Strongest MONK in the whole Final Fantasy franchise?

[Mister Goober]

Hi friends.

Who is the strongest monk in the whole Final Fantasy franchise?

I really really hate using the word "monk", but it's the best we got here. I'd much rather just say Pugilist, but whatever...

Is it Tifa?

Honestly, in FF7, I hated the fact that Tifa was the monk. Barrett had the more appropriate look, and Tifa should've been the gunslinger, using her athleticism to move around while shooting at the enemies, just like a true modern soldier. Barrett is basically a Mike Tyson. He's way more appropriate to be THE monk of that game.

In FF8, we got Zell. The thing with FF8 though is that they didn't really show a lot of Zell's true potential as a fighter.

Spoiler: Spoiler here. Click with your own discretion.

They really, perhaps unintentionally, showed how menacing Seifer was, being able to hold his own WITHOUT the aid of Guardian Forces. But with Zell, not so much. Even with that Esthar bit where he was escorting Edea, you gotta keep in mind Edea was there to fight WITH HIM. So it's not like Zell was doing the brunt of the fighting. But at least they showcased Zell's athleticism in the beginning, doing acrobatics. Plus, remember the time in that train? His fists caused enough damage on the ground that the conductor of that train FELT it. That's pretty strong.

His lithe build was just fine, since lots of fighters in the real world are built the same way. And just because you're a lightweight in combat sports doesn't mean you're weak.

With Tifa... She should've been the gunslinger!

And in FF10, there was no monk...

Wait a minute, is Zell and Tifa OUR ONLY MONKS? AHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I've never played FF9. How's the monk in that game?

 

[Dionysos]

I love Tifa, but in my mind the strongest monk is probably Sabin Rene Figaro from FFVI.

I think he’s the only character in which we can witness superhuman strength. He can effortlessly lift up and suplex an entire train. There are also some significant parallels with the ancient Greek hero Herakles (see here, ‘Muscle-heads: Sabin as Heracles’ section, for a brief summary of some of my ideas there).

The monk in FFIX is sort of part-monk, part-ninja. He’s a bounty hunter called Amarant Coral. He functions largely like a monk but can also throw items like a ninja. He’s strong, but not Sabin-levels of strong.

I can’t think of any other monk that might surpass Sabin in the franchise.

 

[Mister Goober]

I love Tifa, but in my mind the strongest monk is probably Sabin Rene Figaro from FFVI.

View attachment 9779

I think he’s the only character in which we can witness superhuman strength. He can effortlessly lift up and suplex an entire train. There are also some significant parallels with the ancient Greek hero Herakles (see here, ‘Muscle-heads: Sabin as Heracles’ section, for a brief summary of some of my ideas there).

The monk in FFIX is sort of part-monk, part-ninja. He’s a bounty hunter called Amarant Coral. He functions largely like a monk but can also throw items like a ninja. He’s strong, but not Sabin-levels of strong.

I can’t think of any other monk that might surpass Sabin in the franchise.

Amazing. Yeah, this is what I'm looking for. Thanks boss.