Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger / Characters

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Main Characters

Shogo Sasaki

The Hero of the story. A lifelong fan of Final Fantasy who got a job at Square-Enix in hopes of fulfilling his dream of making his own Final Fantasy game, he and his sister Yuko are transported to a Final Fantasy-like world after a run-in with a truck.

Alliterative Name: Shogo Sasaki.
Ascended Fanboy:
- Shogo and Yuko are lifelong fans of the Final Fantasy series and wind up in a world incredibly similar to a Final Fantasy game. That said, they're not Warriors of Light or anything, but their knowledge comes in handy when surviving in this world. After being deputized by Sara, Shogo gets to live out his fantasy of being a Ranger when Sara gifts him and his friends new gear, including a uniform remarkably similar to that of the Ranger class from Final Fantasy V.
- Even before this, both of them landed jobs at Square-Enix in hopes of working on a Final Fantasy game of their own, but Shogo soon realizes that his job as a planner is getting him nowhere closer to achieving his childhood dream. By the time the story starts, he's suffering from burnout and disappointment, nearly giving up on his dream of making a game until Yuko lifts his spirits.
Attack Reflector: While scrambling to find something to combine to counter the Magus Sisters' attacks, Shogo hears voices while examining the remains of the Mysidian royal veil. He ends up scooping them up and quickly fuses them with his armor while Taking the Bullet for his allies, creating the Mirror Mail to gain an automatic Reflect, essentially becoming immune to oncoming magic while wearing it unless it's bounced off another Reflect first.
Audience Surrogate: Shogo is a surrogate for the intended audience of the story: lifelong fans of Final Fantasy. Because of this, he's familiar with all of Final Fantasy's core concepts, though it works both for and against him, as his foreknowledge doesn't always mesh with the way things work in the world he finds himself in.
Awesomeness by Analysis: Shogo's primary talent is his ability to quickly observe situations and draw up an Indy Ploy to make the most of them. Despite lacking in strength and experience, his keen memory and ability to use Libra allow him to make note of things others can't, like how a ravine has grown narrower than it looks on the map, indicating that the terrain has been falling apart for some time and is unstable. His meta knowledge of bosses and the effect of magic also aid him in using this information to outwit his opponents.
Beat Them at Their Own Game: After combining his armor with the torn remnants of the Mysidia royal veil, Shogo uses his knowledge that Reflect can't stop other reflected spells to defeat the Magus Sisters by having the Mysidian Royal Guard bounce their magic off his armor to hit Mindy and Sandy.
Big Brother Instinct: Shogo is incredibly close to his little sister Yuko and is protective of her. His biggest worry upon waking up in the fantasy world is that she wasn't brought with him, breathing a sigh of relief when she turns up perfectly fine and cheerful. He's always worrying about her safety and well-being despite her ability to easily acclimate to this new world. He's grief-stricken when she dies saving a little girl, but her memory urges him to keep moving forward and later stand up to the Mist Dragon after it wiped out Randolph's party. From the on, he makes it his goal to revive her from the dead by finding the Raise spell.
Borrowed Catchphrase: He takes his sister's "Look hard, study hard, think hard, and search hard!" as a Survival Mantra to help himself overcome his own indecisiveness and tendency to overthink things in times of crisis.
Changed My Jumper: Shogo is wears the sweater and jeans that he arrives in the fantasy world with for much of the story. While he's written off as a country bumpkin for his reaction to a moogle, no one gives him a second look about his distinctly modern attire out of place in the setting. He later gets attire more like that of the rest of the world, but no one ever comments on his previous clothes.
Character Development: After Shogo avenges Yuko's death by killing the Mist Dragon, he becomes a much more driven, positive, and proactive person who doesn't succumb to pressure like he used to. This is especially noticeable during the heroes' escape from the Magus Sisters, as they're nearly eaten by rats and ladybugs while navigating their way out while shrunken down by Mini. Rather than angsting over nearly dying again, Shogo is able to look on the bright side at how they all escaped successfully and brush off the event with a joke.
Country Mouse: Invoked. When he accidentally calls Cid by name after using Libra to read his screwdriver, Shogo's party have to pass him off as one of these and a Cloudcuckoolander to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
Crazy-Prepared: Deconstructed. Due to the nature of his Libra and Combine abilities, Shogo tries his best to be prepared for every situation he can imagine while shopping at the Gold Saucer. But he's got so many ideas that he winds up ordering a dozen different crates packed with items that he can hardly carry anywhere on his own.
Drowning My Sorrows: Shogo drinks heavily in the first chapter out of frustration over being unable to achieve his dream of designing a Final Fantasy game, though it's quickly revealed that he's not drinking alcohol at all and had gotten himself "drunk" off green tea.
Exotic Eye Designs: While using Libra, Shogo's eyes take on an ornate design consisting of an eye surrounded by two laurels with a starburst behind them.
Everybody Knew Already: Shogo goes to great lengths to hide his and Yuko's origins as people from another world out of fear of being ostracized. But it turns out that Yuko admitted this to the others the night before her death at the hands of the Mist Dragon, but asked them to not tell him that she explained this to them as she knew he would be worried sick over it.
Failed a Spot Check: For all his meta knowledge and powers of observation, he sometimes takes no notice of classic Final Fantasy staples - he's completely shocked to learn that the girl they ran into in Mysidia, Sara, is actually the princess.
Fashionable Asymmetry: The new armor Sara purchases for Shogo resembles a traditional Ranger's outfit, with layered armor only over one shoulder.
Go Through Me: Shogo attempts to stop Cid from killing Randolph by throwing himself between them, with Cid just barely managing to stop his chainsaw from cutting Shogo. But this attempt to defuse the situation fails, as Cid is so blinded by rage that he's willing to kill Shogo just to get to a person he believes is part of the Forbidden Arts Guild.
Heroic BSoD: Shogo is so shaken by Yuko's death that he can't even bring himself to fight back when Randolph is assaulting him. All the while, he's wondering why he did what he did and why it wasn't him who died. Sharuru manages to slowly coax him out of it, but his fear of death continues to consume him until he discovers his Combine ability. Even then, he doesn't fully get over it until he avenges her death by killing the Mist Dragon.
Hypocrisy Nod: He's embarrassed and calls himself a loser when he's trapped in Byblos' Lotus-Eater Machine and needs Rei's help to snap him out of it after lecturing Alus about forging ahead and moving past regrets.
Indy Ploy: Shogo is prone to getting himself and others out of tight binds with some quick thinking and gratuitous use of his Libra and Combine abilities, such as collapsing an unstable cliff with an arrow to fill in a valley and open a way across.
I Know Madden Kombat: Shogo joined the competitive archery club back in high school for the sake of living out his fantasies as being a Ranger in Final Fantasy. Although he explicitly learned the ritualistic kind for sport, his skills prove handy when he becomes an adventurer, as he proves to be a great (but not infallible) shot and his ability to fight at range helps him overcome his lack of strength and experience.
Item Crafting: Shogo discovers that he has the ability to use Combine to fuse two items to make something entirely new from the components. Combining a regular set of arrows with Bomb Fragments creates Bomb Arrows, while mashing a bunch of Bomb Fragments together creates a Bomb Core for a much more powerful explosion. When used in tandem with Libra, which lets him quickly identify items and which ones are available to fuse, Shogo gets himself and his friends out of binds that no one else could. According to G-Senpai, this is unique from the "Forge" and "Mix" skills used by Alchemists and Chemists, as it completely skips the technical process by resonating with the mana and thoughts of the original owners, jumping straight to a functional result.
It Only Works Once: The Ifrit Bow he creates to defeat Byblos burns to ashes after using Hellfire, leaving only the ring used to forge it behind.
Jaded Washout: Shogo started working at Square-Enix in hopes of one day designing a Final Fantasy game. But as the years went on, that dream of his grew further and further away, and he's left bitter and pessimistic about it by the time of the story. Yuko joined him at the company and kept his dream alive through constant encouragement, but he's still ready to give up right up to the point that they're transported into a Final Fantasy-esque world.
Shogo: In my childhood I imagined a colorful future and had vivid dreams... But all of that began to fade as I grew older... driven away by the impending reality of my own powerlessness.
Logical Weakness:
- As pointed out by Yuko, Shogo tendency to scrutinize everything in search of a perfect solution means that he often overthinks himself into indecisiveness and passivity. Compared to Yuko's spontaneity, Shogo takes a long time to acclimate to the world he's living in, and he freezes up in panic under high pressure. While fighting the Mist Dragon, his Big Brother Instinct along with being Tired of Running gets him to overcome this mindset, successfully making an Indy Ploy based on his knowledge of the boss fight from Final Fantasy IV to beat the dragon and save everyone's lives. From then on, he's much more proactive in his adventures.
- Libra and Combine only work if there's items around for Shogo to interact with. In Byblos' book world where there's nothing but monsters, they're useless.
Look Both Ways: Shogo and Yuko are apparently run over by a truck while leaving a restaurant before being sent to the Final Fantasy-esque world.
Magical Eye: Shogo inexplicably possesses the lost magic Libra, which manifests in him developing Exotic Eye Designs whenever he's scrutinizing an object to learn about it. It allows him to learn about most things he lays eyes on, though it doesn't work on people or monsters. While it only gives him a brief description normally, he can scrutinize it harder to learn hidden effects, like the specific traits of Power-Up Food, as well as learn what objects can be combined to make new objects.
Meta Guy: As a Final Fantasy Otaku, Shogo ends up commentating on the world around him that reminds him of the games he loves so much. His encyclopedic knowledge of the games means that he recognizes the Mythology Gags present throughout the story, and trouble brews when he has to reconcile how things work in his current reality compared to how they work in the games. He also struggles to explain his knowledge to others without sounding like a lunatic, passing it off as "stories" he knows much like the fairy tales that talk about Libra.
Mind Hive: Shogo's Libra allows him to resonate his feelings with the mana and feelings of others, allowing him to tap into the power left in items to combine them in a process G-Senpai calls Manacraft. The problem is that he hears and experiences the thoughts and memories of others in the process, and he might not be able to tell if his thoughts and actions are his own if he uses this carelessly.
Mr. Exposition: Of a sort. Shogo's Libra quickly reveals information about any object he uses it on, allowing the reader to quickly identify things along with him. He also explains what he sees to others, with the information taking the form of the chat boxes you'd see in a Final Fantasy game.
My Greatest Failure: Shogo is haunted by Yuko's death, considering it his single greatest failure and wishing he'd died instead. Even after he resolves to move past his regrets and forge onward for the sake of bringing her back to life, he's quickly caught in Byblos' Lotus-Eater Machine that enticed him in with the promise of giving Yuko back, needing Rei to snap him out of it.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: Shogo laments that he never really got to talk to Yuko about how thankful he is for supporting him and how much he loved her before she was killed by the Mist Dragon. Her memory gets Shugo to ask Sara to talk things out with her father while she has the chance, as she never knows when something might happen. This is what inspires Sara to confront her father and halt the party's execution at the hands of Mysidia's corrupt and decadent court.
Nice Guy: Shogo is a generally decent and good person who doesn't like seeing others hurt. Even when he's mocked, beaten, and threatened, he'll still move to save anyone if he can help it. When Randolph's party is nearly wiped out and he orders Shogo's party to retreat and leave them to die, Shogo steps up and helps them without hesitation despite the huge risk to himself.
Obfuscating Insanity: After Saying Too Much and making others suspicious of his knowledge of rare artifacts, lost spells, and hidden names at the Gold Saucer, Rei forces him to act the part of a Cloudcuckoolander Country Mouse to let others think he's simply wildly imaginative instead of having meta knowledge of the Final Fantasy series.
Older Than They Look: Shogo is 26 years old, but has a young-looking face that makes it easy to think he's a teenager. The rest of his party is shocked when they learn of this, figuring he was the same age as them when he's actually the second-oldest after Duston. He's also quite annoyed when he's referred to as "kiddo", complaining that Japanese people tend to look younger longer but this treatment is just too much.
Otaku: Shogo is this for the Final Fantasy series. While he and Yuko are both fans, he possesses encyclopedic knowledge about the series and obsessively plays Final Fantasy XIV in his downtime. He's also shocked that his "inner Ultimania" is completely wrong when he misnames the races in the world he ends up in.
Playing with Fire: He fuses Elno's magic fire ring with his bow to create the Ifrit Bow, finally giving him the edge he needs to take on the otherwise nigh-invincible Byblos.
Post-Victory Collapse: After the tension of nearly dying in the wake of Cid's Roaring Rampage of Revenge passes, Shogo is so exhausted that he barely has enough time to register how dizzy he is before collapsing. Randolph is initially worried that Shogo was struck on the head or injured, but Shogo had simply consumed too much liquor and the adrenaline rush of danger was the only thing keeping him conscious.
Power of the Void: While in the middle of a mental breakdown from the despair he feels while fighting Byblos, his eyes darken into Black Eyes of Crazy while he recites "All existence, memories, and dimensions shall be returned to nothing" as voids in space open up. Given that he was quoting Exdeath, it's all but stated that he was somehow tapping into the power of the Void through Libra. According to G-Senpai, this is a product of Shogo's own despair resonating with that of Byblos' previous victims, with Libra's Manacraft ability creating the Void effect as a consequence of it. He then warns Shogo to be careful while using his Manacraft in the future, as he might not be able to predict the effects or tell if his thoughts are his own.
Runic Magic: After losing his bow while escaping from the Magus Sisters, Sara replaces it with a Rune Bow, which is magically enchanted with runes to make it lighter and fire arrows more quickly and with much greater power.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Shogo is the savvy guy to Yuko's energetic girl. Shogo is a neurotic Final Fantasy Otaku whose skill at observation causes him to overthink himself into an indecisive rut. Meanwhile, Yuko's energy and positivity means that she has no problems jumping headlong into new situations even when she doesn't have all the information.
Stat-O-Vision: Subverted. In a twist on the formula, Shogo's Libra lets him see the descriptions and purposes of nearly any object he lays eyes on, but only objects. It doesn't work on people or monsters, meaning that he can identity them or their weaknesses at a glance the way Libra does in the video games. In addition, there are some objects that he can't use Libra on.
Survivor Guilt: After Yuko sacrifices herself to save a little girl from the clutches of the Mist Dragon, Shogo is overwhelmed with grief and says that it should have been him who died.
Tears of Fear: Tears well up in Shogo's eyes upon witnessing Byblos' full monstrous form after running out of options to fight him.
Took a Level in Badass: After discovering his Combine ability, Shogo becomes far more of a force to be reckoned with, turning his arrows into Bomb Arrows that can make even the Mist Dragon flinch. Combined with his quick thinking and meta knowledge, he goes from scared rookie to someone more than capable of pulling his weight even against highly dangerous foes.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: After suffering from years of burnout after not achieving his dreams of working on game development at Square-Enix, Shogo's adventures in the fantasy world make him happier than he's been in a long time. But then it's inverted when Yuko dies to the Mist Dragon, giving him a Heroic BSoD that nearly spirals him into the Despair Event Horizon. After he avenges her by killing the Mist Dragon, this trope is once again played straight, as knowledge that Raise might be real motivates him to keep moving forward, becoming much more cheerful, lively, and decisive in the process.
Tragic Keepsake: Sharuru places Yuko's life crystal in a pendant for Shogo to wear so he can literally keep her close to his heart.
Trick Arrow: After Shogo discovers his "combine" ability, he learns to take arrows and combine them with volatile Bomb Fragments to detonate opponents from a distance.
What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Shogo is excited when he learns that his Stat-O-Vision is the lost spell Libra, also known as the "All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods", but is soon dismayed when he realizes that his version only works on objects and not monsters or people. That means he can't pick out people's identities or monster's weaknesses, and the information he gets is pretty sparse at best. But when he realizes that this same ability lets him combine two items together to create a new item, he changes his mind and learns to use it to greatly improve his effectiveness as an adventurer.

Yuko Sasaki

Shogo's little sister and a fellow fan of Final Fantasy. Like him, she wants to help create a Final Fantasy game and got a job at Square-Enix for the same reasons. But after she and Shogo are transported to a 'Final Fantasy''-like world, she decides to make the most of it, jumping headfirst into the adventuring life.

Character Catchphrase: Yuko stirs the indecisive Shogo into action by saying, "Look hard, study hard, think hard, and search hard!" According to her, there's always an answer for everything, but sitting around do nothing won't help him find it. After her death, these words continue to motivate him to keep fighting in search of a way to revive her, and he recites them constantly in times of crisis.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Yuko revels in getting to live out her dreams in a fantasy world and jumps at the chance to help others, rushing to help a little girl even while under the threat of a Nigh-Invulnerable dragon. She even quotes Zidane while rallying the others to help her. Unfortunately, she was ultimately ill-prepared to handle such a threat, and dies rescuing the girl by tossing her into Shogo's arms before Yuko is snapped up by the dragon. Her tragic efforts ultimately inspire Shogo to follow her example in not letting anyone die, The Needs of the Many be damned.
Yuko: [quoting Zidane] You don't need a reason to help people.
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: She karate chops her brother on the head after he goes on a drunken tirade at a restaurant over his frustrations about not being able to design a Final Fantasy game the way he always dreamed of.
Look Both Ways: Shogo and Yuko are apparently run over by a truck while leaving a restaurant before being sent to the Final Fantasy-esque world.
Plot-Triggering Death: Initially, Shogo and Yuko have no real plans in this Final Fantasy-like world, merely enjoying it while trying to find a way home. After Yuko dies saving a little girl, Shogo becomes obsessed with rediscovering the lost magic Raise to bring her back to life, convincing his new companions to help him on his quest.
Sacrificial Lamb: Yuko dies saving a little girl from the Mist Dragon, showing that the world is not like a Final Fantasy game where any fallen ally could be revived with Raise as well as the true dangers of adventuring. Her death motivates him to discover Raise and bring her Back from the Dead.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Yuko is the energetic girl to Shogo's savvy guy. Shogo is a neurotic Final Fantasy Otaku whose skill at observation causes him to overthink himself into an indecisive rut. Meanwhile, Yuko's energy and positivity means that she has no problems jumping headlong into new situations even when she doesn't have all the information.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Yuko is endlessly energetic and optimistic, always managing to look on the bright side of things and supporting Shogo in his darkest moments. She never succumbs to self-doubt or indecisiveness, and is always willing to lend help to someone in need. Her kindness ultimately does her in when she rushes out to save a little girl at the mercy of the Mist Dragon, sacrificing herself to get the girl to safety just as the dragon's jaws close around her.
Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about her without mentioning that she dies in the first chapter, motivating Shogo to find Raise to revive her for the rest of the series.

Sharuru Linkingfeather

The party's White Mage, Sharuru is always looking for everyone's well-being, physical and emotional, and can't stand to see others hurt.

Affectionate Nickname: Rei calls her "Sharu" to show how close they are.
All-Loving Hero: Sharuru hates seeing other people hurt and will heal them no matter who they are if their lives are in danger. Even individuals like the corrupt Count Borghen, a slaver, child abuser, and terrorist, get her immediate attention if they're about to die.
Doom Magnet: Discussed. Sharuru descends from a clan of migrants who warn her against staying in one place, lest she bring bad luck. Because of this, Sharuru worries that every bit of misfortune she or anyone else she cares about ever experiences is her fault. Shogo changes her mindset by bringing up similar proverbs from his world, explaining to her that her mother didn't truly mean that, and it was simply an adage to get her to continue seeing the world.
The Heart: She's by far the most empathetic of the party, able to cry Tender Tears over everyone and rush to the side of the injured no matter whose side they're on. She even saves the life of the corrupt Count Bhorgen after Cindy plucks out his eyes and drains his blood even though she would never benefit from it.
Nice Girl: Sharuru is by far the nicest of the party, constantly sympathizing with Shogo and trying to keep everyone's spirits up even as Rei and Duston admit that Randolph has a point in saying that their reckless actions led to Yuko's death.
Nice Mean And In Between: Sharuru is the Nice to Rei's Mean and Duston's in-between. Sharuru is an All-Loving Hero and The Heart of the party who is constantly worrying about and doting on others.
Puppy-Dog Eyes: Sharuru's cute appearance means that she can get her friends to help her simply by pouting and looking up at them with her sparking eyes.
White Magician Girl: Sharuru is a capable White Mage, but she admits that she's far from omnipotent and White Magic is only good for stemming bleeding, closing gashes, and alleviating pain. She can't fix broken bones, restore lost limbs, or revive the dead.

Duston Volta

An easygoing "Hyuuj" (basically a Roegadyn from XIV or Galka from XI) Black Mage, Duston is an amiable fellow who mediates between his friends and helps them in all matters magical.

Fiery Redhead: Subverted. Although he has a preference for Fire, Duston is the calmest and most relaxed member of the group, not possessing Rei's hot-headedness, Sharuru's emotional reactions, or Shogo's constant desire to help.
Nice Mean And In Between: Duston is the In-Between to Sharuru's Nice and Rei's Mean. Duston isn't as caring or empathetic as Sharuru, but he's more easy-going and amiable than Rei.
Playing with Fire: Duston's preferred attack spell as a Black Mage is Fire.

Rei Hagakure

The most cynical and grounded member of the party. Rei is exasperated with her party members' antics and often tries to rein them in, but she's a stalwart ally to anyone who earns her trust.

Action Girl: As a warrior and an adventurer, Rei is a frontline fighter who won't hesitate to charge into battle with her trusty axe.
The Cynic: Rei is the most dour member of the party and is quicker to respond pessimistically than the others. Even when she's convinced by Sharuru to help Shogo, Rei pointedly mentions that she's only doing it for her and not because she believes in him.
Dark and Troubled Past: Given her reluctance to talk about her past and her general cynicism, it's heavily implied that Rei has not led an easy life. An even larger hint is given in Byblos' book world, as she's approached by an apparition of what appears to be a younger sibling asking her to stay in a world free of lies and deceptions that only benefit one group of people. She merely glares the apparition away rather than humor it, instantly overcoming Byblos' attempts at trapping her in a Lotus-Eater Machine.
Defrosting Ice Queen: It takes some time, but she eventually begins to soften up to Shogo after getting to know him better and acclimating to his personality and tendencies. She's even the one to help him break free of Byblos's Lotus-Eater Machine.
Forced Transformation: Rei is transformed into a toad by Byblos. Unfortunately, as it's yet another lost magic, there's no Maiden's Kiss to cure it, meaning that the only way to turn her back is to get Byblos to cast it on her again.
Nice Mean And In Between: Rei is the mean to Sharuru's Nice and Duston's In-Between. Rei is The Cynic who won't hesitate to call out the foolhardiness of her party members' actions.
Our Elves Are Different: She's an "Elrein", the fantasy world's equivalent to the Elezen or Elvaan races from Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV respectively.
Sour Supporter: Rei is far more cynical and grounded than her other party members and is the first to criticize Shogo's actions, initially not even wanting Shogo and Yuko to join the party at all. But with some coaxing (read: Puppy-Dog Eyes) from Sharuru, she usually comes around and generally helps Shogo even if she doesn't like what he's doing.
Taking the Bullet: When Byblos tries to cast Toad on Sharuru, Rei jumps in the way and is turned into a toad.

Nylpo

Randolph Amaranth

An adventurer and a Paladin working in Nylpo at the start of the story. He chastises Shogo's party for their recklessness that got Yuko killed and repeatedly mocks him for struggling with tasks that even novice adventurers should be able to handle.

Backhanded Compliment: He praises Shogo for not completely freezing up in front of a coeurl and at least managing to fire a few arrows off even if they all missed, telling him that a dodo should be well-within Shogo's capabilities to beat.
Big Damn Heroes: He busts in a nick of time to rescue Shogo from Gaf Garion, who'd been holding him at swordpoint and preparing to kill him for trying to rescue another person.
Control Freak: One of his conditions for Shogo's party to join his raid against the Mist Dragon is to follow all of his orders to the letter no matter what. But this is done out of a desire for his party members' safety rather personal satisfaction.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": He was once known as "Rad", a member of Garion's Mercenaries. Randolph has since discarded that name, having grown disgusted with Gaf Garion's exploitation of him and the things Garion made him do.
Exactly What I Aimed At: In the middle of battling Cid, Randolph suddenly throws his sword way off-target. Cid mocks his poor aim and Randolph would have been sawed in half had Shogo not jumped in the way and tried to defuse the situation. But after Randolph's Identical Stranger intervenes, Cid turns around to see that Randolph had thrown his sword to cast a remote version of Passage of Arms to protect two Catter bystanders.
Expy: He's one of Ladd/Rad from Final Fantasy Tactics, having been a part of Garion's Mercenaries before having a Heel–Face Turn.
Identical Stranger: His face is identical to someone from Cid's Dark and Troubled Past and the sight of it is enough to spur a Roaring Rampage of Revenge from Cid.
Jerkass Has a Point: Randolph's biting and cruel criticisms of Shogo treating adventuring like a game strike home. Shogo can't even bring himself to respond, while Rei and Duston admit that Randolph has a point when Yuko dies to a monster that they knew they should have fled from.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Randolph is condescending, curt, and rude at the best of times. But his demanding Control Freak personality is rooted in his desire to prevent needless harm and injury, insisting that nobody will die under his watch.
Knight in Shining Armor: Subverted. He's a Paladin and possesses a strong sense of justice, but his pride as an adventurer coupled with his contempt for those he deems incompetent prevent him from truly being one. But after the heroes beat the Mist Dragon when his party is incapacitated, he resolves to become an adventurer more like Shogo. By the time Shogo bumps into him again at the Gold Saucer, Randolph has become a much more Hot-Blooded person in his frantic desire to be a kinder and more altruistic adventurer even while getting handed all sorts of menial tasks. Shogo even says that Randolph's feelings of frustration are not unlike his own at the start of the story.
Knightly Sword and Shield: He wields a sword and shield in battle as a Paladin and kills a coeurl in the blink of an eye.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: His confrontation with Gaf Garion indicates that he had no memories prior to being taken in and used by the man as a mercenary.
Neck Lift: He's strong enough to lift Shogo up and pin him against the wall by his collar, using it to emphasize how Shogo is utterly out of his depth.
Strong and Skilled: Randolph instantly cuts a coeurl to pieces to emphasize his strength and skill as an adventurer. In addition to his swordsmanship, he also possesses the ability to cast offensive and defensive magic on top of being an adept and charismatic leader. He's also able to force back Gaf Garion, who instantly dominated Shogo in a fight.
The Worf Effect: After being established as a seriously strong and skilled adventurer, Randolph and his expedition party are nearly entirely incapacitated when the Mist Dragon uses its Cold Fog ability counter their attacks.
Took a Level in Kindness: Following his party's Break the Haughty moment, Randolph becomes a much more openly warm person, greeting Shogo as a friend and even coming to his aid at the Gold Saucer while proudly declaring that he is an adventurer.

The Mist Dragon

Better known as the Dawnless White Dragon, the Mist Dragon is legendarily powerful monster that has been terrorizing the area around Nylpo for years.

An Ice Person: The Mist Dragon is capable of creating freezing cold temperatures and makes its home atop a snowy mountain. This is most emphasized by its Cold Fog ability, a powerful Counter-Attack that coats its victims in ice and snow.
Annoying Arrows: Ordinary arrows are useless against its scaly hide, pinging off harmlessly. The only archer capable of damaging it is Shogo, who uses exploding Trick Arrows.
Counter-Attack: As per its original appearance in Final Fantasy IV, the Mist Dragon's most dangerous ability is its Cold Fog attack, in which it emits an impenetrable icy fog. Any attacks made against the dragon in this state will result in it counterattacking with a freezing attack capable of incapacitating a small army of adventurers all at once. But the dragon is completely immobile while using this attack, allowing anyone left standing to manuever around it without fear..
Feed It a Bomb: How it meets its end. The Mist Dragon first attacks the adventurer parties who've come to slay it by biting off the arm an adventurer holding a magical torch capable of remaining lit in a raging blizzard. The torch stays lit in the dragon's belly, igniting the Bomb Core that Shogo shoves down its throat and blowing up the dragon from the inside.
Hero Killer: The dragon is introduced killing Yuko with a single bite, emphasizing the immense danger it poses to the heroes and setting the tone of the story as a world filled with danger as much as wonder. Shogo makes it his goal to kill the dragon and avenge Yuko's death before setting out to find Raise and revive her.
Oh, Crap!: While it seems bestial in intelligence, its eyes clearly widen in alarm when it realizes that Shogo is about to Feed It a Bomb. Unfortunately for the dragon, it isn't able to close its mouth in time because of the shield that Shogo shoved in its jaws, resulting the dragon swallowing the Bomb Core and blowing up.
Starter Villain: While a fearsome opponent, the Mist Dragon serves to kickstart the plot with Yuko's Plot-Triggering Death. Its powers are also relatively simple compared to the foes that Shogo faces later on.

Mysidia

Sara

A hooded girl the heroes encounter while exploring Mysidia. She's looking for her missing cat and offers to sneak the heroes into the Mysidia Royal Library if they help her. In truth, she's the princess of Mysidia.

Foreshadowing: It's unlikely that a girl off the streets would be able to get the heroes into the most heavily guarded and prized library in Mysidia. This, along with her name, is a hint toward her true identity as the princess.
Kindhearted Cat Lover: She has a cat named Lukahn that she asks the heroes to help her find, even promising to help them sneak into the Mysidia Royal Library if they help her.
In the Hood: Sara hides her identity in a hood and cloak to avoid drawing attention while looking for her gaelicat, Lukahn.
King Incognito: She's in fact the princess of Mysidia, going out into town as a normal girl in search of her Gaelicat.
Reasonable Authority Figure: In contrast to the decadent and indolent nobles of the Mysidian court, Sara has a firm grasp on the issues in Mysidian society and actively tries to change them. After the heroes save her life, she intervenes on their behalf on multiple occasions and treats them as trusted advisors above the protests of her guards. She also dips into her own pockets to rearm the heroes after they lost their equipment while fleeing the Magus Sisters.
Rebellious Princess: While she's serious about her duties, Sara shirks the more delicate activities of being a princess, like representing her country at fancy parties to curry favor. She actively evades her own bodyguards when they try to convince her to attend one of these parties, going so far as to use secret passages in the castle and jumping off the roof with the help of Lukahn. Though, as she admits to Gershwin, this is largely because she's a teenager terrified of being thrust into a role she's not ready for, as she feels there are countless other people in Mysidia better qualified than her.
Recurring Element: Anyone familiar with Final Fantasy will realize that Sara is the recurring character Princess Sara who has made multiple appearances throughout the series.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Compared to the decadent nobles and her indolent father, Sara is well-aware of the problems with Mysidia's society and actively tries to do something about them. When the heroes are framed in a Kangaroo Court, she comes to their aid and exonerates them before deputizing them as her knights to ward off any complaints about them being around her.

The Magus Sisters

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/final_fantasy_lost_stranger_magus_sisters.jpg

From the left, Sandy, Cindy, and Mindy

A trio of powerful sister mages belonging to the Forbidden Arts Guild, a terrorist organization that wishes to upend Mysidia's society for its own personal ends.

Adaptational Attractiveness: The Magus Sisters are much more conventionally good-looking compared to their usual depictions in the games, where they're usually either rotund or Noodle People dressed in insect-style clothing. Here, Cindy is incredibly buxom and wears provocative clothing, Sandy wears a punkish outfit that bares her midriff, and Mindy is dressed in Gothic Lolita clothing.
The Archmage: Duston straight up calls all three sisters as powerful as members of the Archmagi-class of mages, flinging around -ga spells with shortened chants or even without a chant at all. They're a match for many of Mysidia's most powerful mages and Cindy gains access to the most powerful offensive White Magic spell, Holy, and tries to use it to obliterate the heroes.
Big Little Sister: Sandy is notably taller than her older sister Cindy.
Big Sister Instinct: More than anything, Cindy loves her sisters and will do anything to protect them. Shogo knows this from his knowledge of the Final Fantasy franchise, which is why he figures out that Reflect is taking everything Cindy has to maintain when she doesn't lift a finger to help her injured sisters, proving that her bluster was to cover up how she's a Paper Tiger while keeping Reflect up.
Big, Thin, Short Trio: As is traditional for them. Cindy is the Big, having an impossibly buxom figure. Sandy is the Thin, being the tallest and thinnest of the three. And Mindy is the Short, being the size of a child compared to her sisters.
Dub Name Change: Like in the original games, the sisters' Japanese names are Dogu, Magu, and Ragu, but the English translation changes it to Sandy, Cindy, and Mindy.
Femme Fatalons: Cindy has long, sharp fingernails which she uses to pluck out Count Borghen's eyes at one point.
Freudian Excuse: The sisters are the product of Mysidian's corrupt stratified system. Despite their immense magical talent, they were born into the lowest strata of Mysidian society. Because of this, they had nowhere to go to practice their talents and were orphaned and left to survive on the streets. Then they were "rescued" by Count Borghen, who abused them to make use of their talents to advance his own standing. This made the sisters bitter and vengeful, seeking to upend all of Mysidian society for consigning them and all others like them to a miserable fate.
Gravity Master: Cindy is powerful enough to instantly cast Graviga without a chant, crushing the top of a clock tower and putting so much force on Shogo and the others that they instantly black out.
Hairstyle Inertia: Cindy still wears her hair in the same Girlish Pigtails she did as a child, reflecting how she's ultimately never moved past her childhood traumas and disappointments and is just lashing out at what she sees is the cause rather than genuinely wanting revolution.
Holy Hand Grenade Cindy uses Holy, the ultimate offensive White Magic Spell, in an attempt to wipe out that heroes at the Mysidia Royal Cathedral, dealing massive damage with a beam of light. They're only saved by Palom and Porum's quick thinking to shield themselves with rapid-fire Quaga spells.
Impossible Hourglass Figure: Cindy has breasts twice the size of her head as well as a tiny waist that emphasizes her hips. She's notably the only character in the story with exaggerated proportions like this, as both of her sisters have much more reasonable figures.
Ms. Fanservice: Cindy has by far the largest bust in the story along with a huge rear and a tiny waist. She dresses in a skimpy outfit with a prominent cleavage and the panels often have her pose in such a way that emphasizes her bust.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Magus Sisters are savvy enough to torch anything the heroes could use to escape the room they're locked in to prevent them from escaping. Unfortunately for the Magus Sisters, they didn't know that Shogo could combine items. So when they give Sharuru an Ether to prevent her from passing out from magic overuse, he combines it with the ashes of the Mallet to create a Shrivel tonic to inflict Mini on themselves and escape out a hole in the wall.
Of Corsets Sexy: Sandy covers her top with a corset that leaves her midriff and shoulders bare.
Paper Tiger: Given her previously shown magical prowess, Cindy makes a show of talking down to the heroes and mocking them while refusing to move from her spot at the top of the Mysidian Royal Cathedral after stealing Invis and Reflect. While this makes her seem absolutely confident in her abilities to the point that she doesn't lift a finger against the heroes, Shogo correctly deduces that she cares for her sisters far too much to simply watch them get hurt after he counters their Reflect with his Mirror Mail. He then concludes that she's standing up there alone because she can't move, lest she dispel Reflect because of how much effort it takes to cast and maintain.
Pet the Dog: Cindy takes pity on Sharu when the white mage nearly knocks herself unconscious trying to keep Count Borghen alive with Cure spells after Cindy plucked out his eyes. So she gives Sharu an ether to drink to restore her mana. Unfortunately for the Magus Sisters, this enables Shogo to combine it with the ashes of the mallet in the room they're locked in to escape.
Playing with Fire: Sandy makes extensive use of Firaga when attacking those who would harm her sisters.
Sinister Scythe: Cindy carries one around in contrast to Sandy's spear. It's implied to double as a magical focus similar to the staves that Duston and Sharuru use.
Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Cindy scoffs at Princess Sara when she calls the Magus Sisters terrorists, merely taking it as an acknowledgment of their deeds performed in the name of upending Mysidian society to turn it into a true meritocracy.

Alus

A mysterious mage encounters within the nonexistent rooms of the Mysidia Royal Library. He has been trapped there along with G-Senpai for an indeterminate amount of time.

The Archmage: Alus displays power far beyond any other mage in the story up to that point, stacking twenty instances of Blizzaga and Quaga in an instant, casting the highly secretive and difficult Reflect without noticeable strain, and even performing a Fusion Dance with Carbuncle. With these powers, he's even able to go toe-to-toe with a Domain Holder like Byblos for a time, though he's unable to actually finish the job due to never learning any Fire spells. This is yet another hint at his identity as the founder king of Mysidia.
Attack Reflector: He's able to use Reflect, allowing him to protect himself from Byblos' magic.
Blow You Away: Alus is able to instantly cast Aeroga without a chant, instantly blasting Shogo, Duston, and Sharuru across the room.
Dead All Along: When Shogo manage to return to the outside world, they learn that Alus is the founder king of Mysidia, meaning that he lived and died in the time since he parted with Shogo.
Fish out of Temporal Water: He's actually from hundreds of years in the past, having left the room in a time long before Shogo arrived and later founding Mysidia.
Kung-Fu Wizard: He isn't averse to hand-to-hand combat, whacking others with his Magic Staff and kicking them away.
Magic Staff: He wields one like most other Black Mages in the story.
Foreshadowing: He possesses Reflect, the prized secret of the Mysidia royal family. In addition, he shares his name and appearance with Mysidia's founder king, Alus. That's because he is Alus.
Fusion Dance: His trump card has him summon Carbuncle and fuse with it to enter a Trance-like state.
Obfuscating Insanity: He pretends to have gone insane from Byblos' Confuse spell to trick him into casting Toad, allowing Alus to reflect it back onto Rei to revert her Toad status. His deranged act completely fools everyone present, and he attacks them with lethal force to sell the act, reasoning that he'd simply heal them up with Curaga if they actually got seriously hurt.
Alus: As they say, in order to fool your enemies, you must fool your friends, right?
One-Steve Limit: Averted. Sara notes that the name Alus is quite common in Mysidia, largely owing to the fact that its founder was named Alus. As it turns out, Alus is Mysidia's founder king, displaced in time and living out his days in the time between his parting with Shogo's party and the present.
Trapped in Another World: He's from another world like Shogo, albeit another fantasy world rather than modern-day Japan. Shogo is irritated that Alus only revealed that tidbit of info by the time they're forced to part.

Byblos

A monster hiding within the nonexistent rooms of the Mysidia Royal Library. He entraps Shogo in the others in an attempt to feed on their misery for eternity.

Adaptational Badass: In his original appearance in Final Fantasy V, he is a fairly dangerous boss but hardly unmanageable if you had anyone capable of using Black Magic in your party. In this story, he's an outright Domain Holder within his labyrinth and virtually unbeatable without the use of fire.
Domain Holder: While he's a dangerous threat on his own, he's virtually invincible inside the books of the library, becoming a Reality Warper able to come back no matter how many times he's blasted with magic and turning himself into an Eldritch Abomination armed with his enemy's fears.
Forced Transformation: Byblos is able to inflict this with his ability to use the Toad spell. The only way to undo it is to trick Byblos into using it on the victim again.
Kill It with Fire: Like his original appearance in Final Fantasy V, he's extremely vulnerable to fire. Unfortunately, it's in short supply in the library, and the heroes stumble upon him while unarmed. But when Shogo manages to get his hands on a magic ring capable of casting Fire left by a previous prisoner in the labyrinth, he's able to turn the tables by combining it with a bow to create an Ifrit Bow, sending Byblos fleeing for dear life with a single shot.
Oh, Crap!: This is his reaction when Shogo taps into the Void in his despair through a berserk use of Libra. Byblos breathes a sigh of relief when Shogo snaps out of it and the rifts in space vanish, but said relief is short-lived, as Shogo soon discovers a room with a magic ring of fire, which he fuses with his bow to produce an Ifrit Bow capable of killing him.
Schmuck Bait: He's initially sealed inside a book and begs Shogo's party to free him by opening it. Given that they've been wandering the labyrinth aimlessly, they do so in hopes of finding a way out, only for Byblos to attack them after thanking them for falling for his pleas.

Gold Saucer

Cid Bright

A skilled, but crotchety engineer currently working at the Gold Saucer alongside his brother Mid, Cid is on the hunt for a group responsible for a great tragedy in his past.

Big Brother Instinct: Cid is extremely protective of Mid, his last remaining family member. Even meeting an Identical Stranger to one of the people who attacked them in the past is enough to send Cid into a blind rage.
Cat Girl: Well, Cat Boy. He's a Catter, the Miqo'te-like race native to the land Shogo finds himself in.
Gadgeteer Genius: He's a Cid, what do you expect?
Cyborg: Cid's left arm is a machina prosthetic he keeps hidden under long sleeves and gloves. He has a miniature gatling gun as well as a chainsaw built into it in the event that his Magun is destroyed.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's always curt and rude due to being laser-focused on finding the people behind the death of someone he cared about. But as cold and irritable as he is, Cid ultimately means well, intervening on Shogo's behalf and stopping an assassin with his Magun for no real personal benefit.
I Have Many Names: He currently goes by "Ulaka Bunansa" in public, one of many identities he's implied to have created and discarded in his search for the group that caused his Dark and Troubled Past. He's gone through enough identities that Shogo calling him by his real name offhand initially makes Cid suspicious of him.
Mage Marksman: He has a version of the Magun from Final Fantasy: Unlimited, even using the same Magical Incantations and magic bullets as the one from the show. He uses this to stop a would-be assassin dead in his tracks.
My God, What Have I Done?: Shogo's attempts to invoke Go Through Me to protect Randolph fail to work on Cid, as he's so fixated on revenge that he's willing to saw through Shogo to get to Randolph. Cid's Roaring Rampage of Revenge only stops when Randolph's Identical Stranger intervenes, upon which Cid surveys the damage he just caused. In addition to nearly killing two innocent bystanders, he utterly wrecked the poster of the play that Mid is performing in. Aghast at the suffering he caused and the troubles he created for his brother, Cid flees in disgrace.
Perpetual Frowner: Cid is rarely seen without a scowl on his face to match his gruff, no-nonsense personality.
Summon Magic: Cid's Magun works identically to the weapon from Final Fantasy: Unlimited, using special bullets to invoke the powers of various summons from throughout the franchise, from Shiva to Odin.
Trauma Button: Someone identical to Randolph attacked people close to Cid known as the "Returners", of which Cid is one of the few survivors. Just the sight of this person, or someone who looks like that person, instantly sends him on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
Workaholic: He works a 24-hour shift, not getting a wink of shut-eye until his Benevolent Boss orders him to take a break above Cid's own protests.
Wrecked Weapon: Randolph cuts Cid's Magun in half, rendering it useless. But this just makes Cid reveal his machina prosthetics and other gadgetry. Cid is later shown to have repaired it.

Mid Bright

Cid's younger brother who is currently working as a famed theater actor in a troupe stationed in the Gold Saucer.

Big Brother Instinct: Inverted. While Cid is highly protective of Mid, Cid's busy schedule and Workaholic tendencies means that he's unaware of the many times that Mid has had to fend for his own life. Mid didn't reveal that he's been the target of four kidnapping attempts and one assassination attempt solely because he didn't want Cid to worry.
Beware the Nice Ones: Mid is friendly and outgoing, if a little meek, showing great care for his co-workers at the theater and the engineers at the Gold Saucer. But when confronted by assassins aboard the Prima Vista, Mid proves to be every bit as ruthless as his brother Cid, showing a similar Death Glare.
Home Field Advantage: Mid has control over the Prima Vista's automatons used for stage plays. They double as a security system that Mid invokes by saying the ship's name followed by which attack he wants it to use. This, combined with his fame, means that he's considered perfectly safe so long as he's aboard the ship, as people will notice his absence if he's ever kidnapped.
Pretty Boy: He has much softer, more feminine looks than Cid and lacks Cid's perpetual scowl. This makes "Haiyu" incredibly popular and he plays major roles as handsome men like Setzer in "the Jidoor Opera House".

Characters / Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger

Main Characters

Shogo Sasaki

Yuko Sasaki

Sharuru Linkingfeather

Duston Volta

Rei Hagakure

Nylpo

Mysidia

Sara

The Magus Sisters

Alus

Byblos

Gold Saucer

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Characters / Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger

Edit Locked

Main Characters

Shogo Sasaki

Yuko Sasaki

Sharuru Linkingfeather

Duston Volta

Rei Hagakure

Nylpo

Mysidia

Sara

The Magus Sisters

Alus

Byblos

Gold Saucer

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