Red XIII

"Just as his name implies, he is an animal with fire-red fur. But under his fierce exterior is an intelligence surpassing that of any human's..."

Red XIII (real name Nanaki) is a red lion- or wolf-like beast with a fiery tail from Final Fantasy VII. Red XIII was the name he received while being a specimen "owned" by Professor Hojo. Even though he is 48 in human years, he is around 15 to 16 years old by his own species' standards. He has a vast intelligence and a big heart.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Before being captured by the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company, he resided in Cosmo Canyon. Together with Dinne, another member of his species, he was to perform the rite to appease the Planet. However, he was hesitant due to an indescribable uneasiness. Just then, he witnessed Dinne being chased by suspicious people. When she was on the verge of crisis, he realized the true nature of the thoughts he held within himself and in order to protect her, he took a step forward as a warrior of the valley. He fights against the main playable characters as a boss in episode 18 and later in the Training Mode.

Final Fantasy VII
Red XIII joins with Cloud after being rescued from the Shin-Ra Building, right before a horrible experiment with him and Aeris, in which it is implied that Hojo planned on forcing the two of them to mate. During his captivity, he received a tattoo of the number 13 on his left front leg. After the escape from Midgar, he says to the party he will only stay with them until they reach Cosmo Canyon.

Until the return to Cosmo Canyon, Red XIII tried to evade all the comments of his past. The party is in need of advice on how to save the planet from the coming disaster, so they seek out some help from Bugenhagen. At the meeting with Bugenhagen, it is revealed that Bugenhagen is Red XIII's grandfather (this is a translation error, and would more fittingly be 'elder'), and a small part of his past is revealed. When the Gi Tribe attacked his hometown, Seto, father of Nanaki (Red XIII's real name) rushed off to a lava-filled cave which was the back entrance to Cosmo Canyon, fighting alone against the whole Gi Tribe and ultimately sacrificing his life to save everyone. Nanaki, however, was lead to believe that his father was a coward who simply ran away.



Cloud's party travels through the fiery cavern, which is haunted by the ghosts of the Gi Tribe. Bugenhagen stops them every once in a while to speak about Seto and the Gi invasion briefly. At the end of the cavern, the Gi Boss awaits the party. After the Gi Boss is defeated Bugenhagen shows Red XIII his father encased in stone from the poisoned arrows of the Gi Tribe. Red XIII is commanded by his 'grandfather' Bugenhagen to follow Cloud and his friends on their mission to save the planet. Nanaki agrees, and decides to return to Cosmo Canyon a hero and live up to his father's reputation.

In an FMV later on, Seto's tears fall down and Nanaki howls as the screen fades out. He receives the Seraph Comb weapon.

In the FMV after the game's credits, 500 years after the ending, Red XIII is shown, with some red pups, running around the fields of Midgar, now covered in moss and greenery, hinting that he found another of his race.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
The film opens 500 years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, with Red XIII roaring atop the hill that overlooks the former Midgar, then moves back to 2 years after Final Fantasy VII. When Edge was under attack by Bahamut SIN, he hastened there with Cait Sith on his back. He appears later in the film, aboard the Sherra and once more in Aeris' church. He is only given one line in the entire film, commenting how some children still have the stigma.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
Although there is a scene where whole cast gather at Midgar, Red XIII is not present. He does appear at the end with Shelke though.

Limit Breaks

 * See videos of the various Breaks here

Trivia

 * The Ultimania guide for Final Fantasy VII lists Red XIII as a Sephiroth Clone, the thirteenth of them which coincides with his tattoo. However, Red is described as being apprehended by Shin-Ra after Sephiroth's apparent death and well after the Sephiroth Clones were created. Furthermore, Hojo expressed the desire to help Red XIII's species survive, which would never have happened if Red XIII was a Sephiroth Clone and thus intended to die. Perhaps Red XIII was originally planned to be a Sephiroth Clone, but the plan was scrapped when his unique genetic value was discovered.


 * Of all the original AVALANCHE members, Red XIII recieves the least screen time in Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus. This is because his fur makes him extremely difficult and costly to animate.

Red XIII