Final Fantasyis one of the most popular JRPG series that needs no introduction. The franchise focuses onquality single-player experienceswith epic stories and memorable characters.
The high-stakes plotlines mean that the death of major characters is a distinct possibility. However, there are times when some deaths are hard to digest, especially if players feel like this grisly fate was avoidable.
When Shadow leaves the party to try and stop Kefka on the Floating Continent, players must wait until there are only five seconds on the clock before the ninja appears. This ensures that he doesn’t die and can be recruited into the World of Ruin.
It’s here that players get to see flashbacks with Shadow in the party if they decide to rest at an inn. It depicts his life before he became a masked assassin, with this troubled character finally finding peace after choosing to sacrifice himself at the end of the game. However, this death felt a bit too sudden, and Interceptor himself finds it puzzling that his master decided to give up on life after defeating the final antagonist.
After realizing the importance of the Holy materia, Aerith decides to split off from the group to reach the Temple of the Ancients. She wanted to learn about her history all by her lonesome, but this turned out to be a death sentence.
Right when Cloud and Aerith reunite, Sephiroth appears and impales her. It’s a tragic moment that could’ve been avoided had she just stuck to the party, but there’s no denying that this momenthelpedFinal Fantasy 7become one of the most iconic PS1 games ever made.
ASage who’s past his primeby the time he joins Cecil’s party, Tellah’s magical attacks are decent early on before his low MP pool ends up becoming unacceptable. However, that doesn’t stop him from going out with a bang as he hunts down his granddaughter’s killer.
After facing off against Golbez, Tellah draws from his life energy to cast Meteor in quick succession, inflicting grievous harm on the villain but failing to end his life. The strain is too much for his old body to bear, and Tellah passes away not long after. It’s a saddening death made even worse by how avoidable it was, especially since Tellah’s sacrifice didn’t have the intended result.
The powerful Odin is a summon who appears in severalFinal Fantasygames, including the eighth mainline entry. Players duel him on a timer to acquire his services, only for this Guardian Force tomeet a grisly end at the hands of Seifer.
Squall’s rival manages to reverse the Zantetsuken, not realizing that this act sent the blade hurtling toward Gilgamesh. However, players can avoid this death altogether by fighting Odin after the battle against Seifer, although this will prevent them from enlisting Gilgamesh’s services.
Final Fantasy 15had its problems, but the strong sense of camaraderie ensured that players would be invested in this title until its tragic end.Watching Noctis having to sacrifice his body and soulto seal away Ardyn’s evil is a harrowing sight that will cause players to tear up.
Given how Hajime Tabata wanted to develop an alternate conclusion to the story with the DLCs he’d greenlit, it was clear that this tragic death could’ve been avoided. Instead, his vision was left incomplete as he left Square Enix before all his planned DLCs could see the light of day.
By all accounts, Zack was healthy and could’ve given the Shinra infantry the slip if he wished. However, he was simply too noble and didn’t want to condemn Cloud to a brutal death.
So, he decided to sacrifice himself in a tragic final fight, cutting down wave after wave of Shinra troopers who slowly gunned him down as his DMW broke. He’s left a bloodied mess and leaves Cloud with some heartbreaking final words before passing away.
Final Fantasy 16’s plot has its fair share of issues, but the writing made it pretty easy to hate Anabelle Rosfield. However, after the fight with Bahamut where her ward is revealed to be Ultima’s tool, she loses her mind and decides to end her life.
It’s a sudden moment that catches everyone off-guard, preventing them from stopping this mad woman. It’s a demise many people would consider to be unsatisfactory and could’ve been avoided for a better narrative payoff further down the line instead.
The introduction to the World of Ruin is a terrifying one asCeles wakes up in a housewhere Cid has been taking care of her. He falls sick not long after and must be taken care of with a decent supply of fish.
The catch here is that players can kill Cid if they feed him the slower and sicker fish. It’s a tragic death that players would prefer to avoid, even if it leads to one of the most powerful cinematics in the entire game as Celes accepts the death of her father figure and soldiers on to reunite the band and defeat Kefka.
