Officially titled Shinra’s Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department, the Turks stand out as some ofFinal Fantasy VII’s most memorable villains. Although President Shinra doesn’t inspire much loyalty in his subordinates, Rufus gaining control of the family company ends up lighting a fire under the Turks that see them getting in the party’s way time and time again.
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While the Compilation ofFinal Fantasy VIIwould add more Turks into the picture (with the majority debuting inBefore Crisis,) the originalFFVIIonly featured five Turks in the game– one of which only a former-Turk and the other absent from the story after Disc 1. Experts in combat, espionage, and even light kidnapping,Final Fantasy VII’s original Turks are not to be trifled with.
5Elena
The newest member of the Turks inFinal Fantasy VII, Elena is promoted to the organization after the party severely injures Reno during their last battle in Midgar. Elena first appears alongside Tseng and immediately asserts herself as more incompetent than anything. Her inexperience as a Turk shows, and she ends up giving away vital information to the party.
Elena’s lack of experience quickly becomes her defining character trait as all of her appearances result in her in misery. She’s kidnapped alongside Yuffie in Wutai, and Cloud can dodge her punch in Icicle Inn, sending her tumbling. All the same, Elena is still a Turk, and when push comes to shove, she does put up a fight.
Unlike Reno and Rude who are fought multiple times over the course ofFFVII, Elena is only fought at the very end. Not only is her health much higher than either Reno or Rude’s, her attacks consistently do more damage and she offers the most EXP from being defeated. Even inexperienced, Elena proves why she was promoted to a Turk.
4Rude
The Turks’ silent enforcer, Rude’s favorite thing to say in the original game was “…” This doesn’t mean he was a flat character, however. While quiet, Rude had his own quirks. Notably, he had a soft spot for Tifa– something thatFinal Fantasy VII Remakehas played up in quite a clever and charming way.
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Rude is introduced after Reno, and while he has higher health, he’s not that much stronger on a gameplay level. Rude’s easy to subdue in all his Turk encounters. In fact, Rude is consistently the least threatening of the Turks whenever he’s fought. Still, Rude is clearly meant to be strong narratively.
After all, it’s Rude who accompanies Reno pretty much everywhere. They’re the Turks’ dynamic duo, which has to stand for something. Humorously, it’s possible to follow Rude in Junon when Cloud is disguised as a Shinra soldier. While the rest of the Turks are killing time at a nice diner, Rude heads into a dive bar. Gotta respect a guy who knows his priorities, right?
3Reno
Reno is fondly remembered as one ofFinal Fantasy VII’s best characters, and for good reason. Not only is his work philosophy something we should all abide by (“A pro isn’t someone who sacrifices himself for the job. That’s just a fool.”), Reno is introduced alongside Aerith, contributing to one ofFFVII’s most iconic set pieces.
Of the Turks, Reno is the most recurring. He’s briefly absent post-Midgar in order for Elena to be introduced, but it doesn’t take too, too long for Reno to come back into the picture. As far as pure stats go, Reno is the weakest (likely on account of being the first Turk fought via gameplay,) but he’s not a pushover in the way Rude can be.
Notably, Reno has access to a nasty Pyramid attack which locks party members. It can be daunting for anyone who goes into Reno & Rude’s dual fight unprepared. Beyond that, he’s mainly just implied to be the strongest of the Turks trio– something bothAdvent ChildrenandFinal Fantasy VII Remakeseem to both recognize after the fact.
2Tseng
The leader of the Turks at the time ofFinal Fantasy VII, Tseng is the only one who isn’t fought in battle. Rather, he’s more a presence that lingers in the foreground during the first disc, having a fairly important connection to Aerith and her arc. Taking into account that the Turks Trio’s stats don’t align with their in-narrative strengths, it’s not a point against Tseng that he isn’t fought.
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Though it’s still interesting to note. As the leader of the Turks, it makes sense Tseng wouldn’t need to fight– commanding his subordinates to do so. At the same time, as the leader, it would only make sense that Tseng was the strongest Turk. All the same, this is a case ofFinal Fantasy VIIprioritizing realism over gameplay conventions. A boss isn’t going to do his own dirty work.
More importantly, Tseng is removed from the story around the same time Aerith is. Stabbed by Sephiroth, Tseng actually ends up surviving. The original English localization suggested in some places he died, but even that translation has Elena confirming his survival. The fact Tseng could sustain a lethal blow from Sephiroth says it all.
1Vincent Valentine
Vincent Valentine is one of two optional characters in the originalFinal Fantasy VIIalongside Yuffie Kisaragi. Vincent can be found in an off-room connected to Shinra Mansion’s basement in Nibelheim. He’s widely considered one of the worst characters in the originalFFVIIgameplay-wise (with fairly low stats across the board,) but the story paints a different picture.
Granted, “story” here is being used rather liberally since everything connected to Vincent’s character was added late into development and ultimately relegated to side content. Vincent’s backstory involved him having been a member of the Turks who was tasked with watching over the Jenova Project. Failing to stop it and losing the love of his life in the process, Vincent exiled himself, Turk no more.
Even with his in-game holdbacks, Vincent is narratively quite powerful. He has some of the worst Limits in the game as far as gameplay goes, but they skyrocket his stats and suggest he’s capable of some ferocious feats. Vincent was a powerhouse long beforeDirge of Cerberus, and he “owes” it all to being a Turk.
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