buff her. This is aided by her Monk abilities, several of which come with an innate higher critical hit rate.
Early-Installment Weirdness: In the game's early days her unique weapons were Throwing weapons, extending to her Record Materia of which she has two that boost physical damage when the user has a Throwing weapon equipped. Her later unique weapons were Fists to better tie into her Monk theme.
Ninja: Her usage of throwing weapons and access to Ninja 4 suggest she was also meant to be this, at least partially, though it was dropped in favor of focusing on her Monk skills.
Playing with Fire: Her element is Fire.
Precision-Guided Boomerang: As stated above, some of her unique relics are throwing stars and the like.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Blazing Fists, a Monk ability that deals six hits of Fire damage.

Ingus

Role: Warrior of Light

"A noble warrior in service of the King of Sasune. Ingus joined Luneth and his party in hopes of finding Princess Sara, and eventually was chosen as one of the Warriors of Light. His faith in his companions is his greatest weapon in the struggle against the darkness."

Dishing Out Dirt: His element is Earth.
Knight in Shining Armor: He's of the Knight archetype.
Magic Knight: He can bring support spells into battle thanks to having White Magic 4.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Downplayed, he's a Knight who uses Earth as his primary element, when most other Knights in Record Keeper have Holy as their primary element. He's not alone in this though.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Titan's Blade and Oathsworn Espada. Titan's Blade is a four-hit Earth ability that boosts the party's Earth damage every third use, while Oathsworn Espada deals six Earth hits that grow stronger depending on his DEF.
Theme Naming: Many of his Soul Breaks bear the word "Titan" in them, as does his Hero Ability Titan's Blade.

Desch

Role: Amnesiac

"A mysterious man who appeared one day in the village of Canaan. Desch joined Luneth in hopes of discovering his forgotten destiny. His flamboyance and charm belie his wisdom."

Heroic Sacrifice: His invoking of the trope in III is referenced with his Selfless Spirit Soul Break, which damages Desch in exchange for buffing the party.
Magic Knight: Downplayed but still apt. His Soul Breaks are all magical and his Magic stat is very high, letting him get great usage out of his Black Magic 5 skillset. However, he also has Machinist 5 and his Attack isn't terrible, so he can function as a physical character too; he'll just be a subpar one.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Bolt of the Ancients and Ancient Lightning. Bolt of the Ancients deals four hits and boosts the party's lightning damage every third usage, Ancient Lightning deals six hits with no support effect.
Shock and Awe: His element is Lightning.

Aria Benett

Role: Priestess

"A Maiden of Water who serves the Water Crystal. Aria remained in a deep sleep until woken by the Warriors of Light, whom she accompanies to the Water Crystal to fulfill her calling."

Anti-Magic: Aria's Soul Breaks have a strong theme of shielding the party against Fire-elemental damage. Her Burst Maiden of Water raises the party's Fire resistance, and her Ultra Seaborne Encounter grants each party member a barrier that absorbs up to their max HP in Fire damage. Her Legend Materia gives her resistance to Fire attacks.
Crippling Overspecialization: Against enemies that use Fire, Aria is one of the best White Mages you could ask for. Against anything else, her focus on nullifying Fire means she's just another mediocre White Mage in a game with dozens of them.
Secret Art: Her Hero Abilites are Prismatic Light and Maiden of Water. Prismatic Light is a Bard ability that gives the party Stock HP 1500 and every 2nd use grants the party High Magic Quickcast 1, Maiden of Water is a White Magic ability that heals the party.
White Mage: Focuses on healing the party.

The Cloud of Darkness

Role: Voidbringer

"An entity that appears when the balance between light and darkness is broken. An incarnation of nihility, its only purpose is to return the worlds of light and darkness to the Void."

Casting a Shadow: Naturally, her element is Dark.
Secret Art: Her Hero Abilities are Wave Cannon and Insulating Appendages. Wave Cannon deals a magic single target Dark attack that can break the damage cap, Insulating Appendages deals five hits in Dark and Lightning.
Shock and Awe: She has Lightning as a secondary element.
Theme Naming: As usual, most of her Soul Breaks are some variant of "Particle Beam".
Why Am I Ticking?: Her Burst Soul Break 0-Form Particle Beam casts Doom on the party. This is a good thing, in the right party build — there are many Darkness abilities that get a power boost when the user is under Doom status, the trick is getting them inflicted with it.
Yin-Yang Bomb: Her early Soul Breaks were Dark and Holy, but the latter was dropped later.

Final Fantasy IV / The After Years

Cecil Harvey (Dark Knight)

Role: Dark Knight

"Captain of the Red Wings, Cecil was an elite Dark Knight who suffered under King Baron's misguided rule until his sense of righteousness led him on the path to becoming a Paladin."

Black Knight: Obviously.
Casting a Shadow: His element is Dark.
Cast from Hit Points: Several of his Soul Breaks damage Cecil. The zenith of this is his Ultra Endless Darkness, which damages him for 99% of his current HP, but in return grants him a barrier that absorbs damage equal to 100% of his max HP.
Divergent Character Evolution: With his Dark Knight and Paladin forms treated as separate characters, they play entirely differently but are still viable.
Secret Art: His Hero ability is Darkness. An AOE six hit physical dark attack that causes recoil damage every use and has a higher multiplier against fewer enemies.

Cecil Harvey (Paladin)

Role: Paladin

"Captain of the Red Wings, Cecil was an elite Dark Knight who suffered under King Baron's misguided rule until his sense of righteousness led him on the path to becoming a Paladin."

Combat Medic: He has several Soul Breaks to heal himself or allies while also supplementing his attacking efficiency. His second Ultra Paladin Wall heals 1,500 HP to party members in the same row as him whenever he uses a Knight ability, and his third Ultra's Brave command deals damage to an enemy and grants the party auto-healing, the two both increasing with his Brave level. He eventually got buffed to have White Magic 5, and given a Legend Materia to dualcast White Magic.
Divergent Character Evolution: As his Paladin form is treated as a separate version from his Dark Knight self, each has very different abilities and utility in battle.
Early-Installment Weirdness: Cecil is one of the earliest characters added to the game, and is the only one who is treated as two characters. Other characters who represent multiple points in their story do so with a variety of soul breaks that change their options in combat, or with costumes that update their look.
Holy Hand Grenade: His element is Holy.
Knight in Shining Armor: His main ability school is Knight, allowing him to do many functions of the job.
Magic Knight: In the game's fourth year he got buffed with White Magic 5 a White Magic dualcasting Materia, and his subsequent Soul Breaks shifted to dealing hybrid damage.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Paladin Force, a five-hit Hybrid attack that will be either a physical or White Magic attack depending on if his ATK or MND is higher.
Taking the Bullet: His Soul Breaks have a theme of Cecil defending allies, either by healing them, buffing their Defense and/or Resistance, or redirecting damaging attacks to him.

Kain Highwind

Role: Dragoon

"Kain is the gifted captain of an elite airship squad, the Baron Dragoons. He is also Cecil's friend and rival—a rivalry that turns real when Golbez manipulates Kain to stand against his old companions."

Brainwashed and Crazy: Referenced by his Record Materia Brainwash, which boosts Attack and Defense but he starts each battle Confused.
Casting a Shadow: In the game's sixth year he picked up Dark as a secondary element.
In a Single Bound: As a Dragoon he specializes in Jump attacks. His second Legend Materia Soaring Dragoon goves him an increasing Attack boost as he uses more and more Jump attacks.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Dragoon's Pride, a six-hit Lightning/Dark Jump attack, and Gungnir, basically a dark-and-lightning version of Cyclone Bolt, allowing Kain's jump attacks to instantly land for three turns after using it.
Shock and Awe: His primary element is Lightning.

Rydia

Role: Summoner

"A girl from Mist, the village of the summoners, Rydia loses her mother when King Baron sets fire to her hometown. Though at first she mistrusts Cecil for his role in causing the disaster, she eventually warms to him."

Demoted to Extra: Her Mist Dragon is typically identified as her iconic Eidolon in IV and other spin-off titles, but here she's more closely associated with Leviathan and Titan.
Dishing Out Dirt: Her second element is Earth, thanks to her association with Titan.
Holy Hand Grenade: Her third element is Holy, meshing into the theme of the Mist Dragon and Asura.
Making a Splash: Her primary element is Water, because of her story connection to Leviathan.
Plot Relevant Ageup: She appears in her child form by default, and her adult form is available as a Wardrobe Record.
Secret Art: Her Hero ability is Summoner's Band, a Summon ability which deals 4 AOE Earth/Water/Holy attacks.
Summon Magic: Her specialty, with a Legend Dive that gives her Dualcast for abilities of this type.

Rosa Joanna Farrel

Role: White Mage

"The childhood friend of Cecil and Kain. Rosa harbors romantic feelings for Cecil, whom she endeavors to protect by becoming a white mage and fighting at his side."

Anti-Magic: Rosa's Soul Breaks have a theme of granting allies barriers that block magic attacks.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Pray. Reflecting how it worked in the 3DS version of IV where it restored MP as well as HP, Pray restores all HP to all allies and restores one of their ability charges every fourth use.
Useless Useful Spell: In reference to her archery proficiency in IV, Rosa can use Sharpshooter abilities, her unique weapons are Bows, and she has Record Materia that raise her Mind when she equips a Bow. The catch is that unlike IV, Rosa's Attack is as good as you'd expect of a traditional White Mage (read: terrible), so she has no business attacking.
White Magician Girl: One of the IV realm's designated healers (and the other is also a female).

Edward Chris Von Muir

Role: Damcyan Prince

"The Crown Prince of Damcyan, rulers of a desert kingdom that thrives on trade. Edward would rather sing about battle than take part in it, for which some name him a coward. In his travels with Cecil, the courage within him begins to shine through."

Holy Hand Grenade: His element is Holy. Solidified as he got the Magic-buffing second generation Chain Soul Break of that element.
Magic Music: He's a Bard, so naturally he uses this as his gimmick.
Secret Art: His Hero ability is Fabled Song. A bard ability that grants the party quickcast for one turn and Wanderer to Edward which increases the quickcast speed the higher the rank, up to rank 5.
Support Party Member: He's got Support 5 and Bard 5 as his only skills, cementing him in this role. He also has many Soul Breaks to buff the party.

Yang Fang Leiden

Role: Monk

"The leader of the monks who defend the eastern kingdom of Fabul, Yang is a polite, humble warrior who lends his considerable strength to Cecil's party."

Bare-Fisted Monk: Another typical example in the franchise.
Dishing Out Dirt: His element is Earth.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Fist Dance, a Monk ability which deals 6 physical earth attacks witb a higher multiplier with Ursula in the party.

Palom

Role: Black Mage

"One of the twin mages of Mysidia, hailed as a magical prodigy. The younger twin and black mage, Palom shows no restraint, indulging himself in his every whim."

Black Mage: One of the best offensive mages in the game in terms of raw stats.
Crippling Overspecialization: Played with. His only ability school is Black Magic, so he has absolutely no use in parties that don't need a mage. However, his Ultra Soul Break gives him Ability Double for Black Magic, which lets him be decently effective even if he can't exploit his Lightning affinity.
Fire, Ice, Lightning: He has a tri-elemental focus in these elements, though he has a few more options for Lightning than his other elements.
Plot-Relevant Age-Up: His adult clothing from The After Years is available as a Wardrobe Record.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Magic Barrage, a five-hit spell in Fire, Ice, and Lightning.
Squishy Wizard: He has one of the best Magic stats in the game, but his HP and Defense are pathetic.

Porom

Role: White Mage

"Though young, the fate of her village, Mysidia, rests on the shoulders of this prodigal twin. The white mage Porom is the elder twin, and she carries herself with much more maturity than her little brother Palom."

Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Her adult clothes from The After Years are available as a Wardrobe Record.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Healing Tears. It's much weaker than other healing Hero Abilities, but gives the party 1000 HP Stock, which helps make up the difference in direct healing lost.
White Magician Girl: The IV realm's secondary healer.
Why Won't You Die?: Her second Ultra Pure White Magic heals targets and grants them Last Stand and Reraise, effectively meaning they have to die three times before they stay dead.

Tellah

Role: Sage

"A great magician known as Tellah the Sage for his mastery of the magic arts. In his old age, Tellah has forgotten many of the spells he once knew, but he is no less a sage now than ever he was."

Colony Drop: In reference to his character arc and iconic Last Stand in his original game, several of his Soul Breaks invoke the imagery of Meteor.
Deadly Upgrade: His Sage's Resolve USB does this in honor of his last moments against Golbez. It gives Tellah Earth Infusion, Magical Quickcast 2, and the Dire Meteor status, which causes him to automatically Dualcast Black Magic for 15 seconds, and has the Legendary Black Magic Finisher, which does Overflow damage and finally kills Tellah.
Dishing Out Dirt: His main element is Earth.
Flanderization: In his original game, Tellah was a master of White and Black Magic; he only has White Magic 4 here and is firmly cemented as an offensive mage. Oddly he does have a great Mind stat on-par with the White Mages of the game, but he can't make much use of it.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability Dire Meteor. A Black Magic ability that deals 5 earth attacks with the last one ignoring Resistance.
Squishy Wizard: He ain't any more durable here than in IV, with terrible HP and Defense and mediocre Resistance.

Cid Pollendina (IV)

Role: Engineer

"Master engineer of the Kingdom of Baron. Cid has a protective nature that earns him the trust of those around him, and he takes special interest in watching over Cecil. Cid harbors a deep love for the airships he helped create, and it maddens him when the king of Baron begins to use them as weapons of war."

Out of Focus: He hasn't been seen in an event in years, and his tech goes no higher than his Ultra Soul Break, which is quite poor. Everyone else in the IV realm has at least a Glint and an Arcane Overstrike, and all but Yang and Ursula have Awakenings.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Monkey Wrench and Thor's Mighty Hammer. The first ability is a five-hit Lightning Machinist ability. While the second one does one hit that can break the damage cap.
Shock and Awe: His element is Lightning.
Support Party Member: His Soul Breaks center on debuffing enemies, though unusually for the role he only has Support 4 instead of Support 5.

Edward "Edge" Geraldine

Role: Eblan Prince

"Prince of Eblan, realm of the ninja. Edge always has a joke at the ready, but his lightheartedness does not diminish his iron will or ability to see any decision through to the end. Charismatic and regal, he's adored by his subjects."

Boring Yet Practical: Edge is famous for his Eblan Doppelganger Soul Break, which casts instantly to bestow Blink, Haste, and Last Stand on the party, all extremely useful buffs. The thing is, it's only a Super Soul Break, yet its effects are so useful even in top-level content that it's been called a Ultra Soul Break in disguise, or "USB0" for short. Tellingly, when Edge did get an Ultra Soul Break, it was identical to Eblan Doppelganger, just with the added effect of damaging the enemy too.
Making a Splash: Water is his main elemental field currently.
Playing with Fire: His Inferno Super Soul Break uses Fire for its element.
Secret Art: His first Hero Ability is Ninjutsu. It deals 4/5/6 Physical or Ninjutsu Fire, Water, or Lightning Attacks with 0/1/2 blink stacks. The attack type depends on Edge's Attack or Magic being higher. His second Hero Ability, Poison Caltrops, is more or less the poison version.
Shock and Awe: Some of his Soul Breaks can mix Lightning among its elements.

Fusoya

Role: Lunarian

"A Lunarian tasked with watching over the Lunar Sleep. When Fusoya witnesses the tragedy unfolding on the world below, he joins Cecil and his allies in their struggle. He is a powerful mage who wields a variety of spells."

Holy Hand Grenade: His element is Holy.
Non-Indicative Name: His Hero ability which deals damage to enemies is named after his ability in Final Fantasy IV that restored the party's HP.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Bless, which deals five Holy attacks to a target and lowers their Holy resistance.
Yin-Yang Bomb: He can use both Black Magic 5 and White Magic 5.

Golbez

Role: Magus

"A mysterious man clad in black armor who took command of the Red Wings after Cecil renounced the Kingdom of Baron. Golbez commands the four Archfiends, and is a powerful magus unto himself."

Black Mage: He has both Black Magic 5 and Darkness 5.
Casting a Shadow: Dark is his primary element.
Magic Knight: While they're not up to snuff with dedicated attackers, Golbez's HP, Attack, and Defense are decent, and he has Knight 5 too. His unique weapons are a mix of Axes and Rods, and he can equip Heavy Armor and Helmets.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Shadow Drake. It deals 6 magic Dark Attacks.

Rubicante

Role: Elemental Archfiend

"A man cloaked in crimson, leader of Golbez's four Archfiends. Rubicante is a noble foe who shuns deception, sincerely believing that the only good fight is a fair fight. A master of fire, his Inferno attack is particularly deadly."

Black Mage: He's an offensive spellcaster.
Combat Medic: In reference to his healing of the party before their fights in IV, he not only has Black Magic 5 and Darkness 5, but White Magic 5 too, and his default Soul Break revives and heals an ally.
Playing with Fire: Befitting of the Archfiend of Fire, Rubicante is all about Fire damage. One of his Burst commands gives him a chance to counter attacks with a Fire spell, and his Ultra Point-Blank Flame Dragon is the only Soul Break in the game that Imperils, gives him Fire Infusion and gives the party a fire-elemental damage reflecting barrier.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Inferno, a five-hit Fire spell that lowers Fire resistance.

Barbariccia

Role: Elemental Archfiend

"It's not hard to see why this scantily clad adversary stands out amongst the Four Fiends. A haughty creature, she tends to look down on all others as beneath her concern."

Best Known for the Fanservice: invoked Lampshaded in her character description, which pokes fun that the reason she's the second-most popular Archfiend after Rubicante is because of her Ms. Fanservice Stripperiffic design.
Black Mage: Notable as one of the game's few dedicated Wind mages.
Blow You Away: As per being the Fiend of Wind.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Whirlwind. It deals one hit less than other Black Magic Hero Abilities, but has the advantage on them of casting instantly.

Ceodore Harvey

Role: Red Wing

"Ceodore is the son of Cecil and Rosa, and prince of the kingdom of Baron. Though struggling with the enormous expectations placed upon him, he brushes Rosa's protests aside and states his desire to join the Red Wings airship squad."

Combat Medic: Ceodore's Soul Breaks have a supportive slant to this trope. His Burst Soul Break heals allies on use, and then his two Burst commands each damage an enemy, and one heals an ally and the other casts Esuna on an ally. His Legend Materia gives him a chance to heal the party a bit when using Knight abilities.
Holy Hand Grenade: Inherited from his father's abilities, indeed.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Vibra Slash, which does 6 Physical Holy Attacks.

Ursula

Role: Fabul Princess

"Yang's only daughter, sole princess of Fabul. Ursula is every bit her father's daughter, dexterous and powerful. Her father's reluctance to train her as a monk is a source of frequent friction between them."

Bare-Fisted Monk: Much like her father.
Dishing Out Dirt: Ursula has Earth as her main elemental basis.
Playing with Fire: Fire is her secondary element.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Five Star Crimson Palm, a six-hit Monk ability with a faster cast time if Yang is in the party.

Final Fantasy V

Bartz Klauser

Role: Wanderer

"A young man who's short on words, but always ready to help a friend in need. His father's dying wish was for him to travel the world, and now Bartz is every bit the adventurer his father had hoped."

Blow You Away: Downplayed. His element in his home game is Wind, and he picks up a few more dedicated Wind tools than he does for his other three elements, but he's more about his quad-elemental damage than just the Wind part.
Jack of All Stats: Bartz has a four elements gimmick that specializes him in Spellblade attacks in these elements, and he has many higher-tier Relics that grant him elemental infusions to specialize him in one of these elements, or let him remain a generalist.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Crystal Shimmer. A 5 hit Wind/Water/Fire/Earth Spellblade ability.
Spam Attack: One of the spammiest in the game. He has a Legend Materia for dualcasting Spellblade abilities and one for triplecasting them, and they can stack, letting him get off four attacks with one ability usage. He also has many Soul Breaks that allow further multi-casting of Spellblade abilities or add chase abilities to his Spellblade attacks. While it takes time to build up and use several Soul Breaks, once he has momentum going, Bartz can deal dozens of hits a turn, along with hundreds of thousands of damage.
Spell Blade: As he hails from the game that introduced the awesome Spell Blade, it's no wonder that Bartz is the Spell Blade user, able to deal outstanding damage in all of the four elements he specializes in, and can multi-cast them in a variety of ways. A full set of description for his tools can be found at the Game Breaker page.

Lenna Charlotte Tycoon

Role: Princess of Tycoon

"The kind-hearted princess of Tycoon. After her father set out to learn why the winds had died, she grew worried and followed after him—a journey that would lead her to meet Bartz. She is a loyal companion, who would gladly sacrifice herself for others."

Making a Splash: Downplayed heavily. While her elemental affinity in V was Water, it wasn't until the 4th year in the game that she got some Soul Break that references this, and it was only through a healing Soul Break that boosts the party's Water (and Ice, like her Burst Soul Break Tender Mercy) resistance, which is her Ultra Soul Break Essence of Water. Another Ultra Soul Break, Princesses' Prayer, grants her the Bravery ability Aqua Heal.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Tycoon Cure, which heals the entire party a little. It's a bit weaker than Hero Abilities with similar effects, but charges faster.
White Magician Girl: The V realm's primary dedicated healer.

Faris Scherwiz

Role: Pirate Captain

"A pirate captain beloved by the rank and file who serve under her command. Faris has a pirate's swagger, but she always has her friends' best interests at heart. She learns that she and Lenna both wear the same pendant, which leads her to discover her true origins."

Blow You Away: Her primary element is Wind.
King of Thieves: Technically, no, but many of her Soul Breaks play how she's both a captain of pirates and a princess of a kingdom. Taken to its logical extreme with Pirate Princess, where Faris commands pirates and royal guards to attack enemies together, switching between her pirate garb and her princess gown in the animation.
Playing with Fire: Her secondary element is Fire.
Secret Art: Her Hero Abilities are Pirate Cannon and Serpent's Gale. Pirate Cannon deals four Wind/Fire hits to a target, lowers their ATK/MAG, and buffs Faris' ATK/MAG, while Serpent's Gale deals five hits but has no support effect.
Support Party Member: She focuses on debuffing enemies and lowering their Wind and Fire resistance.

Galuf Halm Baldesion

Role: Amnesiac Warrior

"A seasoned warrior who's lost almost all memory of the past. In fact, he was one of the four Warriors of Dawn who sealed away the dreaded Exdeath. Still animated by a drive to protect the Crystals, he joins Bartz's party on their journey."

Bare-Fisted Monk: His primary ability school is Monk.
Cool Old Guy: A sixty year-old man who beats enemies up with his bare hands and can make himself immune to damage.
Dishing Out Dirt: His primary element is Earth.
Implacable Man: Two of his Soul Breaks grant him invulnerability to damage but they also remove all his positive and negative statuses other than the Attack buff granted by one of them and make him unable to be inflicted with any for their duration. His Awakening Soul Break references this in a more practical manner: among other effects, it grants him a bubble that nullifies all damage up to 100% of his HP, and once it's consumed, he gains Last Stand and all his actions execute instantly.
Playing with Fire: His secondary element is Fire.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Fist of the Dawn. It's a five-hit Earth Monk attack that gives Galuf a 40% damage reduction barrier.
Support Party Member: Many of his Soul Breaks act to buff the party or reduce the enemy's Earth or Fire resistance. A few of his strongest Soul Breaks have abilities that are stronger if his fellow Warriors of Dawn Xezat, Dorgann and Kelger are in the party and alive, and his presence also improves some abilities that Krile has in her Soul Breaks.

Krile Mayer Baldesion

Role: Princess of Bal

"A young woman raised by her grandfather, Galuf, whom she holds in the highest of esteem. Krile is sensitive and kind, and she has an uncanny ability to speak with moogles, wind drakes, and all manner of creatures."

Dishing Out Dirt: Her secondary element is Earth.
Gameplay and Story Integration: Initially her element was Fire and Galuf's was Earth. A fourth-year V event gave them each access to the other's element, a reference to the original game where Galuf passed all of his combat abilities to Krile. Some of her abilities with her Soul Breaks also have more hits and thus deal more damage if he grandfather is in the party and alive.
Playing with Fire: Her primary element is Fire.
Secret Art: Her Hero Abilities are Cleansing and Kindred Flame. Cleaning only deals four hits but casts instantly to make up for it, while Kindred Flame deals five hits.
Squishy Wizard: Great magical prowess, terrible defenses and HP.

Dorgann Klauser

Role: Dawn Warrior

"One of the four Warriors of Dawn who came from another world and imprisoned the sorcerer Exdeath. Remaining behind to ensure the sorcerer did not escape, he met a woman, Stella, and with her had a child, Bartz."

Blow You Away: His off-element is Wind.
Dishing Out Dirt: His main element is Earth.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Brotherhood of the Dawn, a six-hit Earth Knight command.
Support Party Member: Several of his Soul Breaks boost the party's ATK and other stats.

Xezat Matias Surgate

Role: King of Surgate

"The lord of Surgate Castle, and one of the four Warriors of Dawn. Xezat is not only a skilled swordsman, but also a clever tactician.

An Ice Person: His main element is Ice.
Bash Brothers: If all 4 Warriors of Dawn (himself, Dorgann, Galuf and Kelger) are in the party and alive when he uses his Awakening Soul Break, the entire party gains 100% critical hit rate and 50% critical damage boost, with lesser bonuses if one of them is missing.
Mana Potion: His main gimmick is that his kit lets him restore ability charges. His Ultra restores an ability charge to all allies, and one of his Legend Materia gives him a chance to regain an ability charge when he uses an Ice-elemental attack.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Spellsword Iceshock, a tri-elemental Earth, Ice, and Lightning Spellblade that deals five hits, with extra critical damage on the final hit.
Shock and Awe: His secondary element is Lightning.
Spell Blade: His main ability school.

Kelger Vlondett

Role: Werewolf Tribe Leader

"One of the four Warriors of Dawn, and leader of Quelb, a town inhabited by werewolves. Though Kelger's age finally takes its toll on him, his sense of justice and hatred of evil are undiminished."

Dishing Out Dirt: His element is Earth.
Ninja: His main ability school.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Lupine Fang, a Ninja ability that deals 3/5/7 physical earth attacks with 0/1/2 blink stacks and grants blink.
Theme Naming: Most of his Soul Breaks have "Lupine" in their name.

Gilgamesh

Role: Guard Captain

"The captain of Exdeath's guard. Gilgamesh is deeply loyal to his master, but even as a foe there is little animosity to be found in him. He feels a strong sense of rivalry with Bartz, whom he challenges again and again on his travels."

Mythology Gag:
- His Burst Gilgamesh Morphing Time deals eight hits, a reference to his eight arms he gets in his transformed mode.
- His Legend Materia boosts his stats and casts Protect, Shell, and Haste on him when he gets low on HP; a signature trait of his is feigning defeat while buffing himself and then making a comeback. His Level 99 Record Materia lets anyone begin the battle with Protect, Shell, and Haste.
Playing with Fire: His element is Fire, of which he also has a Chain Soul Break.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Death Claw. It deals 6 physical fire attacks that has a 100% critical hit if he has retaliate and removes retaliate when used.
Theme Naming: His default Soul Break is Morphing Time! and his Burst is Gilgamesh Morphing Time!. His second Burst, which is part of his Fire kit, is called Gilgamesh Scorching Time!

Exdeath

Role: Dark Warlock

"A dark warlock who gains control of the Void and plots to use its power to take over the world. Though he was sealed away by the four Warriors of Dawn, one by one he destroys the crystals that bind him."

Casting a Shadow: His main element is Dark, though as covered under Yin-Yang Bomb, he's not too shabby at Holy either.
Evil Sorcerer: It's basically his title.
Mana Potion: He's one of the two main Runic characters in the game, letting him negate and absorb enemy magic attacks to restore his ability charges.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Double Hole. It does 5 black or white magic Dark or Holy attacks. Attack type depends on whether his Magic or Mind is higher.
Squishy Wizard: High Magic, pitiful HP and defenses. Ironic, considering in some previous appearances had him as a quintessential Stone Wall.
Theme Naming: Several of his Soul Breaks have the same name as an earlier Soul Break he had with the "Neo" prefix added, in reference to Neo Exdeath.
Yin-Yang Bomb: He has access to the full school of both Black and White Magic, and his Soul Breaks deal Holy and Dark damage. His Ultra Laws of Black and White boosts his Holy and Dark-elemental damage, and his Synchro has one Dark-elemental command that grants a boost to Dark damage, and the other command is the same for Holy.

Famed Mimic Gogo (V)

Role: Mimic

"The self-styled "famed mimic" who dwells in the sunken Tower of Walse. He battles Bartz and his allies to keep them from gaining the Crystal shard that has fallen into his possession."

Ascended Extra: He was a boss fought in a minor, optional sidequest; here he gets to be a playable character.
Making a Splash: His element is Water.
Power Copying: His Mimic powers let him copy the attacks of allies.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Total Mastery, a Black Magic spell that deals five hits and lowers Water resistance.

Final Fantasy VI

Terra Branford

Role: Magitek Elite

"A girl born with magical powers that were once thought lost to the world, Terra helps the Returners, acting as a bridge between the world of humans and espers."

Blow You Away: A 4th year Dissidia event gives her Wind as a secondary element.
Cute Monster Girl: She assumes her Esper form when her Trance-type Materia is activated, and in the animations of several of her Soul Breaks.
Critical Status Buff: The Magitek Warrior Legend Materia allows her to enter Trance when she reaches critical HP. This restores her health, boosts all her stats, and reduces the cast time of all her actions.
Heroes Prefer Swords: A curious example in that she's a mage, so her Soul Break swords are all wired to offer her high MAG rather than ATK.
Magic Knight: Downplayed compared to her original game, but more prominent than in other spin-offs. She has no physical abilities and her Attack and Defense are subpar, but she's able to equip the heavier gear like Heavy Armor, Helms, and Shields, that other Mages can't, and her unique weapons are Swords that boost Magic.
Magic Staff: She also has rods among her unique relics.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Downplayed but still applicable. Unlike other characters who specialize in multiple elements, most of Terra's Soul Breaks are either just Fire or just Wind, and she also has no Soul Break to give her a mechanic to change her infusion between the two. The probable reason is that for her entire lifespan Terra has had access to the Black Magic ability Meltdown, which deals tri-elemental Fire/Wind/Earth damage, thus she has great synergy between her Fire and Wind tools already. This was eventually averted in the game's seventh year, when she got a third Synch Soul Break, Inferno Storm, which gives her Twin Element mode.
Playing with Fire: Naturally, Terra's primary specialty is Fire.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is her recurring Riot Blade, hitting enemies with five Fire/Wind Sword Beams, the last of which ignores Resistance.

Locke Cole

Role: Adventurer

"A young member of the Returners. Saving Terra started him down the path to overthrow the Empire, and ultimately Kefka himself."

Critical Status Buff: Some of his Soul Breaks or abilities rise in power the lower Locke's HP is, including the follow-up to his Ultra Soul Break Burning Spirit, Valiant Flame, which normally deals four hits, but gains an additional hit for every 20% less than Locke's max HP, with a cap of eight hits. This is in reference to the Valiant Knife, which Locke plundered from the Phoenix Cave in FFVI. The Valiant Knife itself is a relic used to learn one of these Soul Breaks: Valiant Strike. Locke also has the Phoenix's Charge Legend Materia, which allows him to enter Phoenix Mode once he reaches critical HP.
Foil: To Terra. The two form the primary fire-elemental fighters of the VI realm, but Terra is a mage who focuses on raw power by stacking buffs and boosting her stats, while Locke is a fighter who focuses on maximizing DPS with attacks that trigger follow-up attacks or lower the enemy's Fire resistance.
The Phoenix: A visual motif used for many of his Soul Breaks, mirroring his connection to the Esper in his game.
Precision-Guided Boomerang: Locke has some Thrown weapons among his Unique relics, including his Awakening.
Playing with Fire: Fire is his main element.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Mirage Raid and Burning Spirit. Mirage Raid deals four Fire attacks to the enemy and steals an ATK/DEF buff from them, Burning Spirit is a straightforward six-hit attack.
Speed Echoes: His Mirage Dive desperation attack is one of his early Soul Breaks, and is part of quite a few others. The animation for Mirage Dive involves him leaving after-images in many colors. It doesn't grant him Mirror Image, however.

Celes Chere

Role: Rune Knight

"An imperial Magitek Knight who was once one of the Empire's top generals. She objected to the barbaric methods the Empire had adopted, for which she was branded a traitor and sentenced to death, before being saved by Locke."

An Ice Person: She has Ice as a secondary element.
Anti-Magic: With Exdeath, she's the other "Runic" user of the game, which lets her negate enemy magic to restore her ability charges.
The Artifact: Her default Soul Break Spinning Edge was made Wind-elemental for some reason; for it, a few of Celes' Soul Break have Wind in them, even though she doesn't use Wind in her kit outside of these instances.
Blow You Away: Wind is worked into a couple of her Soul Breaks and later became her tertiary element.
Early-Installment Weirdness: Celes spent the first few years of the game struggling to find a character build to fit into. Her ability pool and a Holy-infusing Soul Break nudged her to a Knight build, but all of her Materia nudged her into being a generalist Spellblade user. While she eventually got an Ultra Soul Break that boosts her Spellblade abilites, she still lacked for an element to use them with. It wasn't until the game's 4th Anniversary event came that she got an Infused Ice Soul Break, as well as an Ice Chain, which begs the question of why she didn't get it sooner because Ice has always been Celes' elemental affinity in most other appearances. When she got her Awakening, her Awoken General mode it grants works for Holy and Ice abilities, bringing solidarity to her skillset by letting her play as either a Holy Knight or an Ice Spellblade.
Heroes Prefer Swords: Naturally for her as a Rune Knight.
Holy Hand Grenade: Her primary element is Holy.
Reimagining the Artifact: In the era of Awakening Soul Breaks, which grant the user infinite ability charges for certain types of attacks, Celes' Runic gimmick would be useless in its previous functionality, negating magic attacks to restore her ability charges. The tweak to this mechanic for Celes' Awakening was that its Awoken Runic Blade effect grants Celes Magic Blink to negate spells cast against her, preserving the spirit of Runic as a spell-negating mechanic.
Secret Art: Her Hero ability is Spinning Edge, which deals 5 Ice and Holy attacks to all enemies. It has a higher multiplier with fewer enemies.
Spell Blade: Her main ability school.

Edgar Roni Figaro

Role: Machinist

"The King of Figaro. Edgar breaks his alliance with the Gestahlian Empire and joins the Returners in their fight for freedom."

Automatic Crossbow: His iconic Trope Namer Tool appears as his default Soul Break, dealing ranged damage to all enemies.
Gadgeteer Genius: Many of his Tools from VI feature as either equipment pieces or in his Soul Break animations.
Improbable Weapon User: Becomes a champion of it with his Arcane Overstrike, where he weaponizes his castle, having it burrow underground and emerge from beneath enemies to deal Overflow damage.
Lightning/Fire Juxtaposition: As Poison was phased out of the metagame, Edgar shifted to have a three-way focus on Poison, Lightning, and Fire. His Trifecta Drill Burst deals tri-elemental damage and has two Burst commands; one is Poison/Fire and lowers the target's Fire resistance, the other is the same for Poison/Lightning. His Royal Brotherhood Ultra meanwhile triggers the follow-up Enfeeble on usage of Poison, Lightning, or Fire-elemental abilities, and deals additional damage in whichever of those elements he used and lowers the enemy's resistance to the same.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: A minor instance. His Overstrike Armageddon Blast is the only Overstrike Soul Break in the game to hit all enemies.
Poisonous Person: His main element is Poison.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Withering Shot and Chainsaw. The former does 3 physical Fire/Lighting/Poison attacks and imperils those three elements for five seconds. The latter just does 5 physical Fire/Lightning/Poison attacks.
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Edgar's Awakening Soul Break Bravo Drill! and his 6* Glint Soul Break King of Figaro grants him "Change Machinery Mode", which variably grants him an Infusion for Fire, Lightning, or Poison, when using an attack in those elements, and with the former, every second attack in those elements lowers the enemy's elemental resistance to it. Edgar is also the only character able to get a Poison infusion who can use the Machinist skillset, where the 6* Penalty Snipe was eventually buffed to be Poison-elemental. Until the sixth year gave Poison characters a boost Edgar was the best Poison specialist by default because no one else had such good access to 6* Poison abilities and couldn't imperil it, and only in following year, although late, more 6* Poison abilities like Chain Bioga, were intruduced

Sabin Rene Figaro

Role: Monk

"Edgar's twin brother. When Sabin learns that Figaro has broken its alliance with the Gestahlian Empire, he goes to fight at his brother's side."

Bare-Fisted Monk: Monk specialist.
Evolving Attack: His Perdition's Phoenix Burst deals between seven and ten hits, depending on his Attack stats, and his first Burst command boosts his Attack and Defense more and more the more Sabin uses it. The same goes with the follow-up of his Ultra Soul Break Explosive Fist, Firebird Strick, which hits between three and six times.
The Phoenix: He keeps his Rising Phoenix Blitz from VI as a Soul Break, and it's why his element is Fire and the Phoenix is used in several of his other Soul Breaks.
Playing with Fire: His main element is Fire.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Raging Fist, a Fire-elemental attack that deals six hits.

Cyan Garamonde

Role: Samurai

"A samurai sworn to defend Doma, an eastern land whose royal castle was decimated by Kefka's treachery. Cyan joined the Returners to avenge the deaths of his liege and his beloved wife and child."

Crippling Overspecialization: Cyan can only do Combat and Samurai, but he can do those very efficiently, having an Ultra with Ability Double and a dualcast LM2.
Critical Hit Class: His Ultra boosts his critical hit damage while his Burst boosts the party's critical hit rate.
Katanas Are Just Better: As a Samurai, he obviously has katanas in his Soul Break arsenal.
Playing with Fire: His element is Fire.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Bushido Tempest, a seven-hit Samurai ability that deals Fire damage. To compensate for the high damage output it will have with its high number of hits, it requires more time to use it.
Theme Naming: His Soul Breaks almost universally are named "Bushido <attack>", his unique skill in VI.

Shadow

Role: Assassin

"A cold and calculating assassin whose loyalties are for sale to the highest bidder. Shadow wanders the darkness, secretly longing for his own death."

Boring Yet Practical: His Burst Shuriken Storm has fallen victim to Power Creep, but retains utility for being an instant-casting group attack that also has two quick-hitting Burst commands, making it great for Power-Up dungeons.
Casting a Shadow: His element is Dark.
Dark and Troubled Past: Referenced with his first Ultra, Abandoned Past.
Katanas Are Just Better: Many of his Soul Breaks come from katanas.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Shadow Fang. It deals 5 Physical Ninja Dark attacks, with the last one ignoring defense with 100% accuracy.

Gau

Role: Feral Boy

"A mischievous young boy raised by beasts. Though Gau has difficulty expressing himself with words, he has no trouble communicating his thoughts through wild gesticulations."

The Berserker: Keeping with his Rage mechanics from VI, several of his Soul Breaks send him into an uncontrollable state where he'll use a random attack each turn.
Blow You Away: In the game's fourth year he picked up Wind as a secondary elemental affinity alongside Lightning, fitting with his Celerity skillset, which often had both Wind and Lightning abilities.
Boring Yet Practical: He only has two ability schools, Combat and Celerity. But backed by his Ultra, it's all he needs to be effective.
Fandom Nod: In VI, three of the more popular Rages for Gau among fans were the Stray Cat, Aspiran, and Behemoth, who gave him Cat Scratch, Gigavolt, and Meteor, all good attacks. Here, the Stray Cat is Gau's basic Rage Soul Break and his Record Materia gives his Attack a chance to become Cat Scratch, Gigavolt Rage is his Unique, and Meteor Rage is his Super.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Rage. It deals six hits of Wind/Lightning damage, but damages Gau when he uses it.
Shockand Awe: His primary element is Lightning.
Took a Level in Badass: For most of his run in Record Keeper Gau was considered useless due to his Rage mechanics that made him uncontrollable ^{Just how bad, you ask?}, and he lacked the ability pool to be useful without Soul Breaks or ones that grant him elemental infusions. Then he got his Ultra Savory Treat, which hits twelve times, gives him a 100% critical hit rate for the next 25 seconds and lets him automatically dualcast Combat and Celerity abilities for the next 15 seconds. While it didn't make him top-tier, it eliminated his Joke Character status by making him a competent non-elemental DPS. Later Relics since worked him into a more conventional skillset that was more reliable than his past Soul Breaks while retaining the spirit behind his Rage gimmick.

Mog

Role: Moogle

"A moogle warrior who dwells deep in the Narshe Mines. Moogles are good-natured creatures with a fondness for dance, but that doesn't stop Mog from fiercely defending Terra from her pursuers."

Dance Battler: As always. His Soul Breaks are themed after his VI Dances, and his Materia focus on Dance abilities.
Fandom Nod: Mog was popular to use as a makeshift Dragoon in VI, as only he and Edgar can use Spears, and the Jump command dealt more damage when the user had a Spear equipped. Here, Mog naturally has Dragoon 2 and gets Dragoon 5 through his Record Spheres.
Foil: To Cait Sith. The two are widely-used support characters with a high degree of overlap, but their different skillsets and Soul Breaks mean either may be more viable than the other for different content. Two key examples are Mog's Awakening Dance as One and Cait Sith's Glint+ Planetary Protector: the former buffs the party's ATK/DEF/RES/MND, giving Mog a way to counter the Full Break mechanics of Cardia bosses; the latter lowers the enemy's DEF/RES/MND, giving Cait Sith a way to counter the defensive buffs used by Magicite bosses.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Heroic Harmony. It is a Dance ability that restores about 1500 HP to all party members, and increases their Magic stat. The boost to Magic increases in potency every time he uses the ability, reaching a 30% boost after 3 uses. It also features an avalanche of moogles falling onto the party.
Support Party Member: His skillset and Soul Breaks cement him as a buffing/debuffing character, including being the holder of the VI Realm Chain, and he has White Magic 4 and a healing command on his Burst to help out with healing.
Umbrella Drink: When using his Sunbath soul break, Mog pulls out a beach chair, sunglasses, and a fancy drink, to really get into the spirit of things.

Setzer Gabbiani

Role: Gambler

"Proud owner of the airship Blackjack. After the death of his friend and long-time rival Darill he abandoned his dream of possessing the fastest airship in the world. Instead, he built a casino aboard the Blackjack, where he wiles away the hours gambling."

Casting a Shadow: His element is Dark.
Death Dealer: He attacks by throwing playing cards and other gambling paraphernalia at enemies. In fact, some of his early relics were on a type of weapon as unique to him as Blitzballs are to Tidus and Wakka.
Early-Installment Weirdness: One of his first Soul Breaks was attached to the Darts weapon, classified as Gambling Gear. This is the only Gambling weapon in the game; all of Setzer's other weapons since have been classified as Throwing.
Obvious Rule Patch: Once he began to be built as a Dark character, Setzer ran into a problem — none of his ability schools have any Dark-elemental abilities. When a later event gave him more Dark relics, it also added Dark-elemental Sharpshooter abilities to the game, so he can actually fill his designated role properly. Downplayed in that several other characters can make use of Dark Sharpshooter skills, but they were definitely added to help Setzer more than them.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Red Card. It is a Sharpshooter ability that deals only four Dark hits, but lowers the target's Dark resistance, and randomly grants Setzer Quickcast 2 for Sharpshooter abilities, or heals 1000 HP to an ally and heals them of Poison, Blind, and Sleep.
Support Party Member: He's a dedicated debuffing character, and the way debuffs work in this game combined with his array of debuffing Soul Breaks allows Setzer to stack debuffs very effectively.

Strago Magus

Role: Blue Mage

"An old mage who raised the orphan Relm as though she were his own granddaughter. After encountering Terra and Locke, Strago learns of the dire threat to the world and throws himself into the fight to save it. Though age has left his body frail, the magic he wields is as potent as ever."

Blow You Away: Wind is his secondary element.
Dishing Out Dirt: He has a tertiary element, which is Earth.
Making a Splash: Water is his main element.
Mythology Gag: Strago's starting Lores in VI were the Water/Wind elemental Aqua Breath, Revenge, and Stone (which was actually non-elemental). Here Water is his main element with Wind as a secondary element and Earth as a tertiary element that was later phased out.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Aqua Breath and Aero, which deal six hits of magic damage; Aqua Breath is Water and Aero is Wind.
Squishy Wizard: His magical power is great, but he has the physical durability you'd expect from a seventy year-old man.
Theme Naming: "Blue" is used in several of his Soul Breaks, to tie into both his Blue Mage skillset and his Water affinity.

Relm Arrowny

Role: Pictomancer

"A young girl with artistic ability far surpassing her years. Relm has a surprisingly sharp tongue, but at times her inner warmth breaks through. She and Strago, whom she loves like a grandfather, set out on a journey to defeat Kefka."

Mythology Gag: One of her Soul Breaks sketches Ultros to blast enemies with ink, a reference to her introductory battle in VI where she does exactly that. Another of her Soul Breaks (her Super Soul Break) sketches Lakshmi, the Esper she was apparently trying to paint in VI when the Chadarnook attacked.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Starlight. Using it is a Luck-Based Mission — there's a 33% chance each of it having 17.5, 20, or 22.5 power (which puts it on about the same level as other party healing Hero Abilities), but there's a 1% chance it'll have 80 power, making it as strong as a Soul Break.
White Magician Girl: The VI realm's only dedicated healer.

Gogo (VI)

Role: Mimic

"A mimic shrouded in mystery whose age, gender, and origin are unknown. A practiced practitioner of the mimic arts, Gogo joins Celes and the others on their quest to save the world, and mimics those in the party."

Magic Knight: He's got equally good Attack and Magic, his Mind is also pretty high, and he can use Rank 5 Combat, Black Magic, and White Magic skills. His Soul Breaks deal hybrid damage (variably physical or magical depending on which stat is higher), and his Brave Soul Break powers up from Combat and Black Magic commands.
Power Copying: He specializes in copying the attacks of other party members.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability Magical Mimicry. It deals five Fire/Ice/Wind/Earth Hybrid attacks.

Umaro

Role: Yeti

"A yeti who lived a quiet life in a mountain cave near the coal mining town of Narshe. Though prone to violent outbursts, Umaro has a soft spot for bone carvings, and for some reason he obeys Mog's every command."

An Ice Person: His element is Ice, naturally.
The Berserker: His Green Cherry Soul Break makes him uncontrollable and he automatically attacks for three turns.
Mythology Gag: His Green Cherry Soul Break is named for the item he eats when fought as a boss in VI that grants him stat buffs, and the four attacks he uses in Green Cherry mode reference the four attacks he has as a party member in VI.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Icestorm, a single hit of Ice damage that can break the damage cap.

Leo Christophe

Role: Gestahlian General

"A soldier of the Gestahlian Empire, Leo was one of the few to refuse a Magitek infusion, rising to the rank of general on his own. Not just a military man, Leo proves to be a kind soul, helping Terra understand her humanity. Respected by his soldiers and enemies alike."

Characterization Marches On: His initial Soul Breaks built him as a Holy character, then later Relics transitioned him to focus more heavily on Earth with Holy as an off-element.
Dishing Out Dirt: His primary element is Earth.
Holy Hand Grenade: His secondary element is Holy.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Shock. It deals one Physical Earth or Holy attack that can break the damage cap.
Support Party Member: His Soul Breaks include themes of him buffing and defending allies while attacking.
Weapon Twirling: Done gratuitously with his sword whenever he uses some variation of "Shock" in his Soul Breaks.

Kefka Palazzo

Role: Mage

"A mage of the Gestahlian Empire. Kefka sets out to capture Terra and the espers, nearly destroying the entire world in the process."

Casting a Shadow: His second received element was Dark, though it's become his primary element.
Characterization Marches On: Began as a Poison-elemental mage, but as Poison was phased out of the metagame he shifted to Dark. His Synchro gave him a Tri-Element mode for both, letting him run Poison or Dark as he likes.
Mad God: His insanity and godhood are referenced in many of his Soul Break and Materia names, most directly his third Record Materia God of Ruin.
Musical Assassin: He has Bard 5 and Dancer 4, and his first Burst is called Symphony of Madness.
Poisonous Person: His initial element was Poison, but it's been downplayed in favor of Dark.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Havoc Wing. It does 6 magic Dark or Poison Attacks and lowers his Mind. But with his very low mind, it doesn't mean much.
Winged Humanoid: Several of his Soul Breaks and his Hero Ability all have him temporarily sprout wings in-reference to his appearance as the final boss in FF6.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Cloud Strife

Role: SOLDIER

"An ex-SOLDIER whose true memories have been lost, Cloud joins the rebel group AVALANCHE's fight against the Shinra Company in an attempt to save the planet, and discover more about his own identity."

Blow You Away: His primary dedicated element is Wind.
Boring Yet Practical: His second Record Materia Mako Might lets the user begin a battle with two Soul Break charges. Straightforward, yes. Used in countless party builds for all types of battles? Very much yes.
Casting a Shadow: His secondary element is Darkness.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: The Kingdom Hearts event gave him his bandaged Buster Sword and tattered cloak from that series, and from Tactics he gets his Materia Blade. This makes Cloud the only character to have unique equipment from realms outside his own.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Braver. Which does 5 Physical Wind or Dark Spellblade attacks.
Spell Blade: The main way he uses his Wind element is via Spellblade abilities.
Super-Strength: Cloud has, bar none, the highest damage output of any character in the game, thanks solely to his Ultra Cross Slash that uncaps his damage for all physical attacks and gives him a 100% critical hit rate. With the right party to support him, Cloud can deal tens of thousands of damage every turn with normal abilities, and his Soul Breaks will deal hundreds of thousands. It wasn't until the game's fourth year when Awakened Arcane Soul Breaks came out that other characters began to be able to rival Cloud's damage output.
Took a Level in Badass: In the era of Awakenings, Cloud's notoriety suffered a bit — now many characters could casually break the damage cap with their normal attacks, and Cloud's lack of 6* Spellblades really hurt his Wind damage by forcing him to rely on 5* Spellblades that had lower power and generated less Soul Break gauge. Then Hero Abilities were added to the game and Cloud got his unique skill Braver, a 5-hit Wind/Dark Spellblade that is stronger than other 6* Spellblade abilities and generates just as much Soul Break gauge as them. With this, Cloud's biggest weakness was eliminated and he became a better Wind DPS than ever, while also getting an alternative to Dark kits than Heavy Combat skills.
Unskilled, but Strong: Before he expanded his Wind options, Cloud strategies could be summed up as "Fire off Ultra Cross Slash and use Omega Drive over and over"^Explanation. Simple and dull, but the buffs from Ultra Cross Slash were so effective that it was all Cloud needed to pull his weight. This strategy eventually fell off due to Power Creep, but by that time Cloud had his new Wind toys and was able to stay relevant with their help, though Ultra Cross Slash is still key to accessing his full potential.

Barret Wallace

Role: AVALANCHE

"Leader of the anti-Shinra resistance group AVALANCHE. He lost his right arm, his hometown, and even his wife to Shinra's deception, and he wanted nothing more than revenge. But as time passed, he broke free of his blind hatred."

Artificial Limbs: His unique weapons are Gun Arms, and he's the only character who can use them (except for Tyro, who can equip everything).
More Dakka: Several of his Soul Breaks have a high hit count, and his Legend Materia Vermin Exterminator gives him a chance to follow up Machinist abilities with another seven hits of damage.
Playing with Fire: His main element.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Ungarmax, a seven-hit Fire Machinist ability.
Support Party Member: He's a dedicated debuffing/buffing character.

Tifa Lockheart

Role: AVALANCHE

"A member of AVALANCHE and Cloud's childhood friend, Tifa is a skilled martial artist. Though shy, she harbors feelings for Cloud."

Bare-Fisted Monk: Another Monk fighter.
Dishing Out Dirt: Her element is Earth.
Secret Art: Her Hero Abilities are Beat Rush and Somersault. Beat Rush is a six-hit Earth attack, Somersault only does four hits but gives Tifa Quickcast 2 for Monk abilities.
Theme Naming: Several of her Soul Breaks have "Meteor" in their names; Meteor Crusher, Meteor Strike, Meteodrive, and Meteor Combo. This is thanks to VII where Meteor Strike and Meteodrive were two of her Limit techniques.

Aerith Gainsborough

Role: Flower Girl

"Descendant of the ancient Cetra, a race of beings possessing the ability to speak with and nurture the planet, Aerith is a determined optimist who embarks on a journey to discover her own destiny."

The Chosen One: Several of her Soul Breaks reference her Cetra heritage.
Secret Art: Her first Hero Ability is Healing Wind. It restores a bit of HP to the entire party, and is a bit stronger than other Hero Abilities with the same effect in exchange for charging slower; intent is for players to combo it with her Awakening (which speeds up casting speed) and Sync (where linked ability casting speed is irrelevant).

Her other Hero Ability is Breath of Breeze. It may only heal the party for a fixed 1500 HP, but it also gives Aerith a Salvation Star that buffs the party's attack power based on its rank, up to 3.

Spam Attack: A healing version. Her Legend Materia Motherly Protector gives her a chance to cast a healing spell on the party whenever she uses a White Magic command, but unlike most effects that have such a chance to trigger, Aerith's can trigger on dualcasts, follow-up attacks, and linked Sync commands. In tandem with her dualcast Legend Materia, Aerith can potentially cast multiple healing spells on the party off of one ability use, and heal far more damage than would be expected.
Summon Magic: She has Summon 5, so she has a bit of offensive utility.
Support Party Member: Her second Ultra Soul Break Innocent Cure gives the party three turns of Quickcast for physical attacks, and her Awakening and Synchro also bestow this buff to them, making Aerith very effective at speeding up the party's DPS while she heals them.
White Magician Girl: The VII realm's only dedicated healer, and one of the best in the whole game with her Innocent Cure USB.

Red XIII

Role: Specimen

"One of the last members of his race, Red XIII was used as a guinea pig in Shinra experiments. His fierce appearance is at odds with his caring, and at times cowardly, nature. His desire to protect the planet helps him overcome his fears."

Characterization Marches On: He began as a physical support character, but later got buffed to have higher Magic and full access to Black Magic, and received relics to make him an Earth-elemental mage.
Dishing Out Dirt: His element is Earth.
Jack of All Stats: He has decent Attack and Defense with his good Magic and HP, he can use Black Magic 4 (5 through his Record Spheres) and Support 5, as well as Combat 3, and has both offensive magic Soul Breaks and supportive buffing and debuffing ones.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Earth Rave, a powerful 5 hit Earth-elemental Black Magic ability that lowers the enemy's Earth resistance.
Useless Useful Spell: He has access to White Magic 1, which gives him access to a wide variety of useful spells like Vox, Poisona, Blindna, and Slow. His Combat 3 access at least lets him use Break skills; his White Magic affinity is entirely useless.

Yuffie Kisaragi

Role: Materia Hunter

"A young ninja who thinks highly of herself and isn't shy about letting everyone know it. Yuffie seeks to restore her hometown of Wutai to its glory days before it fell to Shinra, and she always has her eye out for a new piece of materia."

Breakout Character: She's become one of the VII realm's most supported characters comparable to Cloud and Sephiroth, and hits hard in Earth and Water.
Dishing Out Dirt: The second Kingdom Hearts event gave her Earth as a second element.
Flanderization: Wutai's guardian deity is Leviathan in VII, so Yuffie is made a dedicated Water character here, despite access to a variety of Limit commands in her home game.
Making a Splash: Her main element is Water.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Gauntlet. Which deals 4 Physical Water or Earth Attacks with a long delay and doesn't add a blink stack which is unusual for a Ninja ability. It does 8 hits with 2 blink stacks.
Spam Attack: Freewheeling Gauntlet lets her follow up Water commands with another four, six, or eight attacks, depending on her stacks of Image. Along with the associated Ninja commands that deal more hits depending on Image, and at max potential Yuffie can deal fifteen attacks a turn. She's also one of the characters with the twenty-one hit versions of Arcane Soul Breaks.
Theme Naming: "Freewheeling" is used in her later relics, such as Freewheeling Reflection, Freewheeling Gauntlet, and Freewheeling Bloodfest.

Vincent Valentine

Role: Former Turk

"A gunslinger who slept in a coffin in the Shinra Mansion for many years, Vincent is one of the few who knows Sephiroth's true origin. Vincent has been surgically altered, giving him eternal youth and the ability to change into a variety of beasts."

Animal Motifs: Dogs and wolves. Cerberus is one of his unique weapons, the name is used in several of his Soul Breaks, and the wolf-like Galian Beast is his Super Mode used for his Trance and in some of his Soul Break animations.
Early-Installment Weirdness: He has Darkness 5 access and his first Burst has Burst commands that grow stronger if he has Doom status, a schtick associated with the Darkness skill and its users. His later Relics never brought up Doom again and he's been consistently built as a dedicated Fire character, leaving his Darkness skillset useless and looking out of place.
Flanderization: As noted in his character description, Vincent is able to transform into different monsters in VII, and had four total. But Galian Beast was his default one and the only one he could use in his Dirge of Cerberus spinoff (aside from Chaos as an 11th-Hour Superpower), so it's his sole transformation here, and the fact that Galian Beast's main attack was Beast Flare is why Vincent is a Fire-focused character. He eventually got Chaos as his True Awakening Soul Break, but it too is treated as Fire-elemental despite having no Fire associations at all in VII.
Glass Cannon: Good Attack and Magic and offensive potential in both, mediocre HP and sub-par Defense and Resistance.
Magic Knight: His Attack and Magic are both high, he has Black Magic 5, Sharpshooter 5, and Machinist 5 for a good array of Fire skills both physical and magical, and many of his Soul Breaks deal hybrid damage where they count as physical or magical depending on which of his stats is higher. He's overall better as a mage, but works just fine as a physical character.
Playing with Fire: His main element is Fire.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Beast Flare. A Machinist ability that deals 6 ranged Fire Hybrid attacks.
Turns Red: He's one of the characters with a "Trance" Legend Materia, which triggers at critical HP to transform him into the Galian Beast, healing him and lowering the casting time of his actions.

Cid Highwind (VII)

Role: Pilot

"A legendary pilot in Shinra's space program. Cid was chosen to be their first astronaut, but the program was canceled. He chose to remain in Rocket Town, biding his time, and still harboring his dreams of space."

Blow You Away: His element is Wind.
In a Single Bound: Dragoon specialist.
Out of Focus: Out of all the core cast of VII, Cid gets by far the least exposure and utility. For years the highest-level tech he received is an Ultra Soul Break that is subpar. He eventually got thrown a bone in the form of the VII Realm Chain, but little else. It wasn't until a 5th year event that he finally got an Awakening, Arcane Overstrike, and Glint, in a time when Synchro Soul Breaks and Glint+ are standard issue for many characters.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Boost Jump, a six-hit Jump attack that deals Wind damage.
Useless Useful Spell: He has access to Machinist 5, but nothing in his kit gives him any amount of utility to gain from it.

Cait Sith

Role: Fortuneteller

"A mechanical black cat with a penchant for fortune telling, Cait Sith joins Cloud under the pretext of seeing what his predictions for the party mean."

Foil: To Mog. The two are widely-used support characters with a high degree of overlap, but their different skillsets and Soul Breaks mean either may be more viable than the other for different content. Two key examples are Mog's Awakening Dance as One and Cait Sith's Glint+ Planetary Protector: the former buffs the party's ATK/DEF/RES/MND, giving Mog a way to counter the Full Break mechanics of Cardia bosses; the latter lowers the enemy's DEF/RES/MND, giving Cait Sith a way to counter the defensive buffs used by Magicite bosses.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Joyful Dance. A Dancer ability that debuffs the enemies's Defense and Resistance by 50% for 10 seconds and heals the party for around 1000 HP.
Support Party Member: He specializes in buffing the party and debuffing enemies. This is highlighted by his Ultra Danger Dice, which casts Protect, Shell, and Haste on the party, and lowers the ATK, DEF, MAG, and RES of enemies. He also has a couple of healing options to help out the party's White Mage.

Zack Fair

Role: SOLDIER

"A loyal and kind-hearted SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack was Aerith's first love and a close friend of Cloud. Zack comes to Cloud's aid when he succumbs to intense Mako poisoning."

Bash Brothers: With Cloud. While Cloud supplies the pure power, Zack provides the support needed to maximize his potential, and together the two can make short work of anything weak to Wind. Zack's Wind Chain boosts the party's critical hit damage (which Cloud can make great use of with Ultra Cross Slash giving him a 100% critical hit rate), and his Soul Breaks and skillset lend him to lowering the enemy's Wind resistance and dealing multiple hits of Wind damage to build up the Chain bonus, both boosting Cloud's damage potential even further.
Blow You Away: His element is Wind.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Rush Assault. It starts off charging slowly and deals six hits of Wind damage, but it gets faster and faster the more Zack uses it.
Super-Speed: His Legend Materia lets him begin battles with Haste and removes the charge time from his first three actions, his specialized ability pool is in Celerity (which execute quickly), his Burst commands have reduced charge time, and his Ultra Climhazzard Xeno reduces the charge time of his next action when he uses a Wind attack. When his Ultra is combined with Wind-elemental Celerity abilities, Zack will execute attacks ridiculously fast.
Support Party Member: By virtue of the Bash Brothers trope with Cloud. Zack's damage output alone is fine but isn't anything spectacular, but he's really good at increasing Cloud's damage output to more than make up his own deficiency.
Theme Naming: Save for his third Record Materia, all of his Materia, both Record and Legend, bear the name "SOLDIER" in them.

Angeal Hewley

Role: SOLDIER

"A SOLDIER 1st Class, widely liked for his generous personality. Angeal is able to befriend people like Sephiroth, who consciously push others away, and impresses Zack with his straight-shooting nature and pride in his work. The Buster Sword given him by his parents is a symbol to him of that pride."

Bash Brothers: Downplayed but apt to a degree; his Wind affinity lets him join Cloud and Zack in beating on enemies, contributing in his own way with defensive buffs for the party.
Blow You Away: Wind specialist.
Holy Hand Grenade: His secondary element is Holy.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Wings of Pride and Unleashed Wrath. Wings of Pride deals three hits of Holy and Wind damage and grants the user a damage reduction barrier, and deals two extra hits if they already have such a barrier, and Unleashed Wrath is a five-hit Holy and Wind attack that deals extra critical hit damage on the final hit.
Support Party Member: He focuses in defending the party by boosting their Defense and Resistance and granting them damage-negating barriers.
Theme Naming: "Pride" is used in several of his tools, and he otherwise has tools themed after the Seven Deadly Sins, as he did in Crisis Core as Angeal Penance.

Shelke Rui

Role: Tsviet

"A member of the Tsviets, the elite of the elite warriors of Deepground, Shinra's "dark secret." In addition to her considerable prowess in battle, she can dive into the Worldwide Network to extract critical information."

Boring Yet Practical: She's one of a few characters to have access to Support 5* along with one of the "Haste + Instant Cast 3" Legend Materias, which makes her one of the best Entrust users in the game, because she can rapidly charge up Soul Break gauge in the first few turns of battle, then either Entrust it to an ally or use it to cast one of her Soul Breaks. Shelke is one of the few characters to be viable in high-level battles even if the player has no Relics for her; she's just that good at what she does.
Breakout Character: She's the only Dirge of Cerberus representative and virtually unheard of outside her original game, especially compared to the core VII cast which have reappeared all over the place for years. However, Shelke's great utility in this game as a support character lead to her becoming a very well supported character, even moreso than some characters who are part of the playable cast.
Shock and Awe: Her damaging Soul Breaks are focused on Lightning.
Secret Art: Her Hero Abilities are Synaptic Net Dive and The Transparent. Synpatic Net Drive deals four Lightning attacks and gives her High Quickcast for one turn, The Transparent transfers 500 Soul Break gauge points to a target and gives them Quickcast for one turn.
Support Party Member: Her Support access makes her focused on debuffing enemies, though as described above, she's most famous for using Wrath and Entrust to charge the party's Soul Break gauges.

Rufus Shinra

Role: President of Shinra

"The ambitious son of the president of the Shinra Company, who follows in his father's footsteps to lead the organization. Rufus seeks to gain control of the Promised Land, while Cloud and his friends do their best to stop him."

Casting a Shadow: His element is Dark.
Foil: Similar to Cloud and Zack being Bash Brothers where Zack can support Cloud in battle, Rufus is built to have a similar relationship with Sephiroth, specializing in lowering the enemy's Dark resistance to boost Sephiroth's damage output.
Jack of All Stats: He has White Magic 4, Support 4, Combat 4, Sharpshooter 6, and Darkness 5, which gives him a wide variety of offensive and supportive skills.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Mako Barrage, a five-hit Dark attack that imperils Dark.

Reno

Role: Turk

"A young man with fiery red hair. Reno comes across as irresponsible, and even lazy, but in fact he takes his work with the Turks more seriously than most. He makes a point of never mixing business with pleasure."

Magic Knight: His Attack and Magic are both high and he has Black Magic 5, Celerity 5, and Machinist 5 for Lightning attacks in both physical and magical varieties. His first few Soul Breaks were magical, but then his Burst was physical, and then later Soul Breaks were hybrid attacks.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Pyramid, a six-hit hybrid Lightning attack that removes Haste on every second use.
Shock and Awe: His element is Lightning.
Spam Attack: His first Burst command in his Burst Turk Triad starts at one hit and deals an additional hit with every usage, climbing to eight hits.

Rude

Role: Turk

"The inseparable ally of Reno, his fellow Turk. Rude is the quiet one of the pair, and he doesn't like talking in front of others. A consummate professional, his position with Shinra means he often finds himself at odds with Cloud."

Combat Medic: He has White Magic 4, which gives him access to some critical supportive White Magic abilities and lower-tier curative spells. His Burst includes a healing command.
Dishing Out Dirt: His element is Earth.
Magic Knight: Just like his associate Reno, Rude's Attack and Magic are both high, and his access to Black Magic 5 and Monk 5 let him use Earth attacks from either magical or physical ability pools. His Burst Soul Break deals hybrid damage and its damaging Burst ability deals the same.
Secret Art: His Hero ability is Grand Spark A Monk ability that deals 5 hybrid Earth/Lightning attacks.

Elena

Role: Turk

"The newest member of the Turks, appointed after Reno was injured fighting AVALANCHE in Midgar. Elena has a bad habit of spilling important secrets, but she makes up for it with unrivaled dedication to her task, often in stark contrast to her less disciplined "superiors." "

Action Girl: A female physical brawler, using Sharpshooter as her main ability pool.
Playing with Fire: Her element is Fire.
Secret Art: Her Hero Ability is Elite Operator. A Sharpshooter ability that deals 5 fire/Lightning attacks and imperils those elements for five seconds with a long cast time.

Sephiroth

Role: SOLDIER

"Once a member of SOLDIER and well-respected hero of Shinra, Sephiroth changed when he learned he was himself an experimental construct. He plots to destroy the planet out of his deep hatred for humanity."

Casting a Shadow: His main element is Darkness.
Department of Redundancy Department: His coat, gloves, and pants all appear as separate relics for him, and his belt is a separate accessory. The "Genji Glove (VII)" is not part of his outfit, but is styled to look like it is.
Playing with Fire: His secondary element is Fire.
Secret Art: His Hero Abilities are Heartless Angel and Scintilla. Heartless Angel deals six Dark hits with a 100% hit rate, and Scintilla deals six Fire hits.
Unskilled, but Strong: As a Dark-focused character. None of his Dark-aligned Soul Breaks grant him any form of follow-up attack or dualcasting effect, so he's reliant on his dualcasting Legend Materia and the innate dualcast/chase properties of his Awakening and Sync Soul Breaks to be able to attack multiple times a turn. However, he has many powerful Soul Breaks that deal multiple hits and grant him valuable status buffs, including raising his damage cap higher than normal. While Sephiroth can't deal as many attacks as other characters, he makes up for it with how hard he hits.

Genesis Rhapsodos

Role: SOLDIER

"SOLDIER 1st Class Genesis is a close friend on Angeal, with whom he shares a hometown. Though Genesis considers a fellow SOLDIER Sephiroth a friend, he also has strong feelings of rivalry towards him. He often quotes from the epic poem LOVELESS."

Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Genesis breaks some trends for how Soul Breaks work. His Awakening grants him a Brave command, when previously Braves were a subset of Ultra Soul Breaks and only found on them. His Brave command has the effect of granting him a boost to his Fire-elemental damage, the first Brave command to do so.
Playing with Fire: His element is Fire.
Secret Art: His Hero Ability is Genesis Slash, a six-hit Fire spellblade.

Characters / Final Fantasy Record Keeper I To VII

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Warrior of Light

Garland

Sarah

Wol

Echo

Master

Matoya

Meia

Thief (I)

Firion

Maria

Guy

Leon

Minwu

Gordon

Leila

Ricard Highwind

Josef

Scott

Hilda

The Emperor

Onion Knight

Luneth

Arc

Refia

Ingus

Desch

Aria Benett

The Cloud of Darkness

Cecil Harvey (Dark Knight)

Cecil Harvey (Paladin)

Kain Highwind

Rydia

Rosa Joanna Farrel

Edward Chris Von Muir

Yang Fang Leiden

Palom

Porom

Tellah

Cid Pollendina (IV)

Edward "Edge" Geraldine

Fusoya

Golbez

Rubicante

Barbariccia

Ceodore Harvey

Ursula

Bartz Klauser

Lenna Charlotte Tycoon

Faris Scherwiz

Galuf Halm Baldesion

Krile Mayer Baldesion

Dorgann Klauser

Xezat Matias Surgate

Kelger Vlondett

Gilgamesh

Exdeath

Famed Mimic Gogo (V)

Terra Branford

Locke Cole

Celes Chere

Edgar Roni Figaro

Sabin Rene Figaro

Cyan Garamonde

Shadow

Gau

Mog

Setzer Gabbiani

Strago Magus

Relm Arrowny

Gogo (VI)

Umaro

Leo Christophe

Kefka Palazzo

Cloud Strife

Barret Wallace

Tifa Lockheart

Aerith Gainsborough