Main character..getting weaker?

tdrewid

tdrewid

Ex-Soldier
Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
56
Gil
0
anyone else think that over time the main characters have grown weaker??
ff7 - Cloud one of the strongest and best magic users
ff8 - Squall again very powerfull one of the biggest damage dealers
ff9 - Zidane...? a theif ...cool and works with story but still weak
ff10 - Tidus, again theyve gone for speed over strength
ff12 - Vaan doesnt have to be the main guy but kinda is, doesnt exactly strike me as a strong guy

personally i think that the main guy should be powerfull (not the strongest but very close) through the last few of the games the main guy has grown kinda pansyish .. not a true hero,what do you all think main guy should be? strong? fast? cocky? quiet? etc ...
 
Good topic, I know exactly what you mean. I liked Tidus a lot but he was definitely a speed guy not a strength guy. Cloud, Squall, and Zidane all came across as leaders. Each one though was progressively less of a strict leader and more of just a casual guide. And it's not that it was a bad thing... but it was clear that Cloud was the one driven to follow Sephiroth. It was his hunt and he lead it. Zidane was basically pushed into each of his situations by fate, not his own resolve. That doesn't make him weak, just different. But by the time they got to Tidus, Auron basically just lead him around by the hand. It was the Auron show and Tidus just happened to be the key to it all. And as I've said before, Vaan didn't really even play a part in Final Fantasy XII. He could have played paperboy to Old Dalan for the rest of the game and the plot would have unfolded exactly the same way.
 
tdrewid said:
anyone else think that over time the main characters have grown weaker??
ff7 - Cloud one of the strongest and best magic users
ff8 - Squall again very powerfull one of the biggest damage dealers
ff9 - Zidane...? a theif ...cool and works with story but still weak
ff10 - Tidus, again theyve gone for speed over strength
ff12 - Vaan doesnt have to be the main guy but kinda is, doesnt exactly strike me as a strong guy

personally i think that the main guy should be powerfull (not the strongest but very close) through the last few of the games the main guy has grown kinda pansyish .. not a true hero,what do you all think main guy should be? strong? fast? cocky? quiet? etc ...
Click to expand...

None of them are pansyish, they've just all got emotional issues and seriously complex/warped backgrounds except Vaan (thank god).

Concering the points you made..

FFVII - So can anyone else..be a great magic user that is.
FFVIII - Agreed totally. This guy > the rest of the party.
FFIX - How is he weak? This guy has some seriously damaging Trance attacks, so he is far from weak.
FFX - Tidus can become very strong, depending on how you the SG.


I don't think they've got weaker..kinda finding it hard to explain.

As for the main guy..just someone with no goddamn emo fantastic background that doesn't drag on for ever and make you think - do I care? I'd personally like a main character to be an olderman, instead of some teenager. That's where the problem lies I think - the younger the lead, the less time they've had to adjust/act like a proper man would do.
 
I agree with you they so seem to be getting weaker. Zidane and Tidus seemed to be more agile apposed to Cloud and Squall who are power houses. And Vaan well he's not fast or strong!!
 
Well, actually I haven't noticed that before.
And yes you're right, they seem to have grown progressively weaker -- looking.

They're not really weak per se in the game itself, as obviously they are capable of dealing massive amounts of damage. I personally thought that they grew weaker -- looking.

But since there is no way to tell which of the main characters are actually the strongest, i.e. put them to the test in one game, etc. etc., what you guys are saying could be or could not be true.
 
lol I don't know if I can answer this without bias cause I can't stand Tidus or Squall, and Vaan I find boring.

I don't think they're getting weaker, like Judge Rulia said, with Tidus it depends on how you use the Sphere Grid, and even then, he was still one of the strongest in the party (mine anyway). Zidane too, he was one of my strongest o_O I really don't get that comment xD

LOL And yeah, in VII honestly, my two strongest magic users were Vincent & Tifa, but also a lot of things with that depend on what you've done and what you've used on certain characters.

I don't think their strength has diminished really, but I agree about the pansy factor with Squall, Tidus & Vaan. Don't like 'em %D Want to slap each of 'em around a little. But that's for another thread, and another time *flies away*

Warbourne said:
they seem to have grown progressively weaker -- looking.
Click to expand...
Ah ha! That's it. I agree. Well......I agree about 80% xD Zidane doesn't exactly look weak to me, just thief-ish, and....medieval-ish xDD
 
I think you've got a really good point here. It's something I've never really thought about before, but now I do it seems to be true.
I suppose maybe they're trying to show that the main character doesn't always have to be massively powerful (Zidane and Tidus).
 
yeah ..there probably right to they dont havet o be powerfull but i think they should at least act a bit tougher cloud and squall were great tidus was a bit to much of a pansy
 
Actually I think it's just the general idea of the playing filed evening out more. You see support characters such as Auron and Basch taking on more of a "tank" role compared to Tidus and Vaan. Sure you saw some of that in Steiner and Barret, but in those games you knew it was Cloud and Zidane as the main characters.

I think it's more of the term "main character" being toned down overall. You go from games like FFVII-FFIV where you can't sub out your main character, to games like FFX and FFXII where you can take anyone out of your party and simply not use them hardly at all.
 
nah i wouldnt say theyre gettin weaker really. the characters are just different, who wants to see an ff game where the leading men are all the same.
 
tdrewid said:
ff9 - Zidane...? a theif ...cool and works with story but still weak
Click to expand...

It's annoying when Zidane is simply referred to as "a thief" or "the monkey boy". He's a frickin' Angel of Death! His Thievery (to all those who bothered to raise it) can deal 9999 damage. I've never gotten Ultima Weapon, but that can probably get his damage to 8000+ too. Trance can win ANY battle for you. Grand Lethal = 9999 damage every time, and you can use it at least 4-5 times. Weak? I think not.

I think it's insulting to his character to say he "works with [the] story" ... He has an entire chunk of the spotlight aimed at him. The whole Terra/Garland/Angel of Death thing? Sure, the story isn't focussed on him 24/7, but he does get a large portion of it. In fact, it's his story that drives the game to it's climax.
 
I don't really think the characters have gotten progressively weaker. I think that they've simply gotten progressively human.

In reality, humanity is not always so bad-ass. Sometimes humanity can be so fragile & weak. It makes characters more realistic & more convincing when you see them react as an average person. They punish themselves (FFVII) or they even reject their fates entirely (FFVIII).

It adds depth where otherwise you'd just have a "I'm a bad-ass; boom, I win" storyline. :P
 
Oi! I second that and the comment I made about weaker-looking characters.

Zidane and Tidus have seemed more human for more reasons than just they are not all-too-powerful. They interact in their world much more dynamically than Squall or Cloud, who seem directed more by the people who surround each of them and not by the circumstances and the environment that is all around them.

Except for Zidane having a tail of course.
 
Personally, I used to hate the fact that Zidane was the main character, but I learned to love his role. But I agree. Vaan is NOT a good main character. Anyone in the game could've been (Even the NPCs) because everyone was affected in either the same way, or even worse from the war.
 
Grand_Lethal said:
It's annoying when Zidane is simply referred to as "a thief" or "the monkey boy". He's a frickin' Angel of Death!
Click to expand...

Now the "monkey boy" thing I could understand you getting upset about but, although he was developed as an Angel of Death, he did take up the job of a thief. That was his choice. And I too said he was a weaker character but that doesn't mean he's not a damage dealer, he just wasn't much of a leader or a big buff grrr grrr kinda guy. Cloud and Squall were both the main "tanks" and in Final Fantasy IX that role was played more by Steiner. Zidane could still kick anyone's ass but Steiner was the main assbeater in the game.
 
For me, Zidane was a damage dealer, only second to Steiner:

Steiner
Zidane
Freya
Amarant

So I still think that Zidane is a damage dealer. I've only played a little of VIII, but Squall is dealing the exact same damage as everyone else, 50-60 damage, maybe 80 if I can press R1 at the right time.
 
lol I just tossed Squall in there to be balanced. In my opinion BustaMo's 8 year old brother who thinks "diaper man" is the funniest thing ever is more capable of leading a team into battle. But you have to admit that Zidane doesn't come off as a very rough and tumble guy, it's not in his character. He's strong willed... but not an aggressive guy, as you would normally think of a "tank" character.
 
I'll have to disagree about Zidane not being a leader. It's his role throughout the game. He's not a "MY WAY OR THE HIGH WAY" type of leader. He is an emotional guy, and he connects with the rest of the party's emotions. Half the time they'll have a feeling of somesort, and going to a particular place can help them understand that feeling, and Zidane will be like: "Why don't we go?! It'll be fine!" and he encourages them to go ahead with the plan. He's not a leader in the sense of "YOU DO WHAT I SAY BIATCH!". More of an encourager, who leads the way discreetly.
 
Grand_Lethal said:
I'll have to disagree about Zidane not being a leader. It's his role throughout the game. He's not a "MY WAY OR THE HIGH WAY" type of leader. He is an emotional guy, and he connects with the rest of the party's emotions. Half the time they'll have a feeling of somesort, and going to a particular place can help them understand that feeling, and Zidane will be like: "Why don't we go?! It'll be fine!" and he encourages them to go ahead with the plan. He's not a leader in the sense of "YOU DO WHAT I SAY BIATCH!". More of an encourager, who leads the way discreetly.
Click to expand...

Is this suppose to be ironic?

Amarant: 'He who hesitates is lost.' You'd best remember that.
Zidane: Well, I prefer 'My way or the highway.'
Amarant: Whatever. Like you actually have a plan.

:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top