He and his three travel companions are definitely fun characters to interact with, but it's a slow burn before anything really happens and Noctis’ impact in the world he inhabits basically amounts to nothing. The series’ latest protagonist, Noctis from Final Fantasy XV, fares slightly better but also falls as the game reaches the end. If anything, she was more like Squall from FFVIII as she also wields a gunblade and her character growth basically also results in her learning to trust people and have friends. Those efforts soon fell apart as Lightning herself was subjugated to numerous sequels that barely gave her character development and elevated her to some sort of prophet of God.Įvidently, Square Enix couldn’t make lightning strike twice: besides being an ex-soldier and a vague backstory, Lightning’s similarities to Cloud ended there. Lightning, on the other hand, was made as an effort to recapture the people’s perception of Cloud Strife, but with a new female character instead as the main character for Final Fantasy XIII. The equivalent is Luke Skywalker joining the Rebels but never became a Jedi or if Darth Vader wasn’t his father. If anything, Ashe, Basch, and Balthier have more personal stakes in the story and are more fitting to be the main characters. While they may have made him the leading man, they didn’t change his involvement in the story from being minimal and resolved half-way through. Some say this is because during development, the team over at Square Enix couldn’t decide on whether Princess Ashe or Basch should be the hero of FFXII, with them deciding on Vaan after finding out that female players prefer a younger, male protagonist. Vaan from Final Fantasy XII on the other hand, was given the shorter end of the protagonist stick. Thankfully, spin-off games like Dissidia have fleshed him out, making him much cooler than he has any right to be. It didn’t help that his initial sprite was the exact same as Final Fantasy I’s Fighter class.īy no means the worst protagonist the series has ever had, Firion was just basic, mainly limited due to the fact that his game was released in 1988. All we know is that he is heroic and seems to have a weakness for women. As a main character, Firion set the mold, though he himself isn’t fleshed out. What Makes a Bad Final Fantasy Protagonist?įirion was the first named protagonist in the franchise, as Final Fantasy II was the first game to have a narrative-driven storyline and characters with default names, instead of players having to name them. So, let’s look at them before we examine the subject of today, Cloud Strife. Most stories will shatter the character’s Lie, altering their perception of the world around them and making them a better person.i Case in point, Luke finds out that Darth Vader is his father and seeks to save him.Īnd with that, like all things, there are good and bad protagonists in the Final Fantasy franchise. The Lie is a belief that the central character holds, like Luke Skywalker believing that Darth Vader is an irredeemable evil. Good Final Fantasy protagonists, like most good protagonists in media, typically adhere to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey template, as well as utilising a narrative tool known as The Lie. Typically though, Final Fantasy protagonists stand out from other RPG franchises in their design and role in their stories. The player is able to customize the characters to their liking. The exceptions are the first Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy XIV where the protagonists are blank slates. The series may have started out as an effort by Squaresoft to create their own RPG game to match the popularity of their rival Enix’s Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy has grown beyond its fantastical roots The merger between Squaresoft and Enix allowed the two franchises to be seen as sister franchises these days.Ī Final Fantasy is defined by its cohesive storyline, a rich and engaging new world to explore in each game, a cast of memorable party members, a major antagonist who is usually overshadowed by an even bigger bad guy, and a new take on the RPG battle systems that made the series a hit in the first place.Īnd leading the charge on all these fronts is the protagonist, the central character who acts as the player’s avatar throughout the 40 hours-plus adventure. Spoilers for all Final Fantasy games below!
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