Best FF Character

[PyroDragon]

I think the best FF character is a toss up between Cloud Strife an Squall Leonhart

[Killmore]

I don't see Tina or Tifa anywhere on that list, nevermind my favorite character.

[Ultratech87]

This list is much too small. Also, it's lacking my favs.

[Valkyrie Esker]

It's hard to have a poll about best character when a. Your choices don't even cover half the series, and b. when you can't even choose between all the choices of the games that are listed. Also: Seriously, you consider Red XIII and Rikku main characters? They're supporting characters. And you couldn't even put Tidus up there?

[Genericangstyposter]

Tidus may be the viewpoint character of FFX, but Yuna was the main character. Just saying.

[Valkyrie Esker]

That of course leads to a debate about whether the character telling the story or the person the character is paying attention to is more of the main character in a story. I've gotten into a lot of debates over questions like this in Dramatic Literature classes.

[Rigmarole]

Zidane is hands down the best footballer of the bunch.

[LockeJV]

But Final Fantasy started with VII and ended with X!

[Arac]

I think you meant to type Red CMLXXXIV.

[Wilfredo Martinez]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie Esker

That of course leads to a debate about whether the character telling the story or the person the character is paying attention to is more of the main character in a story. I've gotten into a lot of debates over questions like this in Dramatic Literature classes.

This IS an interesting point. Technically the protagonist is whoever the author says is (so in FFX, it would be Tidus) but from the point of view of the story, the protagonist is whoever reacts to the antagonist (villain, but not always) actions. He who solves the problem, in other words, whether he or she succeeds or not. Which makes Yuna AND her guardians (including Tidus) the protagonists, though Yuna had more ties to the story than the rest of them (even Tidus.) When you stop to think of it, Tidus presence -and Spoiler: existence- was an accident, while Yuna's whole life revolved around stopping Sin.

[Arac]

The protagonist can be the antagonist. Don't forget deuteragonists and tritagonists.

[Wilfredo Martinez]

Originally Posted by Arac

The protagonist can be the antagonist. Don't forget deuteragonists and tritagonists.

And then the Quadragonist, Pentagonist, Sextagonist etc? Naah, let's just call them protagonists (or not) and be done with it. :)

And no, from the POV of the story, the antagonist is the cause of the problem, and the protagonist is his opponent. Of course, a "hero" CAN be an antagonist and a villain the protagonist. Example: Superman goes mad and Lex Luthor stops him. (This was in fact the case in the Red Son miniseries where Superman grew up in Russia and became a dictator, and Luthor is sent by America to stop him. (Warning: this story is terrible, as the author (Marvel Civil War's Mark Millar) pretty much turned Luthor into the ultimate Mary Sue.)

[Arac]

Why have stanzas and couplets? What's next? Coupletanzas?

[Wilfredo Martinez]

The correct terms are "main protagonist", "secondary protagonist" etc. Seriously, "deuteragonists?" Never heard of that in my *whole* life and I've been reading since I was a child. Not saying it isn't real, but man, talk about impractical. Even stanzas don't go over octaves, you know.

[Arac]

See if there is a wikipedia entry for "secondary protagonist." Now see if there's one for "deuteragonist."

[Curtis]

Cloud was my favorite character because I identified with the whole "fighting through your craziness" thing.

[Wilfredo Martinez]

Originally Posted by Arac

See if there is a wikipedia entry for "secondary protagonist." Now see if there's one for "deuteragonist."

Wikipedia also has entries for things like "gogolplex" (that's a 1 followed by 100 zeroes btw) which is *real* but how many people EVER use it? Again, we're talking practical use here, not fastidious terminology.

I hope THAT clears it up, because we're derailing this thread something fierce. I know I won't address this here anymore.

[Arac]

I mean, I was talking about fastidious terminology.

I don't feel like FFVII did a very good job with most of its characters, but I've addressed that elsewhere. Although, discounting writing, it made them far more iconic in appearance than the actual represented characters were before, which made them easier to attach to memory. In that respect, they're well-designed.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by Arac

I mean, I was talking about fastidious terminology.

I don't feel like FFVII did a very good job with most of its characters, but I've addressed that elsewhere. Although, discounting writing, it made them far more iconic in appearance than the actual represented characters were before, which made them easier to attach to memory. In that respect, they're well-designed.

FF7 does have less dramatic dialogue than some of the later FFs, but I think its a triumph that FF7 was able to convey a deep level of meaning through style and implication instead of than, say, FF8 where they take you directly inside Squall's head.

[Rigmarole]

...

[Killmore]

Originally Posted by Curtis

FF7 does have less dramatic dialogue than some of the later FFs, but I think its a triumph that FF7 was able to convey a deep level of meaning through style and implication instead of than, say, FF8 where they take you directly inside Squall's head.

I think you're missing the point of this thread.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by Killmore

I think you're missing the point of this thread.

Wha...?

[Valkyrie Esker]

Okay, getting back on track, which segues nicely into my next point... if we're going only by what the best character regardless of whether they're the main character or not? Sabin wins. He's a monk, he's a good man, a little muscle-headed at times but still a great guy. Oh, and as a wise man once said,

MOTHERFUCKER SUPLEXED A TRAIN.

And it wasn't even a regular train, it was the fucking train of the dead! Man just put the wrestling moves on a metaphor and won. Beat THAT, Cloud.

[Killmore]

Originally Posted by Curtis

Wha...?

Basically what VE said. The original question of this thread is loaded. And considering that there's at least one stickied thread that also asks which FF character would you proclaim your undying love for not to mention the dozen or so others that exist somewhere in this forum's checkered history, this thread kinda loses its point.

The tl;dr of this is to not to take this discussion seriously.

Besides we all know that Uncle Ulty is the best character.

[Rigmarole]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie Esker

Sabin wins. He's a monk

Was he a monk? I remember him being a hermit, but the monk part never registered.

You forgot to mention his special is called Bum Rush.

[Killmore]

His master did in fact train him in a mountain, and learning bum rush involved leaping about in a battle almost straight out of a shonen. Yeah he's pretty monkey.

Also his training partner fights with two grizzly bears at his side.

Originally Posted by Valkyrie Esker
MOTHERFUCKER SUPLEXED A TRAIN.

The best part of that was that he did that while outrunning said train. That whole fight was goddamn crazy.

(Though to be fair, even a tuff of plumage could wipe out THAT train.)