Your favorite characters ever

[Yuri-G]

Hey, if we have a thread for the most annoying, why not make one for your favorites, eh? Note that I will write way too much about the characters I love, and I have no illusions that anyone will read all this shit nor that you'll write as much about yours. I'm just plain bored at work.

Mine are, in no particular order, except the first two:

Beatrix, Final Fantasy IX - Like I said in the other thread, I'm a sucker for strong female characters, especially if they've got a hidden vulnerable side. Beatrix fits the bill perfectly. I love everything about her, and the few moments where you have her in your party are fucking awesome. The way her concern for the princess convinces her to betray her queen, the one woman she is most loyal to, was one of my favorite parts of the FFIX plot. Plus, hello, Climhazzard? Shock? Hell yes.

Rydia, Final Fantasy IV - I love that the most powerful character in the game (depending on the version you're playing) is this chick in a skimpy outfit who starts out as a little girl. It may seem cliché now, but the scene where she comes out of nowhere to beat the crap out of Golbez and heal your party was the stuff of legend back in the day, it was completely unexpected and a great dramatic turn of events. She was my favorite character even back then, so to see her come back with such style just blew my mind. And she's the only character at the end of the game who can cast Meteo, that's gotta be worth something.

Alucard, Symphony of the Night - He's fucking Alucard. Do I really need to explain this?

Luigi, Super Mario series - My sister and I would always argue over who got to use the second controller whenever we played a Mario game just because Luigi was so much cooler than Mario. He had a better color palette in most every game, the only game in which he wasn't better was Super Mario Bros. 2 with the hellish jumping controls.

Ronfar, Lunar: EB - He can womanize me any time he wants... err, if I were a woman anyway.

Akinari, Persona 3: FES - My favorite Social Link. I cried at his ending and I'm not afraid to admit it. How many games have you played where they present the issue of terminal illness at all, much less in a realistic light? Very moving.

Mitsuru, Persona 3: FES - Like I said, strong women with a vulnerable side are my thing in games, and Mitsuru certainly fits the bill.

Lyndis, Fire Emblem - Again with the strong women. Some of Lyn's battle quotes when facing bosses were just great, she definitely was no delicate wilting flower.

I'm sure I'll think of more later, but those are all that come to mind now.

[Kaylia]

Pretty sure there was already a thread like this, if not 2 or 3, but anyway, doesn't really matter.


Can't really pick any "favorite" character..there is just too many,

Luigi, Super Mario series - My sister and I would always argue over who got to use the second controller whenever we played a Mario game just because Luigi was so much cooler than Mario. He had a better color palette in most every game, the only game in which he wasn't better was Super Mario Bros. 2 with the hellish jumping controls.

Luigi in super mario 2 was badass, you could skip a lot of annoying stuff with him.

[Exoduso]

Seifer, Kuja, Kefka. <3

And Yuri from ToV.

[Kaylia]

Seifer, Kuja, Kefka. <3

And Yuri from ToV.

I swear, your "favorite whatever" always include something from the last game you played. I'm not blamming you, I always feel this way too...it's just funny.

[Correction]

Thread needs more men with a uniquely identifiable history and personality beyond 'omg I'm emo and don't cut my hair'

http://i38.tinypic.com/2s76qso.jpg

[Exoduso]

I swear, your "favorite whatever" always include something from the last game you played. I'm not blamming you, I always feel this way too...it's just funny.

lol that's why I put them last though... it's my "recent addition" if you will.
Yuri really is awesome though.

[Elcura]

I don't have overall favourite characters, I usually have characters I like in each game, but here are some I remember.

Mint (Threads of Fate): I've never seen a female lead like Mint before, she was (or is) unique and oh so entertaining to watch. I just wish there was more story with her, I'd like to see her take over the world.

Jowy (Suikoden): Not only is he a great battle character, but he also makes the story so compelling and emotional, I also put Nanami on the same level as Jowy, in terms of story/fighting as well.

Spoiler: show

Getting to fight with Jowy again after Nanami is shot is the single most badass thing in that game, also the final fight with Jowy is so fucking awesome

Aya Brea (Parasite Eve): I always loved Aya, she was a strong woman without a whole lot of annoying baggage. She's badass with her powers and a great marksman who's smart and quick witted (if only to live longer). She gives the game a great atmosphere.

Ashton Anchors: I really like him, interesting design and he's great to fight with. His obsession with barrels and bad luck make me like him. But I liked mostly everyone from SO2 except Ernest (useless) and Noel (ugghhh).

Lord Zetta (Makai Kingdom): Someone who endlessly made me laugh, he's certainly the most badass freakin' overlord ever. I'm tempted to put Laharl here, but I don't like him (or Mao) as much as Zetta.

Disgaea 3 Cast (Disgaea 3): Well, while none of them instantly go into my favourites catagory, the whole damn cast in D3 is amazing. There's no one I truly hate (looking at you Flonne and Rozalin) and everyone manages to be interesting and compelling to watch. The most twisted is Raspberyl with her badass delinquency, from reading her profile I didn't expect it to work like that.

Mercedes, Oswald and Cornelius (Odin Sphere): To be honest, I didn't think I would like Mercedes, she's usually the type of character I hate off the bat (Cornelius looked annoying as well) and it turns out, she was my favourite. She had such a great character and story that it's hard not to like her. She goes from a rather weak and slightly spoiled princess to a strong battle hero who's willing to give her life for the sake of the world. Her Armageddon scene is one that always brings a tear to my eye. I expected Oswald to be some badass, heartless knight who would kill his own mother, imagine my surprise to find out he's rather emo and just seeks love. His relationship with Gwendolyn was great and you find out he's a really nice guy, so unexpected. The final scene's with him are great. Can't say much about Cornelius, I mostly liked him because he was fucking great to play with, his personality and attitude were unexpected but nice.

Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru and Aigis (Persona 3): I liked Junpei, always. Even when he was the stupid idiot in the first half of the game, you could kinda relate to him and he was the most sincere of all the characters. He became an even better character after those events (you know, those). Same with Akihiko (kinda), but the event where his Persona changes was probably the most emotional one, he's just a pretty cool guy. Mitsuru had something about her, I couldn't place it exactly but I really like her. Probably because Yukari is a whiny bitch. I love Aigis, my favourite character easily. Watching her start out as a clueless robot and turning into a human was great development, she's also funny (unintentionally) to watch. I NEED YOUR HELP!

Lastly...

Freya, Hrist and Alicia (Valkyrie Profile 2): I love everything about Freya, the way she looks, talks and fights. It's all so insanely badass and graceful I'm sad there isn't MORE with her. No matter what, if she's in your party, you will win. I like Hrist because she went from this, crazy chick valkyrie in VP1 to a more human and likable character in VP2. There was always this area of doubt in her mind that was evident from the beginning, watching her go along with your party and cause some seriously wicked events was great. Alicia is like Mercedes in a sense, which is why I like her. Starts out as this pacifist crybaby that can't do anything (which I hated) but turns into a strong warrior who understands the need for fighting, and didn't even hesitate to give her soul up. Valkyrie is also a huge badass, with Nibelung Valesti 3 (finally!)

TL;DR

I say badass a lot.

[Charismatic]

Mint from Threads of Fate... by far.
BEST. CHARACTER. EVER.


2nd favorite is probably Prishe, mostly because she reminded me of Mint in many ways >.>

[Yuri-G]

Mmm, I almost put Mint in there because she's just so goddamn funny, but I just started playing ToF last weekend and the second dungeon pissed me off so bad that I precluded her out of spite. I don't know why on Earth the developers thought it would be fun to include a dungeon where every single hallway looks the same - Rue even admits it if you talk to him in a side passageway!

Forgot about Odin Sphere, I would put Velvet on my list but all those times she wimped out in front of her grandpa were disappointing enough to keep her off.

I didn't even think about Suikoden, I'll have to ponder that for a while and come back, since there are, you know, around 500 characters to choose from at this point? More if you include NPCs.

[Rokku]

Dekar (Lufia 2) - Not a whole lot to say about him, other than he always struck me as one of the coolest characters in an RPG back then, period. Any man manly enough to wear a pink ribbon is a man's man for sure.

Kefka (FF6) - Kefka redefined what a villain meant to me as a kid. You grew up in an age of evil bad guy begins his plot for world domination, etc, etc. And Kefka just totally broke that mold in the sense that he wasn't a by-the-books villain. He started out as an assistant to what we all thought was the real bad guy, then just went totally over the edge.

Nikki (Mana Khemia) - I have a thing for strong, outspoken women, to put it plainly. I just liked her character and the way she was written as well. Probably one of my favorite female characters in any RPG I've played.

Rei (Breath of Fire 3) - Rei was just badass. Enough said. I loved his carefree attitude, and he was a surprisingly deep character, for as shallow as I thought he'd end up being. "Don't that beat all." was one of my favorite lines from a character in a game, and the fact that his steal command had him literally saying "I'll take that!" was just = win.

Laharl (Disgaea) - I've played through every Disgaea game, and most of the N1 games that involve the series, and I just don't think I've ever liked an Overlord more than Laharl. Sure, his NA voice actor in the original release was pretty awful, but he was still an amazing character. He was the kind of quirky that you usually see more in the bad guys than in the main character. Laharl was badass.

Magus (Chrono Trigger) - Magus was just cool. The bad guy turned good guy who was still a bad good guy? He had such an interesting backstory, and he was just an amazingly complex character, what with his particular motivations for killing Lavos. There was an interesting depth to him, and a kind of acidic edge to his personality. That, and using a scythe and shadow magic, it was just too cool for words.


I'm sure there's probably more if I think about it, but I'm not going to type forever. That being said, though, even though I've played every FF game that's been made, very few of SE's characters make it anywhere near what I'd consider my favorite characters. I dunno, maybe it's just that SE perpetuates the same stereotypes in it's characters so much that they just feel stale.

[Krandor]

Most of my favorite characters aren't from RPGs but w/e

Kefka (FF6)
Locke (FF6)
Dante (DMC)
Paul Phoenix (Tekken)
Col. Volgin (MGS3)
Kratos (God of War)

[Yuri-G]

I'll agree on Kefka. No matter what people say about how he's overrated or whatever, the fact remains that he broke the mold for videogame villains.

Hell, most of the cast of FF6 could go on my list, especially Celes and Locke. I loved their little romance, it was pretty understated but that's the beauty of it. I think the ending made it quite clear that they end up together.

I also want to add Kid from Chrono Cross to my list. Mostly because I wanted to add Schala from Chrono Trigger but she doesn't get enough screen time to justify it, and then in Chrono Cross you have Schala in your party for a huge portion of the game and have no idea. Plus that strong women thing again.

Oh, and Fran from FFXII, solely for her accent.

[Elesirdur]

For an RPG I'm going to throw out Balthier. Even though he was a bit of a stock trope of a character, his snarky but ethical demeanor really spoke to me. I will also gush a bit more about FFXII and say that Ashe was a great female lead who's character mixed the brash impeteousness of youth with the sorrow of being a widow before her 20th birthday (not to mention SE did a great job at making her a very physically attractive character.) Granted, I'm not big into JRPGs, but FFXII always intrigued me because I liked the characters and story so much.

However, I still think that Manuel "Manny" Calevera from 'Grim Fandango' is my favourite video game character. He is an earnest everyman who's noble deeds are not motivated by noble intentions, and the player feels for every tough decision he has to make in his journey through the 9th underworld. A lot of credit in Grim Fandango goes to both the excellent voice acting (performed mostly by a Mexican-American Shakespeare troupe) and the juxtaposition of the surreal landscape and environments with very real and, dare I say it, lifelike characters who all have their own loves, losses, and struggles in the Land of the Dead.

On the villan side, I think I'll have to nominate SHODAN from System Shock 2. The reveal half way through the game that the lone human concact you have on the Von Braun actually isn't alive and is just SHODAN using you as a puppet is just amazing interactive storytelling. Arriving on Deck 4 hoping to finally see Dr. Polito, you see the telltale signs of the Many infesting her hiding spot, each step an aggonizing eternity for the player who now suspects the worst; that Polito may be dead and you are truly alone. I was absolutely shattered when I finally found Polito slumped, dead, in her chair and to hear SHODAN's crackling voice taunting you just fills you with hatred.

The Polito form is dead, insect. Are you afraid? What is it you fear? The end of your trivial existence? W-when the history of my glory is written, your species shall only be a footnote to my magnificence. I am SHODAN.

The player now has a real emotional reason to go out and fuck up SHODAN, not just because the game says you should but becaus you want to see that AI destroyed and to survive.

[Waef]

Mmm, I almost put Mint in there because she's just so goddamn funny, but I just started playing ToF last weekend and the second dungeon pissed me off so bad that I precluded her out of spite. I don't know why on Earth the developers thought it would be fun to include a dungeon where every single hallway looks the same - Rue even admits it if you talk to him in a side passageway!

Which dungeon was that? It's been so long since I've played that game. Is it the spooky haunted mansion or whatever?

And Mint was pretty funny, but I also found her annoying at times >_< although

Spoiler: show

gold magic

was pretty awesome.

I'm gonna have to agree with Beatrix being awesome though.

[Ramor]

Nel (SO3)
Auron (FFX)
Nightmare (Soul Calibur series)

<3 em, not so much the big swords, but generally their attitudes and overall fighting styles, not to mention Auron being totally dead was awesome.

[Yuri-G]

Which dungeon was that? It's been so long since I've played that game. Is it the spooky haunted mansion or whatever?

And Mint was pretty funny, but I also found her annoying at times >_< although

Spoiler: show

gold magic

was pretty awesome.

I'm gonna have to agree with Beatrix being awesome though.

Nah, it's the underground cavern with green walls, second level. It's pretty frustrating, especially with the fixed camera angles - they make backtracking near impossible since your character stays at the bottom of the screen, so you have no idea what's directly in front of you if you're trying to go back instead of forward. Annoying as hell.

[JetEnduro]

Albedo from Xenosaga.
He's a lunatic fucker.

[Arnwulf]

Balthier from FFXII is definitely up at the top of my list.

I'm also a big fan of Yuri from Shadow Hearts 1 & 2.

Jansen from Lost Odyssey is up there too.

[Yuri-G]

Balthier from FFXII is definitely up at the top of my list.

I'm also a big fan of Yuri from Shadow Hearts 1 & 2.

Jansen from Lost Odyssey is up there too.

[Alcarin]

Cloud: i love that char and how he develops in the ffvii story.

Sephiroth: same as cloud same reasons.

Solid Snake (Jack): Well he is an outstanding char, above all, he is very vulnerable, deadly plus patriot i loved mgs3 ending.

Samus: love her, and better without the suit.

Kratos: is a nice bady, a nice char who love power,

Yuna: FFX love her story

Link: no reasons

Anakin Skywalker going into the darkside, his emo change was very impresive,