Summary
For all the ways that it would usher in the series to a new era,Final Fantasy 7is still a traditionalFinal Fantasygame by nearly every metric. Yes,Final Fantasy 7is arguably the first game in the series to use a modern, dystopian future setting (not countingFinal Fantasy 6’s steampunk version of the Industrial Revolution), but it’s still ultimately a game about an unlikely hero and their friends embarking on a world-saving mission. One of the main areas whereFinal Fantasy 7’s pedigree is most felt is in the game’s cast and their ability to neatly fit within the confines of the series' longstanding class/job archetypes.
WhileFinal Fantasy 7’s Materia system and freedom of mixing melee characters with magic owe a massive debt of gratitude to the magic systems and mechanics of its direct predecessor, it shouldn’t go unnoticed thatFinal Fantasy 4and5each play an important role toward informingFinal Fantasy 7’s DNA. In fact,the Job system fromFinal Fantasy 5that would reappear inFinal Fantasy Tacticswas almost implemented inFinal Fantasy 7, but the mix of unique character abilities and freeform magic usage would see the title land somewhere between the threeFinal Fantasygames preceding it in terms of how the game defined its cast. Accordingly,Final Fantasy 7’s heroes fit squarely into the series' traditional classes.
The Final Fantasy Series' Class/Job Archetypes Explained
TheoriginalFinal Fantasywould famously use pen and paper RPG class types as the inspiration for its playable characters, introducing 6 different choices for players to select from when forming their party – the Fighter, Thief, Monk, Red Mage, Black Mage, and White Mage. These classes would then famously evolve into stronger, more nuanced versions with slight stat changes after gifting the Rat Tail to the originalFinal Fantasy’s version of Bahamut. WhileFinal Fantasy 2would abandon many of the original game’s mechanics in favor of giving the player unprecedented levels of freedom,Final Fantasy 3would see the series go back to basics through the introduction of the Job system.
TheJob system’s introduction inFinal Fantasy 3would build on the class selection of the original to introduce several new “jobs” that have since become series mainstays (the Dragoon, Dark Knight, Geomancer, and Summoner) along with reintroducing the classic classes and their evolutions.Final Fantasy 4abandoned the Job system in favor of giving each character their own specific role within the party, but the Job system’s return inFinal Fantasy 5brought with it even more new additions like the Beastmaster (Mediator) and Blue Mage. ThoughFinal Fantasy 7doesn’t explicitly name them, each of the game’s characters falls into one of the series' traditional class/job types.
Aligning Each of Final Fantasy 7’s Playable Heroes With the Final Fantasy Series Class/Job Types
Taking theideas implemented inFinal Fantasy 6and running with them,Final Fantasy 7’s introduction of the Materia system (which builds off ofFF6' Magicite/Esper system) allowed players to turn any character into a dual threat capable of both melee attacks and spellcasting. However, equipping Materia introduces something of a risk/reward system inFinal Fantasy 7, where characters' stats take a hit based on the number and type of Materia equipped. Thankfully,Final Fantasy 7gives players a subtle nudge in the right direction based on each character’s starting stats and their growth at each new level.
With that in mind, it becomes clear that Cloud (who might appear as the traditional Warrior/Knight archetype) is actually somewhat of a Red Mage/Mystic Knight thanks to his magic affinity and melee prowess. This sets up the following potential alignment forFinal Fantasy 7’s partyusing Job classes from across the series (includingFinal Fantasy 14):
Of course, thanks to the Materia system, it’s also possible to make any character in the game the party’s de facto Black Mage or Summoner, provided they have the stats for it.
Final Fantasy 7
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Mako—the discovery of this natural resource drawn directly from the planet’s life force marked the dawn of a new era, and now the energy sustains the lives of people across the world. However, the Shinra Company has monopolized mako production, and in doing so established a powerful hegemony–its influence reaching the far corners of the globe.Cloud, a former member of Shinra’s military organization, SOLDIER, joins the anti-Shinra resistance group AVALANCHE, despite caring little for their motives. During one of the group’s attempts to stop the company, they learn of the return of Sephiroth, Cloud’s nemesis, and that with his reemergence, the planet is in greater danger than anyone had expected.With the fate of the world riding on their success, Cloud and his allies set out to quell this deadly threat.
