“I was one of the Empire’s generals, but I still know evil when I see it.”
This is our list of the top 25 female characters of all-time. We’re into the top 10 now, and counting down one by one until we reach the best of the best on Sept. 30.
7) Celes Chere (Final Fantasy VI) – 4 votes/240 points
Chris: Celes has a life that is more complicated than it probably should be. Forced to become a Magitek Knight at an early age, she eventually uses her considerable talents to rise through the ranks of the military. But when she dares to question Kefka’s actions, she is imprisoned, and has to re-evaluate everything she’s done in her life so far.
That’s actually the simple part. Stay with me here.
After being freed by Locke, she joins up with the ragtag Returners to battle the very same Empire that she had served. Along the way, they try to get access to an airship, but they need to run interference to pull it off. That means Celes has to dress up as an opera singer and perform in the Impresario’s big play. But does she nail it? Despite her complaints about not being an “opera floozy,” she does. (If you don’t, it’s a game over, so crushing the opera is canon.)
From general to opera singer to friend to enemy, Celes finds that her past makes it difficult for the others to trust her. What if she’s an imperial spy waiting to turn on them at any moment? This keeps her alone even in the company of others until she and Locke can reconcile their differences.
Then the world ends.
We talked about in Kefka’s post on the male side of the list, but…yeah. He sends the world into ruin. It’s just Celes and Cid, the man who raised her. But he’s sick, so Celes goes to get him some fish.
I was maybe 12 or 13 when I played this game, so I went after the easiest fish I could find — the slower the better. Turns out that’s a mistake, because if you feed the slower fish to Cid, he dies. Despairing at the loss of her grandpa (and all of her other friends after the destruction of the falling continent), Celes snaps. She climbs a nearby cliff and tries to dive into the rocks below.
…But she survives. After her weakest moment, she sets off to find the others, ultimately rallying the troops to stop Kefka once and for all. And that’s the important part — even the strongest characters can have moments of doubt. Celes gets a second chance, and she doesn’t waste a minute of it. In fact, she helps some of the other characters get through their own issues as well.
I liked Celes so much that I didn’t even care that her ability was nearly useless. That’s a testament to the multifaceted nature of her character.
Joseph: I’m glad we didn’t forget this FFVI jewel. Her story starts out slowly, but quickly goes from comic to tragic and everything in between. She stands up to Kefka, one of the most imposing bosses in video gaming. She uses her impressive singing voice to get the party an airship. To top it off, she has the option to kill or save Cid, the latter of which stops her from her iconic fall. Seriously, her supposed suicide was pretty heavy stuff for a preteen to deal with, especially because it is preceded by Cid not surviving Celes’ cooking.
For a character who was supposedly not one of the many “main” characters, Celes has one of the most compelling story arcs in the game. Her battle ability, Runic, wasn’t that great. But I didn’t use Celes to have her absorb magic attacks. I put her on the full offensive, equipping her with the Genji Glove, Offering and two Atma Weapons. Take that Kefka!
Shaun: You know you’re a great character when you stand out among one of the best ensemble casts ever assembled in gaming, despite your actual combat ability being maybe the most useless of the whole bunch. Yes, Runic sucks, but it doesn’t matter because Celes is so versatile and complex.
She’s a general, then a prisoner. She’s a badass fighter, then she’s an opera singer. She’s suicidal, and then she’s a shepherd that gathers the party back together. Celes is a Jack of All Trades, and arguably one of the most “main” main characters in the second half of this masterpiece title. She’s also one of the best female characters in a series full of strong choices.
TOP 25 FEMALE CHARACTERS
Introduction/Honorable Mention
Gray Areas 