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Highlights
- Final Fantasy characters like Rydia, Lenna, Terra, Cloud, Aerith, Vivi, Garnet, and Hope have all experienced a significant amount of misfortune and tragedy throughout their respective games.
- From losing loved ones to being manipulated and used by powerful forces, these characters have faced numerous obstacles and emotional turmoil.
- However, despite their unlucky streaks, these characters find strength within themselves and form bonds with others to overcome adversity and fulfill their heroic destinies.
The Final Fantasy series has provided players with some of the most glorious worlds gaming has ever seen. In conjunction with fleshed-out characters with several superhuman weapons, powerful magic, and interesting jobs, getting by in any of the worlds of Final Fantasy must seem like a breeze in players' eyes.
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But even with so many jobs and abilities at their disposal, some Final Fantasy characters still cannot catch a break. Be it their circumstances or just plain misfortune, these characters are known for receiving the short end of the stick many times in their respective games.
8 Rydia (Final Fantasy 4)
Introduced near the beginning of Final Fantasy 4, Rydia was suddenly struck by tragedy upon losing her mother as a result of her Mist Dragon getting killed. To make matters worse, she also lost her entire village of Mist when the ring that Cecil and Kain had delivered detonated.
Naturally, Rydia initially held a lot of resentment towards Cecil and Kain to the point of unleashing her fury through one of her powerful Eidolons. But after Cecil defended her from some Baron soldiers who wanted her dead, Rydia put aside her grudge and willingly became one of the first members of Cecil's party.
7 Lenna Charlotte Tycoon (Final Fantasy 5)
Though her status as the Princess of Tycoon may suggest otherwise, Lenna has had to make difficult decisions at an early age. Her childhood was marked by a heart-wrenching decision: either cure her mother's sickness by cutting out her pet wind drake Hiryu's tongue or let her die.
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Upon meeting Bartz and her party, Lenna wholeheartedly takes up the cause of stopping Exdeath and protecting the crystals, but her altruistic nature often leads to her getting hurt, as shown by her eating the dragon grass to convince Hiryu that it is safe. Combine that with losing her father and Hiryu, it is safe to say that Lenna has certainly had an unlucky streak throughout Final Fantasy 5.
6 Terra Branford (Final Fantasy 6)
From the moment she was born, it seemed as though all that awaited the introverted but resolute Terra was a misfortunate life. After being separated from her parents as a baby, the Gestahlian Empire, and especially Kefka proceeded to brainwash and use her as a weapon to carry out their schemes for world domination.
Being freed from the Gestahlian Empire and joining the Returners does little to ease Terra's fate, as she now must deal with the emotional consequences of her magical powers and the atrocities she committed while in the Empire's service. Needless to say, Terra has had to deal with a lot of misfortune, which makes her acceptance of her powers and resolve to stop Kefka near the end all the more satisfying.
5 Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy 7)
As the main character of Final Fantasy 7, Cloud is at the epicenter of many tragic events that happen as a result of Shinra and Sephiroth's machinations. From having his hometown Nibelheim burned down to losing Zack Fair, one of his closest friends, to say that Cloud has been unlucky for most of his life would be quite an understatement.
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The resulting trauma from both of these incidents prompted Cloud to assume a false persona in which he actually made it into SOLDIER, adopting all of Zack's memories in the process. However, upon reaching the Northern Cave in pursuit of Sephiroth, Cloud suffers a mental breakdown which, coupled with the severe Mako poisoning he sustained from falling into the Lifestream, leaves him helpless and immobile.
4 Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy 7)
Much like Terra, the circumstances surrounding Aerith's birth were very tragic and volatile. In fact, the first twenty days of her birth saw Professor Hojo murdering her father Professor Gast before abducting her and her mother for experimentation. As a result, Aerith spent much of her life in isolation, completely oblivious to her powers as a Cetra.
Upon meeting Cloud, Aerith is thrown into the middle of the conflict between the group Avalanche and Shinra, resulting in her getting kidnapped again by the latter faction. From there, she becomes a central part of the effort to stop Sephiroth from obtaining the Black Materia and summoning Meteor, ultimately making the greatest sacrifice to do so.
3 Vivi Ornitier (Final Fantasy 9)
One of the first Final Fantasy characters to come to mind when black mages are brought up, the kind-hearted Vivi Ornitier has had his fair share of misfortune. Even in times of peace, Vivi can be a bit unlucky, namely when he tries to see the famed I Want to Be Your Canary play only to find out that he had a fake ticket all along.
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As luck would have it, Vivi finds himself entangled in the Tantalus Theater Group's plot to kidnap Princess Garnet, resulting in Vivi being targeted by Queen Brahne's Black Mages, whose sole use as weapons of mass destruction distresses him. This is made even worse by Vivi's discovery of his short lifespan, which ultimately sends him into a deep depression.
2 Garnet Til Alexandros (Final Fantasy 9)
Like Vivi, Garnet has endured a series of misfortunate events ever since she left the Alexandrian palace. Initially disturbed at her mother's sudden change in behavior, Garnet is forced to accept the fact that her mother has become a monster as she bears witness to Brahne wreaking havoc across the Mist Continent.
To make matters worse, Garnet also becomes burdened by the fact that so many people are fighting for her, causing her to curse her powerlessness and blame herself. It is only when Garland destroys Alexandra that Garnet succumbs to her immense shame for failing to protect her kingdom. Fortunately, Garnet renews her resolve to defend Alexandria thanks to Zidane.
1 Hope Estheim (Final Fantasy 13)
Out of all the playable characters in Final Fantasy 13, it is the underrated yet naive Hope Estheim who has suffered the most throughout the game. Initially an ordinary boy from the port city of Palumpolum, he and his mother become entangled in the Purge after the discovery of a Pulse fal'Cie, resulting in his mother's death and Hope himself becoming a Pulse l'Cie.
In the wake of becoming a Pulse l'Cie, Hope is both terrified at his new status as an enemy of Cocoon, which leads him to cling to an initially unaccepting Lightning, and angry at Snow for his inability to save his mother. However, with Lightning's encouragement, Hope starts to mature and cope with the tumultuous life in which he has found himself.