Do you think we'll ever see an "older" main character?

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm not talking about these 20 year old kids running around, who can't buy a drink in every country of the world, I'm thinking more of in the range of 35-50 years of age. Someone who has been around long enough to see things and not because some magic artifact makes their 15 year old self actually 15000 years old.

[Ayen]

Hard to say. They may be testing the water some with XV. I don't feel strongly enough to care either way.

[VeloZer0]

Probably not. Going that old and you really start loosing connection with your demographic. I think that late 20s is the best we are ever going to do.

Personally for me, and creating a good level of immersion, you can't go too old or too young. If they are too young then having them be such a badass doesn't make sense. At the same time if they are too old then what have they been doing their whole life to all of a sudden turn the corner and just decide they are going to be awesome? That role usually is filled better by an older more experienced fighter who joins mid game and is already considered quite strong.

What I would like to see is a larger timeline progression on stories. FFT, as I imagine it, probably took place over a few years. Time for Ramza to build up his skills from well trained but typical squire to one of the best fighters in Ivalice. Having everyone go from village kids killing rats at the starting town to world savers in a few weeks really makes it hard to suspend my disbelief. So we get our older protagonists, but we grow with them to get to that point.

[Pumpkin]

Umm 21 is totally old to be saving the world. I mean by 30 you're basically rotting in the ground soo...

In all seriousness, some of it is pretty silly. Like why is that 8 year old helping save the world? Of course I can't complain too much because some of my favourite characters ever were on the young side.

I'm not sure if we'll ever start getting older main characters, but it would be a positive I think. Like 30's to 40's

[Bright Shield]

Nah, typical JRPG hero age is teens to early 20s. If you go to mid 20s you start crossing into villain territory.

[Vyk]

I'm with Wolf, and Japan needs to get over their child hero fetish. I think a good story teller could make an intriguing case for an aged market vendor or something to realize in adulthood that he was actually meant to save the world. That would awesome and possibly hilarious. There's a lot of possibilities there, and it wouldn't be cliche at all. Unfortunately Japan has that damn complex that high school (and possibly sometimes university) is the best time of your life and nothing compares, so if you're going to be chosen to save the world, then that is the time. And they definitely give the stigma that if you're over like 25 then you're like a super old person

For this, I actually loved Tales of Xillia. I kinda groaned when I found out we'd be getting a really old man, because I know how Japan portrays really old men. Except Rowen broke all my preconceptions. And he quickly became a favored character. And not just because I'm over 25 and Japan thinks I should be able to relate to rickety old men!

And as far as demographics go.. I think most game companies need to accept that teenagers aren't the only ones playing their games. I'd actually be surprised to find proof that teenagers are even the biggest demographic these days. Not to mention, are teenagers really having that much fun playing other teenagers? Final Fantasy 7 came out when I was a teenager, and I loved playing as adults. Hell, same with freaking Final Fantasy 6. And Xenogears!

[metagloria]

Nah, typical JRPG hero age is teens to early 20s. If you go to mid 20s you start crossing into villain territory.

It'd be awesome to see a game with a 31-year-old protagonist and a 17-year-old villain.

[Vyk]

Ha, knowing Japan, they'd make them father and son though. But I guess at least then, there's a possibility for real drama, instead of their typical melodrama

[Slothy]

Probably not. Going that old and you really start loosing connection with your demographic. I think that late 20s is the best we are ever going to do.

I don't really agree that you lose your target demographic by going older. The reality today is that the average gamer is in their thirties, and when I was ten years old playing games like FFVI where almost every character was older than me I had no trouble connecting with them. Hell, Cyan was one of my favourite characters and he was also one of the oldest, with a family no less.

I'd love to see some older characters enter the mix, but I have little hope that Square would do it. Certainly not at the moment anyway. They don't seem very big on taking chances lately.

[Wolf Kanno]

Nah, typical JRPG hero age is teens to early 20s. If you go to mid 20s you start crossing into villain territory.

It'd be awesome to see a game with a 31-year-old protagonist and a 17-year-old villain.

Actually if you choose Geddoe in Suikoden III as your main character this actually happens.

[Bright Shield]

^Yeah, but Konami has confirmed that Hugo's path is canon. So it's really a 16 year old hero vs. a 17 year old villain. Pretty much the norm.

[Pete for President]

Probably not. Going that old and you really start loosing connection with your demographic. I think that late 20s is the best we are ever going to do.


I strongly disagree, although I do think that's how the avarage AAA production marketing department thinks.

Old Snake was an awesome hero. Just saying. I would like to see what they could do with an old main protagonist for a FF.

[metagloria]

For the record, probably my favorite JRPG protagonist ever was over 1000 years old. :shrug:

[Bright Shield]

For the record, probably my favorite JRPG protagonist ever was over 1000 years old. :shrug:

Caim?

[Depression Moon]

I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will ever happen or at least in the next six entries.

[metagloria]

For the record, probably my favorite JRPG protagonist ever was over 1000 years old. :shrug:

Caim?
Kaim*. But yes.

[Vyk]

Probably not. Going that old and you really start loosing connection with your demographic. I think that late 20s is the best we are ever going to do.


I strongly disagree, although I do think that's how the avarage AAA production marketing department thinks.

Old Snake was an awesome hero. Just saying. I would like to see what they could do with an old main protagonist for a FF.
To be fair, there's two demographics at play here. Square's target demographic, which they've stated that they always want to aim Final Fantasy at teenagers, because they think it's natural for people to enjoy a series and grow up and move on

And then there's the actual demographic. The people who did enjoy, and did grow up, but expected the series to grow with them, and get cranky for Square leaving them behind

Making an older character would definitely challenge their beliefs about their target demographic (and I still stand by the notion that those teenagers will enjoy playing well portrayed adult characters, so... those beliefs are wrong)

Older characters can satisfy both demographics

[Colonel Angus]

I would love for there to be an older main character, maybe someone in the fashion of a Master Roshi. I really think they need to make another "comedy" FF, something a little more light-hearted & adventurous, instead of this steady stream of emo. Hell, FFX proved you could have a darker story w/ a nice mix of humor.

[Psychotic]

It'll never happen. Though I tell you what, this world saving business is wrapped up in what, a week? A month? A few months? It'd be cool to control a character at various stages throughout their life. Sort of like Ezio in Assassin's Creed.

[Freya]

Cor in XV is supposed to be in his 30s-40s but he's just one of hte playable characters.

I would like to see an older main character but that's just not final fantasy. They've never had a very old main character.

[The Man]

Psy: you'd love Dragon Quest V, then. That's exactly the concept of the game.

[Mirage]

As long as I got a hero that was older than 25, I'd be satisfied.

[Colonel Angus]

I think the closest to an older main character was Galuf, but then they just killed him off anyway. You're probably thinking that "Bartz is the main character," but I think they're all kind of equal, unlike IV where Cid was definitely a secondary character.

[Mirage]

In this context I consider main character to mean the character that represents you, the player. So Bartz in ff5, cloud in 7. Cecil in 4. If there is a game where I can't point out a definite main character, it would be ff6.

[Vyk]

Agreed. And they're never older than 21. And rarely even that old. I actually just had to look up Cecil (did you know his last name was Harvey?? I just learned this!) who was supposedly 20 during FFIV

That being said, I'd have to give Square credit. That means they broke the norm on 4 and 7. More than most JRPG franchises..

Though Terra is apparently supposed to be freaking 18, but at least in that one you can play as whoever and treat them as the main character at least some point in the game

[VeloZer0]

I consider age to be a little relieve as well. They may say Cecil is only 20, but everything in the game would suggest otherwise. I tend to go less by what the official line is, and more by what the game actually shows us.

[Uchu]

No. It's not an RPG problem, its a society problem that wont change any time soon. So, no.

[black orb]

>>> If they made a FF8 sequel with a 50 year old Squall as a main character.. then yes..:luca:

[Rin Heartilly]

I think I'm on the fence, I'm 21 so I kinda like playing as a fellow 18-20 somethings purely because I can relate better (age-wise)....buuut as I get older I probably would want to play an older hero. With that being said, I've never liked tween heroes (ages 12 - 14) even when I was a tween, a bunch of young kids saving the world never felt realistic to me, the only exception to that was Evangelion only because there were adults pulling all the strings and the teen heroes don't have much say regarding their own lives and which battles they fight.

I'm not sure when Square will utilize an older main hero, but I don't think they haven't totally ruled it out. They basically need to make another Auron since everyone liked him.

[Quindiana Jones]

Sed from Lost Odyssey was hilarious.

I would love more older characters. Variety is always a good thing.