There are no buts about it: is one of the most 'feels-filled' RPG series around. With storylines that can capture both our attention and our hearts, we've often found ourselves hopelessly in love with at least one character per entry.
Some of the most endearing lines in video game history can be attributed to Square Enix's biggest success, and while there are truly too many to list in one article, we've compiled some of our favorites right here. So grab a tissue and a pint of ice cream, and get ready to cry all over again over the lines that defined decades of RPG storytelling.
10 Kef𒊎ka, Final Fantasy 6 🐟
"Why do you build, knowing destruction is inevitable? Why do you yearn to live, knowing all things must die? Knowing that non🌄e of it will have meant anything once you do? Life. Dreams. Hope. Where do they come from? Where do they go? Such meaningless things..."
Kefka is still acknowledged as one of the cruelest antagonists in any game, and for good reason. Yet what appears to be mere abject mockery at the world around him is as clever a disguise as any clown paint - for it becomes strikingly clear by story's end that Kefka, for all his laughs, is a practiced philosophical nihilist at heart.
We'd be remiss not to mention that that Kefka's a veritable wellspring of twisted quotes. Hey, at least we snuck another one into th𝄹e screenshot above.
9 Quina, Fin💛al Fantasy♎ 9
"Why you care💖 about small things? World very simple place. World only have t🧸wo things: Things you can eat and things you no can eat."
Quina's a well-loved character in Final Fantasy 9, a game with plenty of winners. With their many one-liners and an appetite that leave us speechless, they quickly work their way into our hearts. This line, while simple, still very much applies to real life. After all, it's true - you can either eat something, or you can't... so don't sweat the small stuff.
8 Squall, Final Fa🐟ඣntasy 8
"Whatever."
We won't even attempt to pretend this one's deep, but it sure has stuck with us forever, and given the title of this article, that's what truly counts. Make no mistake, Squall Leonhart changes dramatically over the course of his globe-trotting mercurial adventure.
But while this one iconic word is barely a blip on Squall's verbal radar in the latter stages, it's so prolific as to practically define him in the eyes of his colleagues earlier on.
7 💜💛 Yuna, Final Fantasy 10
"My father... I loved him. So I... I will live with my sorrow, I will live my own life! I will defeat sorrow, in his place. I will stand my ground and be strong. I don't know when it will be, but someday... I will conquer it. And I will do it without... false hope."
Final Fantasy 10, as a whole, is a tear-jerker. If you didn't get choked up at least once during this game, then did you really play it? Okay, that's a little harsh. But if you like the game and still never felt your eyes all misty? Sheesh!
Yuna's speech here, the culmination of her triumph over an understandable young life filled with worry, trepidation, and sorrow, showcases how far FF10's heroine journeys not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.
6 ꧋ Clive, Final Fantasy 16 𝓀
"T🉐he only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness."
In any other Final Fantasy, just hearing a line this on-the-nose would be enough to suffer us all some serious cringe. But that's just it - the relative seriousness of Final Fantasy 16 imbues this game with so many clever, thought-provoking quotes that it positively earns this climac🧔tic moment.
Final Fantasy 16's story centers strongly on its hero, and voice actor Ben Starr - notably a lifelong fan of the series! - imbues Clive Rosfield's fantastic threat with all the emotion of a man whose painful tale has stretched an incredible 18 years in the telling. It's the tempestuous blend of heroic prose and venomous vengeance that sends shivers down our spine, and we bet despite all his pomp it did the same thing to lead villain Ultima.
5 Y'shtola, Final Fantasy 14
🦋"I am... not interested, little ဣsun. Try again when you become a man."
Eorzea's queen of sass, Y'shtola has many of Final Fantasy 14's most ruthless lines despite her benevolent nature and meaningful role as a valiant Scion. For all the bits of script that give this cat-like lass her well-earned fame, there's one specific scene that brought the proverbial house down as millions of fans' jaws dropped at Y'sh's rejection of a very boastful man.
Magnai of the Azim Steppe has courted many women, and failed as many times. As is tradition within his culture, he believes he is the great and burning Sun who must find a Moon for a soulmate, and when he's briefly convinced that lunar lady is our Miqo'te mage, her barbed reply tears down Magnai's every ounce of bluster. We couldn't forget this quote if we tried, and we have no interest in trying.
4 Balthier, Final Fantasy 12 ꦚ
"No need to worry. I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies."
No Final Fantasy entry is well and truly for everyone. Yet from our perspective, it's right around the time Final Fantasy 12 launches that we enter the period in which every new single-player chapter is remarkably divisive. They all have their diehards, but none come close to universal fandom acclaim.
That said... enter Balthier. Even the bulk of FF12's detractors can't deny the sheer charisma voice actor Gideon Emery brings to Balthier's performance. The swashbuckling sky pirate embodies the freedom that characters such as Vaan and Ashelia each search for in their own way, though he conceals disquieting shackles of his own.
Even so, it's Balthier's repeated insistence on his role as 'leading man' that most deftly encompasses his unyielding commitment to devil-may-care self-expression.
3 Cloud, ✱Final Fantasy 7 Remake 𒆙
"Nailed it. I know. Moving on."
Between the original Final Fantasy 7 and the Midgar-focused first (and presently only) part of its three-volume remake, there are more than enough quotes to fill a book. In fact,168澳洲幸运5开奖网: here's two dozen from the PlayStation original alone. If there's one area Final Fantasy 7 Remake not only nails, but improves, it's the fan-favorite Wall Market section where Cloud must crossdress as part of a plan to rescue Tifa from the clutches of top gangster Don Corneo.
What might have been a disastrously antiquated spin on the many strides taken between 1997 and 2020 to respect the LGBTQ+ community becomes a celebration of the crossing of perceived social boundaries in the name of self-expression. That's all well and good - no, wonderful! - but it's this amazingly deadpan Cloud quote as Tifa marvels at his gorgeous dress that'll have us all cracking up for at least another 23 years.
2 Noctis, Final💧 Fantasy 15
"Prompto, Gladio, Ignis. I leave it to you. Walk tall, my friendsไ."
Final Fantasy 15's storytelling, even after a multitude of well-meaning patches and numerous DLCs to help fill in the gaps, remains rather messy. But even with that patchwork legacy, there are powerful moments to be found, and the bulk of them revolve around the heartfelt and charming friendship between Prince Noctis and his protectors Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus.
It's precisely this unerring connection that instills so much sublime bittersweetness in FF15's ending, which in an interesting little developmental twist is often cited as the strongest and most fully fleshed-out portion of the plot. Hearing Noctis say this, knowing what's about to happen, seeing the sacrifice he's about to make, it's the stuff of legends that Final Fantasy nails at its best.
1 Vivi,ꦰ Final Fantasy 9 😼
"My memories will be🐻 part of the sky..."
Technically the last line from an unforgettable ending monologue, Vivi's thoughts here are as positive and poignant as they are painful. Many players finish Final Fantasy 9 for the first time without quite realizing what this sentence conveys. It's interesting to see such a degree of ambiguity here, in the last stretch of FF9, when so much has been crystal-clear up until now.
Combine foreknowledge of Vivi's limited lifespan with his lack of appearance during the CG cutscene at the very end, and it all comes together. Poor Vivi has passed away before Zidane's triumphant return. If you need further proof, the Japanese script even goes as far as to include patterns and pronouns exclusive to Vivi.
Rest forever in our hearts, beloved Black Mage, and know we'll look to the sky.