Highlights
- Character development in Final Fantasy 7 remakes allows for deeper exploration and more lasting impressions on players.
- Barret's initial hostility towards Cloud evolves into respect, making him a valued party member despite his tough exterior.
- President Shinra's ruthless corporate villainy is constantly thwarted by Cloud and his companions, preventing his ambitions from becoming reality.
A great deal of additional information and plot time is given to a lot of characters in the remakes of Final Fantasy 7 compared to the original game. This allows characters to be explored more, and leaves a greater lasting impression in the hearts of the players — including from characters who crossed paths with Cloud Strife and were bested by him.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: How To Beat Rufus
Rufus is a difficult boss battle following on the heels of a gauntlet of fights in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth; here's how to beat him.
Barret may give Cloud a hard time, especially in the earlier parts of Final Fantasy 7, but it's safe to say that he would pretty much give any newbie a hard time in the same way, and eventually he comes around to resepcting Cloud. Barret is a valued member of Cloud's party, and doesn’t make the cut here, when there are other characters who hate Cloud a whole lot more.
5 Don Corneo
Crime Boss Of Wall Market
Don Corneo is a crime lord in the Wall Market district. Despite this area being in Sector 6, his influence extends beyond just this sector. He is involved in many insidious misdeeds and conducts shady deals with the Shinra Electric Power Company. These misdeeds range from keeping monsters as pets to having his pick of numerous potentially-unwilling women. His unopposed life of luxury and self-indulgence is disrupted once Cloud and company come into his life. Cloud shows him a great deal of disrespect, and physically boots him across the room.
The group constantly threaten harm upon Corneo until he divulges the information they seek, before springing a trap door on them. Don Corneo appears in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, where the same line of threats against him are reprized by each member of the group — along with some new ones. After all the humiliation and threats made against him, he will most likely forever hold a grudge against Cloud and his companions.
4 Palmer
Executive Director Of Space & Aeronautics
Director Palmer is the Executive Director of Space and Aeronautics at the Shinra Electric Power Company. He experiences a long line of upsetting developments, from performing the menial task of distributing the wanted posters of Avalanche, to his Chocobo coming in last place during the Corel Chocobo Race. All of this ends up pushing him to deploy a mecha with himself as the pilot, in an attempt to get revenge on Cloud and company for all the trouble they have caused him over the course of the story.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Chocobo Racing Minigame Guide (Rewards and How to Unlock)
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Palmer may not be the most powerful of antagonists, nor is he one that comes up a lot in conversation when talking about Final Fantasy 7, but he audibly expresses a level of hatred toward Cloud and co. greater than any other antagonist because he is pushed so far over the edge.
3 The Turks
Investigation Branch Of The General Affairs Department
The Turks are a special unit of agents working for the Shinra Electric Company, which consists of multiple key figures in Final Fantasy 7's story. They are responsible for a lot of shady dealings, such as assassinations and espionage. Cloud continuously acts as a wall preventing them from accomplishing their mission to abduct Aerith throughout the story.
The most notable antagonistic figures in The Turks include Rude, Reno, Elina, and Tseng — with the former three appearing as boss characters. Cloud first encounters Reno when he defends Aerith in a church, defeating him and making his escape. The Turks are under orders to capture Aerith, who is believed to be the last living Cetra — making her a vital piece in accomplishing President Shinra’s ambitions, and Cloud's constant obstruction of their goals has to begin frustrating them after repeated defeats at his hand.
2 President Shinra
President Of The Shinra Electric Power Company
While his son, Rufus Shinra, may be more prominent in later parts of the story, the president of the Shinra Electric Power Company is a perfect example of corporate villainy at its most extreme. Not only is he a ruthless businessman, he is also a ruthless person. He is established early on in the story and was believed to be the main villain by fans at the start of their Final Fantasy 7 journey. He has his hooks inserted throughout Midgar, and is one of the most influentially powerful characters in all of Final Fantasy 7.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: How To Beat Rufus
Rufus is a difficult boss battle following on the heels of a gauntlet of fights in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth; here's how to beat him.
President Shinra's goal is to create and rule over a Neo Midgar, but he is opposed by Cloud and company, who constantly antagonize him and prevent his dreams from becoming a reality. With Aerith in his custody, he was closer than ever before to achieving his ultimate ambition, until Cloud and company saved her and thwarted his plans yet again. If not for his abrupt demise, he would harbor a very deep disdain for Cloud and the rest of Avalanche as future events play out.
1 Sephiroth
The Ultimate Final Fantasy 7 Antagonist
The single most iconic villain in all of Final Fantasy 7 has to be Sephiroth. Players will constantly catch glimpses of him throughout the story, and even get to have him as a temporary companion during a flashback portion of the original game and for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Sephiroth is driven to insanity upon learning secrets withheld from him regarding his birth, slaughtering countless innocent lives in the Niflheim Incident. This broken sanity, and watching his ultimate ambitions draw closer throughout the story, means there is actually little reason for him to harbor any hatred for Cloud. It is clear that Cloud has a much stronger hatred for Sepheroth than the other way around.
That is, until the final moments of the story. Upon transforming into Safer-Sephiroth, he is confronted by Cloud and company in the final boss battle of the original Final Fantasy 7. Having been denied his plans coming to fruition, Sephiroth pulls Cloud's very essence to confront him in a climatic one-on-one battle. Sepheroth has already lost, but that does not matter anymore to him. His only remaining ambition is to see Cloud fall, and he fails in that goal as well.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
- Released
- February 29, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
