While 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy titles are generally well known for featuring vibrant and lovable casts of characters swept up into intriguing plots across immersive fantasy worlds, experienced fans know to prepare thei♏r hearts for a beating before getting emotionally invested. After all, the games have also got a reputation for suddenly and unceremoniously skewering one of those characters with a katana of impossible length.

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But what's a little emotional scarring, so long as it's endured for the sake of a great story? Here are the ten tastiest bits of emotional trauma the Final Fantasy series has seen fit to inflict upon its dedicated fandom over the past twenty-two years. It should probably go without saying, but this is a spoiler-rich environment. Proceed with caution.

Updated July 31, 2023 by Kendall Cunningham: The Final Fantasy series has never been known for holding back on the emotional gut-punches, and Final Fantasy 16 is no exception. With sixteen entries to date and plenty of history to reach back to, it feels like a great time to revisit this topic and add a few more heartbreaking moments in.

15 🌺 Final Fantasy 16: Findin🐼g Chloe

Final Fantasy 16 screenshot of Clive and a young girl standing near Chloe's corpse

Generally speaking, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 16 tells an overall somber story. The entire realm of Valisthea is plagued by bigotry and hatred throughout each of its 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:different nations, with its magic-wielding citizens sporting a facial brand that designates them as worthless slaves. This status quo essentially serves as the backdrop of the game's entire plot, with the story revolving around liberating said Branded.

Of course, this is Final Fantasy, which means the game will take every opportunity it gets to hit you where it hurts emotionally, and the tragic lives of the Branded are no exception. About midway through the game, you'll encounter a small girl searching for her "pet," Chloe. After helping her out, you'll discover that Chloe isn't an animal, but a Branded woman who had died from mistreatment. It is arguably the side quest that best illustrates the status quo of Final Fantasy 16's world.

14 Fin🐭al Fantasy 9: The Seige Of Burmecia ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ

Final Fantasy 9 screenshot of Freya, Vivi and Zidane approaching Burmecia

Political turmoil runs rampant in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 9's world of Gaia, as the powerful kingdom of Alexandria runs amok all over the realm. Alexandria's political ambitions are often checked by its neighboring nations, such as Burmecia, the rainy city with whom Alexandria has waged many violent wars.

During the events of the game, the main character Zidane and one of your companions, a Burmecian warrior named Freya, learn that Alexandria has lain seige to Burmecia. Your party races back to Freya's hometown only to find it in ruins, with dead soldiers already littered across the land. Freya's heartbreak as she travels the ruins of her home is truly a devastating sight.

13 Final Fantasy 4: The Twins' Sacrifice

Palom and Porom from Final Fantasy 4 casting a spell together on the left, and turned to stone on the right

Quite early on in Final Fantasy 4, you meet two magical prodigies from Mysidia - a Black Mage named Palom and a White Mage named Porom. Together, they make for incredibly useful companions for Cecil on his quest to become a Paladin. After Cecil's success, the twins pledge themselves to him, joining him on his journey.

Only hours later, after beating the false king Cagnazzo in Baron, the party finds themselves trapped inside a room with the walls moving in on them. The twins, despite being so young, decide to sacrifice themselves by turning themselves into statues, halting the walls' progress. Interacting with them brings up a menu that implies there is some way to reverse the statue-ification, but nothing works. Their sacrifice was a big one.

12 Final Fantasy 14: Haurchefant's Death

A headshot of the character Haurchefant with a bit of fire in background

After a tricky and rather tedious first release, the first expansion for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 14, Heavensward, really upꩲped the game in its narrative. It was more engaging and the characters were more interesting - the principal among these was Haurchefant Greystone, a noble from Ishgard who becomes not only your biggest cheerleader but a close friend overꦍ the course of the expansion.

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Near the climax of the expansion, you take on the Vault of Ishgard, the church's well-defended fortress. After beating the final boss of the dungeon, Haurchefant is struck down at a crucial moment, and no healing magic can save him. His final words are touching and heartbreaking.

A smile better suits a hero.

11 Fina🎃l Fantasy 7 Remake: The Sector 7 Plate Collapse

Final Fantasy 7 remake screenshot of Barret standing in Sector 7 rubble

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 7 Remake may only contain the first portion of the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 7's story, depicting the portion of the game that takes place in Midgar, but there is still plenty of content present to tug at your heart strings. No moment stands as tall as the ill-fated battle to keep Sector 7's plate from crashing down, destroying the city and it's inhabitants.

The original Final Fantasy 7's version of the Sector 7 disaster was heartbreaking enough, with characters you've grown to know and love falling victim to Shinra's nefarious attack. But the game's remake takes things to another level by having you play through some of the game's rescue efforts, witnessing the death and destruction raining around you. It all culminates in the gut-wrenching scene that takes place just beyond Sector 7's crumbled city limits, as Barret wails and curses fate, believing that all of his loved ones (and possibly his daughter) had just perished.

10 Final Fantasy 15: Lunafreya's Sacrifice

Final Fantasy XV Lunafreya Dream Sequence Cropped

With a list like this, it's usually a lot more about the story and emotional impact than it is about the graphics. But a little bit of visual spectacle at the right time can magnify that impact ten times over, and that's precisely the case with Lunafreya's death in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 15.

The dream sequence that accompanies Lunafreya giving her life to protect Noctis is nothing short of spectacular, and Noctis' genuine distress as he struggles to reach her towards the end of it is uncomfortably memorable.

9 Final Fantasy 5: Galuf's Death

Final Fantasy V Galuf Dies Cropped

Some of the earlier Final Fantasy titles had difficulty conveying genuine distress through their characters' dialogue and actions earlier on in the series but really started to nail it around the fourth and fifth installments.

Galuf's passing after his bout with Exdeath in Final Fantasy 5 is a prime example, with his granddaughter, Krile, going into absolute hysterics as he shuffles his way off this mortal coil. It's touching (and a bit convenient) that she's able to inherit his stats afterward, just to ensure that the player isn't deprived of the time they'd sunk into him.

8 🌼 Final Fant🧔asy 10: Tidus Fades Away

Final Fantasy X Yuna and Tidus Cropped (1)

Final Fantasy 10's ending is the epitome of bittersweet, with Yuna having broken Spira's never-ending cycle of death and thus creating a brave new future for its people, while dream boy and key love interest Tidus fades away before the audience's very eyes.

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Refusing to process the idea that he needs to fade away from existence, Yuna rushes towards him, only to find that she can't even hug him goodbye since he's practically incorporeal by then. To cap it all off, their budding romantic arc was one of the most sweetly written the series had ever produced up to that point.

7 Final Fantasy 8: Laguna Visits Raine's Grave

FF8 Laguna and Raine Convert Cropped

Final Fantasy 8 has what is probably the most surreal and interpretation-heavy ending in the entirety of the series' history, which is saying quite a bit. Even with the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:multitude of theories that have spawned from it, the inescapable fact is that it's all pretty sad.

While there's a silver lining in Ellone's appearance towards the end of Laguna's segment, the player is run through a beautifully rendered flashback of Laguna proposing to Raine as he visits her grave. After the jarring and cerebral sequence they'd gone through with Squall, a lot of players just weren't ready for such an emotional scene.

6 Final Fantasy 6: Celes' Attempted Suicide

Final Fantasy 6 Celes Suicide Convert Cropped

Final Fantasy 6 definitely told one of the bleakest stories across the entirety of the series. The villain essentially achieves his goals, it's peppered with several momentous character deaths, and the entirety of the expansive cast experiences loss and the subsequent emotional turmoil very deeply.

The perfect example of this is given if Cid dies when he's marooned on the island with Celes after Kefka brings about the World of Ruin. Unable to cope with the apparent loss of everything she holds dear, Celes throws herself off of a cliff, shedding sparkling tears the entire way down.