Mauricio_Magus
Banned
You nailed it, OP.
Estelle and Yuri are my picks.
Estelle and Yuri are my picks.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Best JRPG protagonists?
- Thread starter Tye The Czar
- Start date
Hell yes, he doesn't talk too much but neither too little he's awesome.
Ghost_Protocol
Member
Stocke is a great change of pace because he's written well - Radiant Historia in general is very well written - but I didn't find him to be very interesting or compelling overall.
I'd go with Balthier or Gabranth from FFXII.
I'd go with Balthier or Gabranth from FFXII.
Serah and Noel from XIII-2.
Everyone from Valkyria Chronicles.
NieR, Kaine, and Emile from NieR.
Lightning and Lumina in Lightning Returns.
Yuna and Tidus in FFX.
Everyone in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Fang and Vanille in FFXIII.
Vivi in FFIX.
Palum and Porom in FFIV.
Kaim and Seth in Lost Odyssey.
Rush and Emma from The Last Remnant.
Everyone from Valkyria Chronicles.
NieR, Kaine, and Emile from NieR.
Lightning and Lumina in Lightning Returns.
Yuna and Tidus in FFX.
Everyone in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Fang and Vanille in FFXIII.
Vivi in FFIX.
Palum and Porom in FFIV.
Kaim and Seth in Lost Odyssey.
Rush and Emma from The Last Remnant.
I really loved these ones.
This guy knows what's up ^
BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO
Junior Member
nvm
SoraanTribal
Member
Good choice with Estelle from Trails in the Sky. Joshua was great, too.
Since you picked those, I'll choose others.
Zidane - Final Fantasy IX:
He's funny, charming, and just really likable in general. I consider Vivi and him to be dual-protagonists, and Vivi is my favorite Final Fantasy character. I liked how Zidane acted as an older brother to Vivi as well.
Other option:
Fei - Xenogears:
I really just find Fei very intriguing. He has an interesting back-story and is fairly likable. Plus, you don't have too many JRPG protagonists who
Since you picked those, I'll choose others.
Zidane - Final Fantasy IX:
(Dissidia art^)
He's funny, charming, and just really likable in general. I consider Vivi and him to be dual-protagonists, and Vivi is my favorite Final Fantasy character. I liked how Zidane acted as an older brother to Vivi as well.
Other option:
Fei - Xenogears:
I really just find Fei very intriguing. He has an interesting back-story and is fairly likable. Plus, you don't have too many JRPG protagonists who
have sex with the female lead during the game.
Lloyd Ivring from Tales of Symphonia just because of the Hot Coffee scene.
And the fact that he thought wielding two swords would make him better at attacking. Lol
But honestly.. The JRPG Protagonist that left the most impression in my mind was Yuri from Tales of Vesperia. He's not serious like your normal protagonist, he's pretty sly and carefree. But still has a code of honor and bravery.
And the fact that he thought wielding two swords would make him better at attacking. Lol
But honestly.. The JRPG Protagonist that left the most impression in my mind was Yuri from Tales of Vesperia. He's not serious like your normal protagonist, he's pretty sly and carefree. But still has a code of honor and bravery.
TaintedEden
Neo Member
wtf no mention of the greatest one?
VYSE represent.
VYSE represent.
ShroudOfFate
Member
Shulk from Xenoblade, Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia, Cloud from FF7 and Terra from FF6 are some of the best imo.
Edit: And I know people will disagree but, Oliver from Ni no Kuni! He was a refreshing change in protagonists. Super naive and unsure of himself, but still kind and driven.
Edit: And I know people will disagree but, Oliver from Ni no Kuni! He was a refreshing change in protagonists. Super naive and unsure of himself, but still kind and driven.
I really liked both Alex and Hiro from the first two Lunar games. In fact, all the characters are just great. Honestly, the whole Alex and Luna thing is the only love story I ever felt came across as completely sincere in a videogame. Hiro and Lucia work too, but in a way they felt like the reincarnation of Hiro and Luna so there was some history behind their characters
From a writing perspective, I think the reason is because they are in a relationship from the get-go. In real life falling in love is something that takes a long time. To do a love story right I think the love aspect has to be something that happened in the past. So the story doesn't revolve about them falling in love, but about the strengthening or dedication of that thing that already exists.
From a writing perspective, I think the reason is because they are in a relationship from the get-go. In real life falling in love is something that takes a long time. To do a love story right I think the love aspect has to be something that happened in the past. So the story doesn't revolve about them falling in love, but about the strengthening or dedication of that thing that already exists.
Yu Narukami would be my backup choice. Though in the game he doesn't actually say anything. The choices you make plus if you watch the anime, you can see that's he's a pretty straight up guy, who evolved from being a pretty loner guy with basically no social skill to developing tons of friends and pretty much affecting the lives of everyone he met.
For that I think he's a pretty awesome JRPG protagonist.
Plus... HE CANT TURN OFF THE SWAG!!
TheFLYINGManga_Ka
Member
Stocke, Yuri, Kaim, Lightning, Chrom, and Vashyron show that a JRPG protagonist can be older, more mature, and still be cool instead of being a whiny teenager with amnesia.
Sazh, Auron, Balthier, or Barret should be the star in their own FF game.
Sazh, Auron, Balthier, or Barret should be the star in their own FF game.
HawthorneKitty
Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
Too bad they wouldn't be able to see the plot if it was 10 ft in front of them.
I keep seeing the cast of Tales of Vesperia brought up in these things, and I really want to play that game, but I don't want to buy a 360 for it, and the PS3 version was never localized
... Yuri was a good protagonist. Subverted a lot of the usual tropes. The other characters? They range from average to Karol(Who is in a class of his own for annoyingness). Ok, Judith was decent too if I'm being fair.
On topic: Still having an internal debate on what I think is the best protagonist in a JRPG myself.
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
RPGCrazied
Member
Basically these:
Lightning Lord
Banned
Yep, good call. I really liked Zidane. Some of his responses is how I probably would have said as well, so I found him to be pretty relatable as well.
King Gilga
Member
Now that I think about it, there's not many JRPG main protagonist chars I particularly like. Most of my favs are party members.
Both he MC's from TiTS are pretty good as OP mentioned, Yuri from Vesperia, there's probably more but I have a horrible memory..
I've never played Skies of Arcadia but if Vyse and Aika are similar in there to how they are Valkyria Chronicles in they'd be good choices. P4 MC if his anime personality is canon.
My personal pick would be Zack from Crisis Core.
I didn't like FFVII that much, so I was really surprised by how much I liked Zack in CC, he's such a chill friendly guy.
Both he MC's from TiTS are pretty good as OP mentioned, Yuri from Vesperia, there's probably more but I have a horrible memory..
I've never played Skies of Arcadia but if Vyse and Aika are similar in there to how they are Valkyria Chronicles in they'd be good choices. P4 MC if his anime personality is canon.
My personal pick would be Zack from Crisis Core.
I didn't like FFVII that much, so I was really surprised by how much I liked Zack in CC, he's such a chill friendly guy.
Spieler Eins
Member
Bowser in Bowser's Inside Story.
Not counting "blank slate" characters, my favorites are Ike from Fire Emblem or Neku from TWEWY. Really like they way they develop in their games.
Counting blank slates though, Yu Narukami from Persona 4 and...
).
Counting blank slates though, Yu Narukami from Persona 4 and...
This guy (ESPECIALLY after watching Twitch Plays Pokemon
).
That's how I've always felt too.
TheFLYINGManga_Ka
Member
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Balthier - he was the leading man right?
If not him, then Yuri from Vesperia. He was different enough from your typical JRPG protagonist.
If not him, then Yuri from Vesperia. He was different enough from your typical JRPG protagonist.
Shmuely Bully
Member
Lavitz from Legend of Dragoon.
No other protagonist I've seen combines such realistic motivations and dreams with such a tragic background. Overall he is just a very, very human and believable character compared to most in JRPGs or even a lot of high fantasy books I've read.
No other protagonist I've seen combines such realistic motivations and dreams with such a tragic background. Overall he is just a very, very human and believable character compared to most in JRPGs or even a lot of high fantasy books I've read.
TheFLYINGManga_Ka
Member
Best silent protagonist which includes Crono, the Suikoden II hero, and Dragon Quest VIII hero.
Dark_castle
Junior Member
Call him overrated if you wish, but he is a genuine likable character with interesting growth in his game.
Zack is second best for me after Zidane if we're going only from FF, not surprising since they're so alike. Though if we're taking their Dissidia selves I also enjoyed Firion and Warrior of Light.
Yeah, I really like Cloud too in FFVII. Shame about what happened to his character in KH and AC though...
Call him overrated if you wish, but he is a genuine likable character with interesting growth in his game.
Kageshinzo
Member
Yuri Hyuga from Shadow Hearts is the best protagonist ever.
AcademicSaucer
Member
At least for me
Call him overrated if you wish, but he is a genuine likable character with interesting growth in his game.
Cloud's true personality was legitimately great
Too bad it's probably one of the most overlooked personas ever
Hyperactivity
Banned
Best version
Favorite character from this game
Henry from FE:A. Where do I begin. His puns, his jokes, his morbid stories, and his always gold interactions with other characters
.png)
Oh, and
From PMD2
Can I say PMD2 was the first Pokemon game with a story
Played this as a kid, and
Grovyle's sacrifice and the ending to this game were the first moments a game has made me cry
I love all these responses -- sure, it's easy to hate the angsty 17-year-olds that make up seemingly the majority of JRPG characters, but when they shake things up (and sometimes even when they stick with teenagers) there can be some really good ones.
Let me second the support for:
Balthier, FFXII (and Ashe, and Basch; even Vann isn't that bad)
Welkin, VC, and Kurt, VC3 (and most of the VC characters, basically)
Vashyron, Leanne, and Zephyr, Resonance of Fate
Father Nier
And this is how you handle teenage protagonists:
Zidane, FFIX
Zack, Before Crisis
The Protagonist, Persona 4
I just finished P4 and am very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked everything about it. This is what you do if you're determined to have a high school kid as your main character.
Let me second the support for:
Balthier, FFXII (and Ashe, and Basch; even Vann isn't that bad)
Welkin, VC, and Kurt, VC3 (and most of the VC characters, basically)
Vashyron, Leanne, and Zephyr, Resonance of Fate
Father Nier
And this is how you handle teenage protagonists:
Zidane, FFIX
Zack, Before Crisis
The Protagonist, Persona 4
I just finished P4 and am very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked everything about it. This is what you do if you're determined to have a high school kid as your main character.
R_thanatos
Member
Stocke from Radiant Historia is the best JRPG protagonist in like...ten years.
It is unreal how good he is.
If you do not agree I will fight you to the death and even if I lose, I will go back in time to a pivotal moment before to fix my mistakes and alter the flow of time to win the argument.
Listen to this guy ...
Stocke is the best protagonist ever.
Capable spy , great warrior , given extraordinary power but doesn't let it go to his head , actually manage to get shit done, doesn't whine fought against fate , fought against destiny and won managed to stay cleared headed and levelheaded after revelation that would have put many regular protagonist in whinny mode or depressed mode , left a impression so big that i can't tell without spoilers.Is actually aware of the females characters affection toward him
Led 3 freaking wars and won all of them.
Best portagonist EVER
Captain Jack
Banned
Vaike from FE: Awakening
He's a great jokester who is never not completely full of himself. He acts like an overconfident jackass despite knowing that pretty much everyone else is more skillful than him so that they won't hold back when sparring against him, and they can improve even further.
Finally figured out my choice. It's simple. Every silent protag from an Atlus game I've played. Protags are best when seen but not heard. Being able to chose answers gives Atlus characters a more malleable personality, much like in a book where each person that reads it has a different impression of what the characters are like.
Vyse from Skies of Arcadia - Happy go lucky motherfucker that stays positive throughout. During a growing trend of whiny younger RPG leads, he felt like a breath of fresh air even if he wasn't very deep.
Yuri from Tales of Vesperia - Again, a breath of fresh air. Older, more mature character that actually delves into more gray moral areas throughout the story. It's amazing to me that Tales of all things can ping pong from a great lead like this to something as cliched and mindnumbing as Asbel.
Barrel Cannon
Member
Frog from ct. Most badass mofo in gaming
Based Narukami.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuVO1SsFYs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuVO1SsFYs
Elfforkusu
Member
Radiant Historia - 2011Stocke from Radiant Historia is the best JRPG protagonist in like...ten years.
It is unreal how good he is.
If you do not agree I will fight you to the death and even if I lose, I will go back in time to a pivotal moment before to fix my mistakes and alter the flow of time to win the argument.
Skies of Arcadia - 2000
It checks out!
wtf no mention of the greatest one?
VYSE represent.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
I'd also throw in Cloud, he's not so bad.
Lightning show that having zero emotion can make you unlikable.
I really like Welkin Gunther from Valkyria, he's smart, kind, works hard, earns his respect and punches faces when appropriate.
Lyner and Aoto from Ar Tonelico 1 and 3 were really good too, top blokes who really care about their friends and strike a good balance between being in touch with their emotions and wrecking shit.
I also enjoy characters like Justin from Grandia, Vyse from Skies of Arcadia and Adol from Ys, their spirit of adventure and dedication to chase their dreams makes following their journies a joy.
Ryudo from Grandia 2 is one of my all time favourites too, just so many great lines and comments
Lyner and Aoto from Ar Tonelico 1 and 3 were really good too, top blokes who really care about their friends and strike a good balance between being in touch with their emotions and wrecking shit.
I also enjoy characters like Justin from Grandia, Vyse from Skies of Arcadia and Adol from Ys, their spirit of adventure and dedication to chase their dreams makes following their journies a joy.
Ryudo from Grandia 2 is one of my all time favourites too, just so many great lines and comments