Square Enix’s Final Fantasy franchise needs no introduction. For many fans around the world, it’s the very last word in RPGs, bringing us some of the most beloved and iconic titles in the history of the genre. The barnstorming success of PS4’s Final Fantasy VII Remake is just the latest proof of this.
What is it that captivates us about the series? For some, it’s the world-building and lore. For others, the classic turn-based combat (or lack thereof in later installments), the side-quests, the love stories, or, of course, the unforgettable emotional scenes. There’s nothing sadder in a game than the death of a character the player has grown truly attached to, and here are some of Final Fantasy’s most heart-wrenching of all. (Watch out for spoilers.)
10 Class Zero (Final Fantasy: Type-0)
Of course, Final Fantasy: Type-0 isn’t one of the most notable Final Fantasy entries. A curious action RPG set in the war-torn realm of Orience, it tasks the player with controlling the fourteen members of Class Zero, guiding them in strategic real-time battles in defense of their region of Rubrum.
In a climactic battle against Cid (the Rursan Arbiter, threatening to bring Orience to ruin), Class Zero saves the day but is fatally wounded in the process. As they perish, they take a heartbreaking moment together to imagine the way their peaceful lives may have played out in happier times. Though there’s another ending in which Orience’s time loop is broken, the conflict never took place and Class Zero survived, we didn’t know that at the time. Still, this entry is rated low for its relative obscurity.
9 Gestahl (Final Fantasy VI)
Now, when it comes to characters in the Final Fantasy series, our favorites tend to be the protagonists. The heroes. The party members we’ve spent hundreds of hours customizing and battling with over several playthroughs.
At the same time, though, the franchise’s villains are often fan-favorites too. They even have rather touching deaths themselves. Final Fantasy VI’s Gestahl, for instance, led the all-powerful Gestahlian Empire, and even he saw the threat Kefka posed to the world and tried to stop him. Ultimately, though, Kefka threw Gestahl off the Floating Continent to his demise. We don’t exactly mourn Gestahl, but this scene is quite unique in the series.
8 Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Now, it’s hard to feel too much remorse over Kuja’s death. After all, he did manipulate the peaceful planet of Gaia into a grim war to harvest the souls of the dead. He destroyed his entire home planet of Terra in nothing more than a temper tantrum.
What we’ve got to remember, though, is that Kuja is a very multi-faceted villain. He, too, was manipulated, by his creator Garland, "designed" for this very destructive purpose. He was a puppet with a limited lifespan, intended for use until the superior Zidane took over his role. In the end, Kuja killed Garland and threatened the whole of existence before his defeat at the party’s hands. In his last moments, however, Kuja chose redemption (to an extent), spiriting Zidane and his friends out of the Lifa Tree and saving their lives.
7 Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (Final Fantasy XV)
Lunafreya is a major catalyst of the whole adventure. When Noctis sets out on his journey, it’s to marry the young Oracle, a childhood friend of his. As we know, that whole plan goes rapidly south as the pair is thrown on a course that leads them to a tragic encounter with the dastardly Ardyn.
During a huge set piece of a battle against Leviathan, Ardyn appears and attacks Lunafreya in full view of her betrothed. The villain is repelled and Leviathan subdued, but Lunafreya succumbs and her body is spirited away. The cutscenes that accompany all of this show the extent of not only Noctis’ despair, but that of Ravus and others too.
6 Raine Loire (Final Fantasy VIII)
Unlike most of the deaths on this list, Raine doesn’t get the luxury of an emotional death scene to tug at our heartstrings. She doesn’t really need one, though, because her story is tragic enough in and of itself.
Laguna Loire meets Raine in her quiet village of Winhill, nursing the injured Galbadian soldier back to health. Eventually, the pair fall in love and marry. Laguna leaves to rescue the kidnapped Ellone, unaware that Raine was pregnant. Only later does he discover that she died, shortly after the birth of their son, Squall.
5 Dyne (Final Fantasy VII)
As we learn more about Barret Wallace’s sad backstory, he becomes one of the most sympathetic characters in Final Fantasy VII. Dyne may be forgotten a little as a minor player in the story, but he suffers just as much at Shinra’s hands.
During the sequence at Corel Prison, the party encounters Dyne. Haunted by everything he lost in Shinra’s attack and betrayal of Corel, Dyne wants only to fight, to destroy. He battles Barret alone, though the latter refuses to fight back at first and begs his former friend not to take this route. Barret tells him that his daughter, Marlene, is still alive, but Dyne proclaims he has no more right to hold her with his bloodstained hands, giving the prisoners their freedom before throwing himself off a nearby cliff.
4 Minwu (Final Fantasy II)
Minwu isn’t a permanent member of Final Fantasy II’s main party, but he certainly makes an impression during his time on the team. His objective here was to obtain the Ultima Tome, and he sure as heck was prepared to die a heroic death in order to do so.
At the Chamber of the Seal, a great seal (shockingly enough) bars progress. Like a true goodly white mage, Minwu gathers all of his power to disperse the barrier, passing away there and then. Even dead, he dispatches the Ultima Weapon (acquiring the tome) and aids the party in their defeat of the light Emperor before finally resting peacefully.
3 Vivi Ornitier (Final Fantasy IX)
For many fans, Vivi is one of the most beloved main characters in the history of the whole series. The plucky little black mage, who could struggles with the concept of his own mortality learns from his friends and eventually settles in a place where he belongs.
Vivi’s is a touching tale from start to finish, but it manages to hit us in the feels one last time at the game’s end. We see his children, but Vivi himself isn’t there to celebrate with the rest of the party. The closing monologue, which ends, “My memories will be part of the sky,” is revealed to be spoken by Vivi in the Japanese version. There aren’t many death is the series sadder than that.
2 Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII)
This scene is more than a little overhyped, certainly, but at the time, the impact it had was phenomenal.
A lot of players weren’t familiar with the notion of the game permanently taking away main party members like this, and in such tragic fashion. There are few Final Fantasy cutscenes as iconic and touching as this. As "Sephiroth" soared toward Aerith and the Materia fell from her lifeless body, a generation’s hearts sank.
1 Tellah (Final Fantasy IV)
Tellah’s journey through Final Fantasy IV is harrowing. The once-formidable Sage, having already lost his wife, later sees his beloved daughter, Anna, struck down in Damcyan at the hands of Golbez. He swears vengeance on the villain, which leads him to make the ultimate sacrifice later in the game.
In an encounter at the Tower of Zot, the frail old man puts his very life force into casting the strongest magic he can muster, Meteor, which gravely wounds Golbez (though he still manages to escape). With a final farewell to the party, Tellah passes away, though he and Anna later return briefly in spirit form to give their friends the power they need to defeat Zeromus. It is perhaps the saddest story in Final Fantasy history.