Elena (Final Fantasy VII)



Elena (イリーナ) is a female member of the Turks in Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. She is a young woman with short blonde hair and brown eyes. A new member to the organization, she is still inexperienced and clumsy but takes her job very seriously compared to Reno and Rude. She also has a crush on Tseng.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Elena was a high school student whose father was a teacher in the Shinra Military Academy. Furthermore, her older sister was a member of the Turks. She resented her sister for outperforming her, and vowed she would never join the Turks as long as her sister was a member. Elena worked as a bartender in Wall Market in her high school years, and trained at the Military Academy. At first, she followed in her sister's footsteps and trained with firearms; however, she eventually dropped the weapon classes as a way of removing herself from her sister, and began practicing martial arts instead. She achieved five "Elite Emblems" at the Shinra Military Academy, emblems only given to students who hold the highest scores for their exams, obtaining the most Elite Emblems in the school and solidifying her status as a prodigy.

Despite her clumsy nature, she is highly skilled with both weapons and martial arts. When Elena observes three Ravens dispose of SOLDIER members and steal their uniforms she considers telling the Turks, but instead takes on the responsibility herself, following them until she lost track. She was later kidnapped for being a witness and was eventually held hostage on a train. Elena dropped one of her Elite Emblems on the train, alerting the infiltrating player Turk that she was on board. Elena tasked herself with attacking a Raven as the player arrived, but the player Turk traded the Support Materia for Elena. After being saved, Elena vowed to become a Turk and surpass her sister. Afterward, the player Turk used Elena's private training area as a hideout from AVALANCHE for a short time.

Final Fantasy VII
Elena is the newest recruit, being appointed to the Turks after Reno sustained injuries battling AVALANCHE in Midgar. She introduces herself to the party in the Mythril Mine, where she accidentally slips and reveals their orders. She and Tseng explore the Temple of the Ancients before Tseng is attacked by Sephiroth when Elena leaves - she later blames the attack on Cloud. As part of a subquest, she and Yuffie are kidnapped by Don Corneo, and Reno and Rude work together with the player party to save them. Elena, Reno and Rude confront the party for a final battle in the Midgar subway, but it is possible to talk them out of fighting, if the party completed the subquest in Wutai. This is Elena's final appearance in the game.

Advent Children/Advent Children Complete
Elena appears briefly in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, wherein she is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi in Japanese and Bettina Bush in English. Her role is much less prominent than that of her partners', Reno and Rude. She spends most of the movie off-camera recovering from being tortured by Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo after retrieving Jenova's head from the Northern Crater. Later on, she and Tseng show up just in time to save Rufus from falling to his death after he launches himself off a building edge in an effort to destroy Jenova's head. Near the movie's end, Elena is seen with her comrades as Rufus' Geostigma is cured.

In the newly released Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Elena has a slightly bigger role in assisting Tseng with saving Rufus from falling off the abandoned building and assisting the other Turks with Cloud fighting Yazoo and Loz on the highway. Elena tosses a ladder down to Reno and Rude during the chase after Yazoo destroys their helicopter and has them board the one she is on with Tseng. Elena appears with a small band-aid on her right cheek and her left hand wrapped up from the injuries sustained from the hands of Kadaj and his gang.

Battle
As a member of the Turks, Elena fights along with her partners, Reno and Rude.

Etymology
"Elena" is a Greek name meaning "Light". It is also a form of the name Helen, with the same meaning.

Trivia

 * Mistranslated as Elena, her name originally should be Yrena as depicted in few official data books releases, such as Official Establishment File which include names romanization.
 * In Final Fantasy IX, there is a girl in Lindblum named Elena.
 * In the beginning of the second trailer, and one of the newly done scenes for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, the view of a bloody Tseng and Kadaj's gang firing at them is from Elena's point of view.
 * Elena's Japanese voice actor, Megumi Toyoguchi, also voiced Elena's older sister in Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, Paine from Final Fantasy X-2, and Aqua from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.