1. Sabin: I'm totally going on nostalgia here, because if I were to play the game right now for the first time, I would have an entirely different ranking. However, the first time I played the game, way back in 1994, I freakin' loved Sabin. I loved his attacks (Street Fighter in a FF, seriously!?), I loved his fun-loving bad-ass attitude, and I loved his backstory and interactions with other characters.

2. Terra: I have to put her here for the same reason as Sabin. I find her to be a bit whiny and pathetic now, but when I was 13, I loved her, she could do no wrong, and her theme song is still as haunting to me as it was then. I was never a fan of morph, but she just seemed to central to the story, like everything revolves around her. She's the bridge between humans and magic, and I'm pretty sure she's the first video game character ever to be conceived and birthed on screen.

3. Lock: Locke gets both nostalgia points and points for being my current favorite character, and it's all about the story. I mean, I always had him in my parties because it's useful to use him in the back with throwing weapons, but mainly Locke is so great because of his personality, his backstory, and the way he is with the other characters. The love triangle with Celes and Rachel, his friendship with Terra and working relationship with Edgar. Seriously, who doesn't like the amiable rogue-type?

4. Setzer: Here's the first big break from the nostalgia chains. I didn't like Setzer much at all the first time I played the game. Partly because I didn't like the randomness of his stupid dice, and partly because I thought he was an ass. But now, I see a more nuanced character, and I can ignore the dice, and Coin Toss is funness.

5. Shadow: There's not much to say, really. Ninjas are awesome. I also really like discovering his story in pieces, and the fact that he's so mysterious. Interceptor is also the best pet ever, loved his random counterattacks.

6. Cyan: Mainly here because of unique combat. It really sucks waiting on that damn timer to move, along, 1....2....3....4, but the payoff is worth it. Loved the way he's brought into the story, and the way you find him in WoR. Pretty brilliant, really.

7. Edgar: I like the Edgar/Sabin dynamic, maybe because I don't have a brother. Some people don't like his Tools, but I love them, auto-crossbow and chainsaw and you got me. Relm+Edgar = funnies.

8. Mog: Playable Moogle. The dance mechanic is pretty cool, even if the randomness of it often blows. Playable freakin' moogle.

9. Relm: Just for the funnies. see #7. Edgar

10. Gogo: I like the mysterious blank slate idea. Speculation is fun. The character is fun. Being able to chain ultima or back-to-back chainsaw is super fun time.

11. Gau: for the most part I dislike his battle-system, especially the randomness of Leaping all the baddies. Some of the attacks are pretty sick, but I like control.

12. Umaro: Just because.

13. Strago: Being this far down on a list of FFVI's best characters is not really as bad coming from me as it might be from someone else. Basically, someone has to be on the bottom, right? My last playthrough I actually spent a lot of time with Strago.

14. Celes: I've kind of grown to dislike Celes, at least as far as it's possible for me to dislike a character from FFVI. It's basically because I think the character never really lives up to its potential. We get to see her quite a bit, but I still don't get a good feel for her through the story. She's just overshadowed by a great cast of characters. It's not really her fault, it's theirs.