Your Favourite FFXIII character

[Lumina]

Um, there's a poll and people are saying their thoughts about a character. Why has this become a "WHY U HATE X CHARACTER?!" I mean whatever. I love Pink and Kripey doesn't. Should I fight with her because of it? NO.
And I like Snow for a tons of things....but his screams really drived me nuts.

Well I meant before that, with the whole Operation Nora. Then when she realized what he was up to, she discouraged him.
*is trying to recall the sequence of events*

I think he focused on his anger because it was easier than wallowing in guilt.

Yep, and he also stated later that it was the thing that helped him keep going on. I mean I am like that to. I need to focus on something to get it done...tho' not to that extreme.

I respect your opinion, I really do, but I think we must agree to disagree here. His character just did absolutely nothing for me personally. I really believe that he could have been far more interesting.

This. I loved this character but I think that he became irrelevant at some point. In my personal opinion I think that Sazh could've had even more development than what the writers/etc. gave him. He had a good story going on, but it all got lost with Vanille and Serah. I think he lost a lot of good potential. That's how I see it.

 

[ForceStealer]

@belle Oh I see what you meant. Still, when she got what was happening she tried to talk sense in to him. I might have taken the knife back though
Although I always wondered why Hope would continue to heal Snow in Combat . Guess HE wanted to do it. (An extension of Masa's question)

 

[Celes Chere]

FFXIII: SERIOUS BUSINESS.

 

[Roger]

Hope was blaming both the Sanctum and Snow for his Mother's death at the start of Chapter 7, then when Lightning told him to call it off, he kinda did listen to her. At first he wouldn't even talk about Snow and blamed him for what happened to Serah and Lightning too, but by the time he got onto the elevator he was "like Snow believed Serah didn't he [unlike you]?"

But then Snow came along and it was like
Snow: Leave the fighting to us dumb grown-ups
Hope: You think it's stupid to fight?
Snow: It is if you get killed
Snow: The army's no match for Nora, right?

And then he when he phoned Lightning he said he was gonna go through with it after all. The plotdriven dialogue was practically goating him into it.

And it's not like either Snow or Hope ever got the info that the Sanctum was gonna kill the Purgies anyway like Light did. From Hope's perspective they WERE just sitting there, being guarded by PSICOM who weren't threatening anyone that was cooperating before Snow decided to "help".

If either of them did know that, it was never reflected in the dialogue.

 

[Kobato]

I've never said he should shoot himself, I said he should pay attention.

No. But... other people have. ;__;

Anyways I don't care anymore. Haters gonna hate you know ?

Anyways like Noel said, this shouldn't turn into a " Why do you hate character X thread and just focus on the characters that we LOVE " <3

Um, there's a poll and people are saying their thoughts about a character. Why has this become a "WHY U HATE X CHARACTER?!" I mean whatever. I love Pink and Kripey doesn't. Should I fight with her because of it? NO.

^ Thiiiis.

 

[Flintlock]

Anyone seen this t-shirt? Haters gonna make some good points.

 

[Celes Chere]

Lol, I want that shirt.

 

[Tifabelle]

ITT: lots of irony and hypocrisy



anywho, I voted for Lightning

 

[Azure Eternal]

Though he's not necessarily the most popular pick, Snow is without a doubt my personal favorite in XIII. His devotion, commitment, and overall loyalty to Serah is unrivaled, and the lengths in which he will go to protect her is, to say the very least, laudable. Had Snow given up hope (no pun intended) on Serah, I'm not sure things would have unfolded the way they did. Moreover, through it all, good and bad, Snow's spirit was never broken; regardless of the circumstances, or how grim the things appeared, his unwavering determination to save Serah truly was the backbone of the entire group's moral and resolve.

That aside, the trait in which Snow possesses that I deem most important is his honesty. He never tries to hide his feelings, which is a great counterpoint to Lightning's guarded personality. Not only that, however, but his ability to express his concerns, and communicate effectively with the other group members, is unmatched amongst the entire cast. We are specifically shown this in his interactions with Hope, particularly during the first half of the adventure.

Overall, Snow embodies the qualities I admire most in the people by which I actually surround myself. His integrity, sincerity, honesty, and loyalty, to not only Serah and his friends, but also to himself and his own set of goals, are clear indicators of a human being that truly knows and understands precisely what he wants in life. This type of absolute resolve is hard to find, and is even more difficult to come by in the Final Fantasy universe. It's for these reasons alone that I place Snow at the top of my list.

 

[Splintered]

Awwww yeah Teal Deers incoming.

Honestly, it was a toss up between Lightning and Hope. And good mix of Sazh too.

I think the issue with the early parts of FFXIII that after turning l'cie, no one reacted to it in a positive way, everyone has severe issues. Lightning copes by shutting down and going after a probably suicidal target and lets the people around her get dragged into it. Hope goes through multiple breakdowns and then misplaces his anger and almost kills an ally. Vanille runs away and lies to everyone. Sazh just gives up. Fang decides fuck it, lets do the focus and kill everyone- weirdly enough she's the only one that doesn't have to worry about her brand time limit.

Even Snow has got serious issues most people forget. His hero complex was less him being heroic, imo, and more about him being in absolute denial. Watch the early parts of the chapters and he gets in arguments about it, despite every other indicator telling him otherwise. Once Bart tells him the "truth," Snow actually stops talking and is a little broken until Lightning encourages him out of it.

Spoiler: Lightning rant

You know, I hated her at first. I thought she was a terrible mix of Squall and Ashe, and I can't stand these two characters. But I'm a sucker for the hard on the outside, soft inside deal- especially if it comes to love for family. I felt that even through her bitchiness and moments of frustration, there was a part of her that knew she was doing wrong and regret what she did- but just couldn't find the part of her to change. Lightning's outburst during her birthday was obnoxious of her, and Lightning knew it, she reflected on how she threatened Serah and how Serah probably just didn't trust her. So while Lightning did change suddenly, it was less because of an immediate change of heart, but an acceptance of a part of her that she always had but she buried.

And I have to say, what I appreciated most was that her outbursts of punching Snow and calling people idiots, I just didn't think they were meant to be perceived as cool. Yes Lightning herself was a "cool" character but unlike other characters, her aloofness was cold attitude was shown more as a hindrance and even irrational. No one stuck by her despite her bad attitude, in fact it was that final "going to destroy Eden, one day we'll be enemies ttyl" that drove them apart. And because of this, some of Lightning's best moments aren't when she punches Snow, but when she apologizes to him for the things that she has done without making excuses. In fact, she apologizes to both Serah and Hope as well.

So tl;dr: Lightning was a character that was badass and focused, she was awesome and a strong person at what she did but eventually lost sight of the reason she went strong- her love for Serah and the need to protect her. This led her to be riddled with faults- being too cold, not being able to connect, and eventually driving away the person she raised as a daughter at a time she needed Lightning the most. Losing Serah only helped build frustration, anger, and led her to push herself to a practically suicidal odyssey and cut herself from others. Hope helped her find the part of herself that she had almost lost- that big sister/familial love and she managed to shake herself from the insecurities and frustration- not just for herself but for the people around her.

What was left was a genuinely better person, rid of the shit that made her just a bitch and kept the things that made her awesome. A badass, straight forward woman who could keep focused on a mission and never let herself doubt. And what she gained was a better way to empathize. Towards the end, it was Lightning who gave the inspirational speeches, who emotionally supported Hope, and who encouraged Snow when he lost hope (hurdurr) for just that moment.

Spoiler: Hope rant

I also hated Hope at first, but I never not empathized with him and that's what kind of helped me like him. Hope's actually the only person that's thrown in XIII without some history or reason behind it. Lightning jumped on the purge train for Serah, Sazh for Dajh, Snow goes with Nora to save everyone, Vanille goes for home. Hope? Hope loses everything that second and just can't cope. I didn't take it as pure whineyness, it was really a huge emotional breakdown and something he just couldn't find a way to get through it because it just happened.

He gets forced with his mother to move to a strange place that is rumored to be like a living hell, has his mother die, gets turned into something that he doesn't even believe his human, has his home turn against him, and essentially receives a death sentence all in less than twenty four hours. Because he went on vacation. Hope was just a fourteen year old kid who had a hard enough time being a fourteen year old kid.

And while he was weak, he knew he was weak and actively changed it. Just in all the wrong ways. He was smitten with Lightning's way of thinking, where she tells him that having a goal would keep him alive (which he interprets of becoming strong). And I think hating Snow, while irrational and stupid, was the clearest, closest thing he could hang on to. As long as he had that, he could forget he was going to turn into a horrible, unthinking monster doomed to wallow in despair and regret, and actually do something. And in almost a psychotic way, I found the whole thing of him getting stronger and trying to be less dependent endearing. There was a part that was admirable- trying to a better person even if it was to murder Snow. And at the same it highlighted in a better way just how much of a kid he was. Not the temper tantrum kind, but the one that was eager to please and grow up, but still being kind of clingy and attached to his parental substitute.

In a way, as domineering as his hate for Snow was, it was an aberration. Yeah he hates Snow, but he treats everyone much differently. The boy practically hero worships Lightning and he has this attachment to Vanielle. He can't connect to his father but he adores his mother. Or maybe he hates them bros and loves women.

But he makes up with Snow because he knows that his anger was misplaced anger at his frustration and it helped him snap out of his tendency to flip out, all things considered Hope doesn't get to fight until he decides to go with Lightning and get a little stronger. And so Hope manages to direct his focus his issues to a more positive place. In the end, a lot of his problems are the same, just in a different form. Hope's obsessed with getting stronger and getting rid of his weaker self to kill Snow. Hope has another lapse of being afraid of being weak, but not because he wanted to be able to confront Snow but because he didn't want to hold back his friends.

So yeah, I kind of like the woobie, little kid who tries his best in both the wrong and right ways. Yes, he was wrong and irrational with Snow, but it came out desperation to find a reason when everything else was taken away. And once his issues with Snow and his father were worked out, he still retained that childishness but less of the 'omg whhhyyy' and more of the wide eyed I don't know what I can do but I'm going to do it anyway.

And because I saw all that Sazh hate, you guys. Stop having wrong opinions duh.

Spoiler: <3 Sazh

I think Sazh is one of the best written characters in XIII (with maybe the exception of Vanille, but I don't particularly like her). But I agree with what others said, he story was imo, the most heartfelt, emotional, and even relateable. I consider the confrontation between Vanille and Sazh one of my favorite moments in Final Fantasy, sugar&rainbows and everything.

Even in the moments leading up to it, you can clearly see that Sazh is losing the will to continue running. There are moments in game when trying to decide what to do and he noticeably hesitates too long, then goes on talking like he's just tired of the whole thing. And the only real thing that keeps him going is Vanille, even if the datalog didn't outright say it, you can pretty much tell with his dialogue and his interactions with her. Like the moment he says, more to himself than anything, "the world would be better off without l'cie," then notices Vanille and says, "I mean, most of them." Even at eidolon time, the thing that makes him get up and fight is to protect Vanille. And it's Vanille that practically ruined his life.

It's kind of a testament of the integrity of Sazh that he looks past revenge and always auto-protects Vanille in his fatherly sort of way. He thinks about her safety even when he's at the point where he's ready to give up his life. I mean, even his whole situation in the story wasn't just about losing Dajh; it was the fact that he recognized that there was a strong possibility that the only way to save Dajh from Ciething is to kill all of Anima's l'cie, but never once does he try to hurt Vanille- other than that one moment in Nautlius, or any of his companions. Even when he suggested killing Serah, he never went violent with Lightning and tried to convince her rather than push her to do it.

Also, I have to say, I love how corny he is. It's a narm charm thing. Sugar and rainbows, and lady bad luck, and "that's a gift I'll forgive them for not wrapping" SO BAD ITS GOOD. In the final battle, the third form of Eden everyone gets their own line of dialogue. Lightning says something badass like "Find your own way to hell" and Hope says something sentimental like, "This is for you mom." What does Sazh say, "I'd hate to meet your parents." OH GOD THE GROANERS I LOVE YOU FOR THEM.

Back to Starcraft II.

EDIT: There are dozens of typos and I don't care to fix them. : D

 

[ForceStealer]

I love when Splintered goes into writeup mode. The Lightning and Sazh analyses get my thanks even despite that weird void without any words I can see in between them


...and I still don't think that sugar and rainbows thing was hokey...I don't get it...

 

[Tennyo]

A part of me thinks this poll should have waited a month or two just in case Noel turns out to be awesome.

 

[Celes Chere]

Your Hope rant was beautiful.

 

[Elisa Maza]

Though he's not necessarily the most popular pick, Snow is without a doubt my personal favorite in XIII. His devotion, commitment, and overall loyalty to Serah is unrivaled, and the lengths in which he will go to protect her is, to say the very least, laudable. Had Snow given up hope (no pun intended) on Serah, I'm not sure things would have unfolded the way they did. Moreover, through it all, good and bad, Snow's spirit was never broken; regardless of the circumstances, or how grim the things appeared, his unwavering determination to save Serah truly was the backbone of the entire group's moral and resolve.

That aside, the trait in which Snow possesses that I deem most important is his honesty. He never tries to hide his feelings, which is a great counterpoint to Lightning's guarded personality. Not only that, however, but his ability to express his concerns, and communicate effectively with the other group members, is unmatched amongst the entire cast. We are specifically shown this in his interactions with Hope, particularly during the first half of the adventure.

Overall, Snow embodies the qualities I admire most in the people by which I actually surround myself. His integrity, sincerity, honesty, and loyalty, to not only Serah and his friends, but also to himself and his own set of goals, are clear indicators of a human being that truly knows and understands precisely what he wants in life. This type of absolute resolve is hard to find, and is even more difficult to come by in the Final Fantasy universe. It's for these reasons alone that I place Snow at the top of my list.

I love you.

Maybe it was because I stopped the game early, but I didn't see much "Hero" stuff from Snow, so he didn't bother me.

I found him to be the most pro-active character, never giving up, not being ashamed one bit of his feelings, no matter what these were, not to mention selfless like whoa. His scene when he yells "Then what do you WANT me to do?!" to the others' suggestions "It's dangerous", "It's hopeless", or something (memory fails me right now), got me pumped up. I wanted to follow him and not Lightning.

Maybe he does become over the top later, dunno, but for the most part, he was my second favourite from the hours I played, after Sazh.

 

[Marle]

A part of me thinks this poll should have waited a month or two just in case Noel turns out to be awesome.

I agree so much. I think Noel will most likely end up being my top pick after playing ff13-2. He's got this Zack element about him from what I've seen thus far and that's a good direction to be headed in. I love the guys in FF that are actual, true heroes without ever really trying to be. They're just dedicated to their cause and will do whatever it takes to get there, putting their own selfish desires away in the mean time no matter how it hurts. They use their emotions to drive them and aren't afraid of speaking out.

I think Noel, from what I've seen, has this quality and...I find it kind of unfair that he's in this poll, competing against characters we already know so much about. He should be in the poll for FF13-2 perhaps after the game comes out?

At least then, he has a fighting chance you know?

 

[Fangu]

Noel is in this poll? Like....... why?

Also, Splintereds rant = lovelovelove

 

[Roger]

He's got this Zack element about him from what I've seen thus far and that's a good direction to be headed in. I love the guys in FF that are actual, true heroes without ever really trying to be. They're just dedicated to their cause and will do whatever it takes to get there, putting their own selfish desires away in the mean time no matter how it hurts. They use their emotions to drive them and aren't afraid of speaking out.

I thought you said he was like Zack? The guy that specifically wanted to be a hero so we spent a game of him serving the interests of the Shinra Corporation.

 

[Marle]

I thought you said he was like Zack? The guy that specifically wanted to be a hero so we spent a game of him serving the interests of the Shinra Corporation.

I'm not gonna go into this because my opinions on Zack and CC differ greatly from a lot of people on this forum. Plus, not the thread to discuss it anyways.

 

[ForceStealer]

I'm not gonna go into this because my opinions on Zack and CC differ greatly from a lot of people on this forum. Plus, not the thread to discuss it anyways.

Why are they positive?

 

[Marle]

Why are they positive?

Yes, actually. They are.

 

[Celes Chere]

Good, then I'd like to hear them. I love Zack ;w; and seriously I don't see why people say CC is a piece of crap that ruins aerith's character

 

[Tifabelle]

yeah I like Zack & CC. I WILL STAND WITH YOU