Is Terra a "strong" protagonist?

[Laddy]

Discuss.

[Jiro]

Define strong. Terra is a good protagonist, but she is hardly the epitome of a tough character. She does eventually find her resolve though, which is arguably much better in a character than being a competent yet unchanging badass.

[Quindiana Jones]

I don't care.

I liked her.

[Flying Mullet]

Brother? At first glance, I thought he was some bodybuilder who had strayed from his gym...
Logically, the only way that Terra could know what a bodybuilder looks like is if she spends time at a gym. Thus, she must be strong as she goes to the gym.

[The Man]

If you mean physically, she is capable of doing a troutload of damage in battle. If you mean emotionally, she goes through a ton of trout that would utterly break much weaker characters without suffering a mental breakdown, even if her resolve isn't utterly steadfast throughout the game. So either way I'd say yes.

[Slothy]

Gotta agree with you I think Man. She's taken from her parents as a child, enslaved and used as a living weapon, finds out she's only half-human to begin with, her father was tortured and experimented on her whole life, all while having no idea who she really is and fighting an empire to save the world. Oh, and they are betrayed and end up failing at that.

I'm not sure when I would have thrown up my arms and said fuck it, but it probably would have happened a lot sooner.

[Silent Warrior]

I'd say she's somewhere in the middle. She's not Lightning-strong, or Elaine Marley-strong, but she's not some random female who hangs on to Locke due to simple cluelessness. If she weren't so smurfin' polite and soft spoken and brooding all the time it would be easier to tell...
(So Celes is a stronger protagonist!)

[Laddy]

Lightning is too mean-spirited and lacking in self-awareness to be considered "strong", in my opinion.

She's like a female version of literally any given mainstream video game protagonist.

[Elskidor]

For all the crap she went through and to not only survive it, but to overcome it and learn to live again, and stand strong as hero, motherly figure and even a type of leader, I think she's as tough as nails. I love that her past didn't turn her into a mean and bitter heroine like some of the other games, or a cocky annoying character for that matter. Terra is pretty bad ass once you think about it. What all did she really go through? What all do you think Kefka did to her that wasn't shown in the game? He's a pretty twisted sick man, and she was his personal toy of destruction for awhile. Now here is another question that I started to think on since I've been playing the game recently. Do you think she had PTSD? I know a lot of flashbacks were probably just her memories beginning to resurface, but I don't think it's unreasonable to think some of them were triggers and flashes of the horrors she experienced over the years of her tragic past.

[Loony BoB]

I don't like her, so I'm incredibly biased, but I mean... compared to the plethora of characters within FF games that have gone through massively traumatic experiences, I would say she is not strong. I don't like Aeris either, but I can at least say that Aeris is an extremely strong character despite what has happened throughout her life. Terra cried about it, moped about it and even had to be convinced by everyone else to keep fighting. Hell, that didn't even work the first time. All the others carried on fighting without her, I'd say they were the strong ones. She did have moments of strength, but I would not say she was a naturally strong character.

[Psychotic]

Terra's been through hell and she's still standing, and I think it's touching to watch her develop and grow as a person, understanding love. Is she strong? I don't know, I wouldn't say she's exactly a forceful personality or someone dripping with charisma. She's just a lonely girl who got mixed up in all of this. She's definitely not weak either though.

[Greatermaximus]

Mixed bag. It varies among aspects and the people who judge her.

>>> You are expected to believe what the author tells you.

http://home.eyesonff.com/eyes-each-other/132291-fictions-upper-limit.html

[Elskidor]

You are expected to believe what the author tells you.



I'm going with Terra is PTSD superhero girl! Sometimes using your imagination helps flesh out the characters when you feel the author left a few things out, and it works for me.

[maybee]

Lightning is too mean-spirited and lacking in self-awareness to be considered "strong", in my opinion.


YES :heart:


Terra is more mentally strong than physically strong, she becomes both physically and mentally strong throughout the game though.

She starts off weak and lost, but then throughout the game, becomes really strong.

[Greatermaximus]

No matter how many times you ask is there no definitive answer to open-ended questions. I'll keep her as my avatar but by now we should know more than enough about her. I don't sense the author of these games trying to have the characters compare themself to one another. At least not in a relevant way imo.

[Spooniest]

The very fact that it's called into question reveals a chauvinistic attitude. When has anyone asked if Cecil or Cloud were "strong?"

If you mean "well characterized" then yes. She us the focus around which much of the game pivots.

If you mean "effectual," perhaps not as much. But then, nothing protagonists do in jrpgs really amounts to a lot. It's usually how the plans they make get screwed up.

[blackmage_nuke]

People have asked if Tidus is weak

[Loony BoB]

Yeah, I disagree that there is anything chauvanistic about this.

[Spooniest]

I'm just saying, people defend tidus by saying the American VA was bad.

Nobody has to defend Terra cuz she's brilliant. I love the crap out of this game, though. I'm probably very biased in her favor.