Rodney
06-13-2012, 10:05 AM
This is the sixth of my series of threads and polls, asking all of you for your personal rankings of the characters from each FF game in the numbered games. You can base them on personality, usefulness in gameplay, relevance to the story, general enjoyment of each character, or even frivolous things such as their character themes. Whatever you want to base them on. Also included is a poll on which you can vote for your absolute favorite from each game.
This is my sixth one. It's for FF7! At last, we're back to the games where character development was stronger. But this is another game where, at least for me, personality was the only determining factor. Well . . . that and story arcs, though that was only a secondary factor.
And can we please have some actual rankings here?! Don't wanna go into full-on rankings? Then please don't post, or you'll drive me crazy!
So here are my rankings:
1. Yuffie: Yes, okay? Yes. She's at the top. So all of you hate her. What-smurfing-ever. Main benefit being the requisite PYG character. But I also just love her. She's selfish a lot of the time, but for me, in a funny, entertaining way. I actually like that she has contrasting opinions from the party. (Remember Barret spilling his guts about what happened to Corel? While I appreciated Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and Red XIII all feeling bad for him, I kinda liked that she was the sole discerning voice who didn't feel bad for him.) I liked that she was seemingly the only one really close to Red XIII (they talk together when Cloud's the one unceremoniously sent to follow Priscilla, and she kind of jokingly says she makes fun of him to blow off steam). I loved that even with her selfishness, she had selfless moments, like wanting to kick Cid's ass over how he treated Shera. And while I know it should annoy me, I like her having Materia on her mind almost all the time! Even her subplot in Wutai and her Pagoda climb, while not having a lot to do with the story, is interesting to me. In fact, it's one of the parts of the game I most look forward to. Oh, and not to mention her "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" laugh. She can even be vulnerable at times, like when she tells all about Wutai's fall and her drive to get it back on track, and how she hugs Cloud while crying after Sephiroth kills Aeris. If there's anything about her I have to complain about, though, it's the complete random way of having to wait to find her in order to recruit her. And her motion sickness, because . . . what? Oh, and how sometimes, if she's in your party, her tendency to say things only vaguely relevant to what's going on. But other than that, I dig Yuffie. All right. I said it. I. LOVE. YUFFIE.
2. Red XIII: Numbers two and three were both really close for me, but I went with the talking dog. FF7 was actually my first FF game, so seeing a nonhuman playable character was still new to me. And ten years later, that novelty still hasn't worn off. I liked that he was a sea of quiet amongst the louder, more-able-to-freak-out characters. Hell, I just liked that he was a smurfing dog who could talk! And kept to himself around everyone but Yuffie. (Or Cloud, Tifa, or Cid, when you have them talk to him.) Basically, I dug him the second-most, so he's up here in the second spot.
3. Barret: Like I said, two and three were very, very close. But Red XIII's quietness and calmness pushed him above Barret's loudness and recklessness. Not that he's not a cool character, too. He is. Not to mention very interesting. And at the time, I was only marginally into RPGs, and seeing one of the first black characters in one of them gave me endless delight. It was fantastic seeing my peeps finally represented. Also, I was drawn in by Barret's temper, his freakouts, and even, surprisingly, his bond with Marlene. His character arc that revealed his past and showed his gradual realization that he was no leader was also fascinating. My one gripe? Glad to see one of my peeps in an RPG, but perhaps he acted way too much like . . . one of my peeps. :P
4. Vincent: Four and five were another close match. But Mr. Valentine wins out. I liked how quiet and mysterious he was. I liked that he was one of those characters of whose past we only saw snippets rather than a full-on reveal. It invited just enough interest from me that I wanted to see more of it. (Though after sitting through my brother playing Dirge of Cerberus, I now regret having that interest.) And I enjoyed seeing his bi or bi-curious moment with Cid. (Come on. You just know you had fun with his suggestion to Cid in the Ghost Hotel that they go back to their rooms. My brother and I sure did!;D) Him not being a required character, yet still having some plot relation in spite of that, also intrigued me. In fact, even in your party, he'd say things more relevant to what was going on than even Yuffie would. Still, he wasn't more interesting or (to me) likable than the top three, so he's number four.
5. Aeris: She just got edged out by Vincent for one reason: she died. I quite liked and enjoyed Aeris and really wanted to see more of her, and even now, I hate that she didn't get past disc one. If nothing else, they should've let her get at least a little bit into disc two before killing her off. That said, she found ways to be bubbly without being annoying, and I actually liked how she was able to have empathy and compassion toward pretty much anyone she met. I even liked how she befriended Tifa so easily despite her being clear competition for Cloud. Don't see that every day. I liked her attempts to be brave and a heroine, even though they fell flat most of the time and ended with her either in danger of being kidnapped (the chase in the church), actually kidnapped (after Sector 7 got destroyed), or buried in a pond (end of disc one :(). Yes, all of those made Aeris one of my favorites, as well as the last of my "absolutely love" characters.
6. Tifa: Here's where we start my "like very much, but no huge love" characters. I'll flat-out say that while she starts out so strong as a strong, kick-ass woman, she kinda loses steam for me when she basically loses herself in Cloud. Her friendship with Aeris was very nice to see, as it was refreshing not to see two women go at it over a man they both clearly liked. But it was a shame to see a woman who was strong on the surface reveal herself to just be a damsel in distress dreaming of actually being saved by a man. It says something when Aeris and even Yuffie were stronger in strength and character than she was. At least they only had to be saved. Tifa wanted to be. Eesh.
7. Cid: Cid would be one of my "love" characters if not for . . . well . . . the fact that there wasn't much to his character except for his love of science and his dreams of going into space. Oh, but there was his temper, I guess. And his swearing. And his smoking after winning a battle. And his order to Cloud to "drink [his] Goddamn TEA!" But . . . that's about it. Well, he was a decent leader during his time in control of the party, but . . . whatever. He was one of my brother's favorites, though. So there's that.
8. Cait Sith: I both am and am not surprised to be putting him this low. When I played, I loved his energy and playfulness, and his fortunetelling machine dances. And his slouching whenever he found out something sad. But then, I remember it was only the cat and moogle. The meat of his character was Reeve, who was controlling him. And let's face it -- other than his arc of coming to see how different the party's motivations were from the Shinra's, who cares about Reeve? (Well, Bob obviously does.) Plus, I rarely even used him due to his Slots Limit. If Cait Sith had been his own character, I'd have more than likely placed him higher. Still, it's not like I don't like him. I do. In fact, all of the top eight I like or love. There's only one character I truly do abhor, and that's . . .
9. Cloud: . . . this guy. I'll start with the good. I liked his early characterization, when he was actually funny, sarcastic, and a bit more upbeat. And he has probably one of the most complex, explored backgrounds, as well as one of the best character arcs in FF history, and is probably one of the strongest fighters in any party, ever. He was my savior, for sure, in all of the hardest fights, including the final one with Sephiroth. Even the rivalry with Sephiroth was one of the best-written. And I felt for him when he clearly blamed himself for Aeris's death. But . . . I still just plain hate the guy. His last name is really fitting, because it seems like that's all his character was really, truly about: strife. After Sephiroth entered the picture, he was all about him, all the time. And his formerly upbeat self got more and more downtrodden and brooding until I was so annoyed with him and just wanted him to shut up and get out of my party and off my screen. For good. But sadly, they wouldn't. And even worse, they totally forgot all about his more upbeat qualities and just carried over his brooding, borderline-emo personality into his subsequent appearances. And soon, that came to be all there was to know about Cloud. Hated that. And hated him. Still do. Oh, and he possesses one other quality in a hero I don't wanna see: the tendency to get into someone's business even after either being expressly told not to be, or just the situation generally not having anything to do with him. (See: getting into Barret's with Dyne and Red XIII's with Seto.) Actually, that particular quality (admittedly along with his other ones) has him fighting it out with Eternal Sonata's Allegretto for my least favorite RPG character ever. Probably even least favorite video game character ever. I know a lot of you out there think he's all that, but I will forever believe that he's not. So he's last.
But these are just my rankings. How about everyone else's?
This is my sixth one. It's for FF7! At last, we're back to the games where character development was stronger. But this is another game where, at least for me, personality was the only determining factor. Well . . . that and story arcs, though that was only a secondary factor.
And can we please have some actual rankings here?! Don't wanna go into full-on rankings? Then please don't post, or you'll drive me crazy!
So here are my rankings:
1. Yuffie: Yes, okay? Yes. She's at the top. So all of you hate her. What-smurfing-ever. Main benefit being the requisite PYG character. But I also just love her. She's selfish a lot of the time, but for me, in a funny, entertaining way. I actually like that she has contrasting opinions from the party. (Remember Barret spilling his guts about what happened to Corel? While I appreciated Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and Red XIII all feeling bad for him, I kinda liked that she was the sole discerning voice who didn't feel bad for him.) I liked that she was seemingly the only one really close to Red XIII (they talk together when Cloud's the one unceremoniously sent to follow Priscilla, and she kind of jokingly says she makes fun of him to blow off steam). I loved that even with her selfishness, she had selfless moments, like wanting to kick Cid's ass over how he treated Shera. And while I know it should annoy me, I like her having Materia on her mind almost all the time! Even her subplot in Wutai and her Pagoda climb, while not having a lot to do with the story, is interesting to me. In fact, it's one of the parts of the game I most look forward to. Oh, and not to mention her "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" laugh. She can even be vulnerable at times, like when she tells all about Wutai's fall and her drive to get it back on track, and how she hugs Cloud while crying after Sephiroth kills Aeris. If there's anything about her I have to complain about, though, it's the complete random way of having to wait to find her in order to recruit her. And her motion sickness, because . . . what? Oh, and how sometimes, if she's in your party, her tendency to say things only vaguely relevant to what's going on. But other than that, I dig Yuffie. All right. I said it. I. LOVE. YUFFIE.
2. Red XIII: Numbers two and three were both really close for me, but I went with the talking dog. FF7 was actually my first FF game, so seeing a nonhuman playable character was still new to me. And ten years later, that novelty still hasn't worn off. I liked that he was a sea of quiet amongst the louder, more-able-to-freak-out characters. Hell, I just liked that he was a smurfing dog who could talk! And kept to himself around everyone but Yuffie. (Or Cloud, Tifa, or Cid, when you have them talk to him.) Basically, I dug him the second-most, so he's up here in the second spot.
3. Barret: Like I said, two and three were very, very close. But Red XIII's quietness and calmness pushed him above Barret's loudness and recklessness. Not that he's not a cool character, too. He is. Not to mention very interesting. And at the time, I was only marginally into RPGs, and seeing one of the first black characters in one of them gave me endless delight. It was fantastic seeing my peeps finally represented. Also, I was drawn in by Barret's temper, his freakouts, and even, surprisingly, his bond with Marlene. His character arc that revealed his past and showed his gradual realization that he was no leader was also fascinating. My one gripe? Glad to see one of my peeps in an RPG, but perhaps he acted way too much like . . . one of my peeps. :P
4. Vincent: Four and five were another close match. But Mr. Valentine wins out. I liked how quiet and mysterious he was. I liked that he was one of those characters of whose past we only saw snippets rather than a full-on reveal. It invited just enough interest from me that I wanted to see more of it. (Though after sitting through my brother playing Dirge of Cerberus, I now regret having that interest.) And I enjoyed seeing his bi or bi-curious moment with Cid. (Come on. You just know you had fun with his suggestion to Cid in the Ghost Hotel that they go back to their rooms. My brother and I sure did!;D) Him not being a required character, yet still having some plot relation in spite of that, also intrigued me. In fact, even in your party, he'd say things more relevant to what was going on than even Yuffie would. Still, he wasn't more interesting or (to me) likable than the top three, so he's number four.
5. Aeris: She just got edged out by Vincent for one reason: she died. I quite liked and enjoyed Aeris and really wanted to see more of her, and even now, I hate that she didn't get past disc one. If nothing else, they should've let her get at least a little bit into disc two before killing her off. That said, she found ways to be bubbly without being annoying, and I actually liked how she was able to have empathy and compassion toward pretty much anyone she met. I even liked how she befriended Tifa so easily despite her being clear competition for Cloud. Don't see that every day. I liked her attempts to be brave and a heroine, even though they fell flat most of the time and ended with her either in danger of being kidnapped (the chase in the church), actually kidnapped (after Sector 7 got destroyed), or buried in a pond (end of disc one :(). Yes, all of those made Aeris one of my favorites, as well as the last of my "absolutely love" characters.
6. Tifa: Here's where we start my "like very much, but no huge love" characters. I'll flat-out say that while she starts out so strong as a strong, kick-ass woman, she kinda loses steam for me when she basically loses herself in Cloud. Her friendship with Aeris was very nice to see, as it was refreshing not to see two women go at it over a man they both clearly liked. But it was a shame to see a woman who was strong on the surface reveal herself to just be a damsel in distress dreaming of actually being saved by a man. It says something when Aeris and even Yuffie were stronger in strength and character than she was. At least they only had to be saved. Tifa wanted to be. Eesh.
7. Cid: Cid would be one of my "love" characters if not for . . . well . . . the fact that there wasn't much to his character except for his love of science and his dreams of going into space. Oh, but there was his temper, I guess. And his swearing. And his smoking after winning a battle. And his order to Cloud to "drink [his] Goddamn TEA!" But . . . that's about it. Well, he was a decent leader during his time in control of the party, but . . . whatever. He was one of my brother's favorites, though. So there's that.
8. Cait Sith: I both am and am not surprised to be putting him this low. When I played, I loved his energy and playfulness, and his fortunetelling machine dances. And his slouching whenever he found out something sad. But then, I remember it was only the cat and moogle. The meat of his character was Reeve, who was controlling him. And let's face it -- other than his arc of coming to see how different the party's motivations were from the Shinra's, who cares about Reeve? (Well, Bob obviously does.) Plus, I rarely even used him due to his Slots Limit. If Cait Sith had been his own character, I'd have more than likely placed him higher. Still, it's not like I don't like him. I do. In fact, all of the top eight I like or love. There's only one character I truly do abhor, and that's . . .
9. Cloud: . . . this guy. I'll start with the good. I liked his early characterization, when he was actually funny, sarcastic, and a bit more upbeat. And he has probably one of the most complex, explored backgrounds, as well as one of the best character arcs in FF history, and is probably one of the strongest fighters in any party, ever. He was my savior, for sure, in all of the hardest fights, including the final one with Sephiroth. Even the rivalry with Sephiroth was one of the best-written. And I felt for him when he clearly blamed himself for Aeris's death. But . . . I still just plain hate the guy. His last name is really fitting, because it seems like that's all his character was really, truly about: strife. After Sephiroth entered the picture, he was all about him, all the time. And his formerly upbeat self got more and more downtrodden and brooding until I was so annoyed with him and just wanted him to shut up and get out of my party and off my screen. For good. But sadly, they wouldn't. And even worse, they totally forgot all about his more upbeat qualities and just carried over his brooding, borderline-emo personality into his subsequent appearances. And soon, that came to be all there was to know about Cloud. Hated that. And hated him. Still do. Oh, and he possesses one other quality in a hero I don't wanna see: the tendency to get into someone's business even after either being expressly told not to be, or just the situation generally not having anything to do with him. (See: getting into Barret's with Dyne and Red XIII's with Seto.) Actually, that particular quality (admittedly along with his other ones) has him fighting it out with Eternal Sonata's Allegretto for my least favorite RPG character ever. Probably even least favorite video game character ever. I know a lot of you out there think he's all that, but I will forever believe that he's not. So he's last.
But these are just my rankings. How about everyone else's?