Highlights
- Final Fantasy games have had some strange character introductions, like Zell in FF8 practicing martial arts in the academy instead of the training grounds.
- Vanille in FF13 appears cheery and upbeat despite the bleak and chaotic situation happening around her.
- Kefka in FF6 initially appears as a bumbling idiot complaining about sand, giving players a misleading impression of his true villainous nature.
The Final Fantasy games are well-known for their exciting and vibrant characters, many of whom are usually a part of the main party, but there are also plenty of incredibly iconic and memorable villains who have become beloved by longtime fans of the series. Still, when bringing a new character into the story, they need to have an appropriate introduction to highlight who they are as a person, but some of these were a little weirder than usual.
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Whether this was because they were putting on a front and purposefully acting a little "off," or it was just because they seemingly showed up out of nowhere, there have been more than a few pretty jarring and all-around strange character intros in the series. Many of these characters receive further development throughout the story, but there's no doubt that they took players aback when they first showed up.
7 Zell - Final Fantasy 8
The loud-mouth brawler archetype isn't anything new in the Final Fantasy series, but Zell is the embodiment of this character in every way, something that becomes obvious from the moment Squall first sees him. Before being assigned to a team with Squall and Seifer, Zell can be found practicing his martial arts in the middle of the academy, punching the air and flipping around without a care in the world.
Considering fans can see people walking around in the background, it's pretty bizarre that he would be putting his CQC abilities on full display just outside the library of Balamb rather than the training grounds, for example. It does at least do a great job at highlighting just how eccentric Zell is, but it's undoubtedly still a pretty strange intro when thinking about it.
6 Vanille - Final Fantasy 13
Final Fantasy 13 has received a lot of flak over the years for how vague it can be in its storytelling, and while this is certainly true, it's evident by the dialogue shared between characters that the beginning of the game is a chaotic and disastrous situation. In the space of a single hour of game time, viewers witness hundreds of civilians fall to their deaths off a bridge, including Hope's mother, which he has to witness first-hand, but while there's a clearly bleak and depressing tone being set here, Vanille seems to not have a care in the world.
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Instead, the upbeat and chirpy young girl acts as cheery as possible, even though her new-found friend Hope has just watched his mother's demise. She then randomly decides to steal an airbike which leads them right into an ancient Vestige. Vanille does receive a lot of character development throughout Final Fantasy 13, but she seemed far from normal when she was first introduced.
5 Kefka - Final Fantasy 6
Most fans of the series are well aware by now that Kefka plays the role of the main villain in Final Fantasy 6, but the game does an incredible job of downplaying this by making him look like little more than a bumbling idiot upon his first few appearances. Kefka does make an appearance during Terra's flashback at the very beginning of the game, but fans don't get actual confirmation that it's him. However, he does still give off the impression of being a pretty maniacal and unhinged individual.
It's a little later on when players see Kefka formally introduced as he is approaching Figaro Castle through the sand with two of his soldiers. Rather than giving off the impression of an intimidating or menacing villain, Kefka simply complains about the sand in his shoes and his current circumstances before letting out his now iconic laugh. While this does fit with his silly over-the-top character, it would still have confused players seeing him for the first time wondering who this guy even is, and if he's even that big of a threat.
4 Cait Sith - Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original) , PC , iOS , Android , Nintendo Switch , Xbox One , PS4
- Released
- January 31, 1997
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Cait Sith is already a strange enough character from his design alone, but the way he randomly appears before the party in Final Fantasy 7 is extremely jarring. He is first encountered in the Golden Saucer, a giant amusement park full of kids and business people, meaning Cait's giant Moogle and cat-like body made him stick out like a sore thumb.
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He also pretends to be a "fortune teller," and upon actually joining the party, he leaves just a few moments later in one of the most abrupt moments in the entire game before returning later on. Despite actually being very useful in combat, the way Cait appears in the story is so unusual that it almost feels like he was placed in as a last-minute addition, even though he's an incredibly important part of the wider story.
3 Ardyn - Final Fantasy 15
Ardyn is often praised as one of the best and most well-written villains in the entire series, especially after his own standalone DLC was released, but he seemingly appears out of nowhere in the main story. Early on in Noctis and the gang's adventure, they run into Ardyn who is leaving the Galdin Quay, a small seaside restaurant which seems like the last place a major villain would be hanging out.
He calls himself a "Man of no consequence" and even assists Noctis and his friends in reaching the city of Altissia. This is another example of SquareEnix subverting expectations in introducing a major villain, but the random location, and the fact that Ardyn goes out of his way to help the party, make for a very memorable but rather unusual way to introduce the character.
2 Shadow - Final Fantasy 6
Shadow is an incredibly powerful party member in Final Fantasy 6 who's incredibly fast on his feet and is capable of dishing out plenty of damage with his ninja daggers, but the way players meet him is under very strange circumstances. If players choose to play as Sabin after the party gets split up on the raft, Shadow will randomly appear in Gau's father's house and says barely anything before the player can recruit him.
Shadow will follow Sabin throughout the story, though he can just decide to leave on his own if he feels like it. Additionally, the only way to view the guy's backstory is to rest at an inn, and only then do fans get a glimpse of who he is. Shadow is an incredibly mysterious character who almost feels like a mod or a glitch by the way he's introduced, popping up out of nowhere.
1 Auron - Final Fantasy 10
Every other party member in Final Fantasy 10 receives a pretty normal introduction where fans get to learn a bit more about them as a person, and what exactly they can bring to the team, but this isn't the case with the wise samurai known as Auron. The very first time players see him is during Sin's attack on Zanarkand where he almost looks like he welcomes the destruction, raising a jar of sake to the oncoming monster.
This is already weird, but when he shows up again later, he makes it clear that he knows exactly who Tidus is, without actually giving any hints about where he has come from. The reason for all of this does make a lot more sense later on, but this was still without a doubt the most obscure way Square Enix has shown off a character.