The Dark Loner

So I was thinking of Amarant from Final Fantasy IX and why I like him. I likened him to Vincent from FFVII, another favorite character of mine. I also thought of Shadow from FFVI. I don't particularly like him but he seems cut from the same cloth.

And then it struck me. I don't think there are any characters in the series who fit the same "general type" as these characters. These three are mysterious, stoic, possibly unfriendly and generally don't seem to much like the company they travel in and just come along for very personal reasons. They're very different beyond this general criteria but still, you can see the "surface appeal" they were all going for.

But are these the only characters quite like that in the series? It feels like there should be more of them.....

Kain Highwind and Leon have shades of these, though the simplicity of the games makes it difficult to come across. Auron is a friendlier variant but mostly falls into most of the trappings (dark secrets, keeps to himself, stoic, badass) and Squall is a unique take because the story is told from the archetypes perspective which ultimately strips the mysterious/stoic aspect since he's the viewpoint character. Lightning has shades of all this as well and Caius is a villainous example. Balthier drops the stoic/loner aspect for a flamboyant rogue and hands them over to the more knightly and courageous Basch, but the trappings and themes are still there, just better hidden. So it's all there, just not played as straight as the three examples you gave.

Shadow from FFVI. His dog needs to die to qualify him as a total loner though.