RPGs are one of the greatest genres in all of video games. They give players a sense of control over their journey, which usually lasts twenty-plus hours, if not a hundred in some cases. As the Final Fantasy series has gone on, its game lengths have increased. Party members tend to come in all shapes, sizes, and ages in these games.
It will be interesting to see how things shake up with the next big entry, Final Fantasy 16. It will also be interesting to see the cast of playable and guest characters. Will there be anyone younger than these former characters in the Final Fantasy series? There will be spoilers.
8 Krile
Krile is from Final Fantasy 5 and joins the party late into the game. Up to that point, there were only four playable party members. Then, after sacrificing himself for the group, Galuf dies. He is Krile’s grandfather and entrusts her with helping Bartz and the others out on saving the world.
She inherits all of his abilities which is great so that players don’t have to spend time leveling her up in Galuf’s absence. Galuf, coincidentally, is one of the oldest playable characters in the series at 60.
7 Hope
Hope is from Final Fantasy 13 and is also 14, like Krile. Even though he is a teenager, he likes to whine a lot like a child. His weapon also represents a childlike nature because it is a boomerang. Hope is upset understandably over the death of his mother and will not let anyone forget it. The game, overall, has one of the more dramatic narratives in the mainline games, which might be one reason why it isn’t remembered as fondly. Hope does at least get redeemed in the sequels as he ages up and matures quite a bit emotionally.
6 Larsa
Larsa is a temporary party member in Final Fantasy 12 and is coincidentally 12. When he first joins Vaan and the others, he goes by the name Lamont. Larsa doesn’t want to let them know that he is one of the Emperor’s sons and brother to the game’s central antagonist, Vayne.
Larsa is trying to see things from a non-Empire perspective to bring peace to the realm. He’s not trying to trick anyone, but he is smart enough to realize how complicated the situation would be if he did reveal his true nature to the party at first meetup.
5 Relm
Relm is from Final Fantasy 6, which is a game that has one of the biggest playable cast of characters in the series. It stands to reason that a game of that size should not only have one of the youngest playable party members in the series but also one of the oldest. Relm is 10, while her grandfather, Strago, is 70.
They are both mages, but Relm has the unique ability to paint monsters in battle and using their secrets which is sort of like a Blue Mage adjacent Job. Unlike the relationship between Krile and Galuf, neither Relm nor Strago dies in the game.
4 Rydia
Rydia is from Final Fantasy 4, which also has a big playable cast of characters. The difference between this game and Final Fantasy 6 is that most of the party members are temporary. They come and go for various reasons, and the majority of those reasons result in death.
Rydia is a young mage that joins early on at 7. After disappearing for a while, she returns to Cecil and the others and looks about their age physically, although she is still technically 7. It’s a complicated procedure involving time. Aging aside, Rydia is a strong mage and final lineup of party members.
3 Eiko
Eiko is from Final Fantasy 9 and is a late addition to the party. She is only 6 years old and is an orphan in the game. She was raised by Moogles in a village that used to belong to Summoners before they were wiped out.
Summoners, in this game, are a human-like race with distinctive horns on their forehead. Eiko has hers intact but Garnet’s was removed as a child. Despite her small size, Eiko is a strong Summoner in her own right.
2 Palom And Porom
Palom and Porom are also from Final Fantasy 4 and are also mages like Rydia. Palom is a Black Mage, while his sister Porom is a White Mage. Unlike Rydia, though, these twin mages do not return to the party. At five years old, they make the hard decision to sacrifice themselves.
They turn to stone so that the party doesn’t get crushed to death. Imagine being five in real life and making that decision. While it is tragic at the time, they do eventually get resurrected by the time the credits roll.
1 Vivi
Vivi is another mage from Final Fantasy 9. How could a party member get even younger than Palom and Porom? Well, prepare to be shocked because Vivi is technically only 6 months old, even though he looks older. Vivi was not born with a mother like most people. He was created in a lab for the sheer purpose of destruction.
At a young age, he was rescued and raised by someone else before he could be used as a tool for destruction. Vivi has one of the most tragic backstories in the game and it is ambiguous whether or not he is alive in the final cutscene of the game.