And today we round off our batch of translations from the FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania today, with Vincent Valentine. Enjoy!

Vincent Valentine

Compilation of FFVII: FFVII – AC – BC – DC

Character Profile

Sex: Male
Height: 184cm
Blood Type: A
Date of Birth: 11/13
Birthplace: Unknown
Weapon: Gun
First Person Pronoun: 私 [Watashi] (polite, non-gender specific.)
Voice Actor: AC, DC – Shougo Suzuki

A nihilistic, reticent, former member of the Turks. While he was a bodyguard for ShinRa scientists, Hojo used him as a test subject in experiments that caused him to change into monsters (“Metamorphize”). The legendary demon “Chaos”, which resides in Vincent’s body gives him near immortality, and his appearance remains youthful, as if he is still in his 20’s from long ago. His marksmanship skills were unparalleled in his days as a Turk.

In Final Fantasy VII

The aloof gunman whose body was cursed,
He carries the memory of a love gone sour.

Age: 27

Distraught by the presence of four monsters in his body, he’d been sleeping in the basement of ShinRa Manor for over 20 years. When he meets Cloud and the others, he learns that Sephiroth, the son of his beloved Lucrecia, is destroying the planet. He cooperates with Cloud and the others to stop Sephiroth.

「 This body . . . is the punishment I was given . . . 」

His previous position with ShinRa Company was working with the Turks in the ShinRa plant. His tragedy began when he was dispatched to Nibelheim on an escort mission.	Though he sees the world philosophically, this does not mean his emotions are shallow. Through his poetic manner of speaking, his romantic side shows through.

The intense, fateful confrontation with Hojo. Learning that Hojo thought of Lucrecia as a tool, Vincent’s hatred erupts like a shot of fire.

「 I was frozen in time . . . But I feel as if my time is just beginning! 」

Compilation Check

His complex relationship with the beautiful lady scientist Lucrecia.

Vincent’s fateful love was Lucrecia, a woman who worked as a scientist for ShinRa. Hojo married her, and she offered her body to be used for Jenova cells in the experiment her husband headed, which led to a breakdown of her mind and body. When Vincent angrily protested what Hojo did to Lucrecia, Hojo shot him in a fit of conceit. In truth, it was Lucrecia that gave Vincent his immortal body after he was wounded. At first Hojo experimented with monster transformation, however the experiments were a failure because Vincent, though still living, remained in a death-like state. As a last resort to rehabilitate him, Lucrecia inserted Chaos’ DNA into his broken-down body. Vincent learned the truth of this during the events of Dirge of Cerberus.

[FFVII] Vincent remains in a coffin, condemning himself and saying “I was unable to prevent Lucrecia’s sorrow.”

Limit Break

Chaos

Chaos Saber: In midair, (Chaos) spreads the wings on his back and shoots blades from his wingtips, slicing and dicing all enemies at once.	Satan Slam: The image of a giant skull rises up from beneath the monsters’ feet, grilling the enemies with a toxic gas emission.

In Advent Children

In the world after Meteorfall,
He sought out the cause of the disaster on his own.

Age: 27 (in appearance)

He investigated the Geostigma begun by the planet, and knew about Kadaj and the others. Vincent also visited their base in the Forgotten City and rescued the gravely injured Tseng and Elena, who’d been transported there from the Northern Crater. After that, when Cloud went to recover the children from Kadaj, he helped Cloud in a tough fight and gave him advice.

「 Cloud . . . . . . You sure this is about fighting? 」

“Can sins be forgiven?” – Cloud asks this of Vincent, who gives a vague answer. Both of them carry a sense of the sin of “not protecting those precious to me”, therefore, those words resound with importance to them.

「 . . . . . I’ve never tried. 」

Vincent fights the monster alongside the others with his gun. Thanks to his unique body, Vincent seems to flutter in the sky with superhuman movement.	When everyone wants to support Cloud, Vincent commands them to put their trust in Cloud’s hands. Not wanting to interfere, he believes that only Cloud has the power to destroy the curse from the past.

Trivia 1

The accessories Vincent carries around.

In the world of FFVII, mobile phones are spreading, but because he is from a generation more than 20 years ago, Vincent doesn’t carry one. In Advent Children, Marlene is so astonished by this, Vincent then resolves to buy a phone. A year later, Reeve and Shelke frequently communicate with Vincent for various reasons, now that he carries a cell phone.

[AC] As Bahamut’s Tremor Flare puts Edge into a panic, with a serious look, Vincent searches for a “Phone Store”…	[DC] A big part of the action in DC are cell phones. Yuffie frequently calls him, often seeming to disturb what is going on.

In Before Crisis

He awakens one year before Cloud and the others stumble upon him.

Age: 27 (in appearance)

One year before the events of FFVII, a colleague from his time in the Turks, Verdot awakens Vincent inside his coffin, and tells him that he is searching for materia. When he wakes up, he helps the Turks fight AVALANCHE, and displays sharp shooting skills with a beautiful gun, though he is rather jaded after that long sleep.

「 The passage of time is of no importance to me. 」

Verdot was surprised that Vincent retained his appearance from more than 20 years ago, but Vincent remained closed-mouthed on the situation.

In Dirge of Cerberus

To save the planet,
His gun Cerberus will toll a dirge for the forgotten past.

Age: 27 (in appearance)

Reeve, who became the director of the WRO, requests his cooperation when ShinRa’s “leftovers”, Deepground SOLDIERs put the entire planet into a state of turmoil. As Deepground’s military forces summon the mysterious being, Omega, Vincent learns the truth about how Chaos came to dwell within his body; Chaos was transplanted into Vincent by Lucrecia, whom he had feelings for, and the others, by his old enemy – Hojo, whom he is destined to strike against in the end.

「 Hn, I guess I have no choice . . . . . . it’s time to save the world. 」

After the battle to prevent Meteor, Vincent frequently haunted Lucrecia’s cave, where her body was sealed in a crystal, and spoke to her.	Lucrecia’s memories are inherited by the young girl of Deepground, Shelke. By conversing with her, Vincent is able to understand some of Lucrecia’s true intentions…….

No longer dwelling in a coffin day by day regretting the past as he did three years ago——Right now, Vincent has been seized with regret and has stopped to take stock of the situation.	His belief that Hojo had died three years ago is shattered – This time he will truly and finally avenge the fate he and Lucrecia suffered at the hands of this mad scientist.

「 Time stopped for me, but all of you taught me to move beyond the past. 」

Compilation Check

The truth behind the 4th demonic transformation, Chaos.

Lucrecia gave Vincent secret reports that revealed the truth behind Chaos, the strongest of the four demonic transformations Vincent uses in FFVII. But why does Lucrecia give Vincent these reports? – The answer is revealed in Dirge of Cerberus.

Chaos was the unique lifeform that Lucrecia was researching, which possesses the ability to collect all living beings into the Lifestream. Therefore Lucrecia used this element to revive Vincent as he was approaching death and as a result granted him perennial youth. However, Chaos still posses a power so potent it could destroy the world and trying to suppress its power takes a great toll on Vincent.

[DC] The Ancient Materia is a special materia, and without it, Chaos goes wild.	[DC] DG snatches away the Ancient Materia from inside Vincent’s body, causing him to temporarily lose his sanity due to the awakening of Chaos.

Trivia 2

Vincent in his youth as a Turk.

Before Vincent wore the red mantle and wild, wavy, long, black hair that we’re familiar with, before the modding surgeries, he wore his hair short and dressed stylishly in the black Turks business suits in his days of youth. He can be seen this way in flashback scenes in both FFVII and DC. In the tutorial mode of Dirge of Cerberus, players control Vincent in his days as a Turk.

[DC] Vincent introduces himself the first time he meets Lucrecia. If you look at the suit carefully, you see that it is not fastened by buttons, and the design is very refined.

Vincent Map
— Midgar
He worked in the ShinRa Company’s main offices. Confronted Hojo twice, both in FFVII and in Dirge of Cerberus.

— Nibelheim
For Vincent, “Where All the Nightmares Began”. After being subjected to surgical modifications, he spent roughly 20 years sleeping in a coffin in ShinRa Manor.

— Lucrecia’s Cavern
Vincent frequently visits to speak to Lucrecia, who continues to exist inside a crystal in this cavern.

Vincent Valentine – Timeline

[Compilation of FFVII]

[ Approx. 50 years before FFVII ]

· Is born.

[ Approx. 25~30 years before FFVII ]

(Age 20’s)

· FFVII/DC – Nibelhiem
Worked as a member of the ShinRa Works (later the ShinRa Company) Turks. He was sent to the ShinRa Manor to act as a guard for the researchers and there he met Lucrecia.

· FFVII/DC – Nibelhiem
After growing close to Lucrecia he proposed to her, but she rejected him.

(Age 27)

· FFVII/DC – Nibelhiem
Hojo attacked him and experiments on his body, eventually leaving him on the brink of death, and Lucrecia revived him by embedding Chaos inside of him. Thinking that the transformation of his flesh was his punishment, he went to sleep inside a coffin in the ShinRa Mansion basement.

[ ν ] – εуλ 0006/12/19

· BC – Nibelhiem
He reunited with his former colleague Verdot. A Support Materia for the Zirconaide summon was hidden inside the ShinRa Mansion and he knew about it.

[ ν ] – εуλ 0007

· FFVII – Nibelheim
When Cloud and company visit the ShinRa Manor and caught him up on the current affairs, he chose to join the group to meet up with Hojo and Sephiroth.

· FFVII – Midgar
He confronted his fated opponent, Hojo, on the Mako Cannon. He angrily issued a death threat to Hojo.

[ ν ] – εуλ 0008/1

· DC – Midgar
After defeating Sephiroth in the Northern Cave with Cloud and the others, he and Yuffie worked together to evacuate people during Meteorfall. During this, although he thought he caught a flicker of life in Hojo, he lost sight of him.

[ ν ] – εуλ 0009

· AC – Forgotten Captial
He protected Cloud from Kadaj and his brothers when their fight got tough. He passed on the information about the connection between the trio and Geostigma on to Cloud.

· AC – Edge
He traveled with his former companions on the Sierra, rushing to Cloud’s aid.

[ ν ] – εуλ 0010

· DC – Kalm
On his way to rendezvous with Reeve, he helped to stop a DG SOLDIER attack on the Revival Festival. Hereafter, he worked with the WRO and stood at the center of the fight with DG.

· DC – Nibelheim
He learned about his connection to Chaos and Omega during his investigation of the ShinRa Mansion. When Rosso drew the Ancient Materia (i.e. Protomateria) from his body, he was gravely wounded and Yuffie rescued him.

· DC – Midgar
He participated in the general offense to eliminate DG. When the ultimate lifeform Omega arose from Weiss’ body he defeated it, and Chaos was freed from his own body to return to the cosmos.