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Artwork by Tetsuya Nomura.
Red XIII's Species refers to an unnamed species of sentient feline mammals in Final Fantasy VII that reside on the Planet. As the article title suggests, the most prominent member of the species in the series is Red XIII, though a handful of others have been seen.
The species is known to be very long-lived, with lifespans that last hundreds of years. They seem to be highly similar to real-world wolves, though they share some characteristics of lions. They have bright red-orange fur, and on the end of the their tails is a burning flame, though the significance of this is never explained. Though they are equally as intelligent as humans, with the ability to speak with perfect grammar, there is no evidence of the species creating a civilization, except for possibly Cosmo Canyon. The flame of Cosmo Canyon, said to burn eternal to protect it, may also be connected to their flaming tail.
For unknown reasons, the species died out to near extinction levels from the start of Final Fantasy VII, and is said to be down to only Red XIII. Red XIII's father, Seto, died protecting Cosmo Canyon, the only known home of the species, from the Gi Tribe. His unnamed mother died some time afterward.
In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, another member of his species, a female named Deneh, is seen. Professor Hojo kidnaps Red XIII to use him as a test subject in the game, and Deneh is spared, though she makes no appearances in any other game. Red XIII is seen with two cubs of his species 500 years after the end of Final Fantasy VII, which are presumed to be his children, possibly with Deneh. This seems to suggest that the species will survive its seeming extinction. During the planning stages of Final Fantasy VII there were also plans for two more members of his species, Cobalt XIV and Indigo XV, who were also experiments of Hojo, however, they were cut from the final version of Final Fantasy VII.
Despite Red XIII's importance and the unique traits of his species, the species is never named in any game, though they are frequently referred to as "lion-like".
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Non-Final Fantasy Appearances
Django's red-fur alternate attire.
In the fighting game Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring, which features several characters from Final Fantasy VII, one of the playable characters, Django, is a grey-furred individual that resembles the same species as Red XIII, although Django has no official connection to the Final Fantasy series. Django's moveset is compiled of references to Red XIII, Seto, and Final Fantasy summons. He also has a palette-swap colored similarly to Red XIII's fur.
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