More Female Main Protagonists In Final Fantasy

[jazzflower92]

I was just thinking since Final Fantasy XIII came out I was wondering about maybe the series could use more female main characters.I mean its not a complaint but I just want more games from a female point of view.Besides they don't all have to be like Lightening because I would find it fun if a female character based on Aerith's personality could actually be the main lead.

What I mean by that is a plucky female lead who is very feminine but can also be a bit of a tease.Not to mention be tough when the time comes to it.And she doesn't have to be all angsty all the time as well but be a bit of a person who is a demininator who never gives up no matter the circumstances.

Just wondering what would you think of more female protaganists in the Final Fantasy series.

 

[Cthulhu]

I approve, if they're done right and non-stereotypical, . I like Lightning, for example, well done character.

I would also remark on VI, but it's up for debate whether that one actually has something like a 'lead' character. Actually, that could be said for pretty much every FF title since IX; VII, VIII and IX all had definitive (male) leads with the rest of the group being side characters.

In X, though, the person people would at first glance identify as the main character (Tidus) actually plays a relatively minor role in the game's overarching story (and/or he's not as prolific as the rest of the cast); after the introduction, the story is mainly about Yuna and her quest. X-2 does put her forward more as the main character, although I can't really comment on that in terms of the entire story because I couldn't stand it, .

The same applies to XII, imho; Vaan is basically Tidus 2.0 but with even less of a story of his own, the rest of the cast take away the story and more interesting personalities.

And XIII, well, it has Lightning as its defining character and she's on the box, but

Spoiler: FFXIII ending spoiler

she doesn't turn into a giant tentacled monstrosity and saves the world by tentacle raping it, . She plays a minor role in the sequel, too

.

So on the one side, yes. On the other, I quite like how Square, in its later games, doesn't really point out one character as the main character, and spreads the lurve over the entire cast.

 

[ForceStealer]

What I mean by that is a plucky female lead who is very feminine but can also be a bit of a tease.Not to mention be tough when the time comes to it.And she doesn't have to be all angsty all the time as well but be a bit of a person who is a demininator who never gives up no matter the circumstances..

That sounds like X-2 Yuna to me.

I certainly wouldn't have any problems with it. I really liked Lightning, and I loved Celes...who is one of the candidate's for VI's main character anyway.

I don't think Square has particularly shied away from female characters, but for all the complaints that video game companies don't use more female characters (which is true), I can kinda understand why they don't. It seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation to me. Everyone is so concerned that a female character will be stereotyped, you can't win.
If she EVER gets into any kind of trouble, she's a weak damsel in distress (see: most). But if she's tough and headstrong, she's either too manly, or the developers were "trying too hard" (see Lightning). If she's flirtatious or scantily clad, she represents objectification.

I could see why some developers would rather just not bother. Using all the EXACT same character archetypes on male characters doesn't draw the criticism it does for a female. There's that image on the internet about story-writers "overthinking" female characters, that to do it best you just write them as a character. And that's true, but any kind of character flaw seems to get called out as some kind of stereotype of women. But as I say, SE has never seemed to concerned about it. There haven't been that many female MAIN FF characters, true. But there have been several in their other games (e.g. Aya) and FF has a lot of memorable, hugely important females.

So on the one side, yes. On the other, I quite like how Square, in its later games, doesn't really point out one character as the main character, and spreads the lurve over the entire cast.

Also this.

 

[jazzflower92]

I also want a female character who might actually have a romantic subplot with a villain.I sorta of have a thing for dating catwoman relationships and would like to see an official main couple actually be a villian/heroine pairing.I guess I just like seeing villians and heroines paired up together.Bonus points if its an interspecies relationship or the male villian is a little bit older.

In my personal opinion I prefer my female characters to be modest wearing.I also think it would be fun to see more male Mystical Waifs.

But yeah sometimes its hard to write for female characters because of the backlash but the thing one must remember is you can't please everyone and at least you did your best.Besides I think female characters shake up the formula sometimes and makes one how to think outside the box.

 

[Octo]

Personally I'd like to see more main characters of both sexes over the age of 30 but I doubt that would happen. It would just be nice if the games I loved could grow up with me

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Recent FF games have put female characters in main roles a lot more. X and XII had them play the central roles in their stories, while X-2, XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns feature them as the actual POV characters. Dissidia 012 did this to a great extent as well.

Really, if the FF developers are trying to meet a quota or change the landscape/get people off their backs, they should have largely succeeded at this point.

I would like to include "Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday" in the positive side of this assessment, but that game sucked, and was actually perceived to be regressive of female portrayals by quite a few. I wish the "I'm breaking up with you, Square Enix" letter was still around on the old Midgar-Rock site ("The 3rd Birthday" led directly to the site being abandoned), but most of the sentiments expressed therein can still be found in Tumblr posts that the site's owner left behind.

I don't agree with all of her grievances -- mainly, I find notions that fetishizing/sexualizing someone is equivalent to demeaning, disrespecting and objectifying them to be utterly fucktarded -- but she made some solid points on why this game was a failure.

Personally I'd like to see more main characters of both sexes over the age of 30 but I doubt that would happen. It would just be nice if the games I loved could grow up with me

There's a bigger need for this than anything else, I think.

 

[jazzflower92]

You know what what would be fun if there was a Final Fantasy game that was the equivalent of Skies of Arcadia.

For those who don't know what that game is it came out in 2000 and its wasreally popular at the time because they actually did not copy Final Fantasy 7's dark and edgy story formula but chose to go back to actually making the RPG formula light hearted without subverting the tropes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skies_of_Arcadia

The reason why I mentioned the game is because I like the female main character and I think it would be fun if they made a female main Final Fantasy character that was just like her.The name of the red headed character is named Aika she is like if Pipi Longstocking walked into a RPG game.

Basically I would actually like to see a reconstruction of the RPG formula with a female lead in it.

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

she is like if Pipi Longstocking walked into a RPG game.

Ever played Mother 1?

 

[jazzflower92]

Ever played Mother 1?

Nope.

But I was thinking that maybe they should have a black female main character.If you think about it they never really had any black characters around except in VII and XIII.It would be fun if they were killing two birds with one stone by having a black character who is female.And I hope its not a one deminsional stereotype because I would cringe.Although with Barret they seem to actually give him some depth instead of just going the lazy route of making him just a flat Mr.T expy.

Then again this is could me just be dreaming because since they rarely do any black characters it would probably not happen.Its funny that there are never any RPG games that are based on African settings.In my opinion Africa is just full of untapped potential to use because of its many cultures and countries.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

If they want more interesting female characters, they need to hire more women writers.

But seriously, guys, women are just people. Personally I've read plenty of novels where men wrote totally convincing and non-stereotyped women characters, and I've always been struck by the number of strong women characters in the games I've played, so it's not as if men can't "create" women, so to speak. But the execs need to give the writers a free hand and not try to second-guess what the punters want. The visual design of these girls may be fan service, true, but come on, all the guys in ACC were also fanservice, especially Reno with his come-to-bed eyes.

I too would like to see some older badass women. How about a female Cid next time?

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Cidney? Gets my vote.

 

[jazzflower92]

If they want more interesting female characters, they need to hire more women writers.

But seriously, guys, women are just people. Personally I've read plenty of novels where men wrote totally convincing and non-stereotyped women characters, and I've always been struck by the number of strong women characters in the games I've played, so it's not as if men can't "create" women, so to speak. But the execs need to give the writers a free hand and not try to second-guess what the punters want. The visual design of these girls may be fan service, true, but come on, all the guys in ACC were also fanservice, especially Reno with his come-to-bed eyes.

I too would like to see some older badass women. How about a female Cid next time?

You are defiantly speaking what I am getting at.I really do think maybe they could hire more female writers.But at the same time there are male writers who really know how to make believable female characters.I think the critera is the fact that how strong are they at writing females and if they can be related to by by both genders of the audience.

Although you are right about the men they can be just pure fanservice espically if they are the main villain.If you really want to attract a female base then make the villian a hot guy.Hey,you know what they say a lot of girls do want bad boys.

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

Go play Mother 1. or at least EarthBound. But you'll understand my question if you play Mother 1.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Hey,you know what they say a lot of girls do want bad boys.

Going by all the yaoi fanfiction (guilty) and all the het-love-interest bashing that goes along with it (not guilty), it seems as if it's more often the women gamers who hate on the female characters.

 

[jazzflower92]

Going by all the yaoi fanfiction (guilty) and all the het-love-interest bashing that goes along with it (not guilty), it seems as if it's more often the women gamers who hate on the female characters.

Yeah,the yaoi fan girls they tend to be very loud about their obsession with pairing the main hero and the main villain.Case in point the huge amout of Cleripoth fanfictions.Then again the spinoffs do kinda of make Sephiroth a little too obsessed with Cloud.

Then again if you look around the fandom there is also the good amount of mary sue stand ins that pair up with many male characters.So,maybe its just one of those regular cases of Die For Our Ship.

Another case is the fact that my gender tend to be most critical of one another.I can say that as a female we tend to be very atagonistic towards each other sometimes.

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

Yeah,the yaoi fan girls they tend to be very loud about their obsession with pairing the main hero and the main villain.Case in point the huge amout of Cleripoth fanfictions.Then again the spinoffs do kinda of make Sephiroth a little too obsessed with Cloud.

Then again if you look around the fandom there is also the good amount of mary sue stand ins that pair up with many male characters.So,maybe its just one of those regular cases of Die For Our Ship.

Another case is the fact that my gender tend to be most critical of one another.I can say that as a female we tend to be very atagonistic towards each other sometimes.

There seem to be moar Clacks than Clephiroths.

 

[jazzflower92]

There seem to be moar Clacks than Clephiroths.

You learn something new everyday.Then again Cloud and Zack had a very close bromance.

However,I do think it would have been interesting if Aerith was the main character instead of Cloud.Although that would mean Cloud would have been the one to be killed in her place.

 

[ForceStealer]

Personally I'd like to see more main characters of both sexes over the age of 30 but I doubt that would happen. It would just be nice if the games I loved could grow up with me

One of the big reasons FF7 resonated with me more than a lot of other similar games at the time was that the cast was over 20. Sure that's still young, but it's at least enough for Cloud and such to actually have had some military training, some backstory, etc.
But yeah, we're gonna have to look to the West for older characters - besides awesome side characters like Auron, Balthier, Cid, etc.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

On fan-fic stuff: I think a lot of it has to do with assumptions. I'm from the opposite end of the spectrum and tend to assume relationships are platonic unless the characters or Word of God says otherwise. The majority of fan-ficiton authors on the other hand... oh boy... lets just say their are several fandoms (FFXIII for example) that I would like to get into because I like the canon characters, but don't because of how 90% of fan-fic authors portray/ship them.

Mini-rant over. On topic.

Part of the problem with having a strong female lead is being able to make the audience go "I know someone in real life who would do that in that situation." In this, Lighting was a success. She is the tough-as-nails female cop whose sister got into trouble and she's going after her. However, most woman (for better or worse) aren't like that. Lighting is an exception, not a rule. For better or worse, woman are more likely to follow a guy's lead, then a guy will follow a girl's lead, why, I'm not going to guess. From personal experience, I know I have a strong personality and people have told me I'd be a good leader. However, I don't want to be a leader, or at least not most of the time; it's stressful; I much prefer to follow someone, but only if I agree with them. I've also noticed that often times, when there is a female lead, all the guys' raw strength is less then hers' is, probably to make her look better. The problem is that isn't how it is in real life and it only makes the girl's leadership fell more fake.

To be honest, I think SE has done a very good job of having strong female characters that are important to their games. The majority of SE girls are not just eye-candy to be paired with the main guy, they're a whole lot more then that. And some of them don't even fit the eye-candy bill (Rinoa, Yuffie, anyone?). Incidentally, a girl doesn't have to be a leader to have a strong character.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Maybe I've just known a lot of strong women in my life, Obsidian, but my experience has been very different and I just can't agree that "most women aren't like that". Partly because, well, woman can be anything, and secondly because any "heroic" video game protagonist is going to be a fairly atypical human being; I don't think we have to be able to compare them to somebody in our real lives in order to engage with them and empathise with them. For example, if Tidus has been a girl and Yuna had been a boy (like her father Braska) I'd have had no problems believing in them. If Fran had been the boy and Balthier had been the girl I'd have had no problems believing in them either. And I think most men with any confidence in themselves have no more problem following a worthy woman leader than they do following a man.

I totally agree that S-E has done a great job of having strong female characters.

 

[jazzflower92]

The one thing the reason I think Final Fantasy should have more main female protagonists is because I find Final Fantasy simliar to older fairy tales.Hear me out if you notice a lot of older uncensored fairy tales actually have a lot of emphasis on women who are active and have to earn hard to have their happy endings.I find in Final Fantasy the main chaaracters have to go through hardships and trials to get to their end goals.

I think actually if there is another female lead that there should be a fairy tale theme going on because fairy tales did have an emphasis on women identity and challenges.

 

[Alex Strife]

I think they shouldn't focus on there being women as main characters. They should simply write storylines that are believeable and engaging. Whether they choose to put a man or a woman in the main character's seat, it shouldn't matter, really. Maybe I'm biased, but... yeah, I don't really care.

That said, it's true that you can have a male brawler as a main character and do not look odd, but if you were to do the same with a woman, many would claim she was manly. So I guess you have to be careful when choosing her role. I, for one, think Cloud's role could have been played by a woman, in terms of power+personality. A woman who was strong yet not very confident who would have a man who's not as strong but perhaps more confident.

But then again, if I did something like that, women all over the world would claim I'm sexist because I'm trying to send the message that women can't be truly strong without men. So what do I know?

Besides, I liked Rinoa as well, so I think this should invalidate my whole comment

 

[jazzflower92]

I think they shouldn't focus on there being women as main characters. They should simply write storylines that are believeable and engaging. Whether they choose to put a man or a woman in the main character's seat, it shouldn't matter, really. Maybe I'm biased, but... yeah, I don't really care.

That said, it's true that you can have a male brawler as a main character and do not look odd, but if you were to do the same with a woman, many would claim she was manly. So I guess you have to be careful when choosing her role. I, for one, think Cloud's role could have been played by a woman, in terms of power+personality. A woman who was strong yet not very confident who would have a man who's not as strong but perhaps more confident.

But then again, if I did something like that, women all over the world would claim I'm sexist because I'm trying to send the message that women can't be truly strong without men. So what do I know?

Besides, I liked Rinoa as well, so I think this should invalidate my whole comment

I don't know it could be movitating a young woman with self esteem issues who learns to love herself and not let the big bad put her down because of her faults.It would she conquers her failings and finds her self worth through the power of her friends.This makes her into the true heroine that she has been striving for all this time.

 

[Alex Strife]

Well, fact is I do think like that. But I've seen women complaining about things that you wouldn't even guess. It can get exasperating, sometimes.

 

[jazzflower92]

Well, fact is I do think like that. But I've seen women complaining about things that you wouldn't even guess. It can get exasperating, sometimes.

As a species humans can never be sasitifed.Its a well known proven fact.

It would be fun to have a Final Fantasy game centered around the theme of womanhood.I mean the emphasis on what it truly means to be a woman wether its to be feminine or tomboyish.Maybe there should be a game that deconstructs the trope Real Women Don't Wear Dresses.

I think a main theme that actually that is best remembered with Cloud is that he has to learn to be himself rather than someone else.This could go with a female character who acts all tomboyish but really wants to be the feminine girl she is inside.That would actually show how just because one is feminine doesn't mean they are weak.