Final Fantasy (and any other RPGs) Topic!

[Zup]

I think FF has a hard time making a really interesting/relatable protagonist. Really the only ones I've liked are Cecil, Terra, Zidane, and Ramza.

Might be one of the things that prevents me from really loving the series and caring about the stories in each game.

[CloakedDeception]

Cecil, Terra and Zidane basically have the same story. They're half something or another and/or from a different world but they find friends and family in the current world and fights to save it. Ramza more or less kinda fits the role too. He's half royalty/half commoner. But yeah, I liked them a lot too.

My take on the main characters of the series:
FF1: generic characters
FF2: Firion, didn't care for him much. He didn't really have much of a personality until Dissidia anyway.
FF3: generic again (until the DS remake, which I have yet to play)
FF4: Cecil - I liked him in general. He got somewhat mopey halfway through though with the dark knight thing and also with Kain being gone and such. But overall, he's a solid character
FF5: Bartz - probably my favorite main character in the series. He's lighthearted, witty, and funny but has a good sense of justice and a deep background. He also develops from a non-caring goofball to a hero throughout the course of the game.
FF6: Terra - wonderful character and the first female main. I just wished she would find a real man to love instead of those brats in Mobitz.
FF7: Cloud - ugh. The start of the emo main character archetype. I wanted to shove his buster sword up places... At least with Squall, he becomes less depressing as the story progresses. With Cloud, you find out that not only is he mentally ill, his real life is even more depressing. Then he gets even more depressed in the movie and sequels... You can't win with this guy. Somebody get the shipload of Prozac!
FF8: Squall - ugh again. Yet another "ooh I'm so cool cuz I'm quiet and mopey" character. At least he had some funny moments here and there. And he does eventually become a brighter character as the story progresses and he gains confidence in his friends. He smiles in the ending!!!
FF9: Zidane - he's funny, witty and cool. I like him a lot. Plus he's also crazy powerful despite looking like a monkey-kid hybrid. And he's also a decent leader to the party, especially in tough times. AND he takes a personal interest in each of the other party members. Good guy overall.
FF10: Tidus - I know I said I like the happy characters but Tidus is just TOO happy. They need to lock him in a room with Cloud and let them kill each other. Plus he does act like a spoiled brat time and time again. Yuna makes a much better main character in this game than him.
FFX-2: Yuna - I liked her personality better in FFX. In this game, she's trying too hard to be like Rikku and Rikku's already a perfect version of what she already is.
FF12: Vaan - I didn't mind the kid despite many people hating his guts. He had a nice back story and he had a good reason for the things he did. But he kinda became a background character a quarter way into the story.
FF12 Revenant Wing: Vaan - much better. It's his story fully this time and the whole story has a much better adventure-like feel to it than FF12. And finally he mans up and tells Penelo how he feels which makes him a lot better in my book!
FF13: Lightning - ugh x13. So if Squall impregnated Cloud and they somehow gave birth to a female baby, she'd grow up to be Lightning. When she's not busy Miley Cyrus-slapping members of her team, she's internally Miley Cyrus-slapping herself for being a horrible person/sister.

[Redhollowlives999]

Well now I feel the need to make a list for all the FF characters I've every played with. And does KH even fall under this thread? It was originally intended to be like the FF series... so...
Okay I'll start with 9:

Zidane:
I liked him. Dude was alright. I was always jealous of his swagtastic [tiger?] tail and stuff. Really my only problem with him was the fact that he looked like some 8 year old kid. And that most of his development as a character came around the third disc when he finds out about his past/his people. And I liked him a lot more after that "You're not Alone" part. Best part of the game. He's a real leader (although there was someone better). Real great blend in abilities, a great thief, and now that I think back, he really changed alot throughout the game.


Princess Garnet/Dagger (that was her name right?):
She felt... slightly generic. I found it interesting how she influenced the other characters and her relationship with her mother. Never really had a problem with her in battle except for her basically low hit points at some points. But really as a character, she was lacking in serious development. And it didn't help that she went mute for like a whole disc. Maybe if there a part where you were forced to be alone with her where she'd actually have to battle things, she'd develop the most. The only time I remember controlling her alone, she didn't battle anything and she summed Alexander WHICH IS BOSS!. She probably needed that "Not Alone" stuff more than Zidane.


Vivi:
Awww yeah, this guy right here!
Hitting thousands before Zidane even got to 500 with his Bio spell!
Really liked Vivi ALOT. Felt like his character developed the most. Especially with his whole clan fiasco. I'm glad he got a VA in KH2, but it didn't really sink well how it actually sounded. His Black Magic abilities and power definitely earn him a spot in my top 5 for this game. And he's like what... 6 story/persona wise? And in the first disc he gets a high ranking Knight to call him Master.


Freya:
That was her name iirc. Rat lady was beast. Her abilities (iirc) are really based on a great mixture of speed and strength- which is uncommon in some games sadly, most mixes suck (best being Vahn). I didn't really feel TOO much development from her, just a few scattered parts, and the part where iirc her people were basically destroyed. She seems to know alot and seems like a faithful ally. Almost always had her on my team up until disc 3 or so. To sum it up, she's wasted potential. Could have dwelled into her mind a bit more.

Amarant:
Loved this guy as soon as I fought him. I thought "Finally! A competitor for [Zidane]!" He's tough, and doesn't take crap from anyone. Kinda reminds me on myself or DV. And his fighting style is interesting (to me). Definitely didn't really get enough development. But idc, I like him, he's cool.

Steiner:
... For like 2 discs, I saw him as a butler really.
After the third disc, he finally became "useful". Really, most of his powerful attacks (for me) came from Vivi. And I didn't like equipping items like Sapphire on anyone because it would normally reduce other stats I deemed more valuable. Really it wasn't until the last time I played that I saw what it can (or should) do. Only got a thunder thingy for Garnet and maybe 1 breaker for this guy or something. Basically I only used him for his power and didn't really "enjoy" his company that much. I don't remember a lot of his past being discussed or any real development. He was just a head that followed Garnet's orders.

Quina:
Always. ALWAYS in my party. ALWAYS you know, until Quina gets lost for like... a 何だよこれ！ long amount of time around the 3rd disc. I loved to see him... her... it... gooble his...her...it's... enemies and learning new abilities. IIRC, it's suppose to be some blue mage or something... idc. His past was kinda interesting. But, meh. Just liked to see him gooble 何だよこれ！ enemies.
WHAT THE the the the the IS S/HE/IT!>@?!?

Eiko:
... Felt like some sort of FOIL/Enemy/Competition for Garnet for a second, but then... the the the the is wrong with her? I mean she's like... 4 and lives with flying pigs. Don't tell me she didn't suffer SOMETHING there.
Her connection with the Moogles are so interesting it bothers me sometimes. She's like a female FF Tarzan. So that's enough to interest me in her character (but not really use her in battle unless I need to- which in FF9, it's always eventually mandatory.)
Is it weird that I, at some points, saw her as Dagger's teacher?


























FREAKING BEATRIX:
SHE AIN'T A MAIN CHARACTER BUT IDC. She was one of the best Female character in that whole game. And just... wow... as a boss.
I once hit her with a freaking 1000dmg with Vivi and she completely came out unscratched. But when she becomes playable, her HP is like 800...

She's still awesome regardless of that annoying incident.

Her abilities are worth applauding, she's a natural born leader, can back up her threats, and she drop dead gawjuz. Perfect blend for a Swordswomen class w.e she's awesome don't question my logic.



I guess I do FFX after...

[Zup]

I guess I'll just bastardize what y'all have been doin.

My favorite goobers from each game:

I: Black Mage. Love the design of this class. Garland for an actual character I guess.
II: Minwu or Ricard I guess.
III: Cid
IV: Rydia. Cecil and Golbez are close too.
V: Exdeath is pretty cool.
VI: Ultros. Kefka and Locke not far behind.
VII: Cait Sith. I don't seem to share that with many people I've talked to
VIII: I guess Quistis.
IX: Vivi without a doubt.
X: Rikku. It would've been Kimahri if they had a clue of what to do with him >_____>
XII: Balthier. Cast was very weak overall tho.
XIII: Sazh by far. No contest.

[Redhollowlives999]

Boi you picked Rikku when there's Auron, Jecht, Lulu, and O'aka in dat der game?



Niiiice.

[Zup]

Rikku
Kimahri
Jecht
Wakka
Ze Shoopuf guy

[Prayrius]

Even though people stereotype Squall to be a copy of Cloud, I greatly disagree.

A.) He had a legit reason to be the way he was.
B.) I don't care what people say, this man is a GREAT leader. Better than any other FF character.
C.) Backstory is awesome and helps you empathize with him, destorying the "emo Badass" first impression.
D.) Come on, the dude is Badass
E.) At times, he shows his humor that Laguna passed down.
F.) Appearantly, he is really good at throwing his sword up super high up in the sky!
G.) His love story with Rinoa is one of my favorites in game history.

Anyone disagree?

[CloakedDeception]

Haha! Fellow likers of Quistis, Quina and Rikku! I love this place!!
Also I find it funny that Quina is basically the Quistis of FFIX (ability-wise), if Quistis went insane from.. well anything and started wearing chef costumes. And really let herself go after she used Eden's Devour ability too much...

[Zup]

Even though people stereotype Squall to be a copy of Cloud, I greatly disagree.

I don't really think he's a copy of Cloud, so much as very similar. At least with the whole young quiet emo-ish swordsman thing who likes to brood and has lots of yaoi art on the Internet.

They're both boring, though, so...

A.) He had a legit reason to be the way he was.

That doesn't make a character entertaining/interesting/fun to follow.

B.) I don't care what people say, this man is a GREAT leader. Better than any other FF character.

Eh. I don't remember any good/noteworthy leadership qualities from him. But I'd argue for Cecil and Ramza anyway just because they're better and I like being a fanboy.

C.) Backstory is awesome and helps you empathize with him, destorying the "emo Badass" first impression.

I disagree. Couldn't empathize because I really didn't care for him. Like ever.

And it doesn't destroy it, because it's pretty much continually given to you that that is what they want him to be.

D.) Come on, the dude is Badass

Nope. Way bigger badasses in the franchise. Although the Gunblade is awesome. I'll give you that much.

E.) At times, he shows his humor that Laguna passed down.

Sure, but...anyone can do that. And it obviously didn't leave much of an impact on people if it hardly ever gets brought up.

F.) Appearantly, he is really good at throwing his sword up super high up in the sky!

Wooooooo.

G.) His love story with Rinoa is one of my favorites in game history.

That's your bum diddly but there are plenty of others that could be in the running.



Kinda pointless to argue this since they're all opinions but whateeeeeevvvvvvvvs.

Anyone disagree?

Nnnnnnnnnooooooooope.

Maybe.

[IronJustice]

I agree Prayrius. Squall gets on my nerves at times, especially in the beginning when he can be borderline cruel at times, but from a more mature perspective I understand his motivations in a lot of scenes. He is very practical and has a military mindset about his job, which comes before making friends. Also he is skeptical, which if it wasn't a video game, we would be too about a lot of things.

Cloud was definitely worse in my opinion as far as being a cold fish, but you had a lot of choices to make and could steer him in the opposite direction if you wanted at times. Also he, again like Squall, takes a practical approach at times and is very military like, putting work before friends. Clouds problem is that he is insane and his character can be inconsistent. Later in game he doesn't develop as well as Squall.

Ramza is probably my favorite protagonist. He is very calm, intelligent, possesses a strong sense of justice, but also lighthearted when appropriate. He is one of the few Final Fantasy protagonists (along with Cecil) that you get the impression they were experienced before the story really began. His character also isn't front and center, most of the time taking a backseat to the various characters deeply involved in the story arcs. This helps for actual role play and envisioning yourself as the protagonist.

I agree with Red, Butz is right there with Ramza. Honestly they have a lot in common when you think about it. I'd say Butz develops more as the story progresses though.

I didn't care for Terra really, not that she's bad but overrated for sure. On the surface she seems to have a deep and dramatic story, but her character isn't really given much progression or depth. She gets more confident as she learns more about her powers, but that isn't really character development. She is pretty withdrawn much of the time, which is I guess a good thing for a protagonist for role play purposes.