[Vyse]

I've always liked characters like Jecht, Gladiolus, and Auron, which fit into the Tank archetype of fantasy characters, notably carrying a two-handed sword or greatsword. The idea of forgoing a shield that kind of gives off the impression they're more seasoned warriors, being able to take more hits with increased HP and strength.

I also like an unorthodox use of the sword, so while this is a little off-topic bear with me, a great example would be Starkiller from The Force Unleashed who carries his lightsaber in a reverse-grip stance, which seems incredibly risky but also just looks really cool.

What say you, D-Pad?

 

[Vyse]

Man, I want to live in the alternate timeline where Square Enix released Final Fantasy X-3. This company is so weird with sequels. Great artists and story/scenario designers but management is, well, I guess what you'd expect from a merger.

On topic, I also always liked Sora's visual redesign in Kingdom Hearts II. It's more unique than the original and Sora himself is another somewhat similar archetype in how he wields his weapon using both hands.

 

[Franky Family]

I don't look too much into it tbh, but one thing I know for certain is that I gravitate towards the most complete heroes that do the most. I learned this about my preferences from playing SSBU, where I almost always reach for the heroic characters and never the villains. Even though in games, villains tend to interest me more...

As far as JRPGs, my preference is the steadfast tough protagonist. Doesn't have to say as much as the others in the crew, but I prefer the protagonist to be one that hardly ever falters. Like Cloud Strife, he's one of my favorites if not my favorite, even though he had stumbled a bit towards the latter portion of FFVII. In my mind, the leader has to be on another level, and it has to show occasionally if not often throughout the story. That final moment in FFVII where Cloud uses Omnislash on Sephiroth as the final blow to end him was epic. Overall, characters with plenty of depth and things that make them come alive in their respective games are what I gravitate towards. Like to use FFVII as an example again, Yuffie is a character I can do without. Not a horrible character, but at the end of the game it's like okay what was the point of her character outside of the obvious being a part of the team and useful towards achieving the outcome of saving the world? Characters with weak backstories who aren't operating with strong motives driving them, those kinds of characters are the worst. But not every character is going to be strong or well liked

 

[Alcedor]

I generally like quick, fast attackers. Tidus with quick hit. Crono with a high-speed stat. I like aggressive attackers that keep the pressure on and never give the enemy a chance to breathe. In terms of design, I generally like one handed sword users. I really like Lightning's design in the Final Fantasy games. I don't usually go for magic users, though warrior/magic hybrids can be fun like Cidolfus Orlandeau. There's something indescribably badass to me about holy warriors, like these guys:

Character-wise, I don't know. I guess I like mature, kindhearted leaders and older characters. Welkin Gunther is one of my favorite JRPG protagonists. I also really liked Basch fon Ronsenburg. I don't like goofy, silly types all that much unless they are genuinely funny. There're just too many goofy characters in anime and Japanese video games. I think I'm drawn to mature characters also because there is such an over emphasis on youth in JRPGs. Characters like Auron from FF X and Basch fon Ronsenburg from FF XII are so refreshing. I can't stand the Persona games.

I also generally don't like silent protagonists, though maybe I'll give Chrono from Chrono Trigger a pass. I just generally find them too bland and boring. It's like when writers are too lazy to actually write a character, so they give us "the silent protagonist".

 

[Franky Family]

My favorite JRPG is still Paper Mario and I kind of doubt I'll play a finer, more charming, well-rounded rpg such as that game. But Mario as the protagonist outside of battling doesn't do much besides make an expression here and there. He's mainly battling and progressing while the other characters carry the entire adventure and story. But the characters in Paper Mario, they're like 99% light humor. They're all easy going and fun, most of them. So in JRPGs, I think having fun characters who are capable of providing a nice dose of comedic relief is a game changer. Funny moments in rpgs can even carry a mediocre game, like in the case of Paper Mario: The Origami King. Add some depth to a dozen or so characters and I believe the rest will take care of itself if the game is firing from all angles. JRPGs are interesting to me because I feel like developers have to bring a ton to the game coming from every category within the game to make things stick since these games last a very long time. This is the genre that brings adventures to life the best imo. So far no preference in character archetypes, as long as those you play as are capable and push the narrative in the right direction then I'm satisfied there

But I suppose that I do like characters with an air of mystery or some kind of agenda though, if the game has any of those. Like the mayor in that first village in Final Fantasy IX, I distinctly remember wondering about him because he was suspicious. Or Pennington in Paper Mario, he was a great character and even though a detective, it made you wonder about him. Secretive characters are interesting in rpgs, characters that you think might be up to something. Like those types of characters a lot. Oldschool games were great at creating strange and suspicious characters unintentionally I think though; due to graphics and the dialogue for characters being a bit brief. The imagination runs wild when there's less and the right things are said

 

[Neil Young]

Titties
In
Fucking
Abundance

I like that. When playing FF7 remake, I started to really hate cloud for not jumping her bones constantly. Anywho, I still appreciate that jrpgs can still portray an attractive woman.

 

[HE1NZ]

Tifa has some iconic designs. I agree with the previous orator.

 

[ExpandKong]

Best black mage is Lulu from FFX

Best paladin gotta be Beatrix from FF9

Y'all already pickin up what I'm throwing down here