Fanon / Final Fantasy

• Final Fantasy II: Despite being the protagonist, Firion has very little spoken dialogue assigned to him. However, he is usually the person spoken to during important dialogue and when the newest Guest-Star Party Member joins. The exception is with Gordon in Kashuan — in that scene, Maria does all the talking while Firion doesn't interact with him at all. Some fans therefore interpret his silence (and the fact that he remains at the door rather than join Maria) as disgust or even hatred of the prince.
• Final Fantasy III:
  • It's a common fan theory that the Cloud of Darkness was called the "Cloud of Light" during the first cataclysm, to match up with the original heroes being Warriors of Darkness and the Light Is Not Good theme. This is seemingly "confirmed" in Dissidia 012, where the Cloud of Darkness's third outfit, "Lucent Robe," gives her a brighter color scheme and somewhat softer appearance overall,◊ with her Combat Tentacles notably lacking faces.
  • Speaking of Dissidia and III, it's not uncommon for fans to refer to Dissidia's Onion Knight as "Luneth" or "Ingus", named after two of the protagonists from the DS remake, with some even believing him to be either of them. In-canon, however, Onion Knight is only ever referred to as Onion Knight or by variations due to being based on the Famicom protagonists who did not have canon names and he doesn't resemble either of them appearance-wise^note outside of costumes that give him Luneth's hairstyle or Ingus' job outfits, though the latter only name-drops Ingus in the English versions or personality-wise^note  Luneth is more of a Fearless Fool while Ingus is The Stoic.
• Final Fantasy IV:
  • Probably due to Rule of Funny rather than any kind of logical thought, the FFIV fandom has latched onto the idea that martial artist Yang stopped the Tower of Babil's Super Cannon from blowing up the Dwarves by stuffing his body into the barrel, causing a backfire. This little tidbit actually originates from a joke installment of the (now defunct) Gaming Intelligence Agency's letter section, but it's such a funny mental image that the fandom ran with it and adopted it as true. Even though the control room that Yang locked himself into consisted only of a few chairs and aiming controls◊ (which led precisely to the question being asked on The GIA in the first place).
  • Then there is the matter of Kain/Barbariccia, which is hinted at in certain versions of the game from the Archfiend's side. Many fan works pairing up the two offer the idea that Barbariccia's appearance as a beautiful and seductive woman with blonde hair is a deliberate choice, done specifically to mirror Rosa, if not outright present herself as a "better" version of the White Mage in the hopes of enticing Kain. As such, these works assume Kain might have "reciprocated" her feelings while in service to Golbez (at least physically, if not emotionally) because it was the closest thing he'd have to the woman in question. (The DS remake didn't help matters by, thanks to the smaller-scale voice cast, having Rosa and Barbariccia share voice actresses in both languages.) Whether or not it develops (or could develop) into something genuine depends on the fan.
  • As nearly anyone can tell you, Edge and Rydia adopt Cuore, the last of the Maenads, at the end of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and essentially start a family together. Only Rydia is explicitly recognized as Cuore's caretaker/legal guardian, but it's a logical conclusion to come to: on top of their Belligerent Sexual Tension-flavored Ship Tease in both games, TAY's epilogue establishes that, along with convincing Leviathan and Asura to visit Rydia, Edge regularly travels to Mist and plays with Cuore, who is very excited to see him.
• Final Fantasy V: Among the four Warriors of Dawn, Galuf is the only member whose elemental affinity is given. Among the other three, it is usually taken that Dorgann carried the Wind essence, since as Bartz's father it is presumed that he shared his son's elemental affinity just as Galuf shares his granddaughter's, the humble and self-sacrificing Xexat carried the Water essense, and the hot-tempered and impulsive Kelgar carried the Fire essense.
• Final Fantasy VI: Most fans of Setzer assume that his kidnapping plot was actually a consensual arrangement between him and Maria due to his cheerful reaction to the party's deception, the flashbacks to his mutually respectful relationship with Daryl, and his lack of lecherous behavior during the game. Since Maria never actually appears, it's impossible to confirm or deny whether or not she was in on the plan, but the idea of Setzer attempting a genuine forced marriage seems at odds with the rest of his behavior (whereas the Impresario panicking over nothing is perfectly plausible), so it's the common fan explanation.
• Final Fantasy VII:
  • It had long been debated that the world was destroyed at the end of the game. There was a serious outcry from the fans of that theory that Square was actually violating canon when they announced the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, which includes two direct sequels that explicitly show the world alive and well.
  • Another little interpretation of the ending is that the whole game was All Just a Prophetic Vision for Aerith, which puts the circumstances surrounding her death into a whole new light.
  • The idea that Vincent is Sephiroth's real father is also popular in FFVII fandom. Dirge of Cerberus might have changed that, though.
  • Somewhere along the line, fans got it into their head that Sephiroth's Masamune deals wounds that cannot be healed, likely as an attempt at explaining why they couldn't just Phoenix Down Aerith. Not only is this idea nowhere in canon, you can use potions and the like to heal from Masamune-inflicted wounds just fine.
  • An old fanon that has fallen out of use was that Aerith is a prostitute, or at least that she dates men for money. This is due to fans being confused about how she made money. It caused an Pop Culture Urban Legend that she is an escort but it was hidden behind floral symbolism. Over the years, the fanon has been debunked and criticised and thus is rarely brought up.
  • There is a recurring theory that Tifa has a scar within her chest as a result of being slashed by Sephiroth during the Nibelheim Incident. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth makes this Ascended Fanon, though the player isn't allowed to see the scar.
• Final Fantasy VIII:
  • Many fans believe that Raine's maiden name is "Leonhart," as a way of explaining where Squall's surname came from when his father is named Laguna Loire, citing the general dislike the residents of Winhill display towards Laguna as a reason they might have given Raine's name instead of Laguna's when delivering Squall to the Kramers' orphanage. The game itself never gives Raine's maiden name; her full name is only given after she's married.
  • If you've spent any time reading fanfiction for this game, you will have seen characters using Hyne's name as a blasphemy in various ways (e.g. Hynedammit). Hyne is never referred to like this in-game. In fact, it's entirely possible to get through the whole thing without seeing his name at all, and when you do find the story, it's pretty obvious he's not the kind of guy most people would worship. What people do use for blasphemy? "God." Even "Godspeed." Or, if you're Squall, "GOD!!!!!!!"
• There's a tiny amount of ambiguity at the end of Final Fantasy X as to the fate of Tidus. Despite the ending credits showing Tidus arriving in Spira again, before the announcement of the sequel, many fans argued that the scene was only metaphorical. This was not enough to stem the outcry that Final Fantasy X-2 was retconning what they believed to be "one of gaming's greatest tragedies" by depicting Tidus' return to Spira in the exact same FMV clip they used in X and thus proving it wasn't supposed to be metaphorical at all.
• In Final Fantasy X-2 fanfiction (if it's not just handwaved), Shuyin is generally held to be the real-world prototype of Tidus. The parallels between their love lives are usually dismissed as coincidental, though. The Ultimania notes that Tidus could have been based on the memories the Fayth dreaming Dream Zanarkand into being had of Shuyin, but also notes that the fact that people in Dream Zanarkand had parents and children complicates this.
• When Final Fantasy XV and World of Final Fantasy made the previously male Leviathan female, some fans began portraying him/her as transgender. This is despite the fact that, due to the nature of the entire series, very few titles share any form of direct continuity, let alone the same universe (discounting Dissidia's establishment of a greater cosmology and the confirmation that Gilgamesh is the same character in most of his appearances), meaning these differing depictions of Leviathian aren't even the same character(s) to begin with.
• Final Fantasy XV's Episode Prompto reveals that Prompto was created in a magitek facility and was stolen by a Lucian soldier when he was a baby. The identity of the soldier was never explicitly stated, but many fans theorize that it was Cor Leonis, due to their father-son like relationship and Cor being the only known character who would still be a soldier 20 years ago.