Which FF protagonist is the best?

[Pike]

On the topic of FFXIII characters, I haven't played the game yet but watched a lot of it over Mister Adequate's shoulder when he played it and none of the characters really stuck out to me. They were just kind of there. I felt that way over much (but not all) of the FFXII cast too. I think the last numbered FF game with an ensemble cast that I really liked was FFX.

That might be kind of why I like FFX, it was just this weird cast of lovable idiots. Brought me back to stuff like FFVII and FFVI.

[Madame Adequate]

also wk if we're going by "i'm older than you" then i'll retort with both "my uncle works at nintendo" and "my dad could beat up your dad" as schoolyard arguments to win this

ps vanille certainly attracts attention whenever she has a big aussie orgasm on the back of hecaton

[Wolf Kanno]

also wk if we're going by "i'm older than you" then i'll retort with both "my uncle works at nintendo" and "my dad could beat up your dad" as schoolyard arguments to win this

ps vanille certainly attracts attention whenever she has a big aussie orgasm on the back of hecaton

I simply feel that Tidus is being overly sensitive and wimp concerning Jecht.

Let's also not discuss Ms. Sex-Object

[Psychotic]

On Topic: Punch Snow in the face? Nah, I'd kick him in the stones so he couldn't reproduce. We don't need a bunch of little Snows running around.

Snow would absolutely kick your ass dude. Snow would kick every single person on this forum's ass. Except he wouldn't because he's a nice fella! Anyone that thinks Snow's actions in the game warrant a punch is more deserving of a punch than Snow. The dude isn't a bad person, he's not nasty, spiteful or manipulative. He's just big dumb idealistic lug who is trying to do the right thing. I mean really, do you folk believe in a "You're dumb therefore you deserve physical violence" creed? 'cause okay EoFF Hitlers chill out jeez... and then by your own rules punch yourselves in the face WHADDUP

i'm gonna tell dan you like snow and then what, your best mate will call you a pedophile

he'd probably put an a in it to be fair m8y

[Madame Adequate]

i'll grant you that point

[Psychotic]

i'll grant you that point

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

MYSTERIOUS GIRL



I WANNA GET CLOSE TO YOU

[Pumpkin]

SO MUCH TO SAY SO LITTLE TIME

I personally feel like Squall was a wonderful protagonist. He was whiny and anti-social but it was because he is emotionally stunted and acts like... well someone who is emotionally stunted. And I don't mean in the way people use to insult others, I mean he is legitimately and literally emotionally stunted. That's the point. That is the entire point. And they show us this in a great way by slowly showing us his development and his thought process the entire time. He isn't just an ass and then suddenly he isn't and they were like "oh he had issues" and we're like "oh, okay." They showed us firsthand as the whole game went along and I thought it was awesome. I also think it showed great spirit and affection how his friends and companions interacted with him based off of this. One thing that always interests me is mental illness in video game characters. In this case, most likely BPD. To be diagnosed with BPD, one must fit 5 of these criteria:

1. Fear of abandonment
2. Unstable or changing relationships
3. Unstable self-image; struggles with identity or sense of self
4. Impulsive or self-damaging behaviors (e.g., excessive spending, unsafe sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).
5. Suicidal behavior or self-injury
6. Varied or random mood swings
7. Constant feelings of worthlessness or sadness
8. Problems with anger, including frequent loss of temper or physical fights
9. Stress-related paranoia or loss of contact with reality

In case you haven't played the game, I would say he fits 6 of those, if not 7. I think it is very interesting to see a story told around a character like that, especially since I would say on the whole, mental illness is under represented in games even though I can think of a number of characters who would classify in to some of these issues.

As for Tidus, he does grow and develop but he is pretty annoying at first. I get that he has father issues. I get it. TRUST ME, I get it. But at the same time its just personally hard for me to identify with him. He ends up in practically a whole new world with new cultures, values and beliefs, and the rate at which he disrespects them is astounding and off-putting, even when he means well. He also asks very stupid questions. I get that he's like an avatar for the player to learn about the world but he needs to fill in the blanks and use context sometimes because I first played the game as a child and I understood more than he did because I PAID ATTENTION AND USED CONTEXT CUES. Like a normal person. I kind of disliked Lulu's attitude a lot of the time but I can also understand her getting frustrated because some of his questions were like... pay attention Tidus. Really. Pay attention.

I hate Lightning. I do. And I get that her punching people is a character flaw, but as maybee said, most FF characters have some issues and don't go around punching people in the face on a regular and repeated basis. Imagine if the roles were reversed. We wouldn't be like "oh ho ho, sure it isn't good but girl kinda needed some punches to the face because she's annoying". We would be like "Damn, that's not funny. That's not cool." and it would be portrayed about as seriously as it actually as opposed to "Haha that Snow sure is annoying." Especially since Snow, for all of his faults, really really cares about her sister and everyone else and gosh darn it is trying his hardest. It's not like he's even being a jerk wad or anything like that. I really dislike Lightning for numerous reasons.

Also I really like Zidane as I mentioned in this thread before I think because he's just a good, solid, caring guy. He does have his faults but at the end of the day he is very caring and self-sacrificing and I seriously admire his ability to put on a happy face despite his internal struggles. Same thing with Yuna.

That's just how I feel anyway

Edit: Also just to be super clear, I don't condone diagnosing real people if you aren't a professional. It's just fun to look at fictional characters in different lights like this!

[Madame Adequate]

i'll grant you that point

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

MYSTERIOUS GIRL



I WANNA GET CLOSE TO YOU

please leave

[Forsaken Lover]

1. We know for a fact Jecht was verbally abusive.

2. We know for a fact he was an alcoholic.

These two things alone give a smurfing six-year-old more than enough justification to resent him.

What's more, his revelation makes perfect sense. A young boy wishing he was the center of his mother's universe is perfectly natural. This is only compounded by how she gives up on life and leaves Tidus after Jecht's disappearance.

These are a lot of complicated, confusing events with a whole slue of emotional responses that would be terrible for anyone, let alone a small child who's not equipped to properly process or understand them.

Tidus realizing that, in spite of all of Jecht's actual flaws, his father had still loved him, was very important I'd say.

But somehow Squall's own childhood traumas and his response to them are somehow more "real." I don't see it, sorry.


And Cloud is still the best.

[Madame Adequate]

So for people who think Lightning deserves condemnation because she decks Snow a couple times, you do realize that in almost every FF, almost every playable character mows down armies of human enemies, right?

[Fynn]

1. We know for a fact Jecht was verbally abusive.

2. We know for a fact he was an alcoholic.

These two things alone give a smurfing six-year-old more than enough justification to resent him.

What's more, his revelation makes perfect sense. A young boy wishing he was the center of his mother's universe is perfectly natural. This is only compounded by how she gives up on life and leaves Tidus after Jecht's disappearance.

These are a lot of complicated, confusing events with a whole slue of emotional responses that would be terrible for anyone, let alone a small child who's not equipped to properly process or understand them.

Tidus realizing that, in spite of all of Jecht's actual flaws, his father had still loved him, was very important I'd say.

But somehow Squall's own childhood traumas and his response to them are somehow more "real." I don't see it, sorry.


And Cloud is still the best.

That's just the thing - for all the abuse he had to take as a kid and how he has come to hate the image of his father he had in his head - and since we see it all from his perspective, he does percevie him as pretty one-dimensionally evil - it really doesn;t make sense for him to be so easily forgiving of him.

No, sorry, not buying it. Squall still wins because he actually acts like an emotionally stunted person. Tidus' only problem stemming from his daddy issues is that he hates his dad. And then magic happened and he wasn't racist anymore.

[Pike]

My fave thing about Tidus is that he had a sucky life but he's still like dumb and goofy and optimistic, like me

tbh though the more a FF tries to make their main character ~super serious~ the less I tend to like it. I do not take the FF series seriously... like not even remotely. The goofier an FF and its characters are, the better, as far as I'm concerned.

[Fynn]

FFVIII was still goofy as hell and Squall had his goofy moments as well, but for me goofiness doesn't excuse thoughtless writing. I like the approach they had with Squall better, where he was realistic psychologically, but also had his comically serious moments. But that's just me

[Pike]

but for me goofiness doesn't excuse thoughtless writing

ahh this is where our differences stem from, I don't care about the writing in FF. Like... at all. For me it's about 80% gameplay (by which I mean battle system) and 20% ridiculous over-the-top characters/jokes. That's not to say I don't like writing and story in games, but it's not a priority to me most of the time and ESPECIALLY not in FF, which I play for the grinding and the laughs. FF is a super cheesy JRPG series, that's why I like it.

[Forsaken Lover]

But the thing you and the others are missing is that Tidus NEVER truly hated his father.

One of my favorite little lines in the whole game is:
"Even ten years after he left...just thinking about my old man got me angry. But maybe that was just my way of keeping him... Nah."


Tidus clings to his bitter memories of Jecht because, for him, they're a coping mechanism. As long as he "hates" his father, his father is kept alive.

When he learns that, not only is Jecht alive, he wasn't quite as bad as Tidus thought for a long, long time, he naturally re-evaluates things. He no longer needs to put up his facade of hatred.

So for people who think Lightning deserves condemnation because she decks Snow a couple times, you do realize that in almost every FF, almost every playable character mows down armies of human enemies, right?

Killing people trying to kill you =/= hitting a guy who your sister absolutely loved and who is only trying to help said sister.

That's a really faulty comparison in every way.

Mostly people don't like Lightning because she radiates an unlikable personality. She's a bitch, to put it bluntly. She's mad at everyone, even people who don't deserve it, and treats much of the cast like dirt.

Every member of the XIII cast has some pretty major issues but the way Lightning deals with hers is second only to Hope in being annoying. Only Hope is a little civilian boy. Lightning is a trained soldier.

Granted, it seems like Snow's and Vanille's way of dealing with their own trauma doesn't seem to sit well with people, either. Who knew being nice was so terrible?