Zidane > Squall & Cloud

[Forsaken Lover]

Now we all know Squall Leonhart and Cloud Strife, the main protagonists of Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy VII respectively. These two overrated sacks in the FF world have clouded over better heroes and one of them is Zidane Triball of the best FF (in my opinion) Final Fantasy IX. Now I don’t want to bore you with details but explain the simple truth: Cloud and Squall do NOT belong as the leaders of anything except a group headed to a pity party or some sort of ritual suicide squad.

Cloud- As we most know, Cloud was a loser. He couldn’t get into SOLDIER but he longed to be the man. He wanted to impress everyone including the girl with the large knockers who didn’t pay him attention. So, he goes off to be the man and fails. He then proceeds to take by surprise the “legendary soldier” and ultimately, ends up a lab rat for Shinra. Poked, prodded, anal probed and injected with semen/Jenova cells, he would be helped to escape, gurgling and totally helpless by Zack. He then meets up with the aforementioned large knockers girl who paid him no mind and using the J-Cells in him, he makes a fake memory and fake personality.

So, that’s the small synapsized backstory of our hero. A guy with a totally twisted, incomplete mind and memory that is leading us. Now, suffering psychological damage is not bad if you are leading a Girl Scouts’ troup, but when you are the main hero of a themed plot and you’re expected to be the “leader” you need something to you...and he did not have it. Mentally-warped people do not make the leader of a party in an RPG. Now, he goes through a big dramatic and way-too-long scene in the Lifestream with the girl from before and rediscovers himself in a blazing fashion. He managed to take a sword after being stabbed and hurled the legendary soldier away. Now this heroic act delivered with great music and displayed well was ultimately pissed on and disposed of, displaying the legendary soldier intentionally jumping away. So, Cloud’s one good moment is gone. Perhaps this leads to the fact that after a short while following the game, he has dug himself a nice little self-pity hole and is not answering his cell calls. Boo-hoo. What a leader.

Squall- ANYONE who even pretends to cling to the notion that this guy has any touch of leadership needs some serious help. He spends most of his time brooding, his memorable lines are “...” and he kinda just keeps snapping at everyone. Now, one would think Headmaster Cid and the makers of this game would not entrust the core of leadership to such a person. You see, people who don’t want to get close to others, who fear being left all alone and thus act like arses to keep them away, DO NOT make good leaders. That’s all I really gotta say on him. Moving on.

Zidane- Now what is to not like about Zidane? He has a tail? Okay. It’s a fantasy game, genius. His hourglass figure? It’s part of his “race” and sorry if a man can look nice. His hair? Well, I don’t like your hair. Get over it. Zidane actually, as opposed to the previously mentioned two, had leadership qualities. He was not besieged by mental demons nor afflicted with an inferiority complex. He was happy, go-lucky and wanted to help as many people as he could. People often take a look at his appearance and judge him “unmanly.” Is it so far beyond the realms of “manliness” to grab a girl’s rear? To flirt with a waitress at a bar? Hell, Cloud and Squall could have been closet homosexuals for most of the game and how would we know?

Zidane discussed philosophy and his life in eloquent fashion with a side-motive of impressing the girl he had fallen for. His one glaring moment of “emo-ness” was when he found out he could have been the instrument of his own planet’s doom, the place of his birth he longed would have been the cradle he grew up in to hate and destroy those he now called friends plus Garland was trying to take his soul away. So, I think that all constitutes one emotionally-riveting and inspirational sequence with terrific music to match.

My rant is hereby coming to a close. Have a nice day.

[Paul]

Zidane maybe makes a better leader, but Cloud was a much more interesting (if seriously smurfed up) character, i think.

agree with you on squall tho. bitch needs to get out of nappies before he starts commanding troops.

[LunarWeaver]

Well, I love Zidane quite a bit too

Of course, I also like the other two... But I just suck like that

[My_car_is_faster_than_you]

In terms of just being "liked", Zidane is higher on my list. But, Cloud and Squall have a different appeal that goes out to a lot of people.

[licence]

Maybe Squall wasn't supposed to be a leader, but everyone was meant to have looked up to him, so if they respected him it was only natural that he would lead them.

I do however agree with the majority of your post.

[Araciel]

zidane is too young hah i wouldn't take any of them seriously. but for the purposes of their respective game worlds, yes zidane is the best...squall isn't a leader, nor is cloud

[ljkkjlcm9]

Sadly though you forget the most important thing about Squall. He would make the best decision regardless of the consequence. People respected him, and they would follow him. He made decisions that would put himself and others in harms way, because it was the right thing to do. He wouldn't be held back by emotions and crap like that, so they could always count on him to make the truly best decision regardless. People that prefer to be alone make some of the best leaders actually. Because they're not trying to make friends and get people on their side with their decision, they do what they think is right, regardless of what everyone else thinks. That makes Squall a good leader.

THE JACKEL

[Araciel]

never thought about it like that. but personality and the ability to empathize are also a big part of being a leader

[Aqua Heart]

Sadly though you forget the most important thing about Squall. He would make the best decision regardless of the consequence. People respected him, and they would follow him. He made decisions that would put himself and others in harms way, because it was the right thing to do. He wouldn't be held back by emotions and crap like that, so they could always count on him to make the truly best decision regardless. People that prefer to be alone make some of the best leaders actually. Because they're not trying to make friends and get people on their side with their decision, they do what they think is right, regardless of what everyone else thinks. That makes Squall a good leader.

THE JACKAL

i couldnt agree with you more. also it has been failed to mention that squal had a suprior combat ability compared the rest in the garden (mention many times by quistis). and so i believe that is enough to be granted the title of leader due to the fact he knows what he is doing and every1 wil look up to him because of this, end of!

[Raebus]

Sadly though you forget the most important thing about Squall. He would make the best decision regardless of the consequence. People respected him, and they would follow him. He made decisions that would put himself and others in harms way, because it was the right thing to do. He wouldn't be held back by emotions and crap like that, so they could always count on him to make the truly best decision regardless. People that prefer to be alone make some of the best leaders actually. Because they're not trying to make friends and get people on their side with their decision, they do what they think is right, regardless of what everyone else thinks. That makes Squall a good leader.

THE JACKAL

i couldnt agree with you more. also it has been failed to mention that squal had a suprior combat ability compared the rest in the garden (mention many times by quistis). and so i believe that is enough to be granted the title of leader due to the fact he knows what he is doing and every1 wil look up to him because of this, end of!

Unfortunately, "end of" doesent make a threads purpose accomplished. Hearing different opinions etc..

I agree with the jackal though.

[Sefie1999AD]

I didn't think Cloud was a bad character. He had his weaknesses, but that made him more human, and he still proved to be quite a fighter in the end. Squall wasn't too comfortable with his role as being the leader, but he did alright. I think Zidane is one of the more underrated FF main characters. Even if he's not the main sword fighter who can cast Omnislash, Lion Heart or Blitz Ace to deal 999,999 damage, he's still a very well done character and a good leader. The line "No cloud, no squall shall hinder us!" already makes him likable.

[licence]

i couldnt agree with you more. also it has been failed to mention that squal had a suprior combat ability compared the rest in the garden (mention many times by quistis). and so i believe that is enough to be granted the title of leader due to the fact he knows what he is doing and every1 wil look up to him because of this, end of!

Fighting ability is a far cry from leadership qualities. Many good fighters in real history haven't been leaders.

[Griff]

To be fair, I would much rather have a leader chosen based upon fighting strengths and ability to make vital decisions then chosen by how likeable he is when it came to saving the world.

[Dragon Mage]

Now, suffering psychological damage is not bad if you are leading a Girl Scouts’ troup,

Go to hell.

[LunarWeaver]

I think what it really comes down to is that people want to follow both Cloud and Squall, and say so many times in the games. The main character is also often viewed as the "leader", and as the main character a very wide-range of responses, backstory, and problems can make them much more interesting.

I mean, would people follow Squall in real life? I don't know... Is it more unbelievable than Cid handing over an entire Garden of students to a 17-year-old? Sometimes, these things are just the plot they wanted to make.

And where on earth is Tidus in all this? Tidus is just Zidane without the mental breakdown when he finds out about himself. In fact, he just got up and smiled and kept going and bottled it inside. By your standards, Tidus > Zidane. Although Yuna was the leader and not Tidus in my opinion anyway.

They all save the world (assuming the player doesn't die), so in essence they all do the job they are given with the personalities they have. They're all winners when it comes down to it. If you disagree, and your stance is that Cloud and Squall are just incompetent, then I suppose the people who follow them are the people truly deserving of a rant.