Runner Ups (I vote)
Final Fantasy II
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Minwu
I'm happy that at least one NES era FF got some love for this contest, and Minwu does deserve it.
Final Fantasy IV
Cid
Kain
I was a disappointed by IV's showing in this census, a little surprised too that fan favorites like Rydia and Cecil didn't even place.
Final Fantasy V
Galuf
Gilgamesh
Not surprised FFV had a weak showing since its always had a stigma against it for its plot and cast. Still, these were some great choices.
Final Fantasy VI
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Edgar
I think the bigger surprise for me was VI's weak showing. It only had the second highest amount of noms from its entry.
Final Fantasy VII
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Sephiroth
Tifa
I was also surprised VII didn't do better considering the current hype train for it. I figured the recent demo would have had people voting this entry up. It had the third highest amount of noms.
Final Fantasy IX
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Zidane
Garnet
Kuja
Steiner
Freya
The IX love continues to be very strong on this forum. No complaints from me.
Final Fantasy X
Seymour
Rikku
Tidus
X had a better showing than I first thought it would. I think the lack of Yuna was the only thing that really surprised me.
Final Fantasy XI
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Shantatto
Happy to see XI got some love, and hey, its a character I even know.
Final Fantasy XIV
Zenos
For an MMO, XIV did better than I expected overall for this competition. Again, not surprised considering how many active members play it but still happy to see it get love.
Final Fantasy XV
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Ignis
Noctis
Prompto
You know, considering the kickback this game got from the forum, I'm surprised this game got some noms. While no one made it pass the first round, at least most of the boy band has fans on this forum.
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Caius
Only two non-mainline entries made it on this list, and this is the first one. I can't really say much about Caius since I never played XIII-2, but most people say he's the best part of it.
Fifth Place (2 Votes)
Final Fantasy VI
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Kefka
Locke
Celes
Most of these choices don't surprise me, though special note goes to Kefka for being one of two of the highest voted villain of this census.
Final Fantasy IX
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Quina
Quina has always had a place on this forum despite the fact they are such a divisive character for many. I'm glad my Blue Mage eating machine made it far.
Final Fantasy XII
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Lady Ashe
I feel the most surprising thing about XII's performance is that while it didn't get as many character noms, they did get a lot of votes to rise in the ranks. Ashe is probably my favorite leading female character in the series so seeing her here makes me happy.
Final Fantasy XIII
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Lightning
I will never understand the love this character gets. Perhaps because I dipped out of the XIII trilogy and lost a lot of her characterization, but at least its nice to see her and Ashe helping break stereotypes within the franchise.
Final Fantasy XIV
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Emet-Selch
I have not played XIV so I don't really have much to say here except that this guy is the other high ranking villain on this Census. Go play Shadowbringers people.
Final Fantasy Tactics
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Ramza
The highest ranking non-mainline character on this list. Ramza has the distinction of being my favorite main character in the franchise. Glad to see him get love.
Fourth Place (3 Votes)
Final Fantasy VII
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Aerith
Cloud
Not surprised these two made it so far, I almost feel like they got the same amount of votes because most of the people on this forum support the CloudxAerith paring so here they are alone together in this category. :love:
Final Fantasy VIII
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Laguna
Ah yeah, my favorite underdog from VIII. I always feel a bit bad for Laguna and his friends cause they always seem to get downplayed or forgotten in story discussions of the game. Laguna added a lot of levity to VIII and I appreciate that.
Final Fantasy X
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Auron
If there was to be a high voted character from FFX for me, Auron is a good choice. He had a good backstory and he's a snazzy dresser. Someday I wish SE would give up on making FFX sequels and instead just give us our damn prequel starring Auron and Jecht.
Third Place (4 Votes)
Final Fantasy VI
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Terra
Terra has had a real surge in popularity in the last decade or so. I'm guessing its because of Dissidia, but I am not complaining that she's the highest ranked character from VI. Great theme and a powerful story arc.
Final Fantasy XII
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Balthier
I find it amusing that for a game that gets a lot of flak for its characters, Balthier ranked in third place. As I said, XII didn't get many noms for characters but the ones who did got a lot of love. Who can blame them for not loving this leading man?
Second Place (5 Votes)
Final Fantasy VIII
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Squall
While VIII also gets a lot of flak for its cast of characters, like XII, the ones who did got a lot of love and I can't blame them for Squall. He's honestly one of the best written characters within the mainline series. So I'm happy he ranked second overall.
First Place (8 Votes)
Final Fantasy IX
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Vivi
No surprise here. Most of the forum has a soft spot for IX and Vivi is unequivocally the most beloved character from this game. Who can blame us, he out woobied Terra of all people. I appreciate the fact that in a series filled with summoners and super soldiers, it's the iconic Black Mage that people still gravitate to.