Uncut and utterly biased, our top FFVII heroes and villains...

8. Cid Highwind
Every Final Fantasy game has a Cid, and every Cid is different. In Final Fantasy VIII, he's a mild-mannered educator. In Final Fantasy V, he's an aging, retired genius. Then there's Cid Highwind, the greatest of all Cids, the missing link between Chuck Yeager, Werner von Braun, and John Constantine. He grouses, chain-smokes, swears up a storm, wipes battlefields clear with one swing of his lance, and wants nothing more than to travel to the stars in his own custom-built rocket ship. Truly, a role model for our times.

6. Zack Fair
A couple of years ago, Zack wouldn't be here. In plain old Final Fantasy VII, he had about as big a role as Jenova – he was part of the plot, sure, but he didn't have a whole lot to say. The PSP's Crisis Core gave him a leg up, though, letting him star in his own adventure and fill in a little of the personality he was missing.

4. Tifa Lockhart
It's hard to sing Tifa's praises without sounding just a little teeny-weeny bit sexist. After all, she is well-known for many different reasons, but two of those reasons tend to stand out ahead of the others. Seriously, though, Tifa helped drive a tradition of tough, independent RPG heroines. She stood by her man when the situation called for it, but she didn't mind doing some damage on her own time, either. There's never been a part-time bartender this dangerous, and Advent Children proved her day job doesn't mean she's lost a step.

2. Aerith Gainsborough
As of this writing, Final Fantasy VII came out ten years, six months, three weeks, and a day ago. Is it okay to mention what happens to Aerith at the end of the game's first disc? Very few characters who don't even make it halfway through a story become quite this beloved, but Aerith made the most of her limited time center stage, not to mention her few brief appearances afterward. She's part girl-next-door, part angel come to earth – no wonder she became a gaming icon.

1. Sephiroth
Some Final Fantasy games are famous for their heroes. Just as often, though, the bad guys are the ones that really stick with you. Kefka Palazzo (from Final Fantasy VI) is another well-known example of the phenomenon, but Sephiroth is probably the heavyweight champion of Final Fantasy villains.
Part of it's the look – admirers worldwide went nuts for the long silver hair and piercing blue (GG edit: they're green) eyes. But at the same time, you couldn't help but sympathize with him, too. Trying to blow up the world with a giant meteor probably qualifies as flying off the handle, but nevertheless, he had his reasons. Besides which, once again, no would-be world-destroyer has ever looked this good since.