When you’re off traipsing across the land trying to stop the end of the world, whether it’s through natural means or the megalomaniacal actions of a sociopath, who has time to worry about real-world problems like rent and utilities? There’s bound to be someFinal Fantasycharacters that have a home to worry about, of course, but the main protagonists? Nah, there are better things to do.
These drifters and nomads in the narrative come from all walks of life: from royalty of the highest order to someone who’s scraping by and killing vermin for a living. They all have one thing in common: they’ve likely never had to pay for rent a day in their lives.
10Edge Geraldine
Final Fantasy 4
As prince of the kingdom of Eblan, of course, he isn’t going to be just out in town renting just any old apartment among the common folk. Maybe this is for the best, as he is known to be quick to anger and even faster to mouth off.
Even once Rubicante begins his assault and Edge begins his chasefor vengeance, there’s no time to lay down roots, especially when you’re hunting your parent’s killer. Besides, it doesn’t seem like he’d be the type to carry his own money if it weren’t for the game mechanics making you do so.
9Lightning
Final Fantasy 13
Generally speaking, whenever you’reinvolved with the military, you’re provided with military housing. That means even though you’re living rent-free, it comes at the cost of always being combat-ready and being deployable at a moment’s notice.
While it isn’t made clear if this is the case with Lightning, it’s hard to imagine that Bodhum’s Guardian Corps wouldn’t keep a tight reign over one of their elite soldiers in a similar fashion, especially after taking the rank of Sergeant at such a young age.
8Cloud Strife
Final Fantasy 7
From living with his mother in Nibelheim to going straight into the SOLDIER program (as far as he knew, at least), which, as mentioned above, provides housing so they can have units ready to go in case something happens. You can see as much when you enter Junon and infiltrate their barracks.
Not to mention there was that time he was being experimented on and constantly in and out of stasis, which Cloud didn’t remember for a chunk of the game. Honestly, I’d rather him be able to just rent out one of those apartments in Sector 7 and live his best life, and maybe he will after his journey in part three of the remake.
7Tidus
Final Fantasy 10
While Tidus was a fierce Blitzball celebrity in his own right, it helps that his father was a beloved, legendary player long before his disappearance. It’s safe to say that the house that we see him emerge from was inherited, not to mention everything surrounding him at that point was a construct; a dream. So it wasn’t even real.
Then, when he was transported to Spira, Tidus was immediately put into danger in the water before being sent on a fate-changing adventure that sets out to stop the sunk-cost spiral of death. The gil is better spent on gear and potions anyway.
6Vincent Valentine
Does a self-imposed exile inside a coffin inside a basement for the better part of 20 to 30 years count as squatting? It’s not like Vincent was paying anyone rent, especially not to the owners of the basement or the mansion connected to the said basement: Shinra.
If it wasn’t for the all-encompassing guilt that kept him locked inside that coffin, you’d think it’d be forthe vampire aestheticthat he’d choose to reside in such a manner, but luckily for us as well as Cloud and company, he chose violence and joined the party instead of remaining in that dark dwelling. He still wasn’t paying any rent, but progress was slow.
5Zidane Tribal
Final Fantasy 9
I mean, he’s a thief. Raised by a band of thieves. Do you think he’s going to be paying rent when he can just jump out of a window and find somewhere else to stay? It’s not going to be likely. Zidane’s home was wherever his crew’s ship, the Prima Vista, placed anchor. It didn’t matter where that was. At least for a while.
The life of a thief requires adaptability. That high-stakes life of stealing doesn’t allow you to live long being stationary, because someone is bound to want revenge for what you’ve taken, right? It’s better to be in the skies and on the move than pay to have a target on your back.
4Vaan
Final Fantasy 12
War is cruelest to the most vulnerable; those are usually children. Vaan’s circumstances are a direct result of the conflict between Dalmasca and the Arcadian Empire that resulted in the death of his only living family member, his brother Reks. He lives on the street and relies on the kindness of others who have been affected by the war to get by.
Though still grieving the loss, he doesn’t let that pain keep him in the streets of Rabanastre, as things quickly take him all over the world, and he eventually even achieves his dream of becoming a sky pirate in the sequel game, Revenant Wings. Are we sensing a theme here yet?
3Bartz Klauser
Final Fantasy 5
A nomad in the truest sense of the word, Bartz was free to roam the world alongside his Chocobo, aptly named Boko, while helping anyone he could. A humble life, at least until he met Princess Lenna and old man Galuf and had his world turned completely on its head. Given a sacred duty to save the other three crystals of the world, who has time for rent?
And then he finds out that there’s not one, buttwoworlds that need saving from the real threat of ExDeath emerging and laying waste to Bartz’s world, as Galuf’s has already been destroyed. The fate of two worlds is more important than the landlord’s pockets, right?
2Jack Garland
Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Rent? What can that possibly mean to a man who has a one-track mind, and a singular goal: Chaos? Nothing. You couldn’t convince him of it, or even give him an exposition about it, because he’ll just cut you off, curse you out, and start a fight where he is the boss.
By the end of that beatdown, you’ll be the one payinghimrent for your place of residence! If he finds out that you have information about Chaos or anything that can lead him to find out more about Chaos, and you’ve hidden it from him? Well, that’s the end of your existence, and you’ll be over and done with.
1Eiko Carol
Finally, we have Eiko, the sassy summoner who lives both alone and with a full family of Moogles in Madain Sari. Alone, because she is the only summoner left from her village until Princess Garnet returns, so she’s left to be looked after by her family of magical Moogles that care for her in their way.
Who needs rent when you’re being raised in love? Despite their situation, they help her learn how to cook, clean, and take care of herself as best as they can. The Moogles also know that the best thing for her is for Eiko to go with Zidane, Garnet, and the crew to see the world and grow with experiences without worry.
