Final Fantasy is a popular game franchise that was originally created in the '80s and has lasted for decades. It has gone through many transitions in that time, but has managed to maintain its popularity. Even people that aren’t completely familiar with the game have at least played it at some point, or at the very least have heard of it. In the course of its history, the Final Fantasy franchise has spawned movies, toys, clothing, and a plethora of other swag fans have been eager to grab up. It has also inspired some pretty amazing cosplay.
In cosplay, many fans make their own costumes, or some aspect of them. They put time into getting their outfits together and doing their make-up or masks to be an expression of their admiration for the original character creators. At conventions like Awesome Con, New York Comic Con, Baltimore Comic Con, San Diego Comic-Con, and others, cosplayers get to show and share their talents with other fans and professionals.
We’ve gathered 15 out of hundreds of fantastic FF cosplay, and these were some of the best we could find.
Without further ado, here is the list for Final Fantasy: 15 Stunning Cosplay Better Than The Games.
LORD BRASKA
This awesome Lord Braska cosplay is by an unknown cosplayer, with photography by Sora-Furai. In Final Fantasy X, Lord Braska is one of the main character's father. The stunning costume no doubt took a lot of time to make, and is one of the cosplay costumes that appears to represent Lord Braska better than the game itself.
According to the Final Fantasy wiki “Braska wears an elaborate headdress that resembles Arabian head-wraps or desert headgear. It is dark blue, covering his head and falling looser round the front under his chin. It is held in place by a white band with a black line in the middle, surmounted by a blue stone in the front center and three horn like pieces.”
CLOUD STRIFE AND TIFA LOCKHART
Maki Roll and Kaybear are two popular cosplayers, here dressed as Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, respectively. Maki Roll was featured at 2018’s Awesome Con, where she also headlined as a dancer. Like many cosplayers, these two put a lot of work into their costumes.
Maki Roll started cosplaying when she was 15 years-old, and has been cosplaying ever since.
According to her website, Kay Bear is also a freelance designer and model. She has been cosplaying for over a year.
The Final Fantasy wiki describes Cloud Strife as a mercenary that “learns there is more to being a hero than possessing physical strength and fame, developing compassion for the Planet and people he fights to protect.” Tifa "supports Cloud as his comrade and helps him and his allies defeat Sephiroth."
AURON
Auron is one of the most popular characters from Final Fantasy X. Eternal Aranel’s take on it was photographed by Lucas for SCG. According to her page on Deviant Art, she’s also been cosplaying for a number of years. The detail put into this Final Fantasy cosplay, like so many others, is incredibly elaborate.
Auron fought alongside Tidus’ father Jecht, in defeating Sin before the events of FFX. He also fought beside Yuna’s father, Lord Braska. Initially, the fact that Auron hadn't passed on since helping Jecht was kept secret until much further in the game. Thanks to his large sword and sunglasses, Auron is a fun character to cosplay, and the work put into this costume really brings the character to life.
YUNA
According to her DeviantArt site, Osato has been cosplaying for a number of years. Originally born in Nigeria, she moved to Ireland when she was eight years-old and has lived there ever since. Osato Cosplay’s take on Yuna is a classic one.
In Final Fantasy X, Yuna is a summoner who goes on a journey to become a High Summoner.
She collects beings known as Aeons to increase her power. Unfortunately for her, the last Aeon she is set to face – Sin – is prophesied to end her life in the final battle. However, along with Tidus, Yuna and the others figure out a way to defeat Sin safely.
In later games, she goes on another journey to find Tidus after a vision shows his soul trapped, which later turns out to not be him.
WAKKA
This Wakka cosplay by Shinrajunkie Cosplay won an award for best costume, and it’s easy to see why. It’s almost as if the Final Fantasy X character jumped out of the game and into real life. Wakka, like Tidus, is a blitzball player in the game, who helps the heroes on their journey.
Having lost his brother to the evil Sin, he forms a bond with Tidus, and similarly serves as a guardian to Yuna. However, he’s a devotee of Yevon who, unbeknownst to him, is the actual enemy and the creator of Sin. This creates conflict for him. In doing his cosplay, Shinrajunkie stuck pretty closely to the character, bringing him to life in a realistic way.
AURON, PART 2
Another take on Auron is from Exerbrang Works, with a wig by Lirin Cosplay and photography by Nekosandra Cosplay. At the height of FFX's popularity, Squaresoft discussed the possibility of creating a prequel to Final Fantasy X. The game was meant to follow the exploits of Jecht and Auron, but the idea was eventually scrapped.
According to Exerbrang’s website, he enjoys making costumes and props for his cosplayer friends from his home in Spain.
He is also a member of the International Cosplay League. On their website, the International Cosplay League (ICL for short) states that it “is a new European cosplay contest with finals at the Japan Weekend in sunny metropolis Madrid.” We can't wait to see more of Exerbrang's work!
THE VIERA
This is a take on the Viera by regular cosplayer Anime Indian. According to his bio, John enjoys making YouTube cosplay videos. His take on the Viera costume is fairly detailed, and a unique choice as most cosplayers choose specific character costumes from the game.
According to Wikipedia, the Viera in Final Fantasy “are a rabbit-like race that can live three times as long as a Hume, and divided into two subraces: The light-skinned Veena and dark-skinned Rava. The Viera have rabbit or deer-like features, most notably their long ears. Their feet are shaped in such a way that, in order to stand, they must wear high heels. Their slender forms heighten their senses and speed, and although their defense is low, Viera agility and finesse are unmatched by the other races.”
LULU
This is a Final Fantasy X cosplay of Lulu by Yuriko Tiger, with photography by Teodora Cosplay. Yuriko Tiger is a cosplayer, model, actress, and musician.
Yuriko Tiger has previously worked with video game giant Bandai Namco, and also has a J-Pop group.
According to Wikipedia, Lulu “is a 22-year-old black magic user and an older sister figure to Yuna, whom she grew up with alongside Wakka and Chappu on Besaid Island. Before becoming one of Yuna's guardians, she had previously accompanied two other summoners as their guardians. While she is often stern and scathing (particularly to Wakka), she is nonetheless caring toward others. Wakka and Lulu fall in love and marry six months after the event of Final Fantasy X.”
JECHT
Final Fantasy X’s Jecht by Junkers Cosplay (aka Jfamily Cosplay) is fantastic and highly detailed. According to his bio, Junkers (Johnny) is a Navy veteran as well as an engineer and propmaker. He has created promotional costumes for Bioware’s Mass Effect 2, Riot Games, Rooster Teeth, and KOG Studio.
Jecht is another of the many characters in Final Fantasy X and, according to Wikipedia, “Jecht was taken to Spira by Sin, and was thought to be passed away in Zanarkand. In Spira, Jecht joined Auron as one of Braska's guardians to defeat Sin. Having lost hope of returning home, Jecht gave his life to become Braska's Final Aeon, which temporarily defeated Sin. Beforehand, he requests that Auron take care of his son, Tidus..."
BARRETT WALLACE
This detailed Final Fantasy VII cosplay of Barrett Wallace is uncanny in resemblance. This cosplayer displays Barrett with his usual dissatisfied demeanor, gun-arm in full-view.
There is tremendous detail to it, as usual cosplayers do not go into such detail to highlight Barrett's outfit.
According to the Final Fantasy Wiki, Barrett “is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII, and a recurring character in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. He leads the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, trying to prevent Shinra Electric Power Company from using Mako, the planet of Gaia's life source, as a form of energy."
Considering Barrett's attitude, this cosplay really shows off his presence and cool demeanor.
Cosplay Model: Michael Mirrorcle
Cosplay Designer: Purrito Productions
Photographer: Eddie Shiraz Farouk
PAINE
This Final Fantasy X-2 cosplay of Paine is by Undercover Envy, with photography by Jasemine Denise. Undercover Envy and Jasemine Denise are both cosplayers. Undercover Envy has been cosplaying for about six years, while Jasemine Denise is a photographer as well as a cosplayer, with features in HuffPost and Essence.
The Final Fantasy X-2 character Paine is mysterious, and initially not much is known about her except for her sarcasm and relentlessness in battle. It’s eventually revealed that she belongs to an elite fighting group and is actually one of the last of her group. For Paine, the quest is about finding a reason behind the loss of the group she belonged to, which is different from the first game's goal of protecting Yuna.
RIKKU
This is a Rikku Final Fantasy X cosplay by Ayumi Nini. She has been a cosplayer for a number of years, as well as a singer and dancer, winning awards from AnimeNext and MangaNEXT. Her Final Fantasy X cosplay for Rikku sticks close to the character description.
Like other characters in the Final Fantasy franchise, Rikku appears in multiple editions of the game.
She starts out as a 15 year-old guardian to Yuna. She wears multiple outfits throughout the various games, sometime appearing in a fairy-like form. Initially, her character doesn’t have much involvement with the story, but in a later game she is the one who convinces Yuna to go on a journey to save Tidus’s trapped spirit.
TIDUS
This Tidus Final Fantasy X cosplay by an unknown cosplayer is so good it almost looks like a live-action mixed with CGI version of the game. Tidus’ storyline started in Final Fantasy X, when he found himself transported to Zanarkand during a Blitzball game. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that his world isn’t real.
In being transported to another world by the evil Sin, he discovers that his world was destroyed and replaced by a dream world - sll of the inhabitants, including himself, will cease to exist once Sin is defeated. Due to the destruction Sin causes, the evil being has to be destroyed. Despite knowing this, Tidus joins his new friends in their quest to rid their world of Sin. He eventually develops a romantic relationship with Yuna.
NINE
Featured here is Final Fantasy Type-0 character Nine. Final Fantasy Type-0 is a spinoff from the main series of numbered titles, which sets the player in a school. The setting is the same as Final Fantasy XIII, as they are within the same universe, but the characters do not meet at any point.
Nine is an ally to the game's main character Ace, who is on a quest to defeat the Fal'Cie controlling their army.
This cosplayer may not be that well-known, but his skills are impressive. As a character wielding a spear, Nine requires a lot of detail in regards to his weapon, as well as his armor. The school uniform is perfectly depicted by this cosplayer's skill.
ANIMA
This Anima cosplay is pretty true to form, though on a smaller scale. Anima is one of the Aeons Yuna is able to summon to help in her quest. Considering he is a mythical beast, he obviously is much larger and fearsome, but the detail this cosplay displays is beyond belief. Down to the two sets of arms, wings, and chains, Anima has really been brought to life.
The Final Fantasy wiki states that "The symbol for Anima and Baaj is annotated with the kanji for darkness. It appears in the middle of Anima's seal that also blocks the player's path to the Baaj Chamber of the Fayth until they meet all the prerequisites for unlocking it.” Even if Anima is a lot of trouble to unlock, he is well worth it.
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Which Final Fantasy cosplay did the best job? Let us know in the comments!