Most Underrated Characters

[Evastio]

Which FFIV characters do you think are the most underrated character wise?

Me, I think practically all of the characters that aren't Kain or Rydia are underrated. Except maybe Palom and Porom since I can't really think of anything about them that stands out, besides being 5 year old mages that do really well in battle for their age. Okay, they're underrated.

Cecil, he's got the whole redemption journey that people never seem to appreciate (not to mention all the characters he inspires, like Rydia and Edward). Tellah, I find his personality quite awesome (an old man with lots of drive who pursues revenge, which goes against a lot of old man archetypes). Edward probably has the most character development in the game (besides Cecil) and changes from a cowardly bard to a strong leader. Rosa's sweet, kind, gentle, and forgiving personality never really gets a lot of praise. Sure, it's a bit too Mary-suish, but how many people would be able to forgive a man like Kain twice after all the crimes he commited? Cid also breaks a lot of old man archetypes with his energeticness and self sacrifice. Even if he wasn't an old man, I'd still think he's really awesome with how crazy and dedicated he is to his allies. Edge, I also find doesn't really get much praise. Even though he's quite cocky and impulsive, his kindness shines through a good portion of the time (like when he compliments Cid after overworking himself attaching the drill to the Falcon or when he tells Yang in the Sylvan Cave that he'll take over for him).

Yang I think gets a fair amount of praise (especially since many people say that Yang in the final team makes more sense than Edge). FuSoYa, there's not much to praise since he only shows up near the end and it isn't for long.

Overall, I'd say Cecil is the most underrated since he deals with so things like turning his back to his country because it's the right thing to do, overcoming the guilt of the deaths that were caused by his hands, having his best friend Kain betray him, losing Rosa to Golbez, losing all of his friends in the Leviathan attacks, finding out his sworn enemy is his own brother, among many other things.

[Wolf Kanno]

This depends on which category of underrated you mean? cause I feel different characters are underrated depending on whether we are discussing gameplay or story.

For story, I'm going with Rosa and Edward, gameplay I would go with Paladin Cecil, Edward, and Tellah.

[Heath]

I think I'd go for Edward on both the character and the gameplay fronts, though I think Evastio makes some good arguments for Cecil. One of the criticisms I've heard of Cecil on more than one occasion is that he's a bit bland and one dimensional compared to Kain, but I think that's quite an oversimplification of things, which I think your post does a lot to dispel.

As for why I think Edward, I think in gameplay terms there's the temptation just to see him as a bard that you want to have use Hide whenever you're forced to use him in battle, but he does have a positive contribution to make in battle. In character terms, he has to deal with quite a lot, especially considering his doesn't really want to be in charge of Damcyan. However, I think the strength of character he develops and shows actually make him a more impressive character than people often think he is.

[Edge7]

Ironically enough, I'm not going to say Edge, as I can see why people would think kinda dismiss him (I thought his cocksure attitude was a refreshing break from Cecil's uncomfortable love triangle, and brought back the lightheartedness that left after SPOILER IS OLDYang's and Cid's apparent deaths).

I think that at least Story-wise, Edward is sorely underrated. I remember being shocked that Cecil hit Edward while he was mourning his dead girlfriend. I would have at least given the man a solid 5 minutes before decking him one. Also Edward completely redeems himself in the end, not sure why everyone maintains such a strong opinion about him.

[VeloZer0]

I think most of the Edward hate is directed at his general uselessness in combat.

[Roogle]

As for why I think Edward, I think in gameplay terms there's the temptation just to see him as a bard that you want to have use Hide whenever you're forced to use him in battle, but he does have a positive contribution to make in battle. In character terms, he has to deal with quite a lot, especially considering his doesn't really want to be in charge of Damcyan. However, I think the strength of character he develops and shows actually make him a more impressive character than people often think he is.

I agree. I think it is possible to find a use for Edward in combat, and this becomes more apparent if you play the Gameboy Advance version with the endgame content for the other characters outside of the final party. You can see that Edward moves very, very fast and has very good stats with the downside of having low HP. It can be hard to find a niche for his character at a point in the game where brute force is preferable to status effects and long range attacks, but it is possible to give him a role to excel in. The sequel gives Edward a chance to shine in different roles as he is one of the only characters that can heal instantly without using MP and has a chance to cast Haste on the whole party.

I voted for Tellah in the poll as I think someone with a good understanding of the battle mechanics will find that his MP limitation is only an illusion as he can pretty much generate an endless mana pool in every dungeon that you have with him thanks to Osmose. At one point, he is the only mage you have, too, which makes him more fun to use in my opinion.