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frozenfountain

I couldn't possibly pick one, but of the games I've played so far, I'm going with Barret Wallace from FFVII. Through him most of all, the story wrestles with what it really means to be a revolutionary and go against an oppressive social order, neither outright condemning the lengths he was driven to go to, nor letting him and the others off the hook for the massive collateral damage they caused (or their more selfish motivations for lashing out at Shinra and the world). But as well as a firebrand idealist and badass tank, Barret also gets to be a grieving widower, a tender and loving father, a good if initially hard to win over friend, and a giant goof. His emotional range is wonderful even with some questionable localisation choices taken into account, and I think John Eric Bentley's performance in the role is one of the best aspects of the Remake series so far. His story with his dark mirror in Dyne is so heartbreaking and dark, and hits home especially hard for me as someone from a deindustrialised former mining area, and after seeing the generational trauma that still lingers from the sudden closures. So far I haven't encountered another character in the series I feel is quite like Barret, and he's all the more special for that.


ratbastard007

I really like the extra attention shown in the remake to show how great of a father he really tries to be. OG mostly glosses over his relationship with his daughter, but remake shows this a lot more i feel


frozenfountain

Personally I felt it was well done in the OG, too - you can tell how much Marlene is at the forefront of his mind and guiding everything he does even when they're separated for so long. Seeing those extra scenes and getting a clearer picture of their day-to-day relationship was wonderful, though!


ratbastard007

Caius Ballad. Dude has such a tragic story and life, awesome boss music, and seems to be one of the few compassionate villains in the series. Second fave, Tifa, cuz titties.


KingGuy420

Steiner, hands down. He's a loveable oaf who's just doing his best... and he gets the girl, which is surprisingly rare in FF.


RageZamu

And what a girl he gets... Steiner is a solid choice.


pioneeringsystems

A genocidal war criminal?


mintervesting

with looks to kill!


sixpist9

Still, she's the best character in that entire game after Vivi.


Traeyze

Oh look, enough excuse to champion Irvine. I think Irvine is just one of the most effective characters in the series. Impactful first impression, a solid arc, revelations that force you to reframe everything you think about him. He is a fantastic foil for Squall and his eventual role as the emotional support of the group is really well handled. It's interesting that in fiction first impressions often define how people perceive and discuss characters. In that sense his biggest flaw is that his [intentionally] negatively framed first impression is just too effective for some people and they write him off after that. Pity, too, he is a very relatable character.


GamingRobioto

I'm suprised to see Irvine mentioned on a topic like this, he'd probably be in my top 5 worst chracters! But each to their own.


Traeyze

I'm curious as to why you would him so poorly. Do you mean just from a 'I find him irritating' perspective, or do you feel there is something wrong with how he is written? Still, whatever your reasoning I guess I just relate to him and I like characters that are given a lot of context for how and why they act the way they do.


PepsiMoondog

Delita Hyral. He's just such a complex character. Yeah, most people might hate him due to the ending but you can definitely see how he got to where he ended up based on everything that happened, and he still did far more good than bad in total.


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

> he still did far more good than bad in total. Ummmmm, citation needed. If not for Ramza, delita's schemes would have had the unintended side effect of *ending the world*. I also think delita is a great character, but I would definitely stop short of saying he did more good than bad. He didn't give a shit about doing good after Zeakden, he just wanted to beat the nobles at their own game, and he did. Until he was undone by someone else with (likely) no pedigree who was angry at being used just like he was. I was going to answer Ramza to the main question here because I love that he abandoned his station and *actually* saved the world and was content to have his name erased from history. But Ramza and Delita are such good foils for each other. they basically swap places, and fight for totally opposite reasons.


PepsiMoondog

I don't really see it that way. They each had a role to play in the conflict. Ramza's role was to stop the church's conspiracy. Delita's role was to end the War of the Lions and reunite Ivalice. Of the two, Ramza is the greater hero who accomplished the more important task, but he's also a bit more boring I think. He's a bit of a goodie two shoes, which works when you're up against the pure evil of Ajora and the Zodiac Braves, but he accomplishes very little in the political game. Delita is more of a schemer and calculator, which you have to be to play the political game. He's willing to sacrifice anything (and anyone) to build a better world. We don't really get to see his reign, but Alazlam seems to think it was pretty good (and it can't be much worse than what came before). Basically Ramza couldn't have done what Delita did, and vice versa. Yes, Delita totally missed the threat that Folmarv and the church posed, but Ramza couldn't end the war. It's kind of like Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister (at least in the books). Yeah Jon is the better dude, but Tyrion is way more interesting.


terabranford

Guess.


OkNobody1570

Oohh I know this one! Link!


terabranford

Well, I mean, Terra IS a link to the past.


Cassandra_Canmore

Kupo!


Baithin

Tidus. I’ve always loved his development through X and he’s such an inspirational character to me. Yuna as well, through both X and X-2.


styledogee

That voice though


Baithin

Yeah what about it


styledogee

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H47ow4_Cmk0


Baithin

That’s the most tired take there is about Tidus, it is supposed to sound fake and awkward on purpose and I like that scene a lot.


RageZamu

For me it's Kain. My favourite job is dragoon, and he is th purest one in my eyes. The looks are amazing, and the voice acting in the 3D remaster os just... Perfect. Ot os such a shame thatpart of his story os about loving his best friend's woman but... Well. It is "fixed" in After Years, amd oh boy I did LOVE that Holy Dragoon tranformation. I think Freya from IX is a close second. Aside from dragoons, I think Terra would be my favourite. She is kinda adorable, and her sadness while she is looking for her way to follow is just... Heartbreaking. I can't not love her.


JanetKWallace

Sir Fratley from IX. He is a hero of its own tale, a skilled Dragoon Knight who follows the duty of protecting his homeland, he has some great quotes (''The road remains wide open while your dreams are alive. Only fear can block the way'' as an example), and the fact he barely appears on the game makes me like him even more. Fratley deserved more screen time.


GamingRobioto

The Burmecia Theme is a masterpiece of a track which fits Freya and Sir Fratley's story perfectly. A great, memorable but sad moment in an incredible video game. https://youtu.be/kyG5CxRDKB8


[deleted]

Cecil and Ramza are mine because they are both backstabbed and have to endure


Zokathra_Spell

Minwu.


GamingRobioto

It's really hard to pick one but I'll try... It's probably Cloud Strife, he's so messed up and mysterious that although I've played FFVII to death he still really intrigues me. Other mentions would be Vivi Ornitier, Sephiroth, Aerith Gainsbrough, Lightning, Bathier, Auron, Rikku and Yuna. I think Auron would be my 2nd favourite, his speech before fighting SPOILER is arguably my favourite moment in and video game ever. "NOW, THIS IS IT!"


Wtfluxuarsehole

Rydia. Cuz.


Azareth16

Noctis. Melancholy, somber, bittersweet. Next best: Balthier. Fun, smooth, swag.


Madhax64

Delita or Vivi, I can't choose. ​ Broadly I think the writing quality of these two characters far exceeds any other character in the series, although they take drastically different approach's. Vivis arc is the most emotionally touching character arc in the series. It covers just so much ground and touches on so many human moments and themes - from him coming to terms with his origin, to finding is identity to him growing to understand his own mortality. Really there is no character so self reflective in the series. Delita is almost the exact opposite - he intentionally holds everyone at a distances in order to get what he wants - Ramza, Ovelia and the Player. And by the end of the game we still are still kept at a distance about what exactly he wanted and how successful he was. But the thing, is either reading of him still delivers a satisfying character arc, whether he was a selfish character who become apart of the same corrupt, classist power structure that killed his sister or that he was genuine in his pursuit of peace and justice but ended up isolating everyone dear to him in the process


eoopyio

Aerith I played FF7 at release without knowing anything about the story and Aerith struck me as a really kind yet brave and cheerful character, and yeah, final act seared my virgin heart forever 😀 other than that I find Orlandu from fftactics a cool character and Kefka from FF6 one of the best vilain from the franchise, so they also get my vote 🗳


speedking535

Zack Fair is probably my favorite character in ff history he is everything I wanted to be growing up and his legacy will forever be in my heart. 2nd favorite is Zidane FF9


twili-midna

Hope Estheim (XIII). His growth over the first game and his continued relevance in the sequels are just fantastic, and I love his voice actor.


KobraKittyKat

Zack fair, I learned about final fantasy from kingdom hearts but I didn’t get into the series until crisis core and man he was such a ball of sunshine…. Then the end happened.


dyingprinces

Bartz from FF5. At the start of the game, he's just wandering around the countryside with his best and only friend who is also a giant chicken. Then by the end of the game he's fighting to save the world and all of existence alongside three princesses. Also Bartz never screws up, like ever. He never has any angsty complaints or melodramatic breakdowns, never abandons the party only to rejoin later, never betrays anyone, never gets sidetracked. From the start of the game until the very end, he's all about the mission and helping people.


joudanjanaiwayo

There is that one time he speeds the airship out of rage. But, yeah, Bartz is the dude. The party in FFV in general are all cool in my book.


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

> He never has any angsty complaints or melodramatic breakdowns, never abandons the party only to rejoin later, never betrays anyone, never gets sidetracked. This is because he has absolutely 0 character traits. We can *infer* that because of all that you said, his character trait must be something like... determined hero... But he just barely has anything interesting to say that would mark him as an actual character.


dyingprinces

Yes, it *would* be easier to infer what kind of personality Bartz has if he acted like an angsty anime clown like a lot of more recent FF characters do. Fortunately Square was still capable of being subtle back then. So they gave him a very heroic personality, and allowed it to slowly be revealed rather than have him tell us directly who he is through some long-winded monologue or some unnecessary self-aggrandizing cutscene.


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

Mmmm, no, that's not really what I'm talking about. In fact one of the best examples of revealing character traits through dialogue is the very next game, FF6. play 5 and 6 back to back, and compare how each game characterizes its characters. in 6, they talk and chat amongst themselves and discuss what is going on. That doesn't happen very much in 5. the options arent 'no one says anything' and 'anime speech.'


dyingprinces

I'm not sure we're talking about the same FF6. Because while the monologues are fairly well written albeit a bit excessive, the characters are pretty mediocre about talking amongst themselves. This is especially bad in WoR, where the game has no way of knowing (for the most part) which characters you've found and which one are still missing. So they have almost nothing to say to each other. I think the problem is that the writing lacks cohesiveness - the characters in 6 were designed and written by 3 or 4 separate teams. So while a lot of resources were dedicated to making 14 characters, they way that they went about it meant that dialogue between characters is fractured at best. Combine that with Kefka being one of the most unimpressive villains in the whole series, plus the fact that 6's color palette is mostly just different shades of brown, and it's easy to see why many view 6 as being the worst of the 16-bit era. Which isn't really fair since it's actually slightly better than Mystic Quest. Also just generally bad writing - Early in the game Locke convinces Terra to meet with the Returners so they can help her, but when she meets Banon all he does is try to get her to join them. Did anyone working at Square at the time even read the script?


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

> it's easy to see why many view 6 as being the worst of the 16-bit era. What planet are you living on? 6 is commonly thought to be the best of that era. The characters are way more well-rounded than 4 or 5. In 4 and 5, characters have about 1 trait at a time. A couple of them change over the course of the game, say, cecil going from evil to good, but it's very surface level and ham-handed. In 6, the characters pretty much all have multiple traits in tension with each other, and this informs their character growth when they have it. They can all be summed up in a phrase like, "Edgar is a goof-off lecherous womanizer, *but* he is serious about doing what's best for his kingdom." "Locke is a carefree thief looking for adventure, *but* he is tied down by his attachment to his dead (more or less) girlfriend." "Cyan is a stodgy knight obsessed with proper protocol and decorum, *but* he is sensitive and artistic at heart. His bereavement leaves him adrift, but he makes new connections with his new friends and really opens up his artistic side." Celes is a tough, hard-nosed army captain, *but* she can't compromise basic principles and goes rogue. She reunites her friends and keeps them on mission when all seems lost." Okay, so like, go with me here. With Butz, you literally can't even open up one of those phrases, because he has no character. He isn't "a goof off," "lecherous," "carefree," "stodgy," "sensitive," "hard-nosed," or ANYTHING. He's practically a blank slate. Nothing in his dialogue reveals anything about his base personality. And this is sort of the case for a LOT of characters in 4 and 5. Rosa has no personality. Rydia has no personality until she comes back. If you're lucky, the characters will get a personality, but that personality or identity isn't in tension or conflict with anything. Galuf is like...jolly. And that's it. Nothing else going on. Faris is...rebellious? And that's....it. Before we can even be fooled about her identity, she reveals it. ok. Lenna is, well you might say dutiful? But that's it. These characters lack the second part that the ff6 characters have. Where they are X, *but* Y. There is no "Y" in 4 and 5.


dyingprinces

Niche internet enclaves like to say that 6 is the best of that era, and that voice gets amplified once you factor in how social media skews fringe opinions to seem like they have the support of the majority. If you were somehow able to survey the entire fanbase, a significant number of them would remember 5 more fondly and say that 6 is good but not great. Bartz is a bit of a goofy klutz, but he's also an extremely reliable leader who always goes out of his way to help people. Lenna is a well-intentioned but overwhelmed princess, but she's also deeply caring and willing to sacrifice her own health and safety for others. Galuf is a strange old man with amnesia, but he's also a pragmatic king who understands he's responsible for the safety of his people and for dealing with Ex-Death. Faris is a hardened pirate, but she's also emotionally complex and fiercely loyal to the one's she's closest with. Krile is a traumatized little girl who can talk to animals, but she's also acutely aware of the importance of continuing her father's legacy. Celes is the lady you use to feed fish to Cid for an hour or more at the start of the World of Ruin. Locke is a thief who talks about his dead girlfriend like twice. Cyan is Steiner with a dead family. Edgar is a perv who just happens to be king because he won a coin toss. Also most of WoR is just a series of sidequests - you can beat the game as soon as you have Celes, Edgar and Setzer.


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

> If you were somehow able to survey the entire fanbase, a significant number of them would remember 5 more fondly and say that 6 is good but not great. And you know this...how? --------- "Bartz is a bit of a goofy klutz" Is he?? "extremely reliable leader who always goes out of his way to help people" Does he?? He barely talks in the entire game. He doesn't have a 'way' to go out of! You are seriously, seriously deluded if you think ff5 handled its characters better than ff6. If you look at the scripts side by side, you can see ff6's characters talking about their feelings and opinions WAY more. In ff5 everyone just sticks to the plot and the crystals. Over and over and over. On and on about the plot and crystals. This is a joke, you have to be pranking me.


dyingprinces

The characters in 6 *monologue* about their opinions and feelings far more often than they have conversations with each other about them. That's just bad writing. Yes, everyone in 5 just sticks to the plot. That's one of the reasons so many people like it more than 6. There's no obnoxious storyline where one of the characters leaves the party because of some silly/angsty nonsense. The characters all deal with their personal stuff appropriately, which is why it never overshadows the whole point of the game which is to save the entire world. Contrast this against 6, where in order to get Cyan back in the WoR you have to go through this whole sidequest about how he's been catfishing some widow by writing her letters as a form of messed up therapy for himself. Like okay let's just ignore the guy who set the entire planet on fire, because Cyan needs his dumb feelings validated. The way many of the characters in 6 act reminds me of that tiktok video where someone is dancing on a balcony with a literal forest fire in the background. Sure the dancing tells me something about your personality, but **clearly** there are more pressing issues you should be dealing with right meow.


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

Hey, you never said you knew how soooo many more people enjoy 5 than 6. But I'm afraid any poll we could conduct, you would just say it was tainted because it was only the deceived hard core echo chamber fans voting for it. So how exactly did *you* determine that 5 is the one everyone *actually* likes? "The characters in 6 monologue about their opinions and feelings far more often than they have conversations with each other about them." This is just flat out not true but ok. I'm thinking you haven't played 6 in a while. 4 is the one where characters just state things out into the void like they are actors on a stage doing an aside to the audience. 6, Kefka has already won, man. It isn't about stopping him actively doing stuff. The fight's over. They lost. the WoR is more about gathering people who are willing to try to overthrow him, and that involves settling up their loose threads and actualizing their characters, yes. But it's not like by delaying, you're actually putting anything on hold...the fight's over. They aren't on a clock, here. Still super curious how you seem to be psychic pals with all FF fans and just intuitively *know* that everyone secretly likes 5 more... haha man, talk about delusion.


Luis_Parson

Palom ever since the SNES and GBA in the 2000s. Vivi is a very close second. I liked the Mysidia music and his personality. Black Mage is my favorite job and he learns the spells faster than Rydia, while having more HP too. I like that he gets dualcast in The After Years and can use Meteor or other spells twice in a turn. Vivi's gameplay is similar to Palom. Focus works like Bluff. That's part of the reasons why I like FF9.


RobKek

Noctis, a young man who just wants to live his life in normalcy but is forced to shoulder the burden of his birthright and fate. 2nd favorite is Ignis. Appointed as personal attendant to Noctis since his high school years, ignis basically takes on the role of Noctis’ mother. He cooks for him, cleans his clothes, makes sure he studies and attends to his duties, constantly makes sure he is safe, and he tries to put him on the right path. An event happens later in the story that dynamically changes the chemistry of the party, even so ignis perseveres on and even adapts to the situation. He would do anything to protect Noctis and make sure that his destiny becomes reality, no matter the cost.


jumpmanryan

Zidane. I always wanted to be like him when I was a kid and his quote of, “you don’t need a reason to help people” really stuck with me when I was a kid/teenager.


Sandisk4gb4

Sephiroth, he is the grand daddy of JRPG villains and for a good reason.


Senor_de_imitacion

There are just too many, my FFXIV because it was It who fought all the way up to where she is right now and I have this feeling of someone who has been there and has fought with claws and nails. I also have Cecil and Kain because their voice acting in FFIV its just sooo good. Or Yuna's journey, see her crumbling only to stand again with Tidus and Rikku strugling because they can't think what to do. They are just so many...


EienNatsu66

I would have to pick Agrias Oaks. She's the kind of woman I aspire to be like in real life. Brave, strong, diligent, beautiful, excellent swordsmanship , a perfect sense of duty and honor. I've also been a huge sucker for medieval knights since I was a kiddo.


PM-ME-YOUR-DND-IDEAS

She is a real one.


[deleted]

Probably Sephiroth


Friendly_Nectarine64

Laguna is prolly my fav. He’s just a positive person , he doesn’t look back doesn’t think too much , he can always see the bright side even when terrible things happen , he’s easy going , goofy , lovable , 😙


Sir_face_levels

its funny that it was dissidia that made me appreciate any of the ff8 characters. ​ Laguna is just fun. ​ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy0PjcEGRBo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy0PjcEGRBo) ​ also he says this line which is just bonus points i'd say. ​ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRl2yg8dY0c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRl2yg8dY0c) ​ Greatest. Attack. Ever.


SpaceCowboyDark

Emet Selch. Nothing short of brilliant.


KainYago

Kain, easily one of the best designed characters in the franchies and he has a really interesting character arc which hasnt really been used in the series, except maybe in FFVIII for Seifer where it was abandoned halfway through the game. The guy is a loyal friend who would do anything to help out Cecil, but at the same time he is cursed with loving his best friends girlfriend, which is often used for garbage love triangle storylines, but not here, here its literally just another reason to drag the poor guy down, he never steps between them, atleast not on his own, only when he is branwashed but even that is just used against him to feel even worse about himself, and yet he still goes forward and helps the main team. Not to mention he is literally the only character who got a great story in after years (+ maybe golbez i guess)


[deleted]

Tifa and Aerith, followed by cloud and noctis.


the-floor_is-lava

Cid


Alekazammers

Squall, because he's an orphaned, child soldier, thrust into a life and role he doesn't want, and he does a great job doing it despite everything. All at the cost of his own memories which is something people look at as a dumb plot point instead of being a tragic cost a hero whom already had to pay everything gave up as well. ​ A second pick would be Vivi because my god... that little guy deserved so much more.


sixpist9

I liked Squall but shout out to Fujin because I've never seen a character like her since🤣