Red XIII

Red XIII, real name Nanaki, is a red lion-like beast that serves as one of the playable characters in 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 and is very wise. He fights alongside Cloud and his allies to fulfil his duty to the planet to defend it as a warrior.

Appearance
Red XIII is a quadrupedal animal with thick dark red and orange fur with a thin brown mane extending partway down his back. His right eye has a scar running through it, and the remaining eye is yellow-brown. He is otherwise adorned with a variety of beads, earrings and feathers around his head, with golden bands and tattoos on his legs. One of these tattoos is the brand "XIII", hence his codename. He also has a flaming tail.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Red XIII's appearance is that it is never stated exactly what he is. It is known that his species is very long lived, and he had two parents who perished, and he is one of the last of his kind. He appears to be a feline, somewhat similar to a lion, and official sources refer to him as a feline. Reno even states in Before Crisis that Red XIII "looks like a lion", however, his appearance and tail movements along with his howling and lunar relation appear to be dog like. He is never specifically called one or another. The mystery of Red XIII's species has thus far been unanswered.

Character
Red XIII has the dubious distinction of being the least featured of the playable cast of Final Fantasy VII in other media, so at times his character can be difficult to discern. What is certain is that he has a strong sense of honor and courage, especially regarding his father, who he believed was a coward who abandoned his tribe. He is polite, curious and observant, with something of a distaste for humans which may stem from Shinra's treatment of him, hence his claim that he "doesn't like two-legged things". He is also highly intelligent as should be indicated by his ability to speak properly, and he knows much about the planet due to his being raised at Cosmo Canyon. However, he can still be very feral and bestial when called upon.

Birth
Red XIII was born in Cosmo Canyon to an unnamed mother and his father Seto. At an unspecified time, Seto ran off, and Red XIII assumed he had fled in the face of an impending invasion by the Gi Tribe. In reality, Seto sacrificed himself to stop a sneak attack from the Gi through the tunnels under Cosmo Canyon. When his mother died, Red XIII was cared for by the elder of Cosmo Canyon Bugenhagen. He even comes to call him "Grandfather", although obviously not in a literal sense.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Several years before the events of Final Fantasy VII, Red XIII takes part in a ritual to appease the planet held once every 50 years, but is reluctant as he does not consider himself a warrior. Another member of his tribe, Deneh, is to be his companion for the ritual, and she accuses him of being a coward. When the Turks arrive to capture one of them as a specimen for Professor Hojo, Red XIII attacks them to save Deneh and prove himself a guardian of the canyon. However, he is defeated, but the Turks allowed him to finish the ritual to appease the planet before taking him back to Midgar.

Final Fantasy VII
Red XIII joins Cloud's group after being rescued from the Shinra HQ. They encounter him right as an experiment involving he and Aeris is taking place, in which Hojo is trying to coerce them to mate in order to "preserve" their species (Aeris being half-Cetra), and provide him with new specimens to be used in his experiments. During his captivity, Hojo places a tattoo of the Roman numeral XIII on his left front leg as Hojo plans to later turn him into another Sephiroth Clone. After being freed by the group, Red XIII remarks that the name was a designation given to him by Hojo, and has no consequence to him so they could call him what they wished. After escaping from Midgar, he also says to the party he would only stay with them until they reach Cosmo Canyon.

Before returning to Cosmo Canyon, Red XIII tries to evade all the comments of his past. After arriving there and meeting with Bugenhagen, it is revealed that Red XIII's true name is "Nanaki", and despite being 40 years in age, he is really only about 16 in human years. After Bugenhagen hears Red XIII's remarks towards his own father, whom he believes is a coward, Bugenhagen invites him and the party to enter a sealed cavern within Cosmo Canyon. As Cloud's party travels through the cavern, Bugenhagen explains it is haunted by the ghosts of the Gi Tribe, a faction of tribal warriors who laid siege to Cosmo Canyon, and that their anger prevents their souls from assimilating into the Lifestream. Once they reach the end of the cavern, the party encounters a very powerful spirit which has dwelled there for some time with intense hatred and fight a tough battle against it. After it is defeated, a back entrance to Cosmo Canyon is made accessible. Here, Bugenhagen explains that the Gi Tribe greatly outnumbered the forces of Cosmo Canyon and had tried to enter through this back pathway.

On a ledge overlooking the entrance to the cave, Red XIII discovers his father Seto, alone, stood his ground and fought the Gi. After victory, though, the poisoned arrows of the Gi Tribe took their toll on Seto and turned his body to stone, which still stood there protecting the canyon. Absolved of his shame for his father, Red XIII vows to become a great warrior like his father, and howls at the moon while Seto's petrified remains shed tears.

Later in the game, Bugenhagen joins the party to visit the Forgotten Capital and unveils to them the nature of Holy. After returning to Cosmo Canyon and the defeat of the Diamond Weapon, he falls into a serious illness. Red XIII runs to him, and the party stays back to leave them alone. Bugenhagen tells Nanaki that there is so much more to life than that which is within Cosmo Canyon and he should survey the world itself and all it's unique facets to gain the true knowledge he mentioned in their last meeting. Bugenhagen then passes away and Nanaki takes up a resolve to protect the planet, and the things that make it up as that was what constitutes his knowledge and concept of life itself. After the game's credits roll, a scene is shown 500 years after the ending of Final Fantasy VII. An older Nanaki is shown with two young pups, implying he mated with Deneh or another female of his species, or a human as implied possable via Hojo's inital experiment with Nanaki and Aerith, and they dash through a canyon and climb up to the crest of a cliff. There, all three stand and look down at the remains of Midgar, which is now covered heavily in moss and overgrown with trees. A flock of birds fly by above, but it is unknown if human life still exists. However, after the scene fades to black, the sound of distant laughter can be heard. What this laughter is is left up to the player to decide.

Novellas
In On the Way to a Smile, Red XIII was mentioned in "Case of Barret", where Cid Highwind mentioned he got visits from him often. Three new novellas are planned to be released with Advent Children Complete, one of which is titled "Case of Red XIII", which will focus on him.

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 two years after Final Fantasy VII. When Edge was under attack by Bahamut SIN, he hastens there with Cait Sith on his back. He appears later in the film, aboard the Shera and once more in Aerith's church. He is only given one line in the entire film, commenting on how some children still have Geostigma.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
Although there is a scene where the whole cast is gathered at Midgar, Red XIII is not present, although he does appear during the ending with Shelke.

Equipment and Stats
Like Cloud, Red XIII is a well-rounded attacker who uses hairclips to enhance his fighting abilities. His hairpins all have decent power and many boost his magic power. His ultimate weapon, the Limited Moon, does more damage the more MP he has. This makes Red XIII a good choice for the "HP <-> MP" Materia, which swaps his HP and MP, allowing him to easily get several thousand MP and do 9999 damage per hit. Another weapon of note is the Seraph Comb, obtained after the Cave of the Gi. With 68 battle power, it is the strongest weapon in the game up until that point, and most other characters do not acquire weapons of equal power until the Temple of the Ancients and after.

Limit Breaks

 * See videos of the various Breaks here

Red XIII's lower-level Limit Breaks involve him increasing his stats, particularly through the use of Haste, which boosts his speed. His later Limit Breaks hit multiple enemies, and his ultimate Limit Break, Cosmo Memory, hits all enemies for 8x damage, allowing it to easily do 9999 damage at a relatively low level.

Battle
Nanaki is fought as a Boss in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. First in Chapter 18, then in the Training Mode.

Trivia

 * In the fighting game Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring, a game with playable characters from Final Fantasy VII, the second-to-last boss, Django, bears a striking resemblance to Red XIII in his alternate "outfit". He even employs attacks which are references to Red XIII and his father's names; Seto Punch, Seto Low Punch, Seto Combination, Nanaki Kick, and Nanaki Combination.  Two of his attacks are named after Red XIII's Limit Breaks:  Sled Fang and Blood Fang.
 * Of all the player characters of Final Fantasy VII, 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 is the only quadrupedal playable character in the main Final Fantasy series.
 * Red XIII makes a small cameo in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a tutor from the in-game manuals.

Red XIII