Some Final Fantasy Things

Top Fifty Final Fantasy Characters

30. Red XIII (Nanaki), FFVII

Red XIII (whose real name is Nanaki) is a brave young creature.  Though he's forty-some years old, by his species' standards, he's about the equivalent of a teenager.  So think of him as being about Yuffie's age.  And yet he behaves so maturely!  Nanaki once believed his father, Seto abandoned him, but when he later found out Seto had been turned to stone while fending off enemies in a sort of battle, Nanaki was filled with emotion and the desire to become just like his father, a fierce, selfless warrior.  It's a lovely example of how much a young person might not actually know about the world, and of false perceptions they may have.  Nanaki had all of these ideas of what he thought had become of his father, and he was even bitter toward him for those reasons... And yet he came to find out his father was a brave, wonderful person.  This new-found knowledge helped Nanaki to become stronger as well.

In addition to his bravery, maturity, and kindness, Red XIII is also pretty useful in battle.  While characters like Cloud, Cid, and Vincent are much more useful in my opinion, Red XIII is next in line as one of the best.  I'm betting if Vincent weren't there, I'd have used Red XIII a lot more.  Even so, I do include him in my party a lot more often than many of the other characters.  He and Yuffie are my usual alternates if I feel like giving Cid or Vincent a break.

And of course I have a soft spot for non-human animals.  Red XIII reminds me somewhat of a dog.  I love dogs so much, so that is positive points for him in my mind.

Look.  Red XIII's job is "Beast." 

Cid is an "old" pilot who is 32...