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Over three decades after the first Final Fantasy took the world by storm, the iconic franchise hasn’t quite lived up to its namesake. With a total of fifteen mainline entries–some with sequels of their own–and a myriad of spin-off games, anime, and other media, the series is anything but final. And with the success of Final Fantasy VII Remake and the hype surrounding PlayStation 5’s upcoming Final Fantasy XVI, it’s clear that fans’ love of the property isn’t going away anytime soon.
You could argue that Final Fantasy’s excellent storytelling, vibrant settings, and engaging gameplay is what has kept fans interested all these years later–and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But most players would agree that the most memorable aspect of each entry has consistently and overwhelmingly been its diverse collection of party members, who capture our hearts and stick with us long after the credits have rolled. And the characters that tend to get much of that spotlight are the primary protagonists.
There’s no denying that, as our party grows in each installment, we discover new favorite friends to adore–but it’s the main characters that we begin our journeys with. It’s these primary protagonists who we largely play as throughout the adventure and thus rely on to steer the game’s core narrative. And as such, it’s easy to grow attached to them as we watch them bare their emotions, develop relationships, and prevail against evil. Of course, it helps that they’re usually pretty damn cool, too.
There are a lot of phenomenal main characters throughout the long and storied history of this beloved JRPG franchise, but rather than rank each and every one of them, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best mainline Final Fantasy protagonists so far.
