Who do you regard as the protagonist?

VI has a lot of characters and often changes who you are playing as. As the game progresses there are fewer and fewer restrictions on which members are obligatory, and eventually you can make a part of whoever you see fit. This is in contrast to most other FFs and RPGs in general, where there's a central character who is always, or almost always, present, like Cloud or Squall.

The game also has a lot of character arcs and stories going on, and putting aside whether and how successful those are, most of the characters take center stage for at least a time. So it's a little harder than usual to pin down the protagonist. Is it Terra? You start as her and she plays a vital role, but she's absent for considerable portions of the game, and in the World of Ruin takes her time rejoining you. Celes doesn't show up for awhile and isn't fully trusted for a lot longer, but she's the one who reunites the party in the World of Ruin, and I think both need the other for their own arcs to be fully realized. Locke is vital at first, but takes a bit more of a back seat as time passes.

So, who would you consider the protagonist of this game? Deuteragonist? Tritagonist?

Basically, Terra is the protagonist for the first half, and Celes is the protagonist for the second half. It's kind of a cop-out answer because it means there is no one protagonist, but it's also closest to the truth. Celes is the only character you have to have in your party for the entire second half, and the world map in the first half even uses Terra's theme.

That said, for the purposes of the poll I'm voting Terra.

Honestly I always considered Locke to be the protagonist; I feel like he's "active" more often than anyone else. However most other people I've talked to say they consider Terra to be the protagonist, and that got me kind of thinking. Maybe they're co-protagonists.

If we're going to rank by protagonist, deuterwhatever-ist, tri-fancy-words-I-hadn't-heard-before-this-thread-and-had-to-look-up-ist, I'd probably say Locke -> Terra -> Celes myself. Although I can certainly see the case for swapping Locke and Terra.

To be honest it's been almost a decade since I played this game so I miiiight be off a little. ^^;

if the end was only at the death of the first world . then Ultros because he is an octopus.

in all seriousness i always thought terra was. first time playing. more times i play it i realize, there isnt a main oone, though i still say terra ( i voted ultros)

I can respect someone who votes for Ultros.

There simply isn't one! One of the many qualities that makes this game so unique.

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Originally Posted by Necronopticous

There simply isn't one! One of the many qualities that makes this game so unique.

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ah that means Ultros is the Protagonist. lol jokes i still like ultros though

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Originally Posted by Necronopticous

There simply isn't one! One of the many qualities that makes this game so unique.

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This is probably the answer I've ultimately settled on, the 'protagonist' as such changes from area to area and even scene to scene, and there aren't many occasions where someone takes center stage for an extended period of time. However, overall I think I feel that Celes is the most protagonist-y of the party, even though she doesn't really warrant that title until the World of Ruin. After that, to me at least, it feels right to have her in and leading my party at all times.

~*~Gau~*~

It is the story of a young boy, abandoned by his father and raised by monsters. One day some beefy dude and Mr. Thou show up and together they embark on an epic quest against an evil mentally unstable clown

There's some other people too I guess

GoGo

Before I played more of the game I would have said Terra, but now I agree with Necronopticous and Mister Adequate that there simply isn't one main protagonist. They're all protagonists and are weighed equally. Terra may have had more relevance to the plot in her backstory, but that's only really relevant around the first half like The Man mentioned. FFVI is a more character driven story anyway.

I voted for Terra because I think she is the most iconic character of the game and we can only vote for one character, but I think that Locke, Celes and Terra are the main protagonists.

I don't think Square randomly chose Terra to represent six.

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Originally Posted by Mister Adequate

I can respect someone who votes for Ultros.

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GOD DAMMIT NOW I WANT TO CHANGE MY VOTE! ;_;


But yeah, I don't think you can really say this game has one. Terra comes the closest, being a catalyst for many events, but I'm going with Necro on this one.

I'm gonna say Locke.

Who rescued and put Terra's plot into potion in the first half of the game? Locke

Who is the face of the returners? Locke

Who did Celes consider her hero and his absence is the reason she attempted suicide? Locke

Who's bandana was it that motivated Celes to move on from her depression and sprang forward the story in the 2nd half? Locke

Who had most, if not, quite a chunk of the action in the game? Locke

Who's a sexy beast who gets all the ladies? Gau...I mean Locke

I rest my case.

/endthread

You know stories have or can have more than one protagonist, right? I mean, the entire cast are protagonists.

But to play along:
Is there any character who can't be removed from the story without it falling apart?

Terra is a bridge between many of the characters and plot points of the story. She is literally the bridge between humans and espers. The opening scene involves Terra, and thus she gets the ball rolling. If you take her out, then what happens? The emperor sends someone else in Terra's place. That person dies along with Biggs and Wedge upon confronting Tritoch, Locke doesn't have anyone to rescue, the moogles aren't needed, Edgar isn't inspired to finally openly turn on the empire, celes never gets rescued, sabin descends into madness, the espers lose their trout and kill everyone, etc., etc.

However, that just means she's crucial to the plot. And being crucial to the plot does not make a character the main character. And I think it's about more than just screen time, too.

If you had to sum FFVI up into a single word or phrase what would you use? Community? Redemption? Willpower? Love? Justice vs. Peace? Technology vs. Magic? Being oneself? Balance?

I'm not trying to be objective about this, mind you. This is how I, personally, am choosing to evaluate who I think the primary character might be.

Mog
Umaro
Gogo
Relm -- No redemption, not about willpower.
Strago -- Fighting because of Relm, not about balance or will
Shadow -- Though he joins the group in the end, he finds no balance, and he still rejects community. His redemption is limited.
Gau -- Gau actually fits several of FFVI's themes, but falls short in the end because in accepting himself, he's accepting only what the world made him, not what he chose to be. As in, he never truly moves beyond the wild child who belongs on the Veldt.
Edgar -- Edgar is Edgar. The end.
Sabin -- Sabin is a strongish character who develops quite a bit and fits many of the themes, but he too falls short by lacking several of the key components. He doesn't deal with technology or magic, for one thing.
Setzer -- Setzer might seem like a background character to many, but he's one of my favorites and he's one that I think represents FFVI rather well. I just don't think the story digs at his character enough to uncover everything that would be necessary to see Setzer as THE main character. A lot of his story is only hinted at or mentioned in passing. He's still a bad-ass, though.

Cyan -- Cyan comes very close to being the best representative of FFVI's overall thematic. He deals with all the themes listed above and then some. But in the end, he does not exceed his limits. He merely recognizes his role in the community post-tragedy.

Locke -- Locke is definitely one of the main characters. He practically disappears in the second half of the game, though. He's typically going to be one of the last cast members you get back in the WoR, and even though I enjoy his second-half story, it seems to take a step backward instead of a step forward. It's more back-story than it is this story, and thus he can't be my main character. He's still up there, for me, up in the top 3-5. Typically when I think FFVI, I think Locke, Celes, Terra.

Celes -- Celes fits every theme. Her game-story encompasses everything FFVI is trying to say about technology & magic (she's a magitek knight, for smurf's sake), about willpower, about corruption, about love, about redemption, about everything. And finally, I didn't list it above, but one of the central themes of FFVI is hope. It's probably the primary theme of the WoR. And it starts with Celes. With the desperate attempt to save grandpa, with the battle against ending her own life, and with the decision to strike off into the world on her own to find everyone.

Terra -- Terra's story is about being who you were born to be, about fighting for community, about the dangers of both technology and magic, about the balance between willpower and anger, justice and peace, about love and loss. And like Celes before, Terra's story is about hope. In the end, Terra accepts both her humanity and the beast inside her and brings balance to the force. I mean, brings balance to what's left of humanity in the WoR. I won't get all crazy into this trout, but the big ugly green thing that you have to fight multiple times in the Terra/Mobliz quests is Humbaba, a giant in ancient mythologies who guarded a forest where the gods dwell. So in killing him, Terra is accessing godhood. This is meant to be a character contrast to Kefka. They both achieve godhood, but through different means and for different reasons. (Terra through humility and hope, Kefka through avarice, pride, and malice).

One way to determine the true main character would be to find the character who plays a foil to the primary antagonist, and Terra is exactly that to Kefka.

But so, in many ways, is Celes. (both magitek knights, etc.)

They're both protagonists. And not just one is the protagonist of the first half and the other is the protagonist of the second half. They each carry their stories through both halves of the game. They're dualgonists. Or something.

Simple answer is that there isn't any. But if I had to pick one person who I feel most resonated as a protagonist during the first half of the game, I think it's Locke. The first half is what I consider to be the most important part when it comes to protagonists in a multi-protagonist story such as FFVI. The rest of it is kind of wishy-washy. Other characters may have inevitably taken on more "powerful" roles in the plot, but for me, Locke is the character I felt I was "playing" as.

Terra. Just because Barret is important for Corel and Cid for Cd2 I don't say they are as important as Cloud. Terra's connection to the empire, Kefka, knowing what she was born as and how she seeks and find answers for her future life means more than Rachel or Daryll. They all do somehow but its just not enough.

I think the thing Terra is missing most of all is that she is not a leader in any way. Her role (not so much personality) reminds me of River Tam in Serenity.

Many protagonists have a hard time convincing as a leader. The story just writes them as the most important but not as the leading man. That is Balthier's thing. If main character equals lead then many are not the real main.

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Terra. Just because Barret is important for Corel and Cid for Cd2 I don't say they are as important as Cloud. Terra's connection to the empire, Kefka, knowing what she was born as and how she seeks and find answers for her future life means more than Rachel or Daryll. They all do somehow but its just not enough.

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Meh, I don't think that's a fair assessment. If we are going by that route, than Aerith would be the main character to of FF7.

Her connection to Shinra, Sephiroth, The ancients, the main goal of disc 1, her influence throughout the rest of the game, her actually being the one who saved the world, etc.

I don't think importance to the plot is what makes you a main protagonist. (If that is true, what does that say about Vaan? :D)

It's whoever the reader/gamer/viewer is using as the main connection to that specific world/plot. Which would be Cloud in FF7, unfortunately Vaan in FF12, and in my personal opinion, Locke in FF6. At least for the first half.

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Originally Posted by Dante WolfWood

Terra. Just because Barret is important for Corel and Cid for Cd2 I don't say they are as important as Cloud. Terra's connection to the empire, Kefka, knowing what she was born as and how she seeks and find answers for her future life means more than Rachel or Daryll. They all do somehow but its just not enough.

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Meh, I don't think that's a fair assessment. If we are going by that route, than Aerith would be the main character to of FF7.

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Originally Posted by Dante WolfWood

Her connection to Shinra, Sephiroth, The ancients, the main goal of disc 1, her influence throughout the rest of the game, her actually being the one who saved the world, etc.

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She would not be the main character 1 and nevertheless she is the second main character. Cloud's entire story of his past, his confabulation, that he has that past with Sephiroth, Sephiroth's doing changed him so much through confabulation, made him go that way so he got to know Aerith and the others, et cetera is even more of a personaö connection. Also, that is one certain point, not the only significant one. Aerith has a connection to the world itself - in more than the one metaphorical way actually - but her connection to the main story and the entire point of the focus is not hers, it is Cloud's.

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Originally Posted by Dante WolfWood

I don't think importance to the plot is what makes you a main protagonist. (If that is true, what does that say about Vaan? :D)

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I would never call Vaan the main character because Ashe is. Vaan is the main character of Revenant Wings. Just because he happens to have lost his brother by Vaan's fault and is the one who tells the story does not make him the main character. It is even debatable if Yuna is not more of the main character in X than Tidus is, because the entire adventure is her summoner's journey. However, that does not change how important Tidus' own story actually is.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. :D

Took me a minute to figure out your post. That first quote and first statement threw me off XD


Edit: You know...we could just go by whoever Squeenix put in Dissidia...In that case it would be Terra!

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Who rescued and put Terra's plot into potion in the first half of the game? Locke

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The moogles actually rescued Terra. Locke was only there to take her back to the people he was working for.

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Who is the face of the returners? Locke

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Banon is. He organized the events that sent Locke to South Figaro.

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Who did Celes consider her hero and his absence is the reason she attempted suicide? Locke

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True, but this is more about Celes' feelings than it is about Locke.

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Who's bandana was it that motivated Celes to move on from her depression and sprang forward the story in the 2nd half? Locke

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Again, this is more focused on Celes.

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Who had most, if not, quite a chunk of the action in the game? Locke

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I only use him when I have to. That means I won't use him at all after the Espers' Gathering Place. He is not necessary in the World of Ruin at all.

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Who's a sexy beast who gets all the ladies? Gau...I mean Locke

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I thought that was Edgar.



If there had to be a main character, it's Terra, who is the human-esper connection and the only character who shows up to confront Kefka at the end even if you're not using her. But really, Celes is heavily involved too. I have to wonder if Terra and Celes were actually one character and Square decided to split her story over two characters because Terra and Celes have similar backgrounds, equipment draws, etc. and they alternate having huge plot points throughout the game. They never are hugely involved in the main plot at the same time. So for me, Terra and Celes alternate it.

As for Locke? No way. The guy talks a big game but doesn't do a whole lot to back it up. He seems to be fixated on protecting Terra and Celes, who are former soldiers that have no need for protection at all. The women should be protecting him. They have better weapons, they have magic, and they have military experience. Locke only has weapons, and they're weaker. Just because they're women doesn't mean they need to be protected.

I've never considered anyone other than Locke as the main character. Terra's the centerpiece for part of the beginning, but the more the game progresses the less the story seems to be centered around her. It just progressively develops the story around Locke and Celes 1000x more than anything to deal with Terra.

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Originally Posted by Kyros

I've never considered anyone other than Locke as the main character. Terra's the centerpiece for part of the beginning, but the more the game progresses the less the story seems to be centered around her. It just progressively develops the story around Locke and Celes 1000x more than anything to deal with Terra.

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Except the part with Zozo. And Maduin. And Madeline. And she is one of the last Espers. And the part with Leo. And that she finds happiness in Mobliz. And where she is the exact opposite of Kefka. I think calling her main character is very justified. Sure, Locke and Celes are a thing. However with Terra existing I never feel the same relevance or at least a similiar relation.

I would say Terra for the World of Balance portion of the game, followed by Celes for the early part of the World of Ruin portion, then a weird grey area occurs where you (optionally) get the band back together, and finally the focus shifts back on Terra for the game's finale...sort of.

I picked Locke, if he would just it in his pants half the story wouldn't happen.

Terra, really most of the story feels like it's about her or related to her even if she's not in the party.

I voted Celes just because that's who I think of when I think of VI.

Clearly it's Vargas.

I'd say either nobody or everybody. It's an ensemble with our core group collectively forming the protagonist. At this point, I really don't think there's any reason to single out any one character that has more plot importance because the game has been designed to just not have a single protagonist.

Even though Terra is an important character plotwise, without Celes the party would be nothing, how would they get an airship for example?

I don't remember Terra doing something very important for the returners' cause. Please enlighten me.

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Originally Posted by Krizzy

Even though Terra is an important character plotwise, without Celes the party would be nothing, how would they get an airship for example?

I don't remember Terra doing something very important for the returners' cause. Please enlighten me.

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The orphans.

Also she gave Edgar, Sabin and Locke hope that things can change for the better.

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Originally Posted by maybee

The orphans.

Also she gave Edgar, Sabin and Locke hope that things can change for the better.

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Yeah but I think Celes did more important things, especially reuniting the returners...