Vincent Valentine Vincent Valentine is an optional playable character in " Final Fantasy VII " , and the main protagonist of " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " . A former Turk with a mysterious past , Vincent ' s secrets tie him directly to several of the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII ' s " main antagonists . Vincent wields handguns in battle and his Limit Breaks cause him to shapeshift as a result of the experiments Professor Hojo performed on him . Since his introduction , Vincent has become one of the most popular characters in the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " . Profile . Appearance . Vincent is a man physically in his late twenties , and stands roughly six feet tall . He has crimson eyes and long black hair . He wears a red bandanna with his fringe emerging over it . Vincent ' s most distinctive feature is his red cloak , held in place over his shoulders and lower face by several buckles . Underneath his cape Vincent ' s attire is black leather with several straps and buckles . Vincent wears a holster for his gun strapped to his right thigh , and pointed golden s on his feet . He wears a golden gauntlet on his left arm . Vincent has kept this look in all his appearances , with subtle variations . Vincent was originally intended to appear in " Kingdom Hearts " alongside Cloud Strife , but was removed ( see below ) with aspects of his costume incorporated into Cloud ' s design , including the tattered red cloak and gauntlet . In " " , Vincent ' s cloak was meant to have an organic feel and was difficult to animate . The developers decided changing his costume would conflict with his character , so Vincent was the only party member to appear the same as he had in " Final Fantasy VII " , although there are minor changes , such as a full bodysuit , a tattered cloak and a glove completely covering his previously partially bare right arm . All of the party members sport a pink ribbon on their left arm in remembrance of Aerith Gainsborough . Vincent is the only one who wears the pink ribbon on his right arm due to the gauntlet on his left arm . In " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " , Vincent ' s Galian Beast and Chaos forms incorporate his design into them ; Galian Beast is wearing a shorter version of Vincent ' s cloak as a kilt , while Chaos ' s feet resemble Vincent ' s boots . 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 a key chain attached to it that bears a Cerberus - shaped charm . In the " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children ' s " prologue , when the " Final Fantasy VII " cast is shown fighting Sephiroth all wielding their base weapons , Vincent wields the Cerberus , rather than the Quicksilver portrayed in his official " Final Fantasy VII " character art , even though Cerberus is not included in " Final Fantasy VII " . Personality . Dark and brooding over his past experiences , Vincent conceals many secrets . He speaks in a cryptic manner when he talks about his past , calling his traumas " sins " . Despite his cold personality , he is not uncaring ; at a point where Cloud admits he thought Vincent does not care about the Planet , Vincent states that is just how he is , and apologizes for the false impression . Vincent despises Professor Hojo for his immoral actions , and it is the promise of meeting him that stirs Vincent to accompany the party in " Final Fantasy VII " . Vincent is reluctant to speak , although when he does , he typically has something important to say . Kazushige Nojima has noted Vincent is naturally a loner , and had he not been a former ally of Cloud and his friends , it is unlikely he would have joined them in the battle with Bahamut SIN in " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " . His voice actor , Shōgo Suzuki , noted Vincent ' s few appearances have a profound impact and that Tifa Lockhart ' s remark " they ' re our friends " , after Vincent ' s arrival , shows his underlying warmth . He is noted to be similar to Cloud , only more mature , which influenced his character and voice work . Vincent was originally intended to appear in " Kingdom Hearts " with Cloud , but it was decided to remove him due their similar brooding personalities and aspects of his design were worked into Cloud ' s new design for the series , which has been used for all of Cloud ' s appearances in the series thus far , with the exception of " Kingdom Hearts II " . Story . Life with the Turks . About twenty - five to thirty years before " Final Fantasy VII " , Vincent was a member of the Turks , then known as Shinra Electric Power Company " Department of Administrative Research " . When he was assigned to supervise the Jenova Project in Nibelheim , he fell in love with a scientist named Lucrecia Crescent , an assistant to Gast Faremis . When he discovered her link to his deceased father , Grimoire Valentine , Lucrecia distanced herself from Vincent and entered a relationship with her associate , Professor Hojo . Lucrecia became pregnant and Hojo planned to use the fetus as a test subject for the Jenova Project . Vincent objected to the use of humans — especially Lucrecia — as test subjects . In the interest of science Lucrecia proceeded with the treatment and became sick as a result . Vincent confronted Hojo in the Shinra Mansion ' s underground laboratory , and amid the heated argument Hojo shot Vincent in the chest . Hojo used Vincent ' s half - dead body as test subject for experiments involving strengthening the endurance of the human body and metamorphosis , enabling the body to transform into various monstrous forms . While Hojo made Vincent ' s body stronger , the experiments failed because Vincent , though still living , remained in a death - like state . As a last resort to rehabilitate him , Lucrecia infused the Chaos - tainted Mako into his broken - down body . The procedure worked , as Vincent ' s body , due to Hojo ' s previous experiments , was strong enough to become a vessel for Chaos , a mysterious entity with incredible power . However , Chaos was uncontrollable , and was only stopped when the Protomateria — a one - of - a - kind Materia — had a reaction to it . The Protomateria , discovered by Grimoire alongside Chaos , was theorized by Lucrecia to have been created by the Planet " out of necessity as a means to control Chaos and prolong its own inevitable fate " , and was placed in Lucrecia ' s laboratory . Lucrecia put the Protomateria inside Vincent ' s chest , enabling Vincent to control Chaos to a degree . Due to Hojo ' s experiments and the combination with Chaos , Vincent acquired superhuman abilities , such as amplified strength , speed , endurance , agility , regeneration , shape - shifting , and other powers . Vincent awakened on the operating table and responded to his modified body with anguish and rage . Dormant sleep . Believing himself responsible for Lucrecia ' s illness after her son Sephiroth ' s birth , Vincent locked himself within a coffin in the Shinra Mansion basement , where he slept mostly undisturbed for over twenty years to atone for his " sins " . He constantly relived his nightmare as a punishment for his inability to stop Lucrecia from submitting to Hojo ' s experiment on her unborn baby . In " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " , when Zack Fair hears groaning emanating from a coffin in the Shinra Mansion basement , he opens it and is startled to find a sleeping person . Deciding against disturbing the slumbering man , Zack replaces the cover , which locks back into place . Vincent ' s long sleep is disturbed during " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " , though not ended . On December 19th , 0006 , in Episode 19 , the Player Turk and Veld search for the Support Materia for the summon Zirconiade at the Shinra Mansion . Veld awakens Vincent , and despite the differences in their physical appearances , the two recognize each other as Vincent and Veld were contemporaries at the Turks . Vincent helps the Turks fight AVALANCHE and displays sharp shooting skills , though he is jaded after his long sleep . The Materia is hidden in the mansion and Vincent knows of its existence ; he gives it to Veld before he returns to his rest , refusing to leave with the Turks . Awakening and planetary crisis . In " Final Fantasy VII " , Cloud and the party discover Vincent in a locked room in the basement of Shinra Manor in Nibelheim where he is talked out of his sleep . Cloud tells him about Sephiroth , and Vincent , knowing he was the child Lucrecia had conceived , considers it another " sin " and attempts to return to sleep . When Cloud tries to leave , Vincent follows and asks if they will meet Hojo . Cloud confirms , and Vincent agrees to accompany the party with plans of claiming revenge . When the party discovers Lucrecia in Lucrecia ' s Cave , Vincent relives memories from his past , remembering the argument between himself and Hojo over her , and Hojo shooting Vincent and experimenting on him . When Lucrecia asks him about Sephiroth , Vincent lies that he is dead , presumably to spare Lucrecia from the truth of what her son has become . When the party confronts Hojo at the controls of the Sister Ray , Vincent learns that Hojo " thought of Lucrecia as a tool " and claims it was Hojo , not him , who was meant to sleep and atone for his crimes . The party then defeats him . Vincent , along with Yuffie , is not present in the ending FMV due to being optional characters . " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " retcons that the two returned to Midgar early to help evacuate the city before Meteor hit , saving many lives , including a heavily - injured president of the Shinra Company , Rufus Shinra . This occurs following Sephiroth ' s defeat , while the other party members watch the events from above in the airship " Highwind " . However , in " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " , both are seen with the rest of the group fighting Sephiroth during the last battle . Post - crisis . Vincent appears briefly in " On the Way to a Smile : Case of Yuffie " . He leaves Cloud and the others in the Forgotten Capital with a cold " bye , " and Cid speculates that he is going " to his woman , probably . " He appears more prominently in " On the Way to a Smile : Case of Nanaki " , where later during his journeys he follows a Turk helicopter and arrives at a hunter camp near Nibelheim . He shoots down Red XIII , one of his former companions while in Cloud ' s party , when he attacks one of the huts . He explains to Red XIII his actions were wrong and leaves . Vincent meets Red XIII later at the Forgotten Capital . Red XIII fears that , due to his long lifespan , he will lose everyone he loves and live a life of loneliness . Vincent comforts him , and reveals he will always be with him because he is immortal , and the two agree to an annual meeting in Midgar . Geostigma crisis . It is revealed in " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " that during the year following " Final Fantasy VII " Vincent traveled the world , mysteriously popping in and out , retrieving information and helping those in need , keeping looser connection with his friends than the rest of the party . In 0009 he follows rumors to the Forgotten Capital , where the Remnants of Sephiroth are stationed . After two former Turks who still work for Rufus , Tseng and Elena , were struck down and tortured by the trio at the North Crater , Vincent rescued them and helped them recover , while getting as much information about the remnants as he could . When the leader of the remnants , Kadaj , fights Cloud in the Forgotten City , Vincent rushes in and opens fire at Kadaj while picking up Cloud and carrying him to safety . Resting in a remote part of the forest , Vincent tells Cloud about Geostigma — the new disease infecting people around the Planet — and Sephiroth ' s impending rebirth . Cloud , still tormented over his guilt at being unable to prevent his friends Aerith ' s and Zack ' s deaths , asks Vincent if sins are ever forgiven . Vincent replies with " I ' ve never tried " . Cloud decides to try , and tells Vincent he would " phone in the verdict " . Vincent shows up with the rest of AVALANCHE for the battle against Bahamut SIN , asking Tifa where he could buy a cellphone ( he apparently is the only member of AVALANCHE without one ) . Aboard the " Shera " , the party ' s airship , Vincent explains to the party Kadaj is Sephiroth ' s " larva form " and would become him , while Cloud duels him atop the Shinra Headquarters ' remains . Although the party is eager to help , Vincent says Cloud can handle him alone . During the bonus feature , " Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII " , Vincent calls Cloud . At some point after " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " Vincent purchased a cellphone , and made a point to relay a message to Yuffie that she has no right to call it . Deepground conflict . A year following the events of " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " , in 0010 when " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " takes place , Vincent is in Kalm as a festival is being held to celebrate the restoration of the Worldwide Network . The town falls under attack by a mysterious group of soldiers who gather up select people while killing the others . Unknown to Vincent , the soldiers are hunting him down . He is confronted by a man named Azul and a young girl , demanding the location of the Protomateria . The girl faints and incoming World Regenesis Organization ( WRO ) troops force Azul to take the girl and retreat . After securing Kalm , Vincent meets up with Reeve Tuesti , a former Shinra executive , who tells him the new town of Edge on Midgar ' s outskirts is now under attack . En route , Reeve tells Vincent the mysterious soldiers are from Deepground , a group born from secret experiments that took place underneath the Shinra Building meant to create a new breed of supersoldiers that would have no sense of morality , and Azul belongs to their elite unit known as the Tsviets . Vincent also learns that , like those in Kalm , people across the world have been vanishing . Vincent finds Edge deserted and meets WRO scientist Shalua Rui . At the warehouse , Vincent encounters another Tsviet , named Rosso the Crimson , demanding the Protomateria , as Deepground needs it to control the final Weapon , monstrous creatures the Planet creates , Omega . During their fight , Vincent unwillingly transforms into Chaos and unleashes a blast of energy that forces Rosso away , but causes Vincent to collapse . Shalua finds him and brings him to WRO Headquarters , where he learns of Lucrecia ' s connection to Omega and Chaos . A Deepground squadron led by Azul storms the headquarters , and as he battles the soldiers , Vincent re - encounters the young girl from Kalm . Shalua is shocked to see it ' s her long - lost sister , Shelke , who is now a shadow of her former self due to the ten years of torture she suffered at the hands of Deepground . After Shalua and Reeve fail to reason with Shelke , Vincent battles and sedates her . After Vincent subdues Azul , he visits Shinra Manor in Nibelheim to find answers . He finds a hologram of Lucrecia that talks of her scattered data on Omega , which she had left in the mansion . After recovering the remaining data , Rosso ambushes Vincent and rips the Protomateria out of his chest . Before she can kill Vincent , he is saved by a cloaked Yuffie . Returning to the WRO Headquarters a few days later , Vincent finds it once again overrun by Deepground and a reborn Azul on a rampage . Under their leader Weiss ' s orders , Azul seeks to kill Shelke for no longer being useful to Deepground , and to prevent the WRO from gaining possession of Lucrecia ' s data within her . Shalua opens a door for the three of them to escape , but after Vincent enters it begins to close , prompting Shalua to place her robotic arm between them . Shalua pushes the reluctant Shelke through the small opening between the closing doors . Vincent tries to open the doors , but they continue to close as the pressure destroys Shalua ' s arm . Shalua exchanges final words with Shelke , and asks Vincent to take care of her . A loud thud is heard and beige liquid seeps out from under the door as Azul pummels Shalua into a coma . Unable to understand the point behind Shalua ' s actions , Shelke requests Vincent to explain why someone would give their life for others . Vincent ' s response causes Shelke to experience one of Lucrecia ' s memories . Reeve enters and explains the Omega Report Vincent gave him is incomplete , and the remaining data is needed for the WRO launches an assault on Deepground ' s base in Midgar . Shelke reveals she had previously absorbed some of Lucrecia ' s data into her mind to study it to find the Protomateria . She offers to combine the data with the rest Vincent found in Nibelheim to give them a clearer picture of what they will be up against and regain control of her mind . Aboard the " Shera " , Reeve completes the Omega Report and Shelke performs a Synaptic Net Dive to provide everyone with a better understand of Omega . The WRO learns Deepground ' s goal : by sacrificing a vast amount of people untainted by Geostigma , they seek to amass a pure Lifestream — the Planet ' s life energy — to trick Omega into awaking prematurely and destroy the world . As everyone prepares for battle , Chaos momentarily overtakes Vincent . Having had possession of Vincent ' s cellphone since the events at Kalm , Shelke returns it to him before he departs after modifying it so he can call her directly for guidance . The Battle of Midgar begins as Deepground attacks , and the WRO launches a simultaneous land and air assault while aided by the former members of AVALANCHE . Vincent descends into Midgar on a hoverboard , but is thrown off course and lands in the remains of Sector 7 . Shelke contacts him on his cellphone and instructs him on how to reach the remains of the Shinra Headquarters and infiltrate Deepground . As he ascends the Central Complex , Vincent again crosses paths with Rosso . They engage in an all - out battle and Rosso is defeated . She tells Vincent that Azul is waiting for him and , not wanting Vincent to have the pleasure of killing her , slices off the platform she is standing on and falls to her death . Once he reaches the Shinra Building , Vincent starts losing control of Chaos again and , in Lucrecia ' s voice , Shelke tells him about Chaos ' s nature and how the Protomateria enabled him to control it until Rosso took it from him . Vincent gets a call from Tifa , who sends him a map of the Shinra Building . As he descends towards Deepground , Vincent battles Azul after which he turns into Chaos , impales Azul with his own cannon , and blasts him off the elevator to his death . Vincent continues through Deepground ' s complex and meets Nero the Sable , Weiss ' s brother . He asks what Nero has done with Shelke , and he responds that she is inside him , trapped in darkness . Defeating Nero in battle , Vincent is engulfed in Nero ' s darkness , but thanks to Chaos , remains unaffected . Vincent finds Shelke is within a cracking shield - bubble and rescues her . After placing Shelke in a regeneration tube so she can regain her strength , Vincent and Yuffie find an unconscious Weiss . Drawing their weapons , Nero consumes them in his darkness , but Vincent saves Yuffie and defeats Nero once more . When Nero stumbles to his awakened brother , Weiss plunges his hand into his stomach and casts him aside . Weiss is possessed by Hojo , who explains that he had originally planned to perfect his body by injecting himself with Jenova cells and merge with Omega , the Planet ' s last resort ; when all life on the Planet is threatened , Omega is born and Chaos , another being born with Omega , sends all life to the Lifestream , after which Omega takes the residing and incoming Lifestream into its being . When finished , it flies into space and from there , the cycle of life begins anew . Complications arose and , as a back - up plan , Hojo had uploaded his mind into the Worldwide Network before his death so when it came back online and the fragments of the program reunited , he was reborn in a " neo - Reunion " . Hojo had used Weiss to control Deepground and continue his agenda . Vincent nearly transforms into Chaos , but a hologram of Lucrecia created by an awoken Shelke implores him to take control of Chaos ' s power while retaining his human form . Vincent defeats Weiss / Hojo and Nero merges with Weiss , destroying Hojo once and for all . The main Mako Reactor is reactivated , and Omega is summoned as Vincent turns into Chaos . Shelke performs an SND to dive into Omega , retrieve the Protomateria , and return it to Vincent , letting him regain control . He connects with Lucrecia , who apologizes for all the suffering she had caused him , but is happy that he survived . Vincent retrieves Shelke and places her outside the Shinra Building before flying off to stop Omega . The others shut down the reactors and cut off Omega ' s power , and Vincent defeats Omega Weiss . Upon Weiss ' s defeat , Omega begins to ascend and leave the Planet . Vincent dives into Omega and forces it back , but is disintegrated . About a week later , Vincent is alive and well in Lucrecia ' s Cave making amends . Having forgiven himself for his " sin " , Vincent tells her Omega and Chaos have returned to the Planet , and thanks her for being the reason he survived . He finds Shelke waiting for him outside , and although she does not know why the others sent her to get him , she doesn ' t mind . Seeing Lucrecia in Shelke , Vincent smiles as they gaze at what appears to be Omega ' s remains in the sky . Gameplay . Vincent is an optional playable character in " Final Fantasy VII " who must be recruited in the Shinra Mansion after obtaining the Mansion key . By opening the safe , with the input RIGHT TO 36 , LEFT TO 10 , RIGHT TO 59 , RIGHT TO 97 , the party can fight Lost Number to unlock the room in the basement in which Vincent is found . After some dialogue , he can join the party . Vincent wields guns , which are long range and have a mediocre Attack Power , but two of them have the maximum chance to hit . His Limit takes away all control of him but allows him to deal and resist a lot of damage . His ultimate weapon is the Death Penalty , which becomes more powerful with the number of enemies Vincent has killed , and can cause an overflow glitch . In " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " Vincent is fought as a boss in the Training Mode . In " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " Vincent is the main playable character and wields the Cerberus as his default weapon , a gun that holds eighteen rounds and fires thrice the trigger is pulled . The tutorial , framed as a training session during Vincent ' s days as a Turk , implies his natural Limit Break increased his strength and defense for a time . Creation and development . According to the " Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega " Vincent ' s character changed several times during development , from horror researcher to chemist to detective , and finally to a former member of the Turks . An depicts Vincent wielding a scythe rather than a handgun . Although his connection to the Turks is only mentioned once when recruiting him in " Final Fantasy VII " , it is explained in detail in " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " . In " Final Fantasy VII " , a deleted scene involving Cloud explaining SOLDIER to the party would have involved Vincent , who would outright state he was a former Turk who investigated " the Sephiroth project " that would lead to SOLDIER ' s development . In another early draft , Vincent was a detective working on supernatural cases , most of them bogus . His last job was investigating Shinra ' s secrets to expose them to the world for the benefit of a rival company . Vincent ' s relationship with Hojo would have gone back to the Midgar University medical department , and then the Shinra Research Lab . Using leverage with Hojo ' s assistant , Lucrecia , Vincent delved deeper into Hojo ' s work . Hojo captured Lucrecia and used her as part of the Jenova Project , and Vincent tried to rescue her , but Hojo puts him to sleep for thirty years . When the party found him , Vincent had no idea what year it was , or even that he had had vile experiments done to him . He would join the party to get revenge on Hojo and find out Lucrecia ' s fate . The player would not know Vincent could transform into monsters , and when it happened , Vincent would be the most shocked of all . His transformations could carry outside of battle , changing cutscenes depending upon his form . In this draft , Vincent ' s personality was wildly different with a far more suave and talkative demeanor . He would even go out of his way to flirt with female party members . Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima has noted that , although Vincent does not have many scenes , when he does speak he usually has much to say . Nojima compared him to Auron from " Final Fantasy X " , as " even though he ' s supposed to be a silent character , he still tends to talk a lot " . Vincent ' s job Class was originally listed as " Horror - Terror ( Horror Researcher ) " . Voice . Vincent ' s Japanese voice actor is Shōgo Suzuki , and he is voiced by Steven Jay Blum in English . Musical themes . Vincent ' s theme is " The Nightmare Begins " . It is played in several key scenes regarding Vincent and his past , including his introduction in the Shinra Mansion basement and during his flashback about Lucrecia . Other appearances . Vincent has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Vincent has made key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " games : Other media . Games . In " " , a game developed by Square Enix , a costume based on Vincent ' s was released on November 6 , 2014 . Vincent ' s costume appears as DLC for " LittleBigPlanet 2 " . " Dead Fantasy " . Vincent was set to appear in the fan - made movie " Dead Fantasy " created by Monty Oum . A preview of " Dead Fantasy VIII " showed that Naminé summoned Vincent with her red - black Keyblade , and that he would have fought alongside her against Ryu Hayabusa and Momiji . He was summoned from a red portal , and the red from the portal collated into his cloak . Vincent ' s main rival was Ryu Hayabusa . Merchandise . Vincent has appeared in numerous merchandise . All of " Final Fantasy VII " cast had action figures made by Bandai back in 1997 , and later on Vincent has also had two Play Arts action figures . The first one is with a Quicksilver gun in the Volume 2 set of " Final Fantasy VII " Play Arts action figures , and another one in the Volume 1 of " Advent Children : Final Fantasy VII " Play Arts figures , where Vincent has a tattered cape and the Cerberus gun rather than the Quicksilver . Other figures include the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Vol . 2 . figure , and the collectible Coca - Cola figurine with a colored and a " red crystal " versions . Resin statue by Kotobukiya was released in 2001 , and unlike the original " Final Fantasy VII " resin statues , the ones issued later don ' t have serial numbers and are not as valuable as collector items . " Final Fantasy VII " characters have appeared in key chains originally available from Japanese crane catcher games . Vincent is part of the " Set B " of these figurines . The emblem on his weapon in " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " has appeared in jewelry and key rings , t - shirts and even a Zippo lighter . To be released 2017 , Vincent has a statue in the Static Arts Gallery line .