Snow is an idiot. While I don't hate him, his lines are cringeworthy. He does not behave like an adult, even a fun-loving one, would.
And ToriJ's right. Sabin did all you guys praise Snow for, but did it first, did it better, and did it with way more subtlety than any of the writers on FFXIII could ever comprehend.
Fynn, I think you are mistaking "This character loves fun" with "This character is fun". I consider Snow to be lots of fun. As for Sabin doing it better, I disagree, he wasn't the big dumb goofball. He was far from a goofball. Sure, he was strong, he occasionally did dumb, but I honestly think that if Snow and Sabin were completely switched and Snow did all the things he did in 2D as part of the FFVI party then nobody would have blinked, and if Sabin did the things he did in 3D as part of the XIII party then people would have critiqued him for it. For some reason, people can handle a lot of fun in 2D but the moment you put that same slapstick into a 3D game like XIII people start taking the game too seriously and start crying foul.
PS. I really like Sabin, too. But the two are very different, only linked by being blonde, muscular, using their fists and not incredibly intelligent. I think their personalities are definitely different.
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
Nobody's crying foul because of their being some silliness and "slapstick" (I don't think that means what you think it means if you're using it to describe Snow) in a 3D game. They're crying foul because Snow was a complete idiot and was anything but fun.
He was just one of the many characters in that game that never reacts believably to anything that happens. And it's not even just him being in denial, he is literally so stupid that he doesn't realize the trout that's happening to him should bother him a bit. He wasn't a fun loving character keeping a sense of humour in the face of adversity. He was an idiot goof off that didn't seem to notice anything bad was even happening.
Just add him to the pile of half assed writing in that game. The whole thing was a rush job and it shows.
Nobody expects an FF to be 100% serious and nobody wants an FF to be 100% serious. That's not even remotely the problem with the game. If anything, FFXIII spends entirely too much time taking itself seriously which makes characters like Snow and Vanille stand out even more as being so completely out of place because they never take any of it seriously, even when they probably should.
All I'm hearing is "rah rah rah I don't like FFXIII, everything about it is terrible, like I always say."
You're saying he was anything but fun, but I know a lot of people who feel completely the opposite. I know a number of people who would buy a game with him as the lead character!
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
The thing about Snow is that clearly it was not the intention of the writers that he should be an idiot. They way red someone that comes off as passionate, determined, positive, inspiring. Except in this particular context, it backfires, quite cringe-inducingly. A perfect example of terrible writing ruining a character that could have worked. In general, the writing in FFXIII is a huge disappointment because there's so much potential in the concepts that it could have really been a better story in the proper hands.
I don't care what they intended (and I won't make assumptions about it, but it would be strange if they wanted him to not be seen as an idiot at the same time as making him get punched and wall-faced repeatedly throughout the game), I care what I got in the game. Snow was awesome for me. Initially I disliked him but over time he just grew on me more and more. I didn't care for him in battle (which is weird as I love playing tank roles in MMOs) but his general personality won me over in the end. I do agree that FFXIII in general could have been better than it was when it came to the writing, but Snow? Snow was fine for me. I know a lot of people who feel similarly. He clearly divides opinion, but I found him to be the most fun character and was always interested in what he'd do/say next.
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
Am I the only one here who didn't terribly care about the quality of the writing? xD I have enjoyed a lot of things with poor writing. Plenty of other FF games come to mind
Apologies that I'm continuing to derail the thread.
I would t care about writer intent either, if it weren't for the fact that this is an obvious fumble. If you can enjoy it - good for you. Things like that prevent me from enjoying things like this, however.