Video game characters tend to be around a certain age, especially in the Final Fantasy series. If one were to comb through every mainline and spinoff entry, one would find a lot of characters between the ages of 20 and 30. There aren’t a lot of older characters in this series, and that goes for video games as a whole.
It makes sense since these are fantasy RPGs wherein the idea is to get swept away into magical lands. Who dreams about fighting monsters as an old person? Still, Final Fantasy isn’t without its few playable members in the over hill realm. And they, without a doubt, still kick major butt. There will be spoilers.
8 Red 13
Red 13 is a lion-like beast from Final Fantasy 7. In his kind’s years, he is 48 and is easily the oldest member of the party. His race can live up to over a hundred which is proven at the end of the original game.
After the credits, things flash forward hundreds of years, wherein Red 13 is joined by his children to look at the ruined state of Midgar. So, technically, in the game, he is pretty young all things considered but he’s old to at least Cloud and the others.
7 Cyan
Cyan is a swordsman from Final Fantasy 6. He is 50, but he still manages to reduce his foes to pieces thanks to his excellent blade work. 50 is old, but it’s also young, considering that he lost his wife and child during the game.
Now he has to live the rest of his life without them making him one of the most tragic party members in the game. As sad as he is, that doesn’t cloud his mindset, as Cyan is determined to free the world from the Empire by any means necessary.
6 Banon
Banon is also from Final Fantasy 6, but he is only a temporary party member. He is the leader of the Returners, a resistance group that wants to overthrow the Empire. After Locke, Terra, Sabin, and Edgar make it to his hideout, they venture off on a rafting adventure before things take a turn for the worst.
He’s 54, so just a little older than Cyan and not as skilled. His healing magic is great on the raft ride, though, which is his primary length of playtime. After this, the party gets split up and begins three scenarios that players can tackle in any order, including one with Banon.
5 Cidolfus Orlandeau
Cidolfus Orlandeau is one of the wildest names a Cid character has received in the series. He is from Final Fantasy Tactics, and once he joins the party, he is at the ripe old age of 56. Like Cyan, Cidolfus is a master of the blade, except he imbues his strikes with powerful holy and elemental magic.
He is one of the strongest members of the team, even though he is also one of the oldest. Cidolfus is kind of like Obi-Wan Kenobi because of his brown robes and his unwillingness to stand aside as an evil dynasty wants to take over.
4 Tellah
Tellah is a temporary party member in Final Fantasy 4. Most of the party members in that game are temporary, which is why it was so unique at the time. Party members came and went for various reasons. Tellah, for one, sacrifices himself by summoning a powerful spell to save his friends.
He was 60 before he bit the proverbial bullet. Another old mage in the game is Fusoya, who is either the same age or older than Tellah, but his exact age is unknown. So, while he can’t be officially ranked, Fusoya is at least worth mentioning.
3 Galuf
Galuf is one of the four party members in Final Fantasy 5. Everyone else in the party is close to twenty, but Galuf is over the hill at 60. His sprite doesn’t make him look that old, though, because his beard still has plenty of color left in it. The official artwork for the game paints a different picture, though.
A lot of fans like to think Aerith dying in Final Fantasy 7 was surprising and came out of nowhere, but Galuf’s death preceded her. He is replaced by his granddaughter, Krile, who coincidentally is one of the youngest playable characters in the series at 14. Thankfully for players, Krile absorbs all of Galuf’s level and Job experience.
2 Strago
Final Fantasy 6 has one of the biggest selections of party members in a mainline game. So, another character entering this list should not be that surprising. Strago looks the part of a 70-year-old man in the game.
He is one of the last surviving mages in the world who doesn’t need the assistance of Magicite in Final Fantasy 6. Strago has a granddaughter like Galuf, Relm, who is even younger than Krile at age 10.
1 Quina
Quina is one of the oddest characters in Final Fantasy 9, let alone the entire series. Their race is unknown, along with their gender. Quina’s age is supposed to be around 89, even though it doesn’t show.
Quina acts childlike at times, but that’s because they are always hungry and had little interaction with other people until Zidane finds them. Quina is a Blue Mage who can learn monster magic after consuming them. Their appetite is never satiated either, so Quina is kind of like Kirby except less cuddly.