We asked you all to send in your Final Fantasy cosplay, and you sure did.
We here at The Escapist have noticed that whenever we do cosplay galleries from the conventions we attend, you guys really enjoy them. So, given that our issue this week is all about the JRPG, we thought we’d ask our readers to send in their outfits of costumes from the most widely known JRPG long-running series out there.
And you certainly did. Seen here are a bunch of the pictures you all sent in, as well as some of the pictures we’ve snapped ourselves at shows like TGS 2010 and PAX 2010.
Enjoy, and thanks to everyone who sent the pictures in!
(Notice: While most of them are perfectly reasonable in size, some of these pictures are very large, and may take a while to load.)
Isadora, a German cosplayer who has been making and wearing costumes for five years, and her boyfriend pose here as Lulu and Auron from Final Fantasy X. “I probably spent more than 60 hours on each costume,” she notes, and the photographs were taken by Katharina Mayer.
“This is my first cosplay ever!” writes Veronica, seen here as Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII. The entire costume was hand-sewn and – including preparation and gathering – took 50-60 hours to make. “I dyed the fabric myself and everything except for the camisole was either sewn from scratch or modified (the zipper biker shorts).”
The toughest part? Getting the duster sewn together correctly and hemmed. She credits Regina Mcleod with makeup.
Ger T – as classic Final Fantasy summon Shiva – poses here with Final Fantasy X summoner Yuna.
A better shot of Shiva (Final Fantasy X version) from the previous page. “I spent 6 hours getting into makeup for this one,” writes Ger T. “[The] entire costume is completely handmade, down to the bikini and the ‘shoes.’ The wig weighed 10 pounds.”
Final Fantasy XIII‘s Sazh, Hope and Vanille made a splash on the Tokyo Game Show floor.
This Chemist from Final Fantasy Tactics was ready to brew TGS ’10 up a mana potion. Those things will give you cancer.
Yusette sent in this outfit of Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII.
As seen at TGS ’10, Final Fantasy VII‘s Aeris seems quite alive and well.
Kekali sends in this picture of her dressed as Lenna from the “very much underrated Final Fantasy V.”
TheMiniArkana tells The Escapist she spent five months working on this costume of Nero the Sable from Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. Photo by Alinthea.
Final Fantasy VII‘s Tifa Lockhart may be “probably one of the more popular Final Fantasy cosplays out there,” Ger T (previously seen as Shiva) told The Escapist, but who says that means she can’t take a shot at it herself?
Yusette‘s Rinoa returns with a Squall Leonhart, both from Final Fantasy VIII.
“A group of seven of us decided to cosplay for the midnight launch of Final Fantasy XIII,” Griffin Burke writes to The Escapist. The characters, however, were all from Final Fantasy VII. The Buster Sword held by Zack is made from actual metal, while the guns wielded by Rufus and Cloud were Nerf guns painted brown.
Tiana strikes a pose as Final Fantasy XII‘s sky pirate Balthier.
We snapped this picture of Final Fantasy X-2‘s Yuna and Final Fantasy IV‘s Rydia at PAX 2010.
Though older Final Fantasy games aren’t cosplayed as often as the new ones, Ger T dressed as Shadow from Final Fantasy VI – her “favorite game of all time.” Shadow was worn for a FFVI group shoot at Otakon 2009 – seen here.
Shadow’s helmet and armored belt were handmade over two months, as were the scarves – which took almost an hour to properly tie when putting the costume on.
Elizabeth Dedman (as Red Mage) and her friends were proud to rock old school Final Fantasy 1 in this group shot from Ohaycon 2009. Sadly, the group could not get a Black Belt.
Tidus and Yuna from Final Fantasy X were happy to get close for the camera at TGS ’10.
We don’t know who that is standing beside Final Fantasy XIII‘s Lightning is at TGS ’10, but it’s a safe bet they’re also from a JRPG.
Final Fantasy X‘s Lulu was ready to wreak havoc upon TGS ’10 with her black magic and a stuffed Moogle.
Yusette‘s Aeris is about to get an unpleasant surprise courtesy of Sephiroth.
Tohru Mizuno sent in her costume of Final Fantasy VIII instructor Quistis Trepe. How was it made? “The ribbing on the fabric was achieved by sewing small in-seams onto the fabric before cutting it. Sleeves and trousers are made out of pleater, the skirt and vest are made of polycotton.”
Final Fantasy X‘s Auron was spotted wandering the Tokyo Game Show. He must have been there for the sake.
This classic Black Mage from Final Fantasy was seen at Animania in Sydney this past September. The photograph was taken by a friend.
Anime reviewer KValentine threw together a suit and long-haired wig to become Tseng of the Turks from Final Fantasy VII at Fanime 2009 in San Jose – in order to push around a friend’s Rufus as the character’s lackey.
Taryn climbs trees as Final Fantasy XIII‘s Lightning. Photo taken by ShadowRyuu13.
Marta, aka MissYunie, wore this cosplay of Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children at London MCM Expo May 2009.
“The costume was made by me using faux leather,” she writes. “I used a pants sewing pattern that I altered into shorts as everything else was created from scratch. The boots were painted using acrylic ink.”
Oh, like you really thought we’d do a Final Fantasy cosplay gallery without a Moogle.
“It’s more comfortable to wear than it looks,” writes Lizzie who wore the suit at Ayacon ’09 in the UK, “though it’s got a very restricted field of vision so I do walk into alot of stuff.” Carving polystyrene is “a lot harder than you’d think,” she writes, meaning that the head was the hardest part of the outfit – but she had some help with a friend who designs costumes for the stage.