Ranking EVERY Final Fantasy Main Character

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Clive performance sells the whole character. His VO shouting, "I'LL KILL YOU!!" mid-cry with a cracking voice is pure talent. I had genuine chills.

what i love the most about cloud is how much there is underneath that stoic cold facade he puts on. like yes he's very straightforward and can come off as rude but he also has many moments of vulnerability and kindness. i still remember how in the remake he sees aerith talking to the flowers and asks her why she's talking to them if they can't talk back and after she answers with how she believes it makes them grow faster and starts walking away, he looks at them and says "learn to talk to her" 🥺

I feel like Squall is becoming more relatable to people as time goes on. He's really just so done with everything in his life. I get that.

I think the best part of Cloud is that he's not "the coolest dude" he's actually a total little dork with a severe identity crisis that forces him to put up the power fantasy and beileve he's Zack, the SOLDIER he always dreamed of being. It's a beautiful deconstruction of the brooding heroic archetype and so many people, (not you Erek, you mention this stuff) miss this point and say he's "just an emo with a big sword".

Cecil has a classic incredible story arc. Going from a Dark Knight to a Paladin was so awesome back in the day!

I'm glad you went with Balthier, he is.. of course, "The Leading Man"

I was about to say "you put Vaan above Lightning!!?!!" But then I saw Balthier instead and thought "oh yeah, that tracks"

Ranking EVERY playable character. DO IT WE WANT THE 5 HOUR VIDEO

The FF9 fanboy in me wants to rage at Zidane’s placement, but the top half of this list is so hard to rank. You can argue for any combination and not necessarily be wrong. Disagreement aside, this was a great list and I loved hearing your reasoning for each choice.

Clive and Cloud are def way up there! I'm with ya on this list. Personally I would have swapped Tidus and Zidane tho. Only because I like Zidane's confidence as you start out. he grows into a more compassionate but remains confident from the start to the end. Much like Link in that respect. "Idk what the hell I'm doing, but I'm sure gonna go do it!"

I see Squall in the thumbnail, I click.

Tidus deserves to be up there with Cloud. Not only was he the first voiced character but he had a distinct personality. HE brought joy to others and not the other way around. He really broke the depressed teen trope despite suffering through issues himself. I hope the FFX remake does him justice.

I actually think Vann is the most underrated main character after replaying recently as an adult. FF12's story thrives on subtlety and down to Earth characters and plotline, it's the most realistic FF, replacing science with magic and nukes with magicite. Vann along with Penelo is the actual heart of the party because they are the most mundane characters, a guy with a simple dream, and a girl who just wants to live day to day; Surrounded by the most important people in the world. And these important people seem to have lost their path and is trying to return to it, which they all eventually find because of Vann's grounded perspective pulling them out of the clouds and Penelo's empathy allowing them to open their hearts to the rest of the party. Ashe a princess who wants to take revenge using nukes, got reminded by her people, Vann and Penelo that she has a kingdom to protect, not destroy. Basch a soldier who was framed was forgiven by Vann whose brother died under his watch, found a second chance in life. Balthier and Fran, two "adults" who were actually people who didn't know their true place and purpose in the world, but Vann set Balthier straight by being the moral compass and Penelo's compassion resonated with Fran. These 2 kids became the party's driving force as they represent the future, the children that they as adults should be protecting and fighting for. And these 2 children are not backing down in the face of overwhelming odds, in fact they have a clear objective, to bring peace back to their home. Their simple motivations allowed the party to focus on what should have done and overcome their regrets and fears.

This is a solid list!!! I like seeing Cecil so high too!

I don't remember loving lighting, but I do remember loving the way she smiled at the end of xiii ❤

Cecil is the top 1 character for me. The fact that he was estabilished in the fourth game in the franchise, so many years ago is what seals the deal for me.

For 12, it was Basch, Basch was supposed to be the main character but the producers didn’t think that would appeal to a young enough audience so they made Vaan! Worked on me it was my first FF I ever owned 😂

Would not argue much on the list, but I would place Zidane on 3rd. He may be more comical than others but the way he interacted with the other 7 party members in different ways reflected a lot of personality and was something that made me recognize how important he was for the team to continue on (tough FF9 did have a lot of initial moment where members where split in their own agendas).

For 10...It always made sense to me that his name is pronounced Tide-Us...since the game has so much water and even the final boss is a giant water creature...so it's his job to hold back the "Tide" that threatens Spira