Is a MBA required to become a financial analyst?

No.

CFA would probably be better

Not sure I’d agree with above (would depend what school the MBA is from etc.), but nonetheless there are many paths to becoming a financial analyst.

@happy1 if I don’t need an MBA, what are some paths for me to take to become a financial analyst?

Do some research. Here is but one article I found in a super quick search…
http://advice.careerbuilder.com/posts/so-you-want-to-become-a-financial-analyst

MBA + CFA would really be the most profitable and knowledgeable path if you have the time/money.
I think you could do fine with either, but the CFA is a set of really difficult exams and if you pass them all you prove you have the knowledge to work in financial analysis.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-advisors/050415/mba-or-cfa-which-best-career-finance.asp

http://www.businessinsider.com/mba-vs-cfa-2013-4

The MBA vs CFA debate has been explored by people more familiar with it than us.

Just keep in mind that doing a full MBA program can be drastically more expensive than going for a CFA certification.