Because Kinkajou told me to.
So yeah, anything about Final Fantasy! I guess this would make a good starting point: Which are your favorite games in the series and why?
My two all-time favorites are tied between Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy IX. They're both very fun games that don't take themselves too seriously while still being legitimately emotional. On top of that, Zidane is my favorite Final Fantasy lead in the entire series. He's light-hearted, fun, and a generally nice guy to be around. FFV also has the advantage of having one of, if not the best, Job System in an FF game. Both FFV and FFIX make characters customizable while keeping them all unique in their own way. I'm also very fond of Final Fantasy I; it hasn't aged well, but it's classic, and like FFV, I played it tons as a kid.
I assume we'll drift around to various other FF-related discussions as the topic grows, right?
edited 3rd Nov '09 4:22:18 AM by Stark Maximum
To be fair, it's not like he has much competition. Rickard, the only preceding Dragoon with a name, in the NES version doesn't have any of the typical "Dragoon" traits, like affinity for spears and the jump ability.
Kain was basically the first named Dragoon who was a fully formed Dragoon as the franchise recognizes them.
Add that FFII didn't make it to the West in its original form, and Kain is, for most of the world, the first Dragoon they experienced.
The armor is arguably more Ricard's. Kain himself uses a variation of Ricard's armor, but credits should really go to Ricard for the classic Dragoon look. Though admittedly the NES version has a giant discrepancy between his concept art and his sprite.
Edited by Ghilz on Sep 12th 2025 at 9:59:04 AM
x3 Xaldin (the boss of Beast's Castle in Kingdom Hearts II) was also a Dragoon, except he didn't have a "jump" attack, he was just surrounded by wind and a bunch of lances. However, Sora gained the ability to use the Dragoon jump attack against Xaldin as a reaction command.
Edited by MiinU on Sep 12th 2025 at 7:03:42 AM
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Dragoon is the name of the Nobody type he commands, most of the Nobodies are named after FF classes.
(IIRC it actually has an interesting thing of the ones Marluxia leads being called Reaper, which debuted in KH3 a couple of years before the class was introduced in FFXIV)
Edited by asterism on Sep 12th 2025 at 3:06:37 PM
Bewitching EyesBTW I think Kain was nostalgia'd into being cool as heck, because if you go by the original game he's kinda really lame. I have seen that happen elsewhere. The first two girls in Pretty Cure were cool but they are not the epitome of badass that is seen in later works and crossover movies.
As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
x3 Xaldin didn't have the last name Highwind, but he was surrounded by wind, so technically it still applies.
Edited by MiinU on Sep 12th 2025 at 7:20:55 AM
It'll be a cold day in hell when I mention anything from XIV.
I don't really count Ward. No Jump. and his giant Harpoon feels too removed from a spear. Especially as he often throws it.
You'd be very wrong. Kain was popular and the breakout character of his own game. Again, cool designs. Dragons are cool and rad and he wears dragon themed armor. And again, he has a personality. Which puts him so far ahead of most characters in his own game.
Edited by Ghilz on Sep 12th 2025 at 10:22:02 AM
Ironically I now remember I do like Kain, but was too caught up in the FF 4 sux vibe.
As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.None of the characters in IV really stood out to me. I was more invested in the casts of VI, VII, and X.
- VI: Sabin because his Blitz attack command inputs was like having a Street Fighter II character in a FF game. So I always had him in my party because he was fun to use. I also liked Celese for her backstory, the opera scene, and (of course) her attempted suicide scene.
- VII has the most memorable and iconic cast of not just any FF, but arguably the most iconic cast of any jrpg period — and that's coming from a diehard Xenoblade fan. The AVALANCHE crew and Sephiroth are so well-known and so beloved that they're recognizable to even non-game fans. Each one is a standout in some fashion.
- X: My second favorite FF cast, mainly Rikku, Yuna, and Auron. Rikku is an infectiously likeable character, from her semi-ditzy personality to her unwavering devotion to protecting her cousin, "Yunie". Yuna's somber altruism and sense of purpose endeared her to me. Which is why I understood her more upbeat personality in X-2, now that she no longer had that tremendous weight on her shoulders. And Auron was a fine example of the gruff, albeit well-meaning grizzled mentor figure to Tidus, as well as Yuna.
FFIV's biggest problem is that it's the game in the franchise that gets hit hardest by the "Seinfeld" Is Unfunny effect. The games before it get the Early-Installment Weirdness pass and the games after it all do something new that keep them fresh to this day. FFIV's "hat" being "the first one with real characters" doesn't set it apart that much when every other FF since has that, too. (FFV's cast actually feels more dynamic to me, even.)
INT is knowing a tomato is a fruit. WIS is knowing it doesn't belong in a fruit salad. CHA is convincing people that it does.It really doesn't help that FFIV stands out in that it's the only installment that doesn't let you customize what your party can do. Even the first game lets you choose which classes you want to play the game with.
De Romanīs, lingua Latina gloriosa non fuī.Like, we have Galuf whose's main thing is he's old. And Faris who has the allegedly surprising "Im a girl actually" (No shit, have you looked at yourself???)
Bartz and Lenna and Krile might as well be non-entity. Like they could very be generic characters like in FF 1 or FF 3 and the story would barely notice. Their character trait start and end at "have relatives". Exdeath is as boring as his name sucks. Gilgamesh is otherwise the sole pillar of charisma in the game. It's dire.
Like the FFIV cast isn't a font of personality but Porom and Cid have more personality alone than the entirety of the FFV party combined. Even Kain the edgelord. And Tellah. Gimme Tellah any day over Galuf.
Edited by Ghilz on Sep 12th 2025 at 1:02:20 PM
I remember Exdeath being enjoyable due to how unabashedly over-the-top he is.
Granted, that might be the English translation doing done heavy lifting. Like how it transformed Ghido from a generic sage who happens to be a reptile into the funniest character in the game.
De Romanīs, lingua Latina gloriosa non fuī.FF V had a theme of an older generation passing on the torch to a younger generation. This is further emphasized by a certain plot development.
Exdeath is a tad generic, but he fits this theme too. He's a mess the previous generation of heroes left behind, and it's up to the new generation to permanently deal with him.
Disgusted, but not surprisedExdeath's like... not that different from Golbez. He has a few decent comeback "Have you any idea what I plan to get away with in the first place?" but otherwise he's like... this evil dude.
I did forgot Ghido and yeah he's kinda good.
Still. There's not a lot of Ghido content in this game.
Yeah but none of that makes them interesting? That Bartz' non-entity of a dead dad left Exdeath sealed doesn't make Bartz any less the "barely a step above the generic characters of FFIII".
Like, I ragged on Cecil's redemption ark being flat coz Cecil has no actual flaw or anything to work over and his redemption being detached from his actual character. But for all his boringness, Cecil does express disgust at what he did, a feeling he's got no light in him. Sure it falls into Informed Attribute ALOT, but it's miles over fucking Bartz.
Also it's kind of a weak theme coz frankly, "This was left by the old generation to be cleaned up by the new" is a recurring thing in FF coz the median age for a protagonist is like, 16 (I'm exagerating but its low).
Like, Zeromus is a mess left by his uncle, which Cecil has to clear up.
FF 8, is Squall dealing with Laguna's leftover issues.
Yuna and Tidus have to clean up what their fathers couldn't finish.
Edited by Ghilz on Sep 12th 2025 at 1:19:35 PM

Kain was popular enough that he basically became the Dragoon of the series. Estinien is the one most obviously modelled on him, but you get nods with others, like 7!Cid's surname and Fang's limit break.
Bewitching Eyes