Thanks to Scott Baird of ScreentRants.com for the inspiration!

15. GENESIS

The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was a multimedia franchise made up of video games, movies, and books. It was intended to expand the universe of Final Fantasy VII and tell other stories within the game’s world.

By far the worst thing to come out of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is a character named Genesis Rhapsodos. He is a former member of SOLDIER who was friends with Sephiroth and Zack Fair. It is revealed throughout the Compilation that Genesis was the secret architect behind many of the events in Final Fantasy VII, despite the fact he is never mentioned in the game.

Genesis is a total Mary Sue character. His appearance is based on a Japanese rock star named Gackt, whom game designer Tetsuya Nomura is a big fan of. This is why Genesis is the most important character in the Final Fantasy VII world and was even brought back to life by God because he is just that great.

The Final Fantasy VII remake needs to scour this awful character from the series for good.

Ah, yes. Genesis, also known as Gackt – the J-Rocker himself. Nomura probably cites Gackt as the inspiration for many of his designs. Everyone looks like Gackt.

Not sure if Genesis is the “worst thing” to come out of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. However, I agree he’s definitely a non-essential character. In fact, he feels completely tacked on to give Gackt his own character.

But he’s not a “Mary Sue”. True Mary Sue characters are “idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character”. Genesis has a lot of character flaws, such as being “a deserter, arrogant and prideful”. Genesis is more so an imperfect person who happens to be a villain. For a true Mary Sue, try Zack Fair (who was not friends with Genesis).

Yet, cutting Genesis from the Final Fantasy VII remake is best from a narrative perspective. It’s not that he’s a bad character. It’s because he won’t have anything to do. The original Final Fantasy VII had no mention of Genesis. The party, Sephiroth, the Turks, Shinra, no one ever talks about Genesis. So then, how will we run into him? On our way back to Midgar? Genesis doesn’t tie in well with the original.

What of Weiss and Nero, two SOLDIER members who brought Genesis to Deepground and became the major antagonists of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII?

Genesis was brought to Deepground and the two SOLDIER members, Weiss and Nero, attempted to persuade him to join in their rebellion against the Restrictors, current leaders of Deepground. Genesis declined and sealed himself in a flooded cavern beneath Midgar awaiting the day he would be needed to protect the world in Sephiroth and Angeal’s stead. Vincent discovers that, according to Shinra executive Scarlet‘s private files, the Tsviets were spliced with Genesis’s cells and subjected to various experiments to see how they reacted.

Will this involve Deepground? Will there be an overarching subplot involving these guys and the member of the Tsviets that essentially retcon a retcon?

Even a DLC spin-off would be problematic. Genesis’ inclusion would involve an arc in a subplot of a spinoff. New material after Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII would include a new threat to the planet. Genesis’ presence is way too messy and will complicate the Final Fantasy VII remake beyond its intended nostalgia factor.