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[hydrophilic attack]

Balthier is awesome but not even close to the main character. Ashe is, followed by Basch.

he is the leading man

The Leading Man

Why?

- he has the best lines
- he sleeps with Fran
- true Sky Pirate
- never surrenders, never backs up
- best art and clothing in FF game

said it much better than me

i half-assed my post in a rush to get the first post but was too slo

so i missed the first post and made a mediocre post fml 😔

 

[LordGorchnik]

Cloud
Ramza
Noctis is growing on me. Only at chapter 7.

 

[DrunkShogun]

If balthier counts then him since ff6 has no lead but celes&terra both rank high. Cecil is the best main character where the story revolves around him. Has a redemption arc, gets a wife and is actually a likeable character. Cloud is great but only played ff7 once and his more recent portrayals are more familiar to me.

 

[TissueBox]

Ramza Beoulve - Final Fantasy Tactics

"I had lived my life the only way that I had known. But when the pillars of that life came crashing down, I did not stand and watch them fall. I turned, and walked away."

Agrias Oaks and Thunder God Cid (AKA Cidolfus Orlandaeu) too. Talk about bad asses, they wipe the entire map between the three of them. The story that both Ramza and Agrias go on is epic, who they encounter and how they go about things (their morals, the recruitment of pretty much an army, their dialogue, characterisation etc) is pretty much spot on.

And yes, some of the FFXII cast like Ashe, Basch and of course, Balthier.

Oh snap forgot about Ramza. Yeah he really struck a chord with me, and philosophically was engaged in an interesting conflict regarding ideals vs practicality. Would probably go with him if I sat down and really thought about it.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

If balthier counts then him since ff6 has no lead but celes&terra both rank high. Cecil is the best main character where the story revolves around him. Has a redemption arc, gets a wife and is actually a likeable character. Cloud is great but only played ff7 once and his more recent portrayals are more familiar to me.

why wouldnt Balthier count? He even tells you that hes the leading man

 

[DylanEno]

The Leading Man

Wtf is with those pastel ass froot loops lookin rings / bracelets

 

[Shepard]

Basch or Ashe from XII

They both have great reasons (they are trying to take their kingdom back) to fight. No romance during war shenanigans; nice design; great VA, never out of character. I can say the same abou any other lead in XII (except Vaan ).

 

[sublimit]

I know it's not a popular choice but for me it's Tidus.I like his costume design because it looked unique.As a character yes he is a bit whiny at the start but he is also cheerful and optimistic,and i love how his character progressively transforms and matures throughout the story.I think for me he has the best character development in any FF.

 

[Hashmal_Bringer_of_Order]

For all of them, i'd probably rank them

1. Balthier/Basch/Ashe (FFXII)
2. Noctis (FFXV)
3. Cecil (FFIV)
4. Tidus(FFX)
5. Cloud (FFVII)
6. Lightning (FFXIII but partially out of stockholm syndrome)
7. Warrior of Light (FFI but really Dissidia 1&2)
8.Firion (FFII)
9.Terra (FFVI)
10.Squal (FFVIII)
11. Zidane (FFIX)
12. Bartz (FFV)
99. Those dudes from FFIII

 

[Garlador]

"Leading" narrows it down, I guess. Toss up between Cecil from FF4 (the class switch blew my mind in 1991), Terra in FF6 (still one of the best heroines of any game), or Zidane from FF9 (he's just such a great rogue and a huge emotional boost to all those around him).

 

[Ishida]

Cloud Strife, definitely.

He's one of the most developed characters in the entire series, if not THE most developed. His arc is incredibly tragic and interesting.

Tidus would be second.

But Noctis is also up there. What a fucking badass he becomes.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Man, I didn't even think of Ramza when I clicked on this thread, but that's a good one.

Ramza deals with a lot, from his brothers to his friends turning on him. Everybody wants him to compromise his values, everyone wants to fight their wars and he's the only one trying to fight the real villain.

I love that his whole story is this bigger, unknown story behind the War of the Lions that people in Ivalice were taught about. A sort of real history behind the legends.

Delita stole his thunder/limelight but Ramza is the real legend. And as you say Ramza had everyone turn on him pretty much, only Agrias (& Mustadio) stood with him the whole time.

He beat them all, dammit and he told them why they were wrong whilst he did it!

 

[Bladelaw]

Cecil

Starts out a badass evil Dark Knight, changes into a badass Paladin, wins the love triangle, marries the girl, and has Rydia as an honorary adopted daughter. And he also comes from the moon. There's no contest here.

You said everything I was going to say way better.

Cecil's conflict is both internal and external, the battle on Mount Ordeal's peak, battles with Kain, and even Golbez are insights into his character. He doesn't run from his actions. He spends the game working to atone for the tragedies he has wrought. He inspires others to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

 

[Fersis]

Balthier, on a game with several main characters he was the "coolest":
- Cool clothing
- Cool lines
- Awesome attitude
- He was a judge
- Now a pirate
- Hella cool name: Ffamran Mid Bunansa aka Balthier
- He's the Leading man
- Fran's bae
- Heroic af

Princess! No need to worry. I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.

 

[Sydle]

The Leading Man

Why?

- he has the best lines
- he sleeps with Fran
- true Sky Pirate
- never surrenders, never backs up
- best art and clothing in FF game

All of this. I'd love more games with him and Fran.

 

[linko9]

Butz, his name is Butz, he's got a cool chocobo, he doesn't waste time with talkin. Terra is cool too. Honestly don't really like any other named lead; they tend to be the least interesting and/or most irritating characters in their own games.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Wtf is with those pastel ass froot loops lookin rings / bracelets

only a true badass could rock that shit like balthier does

 

[Chipworm]

Unpopular choice, but I'm going with Lightning. Her efforts to save Serah drove her into a massive conflict, and in my opinion her character matured along the journey and by the end she genuinely cared about her companions. Well, maybe except Snow...

I also think Ali Hillis did a great job with the voice over.

 

[Lights and Waves]

Lightning, Yuna in X-2, Ashe, Noctis, Squall

 

[semiconscious]

zidane:

rogue/rascal sky pirate
best girlfriend
tail! ...

 

[Trago]

Zidane Tribal.

He's easily the most likable protagonist imo. He cares about his crew, he's always hitting on Dagger, cheering up Vivi, pissing off Steiner, the dude has great chemistry with the rest of the cast. That also helps whenever dramatic moments happen, I genuinely felt bad for him when he was down, or concerned when he was in danger.

 

[Scotia]

I really like Squall.

I love his design, I really like him as a character and I just think he's great. Close second is probably Cloud.

 

[DylanEno]

only a true badass could rock that shit like balthier does

I want to laugh in your face and say sure but fuck I can't help but kind of agree with you

 

[Inuhanyou]

Cloud. He's very nuanced, and i love his twist. Tifa as well. I think Cloud and Tifa and Aerith are all together the best triangle of main characters in FF period

 

[Sheroking]

Balthier is pretty much the central character.

AFAIK Balthier was supposed to the lead, but Square added Vaan + Panelo quite late in development because they would be more 'familiar' to FF fans. Probably why Vaan has so little personality or role in the story.

Basch was supposed to be the lead, not Balthier.

Objectively I don't see how anyone could make an argument that Balthier was even close to the protagonist of that story. All three of Vaan, Ashe and Basch were FAR more central. I know this is approaching meme territory, but if we include him, we might as well start talking about Auron and other side-characters too.

 

[Jennipeg]

I'm not sorry either.

But only in his original costume not that feather shit they keep doing. It really annoys me that they keep trying to make his simple (for a FF character) outfit so fussy.

I played this game in High School, where I had a crappy time and suffered from anxiety and social awkwardness. Then I played this game and I really connected with him, granted I was never an arse to people and didn't act like him. But his withdrawn nature really spoke to me, to see him grow and accept people was so satisfying. The fact that he turned out to be a sweet guy was a definite plus. I was 13 when I played this, it spoke to me.

 

[woopWOOP]

Playing FF1 right now and my Warrior 'RED' is kicking all sorts of ass while my Thief, Black Mage and White Mage struggle to get by so he deserves a mention.

Other than that I've only played FF7 and FF10 (and a good chunk of FF9). I like Zidane's personality, but I'll still pick Cloud because of his design and.... screw it, I dig his oversized weapons.
PAL moon walking Tidus is far behind both of them

 

[Meowster]

I wouldn't say he's my number one favorite hero but Noctis is surprisingly up there. Not everything about the game is well done but he really is, which was surprising to me, as I just expected generic brooding boy 156200.

Squall
Ashe
Noctis
Zidane
Terra
Cloud
Lightning
Tidus
Bartz
Cecil

 

[Jennipeg]

Wtf is with those pastel ass froot loops lookin rings / bracelets

I think it's supposed to show he has travelled the world and bought trinkets.

Balthier is my 2nd favourite after Squall, for all the reasons mentioned.

 

[Aizen.S.Kennedy]

Ramza takes my top spot followed by noctis. It's an easy choice they both have the most interesting combat options out of all the others and they stand for what they believe in without being whiny and annoying.
Bonus points for both of them sticking thru the whole game fighting with their A1 day 1s. No finding a random ninja/talking dog/ blue monster/frog person and letting them get down with squad, and before you claim ramza does this I gotta say not MY ramza. I run thru with him and three ppl I pick up at the beginning an that's how I play the entire game. We got this .

 

[Cloud7]

Cloud Strife is not only my favorite Final Fantasy character but my favorite video game character of all time.

Why:

When I was a kid, I got constantly picked on by other kids. I didn't know what my identity was or what it should be. When I played Final Fantasy VII at the age of 9, Cloud resonated me from the jump. On the outside, I wanted to be more tough but deep inside, I never was. Even though some of Cloud's identity crisis was due to Jenova cells, he also got PTSD from the trauma endured from the journey back to Midgar from Nibelheim and Zack's death.

This resonated with me because I was always abused by my former step dad. Me, my mom, and my brother were always abused. I remember Cloud wanting to impress his childhood friend so bad in Tifa, it reminded me of my own life. He was picked on by Tifa's friends as I was also picked on by my neighbor girl's friends as well. I was framed for trying to be a stalker even though I haven't been around her in awhile. Cloud was framed for causing Tifa to fall off the mountain even though Cloud was just trying to help.

Cloud's whole life was nothing but confusion, was messy, and was filled with trying to impress others. This has been my own journey. Seeing Cloud lead AVALANCHE into the Northern Crater after that speech on the Highwind inspired hope in me. I grew up with this character. I saw him morph into the good person that he is. I saw his friends rally behind him in time of need. Cloud Strife is trying the rallying cry for my childhood and my adulthood. He keeps me strong. He keeps me fighting for my own greater good.

 

[Godcannon]

Gotta go with Cloud, because I can't say RedXIII. I like animals more than people....

^Balthier is a badass character and a great pick, but Vaan is the Lead character of XII.....unfortunately.

Despite what people have seen or think from Advent Children and other VII spinoffs, Cloud was an absolute badass. He was cocky,and always seemed to cheer the rest of the group up while kicking all sorts of ass. He was a careless Mercenary that ended up seeing his potential to actually make a positive (world saving) difference, and did.

 

[PixyJunket]

The Leading Man

Why?

- he has the best lines
- he sleeps with Fran
- true Sky Pirate
- never surrenders, never backs up
- best art and clothing in FF game

I've never played Final Fantasy XII but it's hard to argue with this.

I mean, even if it was just #2 he'd still clinch it.

 

[Jennipeg]

Basch was supposed to be the lead, not Balthier.

Objectively I don't see how anyone could make an argument that Balthier was even close to the protagonist of that story. All three of Vaan, Ashe and Basch were FAR more central. I know this is approaching meme territory, but if we include him, we might as well start talking about Auron and other side-characters too.

I think XII is one of those games that doesn't really have a main character, I am discounting Vaan to an extent because..... he's Vaan. He is essentially a pair of eyes with spay on abs. It's an ensemble cast with Balthier, Ashe and Basch having a good portion of the story dedicated to them. Personally I used to play as Ashe outside of cities and pretend she was the main character.

 

[rhandino]

Terra and Celes from Final Fantasy VI

Yeah, I consider Terra the protagonist of the game from the World of Balance and Celes in the World of Ruin.

 

[WadeitOut]

Tidus. Because he's the main protag in the greatest RPG ever.

 

[MetatronM]

The Leading Man

Why?

- he has the best lines
- he sleeps with Fran
- true Sky Pirate
- never surrenders, never backs up
- best art and clothing in FF game

Can't argue with this. Don't care if he's not the actual lead character in the game. HE says he is, and that's good enough for me.

My number 2 would be Zidane. He's just a nice, cool, fun dude. With a tail. And he's best buds with Vivi. What else do you want? He was also such a breath of fresh air coming in after Cloud and Squall.

Special shout out to Ramza and Delita as co-leads in Tactics.

 

[kswiston]

Final Fantasy Leads are rarely the standout characters in their games thinking back on it. I will cheat and pick Ramza from Final Fantasy Tactics (mainline in my heart). He's a good friend, sticks to his ideals, and is so tough that he spends years fighting with a leather strap up his ass:

I've never played Final Fantasy XII but it's hard to argue with this.

I mean, even if it was just #2 he'd still clinch it.

He's not really the lead character. It would be like calling Auron the lead of Final Fantasy X.

Vaan and Ashe were the leads. If you want to ignore Vaan because he sucks and could be cut from the game without the story needing much change, sub in Basch.

 

[redcrayon]

ZIdane for me.

He's upbeat, fun to be around, and sticks up for anyone who needs it. A heroic adventurer that wears his heart on his sleeve. When he takes the piss out of others, he's never cruel, and never talks down to conflicted, relatively naive characters like Vivi either.

What I love about the whole party is that while ZIdane and Steiner clash personalities over both wanting to do the right thing, they don't go the easy route and make Steiner look like an idiot in comparison- the way Steiner is perfectly respectful towards Vivi ('Master Mage') always makes me warm to him too despite the clashes with Zidane. Both of them want to look out for the more naive Dagger and Vivi in the beginning, (despite the magic users growing to become far more powerful), they just disagree on how to do it.

So, yeah, I can see an adventuring party forming up around Zidane's charm, something I never really felt with Lightning and several of the others.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

Why just restrict this to mainline FF titles? Why don't you want us to vote for Luso, OP?

 

[Spenny]

The Leading Man

Why?

- he has the best lines
- he sleeps with Fran
- true Sky Pirate
- never surrenders, never backs up
- best art and clothing in FF game

This man knows what's up! Excellent post that I 100% agree with.

 

[Akuun]

Does the Warrior of Light in FFXIV count? I know it's kind of a copout because it's "you", but I find the FFXIV story just as good as any mainline FF game's story these days, especially since Heavensward came out. You seriously go through some shit and the supporting characters do come out of their own.

FFXIV ARR was mostly generic anime bullshit. Heavensward was a genuinely cool and well-told story.

 

[AndrewDean84xX]

Squall

- Looks badass
- Acts badass
- Weapon is badass
- Badass scar
- Goes to a badass school
- Makes playing a card game badass

 

[sublimit]

Cloud Strife is not only my favorite Final Fantasy character but my favorite video game character of all time.

Why:

When I was a kid, I got constantly picked on by other kids. I didn't know what my identity was or what it should be. When I played Final Fantasy VII at the age of 9, Cloud resonated me from the jump. On the outside, I wanted to be more tough but deep inside, I never was. Even though some of Cloud's identity crisis was due to Jenova cells, he also got PTSD from the trauma endured from the journey back to Midgar from Nibelheim and Zack's death.

This resonated with me because I was always abused by my former step dad. Me, my mom, and my brother were always abused. I remember Cloud wanting to impress his childhood friend so bad in Tifa, it reminded me of my own life. He was picked on by Tifa's friends as I was also picked on by my neighbor girl's friends as well. I was framed for trying to be a stalker even though I haven't been around her in awhile. Cloud was framed for causing Tifa to fall off the mountain even though Cloud was just trying to help.

Cloud's whole life was nothing but confusion, was messy, and was filled with trying to impress others. This has been my own journey. Seeing Cloud lead AVALANCHE into the Northern Crater after that speech on the Highwind inspired hope in me. I grew up with this character. I saw him morph into the good person that he is. I saw his friends rally behind him in time of need. Cloud Strife is trying the rallying cry for my childhood and my adulthood. He keeps me strong. He keeps me fighting for my own greater good.

Man i'm really sorry you had it tough as a kid but it feels good to know how much a video game and a fictional character can help someone go through hard times especially when they are young.

 

[Jennipeg]

ZIdane for me.

He's upbeat, fun to be around, and sticks up for anyone who needs it. A heroic adventurer that wears his heart on his sleeve. When he takes the piss out of others, he's never cruel, and never talks down to conflicted, relatively naive characters like Vivi either.

What I love about the whole party is that while ZIdane and Steiner clash personalities over both wanting to do the right thing, they don't go the easy route and make Steiner look like an idiot in comparison- the way Steiner is perfectly respectful towards Vivi ('Master Mage') always makes me warm to him too despite the clashes with Zidane. Both of them want to look out for the more naive Dagger and Vivi in the beginning, (despite the magic users growing to become far more powerful), they just disagree on how to do it.

So, yeah, I can see an adventuring party forming up around Zidane's charm, something I never really felt with Lightning and several of the others.

Zidane really is great I have to say. I love Steiner, he was pure comedy to me. That clanking sound of his armour was just genius.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Cloud is probably my favorite because he's one of the weirder heroes in the series. It's hard to entirely tell who he really is, at least for the first half of the game, but his story of being a failure coinciding with his chance at redemption that he was able to take is satisfying.

 

[Pejo]

Cecil from IV overall. Love his transformation, his struggles with betrayal and having his wife stolen from him, finds out he's part dragon. I mean come on. How do the others even compare?

I have to say though, from a capabilities standpoint, I really like Noctis a lot. His Armiger skill to crystal phase shift and switch weapons is pretty fucking cool. Previous to him, I thought Terra had the best natural powers as a MC.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

Terra. Always Terra.

 

[redcrayon]

Zidane really is great I have to say. I love Steiner, he was pure comedy to me. That clanking sound of his armour was just genius.

Steiner, especially in the beginning, also speaks to the inner middle-management type in all of us, trying to organise stuff but convinced and frustrated that he's surrounded by minions that can barely tie their own shoelaces. That always makes me smile even while ZIdane and Dagger escape!

 

[Wagram]

Squall.

Don't like that?

Whatever.