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Top 3 best and worst Final Fantasy protagonist designs

OP, have you played FFVII thoroughly? Cloud's outfit is a standard uniform so that's why it might look boring and his sword is... well, not his. Those aspects of his design are a lot more relevant to his character than the design itself.
 

Meowster

Member
Fang's entire outfit/design is impeccable. Probably my favorite from the series in some time until (XV late-game spoilers)
Noct's older model.
 

TDLink

Member
This is the OG.

Dissidia-Final-Fantasy-Arcade-Alternate-Costume-Warrior-of-Light.jpg

Wrong. That was just his sprite in the original game. This is the original boxart:

box-nes-jp-1.jpg


It's also absolutely the design used in all modern in-game incarnations now.
 
How has no one said Lulu

She has a dress made of belts for Christ sake

Yep, I would have loved Lulu's design if it wasn't for the belts. Lulu, Tidus, and Gladio are my least favorite designs. Shuyin is like superior Tidus with an upgrade, his outfit is so much cleaner with a better silhouette.

Fang, Yuna, and Amano!Faris are my favorites for the ladies, and Auron, Cecil, and Balthier for the gents. I also kind of like Snow's outfit, minus the beanie.

I also really like Amano!Celes. It's so hard to pick.

Playing the Zodiac Job System Edition made me realise that making Vaan a monk makes his outfit suddenly work.

Shin guards for brutal kicks, bare chest because he's a fucking monk.

I just went 'huh' out loud. That does actually make sense. I feel like I've had a Vaan epiphany.
 
Guy's, Old Noctis is not a spoiler.

Not only is he featured in adverisements, but anyone currently playing has seen him straight away and anyone on the fence may be more inclined to play it after seeing him rather than being distraught over it being a "spoiler".

Just post it.
 

Sami+

Member
I was bored so I made pics to see if I was sure of mine

The Greats:

ABrNaOt.png


The Baddies:

ApukMAn.png


Tbh though Noctis isn't nearly as bad as the other two he's lumped in with. He's eh. Not egregiously awful, but I still don't care about him.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Oh shoot, I change my vote to Fighter


I love this design. It looks so cool, it's badass without looking overly frail like most FF protags do. He looks strong despite his glam factor, and has possibly the best hair in the series.

Warrior of Light robbed this man
 
I'm going to be honest, I prefer Squall's older, military-esque bottoms where they were looser and the leg bottoms were drawn tight more so than the tight and boot cut KH/Dissidia variety.
 

Strings

Member
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I absolutely love Firion from FF2.

270


I also really, really dislike Paine from FFX-2. But I pretty much hate that entire game, so...
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
I am probably rare because i don't really find all that many FF designs bad or offensive in general, just those that are overtly stupid(like Yuna's ass shorts, who thought that was a good idea!?).

The rest are just ones you'd usually find in Japanese media, either anime or manga. Maybe you just have to like those kinds of designs in general and are not inherently critical of non pedestrian or non 'normal' designs.
 
You know...I'm way less picky than I thought I was because looking through this thread I realize I'm actually pretty okay with most designs posted. There are minor gripes, but nothing huge is jumping out to me with everyone.
I am probably rare because i don't really find all that many FF designs bad or offensive, just those that are overtly stupid(like Yuna's ass shorts, who thought that was a good idea!?).

The rest are just ones you'd usually find in Japanese media, either anime or manga, maybe you just have to like those kinds of designs in general and are not inherently critical of non pedestrian designs.
Glad I'm not the only one.
 
Hmm, I guess my favorites are:

1. Fang - FF13
2. Aphmau - FF11
3. Terra - FF6

For worst...? Hmm..

1. Vaan - FF12
2. Basch (non-armored) - FF12
3. Tidus - FF10
 

renzolama

Member
Wait, Noctis eventually changes out of his stupid boots and capris getup, right? I will quit playing FFXV right now if you tell me I can never change out of that. That's the big narrative payoff I've been collecting frogs and mushrooms for a week for.
 

PK Gaming

Member
Best

1)

The perfect showcase of "simple, but great." The blue / gold / white color scheme coupled with his chocobo hairstyle give him a "classic" look.

2)
Yuna's got a great design. From beautiful the pattern on her dress to her heterochromia, you can tell a lot of work was put into this design.

3)

Her outfit is beyond ridiculous, but in a good way. Also one of the prettiest FF characters, hands down. Green hair >>> blond hair.

Worst

1)
Mediocre design, and his abs are absolutely disgusting.

2)
He's a total mess. He looks even worse during FMV cutscenes.

3)
Blegh. What a downgrade

---

Oh yeah, not really a fan of the Nomura renditions. He misses the point on so many of the characters.
 

daevious

Member
latest


Tidus has one of the worst designs I've seen in gaming period. Bruh, all they had to do is lengthen his overalls/pants/whatever to reach his shoes and make sure they're even. If they did that one thing he'd look MUCH better.

If you want to make an even better design, take away the chain attached to only ONE side of his clothing.
Why does he only have 1 gauntlet? Wtf.
What is that some sort of shirt shirt but why is it completely designed like-...bruh!!!

Tidus looks like someone who bought a lot of crap from Wish.com and just sewed that shit together.

Dissidia managed to make Tidus look a lot better, even found a way to make his asymmetrical pant-legs work.

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A Final Fantasy X remake that changes Tidus' outfit to that is basically my dream Final Fantasy.
 

Zomba13

Member
Yup, base your opinion of a character on an adaptation to another game.

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Look at it. Just ugly. Tanktop/waistcoat thing with frills, cuffs with no sleeves, pretty much blue jeans. Only thing he has going for him is the monkey tail and Edward Elric hair.

It's just the costume looks worse when not on a super deformed character and really made me look back at how it was in IX and realise it was bad then too.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Can't take any list seriously that doesn't have Tidus at #1 worst. Noctis looks positively normal compared to that clown.

OP failed terribly.
 

vaporeon

Member
Wait, Noctis eventually changes out of his stupid boots and capris getup, right? I will quit playing FFXV right now if you tell me I can never change out of that. That's the big narrative payoff I've been collecting frogs and mushrooms for a week for.
There are other outfits, don't worry mate.
 
V

Vader1

Unconfirmed Member
3) Cloud Strife - I guess we could start with the hair - it doesn't look good no matter how he is depicted. His outfit is actually really pretty boring and looks like it should be worn by a big warrior, not a thin man-boy. Also, what's up with the ginormous sword? It never really fit his character or design.

I've never played a Final Fantasy game, but Cloud is one of the coolest protagonist designs I've ever seen. The whole point is that his sword doesn't fit. Having a normal sized character wielding the Buster Sword was a great artistic decision in that it dramatically emphasizes the real strength and power of the thing. If the sword "fit," they would have to enlarge the character drastically, ironically decreasing the perceived power of the sword itself.

The long black coat is the sort of thing that could be rocked by anybody who isn't below-average height. And it actually goes better on leaner people, the length of it goes nicely with a "longer" body. His hair completes the look imo, the spiky aggressiveness of it really reflects the nature of the Buster Sword, which needless to say looks like an offensive weapon.

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latest


b9c550630c1cf3b44488ce46b9bf1104.jpg
 

Ishida

Banned
The Best:

Old Noctis.

Prince-Noctis.jpg


Squall Leonhart.

squall10.gif


Terra Branford:

Terra_Branford_N.png




The Bad:

Luso Clemens:

Luso.png



Vaan:

3194368-0748034558-22sm5.jpg



Lightning (Mostly for being a shameless copy of Cloud):

7cedec4492a82c1d25868a4dc22af4aa.jpg
 

kurahador

Member
Look at it. Just ugly. Tanktop/waistcoat thing with frills, cuffs with no sleeves, pretty much blue jeans. Only thing he has going for him is the monkey tail and Edward Elric hair.

It's just the costume looks worse when not on a super deformed character and really made me look back at how it was in IX and realise it was bad then too.

He's a stage actor/thieves. His look oozes character, not just being an outfit.
 

Zomba13

Member
Only knock against Heavensward Y'shtola is the booty shorts. Like, there is just a sliver of thigh between the boots and the shorts, why not just fill the gap in? It'd look so much better.
 

Golnei

Member
Dissidia managed to make Tidus look a lot better, even found a way to make his asymmetrical pant-legs work.

A Final Fantasy X remake that changes Tidus' outfit to that is basically my dream Final Fantasy.

It was an improvement on the original, but I still preferred his 012 costume.

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Hopefully it'll make it into the current Dissidia at some point.

Only knock against Heavensward Y'shtola is the booty shorts. Like, there is just a sliver of thigh between the boots and the shorts, why not just fill the gap in? It'd look so much better.

It'd ruin the entire design. That sliver of thigh is absolutely essential.
 

cordy

Banned
Dissidia managed to make Tidus look a lot better, even found a way to make his asymmetrical pant-legs work.

latest


A Final Fantasy X remake that changes Tidus' outfit to that is basically my dream Final Fantasy.

It would look better that's for sure.
 
All I know is that FFX and X-2 are the epitome of horrendous character design for Nomura, this series, and for games in general.

1. Lulu has a dress made out of belts. wtf

2. Wakka's hair is ridiculous even by FF standards. How does he get it to stand up like that? What product keeps it like that playing an underwater sport?

3. What exactly is Tidus wearing? Some type of lederhosen? That yellow colored half hoody vest thing is hilarious.

4. Why does Auron keep his arm in a sling? Am I missing something here? Why is he the only person I see in sunny Spira that has obtained sunglasses?

5. I take back what I said about Wakka. Seymour has the worst hair of all time. Also, please tighten the belt on your kimono thing. Nobody wants to see that.

6. As bad as the above are, X-2 takes the cake. Leblanc's outfit is beyond revealing. How much double sided tape is she using?

7. Finally, there is Nooj. This guy has probably the single dumbest design of any character in history. I really don't even know what to say about it.
 
Best
King Regis FFXV
finalfantasyxf9ujn51kq8.jpg

I liked his old design but this one is DOPE

Cloud

Sephiroth

I don't really have worst 3. Never thought about it. I guess onion knight from dissidia was lame
 

Concept17

Member
Cloud is the best. It's easily the most iconic design in the series, and one of the most recognized in gaming in general.

Squall's is completely ruined by his shit personality. Design wise he's good, but holy hell I can't stand that guy.

The worst by far are Vaan and Tidus. There are some other lesser known characters out there, but those two make no sense to me.

I haven't played XV, but I really despise the shirtless jacket guy's design.
 

tapedeck

Do I win a prize for talking about my penis on the Internet???
Best:
1. Auron
2. Shadow
3. Cloud

Worst
1. Zidane
2. Squall
3. Tidus
 
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