A greatJRPGprovides a nice balanced roster. A cool character here, an edgy character there, maybe a dashing rogue, a hopeless romantic, and a hot-headed grappler to round out the crew. There are a couple dozen archetypes you’re able to swap in, swap out, or fuse. Inevitably, when creating a diverse roster, you’ll create at least one character that doesn’t resonate with most fans. And yes, more often than not, they are the belligerent child, the old man, or the weirdo.
With this list, I tried to really capture the general consensus. So, I took a two-stage approach: I started with my gut feeling, and then I poked around online to see what other fans of these games had to say. More often than not, my take aligned with the consensus, but there were a few instances that caused me to change planned entries. On some level, this listisa popularity contest. But don’t feel bad if it is filled with your favorites: you probably just have a refined palate*.
*In other words, you’re a weirdo. Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Chrono Trigger
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Chrono Trigger is a legendary RPG from Square, originally launched on the Super Nintendo in 1995. As Chrono, you must band together with a motley crew to travel through time, ultimately battling the alien entity Lavos.
Let’s get the ball rolling with an interesting case study. Because, yes, this list is largely filled with the weirdos and the oddballs. The characters that make you scrunch up your nose and say, ‘no thank you.’ But what happens when you have a cast like Chrono Trigger’s that is filled with wall-to-wall bangers? Well, utility becomes more of a factor and, inevitably, a solid character ends up being sidelined. Such is Marle’s fate.
Marle is a quality member of the cast. She plays a key role in the story and is associated with one of the most memorable scenes in the entire game. However, she is an unimpressive fighter and Frog, one of the coolest characters in JRPG history, ismorethan capable of taking her job as the team’s healer. Sorry, Marle, you didn’t deserve to be lumped in with the weirdos and blue mages, yet here you are.
Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reload is a ground-up remake of the RPG classic, aligning the aesthetics with the more recent Persona 5. It does not contain any of the changes or extra content from Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable.
Final Fantasy 13
Final Fantasy 13 is the first in a trilogy of RPGs from Square Enix, focused on the character of Lightning. She must battle against the authorities of Cocoon, and help save her sister in the process.
They may come from different games, but Persona 3’s Ken Yamada and Final Fantasy 13’s Hope are essentially the same character. They are angry, sulking children that want revenge on people who ostensibly did nothing wrong.
Inevitably,someonealways pushes back against the common dislike of these characters. They are children dealing with grief, after all. So it does make sense that they would lash out. And it’s great if that context leads to you liking them. Most of us, however, would prefer to have a rad boxer like Akihiko, or a badass dragoon like Fang, in our party than a mewling child.
Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 10 is a JRPG from Square Enix, initially launched on PlayStation 2 in 2001. It follows Tidus, a mysterious young man from Zanarkand, as he joins the summoner Yuna on her pilgrimage throughout the world of Spira.
You don’t know how badly I wanted to ignore facts and put Wakka here. You willneverunderstand how strongly I was tempted to rewrite history. However, despite all odds, the racist man who uses a volleyball as a weapon has always been more popular than my boy, Kimahri. But just based on conversations I’ve had with people over the years, in my heart of hearts, I knew that Kimahri was the pick.
Kimahri has a couple of things going against him. He doesn’t really have much of an arc, he isn’t given a ton of dialogue, his sphere grid tends to make him a generalist, which means he doesn’t really stand out in any area, and he is a blue mage. The last point, you will see, tends to be the death knell for a character making the party. In a better world, you would have been utilized better by the plot, Kimahri. Instead, we live in a reality where a jackass with a douchey haircut and a volleyball gets more playtime than you.
Before you start with me, no, Ididn’tthink Wakka’s ‘tragic backstory’ was an adequate explanation for his hatred of the Al Bhed people, nor did I find his ‘character growth’ to be particularly believable. That dude sucks.
Rab shares a few qualities with some other characters on this list. Like Marle, there is nothing wrong with Rab. He isn’t a terrible character; he just isn’t as memorable or cool as the rest of the cast, who are all extremely likable. From a gameplay perspective, he has a bit of that Kimahri problem, as he is good at everything, but he doesn’t really excel at anything.
I suspect the most playtime Rab gets is limited to the early part of the game, where he’s the only character with a Multiheal, but as the game progresses,players have fewer and fewer reasons to slot him into the party. And, unfortunately, he just doesn’t have enough charisma to justify using him over the rest of the cast. It’s okay, grandpa. Why don’t you have a nap while the rest of us battle baddies?
Oh no, the gamers arecoming for the olds! Yes, another elderly gentleman makes this list in Strago. Final Fantasy 6’s resident wizened mage hasso muchgoing against him. He joins late, which is often a strike against a character, as you will already have an established roster of characters you like. He is in competition with a strong cast filled with iconic characters, so party vacancies are unlikely to be available. And worst of all, he is a blue mage, AKA the cursed class.
You may think that Umaro or Gogo would be the Final Fantasy 6 picks, but while both also join late, later than Strago, in fact, Gogo’s mime ability is among the strongest in the game, and Umaro is a novel character with a fun design (though they are almost certainly the second least played character in the cast). Maybe you’re able to hang out with Rab on the sidelines, Strago.Share stories of the onions you used to wear on your beltsand such.
I promise I am not an ageist. I am one of the oldest writers at TheGamer. Your Fortnite dances frighten and confuse me.
If you played one of the first Gen 1 Pokemon games, then you most certainly caught a Magikarp. And odds are that fish didn’t become a staple of your party. Because, you know, it is useless. Don’t even start with the Gyarados transformation nonsense. You’re only going through the hassle of leveling up a Magikarpif you are doing a challenge run of some sort. Sure, if you catch a Magikarp that is already level 20 or higher, youmightdecide to throw them in for a few matches and drag them across the finish line. At which point, you’llbarelyhave this dude flopping around in your party.
But facts are facts, very few people, outside theultrahardcore Pokemon community, are putting saddling up with Magikarp. On the plus side, at least Magikarp is a delight. That’s more than I can say about a bunch of the characters in this list. I’d go as far as calling Magikarpiconic. And it is unquestionably a top-tier joke character. Still, youaren’tusing them.
If you search around online, you may finda poll from close to ten years agowhere different users submitted their teams, and the conclusion was that Lickitung is the least used Gen 1 Pokemon. However, that poll is going to skew heavily toward the hardcore, and while it had over 7,000 respondents, that’s not exactly a sizable slice of the 30-something million people who played the first game in the franchise.Overruled!
Final Fantasy 9
Considered one of the greatest RPGs on the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy 9 follows Zidane’s journey - from kidnapping a princess to the escalating war that follows.
Even if you have never played Final Fantasy 9, you could look at a picture of the cast and identify the character that is going to get the least amount of play. God bless the freaks: they add a little spice to each roster. However, people aren’t using the clown chef with a six-foot tongue. It ain’t happening.
But it gets worse. Square couldn’t help themselves. They also made Quina a Blue Mage. Ensuring they’ll only get playtime with a select few players. Don’t take it personally, Quina, I always sort of dug you, but I think it is fair to say that you are an acquired taste.
Persona 4
Persona 4 is an RPG from Atlus that follows the fortunes of a group of students as they become the Investigation Team, seeking to bring the perpetrator of a series of murders in the town of Inaba to justice.
Persona 5
If there is one thing Persona does better than any other JRPG franchise, it is being stylish. From the slick UI to the smooth soundtrack to the hip character designs,this is a series that just screams cool. Do you know what isn’t cool? Weird mascots that speak in puns and nag you to go to sleep.
While Teddie and Morgana are very different characters, they fill the same role in the party, at least from an aesthetic perspective. And based on that alone, they are most certainly doomed to never make the cut.Especiallywhen you have a roster packed full of great characters overflowing with charm and sporting slick designs that you could use instead. But hey, mascots typically belong on the sidelines, so maybe this is all by design.
Final Fantasy 7
Originally launching in 1997 for the PlayStation, Final Fantasy 7 is widely regarded as one of the most influential RPGs of all time. It follows Cloud, a mercenary and former SOLDIER, who joins a band of eco-terrorists - only to end up in a battle for the future of the planet. FF7 has spawned the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7, which includes a long-requested trilogy of full remakes.
Now, I want you to be honest with me… when you read the title of this piece, did Cait Sithimmediatelyjump into your mind? He did, right? Not only is Cait Sith a weirdo, but he’s a weirdo that forces himself into your party, is associated with one of the least compelling betrayals I’ve ever encountered in a game, is involved in the least impactful heroic sacrifice I’ve ever witnessed, and after all that, doesn’t even bring anything special to the party from a gameplay perspective.
Worst of all, he’s likely your least played charactertwo timesover. His appearance in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth didnothingto redeem him. In fact, they may have made him worse, as he has some of the worst gameplay in Rebirth associated with him. Good lord, a swing and miss is bad, but this is a Looney Tunes swing and miss where you spin in place and strike out off of a single pitch. Here’s an idea for the third game in the remake trilogy: cut him. You don’t even need to explain his absence.No one will notice.
