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[oSoLucky]

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.

The 15 cast has some of the most pedestrian outfits of the whole series and look at all the hate in here. Anything new/popular is cool to hate on I think. Give it a few years and you'll never see Noctis in worst lists alongside Tidus/Vaan.

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.

In Gladio's superior outfit(selectable by default) he takes off the jacket and rocks a black tank top.



Best:

1. Terra
2. Lightning
3. Noctis


Worst:

1. Vaan
2. Zidane
3. Serah

If including more than just the protagonists, I'd add Fang, Locke and TG Cid to the best and Auron, Vanille and Paine to the worst.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Best (re)Design of all time

 

[Dark_castle]

Why do people list characters who are clearly not the protagonists when the title says protagonist?

 

[Ezalc]

The worst are pretty easily Tidus and Noctis if we're talking about main protags, one we don't know what the fuck is supposed to be and the other looks like goddamn Sasuke joined a boy band. Vaan's design is pretty godawful too but it's amazing how much a normal fucking shirt improves the look, it's not good with it but it's less complete shit.

The best to me would be Firion, Cecil as a dark knight and Kain. Bartz's simple outfit is also great and while I love Zidane and the WoL, I agree Zidane's outfit is goofy and WoL's outfit is kind of ruined by the helmet since it would be awful for actual fighting.

Cloud I'm very indifferent towards, the thing that brings it down is the giant sword. Giant swords look like shit, I wish games would stop with this trope as main character weapons.

 

[oSoLucky]

Normal clothes that a human might actually wear are considered bad designs. Ridiculous.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Normal clothes that a human might actually wear are considered bad designs. Ridiculous.

I think the people who hate certain designs just hate anime character designs in general, or 'too japanese' designs, that are based on anime or manga based illustrations and concepts.

Most of the complaints about Noctis are not his clothes but his hair, although i've seen some boy band comparisons.

Why do people list characters who are clearly not the protagonists when the title says protagonist?

Why can't you just let me have a weak excuse to post Tifa's GOAT design without calling me out

 

[raven777]

Best:

1. Cloud
2. Squall
3. Tina


Worst:

1. Zidane
2. Vaan
3. Yuna (X-2)

I love Yuna from X so I couldn't stand the change in her design in X-2

 

[Strangelove77]

Noctis' pants ruin the entire design. I like it up til the gap between his pants and his boots.
That shit didn't look good in 1998 and it doesn't look good now.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

Really OP
Noctis and Cloud

OP is out for blood

Lol pretty much.

 

[Aeriscloud]

The best and worst both appear in the same game.

Best

1. Yuna
2. Squall
3. Cloud

Worst

1. Tidus
2. Vaan
3. Butz

 

[oSoLucky]

If expanding beyond just the protagonists, I'd have to say that Alphinaud(FF14) has the absolute worst design in the entire series in my eyes.

 

[vaporeon]

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.

For #4, I believe it's more of an actual samurai/ronin thing rather than just an Auron thing, since I've seen it before...and the random sunglasses coincided with early 2000s trends because the Matrix influenced us more than it should have.

 

[PrismStar]

Not main protagonists but:
Best: Yuna (FFX), Rinoa, Tifa (AC)
Worst: Vaan, Noctis, Zell

 

[Sterling's_Gold]

For #4, I believe it's more of an actual samurai/ronin thing rather than just an Auron thing, since I've seen it before...and the random sunglasses coincided with early 2000s trends because the Matrix influenced us more than it should have.

I thought it might be something like that, thanks for clarifying. I actually have much less of a problem with his design compared to the others; more of a nitpick. It helps that he is one of the best characters in the game. Also, looking back I will say that Yuna's design in X is excellent. Not so much her X-2 design with her insipid enormous braid thing.

 

[Strings]

For #4, I believe it's more of an actual samurai/ronin thing rather than just an Auron thing, since I've seen it before...and the random sunglasses coincided with early 2000s trends because the Matrix influenced us more than it should have.

Nah, Auron is blind in one eye, so it's presumably to hide that (even though they're usually perched so as to show his eyes behind them in a lot of concept art).

 

[Takuan]

Hate Tiduz more than any character in the universe.

I didn't like Vaan at first, but at least his design is consistent. I picture him as FF's Aladdin.

Favs are Squall, Snow and Auron.

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

Vaan has some of the best weapon animations in XII.

As cool as Balthier and Fran were, I loved using Vaan just to experiment with random spears, bows, crossbows, katanas, etc.

Design aside, he had a well done (namely animated) character model. And, the design did fit well with the world... I mean, half the male population in Rabanastre dressed like that

Just saying because the kid deserves some support once in awhile lol.... Penelo is on her own though (even with the impeccable FFT 'I got a good feeling' reference).

 

[WickedLaharl]

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.

Seymour ain't got shit on nooj

 

[Staf]

2) Noctis - looks like he was designed by a committee. I know it's been overstated, but he really does look like he came straight out of a JPOP boy band and his face is a very generic Japanese pretty boy look that almost looks like a male Lightning. Oh, and the gap between his pants and boots really bugs me.

Haven't played FFXV for this reason. It's quite off-putting for me. I haven't played Final fantasy since FFX and FFX-2, which i did love.

 

[mango drank]

hey zidane wasn't so bad until they modified him for the game....... maybe....

I wonder what happened to that puff ball thing??

Pretty sure Amano had nothing to do w/ IX's character designs. He created his own (paid?) fanart of the characters after the fact, kinda like he did for VII, VIII, X, XII, and maybe more.

 

[Merc_]

So Noctis is being trashed for not being dressed in a completely ridiculous fashion? I get if you find it a bit boring looking, but he is nowhere near the realm of worst dressed.

 

[Wazzy]

Best:

1. Squall and Seifer are my number one designs followed by Rinoa. They're simple enough yet stand out and contrast eachother well. Gunblades are one of the best weapon designs created in the series.

2. Cloud in the original is a great design. The purple(ITS THE ONLY ACCEPTED COLOR) SOLDIERS outfit looks good on anything and the hair and sword are iconic.

3. Yuna is one of my favourite female character designs.

Worst:

1. Dissidia Squall. How the hell do they ruin such a great design?

2. Zidane. Mainly his disgusting outfit.

3. Vaan and his diseased abs.

 

[mango drank]

So Noctis is being trashed for not being dressed in a completely ridiculous fashion? I get if you find it a bit boring looking, but he is nowhere near the realm of worst dressed.

Hah, dunno if the joke's been made, but Noctis's design feels like a goth version of Tidus: all Tidus's clothes have been dyed black, along with his hair, and his name's been tweaked for use at the goth clubs he spends all his time in now. It's all Lulu's influence.

 

[Sterling's_Gold]

Best:

1. Squall and Seifer are my number one designs followed by Rinoa. They're simple enough yet stand out and contrast eachother well. Gunblades are one of the best weapon designs created in the series.

2. Cloud in the original is a great design. The purple(ITS THE ONLY ACCEPTED COLOR) SOLDIERS outfit looks good on anything and the hair and sword are iconic.

3. Yuna is one of my favourite female character designs.

Worst:

1. Dissidia Squall. How the hell do they ruin such a great design?

2. Zidane. Mainly his disgusting outfit.

3. Vaan and his diseased abs.

I actually like Squall and Seifer's designs, but I can't agree about the gunblade. It's just so nonsensical as a concept. How do they even work? Does Squall load the weird revolver handle with bullets? Does it run out of ammo? What even really happens when he pulls the trigger? It just seems like someone jammed two cool things together without really thinking things through.

Actually, a thread about best and worst weapons in the series could be interesting. A lot of characters use the standard swords and whatnot, but there is Wakka who throws a blitzball at enemies and whatever the hell Vanille's weapon is supposed to be.

 

[Wazzy]

I actually like Squall and Seifer's designs, but I can't agree about the gunblade. It's just so nonsensical as a concept. How do they even work? Does Squall load the weird revolver handle with bullets? Does it run out of ammo? What even really happens when he pulls the trigger? It just seems like someone jammed two cool things together without really thinking things through.

Actually, a thread about best and worst weapons in the series could be interesting. A lot of characters use the standard swords and whatnot, but there is Wakka who throws a blitzball at enemies and whatever the hell Vanille's weapon is supposed to be.

The design is just blanks to make the blade have a vibration hence renzokuken vibration. It doesn't actually shoot bullets lol in reality the blade would explode but it's a fantasy game and the idea is cool enough.

 

[mango drank]

The design is just blanks to make the blade have a vibration hence renzokuken vibration. It doesn't actually shoot bullets lol in reality the blade would explode but it's a fantasy game and the idea is cool enough.

So Squall's weapon is basically a giant vibrator?

 

[v0yce]

Just on visual design...

best

worst

 

[bishopcruz]

Best
1.

2.

3.

Worst:
1.

2.

3.

 

[Sterling's_Gold]

It is really amazing how they managed to make Tidus look even worse in the remaster with the changes to his face.

 

[Dantis]

I agree with Terra and Squall.

Also Cloud's design is genuinely garbage. Just because something is well known doesn't make it good. It's not remotely stylish and doesn't fit either Cloud or his position in the world. It's a bad outfit.

 

[Rapscallion]

Clouds outfit is fine. It's simple, but not overdone.

Worst is Vaan, but I'm surprised no one has brought up this travesty:
Snow from FF13-2

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Not enough love for the Leading Man

 

[Wild Card]

Well Tidus is well known and everyone agrees his outfit is garbo, so I don't think it's an issue of being being able to seperate popular with good design.

 

[Crossing Eden]

He looks like a real human and dresses up like what a real person would actually dress up in.

Go outside, because no he doesn't. I swear to christ as someone who actively takes time out of their day to people watch, people don't dress like Noctis, and hair doesn't grow like that, especially not people his age. Literally ten year old fashion and even ten years ago that wasn't reasonable fashion that wouldn't raise eyebrows.

 

[Hysteria]

Bartz has a nice design.

But Terra >>

 

[Madame M]

Pretty sure Amano had nothing to do w/ IX's character designs. He created his own (paid?) fanart of the characters after the fact, kinda like he did for VII, VIII, X, XII, and maybe more.

Huh I could have sworn he returned for FF9 which is why they weren't so Nomura-y. I know Amano did some of the design work for FF9 work anyway.

Amano doing Zidane's design would explain why that weird puffball thing floating by Zidane is there, but just never made it into the game

 

[Wulfric]

Best:

Faris (gorgeous coat and boots. Cosplay is usually on point)
Yuna (Simple, best design of modern Final Fantasy)

Worst:

X-2 Yevon dudes (looks like a custom Tekken costume)
Bartz (really drab design right after the timeless Final Fantasy IV characters)

 

[autumnleaf]

Noctis is a good call, Cloud isn't. The entire cast of XV would go down as the worst cast for me. If you posted all the game's character line-ups one after the other XV would look incredibly bland. The characters in IV, VI, VII, IX, X are very visually striking and memorable, the JPop boyz look very boring in comparison.

 

[How About No]

Huh I could have sworn he returned for FF9 which is why they weren't so Nomura-y. I know Amano did some of the design work for FF9 work anyway.

Amano doing Zidane's design would explain why that weird puffball thing floating by Zidane is there, but just never made it into the game

According to Wiki Zidane and half of the main characters were designed by Hideo Minaba, others by Toshiyuki Itahana

 

[Jharp]

In the last ten years I've gone from hating most JRPGs to absolutely loving the genre.

But goddamn I will never get over how perfectly styled every character's hair is and how utterly stupid it looks pointing in god knows how many directions and shit.

THEY'RE FUCKING WARRIORS. WHEN DO THEY HAVE TO TIME AND HOW DO THEY MAKE THEIR HAIR DO THAT?!

 

[FlyingWasabi]

I gotta throw Lulu into the fray. The dress of a billion belts is always pretty nifty.

 

[Hysteria]

Terra's design is THE best imo:

My top would be:
Terra
Cloud (I love both his original and advents outfit)

The leather harness belt thingy is my favorite part of it lol.
Noctis (his final suit)

 

[autumnleaf]

Like I expected, Zack gets no love

Mr Steal Your Girl, Your Outfit, Your fans.

 

[Xun]

I just knew Cloud was going to be one of OPs worst...

 

[DrunkShogun]

Terra, Cecil and balthier for best and vaan, tidus and gladio for worst.

 

[Ran rp]

Terra might be my favorite. Lightning is up there as well. There are probably a lot of cool designs I've forgotten about or haven't seen yet.

Needs more Y'shtola in here.

Like this one.

Worst:

Luso from FFTA2.

BUTT

PANTS

Neither of these are bad imo. One's intentionally silly and the other a little unconventional but both are strong.

this is bad

 

[Rurunaki]

Best
1. Noctis
2. Locke
3. Advent Children Cloud tied with Balthier

Worst
1. Vaan
2. Squall
3. Ramza

 

[batfax]

Vaan's design rightfully getting its dues here. Absolutely dreadful. Though I do find it amusing that something as simple as giving him a super basic shirt elevates him to "okay."

Just put on a shirt, Vaan.

 

[Aeriscloud]

The thread is kind of a mess when half the answers are not a protagonist.

 

[mcz117chief]

Best 3:

Lightning, Serah, Vincent Valentine

Worst 3:

no-nose-huge-hands Ramsa other than that everyone is fine

p.s. so the title of the thread is "protagonists" and people are saying things like Kain, Yuna, etc. I really like the character design of those characters too but they are not protagonists.