I never said that hitting people is the right thing to do. I'm just saying people react to anger differently, and that this was justified in-story. Just make no mistake - I don't condone it. It's just that I don't need a character to always act upstanding to like them - I want them to be believable. Having gone through depressive symptoms (and I know people here have gone through them as well and may have felt vastly differently), I can understand the pent-up amulet thing very much. But yeah, I don't think Lightning is a great protagonist, but I don't hate her, and really, I still stand by my statement that her punching isn't glorified, but is rather a flaw that gets fixed.Originally Posted by maybee
And ?To be fair, she is distressed that her sister is effectively dead and she sees Snow as partially responsible. And she can't really deal with her anger, which is admittedly presented as a flaw that she gets over by the end of the game, rather than this being shown as something defining her as strong. Besides, have you seen Snow? I doubt those punches would phase him, causing maybe some minimal loss in gray cells, which he isn't using much anyway
When Locke finds out that Rachel is dead he doesn't go around punching the whole town and her dad.
When Tifa believes that Cloud might be dead she doesn't go around punching the whole Avalanche crew.
When Rinoa is dying in space and might already be actually dead- Squall doesn't punch Ellone or his SeeD friends or the people whom planned and suggest that would be best for Rinoa to heal in space.
When Garnet is assumed dead by Kuja's magical sleeping spell- Zidane doesn't go off punching Beatrix and Queen Brahne.
When Tidus finds out that Yuna is basically on a suicidal mission- he doesn't go around punching Wakka, Lulu, Auron, Rikku etc.
Being upset or in fear that a loved one might be dead doesn't excuse physical harm like that. Even if she does have anger/ temper issues, it doesn't excuse behavior like that. Just like, even though I love Squall and everything, him having trust issues and fear of people leaving him doesn't excuse him being a ass towards his friends and treating Quistis so rudely like he does and the beginning of the game.
And Squall is the most emotionally nuanced protagonist in the series by a long shot. No, he doesn't fall in love with Rinoa for no reason - he's attracted to this girl one time and gradually he finds himself caring more and more for her. I also never got the emo thing. Did people not get that the stuff he says in brackets are his thoughts that he isn't saying out loud? So he wonders about many existential things - he's 18, it's really understandable. But on the outside he's always cool, collected, professional, just like a soldier should be. And it's awesome seeing him struggle with that image, with his suppressed emotions becoming more and more unstable because of the Rinoa stuff (mostly), and then his two faces - the overt and the hidden one - becoming more in synch by the end. Really, Squall has incredible emotional complexity that Tidus could never even compare to. And yes, like Wolf said - Tidus' "character development" stems from an epiphany that really makes no sense for him to react like that if he were an actual person. Squall felt real. And if he were on the poll, he'd be winning, as you can see by all the support here.
As a side note, I really think people are overstating the importance of character development. Like, a character being different by the end of the story is the single most important thing in storytelling, no matter how cheap or forced. Am I the only one who's prefer a more realistic and subtle character, even if they remained static throughout?
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