Board 8 > Rate the Final Fantasy Characters Results and Discussion

(+) Yeah! (+)

everyone's favourite XIV character

Hirotaro "Indy Jones" "Daddy of Light" Inaba (RIP Ren Osugi)

I still believe in Cid Telamon! Surely nobody would give him a 1, right... opportunity to test if hype is real in any case (and Torgal too, lol)

Then again I thought Balthier was universally liked Auron-style but based on the ratings so far not so much, so what do I know (I still need to do my ratings at some point but I want to get some more replays in before then...)

Yeah, Balthier is someone who's slowly lost favor over time, for whatever the reason. He's still one of my favorites because he's the most suave dude in the series, but I guess he's lost his charm for others.

Balthier is probably the best XII party member by virtue of him actually having chemistry with multiple members of the party. But he's also kind of "too cool" in a 90's Gambit from the X-Men kind of way.

better to be Gambit than Wolverine imhotbqh

It's difficult to retain much appreciation for Balthier when FF12 cares so little about it's own plot. The game barely feels like it has cutscenes in the last 1/3.

KamikazePotato posted...

It's difficult to retain much appreciation for Balthier when FF12 cares so little about it's own plot. The game barely feels like it has cutscenes in the last 1/3.

yeah but when it has them Balthier is pretty great in them

it helps that Dr. Cid is the best part of the last third and Balthier is closely connected to him

Balthier would be better if he came from a better game tbqh. Then again he's the 'han solo' and I never really liked Han Solo.

I feel like he gets the Han Solo comparison for superficial reasons (flies a cool airship, has a humanoid sidekick). Personality wise, he's more like Captain Jack Sparrow.

LeonhartFour posted...

I feel like he gets the Han Solo comparison for superficial reasons (flies a cool airship, has a humanoid sidekick). Personality wise, he's more like Captain Jack Sparrow.

Depends on what you mean by personality. Their actions imply they think in similar ways, but the way Sparrow expresses himself with his off-color dialogue and mannerisms is way more entertaining than what Balthier does.

The real defining point of both Han and Sparrow is their charisma, and I honestly don't think Balthier is very charismatic. He kinda felt like a poser, and it didn't seem to be intentional on the game's part.

KamikazePotato posted...

(Also there is no consensus best FF14 character)

Did something change? I thought everyone agreed Emet-Selch was the best.

MacArrowny posted...

Did something change? I thought everyone agreed Emet-Selch was the best.

You're probably right there. I had the Scions in mind when I made my previous post. It's still not a unanimous consensus (no FF game has that) but yeah.

KamikazePotato posted...

Depends on what you mean by personality. Their actions imply they think in similar ways, but the way Sparrow expresses himself with his off-color dialogue and mannerisms is way more entertaining than what Balthier does.

The real defining point of both Han and Sparrow is their charisma, and I honestly don't think Balthier is very charismatic. He kinda felt like a poser, and it didn't seem to be intentional on the game's part.

And that's why he's like Jack Sparrow. He's also a poser. Neither one is the bad guy they claim to be.

Ashethan posted...

Tidus is doing pretty well

And then came the 1s! He's too divisive to ever be #1, sadly. But then I didn't expect Auron to get so close to Vivi

Nah, Auron has always been super popular, and unlike Balthier, that opinion hasn't really faded.

I think it helps that he appeals to us as a younger audience because he's super cool but he maintains that appeal as we get older because we start to understand the hidden depths of his character.

I feel like very few characters are legitimately worth a 1. 35 characters have received at least one '1' vote.

On the other side, only three characters have received no votes lower than 5. Rydia, Barret, and Sazh.

RacistFAQs no more...?

Some other fun stats:

5 most generous users (Not counting people with fewer than 20 characters voted)

1. skulltrumpets (7.69)
2. StifledSilence (7.44)
3. Ashethan (7.40)
4. pjbasis (7.28)
5. Snake5555555555 (7.28)

5 harshest users (not counting users with less than 20 votes)

1. PrinceKaro (4.87)
2. illumanatisbubu (5.40)
3. KommunistKoala (5.78)
4. BlackDra90n (5.82)
5. plasmabeam (6.03)

yeah I figured I'd be generous. It takes a lot for me to truly hate a character, and most have at least something going for them. I've also noticed a lot of my big biases rolling out early

I imagine I'm more on the generous side. I've given out a few 1s, but I feel like we've already hit the characters I truly hate.

For me to give a 1 to a character they would have to be somehow boring, aggravating, inconsequential, and failing at what they set out to do at the same time. I can maybe think of some AA/Danganronpa characters that fit the bill, but not a FF character. They're usually just boring or forgettable, which would give them a 2 or a 3 by my standards.

I believe I only have 2 1s to give and they've already come.

Maybe there is another one I'm forgetting

Plenty of 1.5s-2s left though

I'd only give two characters in the series 1s and they've both appeared already.

Top 20:

1. Vivi - 8.82
2. Auron - 8.77
3. Aerith - 8.50
4. Clive - 8.25
5. Cloud - 8.14
6. Rydia - 8.10
7. Rikku - 8.08
8. Kefka - 8.07
9. Squall - 7.97
10. Yuna - 7.96
11. Tidus - 7.87
12. Tifa - 7.84
13. Barret - 7.76
14. Celes - 7.76
15. Rinoa - 7.70
16. Edgar - 7.69
17. Delita - 7.62
18. Balthier - 7.57
19. Sazh - 7.51
20. Zidane - 7.47

Yesterday's Results:
Tidus - 7.87
Balthier - 7.57
Clive - 8.25

Tidus barely misses out on the Top 10, rating just behind Yuna.

Balthier does very well and makes the Top 20, and is the highest Ranked FFXII character at the moment.

Clive gives FFXVI a very good start, though with few votes (he does however make the cutoff of 10 votes to qualify, with 12 votes)

Clive seems like the kind of character I would appreciate. Looking forward to FF16 on PC...eventually.

I like Clive a lot so far. I'm about half-ish way through the game. But I'll hold off on voting for him until I beat it.

Also there is no consensus best FF14 character)

of course there is

Tataru

Clive, much like XVI in general, isn't very good. I'll spare you all the spoilery details but I'm surprised his score is so high.

colliding posted...

Clive, much like XVI in general, isn't very good. I'll spare you all the spoilery details but I'm surprised his score is so high.

You shouldn't be surprised because he, much like XVI in general, is very good.

I like me some final fantasy characters what can I say

I do factor in plot a lot though. While some characters can get by being entertaining "on their own" I tend to judge them for their overall contribution. Both these factors combined and most FF characters are at least a 5/10 for me, because I like FF plots too. Even old ones are far more coherent and thematically rich than their contemporaries.

FFXVI is pretty fantastic at least from what I've played. Early game spoilers:

I love how Clive treats the bearers, even before he becomes one. They could've easily went the route of Spoiled Rich kid becomes that which he mistreats, but instead they went the route of Clive being a standup guy from the beginning. His reaction to that Wolf Sidequest is excellent. I'm a bit further than that, but I've been sold on Clive since all of that.

colliding posted...

Clive, much like XVI in general, isn't very good. I'll spare you all the spoilery details but I'm surprised his score is so high.

I for one am shocked that one of the people who spent all of pre-release complaining that it wasn't turn-based would say this

I forgot Noctis was in a non-turn based game, should have given him a 1

I'm nothing if not consistent!

To be clear my feelings on Clive are not based on XVI's gameplay

Top 20:

1. Vivi - 8.82
2. Auron - 8.77
3. Aerith - 8.50
4. Clive - 8.25
5. Cloud - 8.14
6. Rydia - 8.10
7. Rikku - 8.08
8. Kefka - 8.07
9. Squall - 7.97
10. Yuna - 7.96
11. Tidus - 7.87
12. Tifa - 7.84
13. Barret - 7.76
14. Celes - 7.76
15. Rinoa - 7.70
16. Edgar - 7.69
17. Delita - 7.62
18. Balthier - 7.57
19. Sazh - 7.51
20. Zidane - 7.47

Yesterday's Results:

Kuja - 7.42
Edea - 6.00
Rufus Shinra - 6.48

Kuja manages to score higher than Sephiroth but below Zidane.

Edea doesn't quite match up with Ultimecia, but comes pretty close.

And Rufus finishes just below Prompto.

Top 20:

1. Vivi - 8.82
2. Auron - 8.77
3. Aerith - 8.50
4. Cidolfus Telamon - 8.42
5. Clive - 8.25
6. Cloud - 8.14
7. Rydia - 8.10
8. Rikku - 8.08
9. Kefka - 8.07
10. Squall - 7.97
11. Yuna - 7.96
12. Tidus - 7.87
13. Tifa - 7.84
14. Barret - 7.76
15. Celes - 7.76
16. Rinoa - 7.70
17. Edgar - 7.69
18. Delita - 7.62
19. Balthier - 7.57
20. Sazh - 7.51

Yesterday's Results:
Cidolfus Telamon - 8.42
Cid Pollendina - 6.48
T.G. Cid - 6.84

Cidolfus Telamon rates 4th place. Probably because a lot of people haven't played FFXVI yet, but still pretty impressive.

Cid Pollendina rates 5th of all FFIV characters, just behind Golbez, and ahead of Edge.

T.G. Cid rates a little behind Agrias. He may be a powerhouse in the game, but that doesn't make him a clear favorite.

At this point I think 11-20 is a neater batch of characters than 1-10!

I thought I was gonna hate ff14 for pushing squall out of the top ten but it's the 16 crew I should have been worried about

KamikazePotato posted...

I for one am shocked that one of the people who spent all of pre-release complaining that it wasn't turn-based would say this

I'm still complaining that it's not turn-based

that said Clive is cool

pjbasis posted...

I thought I was gonna hate ff14 for pushing squall out of the top ten but it's the 16 crew I should have been worried about

I wouldn't worry about any other FFXVI characters making the top ten

XVI Cid is pretty good. VII Cid is still my personal favorite.

Top 20:

1. Vivi - 8.82
2. Auron - 8.77
3. Aerith - 8.50
4. Cidolfus Telamon - 8.42
5. Clive - 8.38
6. Dagger - 8.37
7. Cloud - 8.14
8. Rydia - 8.10
9. Rikku - 8.08
10. Kefka - 8.07
11. Squall - 7.97
12. Yuna - 7.96
13. Tidus - 7.87
14. Tifa - 7.84
15. Barret - 7.76
16. Celes - 7.76
17. Rinoa - 7.70
18. Edgar - 7.69
19. Delita - 7.62
20. Balthier - 7.57

Yesterday's Results:

Dagger - 8.37
Relm - 6.14
Serah Farron - 6.95

Dagger lands in the Top 10 with very few people who disliked her.

Relm outperforms her grandfather by a decent amount.

And Serah lands a little higher than her sister Lightning, and behind Vanille and Sazh making her the third highest rated FFXIII character so far.

Top 20:

1. Vivi - 8.82
2. Auron - 8.77
3. Aerith - 8.50
4. Cidolfus Telamon - 8.42
5. Clive - 8.38
6. Dagger - 8.37
7. Cloud - 8.14
8. Rydia - 8.10
9. Rikku - 8.08
10. Kefka - 8.07
11. Squall - 7.97
12. Yuna - 7.96
13. Tidus - 7.87
14. Tifa - 7.84
15. Barret - 7.76
16. Celes - 7.76
17. Rinoa - 7.70
18. Edgar - 7.69
19. Delita - 7.62
20. Balthier - 7.57

Yesterday's Results:
Red XIII - 7.14
Mog - 6.66
Torgal - 7.55

Red XIII rates slightly below Yuffie and Sephiroth.

Mog rates just below Terra

And Torgal barely misses out on the Top 20.

Surprised Dagger did so well!

Ashethan posted...

Serah lands a little higher than her sister Lightning

Terrible

Success in this poll seems to be based entirely on if you can avoid an anti-vote/a 1

colliding posted...

Success in this poll seems to be based entirely on if you can avoid an anti-vote/a 1

Well, when the average ranking is high, those 1s hurt even more.

Leonhart4 posted...

Well, when the average ranking is high, those 1s hurt even more.

I was going to make a comment on how Cid T's only had 2 people who rated him below his average and median scores would definitely paint a different picture from drag-down-averages, and I think I caught an error:

Ashethan: it looks like you credited Jesse Custer's 5.1 for Cid P to apply to Cid T instead (post #8 on Day 27)

With that corrected my prediction of Cid T possibly breaking into the top two may come to fruition... though not so much Torgal, but I guess this is about rating FF characters, not rating FF's bestest good boys, lol

MartinFF7 posted...

Ashethan: it looks like you credited Jesse Custer's 5.1 for Cid P to apply to Cid T instead (post #8 on Day 27)

Fixed. That actually puts Cidolfus at the Top, with Vivi at #3 after yellowooley's votes.

The hype is real!

(until more people play the game and/or 1 user decides to tank his average, lol)

Ashethan you misread my 10 for Squall as 1.0 pls fix