For a series that seems as light-hearted and accessible as Final Fantasy, the game touches on some truly dark stuff at times. Death, despair, trauma, mental health, and loneliness are just a few of the many serious avenues the franchise has delved into, and — for the most part — the games have handled these mature themes excellently.
One need only look at the story arcs of Cloud and Celes to understand just how amazing Squaresoft was when it came to crafting serious and tragic tales. Both these characters are considered by many to be the greatest Final Fantasy characters of all time, mainly in part due to the emotional rollercoasters they go through.
Of course, in the world of Final Fantasy, everything is a competition amongst fans... including just how tragic someone's backstory actually is. Some people consider Cloud to be the most well-written character out of the two, while others will swear by the fact that Celes' tragic tale caused some of them to shed at least a single tear.
It's time to settle this debate once and for all — here are five reasons why Cloud is the most tragic character in the series, along with five more points detailing out why Celes is the one who's tale is sadder.
10 CLOUD: Watching His Hometown Burn To The Ground
During his infamous visit to Nibelheim, Sephiroth ends up going over the deep end and torches the entire town — a town that happened to be the home of a run-of-the-mill Shinra infantry member who was hiding his identity up to this point...
Cloud went through a ton of horrible things in his life, and the fact that his hometown burning in front of his eyes is the least horrible thing that happened to him on this list should make it abundantly clear as to how much trauma he has gone through.
9 CELES: Being Forced Into Magitek Experiments
Getting Celes into the party reveals that she had been forced into some truly horrible Magitek experiments as a child, turning her into the effective Magitek Knight that we all know and love.
If forced experimentation wasn't bad enough as is, it's revealed in the game that the man who did this was none other than Cid himself — a person who Celes considered to be her surrogate father!
8 CLOUD: The Loss Of A Close Friend
Having his entire hometown burn down right in front of him was only the tip of the despair-coated iceberg for Cloud.
After Zack saved a Mako-poisoned and tries to escape the Shinra forces, the duo tried their best to escape... but that wasn't to be the case.
An unconscious Cloud never realizes that his friend decided to sacrifice his life to protect him, with the Buster Sword being the only thing our spikey-haired protagonist can remember Zack by.
7 CELES: Unable To Prevent The Destruction Of The World
After rounding up all the characters, the party decides to land on the Floating Continent and prevent Kefka from disturbing the statues of The Warring Triad. However — and this is where Final Fantasy VI excels — the party fail to do so, and Kefka ends up throwing the entire world into ruin!
Celes was a part of this rescue operation, and the fact that she could only look on helplessly as the entire world was sent into chaos must've been incredibly traumatic for her.
6 CLOUD: Suffering From A Severe Case Of Dissociative Identity Disorder
Witnessing his hometown getting burned to the ground, being poisoned by Mako as a result of Hojo's twisted experiments, and helplessly seeing his friend die in his arms was way too much for him to bear.
Thus, in a bid to escape this trauma, Cloud decides to take over the identity of Zack himself, deluding himself and convincing everyone around him that he was a member of SOLDIER before leaving on his own terms.
5 CELES: Being Abused And Interrogated By The Empire
After being forced to work for the Empire, Celes finally realized the error of her ways and decided to turn a new leaf and start anew. Unfortunately, the Empire was less than enthused at her sudden change of mind and decided to sentence her as a traitor and have her executed.
Right after this is where the player sees Celes for the first time — bound in chains and being mercilessly beaten by the Empire troops. If Locke wasn't there to save the day, then it's entirely possible that Celes would've never seen the light of day.
4 CLOUD: Helplessly Watching Aerith Die
Fate wasn't content with dealing Cloud the horrible cards he'd been dealt up to that point — even after trying to escape his trauma by taking on the identity of Zack, the universe still had some horrible things in store for him.
This came in the form of Cloud helplessly watching on as Sephiroth descended and impaled Aerith with his Masamune. It's one of the saddest video game moments of all time... and also the most spoiled.
3 CELES: Her Father Figure Can Die As A Result Of Her Actions
Cid might not be a role model, but he definitely cared for Celes — that much was certain. After the entire world is thrown into ruin, Celes ends up staying with Cid on a remote island. However, Cid grows ill soon enough, and Celes needs to get him something to help him feel better.
While it's entirely possible that most people would take the healthier fish and give it to Cid, the large majority of first-time players would've obviously taken the fish closest to them and given it. Doing so makes Cid's health even worse, to the point where he passes away.
All because Celes couldn't walk further into shallow waters and get a better fish.
2 CLOUD: His Unreliable Narration Makes His Tale More Personal
The biggest edge that Cloud has over Celes is the fact that he is the established protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, as opposed to the more ensemble nature of Final Fantasy VI. Most of the events that happen are mostly shown through the eyes of Cloud... including his narration of the events at Nibelheim.
So, when the bomb is dropped on everyone and it's revealed that Cloud never who he thought it was all this time... the revelation feels more personal.
Cloud didn't just lie to himself and his friends.
He also lied to you.
1 CELES: She Even Tries To End Her Own Life
However, regardless of how many horrible things Cloud went through in life, one thing's for sure — he was never driven to the brink of suicide.
The same can't be said for Celes — the trauma of losing her father in a ruined world is so oppressive for her that she chooses to end her own life.
If the attempt hadn't been unsuccessful and she failed to notice Locke's headband, it's entirely possible that the world of Final Fantasy VI would've been thrown into a perpetual state of despair.