The materia system in FF7 meant that all characters were potentially equal. There were no mages or attackers, and so your choice of party wasn't really that important. Some stats differed, but it was nothing major.

My main party was Cloud, Barret and Red.
I just liked the characters. Red was noble and honourable, and Barret was tough and comical. He reminded me of MR.T.

What was yours?

I got yelled at for making a thread like this back when I was over at Hybrid. So, for once, I'm going to side with the little guy.

Cloud, Tifa, Vincent.

Always preferred Tifa to Aeris, and at the time I thought Vincent was pretty badass. Embarassing to think I used to think so, but oh well. Things change.

I always thought Vincent was feeble. I never understood why he was so liked.

I think that way now. Hi5.

I like you!

lol, enjoy it while it lasts.

LOL to the above

I actually had Cloud, Barret, Cid or sumtimes i would chuck Yuffie instead cuz shes cool.

I liked their Limits because they would do so much

Cloud, Red and Yuffie for me.

Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII. Sometimes I'd switch out Red for Cid.

cloud, yuffie and tifa.
if i could replace cloud, would replace him with aeris.

I always used Cloud, Tifa, Aerith for some reason. On Disk 2-3 I always used Cloud, Tifa, Vincent.

While true that FFVII didn't have specific job classes, the characters were designed with job traits in mind and with the Materia System you could customize those characters to better suit certain Jobs.

For instance, Vincent was always my Red Mage with a mixture of Healing Spells, Offensive Spells and Protective Spells such as Wall, Barrier, Shield, etc.

As for Cloud he was always the Fighter Class and I didn't overload him in a lot of Materia. He mostly used support/command Materia such as HP+, Added Cut, Weapon Effect, Slash All, Double Cut, Cover, Exp Plus, and Counter.

For Tifa I used her as my Monk class and always lightly equipped her with Materia but I used some such as Counter, Sneak Attack, HP Absorb, Deathblow, Enemy Skill, HP Plus, Pre-emptive, Speed Plus.

Of course these character also had Summon Materia attached as well but my main Summoner/White Mage until a certain point in the game was Aerith. Afterwards, I divided the Summons amongst the party members I regularly used and every character had healing spells of some sort. It would have been suicide if they didn't given how difficult some of the Boss battles were.

1) Cloud, Aerith, Barret

2) Cloud, Tifa, Red XIII

3) Cloud, Tifa, Vincent

They were plot based choices an not at all strategic.

1) Cloud, Aerith, Barret

2) Cloud, Tifa, Red XIII

3) Cloud, Tifa, Vincent

They were plot based choices an not at all strategic.

I forgot about that, lol. I did use Yuffie and Barret at certain points during the game when I had no other choice. They were generally my most under leveled characters along with RedXIII and CaitSith. I did use Cid on occasion because he was actually a fairly powerful character due to some of his Limits.

I wasn't trying to correct you. What I meant was, my choices were all plot based as in:

Vorian: "Oh this is happening? I want these characters to be involved!"

I haven't played Final Fantasy VII in a very long time. It's not easy to get a hold of a PS2 around here.

I never used Caitsith or Cid, though I loved Cid's dialogue.

CaitSith just blows in every way.

CaitSith just blows in every way.

That's a disliking for the character though, surely? As essentially all the characters are the same. Just a set of stats, non?

That's a disliking for the character though, surely? As essentially all the characters are the same. Just a set of stats, non?

Yeah, I hate Cait Sith as well though. I saw it as more of a comic character. I hate all the "comic relief" characters, because I don't find them funny, just really annoying. Like Quina and those jesters in FF9. :notgood: :notgood: :notgood:

I liked Quina because of Frog Drop. That attack kicks so much ass, nothing else matters. Zorn and Thorn, on the other hand, had pretty much nothing redeeming about them.

As for me, it's pretty much Cloud, RedXIII, and somebody else that isn't Yuffie because she's an annoying little bitch who should go fuck herself because nobody's gonna do it for her.

Don't let Agent hear you say that :p

As for me, it's pretty much Cloud, RedXIII, and somebody else that isn't Yuffie because she's an annoying little bitch who should go fuck herself because nobody's gonna do it for her.

Woooow. Calm down lol. Yuffie is a pretty good character after all.

Woooow. Calm down lol. Yuffie is a pretty good character after all.

Disagreeing with me? Communist.

This is 2009, Thief.

She's a TERRORIST, end of story.

Did she steal your money.....

Sounds like you two are ALSO communists.

No, no, no. If someone disagrees with you today, they are a "hater"... obviously...

To quote Soulja Boy, "Y'all jus haterz".
On the note of Soulja boy, why does he speak like a (retarded) Redneck when they are thought to be the most racist people around?

Soulja Boy is obviously a communist. How is this so difficult to understand?

Soulja Boy is a faggot, and he can shove is stupid Soulja Boy dance up his ass.

My trick is to use Cloud, Tifa and Aeris for the first disc and then put Barrett in Aeris's place.

Tifa's limit breaks are godly.

My Team was Cloud Tifa and Yuffie
Second time around Cloud Nanaki and Tifa
Etc...... Cloud Sephiroth and Aeris just for fun.

Why do ppl love Tifa so much??? Personally ive never had her as one of my best.

Its just that her limit drives me insane.

But they do so much damage especially on Disc Two (If you've had her in your paty the whole time)

Yup yup!

But they do so much damage especially on Disc Two (If you've had her in your paty the whole time)

Really? I actually didnt know that. Maybe ill try her next time i play, because her and Vincent are the only ones i havent had in my main party.

Cool Thx for the info.

Vincent just plain out sucks.

Vincent Sucks!?

Personally ive never used him . But i thought he was good cuz ive heard a lot of people use him. So i thought he was some kind of hero.

He isn't as effective in battle as you'd think. And his limit breaks are garbage until the very end levels.

My main save contains: Cloud, Nanaki and Vincent.
My second save contains: Cloud, Yuffie, Cid

I make Cid my kinda tank character. He's jammed with covers, counter attacks and HP plus. Work's well so far.

But they do so much damage especially on Disc Two (If you've had her in your paty the whole time)

lol

I killed everyone else off and took that solo challenge. Cloud. Sometimes Tifa. Maybe Skittles (Red XIII).

I used to like calling Red, "Nanaki", so when you find out his real name the text says, "Nanaki is not my name. Nanaki is my real name." [Or something like that]

Cloud says "Who's Nanaki?"
Weird random guy says "Nanaki is Nanaki"

I used Cloud, Nanaki & Vincent, most of the time. Even when he was completely useless, I still used him. Don't know why.

Cloud says "Who's Nanaki?"
Weird random guy says "Nanaki is Nanaki".

:larf: Yes. Used to do that too Barnezy.

All characters are the same in the end, they even out one way or another.

The best team is, and probly the most used team is...

Cloud, Barret, Cid.

In that order.

Cloud says "Who's Nanaki?"
Weird random guy says "Nanaki is Nanaki"

I used Cloud, Nanaki & Vincent, most of the time. Even when he was completely useless, I still used him. Don't know why.

As a matter of fact, that's actually what he's supposed to say. He doesn't know what you call him, so he's just confused.

1st time I finished the game: Cloud, Cait Sith, Yuffie
2nd: Cloud, Red XIII, Vincent
3rd: Cloud, Vincent, Cid

I've never really levelled up Barrett and Tifa, they'll be in my main team next time I play

Cloud, Aries & Cait Sith. Replaced Aries with Red XIII after she died. Might try Vincent and Tifa since I suck with them.

For my first playthrough on the PSX, besides emoboy, I normally used Aeris and variously Tifa or Barret on disc 1, and occasionally Vincent. In disc 2, when spikeyhead was comatose, it was Cid, Barret and Vincent. Once Cloud came back I basically just stuck with Cloud, Tifa and then randomly alternated between Barret, Vincent and Cid for the third character.

On my new playthrough on the PC version however, I've basically stuck with Cloud, Aeris and Tifa right through the game, except certain sections where Aeris's presence crashes the game, when I replaced her with Barret. (Ah, the magic of a save trainer) ;p

Originally played with Cloud (obviously), Tifa, and Red XIII.

After I got Vincent, I replaced Red XIII with him.

I used Biggs, Wedge and Jessie.

I used Biggs, Wedge and Jessie.

This party sucks ass. You should use Elmyra, Bugenhagen and Zangan.

That party is impossible to attain without cheats.

Cheater!

Its not like you didnt use cheats for your party.

Cheats? Pfft, you're both wrong.

None of those characters either of you have listed are playable in the game, even with cheats, although I have heard of people hacking the PC version and adding original characters into the programing by replacing the character models with new ones, so it is possible in a sense I guess.

But not in the original game are they available.

You DO know they are joking around, right?

You DO know they are joking around, right?

Lets hope so. When I read his post i thought i was being punished.

It's okay guys, I was only being half serious. I knew it was all in jest. ;p

And, incidentally, there is a possibility of playing as those characters in the PC version, by hacking the game's files and replacing the character models with custom ones.

However, to do so is extremely complicated, and the game is liable to crash spectacularly at times. Still, it hasn't stopped people doing all sorts of weird stuff with the game files (the Sephiroth patch, which literally swaps Cloud and Sephiroth around, is probably the most well known example of this).

If you're interested, the forums at www.qhimm.com has an entire community working on character hacks like that.

Anyway, I'm sorry if I seemed like I was having a go at the two of you. I didn't mean my post to come across like that. :)

i managed to get sephiroph n Aeris using an old explorer cartridge for the ps1 problem is old sephiroph acts himself and has vincents limits, both cannot be removed from your party and both freeze the game at dialogue scenes.

LOL Its okay Enkidoh.

BTW thanks for that website. Its very interesting and i should take a good look through it.

Cloud, Tifa and Vincent. But I like to rotate often anyways.

I used Tifa. Because I love big breasted sluts. and my tifa was fucking baller. Never did under 9999 starting level 45 or some shit. The other two non importants healed. Cuz I didn't want them to waste time attacking.

All this talk about Tifa. Im tempted to start a new FF7 game just to have Tifa in my party.

She's very underrated and I wanted to get her as the best person in my party jus to show she kicked ass. A lot of people have problems with her final weapon cuz it gets stronger as ur limit break goes up. So I usually have her mime someone else's 4x cut to do ballin damage. I always liked her martial arts gung ho attitude and why I used her. CHEYA SON. and she has large melons.

Also god's hand + deathblow.

Cloud ,Barret, Cid. The best party. all their limits do the most damage as they strike so many times also Cid has good materia growth weapons, eg. Javelin, 6joint double and scimitar 2joint triple,
also the dragoon lance in wutai sets you from end of disc 1 till you get the venus gospel.
Barret is strong on his base stats, almost as much as cloud and has long range.
i noticed all the female characters are weaker than the guys in almost all their stats such as hp, but they do have better mp and magic though.

I don't know it was all the same with me cuz i morphed power sources and guard sources. I have a fast fwd feature though so that's why i could get 99 in 5 minutes or so.

[QUOTE=Keiser;1293732]Cloud ,Barret, Cid. The best party. [QUOTE]

100% True. I agree completely.

mine was cloud barret tifa

Doesn't really matter who is in your party. Essentially they are all a set of statistics. The only important variable is their base stats, which often dictates who folk will put in their choice party from the off. The rest is down to aesthetics and/or the personality of the character.

Those that actually know FF7 inside out will say it is fair to dispute that Yuffie is the most useful character in the game.

I disagree. Although Yuffie is technically the most useful for Morphing purposes, after everyone is maxed out, Cloud Cid And Barret will do the most damage with their limits than anyone else, hence making that the "best" party. But I don't like cockfests myself so...yeah.

Generally Cloud, Cid and Yuffie. Sometimes sub in Barrett.

Generally Cloud, Cid and Yuffie. Sometimes sub in Barrett.

Somehow, I expected this from you. *shivers*

Well I mained Cait Sith and Red XIII for teh shits.

Cloud, Tifa, and Cid.

and everyone knows cait sith sucks hairy balls

Yeah Cait Sith has THE worst Limit.

But at least after you use it you don't loose control of him, which makes him the better spellcaster...sorta.

Yeah, but after you use him there is a chance of losing control of 2 of your party members.

fine then I'll put his at Level 1 limit okay?

Thats a good idea.....but...that limit still sucks, well in the latter parts of the game anyway.

Then I'll give him Sadness.

When I first played through I used Cloud, Vincent and Yuffie.
Second time was Cloud Tifa, and Yuffie.
Might get it off of PSN and go with Tifa and Vincent.
I like Vincents Limit Breaks. Except his third. I was struggling on a boss, and put him down a limit level and Gigas kicked the bosses arse.
Either way, I'm using Tifa, cause she's awesome.

I like Vincents Limit Breaks. Except his third. I was struggling on a boss, and put him down a limit level and Gigas kicked the bosses arse.


You really like Vincent's limit breaks?
For me are the worst, they've put your strategy in a toilet, now, if you could control the character in that state, that would be very different. Although he looks cool XD.
I use vincent only as a magic user, his other stats are the worse.

My Party, Cloud Red & Cid, Red has some of the bests stats in the game and you'll have a hard time trying to kill Cid.

You really like Vincent's limit breaks?
For me are the worst, they've put your strategy in a toilet, now, if you could control the character in that state, that would be very different. Although he looks cool XD.
I use vincent only as a magic user, his other stats are the worse.

Vincent's limit breaks, while uncontrollable, are very powerful and you can tailor your party in favor of this with how your other two characters are set up.

I had Cloud in a Melee/Magic Support role, with Cid along for pure Damage Dealing.

You really like Vincent's limit breaks?
For me are the worst, they've put your strategy in a toilet, now, if you could control the character in that state, that would be very different. Although he looks cool XD.I use vincent only as a magic user, his other stats are the worse.

My Party, Cloud Red & Cid, Red has some of the bests stats in the game and you'll have a hard time trying to kill Cid.

Asthetics over functionality :P
His first two are nice hitters. His third only gave light damage and gave status effects. Nice in theory, but bosses tend to be immune to that kinda thing.
Still, I might try Barret or Cid instead. Or I may go back to my "Cloud the ladies man" party(Tifa, and Yuffie)
I'd probabable go with Tifa and Aerith if she didn't die. Would have been nice to have a designated White Mage.

For the most part i would use Cloud (main attacker + partial healer) Tifa (pure mage mainly healing) and Cid (basically to kick ass with pretty much all powerful offensive spells summons etc.). I sometimes use Vincent he's got a ranged weapon. i like that.

My party consists of:
Cloud, Yuffie, and Vincent.
At times I will change Yuffie with Cid jsut because he's so awesome. :]

I'd have to say that my favourite party to play with is:

Cloud, Aeris and Sephiroth

A strange mixture as sephiroth actually kills aeris.

The only draw back is the fact that sephiroth's limits are basically non existent and the only one that looks half decent and doesnt freeze the game when he uses it is "Braver" a one hit limit.

obviously you have to use codes in order to acquire aeris after the first disc and sephiroth at all. But the three of them make for a dynamic team haha.

If i was playing the original game without the ability to nab sephiroth and aeris i'd choose:

Cloud, Barret and Cid.

Unless i was fighting a weapon like ruby who has amazing defense in which case i'd chuck vincent into the pack as his "death penalty" is literally that if you have bagged enough kills for it to destroy at 9999 without fail regardless of enemy defense.

Cloud, Tifa and Red XIII
Later on I swap Red XIII with Cid

Cloud, Cid and Red XIII. I had picked them because when I had played they were my hardest hitters and had the best limits, imo. I had a few healing materia on each character incase one of them died so i didn't have to use pheonix down. I prefer magic to items even though I'm not a big magic user, the most magic I will ever use it to heal, otherwise all of my attacks are physical.

Cloud, Cid and Red XIII. I had picked them because when I had played they were my hardest hitters and had the best limits, imo. I had a few healing materia on each character incase one of them died so i didn't have to use pheonix down. I prefer magic to items even though I'm not a big magic user, the most magic I will ever use it to heal, otherwise all of my attacks are physical.

Red 13's final limit is a single hit limit and i believe his best one before that only hits 6 times.. if your looking for hard hitting limits then i believe cid, cloud and yuffie will be ur hardest hitters for ff7. unless you have barret at full strength and feed him some hero drinks to the point where his ungarmax limit will deal big damage with each hit..

and magic out does items when reviving as you have life2 or angel whisper which will fully restore health as well as reviving. the only items that are good to use for healing are elixirs or x potions. but with w item you would have no problem using megalixirs constantly. however if you do not have w item then you can fight around the mountains of wutai to nab urself plenty of x potions. also if you morph the weird walking blueish octopus looking monsters in mount nibel they gift you with turbo ethers, giving u a good mixture of the items you need for restoring your party.

Also most people do not use magic in ff7 after gaining players ultimate weapons as they can easily deal 9999 damage per attack when magic uses mp and does not always deal as much damage. also with using attack all it makes even magics that target all enemies useless. I believe making attacks so powerful takes away from the magic element of the game. i usually give my magics the ability to break the 9999 damage limit so that i will not just stick to using attacks.

Red 13's final limit is a single hit limit and i believe his best one before that only hits 6 times..

I think the best Limit Break of Red is Lunatic High, LVL1, Haste + Defense % to all party.

I think the best Limit Break of Red is Lunatic High, LVL1, Haste + Defense % to all party.

Really? what about the enemy skill "big guard" putting everyone into haste plus giving them barrier and mbarrier.

It is hardly worth wasting a limit to speed up ur party. Early on in the game it is a good limit however. But if we are talking about limits early in the game, aeris making the entire party invincible must be up there.

Hey, I'm still a ff7 noob, havent even beat it yet and been playin for 3 years (on a REAL ps1)

So, anyways, I use Cloud (GASP), Cait Sith, and Cid on my team.

Right now, I'm still leveling so my chars are all packed with enemy encounter materia, but I plan to change that once I get them high enough (theyre only l78 each now)

But anyways, I picked cloud because you have to, Cid because of...well...he's pretty balanced, and Cait Sith because everytime I play I think "ok, c'mon, slots 3 cait sith...I always get toy soldier or toy box, but there's hope, right? :P

As far as chicks go, Aeris is dead, and I haven't used tifa since I got my 4th possible party member. Why?...cause I'm odd.

So, that's my team.

Oh, BTW, every time I play FF7 I think of something. My friend Austin calls up sometimes and brags about how he just got all 500 of his pokemans to 500 hp and to do 600 damage. So, I think, If i could move cloud to my Pearl on DS, what would happen?

"AUSTIN sent out DIALGA"
"CLOUD got pre-emptive attack"
"CLOUD used POKE"
"9999 damage!"
"DIALGA fainted"

and so on and so forth.

but, anyways before I get too off-topic and banned, I better stop.

-dude out.

Disc 1: Cloud, Aeris, Tifa
Disc 2 & 3: Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie

cloud, red, vincent for me !

Cloud, Cid, Barret

Gone through the game many times, used every character combination. But my very first was Cloud, Vincent, Red XIII.

First Set: Cloud

Second Set: Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie

Third Set: Cloud, Nanaki, Barret

Fourth Set: Cloud, Vincent, Cait Sith (using right now in the northern cave)

i would so do yuffie

Please keep comments on topic. This thread is about your party-- there are other threads about characters that you think are hot if you feel the need to tell us which character you would "do."

cloud, yuffie, barret

Cloud, Barrett, Red XII

or

Cloud, Barrett, Cid

Cloud, Yuffie, and Vincent.

XD Isn't this the taboo party? It's funny, the first time I played through FFVII, I had no idea that the final battle was coming up. I had these guys in my party, half-dead, and I still won due to sheer luck/lots of potions. I did not realize that I had beaten the game. O.o

That's the same way I conquered Yunalesca, Sanctuary Keeper, and Seymour Omnis in X. :O Shocking that I'm not the only FF-er who gets by on sheer luck alone.

That's the same way I conquered Yunalesca, Sanctuary Keeper, and Seymour Omnis in X. :O Shocking that I'm not the only FF-er who gets by on sheer luck alone.

I beat Yunalesca with amazing luck, too. XD And Golbez from IV. I think I had like 5 HP left. I guess I strategize better when choosing the members in my FInal Fantasy parties, haha.

I was truly in awe when I discovered just how much trouble that delusional wench caused so many players :O Then to realize I beat her in the first try, failistically underleveled and mal-geared, made me feel like the FF King for a while!

Cloud, Tifa, and Cid.

I always use cloud,cid and vincent because cid has some of my favorite limit breaks and vincent has death penalty whitch i always over level so much that i realy don't need anyone else.

Dunno it changes but usually i use Cloud, Nanaki aka RedXIII and either Barrett or Vincent.

My FFVII party was always Cloud (duh), Cid, and Vincent. Until you acquire those two characters I stuck with Barret and Aeristh. Once Sephiroth lays the smackdown on her, I replaced her with Tifa. I like Red XIII, but Cait Sith and Yuffie are simply useless to me. Cid, Barret, Tifa or Red are the best choices for Cloud's entourage.

Haven't played VII in a long time, but one of these days I'll fire it up on my PSP and return to stoppin' some Meteors and findin' some Materia.

Cloud, Cid, and Vincent, though that's mostly because Cid has an awesome lv4 limit break, and I like Vincent's character design. If I'm powergaming, Barrett is better.

My FFVII party was always Cloud (duh), Cid, and Vincent. Until you acquire those two characters I stuck with Barret and Aeristh. Once Sephiroth lays the smackdown on her, I replaced her with Tifa. I like Red XIII, but Cait Sith and Yuffie are simply useless to me. Cid, Barret, Tifa or Red are the best choices for Cloud's entourage.

Haven't played VII in a long time, but one of these days I'll fire it up on my PSP and return to stoppin' some Meteors and findin' some Materia.

For the record, Yuffie wasn't that useless. She was awesome for morphing certain enemies (i wont say which ones) into Ribbons and the stat boosting items with her ultimate weapon without any loss in HP damage like the rest of them.

also, how do u plan on stompin on Meteors that are 20,000 feet high?:p

Cloud
Tifa
Cid

Cloud, Tifa and Vincent

Yuffie was incredibly useful (as already pointed out).

My typical FF7 party was Cloud, Barrett and Nanaki. On more recent playthroughs I used Tifa instead of Nanaki.

I use Cloud, Tifa, and Red or Cid usually. Red in the beginning, then I'll switch between Red and Cid later in the game as my main party.

I've played FFVII MANY times and my final party conclusion is the following:

Cloud, Cid, Yuffie

Simple reasons. Cloud- Well the apocalypse, Cid- Scimitar. Triple materia growth. I don't think I need to explain that logic. Only two in the game. Yuffie- couple reasons. One, I simply like her character. Two, I wanted some sort of long range w/o wasting a materia slot w/ long range materia. Three, as already pointed out she's good for morphing multiple things when grinding for emerald and ruby at the end of the game. I must say though her final limit break all creation is VERY disappointing since it can't surpass 9,999hp like Cid and Clouds. This was a major draw back for me but one I was willing to deal with to have her in my party. :)

P.S. On a side note, out of all the times I've played threw the game I think the only two characters I've never used in my party are Barrett and Caith Sith. (Whom of course I always name Reeves Anyone else do this every play through?)

Cloud is a given, but i always seem to have Tifa as my 2nd choice idk why, maybe i like looking at her while i play the game, but when i first played i had Nanaki as my 3rd, rarely barret and the others, but i'm gonna try with Cid now, Replaying it on my PS3 ATM, i've never played with cait sith or yuffie or vincent tho idk why.


I don't have a signature.

I always had Cloud, Cid, and either Nanaki or Vincent. Could never decide which one I liked better, but I liked those four much better than anyone else.

It's been a while since I played VII so I can't remember my exact materia setup, but I remember killing safer sephiroth in one turn by double summoning knights of the round.

Sephiroth, Cloud, Aerith

I always thought Cloud, Barret and Cid were the best becuase their final limit breaks are probably the best. Plus Cloud and Cid are the only ones who have a weapon with triple growth for materia.

Since then I have played this recently and found that based on limits breaks alone, Tifa is the best after you leave Midgar, and Yuffie and RedXIII have interesting limit breaks aswell. So I played as Cloud, Tifa and Red, then replaced RedXIII with yuffie until much later in the game.

So I guess having different party at different stages of the game is my way of playing but it don't matter really. Even if you don't have the person in your party they still level up a bit so no harm in switching i guess.

---------- Post added at 07:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:06 PM ----------

I always thought Cloud, Barret and Cid were the best becuase their final limit breaks are probably the best. Plus Cloud and Cid are the only ones who have a weapon with triple growth for materia.

Since then I have played this recently and found that based on limits breaks alone, Tifa is the best after you leave Midgar, and Yuffie and RedXIII have interesting limit breaks aswell. So I played as Cloud, Tifa and Red, then replaced RedXIII with yuffie until much later in the game.

So I guess having different party at different stages of the game is my way of playing but it don't matter really. Even if you don't have the person in your party they still level up a bit so no harm in switching i guess.

I've probably posted in this topic at one point in the past but I can't remember since I've been gone for a long time. My party pretty much always consists of Cloud, Aeris and Tifa and I never change it up unless I'm forced to. For long range enemies I simply equip Cloud with the Ranged Materia thus making Barret unecessary. After Disk 1 my Party will typically consist of Cloud, Vincent and Tifa instead or I may substitute Yuffie in there once in a while.

If I'm playing this game on the PC I will simply use a code to add Aeris back to my party.

Cloud, Barett, and Cid is the strongest team in this game. That was my party:)

cloud red13 and yuffie is my top team

i think the only one who i didn't really use was cait sith; i think he had that dice limit break which could be powerful, i don't remember too well as it's been a long time since i played the game;

i remember aeris, as well as being a character i quite liked, was also really useful in a battle with her healing powers. her final limit break was immense, but of course she doesn't stay with you all the way. i think i tended to use vincent and barret with cloud mostly, but i really don't remember too well. i rate cid, who's hilarious and quite strong in battle too; tifa was also really strong and an interesting character and part of the group; red XIII or nanaki was always a favourite of mine. i think yuffie was perhaps the only one i underused. this makes me want to play the game again to see who i ended up using and why

First File

Party Member 1
Party Member 2
Party Member 3
Cloud Strife Aeris Gainsborough / Yuffie Kisaragi Cid Highwind

Second File

Party Member 1
Party Member 2
Party Member 3
Cloud Strife Tifa Lockhart
Red XIII


Third File

Party Member 1
Party Member 2
Party Member 3
Cloud Strife Barret Wallace
Tifa Lockhart

Cloud, Tifa and Red, also Cid and Vincent or Yuffie ocassionally

My first (and only so far) play, the final battle was Cloud, Cid, and Yuffie. I only got the game on a killer eBay deal last earlier this year, though. I can't really see that changing for me though because I love both Cid and Yuffie. I rarely, if ever, used Cait Sith or Red as I just didn't like 'em. I'm sure they are swell characters and I may change my mind on a replay.