The Final Fantasy franchise has been around for a very long time and has releaseda truly staggering number of games. There are many reasons why the series has been so successful, but one of them is the fact that few franchises have pumped out so many iconic characters.
Of course, female representation being what it is, most of the Final Fantasy games feature stoic male protagonists who need to take a chill pill. However, over the years, Final Fantasy has also produced its fair share of badass women, some of whom have even led their own games. These women all know how to dish out the damage and don’t take rubbish from anyone.
So, Lulu looks and sounds like she should be much higher up on the list. She’s a goth-looking black mage with an attitude whose magic attacks are some of the most powerful inFinal Fantasy 10.But under that cold, outer shell beats a heart of gold
Lulu often acts like a mother to the young girl she’s been tasked with protecting, Yuna. When she realizes her strong religious beliefs are not just wrong but will kill Yuna, she turns away from them to protect her charge. Plus, she has a habit of carrying around cute dolls, which she cuddles constantly. Lulu is a total badass, a big old softy, and one of thebest female characters in the whole series.
Ultimecia is the big bad of the criminally underratedFinal Fantasy 8. She’s an all-powerful sorceress who, having conquered the future, has decided she wants to control all time. She does this by mind-controlling sorceresses from past timelines and wrapping weak-minded men like Seifer around her little finger.
Ultimecia might be a villain, but she’s definitely a badass. She has a really cool design and is so powerful she actually manages to compress time - essentially making herself a god. Unfortunately, she loses points because her character is never fully fleshed out beyond being a cool villain, and she possesses other women (not cool).
Final Fantasy 12is a strange entry in the franchise. On the one hand, lots of fans think it’s one of the best games in the series, and it has one ofthe highest metacritic scores. On the other hand, no one seems to remember what its story is about, and most of its characters are boring wet blankets.
Thankfully, we have Fran, who is a kind of wood-elf/rabbit-person hybrid who wields a bow. A bit like Lulu, she’s standoffish at first but fiercely loyal to those she lets get close to her. She comes from a race of nature-loving warrior women called the Viera who aren’t on the best of terms with mankind (for good reason). Fran leaves her people behind to explore the world of man and teams up with a Sky Pirate to take down an evil empire, all of which makes her pretty badass.
7Freya (Final Fantasy 9)
Dragon Knight and Romantic
Final Fantasy 9has a lot of fan-favorite characters, but Freya is arguably one of the most badass. She became a powerful Dragon Knight at the age of 16 but left her city of Burmecia just a year later to track down her last love, Sir Fratley. A knight on a quest, ever since she’s searched the land looking for him.
In battle, Freya is a powerhouse, using her Dragon Knight skills, jumping abilities, and lance to dominate the enemy. Outside of battle, she’s humble and friendly but also has a sharp wit, often teasing Zidane. Most importantly, even with her tragic past, Freya never gives up hope. She loses the love of her life and sees her race almost wiped out, but keeps on fighting.
Whether Terra is the first female lead protagonist in the series is up for debate (as is whetherFinal Fantasy 6even has a lead protagonist). That being said, she’s certainly one of the first female badasses in the series and drives much of the plot. In the lore of FF6, Terra is immensely powerful because she’s half Esper and half human.
Brainwashed characters in Final Fantasy gamesare somewhat of a tradition, and Terra starts the game as a mind-controlled soldier working for Kefka. After being freed, however, Terra joins the rebel Returners group and decides to use her innate magical abilities for good. Throughout the series, summons like Espers are powerful spirits used by others, but Terra makes sure no one ever uses her again. That’s badass.
5Beatrix (Final Fantasy 9)
Loyal Knight And Villain-Turned Hero
Beatrix is the definition of ambition. During the events ofFinal Fantasy 9, she’s just 27 years old, but she’s already gone a long way toward smashing the glass ceiling. She’s gained the rank of general, become Queen Brahne’s right hand, and single-handedly killed 100 knights in battle. She’s also managed to make Steiner look bad at pretty much every turn.
Unfortunately, she’s also on the wrong side initially, and Beatrix continues the long Final Fantasy tradition ofvillains joining the party. When players first battle Beatrix, she can wipe out the party in a single attack. When they first gain control of her, she has equipment and skills far beyond anything else the player has access to, making her feel like an overpowered badass. In the end, Beatrix sees the light and leaves her corrupted queen to side with Garnet, becoming a powerful ally.
4Rinoa (Final Fantasy 8)
Sorceress, Rebel, and Dog Trainer
A lot of fans don’t get just how cool Rinoa is, viewing her simply as Squall’s love interest and occasional damsel in distress. She’s so much more, though. For a start, at just 17 years old, Rinoa founded the Forest Owls, one of thebest secret organizations in the series. With them, she fights against tyrannical military rule alongside a lovable cast of misfits.
She’s also from a line of uber-powerful sorceresses who have a nasty tendency to take over the world. Rather than follow in their footsteps, Rinoa slowly learns to master her powers and uses them to save the day. Without Rinoa’s skills, the party would never have been able to rescue Squall or face Ultimecia. If being one of the most powerful beings (with reality-warping abilities) wasn’t badass enough, Rinoa’s best friend is her dog, whom she’s taught to kick butt.
3Yuna (Final Fantasy 10)
Summoner, Pop Star, and Gunslinger
So, Yuna really doesn’t look like a badass. InFinal Fantasy 10she’s a sweet-natured, fairly shy young woman tasked with sacrificing herself to save the world. Something that, for most of the game, she goes along with unquestioningly. Even less badass, ignoring her summons, she’s a white mage with next to no offensive capabilities.
Then she falls in love with a jock, befriends her aeons, and defeats the ultimate evil without sacrificing herself. Much better. Tragically, after saving the world, her beloved disappears and Yuna loses access to her aeon friends. Rather than sulk, she starts a band with her two gal pals and becomes a superstar. When a new evil rises, she straps on a pair of pistols and gets to work saving the day,again. If that’s not badass, what is?
It’s no secret thatFinal Fantasy 13is the black sheep of the Final Fantasy family. Quite how it spawned not one, but two sequels remains one of gaming’s greatest mysteries. But one thing Final Fantasy 13 and its sequels definitely got right was its protagonist, Lightning.
Lightning might seem like a cold and standoffish soldier, but in reality, she’s incredibly kind and compassionate. She’s loyal to her friends and will take on any threat to do what’s right. Through the course of the games, she kills gods, becomes the god of death, and builds a whole new world devoted to peace. She’s one of the most powerful characters in all of Final Fantasy and a total badass.
A lot of the badasses on this list wield almost unimaginable power. Tifa is the ultimate badass because she doesn’t need godly powers to defeat her enemies. All she needs is a decent pair of kickboxing gloves, and there’s not much that can stop her. Tifa is the poster girl for badass Final Fantasy heroines. After her whole town was slaughtered by Shinra, she joined Avalanche and devoted her life to saving the world.
She’s always been in love with the grumpy Cloud but never mopes or gets upset about it. When love-rival Aerith turns up, Tifa befriends her. In the modern remakes, Tifa is even more of a badass. She’s easily one of the most powerful characters and in the first remake, it was revealed she almost managed to kill Sephirtoth at the Nibelheim Mako reactor. No matter how bad things get, Tifa holds on to hope and stays upbeat. She got agreat ending in the original gameso it’ll be interesting to see what happens to her story in the third remake.
