Page "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII" Paragraph 17

Vincent was chosen as the game's protagonist due to the scope for expanding his backstory, which was left very vague in Final Fantasy VII.

The fact that his main weapon was a gun also worked into the team's desire to create a more action orientated game.

Prior to the solidifcation of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the development team originally considered using other gunfighter characters from the Final Fantasy series, such as Final Fantasy VIIs Barret Wallace, Final Fantasy VIIIs Irvine Kinneas or Final Fantasy X-2s Yuna.

However, after the release of Before Crisis and Advent Children, and with the expansion of the Final Fantasy VII mythos, they settled on Vincent.