Vincent Valentine Facts

Vincent Valentine





A.K.A.  Vince/Vinnie  
Japanese name  ヴィンセント・ヴァレンタイン  
Romaji  Vinsento Varentain  
Weapon  Gun  
Birthplace  Unknown  
Date of Birth  October 13, 1950  
Age  27 (physically)
57 (chronologically, Final Fantasy VII)
59 (Advent Children)
60 (Dirge of Cerberus)  
Height  184 cm (6'0.5")  
Blood type  A  



Vincent Valentine is an optional playable character in Final Fantasy VII, and main character of Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-. A former Turk with a mysterious past, Vincent's hidden secrets tie him directly to several of the main antagonists of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. At one time, though it has now been proven false, it was even rumored he was the father of Sephiroth.

Vincent's weapon of choice is a handgun and his Limit Breaks cause him to shapeshift as a result of the experiments Hojo performed on him.

Vincent is a man physically in his late 20s, and stands roughly six feet tall. He has crimson eyes and long black hair that streams about a bit wildly at times. He wears a red band over his head with his bangs emerging over it. Vincent's most distinctive feature is his tattered red cape, held in place over his shoulders and lower face by several buckles. Underneath his cape, Vincent's attire is black with several straps and buckles. Vincent wears a holster for his gun against his right leg, and pointed metallic boots. He also wears a golden gauntlet on his left arm. His weapon of choice is the Cerberus, a three-barreled revolver. Vincent has kept this look in all his appearances, with subtle variations. His gauntlet was originally rumored to be a prosthetic claw, but newer artwork and information strongly indicates that it is simply metal armor covering a black leather glove.

Vincent was originally intended to appear in Kingdom Hearts alongside Cloud Strife, but was removed (see below), and aspects of his costume were incorporated into Cloud's design, including his tattered red cloak and gauntlet. In Dirge of Cerberus, Vincent's Galian Beast and Chaos forms incorporate his design into them; Galian Beast, for example, is wearing a shorter version of Vincent's cloak as a kilt, while Chaos's feet resemble Vincent's boots. In Advent Children, Vincent's cloak was meant to have an organic feel to it and was very difficult to animate. Furthermore, the developers decided that changing his costume would be conflicting with his character, so Vincent was the only living character in the film to appear the same as he had in Final Fantasy VII, although there are still minor changes such as a full body suit and a glove completely covering his previously partially bare right arm.

Sayings:

"Cold, huh? I guess that's just the way I am...sorry"
-Vincent

"That was my sin, and this...this is my punishment."
-Vincent, referring to his inability to stop the Jenova Project.

"Hmph. Guess I have no choice. It's time...to save the world."
-Vincent


when in Final Fantasy VII:

Vincent was discovered by Cloud and the party in a locked room in the basement of Shinra Manor in Nibelheim. After some careful coaxing, he was talked out of his sleep and spoke to Cloud. Cloud told him about Sephiroth, and Vincent, knowing that he was the child Lucrecia had conceived, considered it another "sin" and returned to sleep. However, when Cloud tried to leave, Vincent followed and asked if they would meet Hojo. Cloud confirmed this, and Vincent agreed to accompany him with thoughts of claiming revenge.

Later in the game, when the party found Lucrecia in the Crystal Cave, Vincent's backstory was hinted at, with scenes depicting an argument between Vincent and Hojo over Lucrecia, and Hojo shooting Vincent and experimenting on him. However, the lack of dialogue in the scenes made their true significance ambiguous at best. When the party confronted Hojo at the controls of the Sister Ray, Vincent had a small scene where he claimed that it was Hojo, not him, that was meant to sleep and atone for his crimes. Beyond these two segments, Vincent's character is fairly inconsequential.

As Vincent was an optional character in the game, he, along with Yuffie, was not shown in the ending FMV. Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- retcons that the two of them returned to Midgar early to help evacuate the city before Meteor hit, saving many lives, including a heavily-injured Rufus Shinra. This occurs following Sephiroth's defeat, while the other characters watch the events from above in the Highwind.

In Advent Children:

During the year following Final Fantasy VII, Vincent traveled the world, mysteriously popping in and out, retrieving information and helping those in need, keeping even looser connection with his friends than the rest of the party. In 2009, he eventually followed rumors to the Forgotten Capital, where the Remnants of Sephiroth were stationed. After Tseng and Elena were struck down and tortured by the trio at the Northern Crater, Vincent rescued them and helped them recover, while getting as much information about the remnants as he could.

When Kadaj began to fight Cloud in the Forgotten City, Vincent rushed in and opened fire at Kadaj while picking up Cloud and carrying him to safety. Resting in a remote part of the forest, Vincent relayed information about the Geostigma to Cloud, and the impending rebirth of Sephiroth. Cloud, still tormented over his guilt at being unable to prevent the deaths of Aerith and Zack, asked Vincent if sins were ever forgiven. Vincent simply replied "I've never tried". After a few minutes of thought, Cloud decided to try, and tells Vincent that he would "phone in the verdict".


Vincent rescuing CloudVincent showed up with the rest of AVALANCHE for the battle against Bahamut SIN, inquiring as to where he could buy a cell phone (a joke in the film; he apparently is the only member of AVALANCHE without one). He told the party the truth about Kadaj aboard the Shera, while Cloud dueled him atop the remains of Shinra Headquarters. Although the party members were eager to help, Vincent told them that Cloud could handle him alone.

During the bonus feature Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII, Vincent made a call to Cloud. At some point after Advent Children, Vincent purchased a cell phone, and made a point to relay a message to Yuffie that she had no right to call it.

When fighting BahamutSIN, an explosion happens on the ground, and Vincent emerges with a fire trail. It is not confirmed if it was a jump or flight ability.

In Dirge Of Cerberus:

A year following the events of Advent Children, in 2010, Vincent was called into duty once again. When the mysterious group Deepground began attacking people around the world, Vincent Valentine and the World Regenesis Organization started investigating. Deepground, they found, was a group based from secret experiments underground in the Shinra Building that were trying to awaken the final Weapon, Omega. To do this, they were hunting down Vincent Valentine, who housed the powerful Protomateria needed to control Omega. Vincent was forced to fight off the constant attacks while trying to solve the mystery of his own dark past. Eventually, he got his answers with the help of a young Tsviet named Shelke.

Deepground was able to steal the Protomateria straight from Vincent's body, and Chaos became increasingly unstable within Vincent throughout the game. At the end, it was revealed that a digitized version of Hojo was the mastermind of the plot. Chaos was finally completely unleashed and defeated Hojo, Deepground and Omega. When Vincent concluded his mission, he disappeared within the Crystal Cave where Lucrecia lay for some good time. Cloud's party eventually sent a befriended Shelke to retrieve Vincent, who had made his amends and forgiven himself for his "sin".


Vincent takes control of Chaos.Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- revealed that when Vincent confronted Hojo he was shot, and turned into a sample for Hojo's metamorphosis experiment. The experiment left Vincent with three demonic transformations, but he was left in a death-like state. Upon discovering this, Lucrecia took his body and attempted to save him by implanting the Chaos gene within him. While Vincent was revived by this process, he became Chaos itself and had no control over the form. The Protomateria then appeared and Lucrecia used the materia to suppress Chaos and allow Vincent to have some control over the transformation. In a flashback, Vincent woke up on a table in a lab, and looked down to find himself in his Galian Beast form.

It is ambiguous precisely what happened between Vincent's awakening in the laboratory and the beginning of his extended slumber. In a note written by Hojo - the first clue provided for uncovering Vincent - he claimed to have put Vincent to sleep in the basement himself. While there was originally much conjecture as to whether Vincent's sleep was fully voluntary versus induced because of his own attitude toward it and the mystery of his in-game attire and long hair, a flashback scene in Dirge of Cerberus clearly illustrates Vincent was experimented on and then immediately put to sleep in his current appearance as a Turk. His change of appearance to his current design is unexplained.

Epuipment and stats:

In Final Fantasy VII, Vincent uses a variety of different pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and rifles. His default weapon is the Quicksilver pistol, which he can be seen carrying in Nomura's artwork. His ultimate weapon is known as Death Penalty. It becomes stronger the more enemies are dealt the killing blow with it equipped. Vincent's guns typically have mediocre attack power, but two of them have a 255% hit rate, meaning they will never miss, and all of his guns are Long Range. The 255% accuracy makes Vincent a good choice for the "Deathblow" Materia, which inflicts double damage but has low accuracy normally - the 255% hit rate can make up for this.

Vincent's primary weapon in both Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- is the handgun Cerberus, named after the three-headed dog which guarded the Greek underworld for its three barrels (each of which is ornamented with a dog head in place of the iron sights). There is also a key chain attached to it that bears a Cerberus-shaped charm. It holds a total of eighteen rounds and fires three each time the trigger is pulled, making it extremely lethal to a normal person. The weapon can be upgraded to either be lighter, hold more ammo (80 rounds at most), or do more damage.

It is interesting to note that in the prologue of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, when the cast of Final Fantasy VII is shown fighting Sephiroth all wielding their base weapons, Vincent is shown to wield the Cerberus, rather than Quicksilver. This could possibly mean that he was meant to use the Cerberus all along, replacing the Quicksilver as his original weapon. However, there has been no confirmation of this replacement.

During the course of "Dirge of Cerberus," Vincent also acquires two other guns. One, a bolt-action rifle, is christened the "Hydra." The other, the "Griffon," resembles a Thompson machine gun, and has a rapid-fire ability, although shoots slowly enough that it is possible to only shoot one bullet. All three guns Vincent acquires in this game can be equipped with accessories, such as longer or shorter barrels, a scope, and Materia.

Limit Breaks:

Vincent's Limit Breaks are quite different from many others. There is only one Limit Break for each of the four levels. When he initiates one, he turns into a monster, who is constantly berserk, and stays that way until the battle is over, win or lose. When he shifts his form, Vincent's stats increase and his HP refills, but he cannot shift back at will. Thus, while his Limit Breaks can be very powerful, they are quite risky. If Vincent should be knocked out though, he will transform back to his normal form. Vincent is also notable in that he learns his new Limit Breaks the fastest of all party members, most others of which need to kill upwards of 70 enemies to learn their new techniques.