Final Fantasy’s unconventional fashion is part of what makes the games so memorable. Thanks to Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura’s creative genius, no one bats an eye at avant-garde video game fashion anymore. They combined Western and Japanese punk influences to create a unique aesthetic that gradually took over the world of JRPGs. But their designs weren’t without fault.
For the female characters of Final Fantasy, the practicality of their clothes wasn’t always compatible with their job class, or even for the grind of daily life. Below we examine ten of the best female characters in the series and how likely they are to wear the clothes they were assigned.
10 Ashelia Dalmasca
Princess Ashe is a red mage with an affinity for black and white magic, as well as long-range weapons. Her standard outfit looks like a deconstructed version of her wedding dress, with cutouts in all the wrong places. There’s no way she could avenge her kingdom in that bright pink miniskirt.
The saving grace of this outfit is the leg guards, which are intricately beautiful and look like they provide some protection in a fight. Unfortunately, between the barely-there skirt and open-toed boots she’s wearing into the heat of battle, it’s clear that this design choice was more for aesthetic rather than practical reasons.
9 Lightning
The top is great. The boots are great. The hair is fantastic. But again, what is with that super short skirt? From different angles, it looks like Lightning might wear bike shorts underneath, or the skirt might actually be shorts, which would give her a greater degree of mobility.
Still, there’s no reason why Final Fantasy’s first official female protagonist shouldn’t wear leggings. Or pants.
8 Terra Branford
Terra’s outfit isn’t very practical, with the sleeveless dress and flowered tights, but it’s pretty and more ornate than other characters’ outfits in Final Fantasy VI. This adds to her ethereal vibe as a half-esper, a supernatural being that is central to the game’s plot.
Terra wears a somewhat more practical swath around her waist and ties her hair up in a very practical ponytail. Thanks to her esper heritage, there are some things she never has to worry about, like using magic at will or dressing for long-distance travel.
7 Yuna
Yuna has one of the prettiest outfits in all of Final Fantasy. It draws inspiration from traditional Japanese garments as seen in the pleated, floral-patterned purple skirt and yellow obi (sash). Her kimono-like sleeves have a soft pink gradient that is in full view when she performs her sending dance.
Yuna accessorizes this outfit with tromping work boots for her pilgrimage, showing that she is practical at heart. The rest of the outfit seems like it would take a while to put together. It might not be the most practical thing to wear on an important and time-sensitive journey.
6 Quistis Trepe
When Tetsuya Nomura was developing the cast of Final Fantasy VIII, he was adamant that at least one of the female characters would wear a skirt. At first, that character was supposed to be Quistis, but at the last moment, Nomura decided that pants under a midi-length skirt would look better. The skirt role ended up going to Selphie Tilmitt instead.
Quistis would have ranked higher on this list if Nomura had kept his original design. Pants are great, but pants under a bodycon pencil skirt sounds uncomfortable and constricting.
5 Aerith Gainsborough
Although Aerith’s dress in Final Fantasy VII Remake has a lot more movement, it retains the features from the original dress that made it one of the most practical outfits ever.
First, the length of her dress is very versatile (and on-trend in real life). Second, this style with the buttons down the front tends to be a recurring feature in dystopian settings, which is Aerith’s life in Midgar. Third, Aerith is a white mage and doesn’t need to move around as much. The dress gives her just enough room to cast her next spell, which is all she needs.
4 Celes Chere
General Celes has the distinction of having three outfits in Final Fantasy VI. There’s the green leotard that her sprite appears to be wearing, which is not at all practical or what a general would wear. Then there is the opera gown for her undercover mission, which she made clear was not at all her style.
Finally, there are her clothes in Yoshitaka Amano’s concept art, which are also featured in Final Fantasy Anthology’s FMVs. The outfit is a medieval-inspired yellow vest and pants over a dark blouse. Points deducted for the pointless stitches around the hips, but the rest of the outfit is solid.
3 Tifa Lockhart
Tifa is a martial arts expert who specializes in melee combat and physical damage. There’s no way she could have performed all those kicks and punches comfortably in her clothes from Final Fantasy VII, which consisted of a tank top and miniskirt and suspenders that barely held the outfit together.
The character designers for the remake sought to bring Tifa’s look in line with “modern standards.” They added a black sports bra and leggings to achieve a sporty look, placing a greater emphasis on her athleticism instead of her sex appeal. With this redesign, Tifa definitely wins the award for most improved.
2 Rinoa Heartilly
The clothes of Final Fantasy VIII are much more wearable than its predecessor’s, and the wardrobe of the leading lady demonstrates just that. Rinoa is wearing a blue sleeveless cardigan over a black tank top with matching arm warmers and bike shorts.
She also wears a denim miniskirt over the bike shorts in an ode to deconstruction fashion that was popular in Japan in the nineties. Rinoa’s outfit has some quirks, but it’s one that anyone could put together for a regular day.
1 Princess Garnet/Dagger
Last but not least, Princess Garnet (alter ego Dagger) does a better job than Ashe at coming up with a fugitive princess outfit. Her idea of “the last thing a princess would wear” is a yellow jumpsuit over a white peasant blouse.
The jumpsuit looks like it’s made of polyester spandex that provides a lot of give for all the physical activity involved in a secret escape from the castle. Garnet was even sensible enough to throw on a white mage cloak to further conceal her identity. She wins first place for her practical choices in a high stakes situation.
NEXT: 10 Final Fantasy IX Cosplays That Look Just Like The Game
