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Vincent Valentine

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For the West Indies cricketer, see Vincent Valentine (cricketer). For the American football player, see Vincent Valentine (American football).

Vincent Valentine
Final Fantasy character
Vincent Valentine artwork by Tetsuya Nomura for Final Fantasy VII.
First appearanceFinal Fantasy VII (1997)
Designed byTetsuya Nomura
Voiced by
In-universe information
WeaponFirearms

Vincent Valentine (ヴィンセント・ヴァレンタイン, Vinsento Varentain) is a character in Square's (now Square Enix) 1997 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII. He is designed by Tetsuya Nomura, and also appears in various titles from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a metaseries set in the Final Fantasy VII continuity. He is the protagonist of the 2006 third-person shooter Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and its mobile phone tie-in Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode. Vincent is voiced in Japanese by Shōgo Suzuki and in English by Steven Blum and Matthew Mercer.

In the backstory to Final Fantasy VII, Vincent is a Turk assigned to guard the scientist Lucrecia Crescent, whom he falls in love with. After a series of scientific experiments involving the cells of the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova, Crescent gives birth to the game's antagonist, Sephiroth, with Hojo being the father. Soon after, Vincent became a test subject to experiments performed by Hojo after he shot him. This resulted in genetic modification that supplanted other forms within him and gave him superior strength, speed, and healing in addition to not aging. If the player unlocks Vincent, he will join Cloud Strife's group to stop Sephiroth and seek revenge on Hojo.

Due to time constraints, Vincent was originally not intended to be playable in Final Fantasy VII, but was ultimately made an optional character. Despite his optional status and lack of concrete detail regarding his background, he proved to be popular with both fans and critics, and his history was expanded upon in other installments of the Compilation, primarily Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus.

Concept and design

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Character designer Tetsuya Nomura explained that Vincent's character shifted from that of horror researcher, to detective, to chemist, and finally to the figure of a former Turk with a tragic past. Director Yoshinori Kitase was in charge of the cutscene in which Vincent joins the party, while scenario writer Kazushige Nojima wrote his backstory. Nojima struggled with writing Vincent's dialogue, as he very rarely speaks.[3] In the original script of the game, Vincent was introduced in a similar fashion, but had a handsome and sarcastic personality. He would join Cloud's group after learning they were in pursuit of Hojo, but was unaware of the results of the experimentation he was subjected to.[4] Additionally, he would be privy to information regarding Shinra's involvement with the creation of Sephiroth, and he would explain to Cloud the story of Sephiroth's origins.[5] When the game was in development, Nomura and his staff considered removing Vincent and Yuffie Kisaragi since they did not have enough time to work them into the story properly. As a result, Vincent and Yuffie ultimately became optional party members.[3]

Vincent's Japanese voice actor, Shōgo Suzuki, explained that he tries "to hold back as much emotion as possible when playing Vincent", noting that Vincent is "a bit of a loner" and "appears cold on the surface".[6] Nomura wanted Cloud and Vincent's voices to contrast with each other due to their similar personalities. He felt Vincent was older and more mature than Cloud, and as a result, he cast Suzuki, who has a very low voice.[7] In the English dub, Vincent was voiced by Steve Blum, as the casting staff wanted a man who portrays Vincent's brooding manner based on his dark past. Blum was overjoyed because he claims to be a fan of the original Final Fantasy VII, and stated that directors wanted him to portray Vincent as "dark and moody" since Vincent is a "tortured soul".[8]

Vincent's cape took many adjustments to perfect for Advent Children, and his gun was transformed to reflect his new role as the protagonist for Dirge of Cerberus.[9]

Vincent is a tall, lean man with long black hair and red eyes who wears a ragged red cloak and mantle over black underclothes, as well as a metallic, golden gauntlet on his left forearm. Vincent's cloak covers the lower half of his face and is held closed by a series of buckles. His crimson cloak was added to symbolize the idea of him carrying a heavyweight connected to death.[10] While other characters were given simple costumes in Advent Children, Vincent was given a more complex outfit. Nomura felt that changing his design to something complicated would "conflict with his personality", which is relatively straightforward, and so he was given attire consisting of "various, complex parts".[6] His cloak was difficult to animate due to it being organic; the overall complexity of Vincent's design led to his scenes being "especially hard to create".[6] These scenes were constantly being adjusted so as "to convey [their] elusive nature of seemingly having shape, but not". These adjustments concluded six months before the film's completion.[6]

Vincent was chosen as the protagonist of Dirge of Cerberus due to his strong connections to the setting of Final Fantasy VII and the potential for expanding on his background.[9] Due to the staff's desire to make Dirge a shooter, Vincent was also chosen because of his weaponry, while his transformations into different monsters in the original Final Fantasy VII was something the staff wanted to work into the gameplay.[11] For the game, Nomura redesigned Vincent's gun in the same way that Cloud's Buster Sword was redesigned for Advent Children, to demonstrate that he is the protagonist of the game.[9] The gun was named Cerberus (ケルベロス, Keruberosu) in reference to the monster from Greek and Roman mythology; the gun has three barrels, like how Cerberus has three heads.[9]

Appearances

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Final Fantasy VII

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In the game, Vincent is an optional party member. Players can unlock Vincent by the halfway point of Final Fantasy VII, when Cloud Strife and his allies find him sleeping in a coffin in the basement of Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim.[12] Cloud mentions his quest to stop the game's antagonist, Sephiroth, who Vincent recognizes as the son of Lucrecia Crescent.[13] Vincent joins the group after learning that they may eventually meet up with Hojo, whom he has an unexplained vendetta against.[14] Later, Vincent finds Lucrecia inside a cave, and his backstory is partly revealed. Vincent was a member of the Turks, an elite group of Shinra agents. While serving as Lucrecia's bodyguard, he fell in love with her, but she ultimately decided to remain faithful to Hojo, who persuaded her to use her unborn baby in his experiments. When protesting the nature of these experiments, Vincent was shot by Hojo, who began to experiment on him. This resulted in him not aging and having the ability to transform into various monsters.[15] Vincent felt strong guilt over being unable to protect Lucrecia, leading to his separation.[16] Overcome by guilt, Lucrecia sealed herself away in a Mako crystal. Upon entering the cave in the game, Lucrecia is revived and asks Vincent if Sephiroth is still alive, but he lies and tells her that he is dead.[17]

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

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In Before Crisis, which is set six years prior to Final Fantasy VII, Vincent is seen in his Turk attire conversing with Veld, the leader of the Turks, and helps him obtain some Materia needed for a mission.[15] In the film Advent Children, which is set two years after Final Fantasy VII, Vincent rescues Cloud from Kadaj and his gang and reveals to him Kadaj's intentions to merge with the remaining Jenova cells and resurrect Sephiroth. Vincent later helps Cloud and his allies defeat the summon creature Bahamut SIN.[18] In the On the Way to a Smile novella "Case of Nanaki", which is set between the original game and Advent Children, Vincent encounters his former comrade, Red XIII (Nanaki), who is fearful that he will soon be alone due to his lifespan being much longer than humans. Vincent explains to Red that he is immortal and promises to meet with him every year to prevent his loneliness.[19]

In Dirge of Cerberus, which takes place one year after Advent Children, Vincent is seen working with Reeve Tuesti and the World Regenesis Organization to eliminate the organization Deepground,[20] who have targeted Vincent because he carries "Protomateria" (エンシェントマテリア, Enshentomateria) inside his body, with Lucrecia having implanted it in him after he was shot by Hojo. The purpose of the Protomateria was to enable Vincent to control the Chaos (カオス, Kaosu) gene, which Lucrecia injected him with to save his life.[21] The Protomateria is eventually ripped from his body by Rosso the Crimson, leading to Vincent being unable to control Chaos. Eventually, he confronts the Deepground leader, Weiss the Immaculate, who is possessed by the digitalized mind of Hojo. Hojo reveals that his plan is to awaken Omega WEAPON, who will absorb the Lifestream and leave the Planet, resulting in the death of all living things.[22] After Omega's awakening, the renegade Deepground member, Shelke, returns the Protomateria to Vincent, and he is once again able to control Chaos, using it to destroy both Hojo and Omega. The mobile game Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode takes place during Dirge of Cerberus and features Vincent as the protagonist.[23]

He appears in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.[24]

Other appearances

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Outside the Final Fantasy VII series, Vincent appears in the fighting game Ehrgeiz as an unlockable character, with his Turk uniform as an alternate costume. Like the other Final Fantasy VII characters in the game, Vincent does not serve a role in the main storyline.[25] Although he was meant to appear in Kingdom Hearts, his design was instead used as the basis for Cloud's redesign.[26] Vincent's popularity has seen merchandise related to the character, including the release of action figures.[27][28] Vincent also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit.[29]

Reception

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Steve Blum was praised for his performance as Vincent.

The character has received mixed comments by video games publications. Magazines have also described him as one of the best Final Fantasy character.[30][31][32] In GameSpot's article "The History of Final Fantasy", Vincent was comically referred to as the Final Fantasy VII character who female players found to be "the most alluring undead man they've ever met".[33] IGN has praised for his "striking" character design, as well as the fact that "FFVII's 3D engine made his shape-shifting Limit Breaks some surprisingly scary stuff".[30] He has been held as an example of the recurring character categories of "The Kickass Quiet Guy" by 1UP.com[34] and "The Brooding Pretty Boy" by GamesRadar+.[35] DiehardgameFan said that Vincent's design is invoking of vampires but does not pass such standards that gaming vampires are famous for as he is instead called an undead or an experiment.[36]

There was also commentary about Vincent's appearances in his own spin-off. GameSpot writer Greg Mueller regarded Vincent as one of "the more interesting characters from Final Fantasy VII" and liked how Dirge of Cerberus was focused on him and explained his origins more clearly.[37] His character design and abilities have been praised by GameSpy's Justin Speer, who felt that with such traits he "capably steps into a leading role" of Dirge of Cerberus.[38] IGN's Jeremy Dunham had a similar opinion, noting that Vincent "is exposed pretty convincingly here".[39] Eurogamer's Rob Fahey criticized Vincent for not being familiar enough to players, even to those who played the original Final Fantasy VII, to warrant his role as protagonist in Dirge of Cerberus. However, Fahey still recognized him as a very popular character, commenting that he is one of the most common characters from Final Fantasy VII to be featured in fan fiction and fan art.[40] Although RPGamer's Michael "CactuarJoe" Beckett said that Vincent was one of the "less well-developed" characters from Final Fantasy VII, he found his development in Dirge of Cerberus to be satisfying.[41] According to' GamesRadar+, Dirge of Cerberus focused on developing Vincent due to his lack of backstory in Final Fantasy VII, and regarded the mobile phone spin-off as "Vincent fan service instead of FFVII canon".[42] Steve Blum's performance as Vincent achieved a positive response from fans and the media.[43][44]

GamesRadar+ claimed that they look forward to the character's debut in the remake installments of Final Fantasy VII as the first volume still did not focus on him.[45] GamesRadar was disappointed that Vincent's role in Rebirth would not be as active as in the original game, comparing him to the early inclusion of Red XIII as AI controlled rather than playable.[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Voices of Vincent Valentine". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  2. ^ "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Matt Mercer Is Vincent Valentine". Kotaku. 2023-10-14. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  3. ^ a b Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania (in Japanese) (Revised ed.). Square-Enix. 2009. pp. 8–13. ISBN 978-4-7575-2560-3.
  4. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. p. 523. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
  5. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. p. 528. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
  6. ^ a b c d SoftBank, ed. (2006). Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files (in Japanese and English). Square-Enix. p. 48. ISBN 4-7973-3498-3.
  7. ^ SoftBank, ed. (2006). Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files (in Japanese and English). Square-Enix. p. 49. ISBN 4-7973-3498-3.
  8. ^ "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children US premiere". Siliconbera. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d Dirge of Cerberus Official Complete Guide (in Japanese). Square-Enix. 2006. ISBN 978-4-7575-1622-9.
  10. ^ Knight, Sheila (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura 20s". FLAREgamer. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2006.
  11. ^ Cheng, Justin (May 19, 2005). "E3 2005: Yoshinori Kitase Interview". IGN. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  12. ^ Square (September 7, 1997). Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation). SCE America. Vincent: To wake me from the nightmare... Who is it?! .... Never seen you before. You must leave.
  13. ^ Square (1997-09-07). Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation). SCE America. Vincent and Cloud: You know Sephiroth? / Vincent: You Start first.
  14. ^ Square (1997-09-07). Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation). SCE America. Vincent: Wait! If I go with you will I meet Hojo? / Cloud: Dunno. But we're after him and Sephiroth. So, I guess sooner or later... / Vincent: Lucrecia... All right. I've decided to go with you.
  15. ^ a b Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania (in Japanese) (Revised ed.). Square-Enix. 2009. pp. 68–71. ISBN 978-4-7575-2560-3.
  16. ^ Square (September 7, 1997). Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation). SCE America. Vincent: This body is... the punishment that's been given to me... I was unable...... to stop Professor Gast and Hojo... And Lucrecia... I was unable to stop them... All that I was able to do was watch... That is my punishment...
  17. ^ Square (September 7, 1997). Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation). SCE America. Lucrecia: I wanted to disappear... I couldn't be with anyone... I wanted to die... But the Jenova inside me wouldn't let me die... Lately, I dream a lot of Sephiroth... My dear, dear child. Ever since he was born I never got to hold him, even once... Not even once. You can't call me his mother... That... is my sin... Back!! Stay back!! Vincent... Won't you please tell me? / Vincent: ......What? / Lucrecia: Is Sephiroth still alive? I heard he died five years ago. But I see him in my dreams so often... And, I know that physically, like myself, he can't die so easily. Please, Vincent tell me...... / Vincent: Lucrecia... Sephiroth is dead...
  18. ^ Tetsuya Nomura (Director) (September 14, 2005). Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (DVD). Square Enix.
  19. ^ On the Way to a Smile: Final Fantasy VII (in Japanese). Square-Enix. 2009. ISBN 978-4-7575-2462-0.
  20. ^ Square Enix (August 15, 2006). Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 2). Vincent: Reeve. Who were those men? / Reeve: Deepground soldiers. / Vincent: Deepground? / Reeve: Yes. The shadow of the Shinra Company, constructed by the former president and completely hidden from the rest of the world. / Vincent: Constructed? / Reeve: His goal was to create an army of superhuman warriors--not once letting morality interfere. The man you met earlier, Azul, is also a member of Deepground. But, he belongs to an elite unit known as the Tsviets.
  21. ^ Square Enix (August 15, 2006). Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 2). Rosso: So you're Vincent Valentine. Keeper of the Protomateria. / Vincent: Protomateria? / Rosso: Yes. The key to controlling Omega. We know you have it.
  22. ^ Square Enix (August 15, 2006). Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 2). Hojo: If the Chaos within you was born of a tainted Lifestream, then the almighty Omega would be born of a pure one. So I had my minions gather up the "uncontaminated" to create a stream of refined mako, thus awakening Omega inside me. /.../ Hojo: Only a scientist of my caliber is worthy to become one with Omega and leave this planet for the stars!
  23. ^ Square Enix (August 15, 2006). Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 2). Vincent: Lucrecia. Everything's alright now. Omega and Chaos have returned to the planet. Thank you. It was you. You were the reason I survived.
  24. ^ Hirun Cryer (2023-09-14). "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally confirms fan-favorite Vincent is back". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  25. ^ "Ehrgeiz Hints & Cheats". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  26. ^ Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: Revised Edition (in Japanese). Japan: Square Enix. 2002. ISBN 4-7575-1349-6.
  27. ^ "Dirge of Cerberus at SE Store" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  28. ^ "Action Figure at SE Store" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  29. ^ "Multiple Final Fantasy VII character Spirits coming to Smash Ultimate alongside Sephiroth". 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters". IGN. 2008-03-28. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  31. ^ Vas, Gergo (January 28, 2013). "The Most Notable Vampires in Video Games". Kotaku. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  32. ^ "Vincent Valentine – The 20 Greatest Final Fantasy Characters of All Time". Complex. 2013-10-08. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  33. ^ "The History of Final Fantasy". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  34. ^ Sharkey, Scott. "Top 5 Final Fantasy Character Types". 1UP.com. UGO Networks. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  35. ^ Barrat, Charlie (22 July 2008). "The Top 7... Lazy Character Clichés". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  36. ^ "Top Ten Video Game Vampires!". DieHardGameFan. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  37. ^ Mueller, Greg (2006-08-15). "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  38. ^ Speer, Justin (May 11, 2006). "GameSpy: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Preview". GameSpy. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  39. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (August 11, 2006). "IGN: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  40. ^ Fahey, Rob (November 16, 2006). "Eurogamer: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  41. ^ Beckett, Michael. "RPGamer: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  42. ^ Glasser, AJ (March 5, 2008). "Timeline: Final Fantasy VI". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  43. ^ "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children reports from Hollywood". Engadget. 4 April 2006. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  44. ^ "The most inhumanly versatile voice actors in video games". GamesRadar. May 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  45. ^ "Final Fantasy 7 Remake director explains why Yuffie got story DLC over Vincent". GamesRadar. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  46. ^ "Vincent's role in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is exactly what Red XIII's was in Remake". GamesRadar. September 21, 2023. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
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