Rank the FF8 Characters!

[Dale]

This is the second of my series of threads and polls, asking all of you for your personal rankings of the characters from each FF game in the numbered games. You can base them on personality, usefulness in gameplay, relevance to the story (although I guess the True Casts already do that), general enjoyment of each character, or even frivolous things such as their character themes. Whatever you want to base them on. Also included is a poll on which you can vote for your absolute favorite from each game.

This is my second one. It's for FF8! And I'm only ranking the six MAIN characters, not the other three. And I ask that you all do the same.

So here are my rankings:

1. Selphie: This was actually a hard game to rank because it's probably the one game in the whole series in which I don't really love anybody, though I like most of the characters. But Selphie gets the benefit of being the game's "perky young girl" character, so she gets to be on the top. I like her spunk, I like her energy, I like how she can find a way to make light of any situation, and, hell, I even like her love of trains! And yeah, I even like the one thing about her Bob mentioned in the True Cast -- that she's the first true female main character to have a male love interest! Except for a few situations, Selphie made me smile each time she came on-screen, and I generally enjoyed her. So I put her first.

2. Zell: First and second were actually neck-and-neck for me, but Selphie barely edged Zell out. But I liked Zell's own energy. I liked his funny movements and reactions (especially when he was surprised, and particularly when he realized he recognized the D-District prison). I liked his overexuberant celebrations ("OHHHHHHHH, YEEEEAAAAHHHH!"), and I liked seeing him get screwed out of hotdogs every single time. But I also liked his arc, in which he went from immature firecracker who couldn't lead to save his life to . . . well . . . less immature firecracker who could at least be trusted to lead. I even liked both times he was the leader! I basically liked his general positivity (which turned into negativity each time Seifer was around), so he's in second place.

3. Quistis: Yeah, from a story perspective, she was useless after a while, except for the time she led in the Deling City sewer. I just liked her understated calmness and maturity she showed in the face of her mostly immature friends. And I liked how a lot of it just rolled off her back, basically. Plus, there was her simple "Not anymore," given when Seifer asks her if she's still his dearest student. No anger, no resentment, just basically saying, "You suck, Seifer" in her own, calm, Quistis way. My only beef with her is that any real potential for an actual character arc for her was wasted. Not her fault, but simply the designers', but still, Quistis's potential was wasted, so she's down here in third place.

4. Rinoa: Given my resentment of her and Squall pretty much eating the remainder of the story from the end of disc two and on, I am actually very surprised I'm being so generous and putting her here. But I am. I quite enjoyed Rinoa and the two sides of her -- her tough-as-nails, no-nonsense side, as well as her softer, typical-teenage-girl side. It seems like nothing can bring her down. And then, she becomes a feared sorceress and faces an imminent sealing, and we can finally, finally see her vulnerable side. While I didn't care much the first time I watched it, my heart broke for her the second time when it finally hit me how scared and distraught she was over it. Beyond that, I liked her unique Limit involving Angelo. I don't think anyone ever used a dog in battle before, and no one has since. So yeah. Liked her enough to save her from the bottom two. Fourth place for her.

5. Irvine: Really not a whole lot to say here. I did like Irvine, but not as much as the three above. I enjoyed his ladies' man moments, and his attempts to woo Selphie. One reason he's down here, though, is because there really isn't much to him, aside from the things I mentioned. Other than his assassination screw-up, he's got ZERO storyline of his own. That said, his personality was at least a pleasant one, compared to the one below. So he's in fifth place.

6. Squall: Is it any surprise? I'll start off with his good qualities. He has a well-rounded character arc, for sure, and he's a beast in battle, which is fitting for the protagonist. But . . . I just don't like him. I'm not into the brooding, emo types of heroes (and you'll see another hero just like that on the bottom of a later poll). Turning into such a loner just over losing his "Sis," trying to brush off any attempt at anyone trying to be friends with him, not keeping up well with conversations, suddenly yelling and running out of a room in the middle of a conversation, his basic negativity . . . ugh. His love story with Rinoa was pretty much the only redeeming quality about him, but other than that, I just didn't like Squall. Still don't. At least I don't hate him anymore (and the love story is the reason why), but as of now . . . he's still the one character in this game I didn't like. So he's sixth and last.

But these are just my rankings. How about everyone else's?

[wyvernxk7]

LAGUNA!

[countlieberkuhn]

I think it was a good choice to only include the main 6, because otherwise Laguna would probably have a landslide victory.

I'm gonna need some time to think about the rest of these characters though, because like Dale, I like most of the main 6 but none of them stand out. I'm even struggling to think of who to put first.

[wyvernxk7]

Yeah, same here - I've really grown to like all of them, even ol' Mister Surly (his new official name?).

[Dale]

Okay, this is for ranking, not just posting.

[countlieberkuhn]

But just so... damn... good at derailing threads here at TGP!

[Dale]

Not looking for derailment, though.

[Bob]

Aha! Aha! Now YOU, Dale, are derailing the conversation!

Gotcha!



Don't forget, Dale, a thing like this takes time to create. They're making friendly conversation for now, commenting on your picks and their future picks. If you want straight polls and such, go for a bigger forum. We're a forum of banter.

My picks will go up soon, I'm just commenting for now while I think about my picks and read yours.

[Bob]

Jun 1, 2012 13:18:46 GMT -8 Dale said:

4. Rinoa: ...I don't think anyone ever used a dog in battle before, and no one has since.

Just sayin'.

Okay, making my picks. This IS a tough one though. . . .

[Dale]

I almost said Shadow. But I meant as an intentional action. Interceptor comes and helps Shadow randomly and not within the player's control. You can control when Angelo helps Rinoa.

[Bob]

FF8 is a game that I can totally skip the whole "in battle" option. Squall is the best, Rinoa is I guess for magic, but seriously, they're all interchangeable. Limits are all that make them unique and while FF8 DOES have the most exploitable limit break system, between Zell's combo loop and Quistis's Degenerator level-up trick, you can play uniquely with different people, but point being, no battle in my decision.

Crap, no Laguna, eh? Uhhhhhhhh... As of now, I currently have my last place pick, but nothing else because I just don't know. This is not a landslide victory, but I suppose I'll go with...uhhhh....

1. Zell: Like Dale, it's really close between Zell and Selphie. I originally put Selphie in fact, but I think Zell was just the most fun. He's quirky, but he totally makes sense. He doesn't dress or act like a SeeD, so nobody really looks twice at him, but there's a good reason he is a SeeD. I also love how he's affected when he blows it on live TV. He is so bummed out because his first big mission and he blows it almost immediately. I think he really comes around as a character and a leader as of that point, proving himself to be a useful second to Squall and not just a hot dog loving, hand wiping, OHHHH YEAAAAHHHH saying guy.

2. Selphie. She's cheerful and fun, but also kind of isolated. Seriously, she hangs out by herself a lot. Squall may be the emo one, but Selphie is pretty closed off. I think the story would've been really interesting from a Booyaka perspective. She hides on the train instead of being in the conversation, she works on her garden festival committee in Balamb, she's just kind of a lonewolf, but nobody leaves her alone. I'm really pretty sure her persona is a face she puts on. Point is, FF8-2 will have Selphie the serial killer. I like Selphie, I just tend to hate her weapon, limit breaks, hair-flippy, and..yeah, she doesn't make it into my party often.

3. Squall: Yep, he's #3, though it's kind of as a joke. Not joke like "ohh that Bob, putting him at #3," but in the sense that he's a hilarious character. Between all the face-palming he does while running around to save the world with a bunch of idiots (You said WHAT on live TV, Zell!? You can't do WHAT, Irvine the sniper? Your kidnapping plan is WHAT, Rinoa? You spent time on WHAT concert, Selphie? You're WHERE, Quistis?) and all of the long, uncomfortable pauses, I kinda crack the hell up at Squall. Seriously, I love how the team reacts when he's thinking. He misses HUGE portions of conversations. It's amazing he's an effective leader at all. "I DON'T WANT TO BE FORGOTTEN!" Aside from that, he's a good leader and I do like his plot arc, I just hate the love story. "Rinoa. You love RINOA." "...." "R.I.N.O.A." "....Rin..." "Good try! Now just Oah! Oah!" "Oah rin. Oarin. Auron!" "...It can't be helped. We all love Auron."

4. Rinoa: I really like Rinoa's character, I just wish she didn't like Squall because she squanders her good personality on him. She's an entitled princess that wants to be a rebel to show her daddy who's boss, but...she's really not a great rebel. And then she's a sorceress and suddenly wishes she didn't have the powa. I'd rank her higher, but she's largely the thing I don't like about FF8. I'm not a love story kind of guy, especially one that seems too forced.

5. Irvine: Irvine is probably the first of these characters that I'd actually put on a lower peg. The rest of them as characters are 7s or MAYBE 8s, but Irvine is the first definite 6. Initially, I loved Irvine. The cool sniper guy. Then, he lames out and that's that. I know it's his Matron and all that, but the second he fails to shoot Edea, he loses all credibility. He goes on with all this "guns and women" crap, but who could take him seriously after that? "You like guns? Oh, neat. Maybe you'll learn how to SHOOT one someday." "You like women? Oh, neat. Maybe you'll learn how to SHOOT one someday." (See what I did there?)

6. Quistis: This was my easiest decision by far. I don't like Quistis. She was awesome at first. REALLY awesome. GET MY HOPES UP awesome. The look she gives the battle-wounded-after-Seifer-showdown Squall, the sexy blonde with the whip, the young instructor, the blasting-the-shit-out-of-XATM chick... Man, I loved her. And then, she went from 60 to pathetic in no time flat when she's like "Squaaaall? I...no, I too embarrassed....Okay here go! Squaaall? I think you're.....cuuuuuuute!" Blarg and a half! It was so random, it was never brought up again, she just dumped it and became about as helpful as a...umm...something unhelpful.

....But yeah, if the trio were here, then my top three would be Laguna, Ward, and Kiros, in that order.

[Fleck]

Yeah, this one isn't an easy one for me either. It's really hard to rate characters when, like Bob said, they're so interchangeable in so many ways. But here we go:

1= Zell
Pretty much everything I want to say about Zell has already been said. Zell is one of those rare FF characters who has characterization without relying on backstory. Usually FFs try to develop character by filling out the events of a characters past. But really, aside from the orphanage and whatnot, we really don't know much about Zell, yet he is still a very iconic and recognizable character because of his strong personality.

2= Squall
I'm probably going to be the only one who puts Squall so high on this list, aren't I? Don't get me wrong, it's not because I particularly like Squall or anything, it's just that I like the other characters less. When I was younger I strongly identified with antisocial and abrasive people, so Squall was my favorite for quite some time. But I have never (and still do not) fully understand the mechanics of his conversion from Disk 1/2 "Asshole Squall" to Disk 3/4 "Lovebird Squall." I recently replayed FF8 and looked for hints that Squall was attracted to Rinoa and there is really nothing. Bob's True Cast has already talked about this, so I won't rant too much, but Squall really is two different characters, depending on which disk you're playing.

3= Selphie
I... guess I like Selphie in third place. I've always just kind of thought it was weird that FF8 has essentially two non-serious characters in the main cast. But while the other semi-silly character Zell eventually gains a couple layers of complexity (especially when you go into his room and talk about his grandfather and whatnot), Selphie never really goes beyond just being a cheerful girl. There's a lot of hints that suggest that there's more going on to Selphie, but the Squall/Rinoa Romance Monster devours all possible Selphie plotlines and we're left with nothing but speculation.

4= Irvine
I have very little to say. Irvine manufactures a persona of the "lonely sniper" so that he can lure women. Whether or not this persona is genuine is subject to debate. Like with Selphie, there are hints that there's more going on to Irvine than there initially seems, but then the Squall/Rinoa Romance Monster comes and nothing remains but the persona. Is Irvine really a good guy? We don't really know.

5= Rinoa
Really, Rinoa could be put in any position on this list and my answer would be "meh, okay." First? Meh, okay. Last? Meh, okay. 5th? Meh, okay. Even though she occupies half of the aforementioned Romance Monster, the majority of the story is told through Squall's perspective and using his internal dialog, so even she is somewhat underdeveloped by comparison. I put her way down on this list because I don't fully understand her attraction to Squall. Why? Because he's cute? Because he's strong? Because he's hard to get? In fact, the whole romance of this story confuses me, which is really bad considering the romance is arguably the whole point of the game. For making me angry, Rinoa takes 5th.

6= Quistis
Quistis and Amarant should start a club: the "Underdeveloped Characters' Club." Their motto should be "We exist too!" Because that's... all they do. They exist. You can put them in your party. You can equip them with stuff. They have lines of dialog. They roll down stairs, alone or in pairs, or over your neighbor's dog. For being a log, log, log, Quistis takes last. Sorry, hotness is temporary, boredom is forever.

[Dale]

Jun 1, 2012 22:29:29 GMT -8 Fleck said:

But while the other semi-silly character Zell eventually gains a couple layers of complexity (especially when you go into his room and talk about his grandfather and whatnot), Selphie never really goes beyond just being a cheerful girl.

Wait, you can go into his room?! I thought you can't! Especially since he says it's, like, sacred or private to him or something!

[Fleck]

Only once. When Balamb is being occupied by Galbadia, before you fight Fujin and Raijin for the first time, Zell will let you into his room, since the hotel is closed. There you can rest and save (I think). If you examine stuff in his room, he talks about his grandpa (I think) who was a soldier that Zell deeply admires. It's a pretty nifty bit of backstory on him, unfortunately it doesn't really last very long. He says a couple of things and leaves.


EDIT: Here's a video.


I've never actually seen all the reactions before. This video is pretty cool.

[Bob]

I remember going into Zell's room when playing this as a kid and thinking "why does Zell use his fists when those guns are hanging on the walls?" ....I suppose I still think that. Why DOESN'T he? Punching robots has GOT to take its toll eventually!