final fantasy :D

Returning characters

There are many returning characters from the Final Fantasy VII series so far, including the main character from Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife. The main villain, Sephiroth returns, this time during his time in SOLDIER, and we also see the majority of the other playable characters from the original game, namely Aerith Gainsborough, Tifa Lockhart, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cait Sith, along with members of the Turks also seen in the original, Tseng, Reno and Rude. The Turk with the shuriken from Before Crisis, Cissnei,[7] returns in Crisis Core (her weapon is called Rekka)

The central character in Crisis Core is Zack Fair, the SOLDIER member known from Cloud's past in the original game, and Professor Hojo and Jenova are also present. Many characters known from Dirge of Cerberus are also present, and so other returning characters include Weiss, Nero, Genesis Rhapsodos. Vincent Valentine also makes an appearance if Zack opens his coffin in Nibelheim, although the player does not see his face as Zack gets very suprised and closes the coffin again not realizing that Vincent is alive.



New characters
* Angeal Hewley (アンジール・ヒューレー, Anjīru Hyūrē?): A SOLDIER who is the mentor to members in SOLDIER. Angeal also gives guidance in techniques and doctrines to fellow SOLDIERs. Angeal's troubles and ties seem to be a vital element to the story of this game. The previous wielder of the Buster Sword used by Zack and later, Cloud, Angeal dislikes the use of the weapon, claiming that he believes it would be "a waste" because it will get worn out. Angeal bears one white right wing on his back which seems to cause him some uneasiness as he considers it the trait of a monster. The wings do not connect to Sephiroth but to Genesis. He was infected by Project G before he was born. His mother was injected into the womb. Angeal's design seems to be based on Tetsuya Nomura's original design for Cloud Strife. Angeal's surname is derived from the Greek word hyle which is translated as materia in Latin. Angeal is actually the son of Gillian Hewley and was raised in Banora by his mother and stepfather, though he regards his stepfather as his real father. It was his stepfather who bought the Buster Sword for Angeal with their life savings.

* Lazard (ラザード, Razādo?): The head union executive of the Department of SOLDIER of Shinra. During Crisis Core, the SOLDIER department is independent, and Lazard is the union executive overseeing SOLDIER's management and drawing up rough strategy guidelines. Since Lazard does not have the combat abilities of a SOLDIER, he does not operate directly in the field. Within Shinra, Lazard has received promotions at an exceptional speed to attain his present status. He is to be voiced by Stefan Marks in the English release of Crisis Core.

* Hollander (ホランダー, Horandā?): A former Shinra scientist who holds a grudge against Hojo, due the power struggle for leader of Shinra's Department of Scientific Research that cost Hollander his job. He is the father of Angeal and the creator of Project G. originally Project Gillian as he uses his wife as a carrier and extracts it from her into Genesis. He sides with Genesis originally, serving to halt his degeneration, until Genesis had no more use for his services. But Genesis let him live since he injected himself with the G cells. He has a small black wing and his body begins to deteriorate quickly.

* Kunsel (カンセル, Kanseru?): A member of SOLDIER and a very good friend of Zack. He helps Zack from time to time in the game.

* Minerva (ミネルヴァ, Mineruva?): She is a mysterious armoured being, referred to as the "goddess of the world". She is a secret boss at the Northern Cave.

* Luxiere (ルクシーレ, Rukushīre?): A Second class SOLDIER who is a fan of Zack. He emails Zack regularly. He tells Zack that he has been selected for promotion to 1st class, but with the later absence of Lazard it is unknown if he ever made it to 1st class.