Summary
In the early 2000s,Kingdom Hearts’announcement seemed like a joke when it appeared in magazines. Why would anyone believeFinal Fantasycharacters would mingle with Disney characters? It sounded too wild, but the results now speak for themselves.Final Fantasyused to have a huge impact on the series, and now characters have slipped more into the background in favor of highlighting original characters instead likeSora and Riku. The hype forKingdom Hearts 4is palpable despite the news being absent.
While fans eagerly anticipate an announcement, let’s go through whatFinal Fantasycharacters have appeared. Only main characters will be mentioned, so things like Moogles aren’t a good example, or reappearing names fromFinal Fantasylike Biggs, Wedge, or Wantz. These are all real characters with one-to-one representations, so let’s get to their more prominent appearances, forgoing the retellings ofKingdom Hearts: Chain of MemoriesandKingdom Hearts: Re:Coded. Lastly, the rankings will go game by game and see how well they have been represented in the series thus far. For those who want to save the surprise, let’s just say the entire series is on spoiler alert as far asFinal Fantasycharacter cameos go.
5Final Fantasy 6
A Big Party Shrunken
Final Fantasy 6has one of the biggest playable partyrosters in the mainline games. Yet, it is criminally underutilized inKingdom Heartsas only one character has made it in: Setzer. He isn’t even one of the main characters introduced early, and instead appears as a gambler who also has an airship that the party needs.
Setzer appeared inKingdom Hearts 2during Roxas’ introductionand can be fought in the tournament. Other than this instance, Setzer never returned in that game, nor has he appeared in other titles. Since this was a tournament filled with younger characters, it would have made more sense to include Gau or Relm instead.
4Final Fantasy 9
A Mage Stands Alone
LikeFinal Fantasy 6,Final Fantasy 9is not that well represented in the series.Vivi is the only characterto appear, and he was part of Roxas’ tournament alongside Setzer and the others. Vivi’s classic Black Mage powers weren’t put on display, as it was a more rough-and-tumble fight with foam bats.
It would have made more sense to include Eiko as well to give him someone to play off of. Maybe in a future title, Vivi can return with moreFinal Fantasy 9characters and get to display just how strong he really is.
3Final Fantasy 8
Hiding In Plain Sight
Final Fantasy 8got a decent start in the first game, beginning with Sora on Destiny Islands. One of Sora’s childhood friends was Selphie, who appeared as a much younger version of herself. She also appears very briefly in a cutscene with Kairi inKingdom Hearts 2. Also in the firstgame was Squall,but he went under a new name, Leon.
He was part of the resistance in Traverse Town along with Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid from Final Fantasy 7. Squall also appeared with them during theRe MindDLC forKingdom Hearts 3. InKingdom Hearts 2, Fuu, Raijin, and Seifer appeared as younger versions of themselves during Roxas’ campaign. Like Setzer, they could be fought in the tournament, but were much more vocal.
2Final Fantasy 10
A Close Second To Seven
Final Fantasy 10is pretty well representedacross the series as far as the playable cast goes. Like Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka were de-aged on Destiny Islands in the first game to challenge Sora to some battles. Unlike Selphie, though, they never aged up and appeared again.
Auron played a similar role inKingdom Hearts 2to Cloud’s in the first game, as he was tricked into helping Hades fromHercules. Eventually, Auron sees the error of helping Hades, so he joins Sora temporarily as a party member. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all made it intoKingdom Hearts 2as well, but in one of the weirdest ways possible. They were turned into pint-sized fairies who helped Sora out in the background during some Radiant Garden scenes.
1Final Fantasy 7
Seven Characters For The Seventh Entry
Final Fantasy 7is arguably one of the most popular entries in the series, so it makes sense that it has been well-represented inKingdom Hearts. Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid all appear in Traverse Town as part of a resistance to the Heartless in the first game. Later, Sora meets Cloud in Olympus Coliseum, the world based on Hercules, and Sephiroth can be unlocked in the tournament much later in the game asan optional boss.
InKingdom Hearts 2, everyone returns with the addition of Tifa, who is now looking for Cloud. Most characters also get a redesign to represent their costumes from the movieFinal Fantasy 7: Advent Childreninstead. Zack appears in Olympus Coliseum as well, but during the events ofKingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleepas a bit younger version of himself. Finally, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid appear inKingdom Hearts 3but only briefly during the events of the DLC,Re Mind.
