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1up's Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists

January 07, 2009 in Top List comments 33

1UP's Bob Mackey posted his list of the top five most irritating RPG protagonists:

5. Tidus (Final Fantasy X)
4. Emil (Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the new World)
3. Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
2. Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII)
1. Any Silent Protagonist (Like Isaac from Golden Sun, or Chrono Trigger's protagonist.)

How do you guys feel about this?

"Say what you will about role-playing games, but for a genre that places a complete emphasis on story, it sure loves to saddle us with some of the most unlikable characters to ever exist in fiction -- and often, for upward of 50 hours at a time. Thankfully, loot, monster collecting, and grinding all serve as welcome distractions from the whining of spiky-haired heroes -- but there's always a breaking point where you wanna reach inside the screen and snap their spunky little teenage necks. The following collection of RPG champs may need to kill endless crawling piles of goop to prepare for that final boss encounter against some multitiered incarnation of god, but even at level 1, they have the ability to defeat our collective will to live."
Takeshi via 1up.com »
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Most recently commented on by on Jan 9, 2009

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  • 1
    Cruxis Mana Jan 7, 09
    You only have to hear Emil's voice to know that he's infinitely more annoying than Tidus.

    *shivers*
  • 2
    Takeshi Jan 7, 09
      If anything, I think Emil should be number one. I would rather have a silent protagonist than one as annoying as him.
  • 0
    xxxRockerxxx Jan 7, 09
    I agree with Tidus being up there, and definitely thought he should be #1. Seeing as how I liked them better, I don't see how Squall and Sora are up there.
    • 3
      Zeon I Jan 7, 09
      Squall is up there because on the first disc of FF8, he is a whiny bitch who pretends to be a pretentious dick to look like a "rebel".

      And Sora is up there because he is quite the whiny little faggot. He got on my nerves pretty badly, tbh.
      • 0
        xxxRockerxxx Jan 7, 09
        I don't think one disc, rather, one part define him as irritating considering he did change as you continued to play the game. His character was developed quite well I think. Where as Tidus was pretty much whining throughout the whole game.

        I haven't finished Kindgom Hearts, so I can't comment much. Just that so far Sora hasn't done much to annoy me.
        • 0
          Takeshi Jan 8, 09
            He's never bothered me, and I've played through both games.
            I do skip the cutscenes though, so that might have something to do with it.
  • 3
    RabidChinaGirl Jan 7, 09
    Holy crap! I officially heart this list because they recognize Squall's dumbassery. Second place, no less. Thank you, 1UP!
  • 1
    phowell23 Jan 7, 09
    Sora gets on my nerves the most. Friends this and friends that, quit bein a puss and man up some.
    • 0
      Seproth Jan 7, 09
      Sora's like eight years old.
      • 1
        phowell23 Jan 7, 09
        man i thought he was like 14-15. He shoulda still been tryn to get with kairi regardless.
        • 1
          Takeshi Jan 7, 09
            Sora is 14 at the start of Kingdom Heart II
  • 1
    Zero and X Jan 7, 09
    I hate Tidus, but the rest of the list, while I can understand why they're there, I personally disagree with it.

    Now I admit I am pretty biased, but I grew to like some of those guys, like Squall and Emil.

    I have to agree with the silent protagonist thing however. Its really annoying. Some of my favorite games have silent protagonists, and its hard to imagine them with dialogue at this point, but they still suck.
  • 0
    Murray3 Jan 7, 09
    I like silent protagonists... I admit it's annoying when other characters respond to their silent by repeating what they supposedly said, but silent protagonists are a thing I've come to expect from RPGs.

    It's much harder than it looks to make a silent protagonist, has anyone actually tried making an RPG? A really plot based RPG?

    In my opinion Chrono Trigger is Square Enix's only decent RPG, so I disagree with Crono being on the list whole-heartedly.
  • 0
    Bale Fire Jan 8, 09
    Hmm, I can never agree with a list which badmouths Tidus. Agreed he was quite annoying to begin with, but like Squall he developed over time, they even had two seperate voice actors so you would 'feel' the change.
    • 0
      Miss Razz Jan 8, 09
      quote
      they even had two seperate voice actors so you would 'feel' the change.
      No he didn't. He only had one voice-actor during the main game. (not including the voice-actor who voiced Tidus during the flashbacks of his childhood).
      • 0
        Bale Fire Jan 8, 09
        Oh I see, I must have seen the two voice actors and some how translated that into both being for the older version. My mistake.
  • 1
    BANDITO ATTACK Jan 8, 09
    chrono trigger character looks like a super saiyan 2 gohan knockoff.
    • 2
      Zero and X Jan 8, 09
      Considering Akira Toriyama took part in the production of Chrono Trigger, thats to be expected.
    • 0
      StarJet Jan 8, 09
      quote
      chrono trigger character looks like a super saiyan 2 gohan knockoff.
      Spot on. The first thing I thought when I saw him was "OMG! Dragon Ball!".
      • 0
        Zero and X Jan 8, 09
        I just explained that the guy who made Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama helped make Chrono Trigger, thats why the characters look the way they do.
        • 0
          StarJet Jan 8, 09
          I know, I saw that. I was just commenting on what Bandito said, seeing as I thought the same thing.
  • 0
    Storm Jan 8, 09
    It's an alright list. I'd put Tidus higher up, and what about Vaan? xD

    I can argue Squall's position but what's the point? There's enough FFVIII-hate to go around, it'll get nowhere. I mean, sure I understand why he's on the list but meh.
  • 0
    The Omega Jan 8, 09
    Eleventy billion rating points for the Fat Cat reference! They should have replaced Sora with Kit Cloudkicker. I have a hard time playing through games with such protagonists, as I'm essentially playing the part of a prissy who does nothing but whine and essentially dresses like a girl. I'd rather be the silent hero, as I don't have to relate to such main characters then.
  • 2
    Chais Jan 8, 09
    I hated Cloud more than Squall. I mean, seriously. The guy didn't even know who he was until over halfway through the damn game!
    • 0
      StarJet Jan 8, 09
      Yeah, "Cloud Strife, SOLDIER first class!". Seemed pretty funny at the end of Crisis Core. I would've laughed then, if not for the fact that I was almost crying due to the scene before that.
    • 1
      Final Blade Jan 8, 09
      Yes hating a guy with Amnesia and Mako poisoning(with J-cells) is a viable reason to hate the guy compared to a guy who was badass before getting manipulated by a annoying, bratty, controlling girl who acted like a bitch as times which ended up Squall changing towards the end of the 2nd disc. The only thing great about Squall throughout the game was his Lionheart weapon, and his gun trigger limitbreak. That's it. If he didn't have those, he'd be up there with the worst leading protagonist in video game history.

      Cloud had an excuse and we can sympathize with him. Squall doesn't have one, only his own stupidity. But again like RCG, I just didn't like Rinoa and how Squall was developed throughout the game.

      Tidus and Sora being on this list is absolutely ridiculous. The rest is fine though.
      • 0
        StarJet Jan 8, 09
        I haven't played FFX, but I have played Dissidia. The Japanese one that I didn't understand, mind you. Even in that, Tidus' bubbly nature (no pun intended) was sorta annoying.
      • 0
        Mr Gray Jan 8, 09
        THANK YOU.

        THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU.

        Too many people like Final Fantasy VIII w/o accepting, or even realizing, the flaws of (at the very least) it's main character.
      • 1
        Storm Jan 8, 09
        I fail to see how Rinoa 'acted like a bitch.' I also fail to see how Squall falling in love with her is regarded as manipulative...and lol @ you possibly considering him to be the worst leading protagonist. Even if you don't like how the two developed, that doesn't change the fact that Squall needed someone to open up to, he was a closed book.

        Oh and by the way, Final...they are focusing on Squall BEFORE the change. Read the damn article. 1Up mentions his loner attitude that they didn't get.

        I realize that FFVIII has many flaws, Raijin. In fact, if you head over to the FFVIII forum on Neo, you'll see that our community recognizes them, as well. It was terrible compared to FFVII...the world practically knows that. SquareEnix didn't try hard enough with that game, but it's to be expected. They have that 'hit-and-miss' style with titles. Make good games like FFVII, FFIX, FFX even, but then bs it with FFX-2, FFXII, so on and so forth. Does that hurt sales? Barely. Slap SquareEnix on a game and you've got yourself some sales.

      • 2
        Chais Jan 9, 09
        So Squall not letting anyone in because of Ellone's leaving the orphanage (which, as you find out throughout the course of the story if you actually paid attention, affected him a great deal as a child) for fear of losing someone else isn't a valid excuse? They both have legitimate reasons for being the way they were, I admit. I brought Cloud up because his constant... err, "spells" around Sephiroth early on irritated me to no end my first time through the game. I could easily identify with Squall, and after playing through the game it was fairly obvious to people who know how to pay attention why he was how he was in the beginning of the game, which is something 1UP never touched on.
    • 2
      Miss Razz Jan 8, 09
      quote
      I hated Cloud more than Squall. I mean, seriously. The guy didn't even know who he was until over halfway through the damn game!
      Cloud from FFVII wasn't as annoying as Cloud from the other FFVII Compilation titles and Kingdom Hearts. It's like Square Enix forgot that ... *gasp* ... he actually had a personality. So instead of going through all the trouble of giving him the complex personality that he had in FFVII, they instead decided to make him a stereotypical emo loner who barely speaks and spends his days pining over Aerith and Zack. He certainly wasn't like that in the original game.
      • 0
        phowell23 Jan 8, 09
        u hit the nail on the head GG. The cloud in ff7 seems like a totally diffrent person than the ones in advent children and kh. I dont want him like a Tidus or Vann where hes whiney or totally upbeat and borderline gay but i dont want him on the borderline of cutting his wrists
  • 1
    Takeshi Jan 8, 09
      FFVII Cloud wasn't bad, but then he got emo in KH.

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