Advent Children » Characters

Advent Children, being the sequel to the ever popular Final Fantasy 7, of course pays homage to many of the original characters. In one form or another, each of the characters on this page make their way into the story.

Warning! FF7 spoilers abound in this page. But no AC spoilers. We promise.

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We all know Cloud: He was in everything! Our well loved hero from Final Fantasy 7 makes a return as the main character in Advent Children. Still in grief over the loss of his beloved Aeris, Cloud walks around here and there, dejected and lost.

Advent Children introduces Cloud's new job post-FF7: owning a delivery store! Appropriately called "Strife Delivery Service", Cloud and Tifa work together to keep their lives in line. As a side project, Tifa takes care of orphaned children, in particular Marlene and her friend Cloud and Denzel.

Strange things have been happening in the world lately, and there is talk of three strange gray-haired gentlemen, each looking for Cloud. Concerned about the recent happenings, Cloud heads off on another adventure to save the world.

Tifa, the loveable and friendly member of AVALANCHE and long-time pal of Cloud returns in Advent Children, not only as Cloud's primary love interest but also as his co-proprieter of Cloud's Delivery Service. Always hard working and always caring, she would do anything for her friends.

Last we heard of Tifa, she was with Cloud escaping the Northern Crater after the defeat of Sephiroth. Having grown closer to Cloud both in friendship and in workmanship, her love for the adventurer is certainly not less than before. This time around, however, she also has the responsibility of taking care of Marlene and her friend Denzel. The children and Cloud have become her surrogate family, and her determination and perserverance in standing by them is unmatched.

Tifa still retains her melee-fighting style from Final Fantasy 7, and has even gained a few new moves! In dangerous situations she gladly struts her stuff and shows the problematic characters who's boss. With wisdom unmatched and a determination to destroy all rivals, Tifa certainly lives up to her main-character role.

Barret is back and better than ever! Wielding a fancy new metallic hand (that turns into a massive gun) and a new mesh shirt, Barret's fortitude and disposition has never been better.

The first mention of Barret in this movie suggests that he is working in the Oil industry this time around, searching around for new possibilities in place of Mako. Though we never actually see him discuss his proposition, a short conversation of a cell phone suggests that business is good.

Despite only appearing in a few scenes of the movie, Barret's "long range" fighting technique still appears to hold true. This time with a much larger gun and a more powerful "Big Shot", our friendly AVALANCHE leader still appears to pack a powerful punch for the enemies.

Despite the fact that she's dead, Aeris Gainsborough still plays a vital part in the storyline of Advent Children. Being the last ancient alive hardly leaves room for anything else to suddenly happen to her!

Ever since she died, Cloud has moped and gone into severe depression, being under the distinct impression that her entire death was his fault. As a result, Aeris makes a return in Advent Children to not only save a number of people again, but also to help Cloud through his rough time.

Aeris is undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters in videogame history, and her "return" to the world in Advent Children leaves a great deal open to speculation. Though she is, indeed, dead, her memory lives on forever and strengthens her friends.

Remember Marlene? Last we saw her, she was much younger and was looking at the Lifestream as it saved the world. This time around, this young daughter of Dyne (and adopted daughter of Barret) is staying with Tifa and her new friend Denzel. She's a little older now, and her maturity is tenfold what it was.

Marlene's part in this movie revolves strongly around Denzel, her best friend who is unfortunately afflicted by Geostigma. That is not to say, however, that she isn't a strong and well thought-out character. She plays a large part in the movie in general, ultimately being a strong bond between Cloud and Tifa, and a life-saver of the entire world.

Denzel is one of the new cast members to join the crew in Advent Children. Sometime since the end of Final Fantasy 7, Denzel and Marlene became close friends, and he now lives with her, Tifa and Cloud at Tifa's apartment. Despite being new, however, Denzel is a very deep and mature character.

One of the determining factors that makes Denzel stand out among the cast is that he is one of the children afflicted with Geostigma, a deadly virus with unknown side effects. He holds true to his best friend Marlene and lives on with her hope, yet is constantly looking for a cure for his disease. His ongoing journey sometimes leads him down the wrong paths, however...

Honorable Mentions: Red XIII, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, Cait Sith

Kadaj is the main "bad guy" of this movie, and the supposed "leader" of the band of gray-haired gentlemen looking for Cloud. His motives are unclear, though he is clearly after Cloud and clearly something that Cloud has in his possession. Perhaps not purely evil by nature, but certainly not good, Kadaj is a force to be reckoned with.

Kadaj's appearance in the world seems sudden, for lack of a better word, though his search for a specific item -- or person -- is unquestionable. With help from his two brothers, Kadaj searches out the land, using any force necessary, to gain what he is searching for.

Kadaj is a force to be reckoned with in a fight. Proficient in a "gunblade" of sorts, as well as Materia, he willingly controls people to do his biddings with pure power and knowledge. When fighting with the members of AVALANCHE, however, Kadaj truly meets his match.

Despite being the obvious eldest of the "gray haired brothers", Loz is hardly the smartest person in the world. He mainly looks towards his brother Kadaj for answers, and when brute force or braun are necessary will step in with joy. It goes without saying that his lack of brains are made up for with his physical abilities.

Loz does not play as big a role as Kadaj, though he does do a great deal of fighting. He is, possibly, the complete opposite of Tifa: very powerful in melee fighting, yet not extremely determined to do things without making sure that it's OK. When it comes down to it, he is clearly just another henchman.

We don't see a lot of Yazoo in this movie, except for the occasional "standing behind his brother" scene. What is his purpose? Most likely he was just there to help out with the fight scenes, but either way he's one of the three "gray haired brothers" that roam the world looking for Cloud.

Yazoo's fighting style seems to be very similar to Loz's: very hand-to-hand oriented. In the few fight scenes we see him in, he certainly shows that despite his stature he is very skilled at what he does, and unafraid of any adversity. Despite his skills, however, he does not seem to be the strongest or wisest member of the three brothers.

Honorable Mentions: Bahamut, Shadow Keeper

Who is he? We know, but we're not going to tell you unless you really want to know. This "wheelchair man" roams around the Midgar with the Turks, clearly protected by them yet able to do things on his own should he wish. He also appears to have some connection with Kadaj...but what in particular?

If you'd like to find out who this guy is, or you'd like to look at his info and you know who he is already, click here.

Everyone remembers Reno! This wise-cracking, laser-stick wielding Turk runs around in Advent Children as an ally of AVALANCHE and as, seemingly, a comic-relief figure. Standing beside his friend Rude, Reno is clearly willing to take on anyone.

Reno is undoubtedly courageous, and uses his courage to his full advantage in this movie in helping Cloud and the people of Midgar. He still wields his laser stick that doesn't seem to do anything, yet also runs around and causes a great deal of physical damage in melee fighting. If it weren't for his and Rude's help, the members of AVALANCHE would certainly have a different bag of issues to deal with.

This technically-savvy, cool and collected member of the Turks also joins the "good side". Always wielding his sunglasses and a good fighting stance, he clearly knows how to handle on his own, though sticks with Reno during the movie.

Rude has always been a melee-fighter, evidenced by his fighting style in Final Fantasy 7, and has always seemed to not be afraid under any circumstances. In Advent Children, a new type of knowledge is brought to the table: he's very good with bombs! A specific scene in the movie explains more.

Honorable Mentions: Tseng, Elena