This is the eighth of my series of threads and polls, asking all of you for your personal rankings of the characters from each FF game in the numbered games. You can base them on personality, usefulness in gameplay, relevance to the story, general enjoyment of each character, or even frivolous things such as their character themes. Whatever you want to base them on. Also included is a poll on which you can vote for your absolute favorite from each game.
This is my eighth one. It's for FF12! And after ranking from among a very good cast, we've arrived at one that's pretty much just . . . so-so. The rankings were easy for my bottom three, but it was surprisingly tough to determine my top three. Still, like FF5, FF6, and FF10's casts, I didn't really . . . hate anyone in this. (Though I know it's not a favorite game, so everyone else will likely have one or more characters they hate.) I either liked or loved them all. So since I'm again only basing this one completely on personality, this one was a matter of separating those who really interested me, and those who somewhat did.
So here are my rankings:
1. Balthier: Roguish sky pirate. Charming demeanor. Sexy manner of speech. Dashing good looks. Great positivity in spite his own daddy issues. (Tidus, take notes.) This guy's got it all. Balthier charmed me from practically the moment he and Fran basically tried to mug Vaan for his treasure, and then subsequently abducted him when he refused. He had several great lines in the game, many of them funny ones. And even despite his bad-boy side, he had a nicer, deeper side to him. And hey, who couldn't appreciate a hot guy who's partnered with a hot Viera and is still proper enough not to make an unwanted move on her? Makes him even more attractive. (I get they were probably already together, anyway, but still . . .) Also, I admired his cleverness under fire (easily getting himself free from his cuffs on the Leviathan -- or was it the Shiva? -- while Fran was distracting the guards by going Mist-crazy), and I enjoyed the reveal of his connection to Dr. Cid. You get to really look into his character and see exactly why he didn't want to work for the Empire, and why he wanted to be someone unlike the man who raised him. Still, through it all, he maintains a mostly positive attitude I liked. So good for you, Balthier! Top of my list!
2. Penelo: I actually almost put her one spot below this one, as for years, I really thought the next character was my second-favorite character. But as I sat back to think, I realized how much I really liked Penelo (amidst a sea of EoFF members who probably hate her almost irrationally). In a game with stronger personalities, I like that she was the lone island of low-key and laid-back. Actually, she put a spin on the "perky young girl" archetype by actually . . . not being so perky. Or at least cutting back on it. She didn't come as so excitable or energetic like her predecessors, Krile, Relm, Yuffie, Selphie, Eiko, and Rikku. (Though it might've been the lethargic voice that belonged to Cat Taber that gave me that feeling.) Her calmness made her a nice complement to Vaan's youthful energy. And she wins points for one simple line she threw at him: "Try to grow up, please." Also, for one exchange with Basch: "You don't have to worry about me. I'm tougher than I look."/"You are, at that." But quite simply, whenever she was in my party, I found myself playing her as my leader more often than others. Yes I know she had no place in the story. But do I care. Hell no. Not at all. So . . . yeah. Loved Penelo.
3. Fran: Yep. The lovely Viera gets the number-three spot. She almost got number two, and I thought she was my number-two character for years, but I finally realized I loved Penelo a lot more. Still, I loved Fran, too. I loved her accent, her piercing stare that made you unable to tell if she was mad at you or not, and I even liked that she was one of the few characters to use proper English in her. Plus, strong, silent female characters are a rarity, and Fran pulled it off well. Yet, she could also be very vulnerable when it came to the loss she felt toward her sisters and her home in the Woods. Perhaps one of my favorite Fran scenes was her asking Jote to speak to the Wood, telling her that she feared the Wood hated her, and . . . you can hear her trying not to cry. Of course, one of my others was when she didn't beat up Vaan after he asked for her age, which brought about that awkward silence (especially because most women would've done that). Yes, Fran was an exceptionally strong woman with her vulnerabilities. Number three.
4. Ashe: She was exactly the kind of kick-ass, take-charge female character I like seeing. She never made any excuses for what she did. I liked that Ashe knew exactly what she was aiming for and went for it. And it was refreshing to see a woman in charge of the party, for a change. (In FF10, you could make a case for Yuna and Lulu at different points, but I don't think either was ever official.) Also, I went to FF Wiki and read up on more of her backstory leading up to the start of the game. Made me like and appreciate her even more! So . . . Ashe. Number four.
5. Basch: I liked Basch, and he's one of the few strong, silent types in FF games who did it for me, but he's down here at number five because his story kinda . . . ran out very early on. I felt like other than him being the falsely-accused murdered of the king, I really didn't get to learn anything else about him. Oh, except for him having a twin brother who framed him right before becoming a Judge for the Empire. With a bit more drawing out of his character, I can guarantee you that he'd have ranked higher.
6. Vaan: But not to say that I dislike him. As I said, I liked everybody in FF12 to varying degrees. I did like that he was the first designated main character to take a more narrative-type role -- that of a backseat observer. I appreciated the way he and Ashe confided with in other over seeing "Rasler." And I liked the sort of mentor/student relationship he had with Balthier. But I really feel like that other than his sky pirate dreams, nothing else about him really interested me all that much. It also doesn't help that there were times I felt he probably tried a bit too hard to be a hero. I still liked him, but not more than the other five characters. 012 Dissidia did a much better job giving him some actual personality. But FF12 . . . not really. So . . . Vaan's last.
But these are just my rankings. How about everyone else's?