Fucking Algus

[Raistlin]

What is your second most hated character in FFT? That's the only question I can ask in this thread, because Algus is obviously the most hated.

There are a lot of evil, back-stabbing bastards in Final Fantasy Tactics, that do a lot of bad things to a lot of people. But no one makes me hate them so consistently as Algus (or Argrath from the PSP retranslation), a relatively minor villain from Chapter 1. Fucking right douchebag, he is.

First, he's just a pompous jerk. He despises all peasants, as if they were somehow genetically inferior than those arbitrarily determined "nobles". That's kind of the norm for some FFT nobles, but Algus takes that snobbery to a whole new level.

And then, of course, he kills Teta, just because she was in the way -- even though Delita was among those who helped save his life. I already hated him at that point, but that just cemented him, to me, as one of the most despicable characters in the game -- hell, even the series.

Discuss how much you hate Algus. Alternatively, discuss your other hated characters from this game.

[Roogle]

The maniacal attitude of characters who had been taken over by the power of the Zodiac Stones annoyed me -- not necessarily in a bad way. I couldn't wait to put Wiegraf out of his misery.

[Shotgunnova]

Oh yeah, Algus is one despicable guy. The thing I like about the first chapter is that he seems like a perfectly normal cadet, up 'til Thieves' Fort or so, and all his shortcomings tumble out of that big mouth of his. Of course, after seeing Teta introduced and how she's being bullied at school, it hits extra hard when he lets that arrow fly. You'd think having family disgrace hanging over his head would make him a smidgen humble...but naw, he's gotta get his rocks off by bullying peasants. Still, for being such a minor antagonist, giving Algus a dirtnap is immensely satisfying. [If battles were replayable, Zeakden would definitely be my favorite punching bag!]

[Jowy]

hate him.

vormav's a prick too.

[VeloZer0]

Or is he? I don't know that we ever got to see the real Vorman.

[Jowy]

Chapter 2, first battle at Dorter. I assume that was before any zodiac stone effects were rampant but its been a while and I could be wrong.

[VeloZer0]

It doesn't ever actually say, but I got the impression that the zodiac demons had been pulling the strings even prior to the Lion War.

[*Laurelindo*]

I'm not sure why Algus is the most hated character, but personally I found him annoying because he looked generally uncomfortable on his portrait and always complained about everything.
And his personality becomes even more annoying when he doesn't even have a good status to compensate for it, he is "just a cadet".
A low-status guy with a sucky personality.

Failure.

[Red Mage Coffman]

What is your second most hated character in FFT? That's the only question I can ask in this thread, because Algus is obviously the most hated.

There are a lot of evil, back-stabbing bastards in Final Fantasy Tactics, that do a lot of bad things to a lot of people. But no one makes me hate them so consistently as Algus (or Argrath from the PSP retranslation), a relatively minor villain from Chapter 1. smurfing right douchebag, he is.

First, he's just a pompous jerk. He despises all peasants, as if they were somehow genetically inferior than those arbitrarily determined "nobles". That's kind of the norm for some FFT nobles, but Algus takes that snobbery to a whole new level.

And then, of course, he kills Teta, just because she was in the way -- even though Delita was among those who helped save his life. I already hated him at that point, but that just cemented him, to me, as one of the most despicable characters in the game -- hell, even the series.

Discuss how much you hate Algus. Alternatively, discuss your other hated characters from this game.

Yeah, this sums it up for me.

[Bolivar]

He's my most hated for being an annoying little prick but I do have a small shred of sympathy for him, because his family had fallen into disrepute and he was desperate to revive their name.

I don't want to fall into the "the game is all grey!" cliche, but a lot of the characters have sympathetic hooks like that. Wiegraf's sister is one. Lately I've been thinking Tactics Ogre is better, but FFT's story is so personal that it might have the better story.

[Skyblade]

Delita. I hate him more than Algus. Personally, had I been Ramza, he'd have had his throat slit pretty much immediately after we first met when he kidnapped the princess.

[VeloZer0]

For saving her life?

[Raistlin]

Yeah, Delita may have been misguided, but he was trying to do the right thing there. Algus, on the other hand, was just a self-centered asshole.

[Skyblade]

Yeah, Delita may have been misguided, but he was trying to do the right thing there. Algus, on the other hand, was just a self-centered asshole.

Delita is also a self-centered asshole. That's pretty much his entire character after his sister dies, he's just one with a longer plan. And no one frelling calls him on it.

At least everyone treats Algus like a self-centered asshole. Personally, I think Agrias should have executed Delita for treason after the battle at the falls, and the plot would have been so much better.

[Roogle]

Yeah, Delita may have been misguided, but he was trying to do the right thing there. Algus, on the other hand, was just a self-centered asshole.

I definitely don't see Delita as trying to do the right thing. I feel like he only wanted to seize power from the structure that ultimately took his sister away from him. He does have some hints of goodness left in him as he left Valmafra live, but he was so cutthroat that he retaliated against Ovelia with deadly force in what was seemingly an instant reaction rather than any premeditation. I think it says how cold and manipulative he had become after it was all said and done. I mean, I think living life like that leads one to become calloused in a way that they would retaliate like that. Does that make sense?

[KentaRawr!]

I haven't gotten very far in Ogre Battle: Person of Lordly Caliber (or FFT, admittedly), but Algus has a pretty obvious equivalent in the form of Eurynome Rhade, I think. Check it out! But maybe I'm wrong.

Anywho, as for FFT characters I dislike, it's hard to really say without having played much of the game. Argus is the only character I can think of who I really disliked from what I played.

[Edge7]

Delita. I hate him more than Algus. Personally, had I been Ramza, he'd have had his throat slit pretty much immediately after we first met when he kidnapped the princess.
Damn, more than Algus? I mean Algus is a bigoted sycophant, and it's his behavior and actions that prompted Delita to act the way he did throughout the game (so guess who my most hated character is?).

And with Delita, eh, I like him the same way I like The Count of Monte Cristo; both are manipulative characters who use deceit as a weapon, and the degrees of their revenge know no bounds; they're highly flawed people with one goal in mind (and even then, I'd have to give points to Delita for channeling himself for more than revenge), but I root for them anyway because I feel that their motives are justified.

[Roogle]

Delita. I hate him more than Algus. Personally, had I been Ramza, he'd have had his throat slit pretty much immediately after we first met when he kidnapped the princess.

Ramza had a very sheltered childhood and likely considered Delita, Tietra, and Alma his only real family and friends due to the strict nature of the noble household. I can understand him still considering them friends after all that happened because they are probably he has left in terms of a family. I feel bad that they had such little interaction in the end product. I would have liked to see more interaction between them to better understand their dynamic.

[Skyblade]

Delita. I hate him more than Algus. Personally, had I been Ramza, he'd have had his throat slit pretty much immediately after we first met when he kidnapped the princess.
Damn, more than Algus? I mean Algus is a bigoted sycophant, and it's his behavior and actions that prompted Delita to act the way he did throughout the game (so guess who my most hated character is?).

And with Delita, eh, I like him the same way I like The Count of Monte Cristo; both are manipulative characters who use deceit as a weapon, and the degrees of their revenge know no bounds; they're highly flawed people with one goal in mind (and even then, I'd have to give points to Delita for channeling himself for more than revenge), but I root for them anyway because I feel that their motives are justified.

Yep, more than Algus. Again, Algus gets treated like the horrible person he is, while no one seems to get upset about Delita, or do anything to stop him. At least Algus gets what's coming to him.

[Edge7]

Well, to be fair, Delita now has to spend the rest of his lonely existence separated from anybody he ever cared for (which I like to think includes Ovelia, the only reason he killed her was because she stabbed him first). In a way, that's his punishment for his manipulative nature. It's sort of like how in The Count Of Monte Cristo, the count has to live with the fact that his quest for vengeance has killed a little boy, his mother, and has driven his father to lunacy. What I'm arguing is that I like characters like these because they don't get happy endings, even if they accomplish their mission. They're fully aware of their sins, and they suffer with a hollow victory.

But again, we could all rack that up to a difference in taste.

Back to Algus though, I've got to give him some credit in that he makes good cannon fodder.

[VeloZer0]

You are also going to accept the fact that not everyone views Delita as the games antagonist. There are many actions that he takes that make absolutely no sense from the perspective of a power mad dictator, but do make sense in the context of a man willing to sell his own soul for the ability to affect change in Ivalice. There are arguments in the game for Delita being anywhere from the penultimate evil in the game to neutral straight through to being a more tragic hero than Ramza. Obviously for most of these he is better than Algus.

[Skyblade]

Well, the thread's about characters we hate, so of course personal preference is going to come into it.

However, while his nature as antagonist or antihero may be debatable, his nature is fairly clear. He doesn't care about anyone except his sister. And if you think he cared about Ophelia at all, then ask me why, when she's bleeding to death, he completely ignores her and instead his thoughts turn immediately to himself. Of course he doesn't kill her before that. She's his only claim to the throne. Had he killed her, it would have undermined his position.

He cares about no one but himself as soon as his sister dies, and he spends the entire rest of the game on a revenge trip and power grab. And no one ever calls him on it or tries to stop him.

Every time I think about this game's story, Delita, and that ending scene, just pop up to stab me in the gut. Oooh, I hate it so much. It ruins the entire game's story for me.

[Greatermaximus]

I smell something that begins with a T and ends with an L.

I'm sure the producers, writers, ect., kept your opinion in mind 'before' the game was published. One could try hard enough to imagine other games with characters equally compelling and interesting? Ect., ect.,.

[comma]

I personally really liked Delita's plot. One could argue that his character is what sets FFT apart from the rest of the series as a more mature drama. You can't call his attitudes and actions simply bad or simply good. Some of them are misguided, but they're due to the struggles he endured as a commoner and due to his sister's being killed like a dog by nobles. I don't blame him in the slightest for enacting his vengeance and choosing to shape history, even if he's arrogant and self-centered. Vengeance is always self-centered, because it means you think justice must be served for a transgression against you that nobody else cares about as much as you do.

But Delita isn't meant to be a perfect character; he's meant to be greatly flawed. That's the whole point of the story: history sees Delita as a hero who ended the war and improved life, but in reality, his vengeance drove him to excess, while it was actually Ramza who picked up the slack and acted in the name of good. Delita wasn't strictly good or bad; his plot was nuanced and tragic.

[Foo]

Oh yeah, Algus is one despicable guy. The thing I like about the first chapter is that he seems like a perfectly normal cadet, up 'til Thieves' Fort or so, and all his shortcomings tumble out of that big mouth of his. Of course, after seeing Teta introduced and how she's being bullied at school, it hits extra hard when he lets that arrow fly. You'd think having family disgrace hanging over his head would make him a smidgen humble...but naw, he's gotta get his rocks off by bullying peasants. Still, for being such a minor antagonist, giving Algus a dirtnap is immensely satisfying. [If battles were replayable, Zeakden would definitely be my favorite punching bag!]

He really is a bastard. You've got to give it to him, he's got one of the most mean-spirited and biting comebacks that the FF series has ever had:




Miluda: Who do you think you are!? We're not animals! We're
human, just like you! There's no difference among us other
than our families! You ever been hungry? With only soup to eat
for months? Why do we have to suffer? Because you nobles
deprive us our right to live!

Algus: Human? Hmph, ridiculous! From the minute you were born
you had to obey us! From the second you were born you were our
animals!!

Miluda: Says who!? That's nonsense! Who decided all this?!

Algus: It's the Will of Heaven!

Miluda: Heaven? God would never say such things! In his eyes,
all are equal! He'd never let this happen! Never!

Algus: Animals have no God!!

Miluda: !!!!