#vincent's compilation

Advent Children (Case of Marlene)

First, Vincent saves Cloud from Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, retrieving him from the fight set among the trees of the Forgotten City: he appears out of nowhere, uses the cape as a way to confound his enemies and runs away with Cloud in his arms.

After the fight, Cloud asks what does Vincent know about the situations, and Vincent explains what is the Geostigma: it comprises the symptons that happen when the Jenova/Sephiroth cells infect your body, appearing especially when the host harbours negative emotions and has touched the Lifestream already corrupted by Jenova cells. It's interesting to notice the body/Planet analogy: they both live and thrive thanks to the Lifestream, and this Lifestream flow is what fights the Jenova induced disease, overcompensating and hurting the body/Planet in exchange. (It's kinda similar to what happens with a Cytokine storm: when the immune system reacts escessively to an infection, releasing an uncontrolled amount of cytokines who can kill the body itself. are... WEAPONS similar to white cells?).

He also explains that he discovered this information thanks to Tseng and Elena, and also informs that if the Remnants want, they can recreate Sephiroth himself.

Then there's the appearance of Marlene, and how she wants Cloud to pay attention to her, Denzel and Tifa. By sheltering Marlene, Vincent is...subtly...defending her position, and he furtherly puts a bug in Cloud's ear: Cloud speaks a lot about battles to fight, against Shinra and the Remnants, but is Cloud sure this is about fighting? "Are you sure this is about fighting?"

Cloud then gets two flashbacks, one about Tifa, one about Aerith: Tifa talks Cloud out of his imposed loneliness and his running away from people he can't save (or so he thinks), while Aerith says that it should be time to do the forgiving.

Cloud asks Vincent: "Are sins ever forgiven?" and Vincent answers:

"I've never tried"

Now, hear this:

Just after Vincent shares his own lack of self-forgiveness after all these years, Cloud completely freezes, bamboozled by the fact that Vincent "never tried".

"Never tried..." resonates in Cloud's mind as an omen... until he suddenly wakes up from the freeze, asks Marlene to go with him and gives Vincent this line:

"Well, I'm gonna try. I'll phone in the verdict".

When I heard this line I was like... 'Did Cloud just roast Vincent?' No really, he just heard Vincent say "I'm still stuck up with my sins" and Cloud was so much appalled by the information that he just decided to do the contrary of Vincent and forgive himself for his sins?

Cloud just looks at Vincent, says "You don't?... Oh shit, I'll do it then, see ya later for the results"

It wasn't Tifa asking Cloud to stop running away and accept help from the other people that love him.

It wasn't Aerith asking Cloud to forgive himself from her death.

It was Vincent's hopeless ties with his sins that moved Cloud's character arc into the decision to forgive himself.

... I understand this sounds like an absurd implication to take here, but it is what it is: Cloud just listened to Vincent, said 'I won't become like you" and goes away with Marlene trying to forgive himself for his sins. and this happen because Cloud recognizes how similar he is to Vincent in that moment, how both are tied to their incapability to forgive themselves for not being able to help others. However, rather than continuing the path of self-loathing, like Vincent, Cloud decides for the path of forgiveness...because he saw Vincent's path first.

Glorious decision for Cloud.

Degrading position for Vincent, who couldn't even answer to Cloud ;)

(Thankfully, Dirge of Cerberus exists for this reason, to give Vincent his own arc)

- Rebirth (case of Regina)

After the final battle between Cloud and the Blood Queen, the Queen tries to kill Cloud, when suddenly Vincent appears out of nowhere, shoots at the four cards that were keeping Cloud prisoner and shouts Cloud to "use the card".

Cloud then throws the queen's card at the Blood Queen, staggering the possessed Regina, and then the Emerald Witch seals the Blood queen's card, stopping the Queen from threatening the world again.

For this particular case I want to consider the parallels between Cloud and Regina: just like Cloud is controlled by Sephiroth, so Regina is puppeteered by the Blood's queen, and both puppet masters are able to manipulate their victims by latching onto their "deepest darkest fears" but also their deepest desires:

a) Cloud and Regina's wish "to be worth something" (Cloud wanting to become a hero, Regina a great card duelist);

b) their fear of losing, be it a game, themselves and their worth.

Vincent says to Regina: "You are not to blame for this. Evil like that preys on our deepest darkest fears, and worms its ways into our hearts. Few ever break free".

He is comforting Regina, like I said in the part of the compilation dedicated to her, but his words have a strong resonance to Cloud's own story. Regina and Cloud are controlled because of their darkness, and their abusers enhance their dark side until their victims are engulfed by themselves. Your darkness is your weak point, and if you want to break free of others' control, you have to fight your own self. Fight yourself in order to get free from someone else, and look for the help of your friends in order to accomplish such a feat. Vincent saves Cloud's life, after all: who knows if Vincent can also warn Cloud out of the boy's darkness, like in the case of Regina.

- Rebirth (case of Tifa)

When Cloud has to traverse the portal infested by the Whispers, Barret, Yuffie, Caith Sith, Tifa and Nanaki try to keep the portal open, but just when Tifa falters, overcome by the Whispers, Vincent appears out of nowhere in order to:

a) keep Tifa safe from the Whispers, sheltering her from further harm;

b) keep the portal open so Cloud can go save Aerith.

"Go. She needs you". Vincent urges Cloud to give Aerith his aid, and Cloud nods, being able to face the unknown thanks to the help of his comrades, ready to help Aerith.

Who knows what is waiting for Cloud next time.

- Final Fantasy 7 (1997)

We are in Rocket Town for the first time, and we want to steal the Tiny Bronco for travelling the skies instead of letting President Shinra Jr. take the plane. What I find hilarious in this dialogue is that, while everyone else wants to steal/take/"borrow" the plane [Tifa is so cute here, n.d.r], Vincent wants to be the lookout of the group.

Vincent.

The lookout.

A red-caped man, clad in golden armor, wants to be the lookout of Avalanche for a plane's theft, and he's asking Cloud if he wants Vincent to keep watch in case Shinra arrives, with his most genuine simplicityand spontaneity. Uh, Yeah, sure?

... it's a real pity such a dialogue doesn't exist as an entire scene, because it could have hilarious.

Vincent suspiciously looking for enemies behind a pole while 8 thieves are trying to take/steal/borrow a plane for doing who knows what, considering they are without... a pilot.

Absolute Cinema.

-

(During the Whirlwind Maze progress)

(Before Jenova's death battle)

(After giving the Black Materia to either Barret or Nanaki)

These three lines happen between the Whirlwind maze's path and the world of illusions and half truths Sephiroth shows Cloud in order to shatter the boy's mind: three times Vincent advises Cloud to stay on guard against Sephiroth, but not even him could expect what Sephiroth would do to Cloud minutes later.

-

(On the Highwind, after some time has passed from the Lifestream sequence in Mideel)

This is the best line of Vincent in the original game, and one of his best lines in the entire franchise. The meaning this line has for me is just...

Perfection.

"How is it, living for yourself and not someone else?" encapsulates the ENTIRE arc of Cloud Strife, the sum of all the misfortunes, tragedies, wounds and healings of the main character of Final Fantasy 7.

Cloud lived for Shinra, lived for Sephiroth, lived for his own false self. Shinra betrayed him by using his dreams of heroism, Sephiroth used Cloud as a clone, a shadow, a puppet strung on his will, forcing Cloud to do his bidding, mixing Cloud's false memories with his world of illusions, empowering Cloud's false persona and isolating him from his friends and comrades, consuming Cloud's mind to the level of mental breakdown, making Cloud an almost lifeless husk of his former self, a terrible fate.

And then, Cloud being found in Mideel and his fall in the Lifestream. Thanks also to Tifa, Cloud is able to face his true memories and find himself, finding his own self after so long from his past. Cloud and Tifa get out of the Lifestream as newfound people, and Cloud's mask has been finally broken, the ties with Sephiroth cut, revealing his true self in front of everyone else.

Cloud has been manipulated, maneuvered, isolated, lied to with many half truths, forced to give the black materia, forced to attack the same people he cherishes the most!

Now, he is able to live for himself, his true, genuine self, free from puppet strings and false masks. Cloud. And no one else.

And Vincent is the one who understands all of this arc, he is the who shares one of the many keys to analyze Cloud as a character! Like, Vincent in the original game has no character arc, no relevance to the ongoing story and his lines are largely ignored by the characters around him, but HE is one of the people who sees Cloud, and he encapsulates Cloud's story in one. Line.

...Imagine a scene when Cloud actually reacts to this scene, the moment when Cloud feels the weight of what he accomplished to do, the pains and the struggles and the strings now cut and his own self now whole, his struggles, the price he had to pay for his freedom. To see all the weight of your story, all at once... and the people who helped you and sustained you through your story.

-

(Highwind lines during the search for the Key)

Vincent nudges Cloud, or at least looks for Cloud's nodding, about the fact that feelings and dreams aren't enough, but actions are necessary in order to pursuit your objectives (saving the world in this case). Vincent is calling Cloud to action, but it makes me thinks: Vincent didn't accomplish his own things for a good 30 years of misery and negative feelings, closing himself out from the world. Perchance, is Vincent projecting himself onto Cloud, and the fact that he wants himself to act? This line is kinda enigmatic on his own, so I can just share my own reading here.

(after discovering Aerith's prayers for Holy were successful)

This is my exception to the rule of not talking about character-generic lines: the first part of this dialogue is certainly not character-specific, but it's so good to imagine all Avalanche members saying in unison that they will ALL do the rest, the great emphasis on the "WE" being so inspiring, deciding not to leave Cloud alone with the burden. It hits even more if you narratively tie this part with these dialogues, set in the Temple of the ancients, after seeing the flashback between Sephiroth and Tseng.

Notice: when Cloud speaks about killing Sephiroth, only Barret, Tifa, and Nanaki are sure, but when is it about embracing Aerith's hope she left them? all of the gang, together. Such a great moment.

The second part is not exactly a nice action towards Cloud specifically, but these lines are too good to divide them from the first part. While Vincent is the only one who doesn't speak of Aerith directly ("an important person"), I particularly love the second part of his line: while the other lines speak of Aerith's things she left as vague and "As they are" ("take care" of it, keeping the thing As it is, "take a chance with it", 3 times to not let it go to "waste"), Yuffie and Vincent re-use Cloud's words about Aerith's hope, and Vincent is the one who wants to make this hope "stronger" than before: remember, he is the guy who told Tifa that "too much hope is the opposite of despair" [as in, the other side of the coin, n.d.r]. But now, he is talking about making "aerith's hope" as stronger than before. Was there supposed to be a character arc among these two lines? I have no answer, but I can give a guess, and man, I do want this change of heart to become Vincent's character arc in the future.

To have hope for a hopeless future, and fight for it, take a chance with it, don't waste it, make it stronger, and finish the job. The newfound will to save the world, nurtured, and accompanied and made stronger by hope.

(N.b. In the case of the original game, as in the case of Cid, there are lines that aren't character specific, so they don't belong to Vincent only.)

- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (2024)

When Tifa falters from keeping the portal open due to the dark Whispers, Vincent appears out of nowhere and shelters Tifa from the dark flow, giving her the moment to recover her stance and maintain the portal open for Cloud. Nothing much else to say here, but, I really like the right arm just above Tifa: Vincent is, at once, keeping the portal open, encouraging Cloud to save aerith AND sheltering Tifa from the dark whispers. Great shot overall.

-Original game (1997)

These are the lines i found that Vincent says to Tifa: unluckily, just like in the case of Cid, Tifa never answers back, meaning that these interactions are only one sided. We will try to see some aspects of Vincent's psychology, with the warning that these are more based on personal interpretation rather than canon: the original game didn't explore Vincent's mind much back at the time, and some of my interpretations now are based on later installments. I'll try to give a shot anyway

Vincent simply checks on Tifa's health after being saved by Shinra's approaching execution. We are at that part of the story where Cloud disappears from the scene, Sephiroth summons Meteor and the Weapons are on the loose: Rufus, Scarlet and Heidegger decide to execute Barret and Tifa as scapegoats to keep the population at bay, but Tifa and Barret manage to escape through the Highwind, captained by Cid and Caith Sith. after this nightmare, Vincent is just glad Tifa is still in the world of the living after being comatose for 7 days and waking up to be almost murdered by Shinra. What a rollercoaster of emotions for Tifa!

This is character general and not character specific, but Vincent and everyone is preoccupied for Tifa staying by Cloud's side, and they all promised to check on Tifa while on the mission to retrieve the Huge materias from Shinra. (Notice, though, that while Barret is focused on Tifa, Vincent is focused on Cloud: I don't think it is because Vincent doesn't care about Tifa, but he is interested in her struggle to care for Cloud)

This line... is my blessing and my curse. I have a very ambivalent posiition about this line, so please, bear with me.

[The blessing]

Despite being last in the list, this line is the Mother of all Vincent's projections (see other voices from the list for more examples, eg.part 3). Think about it:

"Too much love is the flip side* of despair": isn't it what Vincent suffered from in his love story? Too much love, and Vincent ended up in a coffin, never to be mourned.

"an overpowering love may consume you in the end": a repetition of the first part, but Vincent's overpowering love left him as a stone in the river of time for 30 years, leaving him disconnected from his feelings.

In my opinion, this is a warning: Vincent doesn't want Tifa to share Vincent's fate, he doesn't want her to suffer like him. This warning happens because their approaches to their cherished ones and their stories are...very similar: people with a huge heart and the inability to express their feelings to their dearly beloved ones because of their insecurities, they suffer the fate of being hurt so deeply by other malevolent people they won't see the light of the day for years, be it the Basement of the Nibelheim's Manorbor the Midgar slums. You can draw a great parallel between Vincent's backstory and Tifa's story, and Vincent knows he can represent the short end of Tifa's possibilities.

[The curse]

I admit I also have some criticism for this line, so please bear with me.

At first I didn't understand this line at all, so much that I wondered if Vincent was criticising Tifa for loving Cloud too much (!). This is the one case in my Compilation in which I had to ask for translations from Japan's to English to other users* in order to understand the meaning of this line (hence the *: too much love is not the opposite of despair, but the other side of the coin, what brings to despair and viceversa).

Without further context the parallel between the two red eyed brunettes is strong... but with further context the connection loses its strength. If Vincent and Tifa are connected by the story, then Lucrecia and Cloud has to be connected too: however, as far as we know, (major emphasis on this) Lucrecia chose Hojo over Vincent in order to protect Hojo for something unspecified (according to Vincent) while Cloud didn't choose Sephiroth over Tifa with consent: Cloud was influenced by Sephiroth in order to give him the black materia. and while Lucrecia still can think for herself and is still self conscious enough, Cloud's mental condition is broken beyond repair in the context of this line: he's vulnerable, unresponsive, absent. It's one of the darkest moments of the game, and Tifa lost him *again*, this time apparently forever. It's heartbreaking, and I can't believe Vincent isn't considering this context while trying to warn Tifa not to completely fall in despair towards Cloud's condition: it IS despairing, and Vincent should have tried to console her, not warn her. ... and then, while Vincent said Lucrecia a comforting lie, Tifa was able to say the hard truth to Cloud, and also managed to pull the miracle: she saved Cloud, and she gave him his identity back. The warning became useless, the moment Tifa saved the world by saving Cloud. This line, this piece of Vincent's nice actions towards Tifa: it can be my curse because of the criticism I shared with you, I confess it... but it's my blessing too: it made me discover the strong parallel between Vincent's and Tifa's stories and ways to love their most beloved, but most of all, it made me discover what an amazing character Tifa *truly is*: an incredible woman, an inspiration to me, a level of love so great you can save the world by saving one's life.

- The half anniversary story (ever crisis, March 2025)

In March of 2025, Ever Crisis released this story to celebrate the half-anniversary release of Ever Crisis. This story focuses on Tifa and the love her friends have for Tifa.

The story begins after a war between Shinra and Wutai, and Yuffie decides to commemorate the dead, her own people, with flowers. We get a heartbreaking moment of vulnerability between Yuffie and Tifa, in which both share their pain for the loss of those they cherish, a wound so deep they still try to look for their beloved ones everywhere, just to see them again.

The parallel here is very powerful, *especially* if we remember a crucial part of Tifa's childhood: her looking for her mother in Mt. Nibel. Then,

Yuffie asks: "Where would you've looked?"

Tifa: "Mmh, good question..."

Then, Vincent interposes: "I would think Mt. Nibel"

And both Tifa and Vincent explain that the land of the dead exists on the other side of Mt. Nibel, but only the deceased can enter the realm. After Yuffie gets angry nobody told her before (because she still wishes she could see her friends) and gives Vincent flowers to commemorate the dead, Vincent asks Tifa is she really wants to go there, and warns Tifa that living visitors of the underworld aren't sent away by Odin, by they're slained and welcomed to the realm.

...And Tifa catches up that Vincent is worried about her going to the underworld.

Things are, or Vincent isn't so great at hiding his level of care, or Tifa is sensitive enough to understand Vincent's hidden emotions: anyway, a wholesome moment between the two. (Then you remember that Tifa tried to go to the other side of the mountain at 8 years old and she almost lost her life in her journey: even if he doesn't know anything about Tifa's childhood, Vincent has all the reasons to worry about her)

Suddenly, Odin appears where they stand, and after battling against Vincent and Tifa, he kidnaps them both: he brings them to the Mt. Nibel of the past, and divides the two because Odin considers Tifa "unworthy".

Vincent finds himself in the Mt Nibel of years before the first reactor, while Tifa is in the interstice world between life and death, another plane of existence of bMt. Nibel. Vincent is set on finding Tifa, but he finds Angeal and Sephiroth roaming around the same place: Angeal offers Vincent his help to find Tifa, and despite Sephiroth's disapproval, the trio decides to look for the woman.

Odin then appears in front of the three and battles them. Vincent first asks where Tifa is

but he is forced to battle the warrior. Later, Odin feels the presence of another visitor and parts away, leaving Vincent ...

...without the possibility to save Tifa.

Next scene, we discover a really good piece of ff7's world-building: the dead can influence the living by using their shared memories, emotions and connections with the heart. Jessie, Wedge and Biggs, sadly part of the underworld now, find Tifa in her state between life and death, and thanks to the help of a neboulous soul and trough their love for Tifa, they convince her to go to the "randzvous spot", "the brightiest, flashiest spot" around Mt. Nibel: the mako spring! Once Tifa goes in there, thinking how to get out of her situation, Odin appears in front of Tifa and tries to strike her, but suddenly:

Vincent's voice reaches Tifa from another dimension, bringing Odin to change plan and face the other group instead. On the other side, Vincent challenges Odin in stead of Tifa, and if he wins, Odin has to bring Tifa on this side of the world.

(It is interesting to notice that Vincent says "Face me instead" just after Odin was going to slay Tifa,and Considering that Tifa can hear Vincent's voice from the white and black Limbo, do you want to see... that Vincent can see through the worlds and is aware of Tifa's presence from the other side? Curious, especially because up until now Vincent didn't know where Tifa was, but now he can perceive her near the mako spring? an oddity, but worth considering.)

Back to the plot, Odin accepts the challenge, but he requires that if anyone from the trio will fall, then Tifa will be part of the Underworld.

The battle begins again, everyone is victorius, and Vincent demands Odin to bring his friend on this other side of the mountain.

It's endearing that Vincent calls Tifa a friend, and also that he checks on her health, just before stating that the four of them still have to return to their time, escaping from the Mt. Nibel of years past.

and then, the strongest bond of love Jessie, Wedge and Biggs have for Tifa give her the power to face Odin with the mighty power of her fists, showing herself as a worthy and formidable opponent for Odin.

In Tifa's victory, Vincent nods at her with reassurance, and asks Odin to bring them home. Odin first wants to grant Tifa a wish, to see the dead people she cherishes. What a dream, uh? as a child, Tifa always wanted to see her mom, and now she would love to see her old friends! ...But she refuses, because they already in her heart, and they never really parted from her.

the end of this story is an ode to power of friendship: The ancient warrior from the past says the powerful bonds are the answer to genuine strength, angeal teaches Seohiroth that one can become stronger without the need to defeat people, and the last lines teach that love and devotion are proof of one's strength, for those who wield their (literal and metaphorical) swords to protect those important to them.

It begins in tragedy and ends in hope, and this is a cute, heartwarming story that, despite its flaws, gives us an important lesson: love conquers all, even the bounds of death.

Chapter 3 represents the first time Vincent and Shalua meet, when both raise their guns believing each other to be an enemy. However, when Vincent understands Shalua is a member of WRO, an ally of Reeve, he is the first to lower his gun.

They talk a little, and Vincent discovers that Shalua is in Edge because she's searching for her... "reason to live".

Next, just like Reeve and Yuffie, Shalua saves Vincent from a sticky situation: just like Yuffie's case, in chapter 3 Rosso hurts Vincent so bad that the man has to release Chaos to attack the Tsviet: once Chaos does the deal, Vincent turns into his human self and faints on the ground, exhausted by the fight and the transformation. Then, Shalua carries him to the WRO headquarters, and, after he awakes, she talks about Lucrecia's discoveries about Chaos.

Later, during the assault of Deepground, Shalua finally finds her reason to live, as known as Shelke, her sister and Tsviet, lurking behind Vincent. The moment Shelke reveals herself, Vincent immediately takes Shalua's side, maybe to stay away from his enemy, maybe to shield Shalua, probably both.

After that, when Shelke threatens Shalua with her swords after a brief confrontation, Vincent aims his gun at Shelke

And then... uhm, this scene happens:

Reeve shoots at the sprinkler above Shelke's head.

2. Shelke attacks Shalua.

3. Vincent folds his gun.

4. Vincent tries to... shield Shalua from Shelke's attack, but his action is useless because... it looks like Shelke's weapons do not function under the water

[First criticism]

This sequence of events is so surreal I had difficulties inserting this action into the Compilation: on one side, it shows that Vincent truly wants to help people, even putting himself in danger to shield a person from danger; on the other side, this action is totally useless, because it was Reeve the one who solved the situation. However, what really sends me is this scene composition:

Is that the way to shield a person? Pff, It looks like Vincent is blocking Shalua, not shielding her. I don't know what to tell you: the spirit is there, the execution is so so.

[End of first criticism]

Vincent then escorts Shalua out of danger and is charged by Reeve to use tranquilizers against Shelke. Vincent then fights Shelke, he uses the shot, and lets Shalua reunite with her sister. The scene is touching, so much that Vincent cannot stop looking at the sisters, delaying his departure from the sisters' reunion. Vincent only goes away because Reeve departs first.

After 10 years of distance, a reunion of sister can touch hearts after all.

[Second criticism]

Don't get me wrong, I love this scene because it's moving and I feel for Shalua's happiness to see her reason to live again. I'm also happy that Vincent and Reeve were the ones who made the reunion possible, I appreciate them for that!

... But this is a kidnapping of an unconscious person, and this scene is not self aware of this depiction.

Listen carefully: in this situation there are crucial elements to consider:

Shelke was dangerous for the safety of everyone, being a Tsviet and enemy of Wro, invader of the WRO headquarters.

2. Shelke has been brainwashed straight by the Shinra and Deepground for 9 years straight, since she was ten years old.

3. Shelke was going to kill her sister, despite Reeve desperately trying to talk Shelke out of the murder attempt.

...but this doesn't change that Vincent and Reeve still kidnapped a kidnapped girl. Does this theme matter?

To me it does, because the story doesn't address this implication. However, I've tried to think about other possibilities to choose, ways Reeve and Vincent could have used in order to bring Shelke to their side without the narcotics while considering the 3 elements previously stated, but I haven't found other better chances: as far as I know, this is the best thing the men could have done. This criticism is more about the fact that the game doesn't reflect on his implicatioons rather than the action itself, but I will leave the final decision to you all. At the end of the day, this remains a good action of Vincent towards Shalua, just... not towards Shelke, not in short terms at least.

[End of second criticism]

[Third criticism]

The last part of this list is also the most heartbreaking ones, because it's one of those cases where Vincent's willingness to help people is not enough... and it's also one of the worst written cases in the compilation.

N.B. I know it hurts to read negative criticism, but this next point is important to consider when you write a character: please, bear with me.

So...In chapter 6 there's mayhem inside the WRO base: Deepground soldiers invade the base again, and Azul, despite being defeated in combat chapter 4, awakes again, takes the shape of Arch Azul, a red horned behemoth, and he goes on a rampage against the WRO soldiers. Vincent, Shalua and Shelke meet Arch Azul in a corridor, Shelke stops the beast with a shield materia, Shalua saves Shelke by opening a door and blocking the doors with her metallic arm.

Shalua then waves a precious goodbye to her sister.

Then the doors close.

Vincent tries to keep the doors open

But he fails to do so, and he answers in frustration.

the story will then go on.

Now, what is this criticism I'm talking about:

As you have understood from my descriptions of Vincent's actions in many previous cases, I put a lot of effort in highlighting how caring Vincent is in trying to help people: little gestures like shielding a person out of danger or checking on their health after getting them out of the Shadow realm are the world to me, precious things that inspire me to be better at caring about others and make me love my favourite character.

In other words, when you cheapen a character for the sake of drama, that is when you get my negative criticism. Differently from the second critism I gave previously, this time there is no excuse or justification for what happens now:

Vincent goes away from danger without escorting the girls first to a safe place.

This is the list of things that grind my gears:

Vincent's competence at helping people is chapened in this exact scene for the drama of Shalua's pain, while in the rest of the game he's pretty good at doing this work.

One could have been written this scene in many ways that don't involve the dumbification of a character for the sake of the plot: I don't know, make Vincent unconscious while the issue happens, do not make it part of the scene at all, put him so far from Shalua that he was too late when he arrived on the spot, anything really. the elements of the second criticism are really important when writing that scene, but this one here is not the case.

The game is not self aware enough to justify this issue: this scene is thought to be a touching goodbye of a beloving sister, but the issue of the main character dumbified for drama purposes is so distracting that it doesn't make the scene moving: it makes it infuriating, because there's no way Vincent couldn't have saved Shalua if his character was treated good as in the rest of the game. Again, the intentions are good enough to make this scene part of my compilation, but the execution is...what you're reading here.

All in all, I can forgive a lot of issues, absurd writing and scenes that me you go "uh?", but this one... no.

This is a case of bad writing, and the bad writing issue is:

Lack of respect for the heart of a character.

When I say "heart", I mean: that one core of a character without which the character doesn't exist, or they're inconsistent from themselves.

To you all, remember this:

"Respect the heart of a character", whatever in your eyes makes the character, well, the character.

"Do not cheapen the heart of a character for the sake of the plot": a plot truly shines when the characters are true to themselves, true to the intention of their writers: plot and characters go on a journey together, and together make for a compelling story: have faith for the both of them.

[End of third criticism]

And even this part of Compilation was written: oof, this one sure hurt, but Shalua remains an important character of this story, my beloved girl murdered by the plot ;(

See ya for the next part!

After Cloud explains the story so far and the reason for the research of the black materia to the group, Vincent tries to wake Cid up from his slumber, so they could go back to their rooms.

Vincent compliments Cid regarding the captain's passionate nature, even wishing to have it for himself. Does Vincent want to be more upfront and emotional just like Cid? What he says after is... the biggest greatest hugest lie I have ever seen about him, especially considering the other cases I previously described. we have talked about the Compilation cases before the original game's ones, so, between 1997 and 2024, you can appreciate the diachronic evolution from a character who feels he has no emotions left, to a character who advocates for monsters who have feelings and express emotions. [here the case]. There's a change in Vincent's characterization between the original game and rebirth, his relationship with his own emotions, and many points I've described in my work are exist because of Vincent's emotions. Considering that even in the original game Vincent is driven by his feelings, (like in the case of Lucrecia, and some future ones), this line represents Vincent as unaware of himself and what lies behind his mask, insidde his heart.

I admit, this line is a bit weird. Vincent offers Cid his help by fighting beside him in order to gain the various huge materias across the world, so this still counts as a nice action. I also understand why he has "no comforting words" (other characterization change: just look at the case of Regina, Nanaki, Reeve, Shelke among other people), and that's because he has "no feelings", as stated before (...). [???] However, why doesn't Vincent want to offer anything else to Cid, and why does he believe Cid doesn't need kindness? I mean, what is Vincent referring to? ... to Shera? To something else I have no idea about? I can't give an answer to this question, and this precise point is between in and outside of this list: is Vincent offering his help to Cid or is he trying to reference Cid's treatment of Shera? [end of ???}

Just like the rest of Avalanche, Vincent is impressed by Cid's ability to drive a train... only before discovering that Cid, in fact, can't drive a train! After the ride, there is this discussion:

Vincent just bluntly says the Captain to hit the brakes for safety measure. He's worried about the driving safety! He also calls Cid Chief, subtly framing Cid as the leader of the group. This is important, because...

Later, Vincent asks Cid if he is ready to give up being a leader. Vincent notices Cid being tired, because Vincent is tendentially perceptive of others' emotions, and of course because Cid openly admits it. Cid had to travel around the world in order to get the huge materias, and he himself says that it's tough being the leader: in this scene, Cid even compliments Cloud's greatness in leading the group previously, from Kalm to the Northern Crater, the difficulty to handle the group in many dire situations. Vincent aknowledges Cid's tiredness of the role, and he asks if Cid wants to give up the role (to give Cloud the role, I guess?) My only slight criticism is that you can read this line with pungent irony instead of sensitive perception, but per se, I appreciate Vincent noticing Cid's weight over the captain's shoulders.

After the events of the Meteorfall, Nanaki returns to Cosmo Canyon, and after some hellos and goodbyes, he takes a journey to discover the wonders of the world, just like Bugenhagen told him to do, so he could pass his knowledge to future generations. He travels around the various regions of Gaia, finding old friends and helping those in need, until, in chapter 2, he stumbles upon a Nibel bear attacking a young boy in a forest. Nanaki defends him, and the bear is killed by the boy’s father, a hunter in need of food. After Nanaki goes away from the family, he finds the cubs of the dead bear near her corpse and decides to take care of them. Nanaki even calls the cubs Bazu and Rin and stays with them until they grow up to be strong and independent. In chapter 3, one day the three animals stumble into the boy of the previous paragraph, and when the bears attack the human, Nanaki once again defends the boy even if initially didn’t want to. The same night the bears disappear, and Nanaki will find them…dead, in a campfire of hunters where the boy and his father resided. Did the bears go to this campfire for revenge? Nanaki has very little notion of what happened that night, but he remembers the flames, the fires in the eyes of the dead bears, who were…looking for the hunter that killed their mother…fires that brought Nanaki to attack the humans before the light went out.

The day after, Nanaki finds Vincent, who explains to his old friend, and to us, what happened during the night.

[insert screenshots]

So, what can we learn from this iteration?

Both these guys are travelling souls, going from place to place. Nanaki wanders in order to discover the wonders of the world, Vincent for…whatever reason, even he doesn’t know his destination or what is the purpose of his journey: it’s just luck that make them meet. Nanaki then wants to travel with Vincent, but Vincent refuses, and disappears. A little rude, but he has his reasons.

Vincent saves Nanaki in not one, but two ways: he protects him from the assault of the hunters, and he protects him from assaulting the hunters. In a vicious chain where the Nibel bears want revenge against the hunters from the death of their mother, and Nanaki wants revenge from the death of his cubs, and the hunters were trying to kill Nanaki for defending their families, Vincent stands in the way, shotting Nanaki on one side and making him unconscious, turning into a monster and scaring the hunters away from the campfire. Sharp mind and clever strategy, he gets the best result achievable from a terrible situation. Sure, the bears remain dead, and he also shot Nanaki, but Nanaki was on the verge of killing a person, so he had to move fast, and managed to avoid a tragedy. Do you remember that Vincent was the one who wanted to see Hojo for what he did? Him stopping a case of revenge from occurring is double meaningful if you consider his old og’s subplot.

Vincent has some words of wisdom for Nanaki, cryptic as they are: you can never be sure if what you did in the past was right or wrong, and your interpretation in the present will always change from time to time. What you can do, however, is to never forget, because these memories are important to you, as a lesson and as way to move forward.

It’s… quite evident that even in this case Vincent is talking by experience: having still the chains from his past choices, he regrets doing nothing in the past, as he himself said to Nanaki, but you know what? Personally, I also think he’s trying to change his own interpretation of the past, considering what he’s suggesting Nanaki to do, not to think too much or you will get paralyzed from the pain of your memories (the coffin…). Just live, and maybe you will figure it out.

Who knows, maybe Vincent’s journey serves him to find answers, maybe he’s searching for a reason to live. We can only guess.

Vincent mentions the fact that he transformed in order to scare the hunters away from the campfire. This can have three implications:

Vincent can control himself when he transforms, he does the act willingly in order to keep Nanaki safe, without Vincent harming Nanaki himself.

A strong symbolical connection between the two: while Nanaki is stuck between the world of the humans and the world of the animals, Vincent is stuck in the middle between his human nature and his monstrous nature. Nanaki’s entire chapter is based upon the difference between a beast and a monster: a beast kills to eat, a monster for no reason. Animals live in a natural cycle, monsters do not: when humans kill animals for sport or for greed, they’re monsters, but if humans kill because they need sustenance, then they’re part of the natural cycle of life.

You have a beast who attacks hunters for revenge, because they killed his cubs for defense, cubs that were trying to get revenge for their mother. And then you get a literal monster, out of a horror story, who’s keeping everyone from going into each other’s throat.

Who is the monster here?

The scene must have been hilarious:

Vincent: …

Hunters: *visible confusion*

Vincent: *Cues “transformation – in – the – wall” *

Hunters: *visible bamboozlement*

Vincent: “BOO!”

Hunters: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” *Chaos ensues, people running, screams in the night, a flying barbecue, sausages everywhere, a glass falling perfectly straight*

I even bet that while the hunters were AAAAAAAAAhhhing for the hills, Vincent was ah ah ah! ing internally while mending Nanaki’s wound, secretly laughing at the ridiculous scene.

I dunno why, but in this story, Vincent is definitely less serious than usual: what I would give to see everything and laughing with tears despite and because of the otherwise serious and deep moment of the story. Anyway, let’s return to the story.

In chapter 6, Nanaki and Vincent meet again in the lake of the forgotten capital (I bet it’s the same lake in Advent Children where Vincent saves Cloud from the assaults of Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo). In there, they’re having a philosophical discussion about the future, about the fear of loss you have to face when all the friends and people you care about eventually…well, they die. Loneliness is ugly if you think about it, and even if we, in real life, don’t share the gift of really long lives with Vincent and Nanaki, the idea of losing everyone dear to us and remaining alone, the faces of the beloved ones left only as memories in our minds…terrifying, isn’t it? Everyone of us eventually has to face the loss of a friend or a parent or a grandma, and the simple idea of that is…well, Gilligan, truly.

However, despite the bleakness and gravity of this pain, acute and painful in Nanaki’s heart, it’s Vincent who breaks the ice by…making fun out of Nanaki.

“Unnecessary worries about the future.” “Exhaustion from over anxiety”. He’s telling Nanaki not to worry much about the future, and even proposes Nanaki to meet each other in Midgar once a year, partially retconning the 500 years later epilogue of the original Final Fantasy 7. And then Vincent makes fun of Gilligan’s name and both friends laugh in the chambers of the Forgotten Capital.

Thoughts on this:

It’s the first time we hear about Vincent’s immortality with such poignancy. The original game doesn’t deal with this theme, and Dirge… actually makes the situation worse by making Vincent a Looney Toon: you can impale him, squash him, steal his shiny heart from the chest, and he still is as good as new. And yet, no mention of the loss he eventually has to face at the end (of what I don’t know). The book does deal with this theme instead, and Nanaki, who is long living just as Vincent, but immortal, even…pities Vincent? He’s sorry for him, that I grasp from the book. Besides, Vincent uses his own immortality to calm Nanaki down: you can see that Nanaki struggles when he has to face his fear of loss, so telling him that he will be there in the future, Nanaki visibly relaxes.

Also, Vincent tells Nanaki not to worry or over-think about the future.

An important thing to note: as I’ve noticed in this article and in the articles 3 and 4, Vincent uses his past as a projection tool to understand and try to mend other people’s pain. He regrets his past choices, that is canon in every description of himself but the fact he uses this same pain to help other people: however, no mention of his future.

Does Vincent over-think of his past but doesn’t mind his future? Or he doesn’t want to think about the loss and tries to distract himself, or, and hear me out, he doesn’t want to focus at the future because he wants to live the present. If you, like Nanaki, get oppressed by the eventual futures you have to face, try then to focus on the present, and the joys you can find in the now. Don’t forget the past, because it shaped you in the person you are now, and live the present and the beautiful things that are, because they won’t be anymore, but when the time comes…who knows? Maybe you will have children, like Nanaki, who lost the bear cubs in “On the way to a smile” but he will have his own cubs in a future, flourishing, green Midgar: maybe you will be another person with new good and bad experiences, who knows.

“Don’t forget your past, but live” is how I would boil the suggestion down to.

And from my experiences I can tell you: this is solid advice, extremely difficult to follow if you suffer from anxiety like Nanaki and me, but good advice, nonetheless. Besides, he promised he would meet Nanaki once every year, so it’s an advice followed by solid, actual help, sparse for sure but still…here.

I can’t appreciate both friends’ laugh at the end of the story enough. If you have noticed, this chapter has many depressing themes: how revenge turns you into a monster, the spread of hunting practices due to widespread famine due to diffusion of Geostigma, people dying from said illness, the fear of loss, no happy endings in sight. What does Vincent do? He asks Nanaki the consent to laugh because “Gilligan” is funny.

Now mind you, this laugh is pretty reminiscent of a line he said to Cloud in the original game: “City of the Ancients... The Ancients...after a long time that is probably what others will come to call us... Hmm...hwa ha ha ha... It's only a matter of time for us.”

Couple this information with the actual background being the “Forgotten Capital”, a place lost in time, alone, without his inhabitants to give life to this city.

 This place hasn’t heard of a laugh in centuries, and then here it is, witnessing the heartfelt voices of an immortal monster and his beast companion, united by their beloved humanity and their past experiences and their genuine friendship, laughing their asses off because the Fear of Loss has a funny name.