Vincent is the calm and moody type much like Cloud, but when it takes things that have to get done, Vincent is the one to talk to. He is excellent at gathering information, being a former Turk, and his skills with a gun are unmatched.
Players can unlock Vincent by the halfway point of Final Fantasy VII. In the story, Cloud Strife and his allies find Vincent sleeping in a coffin in the basement of a Shinra mansion. Cloud mentions his quest to stop the game's antagonist, Sephiroth, who Vincent recognizes as the son of a Shinra scientist named Lucrecia. Vincent joins Cloud's group when he learns that they may eventually meet up with Hojo, against whom Vincent has a vendetta. Later, Vincent finds Lucrecia inside a cave, and their back story is revealed through flashbacks. Vincent was a member of the Turks, an elite group of Shinra agents; while serving as Lucrecia's protector, she fell in love with him but ultimately decided to remain faithful to Hojo. When complaining about the experiment regarding Lucrecia and her son, Hojo shot and experimented on Vincent, which resulted in his current state of being. Not being able to protect Lucrecia, Vincent felt a strong guilt which led him to his isolation. In her pain and regret Lucrecia had sealed herself away in mako crystals, hearing the actions from her son. Reviving briefly, Lucrecia asks Vincent if Sephiroth is still alive, and is told that he is dead.
In Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Vincent is seen in his normal attire having a conversation with Verdot, leader of the Turks at that time, in the Shinra basement a year before the events of Final Fantasy VII. He helps Verdot obtain a Materia needed for a mission from the Turks. In the film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, set two years after Final Fantasy VII, Vincent first appears rescuing Cloud from Kadaj and his gang when the former was overpowered. He reveals to Cloud Kadaj's intentions to merge with the remaining Jenova cells to instigate Sephiroth's rebirth. He later helps his friends defeat a powerful creature, Bahamut SIN, summoned by Kadaj. In the novella "Case of Nanaki", Vincent finds his former comrade Red XIII, who is growing afraid of becoming alone due to his lifespan being much longer than humans. Vincent explains that he is immortal and promises to meet with Red XIII every year to prevent his loneliness.
In Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, occurring three years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, Vincent acts as the central character, working with Reeve and the World Regenesis Organization to eliminate an organization called Deepground. Deepground targets Vincent for he unknowingly carries the Protomateria inside his body, which Lucrecia placed in his body after reviving him with stagnated Mako containing the essence of Chaos. The Protomateria is eventually ripped from his body by the Deepground Tsviet Rosso the Crimson, becoming unable to control Chaos. Eventually he confronts the Deepground leader, Weiss, who is possessed by the digitalized mind of Hojo. Hojo reveals information on Vincent and his plans to awaken Omega, whose original purpose was to absorb the Lifestream and leave the planet when it was destroyed. After Omega's awakening, the renegade Deepground member, Shelke, gives Vincent the Protomateria and takes control of Chaos's true form. Vincent battles Omega, and is able to destroy it. In the ending, Vincent thanks Lucrecia in her cave, now understanding she was the reason he survived. The mobile game Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode: Final Fantasy VII also uses Vincent as the main player, and takes place during Dirge of Cerberus.
Vincent appears in the fighting game Ehrgeiz as an unlockable fighting character, with his Turk uniform serving as an alternate costume. Like the other Final Fantasy VII characters included in the game, Vincent does not serve a role in the main storyline. Although he was meant to appear in Kingdom Hearts, his design was instead used to make Cloud's new one.