Final Fantasy is no stranger to its fair share of emotional moments, given the story-heavy nature of most games in the series. This includes its fair share of tearjerking moments as characters sacrifice themselves to aid the heroes by any means necessary.
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However, there are times when these sacrifices can be incredibly pointless in the grand scheme of things. Either their sacrifices have no impact whatsoever, or they manage to survive despite the odds being stacked against them to cheapen this moment.
8
Joshua Rosfield
Seemingly Sacrificed Himself To Help Clive, Only To Survive At The End
- Released
-
June 22, 2023
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 16
Clive’s brother is Phoenix’s dominant and assumed to be dead after Clive went berserk as Ifrit. Thankfully, he comes back into Clive’s life, allowing the brothers to bond as they fight to free the world from Ultima’s influence.
During the final battle, Joshua decides to sacrifice his life and give his power to his brother in a bid to save the world. It’s a powerful moment, only for the epilogue to make it clear that he survived after all, since he penned a book detailing these events.
7
Yang Fang Leiden
Should’ve Died After Staying Back To Stop The Cannons From Exploding
- Released
-
July 19, 1991
- ESRB
-
e
- Developer(s)
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Square
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 4
Yang is a powerful monk who aids Cecil and the heroes in their quest. After they head to the Tower of Babil, the heroes eventually find themselves in a cannon room that is shooting at the home of the dwarves and can’t be stopped unless the room is blown up by someone from the inside.
In what seems like a heroic sacrifice, Yang throws everyone out of the room and seemingly explodes along with the cannons. However, it turns out that he somehow managed to survive this death-defying moment, which isn’t the first time that a person’s sacrifice has been rendered pointless in Final Fantasy 4.
6
Dion Lesage
A Sacrifice No One Cared Or Talked About After It Happened
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 16
To say that Dion’s sacrifice was pointless would be a bit too harsh since he did pull his weight to damage Ultima during their battle. However, what makes his final act lack any impact is the way it happens.
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Dion sacrifices himself at the end but is barely acknowledged by anyone around him. It doesn’t help that both Clive and Joshua also steal the limelight in this department, taking the attention away from Dion and harming his character, even though he also made the ultimate sacrifice.
5
Ardyn Lucis Caelum
Absorbed The Starscourge Of The People Only To Be Punished For His Sacrifice
- Released
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November 9, 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Language, Mild Blood, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 15
Ardyn is one of the most charismatic villains in the Final Fantasy series, but there was a time when he walked the path of good. He selflessly sacrificed his humanity multiple times by absorbing the Starscourge of the population, which rendered him undeserving of the crystal’s power.
To make things worse, his brother, Somnus, used this moment to usurp Ardyn’s place on the throne and killed his love for good measure. All his sacrifices eventually turned Ardyn into an infected and unwanted king, who went rogue as a result and swore vengeance against the royal family for being forsaken.
4
Cid Pollendina
Should’ve Died By All Accounts After Sacrificing Himself, But Ended Up Surviving Somehow
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 4
Cid has made an appearance across several Final Fantasy games, with many people loving his presence in Final Fantasy 4 too. This dwarven blacksmith joins the party and helps them travel to the underworld before jumping into the hole connecting both worlds and triggering a set of bombs to seal the path and save the heroes.
It’s a beautiful sacrifice that is instantly downplayed after it turns out that Cid somehow survived this kamikaze attack. The fact that he didn’t even suffer any major injuries after this act cheapens this sacrifice considerably.
3
High Summoner Braska
One Of The Many Summoners That Unwittingly Let A Wasteful Cycle Go On After His Sacrifice
- Released
-
December 17, 2001
- ESRB
-
T for Teen: Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 10
To be fair, Braska can’t be at fault for his pointless sacrifice. This summoner and everyone else who walked this path before him genuinely believed that sacrificing themselves was the only way to save the world from Sin’s threat, even if it was postponing the inevitable.
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It’s not until Tidus, Yuna, and the rest of the party decide to uncover the truth that they realize how this cycle of destruction works. The only way to preserve Spira’s peace for good was to take out Sin and Yu Yevon himself, with the heroes banding together to stop these pointless sacrifices from being carried out anymore.
2
Galuf Halm Baldesion
An Emotional Moment Is Downplayed Right After When Krile Gains All Of His Abilities
- Released
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December 6, 1992
- ESRB
-
T For Teen due to Mild Fantasy Violence, Partial Nudity
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 5
Watching Galuf break his restraints and lay his life down to save his granddaughter is a shocking moment. Fans couldn’t believe that a major party member who had acquired so many skills and masteries had died, but this didn’t matter after a point.
This is because Krile joined the party in her grandfather’s stead and somehow boasted all his skills too. This made Galuf’s death meaningless from a gameplay standpoint, which is a shame since the former Warrior of Light clearly deserved better.
1
Cait Sith
A Controversial Character In The Series Redeems Nothing With A Pointless Sacrifice
- Released
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January 31, 1997
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Featured in: Final Fantasy 7
To this day, fans can’t stand Cait Sith as a character. Not only is he weaker than most other party members in combat, but he’s also a spy working for the Turks who puts Cloud and his friends in the path of danger time and time again.
He tries to redeem himself in the Temple of the Ancients by obtaining the Black Materia and sacrificing himself to save the party, only for another copy of this robot to arrive not long after. It completely downplays what should have been an emotional moment for this character and makes Cait Sith even more unlikable in the eyes of many.
