I'd like to nominate a little-known NPC from Final Fantasy VII known simply as "guard" in the game code, but who I prefer to call
Train Man.
Train Man is one of the dozens of unnamed NPCs that turn Midgar from a wonderfully crafted city to a living, breathing one. You, the player, only have three opportunities to talk to him: upon arriving in Sector 7 for the first time, before boarding the train the following morning, and if you go out of your way to visit the station before climbing the pillar. You don't
have to talk to him at all - to my shame, it took me until last year to do so for the first time - but I think that's part of why I love him: the writers came up with these short but wonderful monologues in the knowledge that many people would never see them.
After arriving in Sector 7
When you've been a train man as long as I have, you see a lot of people and a lot of lives.
People meeting, parting, joy, sadness... After a while, it doesn't even get to you anymore.
--
I wonder how long it's been... There's an invisible rail between me and the passengers.
I could never live their lives. I'm just a train man plain and simple. It's easier that way.
--
That's not to say that the crossing gate of my heart doesn't hurt now and again.
Back during the war, I remember there was a lot of painful scenes then.
--
But, that's a story for another day...
--
First train leaves Midgar at 05:04am.
Before boarding the train the next day
Morning. Dawn comes and things never change.
You be careful not to get hurt. Come on back again, hear?
--
ALL ABOARD! The train is about to depart.
Before climbing the pillar
I heard a rumor that the plate was going to fall, crushing this station, I've worked at so many years.
But I just can't bear to leave here.
(The double dashes indicate separate text entries in the script - you have to talk to him repeatedly to trigger them all.)
Isn't that just remarkable? In the space of three conversations, we learn so much about this person.
We discover that he doesn't have a high opinion of himself: he identifies as "a train man plain and simple" and claims that he couldn't live the lives of the passengers he sees every day. Yet we also find out that he is emotionally complex and is affected by the events he witnesses, such as the "painful scenes" of the Wutai war - as it happens, this is the very first mention of the war in the game, and foreshadows Elmyra's flashback to that time (perhaps that is the "story for another day"). We learn of his kind nature: despite being a Shinra employee, he shows compassion for Cloud, openly wishing for his safe return. And finally, tragically, we're given a demonstration of his attachment to the station -
his station - as he refuses to leave it even in the face of death.
After the pillar falls and Barret cries out for the loss of Biggs, Wedge and Jessie (and Marlene, unknowingly), Tifa adds "...and the other people in Sector 7." She's right. Many fascinating people were crushed by that plate, and in my humble opinion, Train Man was the most fascinating of them all.
I don't actually expect him to make the final list of Seven - there are plenty of incredibly significant NPCs in the series who deserve to be on it ahead of an unnamed guard - but I wanted to share his story with you. It left a lasting impression on me.
Edit: I almost forgot, I just adore his train metaphors. "Crossing gate of my heart"? Come on, that's genius.
