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Throughout the lengthy story of Final Fantasy 7, the player gradually acquires a number of characters that can join Cloud in the party to help take down Shinra. Storywise, these characters all have varying, complex backgrounds that have resulted in each forming fanbases of their own in the decades since the iconic game’s original release. For all purposes here, however, this tier list will be based purely on these characters’ utility in battle.
There is a lot of battling in Final Fantasy 7, and it can get fairly complex and difficult, particularly with some of the later-stage boss fights. Having an optimized party will be the best way for the player to ensure they’re timing all their limit breaks correctly to get the win.
D Tier
- Aerith
From a purely stat-based and utility standpoint, Aerith is far from the weakest character in Final Fantasy. She’s more than well-equipped to do solid magic damage along with all the healing and support spells necessary to make her a powerful white mage. The problem is, and this is technically a spoiler, but it’s also one of the most well-known moments from a 27-year-old game, so it doesn’t really feel like one: Aerith dies. It’s not near the end, either; it’s only a little over halfway, so it’s really not even possible to plan any party composition around her with a mind for the late game, something that can’t be said for any other character on this list.
C Tier
- Cait Sith
Unlike the D tier, Cait Sith is at least around for pretty much the entire game after he’s recruited to the party. That really only gives marginally more incentive to use him, though, since he easily has the weakest stats of any other character in the game. For curious players, Cait Sith does have decent Magic, so if he was going to become a staple party member, it could possibly be as the primary Magic damage dealer. All of his other stats make him a liability, though, and his luck and chance Limit Break isn’t doing much to help him.
B Tier
- Vincent
- Red XIII
As B-tier characters, Vincent and Red XIII aren’t essential to any Final Fantasy 7 party, but they do have a number of strengths that make them viable additions. Red XIII has the highest speed stat, while Vincent can have a fairly high damage output between a solid Magic stat and some great weapons. Having other middling stats and shaky Limit Breaks is ultimately what brings these characters down a notch, though, particularly Vincent, whose uncontrolled state during his Limit Break makes him a wildcard that’s useful as often as he’s not.
A Tier
- Barret
- Tifa
For a good chunk of the game, players won’t have any choice other than to use Barret and Tifa in the party, and that’s no bad thing. As A-tier characters, it wouldn’t be a mistake to continue using both of these characters all the way through to the end, with both of them possessing great stats and some amazing abilities, like Barret’s focus on long-range attacks or Tifa’s physically focused Limit Breaks. The main thing keeping them out of S tier is that, while they’re useful for the vast majority of the game, they begin to get out-scaled a bit in terms of stats and stronger Limit Breaks in the late game.
S Tier
The S-tier characters are the essentials. Not having at least two out of three of these characters present in a Final Fantasy 7 party is just asking to make the game more of a hassle. All of them have incredibly powerful Limit Breaks and overall top-tier stats. On top of that, Cloud and Cid can wield the Apocalypse and Scimitar weapons, which are possibly the most powerful in the game, providing triple AP growth.
- Cloud
- Cid
- Yuffie
