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The best Final Fantasy protagonists are Vaan, Bartz, and the create-a-characters from I/III/XI/XIV because they're all basically blank slate non-characters and while that does kind of suck, at least they're not annoying and stupid like Tidus and Squall Real answer: Uh... Cloud, Zidane, Noctis and I guess Lightning. Does Balthier count? He says he's the leading man. Honestly, the side characters in FF games are usually way more interesting than the protagonists. See: Edgar+Sabin, Locke, Cyan, Barret, Tifa, most people named Cid, Vivi, Auron, Balthier, Ashe, Basch, Shantotto, Prishe, Sazh, Hildebrand, Gilgamesh and surely others I'm forgetting
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Aug 7, 2017 16:47
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Balthiers role in the story is just above Fran and Penelo, so no, he is not the leading man
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Aug 7, 2017 16:55
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The worst protagonist is Luneth. Most of the protagonists are good, though. Squall and Lightning are probably among the worst; the former not because of his constant brooding (he's a teenager with a sad and kind of blurry past, it makes sense) but because the plot goes to great lengths to stress how cool and important he is in spite of his many glaring flaws, and the latter because she's an encapsulation of everything that is wrong with SE's current perception of what Cloud was like in VII: a cold and uncaring former soldier who sulks a lot. Vaan's probably pretty low on the list just because he isn't very interesting. He serves his purpose in the narrative well enough but it's not a role that really fits the primary protagonist of a game. Firion doesn't really get enough space to breath due to the nature of FFII, though I should think a genuine remake might try to address that. Everyone else is good.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:02
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Warrior of Light's actually great in Dissidia. While the rest of the team is goofing around or falling for Saturday morning villain plots he's getting poo poo done, beating up Sephiroth, learning the real plot, and outsmarting David Bowie.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:08
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I remember hearing that Vaan and Penelo weren't originally going to even be in FFXII but the higher ups insisted that they include them to appeal to teens and it really shows. Ashe is really the main character of the game, with Basch and Balthier dealing with their family issues after that. Vaan and Penelo are just kind of... there and along for the ride and don't really do anything.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:09
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Vaan is probably the most important playabe character in the story outside Ashe, which is less a testament to his importance than the relative lack of importance of the rest of the playable cast.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:22
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Out of all protagonists Noctis is probably the only one I could relate with. I wanna sleep, eat junk food, avoid responsibility and I got muscle but you just can't see it.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:22
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If Snow didn't exist, Lightning would be bottom tier
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Aug 7, 2017 17:25
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Snow isn't the main protagonist, though. Then again, I think XIII has a FFVI thing going on and it's more of a ensemble story. I never felt like the game was more about Lightning than the others. This is decidedly not her story and she doesn't receive any more focus (har har) or development than the others. Also Celes was the true heroine and best character of FFVI.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:37
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Gammatron 64 posted:I remember hearing that Vaan and Penelo weren't originally going to even be in FFXII but the higher ups insisted that they include them to appeal to teens and it really shows. Ashe is really the main character of the game, with Basch and Balthier dealing with their family issues after that. Vaan and Penelo are just kind of... there and along for the ride and don't really do anything. Like, Vaan is kind of an annoying character and his voice acting is irritating in both English and Japanese, but he has a fairly major plot role all told
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Aug 7, 2017 17:44
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NikkolasKing posted:Snow isn't the main protagonist, though. Then again, I think XIII has a FFVI thing going on and it's more of a ensemble story. I never felt like the game was more about Lightning than the others. This is decidedly not her story and she doesn't receive any more focus (har har) or development than the others. VI is cool in that it has 2 main protagonists for the different parts of the game, for sure. Celes ends up having a much better story over Terra, especially if Cid dies. I think Cloud still is the best, and a lot of people tend to project Squall's brooding imperfections onto him (Advent Children didn't help either). The reality is Cloud is a happy go lucky guy wherein right before the final battle he tells everyone "alright, let's mosey."
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Aug 7, 2017 17:49
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S tier: Celes, Cloud, Zidane, Ramza A tier: XIV Warrior of Light, Noctis, Luso, Bartz, Tidus B tier: Lightning, Marche, Cecil, Terra, Squall, Vaan, Firion C tier: Benjamin, I Warrior of Light, Luneth That's my story and I'm sticking with it
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Aug 7, 2017 17:58
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   I love Fortune Street.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:00
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seiferguy posted:VI is cool in that it has 2 main protagonists for the different parts of the game, for sure. Celes ends up having a much better story over Terra, especially if Cid dies. Cloud is not a happy-go-lucky. He has a hosed up childhood and a hosed up life and was further hosed up by being a test subject for Hojo. He is a hosed up in the head guy. He is a dark brooding emo guy because hey that's how people behave when their lives are hosed up a million ways. The reason he's in a better mood before the northern crater dive is because Tifa helped him work his poo poo out and accept reality. It clears his head and he has a new outlook on life and does thing with a renewed sense of purpose instead of "It's not my problem (that the planet's dyin')". Lightning broods all the time for understandable reasons if you'r not a soulless shithead. Her entire world got turned upside down in a single day. Her sister is missing, the city she's supposed to defend turned into a dumpster fire, and all the people in power that she used to report to and trust turned out to be huge pieces of poo poo that were only out for themselves. Then there's the whole "you will do blow up your home moon or turn into a crystal and so will everyone you care about" thing. I would be down in the loving dumps pretty hard if that happened to me. That's why I love the Snow punching cutscene so much. Snow tries to be the stereotypical anime hero who ignores harsh realities and just says "I'll save my girlfriend and the world no matter what!" and Lightning knocks some sense into him and forces him to confront the cold hard reality of the situation and reminds him that he's not an anime hero. And people always forget how Lightning eventually saves her sister and meets Fang and learns from her and the rest of the party members and becomes an actual legit leader and heroine. Lightning loving owns. Ramza is king poo poo of gently caress mountain in terms of protagonists though. He is almost quite literally the only moral, ethical, and sane person in an entire continent of corrupt, power-hungry, vile, evil pieces of poo poo. He leads by example and actually manages to be a legit hero and inspires others to become less lovely people. Fang will always be my favorite FF character though, even if she's not a main character  She'll do anything to protect and help the people she cares about and she doesn't take poo poo from anyone. And the reason she doesn't take poo poo from anyone is because she will kick your loving rear end and she'll do it with style.Celes might be a close second because she is totally a general and not some opera floozy.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:04
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Cloud is never dark and brooding. He's either a) A cocky rear end in a top hat b) A vegetable c) A pretty standard hero who doesn't quite grasp how to be cool depending on where you are in the game.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:10
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Gammatron 64 posted:I remember hearing that Vaan and Penelo weren't originally going to even be in FFXII but the higher ups insisted that they include them to appeal to teens and it really shows. Ashe is really the main character of the game, with Basch and Balthier dealing with their family issues after that. Vaan and Penelo are just kind of... there and along for the ride and don't really do anything. The current version of FF15 was in development for 10+ years!
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Aug 7, 2017 18:11
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In spite of Lightning's trying to bring Snow down to reality, the entire game is about "I reject your reality and substitute my own" right down to when our heroes do exactly what the villain tells hem to do but the y believe really hard that it won't actually do what the villains said it would. And oh look, everyone is okay and Serah is rescued so I guess it was a good thing they rushed in recklessly and punched the robogods a lot.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:17
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CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:The current version of FF15 was in development for 10+ years! I want you to know, no matter who serious posts about this later, that I appreciate and understand this post.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:33
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NikkolasKing posted:Snow isn't the main protagonist, though. Then again, I think XIII has a FFVI thing going on and it's more of a ensemble story. I never felt like the game was more about Lightning than the others. This is decidedly not her story and she doesn't receive any more focus (har har) or development than the others. Celes is one of my favorite FF characters ever. I still contend that Squall is the victim of a lovely translation. I can see where they were trying to go with his character (cold standoffish guy learns about friendship and that relying on people and showing emotion can be a good thing). It just didn't fully come through (and also on disc 1 he comes off as a total dick)
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Aug 7, 2017 18:34
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Squall is a huge awkward dork.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:36
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Morby posted:Celes is one of my favorite FF characters ever.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:49
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So I went and finished getting all of the Trophies in Episode Gladiolus yesterday. Gladio's Parry is kind of awkward to learn and even then still a bit awkward to execute, but once you get the hang of it it makes the Gilgamesh fight, the Cor fight, and the Score Attack mode pretty fun. I ended up with about 1.1 Million points in my Score Attack run for the Blademaster Trophy. Looking forward to trying the Prompto DLC soon, though I think I'm gonna wipe up some more of FF15's postgame first.
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Aug 7, 2017 19:27
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Squall is great if you find the rest of the cast annoying. He's serious when it counts, though. Also, his burn game is on point. Tidus is the worst because he's such a spoiled brat at the start. The Tidus/Yuna romance was pretty bland too.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:05
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Randallteal posted:Squall is great if you find the rest of the cast annoying. He's serious when it counts, though. Also, his burn game is on point. interestingly enough, if you like the rest of the cast, you'll probably hate squall because he generally treats them like poo poo it's me, i'm the one who likes the supporting cast of 8 and hates the two leads
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Aug 7, 2017 20:07
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The White Dragon posted:interestingly enough, if you like the rest of the cast, you'll probably hate squall because he generally treats them like poo poo I think they're okay, but they're definitely more of a collection of gently caress ups than most FF casts. My favorite character moment in that game is when Irvine has a panic attack during the assassination attempt on Edea and Squall calmly Dr. Phils him into taking the shot. Squall's arc is learning to trust and rely on other people, but he doesn't let his own hang ups get in the way of completing his mission even from the start.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:27
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The White Dragon posted:interestingly enough, if you like the rest of the cast, you'll probably hate squall because he generally treats them like poo poo I don't have the hateboner for Squall like the rest of the Internet, but Quistis is definitely my favorite character in the game and deserved a better arc and sequel.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:32
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Morby posted:I don't have the hateboner for Squall like the rest of the Internet, but Quistis is definitely my favorite character in the game and deserved a better arc and sequel. This but replace Quistis with Seifer. I've always loved Seifer and his role within the story is perfect. He just needed better writing that kept him relevant.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:43
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Seifer v. Squall is the most anime Final Fantasy gets. I love that you get to fight him a bunch, and his sidekicks are pretty funny.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:46
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Morby posted:I don't have the hateboner for Squall like the rest of the Internet, but Quistis is definitely my favorite character in the game and deserved a better arc and sequel. Quistis always felt like she should have been a much older character than she was but because this is a JRPG everybody's gotta be under 20 years of age or else.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:47
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if you'd played as seifer and the game had been about realizing that becoming a sorceress's knight is actually pretty lovely if the sorceress is a lovely person and the love story had been between raijin and fishing in balamb town, ff8 would've been way better
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Aug 7, 2017 20:48
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It's never too late for VIII-2 and Squall Returns IMO
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Aug 7, 2017 20:52
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Benjamin owns. His home town is destroyed and he's immediately thrust into saving the world and all he does is shrug his shoulders and complain about his allowance. He doesn't really know what the hell he's doing, he's just happy to be along for the ride.
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Aug 7, 2017 20:54
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Randallteal posted:Seifer v. Squall is the most anime Final Fantasy gets. I love that you get to fight him a bunch, and his sidekicks are pretty funny. The final arc with Fujin was pretty evocative. I wish we knew more about how things turned out with them in the end. exquisite tea posted:Quistis always felt like she should have been a much older character than she was but because this is a JRPG everybody's gotta be under 20 years of age or else. She was practically ancient at 19 by JRPG standards. But I loved her blue magic abilities and, as a character, she had some pretty funny dialogue from time to time. Help Im Alive posted:It's never too late for VIII-2 and Squall Returns IMO I would love the hell outta that. I think there are enough loose ends to play with, too.
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Aug 7, 2017 21:03
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Panic! at Nabisco posted:This is hearsay and isn't even true, Vaan is visible in extremely early concept art Okay I stand corrected. I don't think Vaan is all that annoying though? It's funny, I posted about FF12 on facebook and a friend of mine just LOATHES Vaan and wants to murder him with a rusty spoon and I'm just not really getting it. He's basically Aladdin with less personality Penelo seems to be the character people love to hate from 12, but... she didn't bother me either? I feel like there's plenty of way worse, more annoying and stupider final fantasy characters than Vaan and Penelo, if anything Vaan and Penelo are just kind of bland and inoffensive and just kind of... there. It almost felt like the writers forgot that Penelo even existed after the beginning of the game until she says something while they're walking through Pharos and you're like "oh yeah, she's a character in this game I guess"
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Aug 7, 2017 21:04
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CeallaSo posted:Most of the protagonists are good, though. Squall and Lightning are probably among the worst; the former not because of his constant brooding (he's a teenager with a sad and kind of blurry past, it makes sense) but because the plot goes to great lengths to stress how cool and important he is in spite of his many glaring flaws, and the latter because she's an encapsulation of everything that is wrong with SE's current perception of what Cloud was like in VII: a cold and uncaring former soldier who sulks a lot. While I think this statement is true, I don't think that's fair to say as a criticism for a separate character. What sucks about brooding Cloud is that they are transforming Cloud into something he originally wasn't supposed to be like. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with making a new character who is that brooding archetype, or that you can't do a brooding archetype well. I'm not saying you can't criticize Lightning's character, cause something like "Her character arc doesn't go anywhere past the halfway point in the game" would be more fair and accurate. But Lightning isn't Cloud or related to him past the initial designs; it's not fair to fault that character for something SE is doing to a completely different one.
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Aug 7, 2017 21:15
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Lightning was cool and funny in LR, she just needed a better contrasting support cast.
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Aug 7, 2017 21:15
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Dissidia update: Jecht is in. I want to say this is the first time we've ever seen Jecht doing his own shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PqRtRRvDyI At this point, DFF is missing an antagonist from 3, 8, 11, 12, 13,14, tactics and type-0. And Noctis. Varance fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Aug 7, 2017 |
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Aug 7, 2017 21:43
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Dissidia and Dissidia Duodecim had his Jecht Shot in as his EX Move. He kicks a meteor at you.
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Aug 7, 2017 21:49
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A bit late but Snow is unironically a better character than any pre-FF7 protagonist. He's basically just Locke but kind of cool instead of really lame thief.
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Aug 7, 2017 21:54
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Shiva as a motorcycle owns tho
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Aug 7, 2017 21:56
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