Who is the worst Final Fantasy protagonist from the Playstation Golden Era?

[SolVanderlyn]

I'll do a best protagonist thread after this one (and perhaps a set for classic FF as well if people want me to).

The "Golden Age" is Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, and X. No spinoffs.

That leaves us with...

Cloud Strife

Ex-SOLDIER (as far as we know) whose past goes a lot deeper than we expected.

Trademark: Giant, GIANT sword.
Catchphrase: Let's mosey.
Strengths: Adaptable, witty, stronger than average.
Weaknesses: Mentally ill, unpredictable, can be kind of an asshole.

Squall Leonhart

A student at Balamb Garden, and a member of SEED.

Trademark: A sword that is also a gun.
Catchphrase: Whatever.
Strengths: Skilled fighter, capable leader, straight and to the point.
Weaknesses: Isolated, hard to read, can definitely be an asshole.

Zidane Tribal

A thief with a womanizing streak and a charming disposition.

Trademark: Has a tail.
Catchphrase: Ooo, soft...
Strengths: Charismatic, multi-talented, quick on his feet.
Weaknesses: Impulsive, an outlaw, and can be a bit of a doofus.

Tidus

A sports superstar from a city that existed a thousand years ago.

Trademark: A sword made of water.
Catchphrase: HA HA HA HA!
Strengths: Athletic, popular, strong sense of morality.
Weaknesses: Trouble dealing with change, dad issues, can definitely be a doofus.

 

[Ishiro]

Vaan dodged a bullet here.

 

[chusetto]

One gif is better that a thousand words...

 

[mclem]

Question: Are we assessing just their appearance in the game in question, or does their appearance in other titles affect our viewpoint.

I mention because Squall is a heck of a lot more charming in Kingdom Hearts than he is in FF8.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Question: Are we assessing just their appearance in the game in question, or does their appearance in other titles affect our viewpoint.

I mention because Squall is a heck of a lot more charming in Kingdom Hearts than he is in FF8.

Click to shrink...

Main games only.

Spoiler

I also agree, but charming, older Squall compared to asshole, younger Squall is the entire point of his character development from his original game

 

[shimon]

Tidus.

 

[Tornak]

Tidus for me, no doubt. I still find him somewhat endearing, but there's a lot in him (and his game) that I dislike.

I'd say my order would be: Zidane>Cloud>Squall>Tidus.

• Tidus has a really nice background and role in the world, but there's some stuff that turns me off (him having a voice unlike the others doesn't help diminish those things I don't really appreciate), and I can't deal with how awful his in-game model is (he looks good in Nomura's concept art despite how goofy his clothes are). Lovely sword, though, have always loved it. Also, him being an athlete is such a cool ass concept.
• Squall I honestly really like. I feel like he's got a nice evolution in his game (which could have been better made, I guess, it's been a while so I can't say). I particularly love how no-nonsense he can be when it comes to actually pulling his mission off (like when attempting to assasinate the witch) and I feel like, earned or not, him treating others better and opening up is really satisfying as a player. I really appreciate his constant inner monologues.
• Cloud has a really intriguing backstory and the changes he goes through in his game are really entertaining. He can do goofy, badass and moody. I like all of his "personalities" in the original game, and his mental place at the end of the game is good (fuck AC).
• Zidane's just the best.

 

[Spacejaws]

Can't decide. I like them all!

 

[Acquiescence]

Why can't I vote for the boy who was tragically born without a personality aka Vaan?

Ohhhh, "golden era." That's why.

 

[Kromeo]

I can't stand Zidane personally, either his goofy design or his personality

If I have to rank those four:

Squall >>>>>>> Cloud > Tidus >>>>>>>>> Zidane

 

[JamboGT]

I like them all but while loving FFIX, Zidane is the least memorable to me so it goes to him. Sorry Zidane.

Also while I am having a great time playing through XII on the Switch the real answer is Vaan.

 

[MistaTwo]

Squall takes this one hands down. At least Tidus can be a bit of a loveable goof.

Also Gunblades are fucking stupid.

 

[Deleted member 28386]

Question: Are we assessing just their appearance in the game in question, or does their appearance in other titles affect our viewpoint.

I mention because Squall is a heck of a lot more charming in Kingdom Hearts than he is in FF8.

Click to shrink...

That's because David Boreanaz is voicing him in KH.

 

[aSqueakyLime]

One gif is better that a thousand words...

Click to shrink...

Is this ironic or..

I can never tell when people post this gif.

 

[Strings]

I like them all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Squall the least I suppose.

Ramza not being on the list at all is right though. Ramza n1.

 

[skeezx]

Zidane has to be the most vanilla of modern (or by now near-modern) FF protags. it's a decidedly simpler story so i don't peg it against the game, but if you have to put them all in a lineup yeah he takes the cake

 

[Ferrs]

Zidane>Cloud>>>>>Tidus>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Squall.

 

[Gakidou]

Hate to admit it, but of the one's ive played (7,8,9) Cloud is my least favourite.
I get why he's like an iconic character from a game that's like a big deal and all. But he just feels more rudimentary than the others in general, like he's got that weird blunt meanspirited-ness squall has (like the time he tells yuffie about how he doesnt care about her or the plight of her entire town) but the game actually does an alright job of revealing how squall is insecure and just a teenager with way too much responsibility and portrays his unwillingness to express his feelings as his flaw and the starting point of his development, and rinoa has to pull him out of his shell, its definitely like a more refined version of the dynamic between cloud and his love interests. Also I don't really remember how the whole "clouds memories aren't real, he was someone else, but actually no that was a lie too, and it doesnt matter??" works.
Meanwhile i kinda like Zidane because, while I used to think "womanizer" was a really shitty trope for protagonists, ive come to at least see a distinction between the PUA archetypes, ones who seemingly hold disdain for women and use them as status, vs the Casanova archetypes, ones who genuinely care about women and are interested in their stories but are very skittish and impulsive/flippant about romantic commitments. While i'm definitely on Team Steiner, Zidane provides a really good counter to his dutifulness by actually stopping to check up on all the party members and manage their feelings. He feels somewhat radical in this light, though kind of a refined version of Locke from FF6 I guess.

I haven't played FFX yet though SORRY.

 

[Dust]

Squall post CD1 is the worst one.
CD1 Squall was awesome, especially when everyone broke down like little baby and he went alone to finish the job.

 

[Laserplane]

In my opinion/remembrance Tidus is the weakest character/most generic character overall, while it seems like Squall has the least reason to be an asshole and so is the least likable to me.

 

[Sgt. Demblant]

I thought this was just gonna be about the PS1 games...
Including Tidus is just unfair. He sucks so much.
At least Squall looks cool.

 

[fontguy]

You know how black technically isn't a color, but the absence of color?

Squall is like that, but instead of color it's personality.

 

[AgentLampshade]

Squall was an asshole, but I found myself agreeing with him the majority of the game. An incredibly capable soldier everyone kept forcing themselves on. Leave him alone ye prying bastards!

 

[Kromeo]

I think VIII is the only game in the series where the protagonist is my favourite character (depending on who you count as the protagonist of XII)

Spoiler

I - Red Mage
II - Guy? who cares
III - none of them are interesting enough to even remember the names
IV - Kain
V - Faris
VI - Celes
VII - Red XIII
VIII - Squall
IX - Steiner
X - Auron
XI - Shantoto
XII - Ashe
XIII - Sazh
XIV - Estinien
XV - Ignis if I really have to choose one

 

[Synless]

Come on people, it's Zidane, it's always Zidane.

 

[Vault]

Cloud in every appearance since the original game is the worst character.

 

[SantaC]

Zidane assgrabber?

 

[Notaskwid]

How does Zidane has so many votes.

 

[Deleted member 1102]

Either Zidane or Tidus. Squall is easily the best out of all them though, but I look forward to all the people who haven't played the game in 20 years to say he sucks.

 

[fontguy]

Either Zidane or Tidus. Squall is easily the best out of all them though, but I look forward to all the people who haven't played the game in 20 years to say he sucks.

Click to shrink...

 

[Darkmark1987]

Out of the games chosen, zidane is my least favourite. Squall has always been my fave, great design, development and his attitude to getting the job down (come on, realising the plan is failing, he jumps in and directly tried to assassinate edea). Zidane whilst a good character has limited development. However Vaan will forever be my least favourite, his game doesn't even consider him the main character.

 

[Eolz]

"Playstation golden era"...? For Final Fantasy?

Anyway, the worst is Zidane by far. Forgettable protagonist, usually you think of the side characters when you think about his game.

 

[Chibs]

It's Tidus for me. Zidane is my favorite.

 

[Haze]

Squall is such an unlikable fuckboi and not unlikable in an intended and well done way.

 

[Cactuar]

You can't claim Final Fantasy X is a PlayStation golden era title and not include Vaan. Final Fantasy XII is from the same generation as X and on the same system, PlayStation 2, so that makes absolutely no sense. That said the worst is Squall. It's like Square looked at Cloud's popularity and said, "Hey, let's make another one of those, only this time more douchey and less interesting."

 

[Deleted member 36578]

Was expecting Vaan.
Voted Tidus.

 

[Big Boy]

Tidus the worst.
Zidane is the best of course, the loveable rogue

 

[Big Boy]

Dp

 

[YellowBara]

Cloud's a mess but that's actually what I like about him. He has a really interesting arc and a timeless design. There's a lot to pick apart about his motivations/character/history. I like him.

Squall is a dick, but he grows somewhat. His design is pretty sweet, if edgy. I like his dynamic with Rinoa a lot and at the very least he's super capable. His assholishness is memorable, love or hate it.

Tidus grows up a LOT during his adventure and is just generally really interesting. Him being an athlete makes him one of the cooler protags to me considering it's not just Angry/Reluctant Person With Sword like most FF protagonists. His outfit being athletic gear is a cool concept to me, as stupid as it looks.

I literally can't remember a single thing about Zidane other than his tryhard womanizer thing and the fact that he has a tail. I like his design, as silly as it looks.

So I pick Zidane.

 

[SliceSabre]

Gunblades are cool, big swords are cool, never played 9 so by default Tidus is the lamest one.

 

[Hu3]

My boy squall he's just insipid, bland, lifeless. Like damn ff8 is not my most played game of them all but every time I play the game I just wish I could switch squall.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

You can't claim Final Fantasy X is a PlayStation golden era title and not include Vaan. Final Fantasy XII is from the same generation as X and on the same system, PlayStation 2, so that makes absolutely no sense. That said the worst is Squall. It's like Square looked at Cloud's popularity and said, "Hey, let's make another one of those, only this time more douchey and less interesting."

Click to shrink...

This poll wouldn't be interesting at all with Vaan included.

 

[Camisado]

Vaan dodged a bullet here.

Click to shrink...

He really did.

Also, Tidus gets a lot of flak, but I think if any of us got transported to a completely alien world to us (culturally, not physically) and then forced to walk the length of it to fight a giant murdering version of our deadbeat dad we'd probably complain a lot as well.

 

[Kromeo]

Cloud commits terrorist acts for money at the start of the game, doesn't necessarily make him the worst character but people seem to gloss over that

 

[Carroway]

Taking everything into consideration, Cloud is the worst character, in FF7 he is alright, snarky, sarcastic, world weary, in other words... complicated. With every subsequent media product released they made him more mopey and broody to a point that he is even worse than Squall ever was.

 

[Riska]

I think Cloud's character arc in the original game is incredible. This is a guy who was so ashamed of his failure that he not only lied to his friends, he lied to himself so completely that he believed it (with a little help from Hojo). That is a very relatable aspect to his personality but it also doesn't define who he is in a way that many protagonists would be. He's funny, aloof, empathetic, petty, strong, weak, etc, at various different points. He's not all good nor is he a bad person, or even balanced.

It's tricky because I don't think any of them are bad protagonists in the sense of I may not like them but I can respect their character developments. I think if I had to pick it would be Tidus because he's a bit too good. He's arrogant but that jars slightly with his overly righteous morality.

 

[massoluk]

Only one of them is a fashion disaster, Tidus

 

[legendofgood]

The Tidus meme skews this poll.

 

[Cactuar]

This poll wouldn't be interesting at all with Vaan included.

Click to shrink...

I prefer Vaan over everyone on the list except for Cloud, so my choice would still be Squall.

 

[Anoxida]

Honestly I dont think any of them is bad at all but if I had to say least good it would be Tidus.. he was great in the final act though.