If you’ve ever seen a guy in a tattered red cloak holding a three-barreled golden gun and thought, "That looks cool," you’ve met Vincent Valentine. But most people who loved the original 1997 classic or the shiny new Remake trilogy have a weird relationship with his solo outing. Honestly, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is the black sheep of the family. It’s the one game Square Enix made back in 2006 that tried to turn a beloved RPG world into a fast-paced shooter.
It was a big risk. Some say it failed. Others, mostly the ones who spent hours customizing gun barrels in the basement of Shinra Mansion, think it’s a misunderstood gem.
What Really Happened in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII?
The story picks up three years after the original game. Cloud has already saved the world from Meteor. Sephiroth is "gone" (mostly). You’d think everyone would be relaxing, but no. A group called Deepground crawls out from under Midgar. These aren't your average Shinra grunts. They were part of a secret experiment buried so deep that even the main cast didn't know they existed.
Basically, they’re looking for a creature called Omega. In the lore of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Omega is basically the Planet’s "lifeboat." If the world is about to die, Omega gathers all the Lifestream and flies off into space to find a new home.
The problem? Deepground wants to force this to happen early.
Vincent gets pulled into the mess because he has something called the Protomateria stuck in his chest. It’s the only thing that lets him control the "Chaos" gene—which is basically a demonic power-up—without losing his mind. You spend most of the game running through ruins, shooting super-soldiers, and dealing with Vincent’s massive guilt over a woman named Lucrecia.
Why the Gameplay Felt So Weird
Square Enix wasn't exactly known for shooters in 2006. You play as Vincent in the third person. You can jump, double jump, and melee, but the heart of the game is the Cerberus pistol. You can swap out barrels, scopes, and power units.
- Short Barrels: Good for moving fast.
- Long Barrels: For sniping.
- Materia Floppies: These let you shoot magic out of your gun.
The controls were janky. If you play it today on a PS2, it feels stiff. The camera moves like it’s stuck in mud unless you tweak the settings. But there’s a weird charm to it. Seeing Vincent do a backflip while firing into a crowd of soldiers is peak mid-2000s "edgy" cool.
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The Deepground Problem
Deepground is led by a group called the Tsviets. They’re color-coded villains because... well, it’s a Japanese action game from 2006. You’ve got:
- Weiss the Immaculate: The leader who is literally sitting on a throne for 90% of the game.
- Nero the Sable: His brother, who uses darkness powers and has wings made of hands.
- Rosso the Crimson: A fast, aggressive fighter who hates humans.
- Shelke the Transparent: A girl who doesn't age and can "dive" into data networks.
Shelke is actually the most interesting part of the story. She starts as a villain but ends up becoming Vincent’s main ally. She has to use Lucrecia’s memories to help him understand his own past. It’s heavy stuff for a game where you also fight a giant robot dragon.
Does It Still Matter in 2026?
You might think a 20-year-old PS2 game is irrelevant. You’d be wrong.
If you played Final Fantasy VII Remake or Rebirth, you probably noticed some familiar faces. Nero and Weiss showed up in the Intermission DLC. The Remake trilogy is pulling heavily from Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII lore. They’re taking the "secret underground lab" ideas and making them much more grounded.
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The game sold about 1.5 million copies. That’s not huge by Final Fantasy standards, but it’s enough that Square hasn't forgotten it. There is constant talk about a "Reunion" style remaster, similar to what happened with Crisis Core.
What People Get Wrong About Vincent
A lot of fans think Vincent is just a "vampire." He’s not. He’s a former Turk who was experimented on by Professor Hojo. He doesn't drink blood; he just doesn't age because of the Chaos gene and the Galian Beast inside him. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is the only place where you see him actually process the trauma of being turned into a monster.
It’s a story about a guy who spent decades sleeping in a coffin because he thought his "sins" were too heavy to face. By the end of the game, he’s finally standing in the sunlight. It’s a bit cheesy, sure, but it’s the closure the character needed.
Should You Actually Play It?
Honestly? It depends on your patience.
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If you want the story, watching the cutscenes on YouTube is a valid move. The cinematics were directed by the same team that did Advent Children, so they still look surprisingly decent. However, if you love the "Compilation of FFVII" and want to see every bit of lore yourself, grab a copy. Just be prepared for the level design. It’s mostly grey corridors and flat warehouses.
The music is fantastic, though. Gackt, the Japanese rock star, provided the theme songs ("Redemption" and "Longing"), and he even has a live-action cameo in the secret ending.
Actionable Insights for Fans
- Check the Remake Connections: Watch the Intermission boss fight with Weiss. It contextually changes how you see the Deepground threat.
- Look for the Secret Ending: If you do play the game, you have to collect "G Reports." If you get them all, you see a scene with Genesis (from Crisis Core) picking up Weiss’s body. This is a massive cliffhanger that still hasn't been fully resolved.
- Customization is Key: If you play, don't ignore the weight of your weapon. Adding a heavy barrel makes Vincent move like a tank, which will get you killed in boss fights.
The legacy of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII isn't its gameplay. It’s the way it expanded a world we all thought we already knew. It proved that Midgar had even darker secrets than Shinra’s boardroom, and it gave one of gaming’s coolest-looking characters a chance to finally be the hero.
Move past the janky controls and you’ll find a story that's essential for anyone trying to piece together the full Final Fantasy VII timeline before the third part of the Remake trilogy drops.