LogFAQs > #906844966

2. Zidane Tribal

And there goes my number two. Yay. Really though, Zidane stands out, because he doesn't fit the mold of your focal character in a Final Fantasy game. Most leads are either stoic (and potentially super boring, like FF4), bland, or fucking stupid (you know exactly which games I'm talking about Meg Ryan and airbrush abs.) But with Zidane, he manages to go JUST beyond that first line of your angsty Clouds and Squalls and Terras and Lightnings without crossing over into the territory of dumbasses like your Tiduses and Vaans. The guy is a sky pirate for crying out loud; that automatically buys him some cool points. More than that though, Zidane is fun and charming and charismatic. In an admittedly very high-fantasy serious storyline, Zidane's light-hearted personality stands out in a great way. There's no will they/won't they bullshit in FF9 because Zidane is gonna grab Garnet's ass and he will go to her rescue at the drop of the hat.

But on top of that, Zidane DOES have his angsty moments. It's one section really, but it allows him to develop beyond that of a lovable rogue archetype. He's lost Garnet because she's a princess and he's a thief, his life is falling apart because he's finding out about his test tube status, and I can't blame him for falling into a wee bit of depression, can you? But again, he pulls himself out of that funk with a little help from his fellow party members, and he winds up saving the day. Zidane is the main reason why FF9 stands out to me, because honestly, when I look at most of the rest of the playable cast, it's a perfectly inoffensive and average game. Zidane's uniqueness is what boosts FF9 in my eyes.
---

Touch fuzzy. Get fuzzier.
Inviso