Character Impressions: Then vs Now
How have your feelings for the 14 playable characters changed from the first time you played FFVI to now? Has your favorite character ever changed?
Some characters have a more immediate wow factor than others (either ability, personality, appearance or a combination of the three), while others hold powerful secrets to be uncovered by experienced players. Some characters might grow on you after a while. So let's see how this all goes down.
I'm going to average all of the answers later which should provide some definate information in a solely opinionated field of study. Use a scale of 1-10 with 10 being "I love this character" and 1 being "I dislike this character". This way I can average numbers.
I got FFVI on August 21st, 1995 which is when I started playing.
Then/Now
Terra 4/5
Terra is too confused about who she is to have a real personality until the WoR where all she does is talk about love. That's not very interesting if you ask me. I think the only time you really get a hint of the colorful side of Terra is during the scene where Gau is dressing up to meet his father. She was selfish during the game even though she claims to have found what love is. I think she just loves herself. She just wanted Leo so he could teach her stuff. She just wanted to take care of the kids to feel needed. Have you ever noticed that whenever she interacts with the other main characters it's just to talk about herself? The Gau's father scene is the only exception I can think of for that too.
Locke 3/4
I always thought Locke was ugly, and he's very weak. Plus I get tired of all the people that are like "OMG Locke 0wNs y00 with the mad tyte Offering + Genji Glove combo!!" Yeah well what about the other 90% of the game? The only thing that makes his existance worth while is his relationship with Celes, and the Rachel scene was cool too. Dual Hawk Eyes are neat but they're only very effective during a brief time near the end of the WoB. Steal is near worthless in FFVI.
Edgar 7/5
Edgar's great in battle when you first get him but his usefullness declines as you get better characters and the monsters get stronger. Edgar gets his best tools too early in the game which prevents him the ability to upgrade his best attack late in the game. Plus his stats are quite low so for me Edgar is just a so-so character.
Sabin 9/10
Sabin's blitzes are extremely useful throughout the game is his evasion is pretty good too. Plus he's got a great sense of humor and his scenario is the best part of the game for me.
Shadow 2/6
I used to dislike Shadow. However his stats are above average, Interceptor is nice to have around and the throw command is fun to use. So now I think he's alright even though his sprite is ugly and he has a dry personality.
Cyan 9/8
I think Cyan's abilities look more impressive than they are useful. I've used Cyan a lot for years but I've come to the conclusion that ultimately Swdtech is a disruption to the flow of battle. Not only does Swdtech take a while to charge up (I know there are ways to avoid hold-ups but that gets tiring too), but the overly dramatic Quadra Slam/Slice takes a long time to sit through as well. I like to do all my damage in one quick hit and not sit there watching Cyan's big show over and over and over. Besides, Catscratch and Bum Rush do more damage than all 4 of Cyan's slices combined. Plus Cyan's stats are well below average. Swdtech is still a cool and unique ability so I still like him. Perhaps I've just used him too much.
Celes 4/7
I never realized how odd yet intriguing Celes' outfit is until recently, and although she's rather weak in the WoB she does control the levels of many WoR characters. Plus she's somewhat powerful in the WoR with the Ragnarok. Celes is alright... better than Terra.
Gau 10/10
Gau has always been the most intruguing character for me ever since I first saw him in the instruction manual before getting anywhere near the Veldt. How many other FF characters are just like Gau? None. We've seen kings, warriors and theives but then all of the sudden here's this wild kid. Gau's got the funniest personality and yet he's one of the most powerful characters in the game (the fact that most people don't know that also raises his cool factor... he's a sleeper). He simply tears everything up and he almost never dies due to great defense. I put my groups in order by level, and Gau always rises to the top because he dies less and therefore gains more experience than everyone else. That proves something doesn't it? I can honestly say that anyone claiming Gau is weak or useless doesn't know what they're talking about. After schooling people for years no one has shown me how he's weak. Keep trying people... I'm convinced it ain't gonna happen.
Setzer 4/6
Setzer's pretty much average. The only cool thing about Setzer for me is that he can use free magicites with 3 bars which happens quite often. That actually causes him to be useful every once in a while. 7-flush ain't that bad but it's not that good either. His stats are well below average though.
Mog 8/5
Having more than one automatic character in a group is bad for many reasons. Gau already fills the single position for automatic character. Besides Mog stumbles way too much. If he did his dances 80%-100% of the time he'd be much better. Some of his dance attacks arn't very effective.
Strago 3/3
Strago's stats are low, he can't equip any good weapons or armor and his Lores do below average damage throughout the game, except maybe the end... maybe. Besides, who wants to fight with an old man? He's past his prime, let's put it that way.
Relm 5/8*
Relm would be alright if sketch didn't glitch the game so much. It's not very effective anyway but control is. Not only does it stop an enemy from attacking but it also provides for some interesting battle situations. In my Expert Version 2 she starts out with control, no relic required. Plus you gotta love her high magic stat.
Gogo 7/4
Gogo's abilities seem really cool until you look at his stats along with the fact that you can't change them. Plus he also has no personality. What fun is that?
Umaro 1/2
Umaro has no personality other than wimpering when he's hurt, he can't cast magic, you only get him late in the game and he's a big ugly hairy monkey. It is nice to have him around on Kefka's tower though because of the nice physical damage he delivers. The fact that I almost never use him raises his fun factor when I do use him.
*Expert Version 2 enhanced stats & ability
