Elena (The Turks)

Final Fantasy VII, a role-playing video game developed by Square, now Square Enix, and originally released in 1997, features many characters in both major and minor roles. VII has been followed by multiple sequels and prequels, grouped into the multimedia series Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. These include the 2004 mobile game prequel Before Crisis, the 2005 film sequel Advent Children, the 2006 shooter spin-off sequel Dirge of Cerberus, and the 2007 action game prequel Crisis Core. Other media include spin-off books and the original video animation Last Order. The setting of Final Fantasy VII has been described as industrial or post-industrial science fiction. It is referred to as "the Planet" in most games, and was retroactively named "Gaia" in some Square Enix promotional material.

VII follows Cloud Strife, a mercenary with a troubled past who joins eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE to stop Shinra from draining the life of the Planet and using it as an energy source. As the story progresses, conflicts escalate and the group fights for the world's safety as new forces emerge. Cloud and his team eventually face off against the game's antagonist, Sephiroth, to stop him from destroying the Planet. Other important characters include Aerith Gainsborough, a flower seller who becomes a good friend to Cloud; Zack Fair, Cloud's friend, a former soldier of Shinra and the protagonist of Crisis Core; and Vincent Valentine, a man made immortal as a result of Shinra's experiments and the protagonist of Dirge of Cerberus. The conflict between Cloud and Sephiroth forms the core narrative around which many of the series' stories are built. Other characters include the Turks, a covert group which originally worked for Shinra.

The original characters were designed by Tetsuya Nomura, who had done monster designs for Final Fantasy VI and was chosen for the role after his designs impressed producer Hironobu Sakaguchi. Nomura was responsible for many of the characters and their stories. The scenario for the original game was written by Sakaguchi, Yoshinori Kitase and Kazushige Nojima. Nomura, Kitase and Nojima have been involved in other titles in the Compilation. The characters of VII have met with positive reception in contemporary and modern reviews, while their portrayal in the Compilation titles has been mixed: while Crisis Core was generally praised, the focus on secondary characters in Dirge of Cerberus drew mixed opinions from some, while their appearance in Advent Children was generally cited as confusing or poor for newcomers to the series. The cast, along with side characters and villains, have remained popular among critics and series fans, with many lists and opinion polls citing them as some of the best characters in the Final Fantasy series.

The original concept for Final Fantasy VII s world was for a modern setting, but after the project was moved from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to the PlayStation console, the setting was altered. Elements from the original concept were later used in Final Fantasy VIII and Parasite Eve. The game's producer, Hironobu Sakaguchi, chose character designer Tetsuya Nomura, who had previously worked on monster designs for Final Fantasy VI, to design the main cast. Sakaguchi chose Nomura after being amused by the way Nomura did the storyboarding for the cutscenes. Talking of his role as character designer, Nomura stated that when he was brought on, the main scenario was incomplete, but he "went along like, 'I guess first off you need a hero and a heroine', and from there drew the designs while thinking up details about the characters. After [he'd] done the hero and heroine, [he] carried on drawing by thinking what kind of characters would be interesting to have. When [he] handed over the designs [he'd] tell people the character details [he'd] thought up, or write them down on a separate sheet of paper". Nomura also created Zack Fair, who was a late addition to the cast meant to add depth to Cloud and Aerith's relationship, and came up with the name for Red XIII, wanting an "interesting" name that combined a color and a number. Final Fantasy VII was the first game where Nomura was really involved in the character design, including the personalities, so the player side ended up being edgy as well. He wanted to include a unique character, resulting in a diverse party.