THE BEST JRPG PROTAGONISTS 

Velvet!!!!!!!!, that was my favorite scene. You can tell her hatred ran very deep.

Sora is one of my favourite characters. It's really impressive how well he can fit into the Disney worlds. His friendships are beautiful and it plays into the gameplay and story perfectly. His friends are quite literally his power. One and a half pints might be my favourite JRPG party

Solid list. Stocke from Radiant Historia is one of my personal favorites, as he's not a child and is a competent agent and warrior, plus has plenty of lines.

Love the top picks! Would be cool to see a “best side characters or supporting cast” too at some point.

pel out here changing the top 5 game, this list was heat!! i really loved the editing in neku's section specifically, it's super cool to see you constantly prove yourself to be an amazing video editor, and the scripting was so smooth i feel like the video flew by. this video was so good wtf

Absolutely agree with Shulk, he's great. A personal pic would be Estelle from the Trails in the Sky games, she is amazing, her character development throughout both games is mesmerizing.

great video! seeing how much you changed thanks to the world ends with you was heartwarming!

Zidane is such an interesting character; aside from everything you mentioned here, I love that scene right around beginning of the third disc. You know the one: he's an upbeat goofball all the time, but now he's really hurting because he's trying to be taken seriously, and he knows that's going to be almost impossible because of who he is and how others see him; so rarely do goofball characters address that other side. For me, the obvious choice is Asellus from SaGa Frontier, whose scenario I am coincidentally playing right now. She gets thrown into some ridiculous circumstances, but the gist of it is that she's torn between two worlds, and has absolutely no place in either one. She spends her time trying to fit into her new life or go back to her old one, but once she figures out that she doesn't belong anywhere, she says screw it and carves out her own little slice of the cosmos. Terra from Final Fantasy 6 and Nina from Breath of Fire 2 resonate strongly with me for similar reasons, so runner-up would probably go to Cecil Harvey. He's also been put through a lot, and has a lot of weight on his own conscience, but instead of moping and whining about it, he puts his feeling aside because there's a job to be done; there's plenty of time to reflect once the world is safe again.

I once played all the (then available) Final Fantasies back to back in numerical order. I'd completely missed the PS1 era so they were all brand new to me, and I cannot tell you how much of a breath of fresh air Zidane was as a protagonist after 7 and 8. I appreciate Cloud and Squall's journeys don't get me wrong, but it felt so nice to have a main character that didn't have an initial level of sourpuss to get over. While he had his own journey and foibles, his role of supporting the other characters on their own path of self-discovery is fun and gratifying. Zidane's a big reason why 9 remains my favorite FF from that era of the franchise.

If Estelle Bright and Cecil Harvey aren't on your list, it's automatically incorrect.

Solid picks, fully agree with all of them! My own top 5 would be: 5. *Vyse* (Skies of Arcadia Legends) 4. *Velvet Crowe* (Tales of Berseria) 3. *Kalas* (Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean) 2. *Stocke* (Radiant Historia) 1. *Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd* (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Totally agree with you. Ryudo is definetely up there with one of the greats. If this were my list I personally put him at 2 with Ichiban Kasuga being the top pick. It was just so refreshing to feel represented as someone who grew up to have a passion for video games take center stage in one of if not the best Yakuza game ever

Your video convinced me to pick up grandia 2. I never played it but I loved your other picks :)

Fei Wong from _XenoGears._ Talk about a tormented protagonist... this man's (partially) repressed traumas transcend history itself. And his love story with Elly is one of the best ever written in the genre. Also, love the fact that Ryudo is #1, me and my buddies were quoting his lines years after we played the game. Good times...

Yeah I guess it depends on the silent Protag, I think Dragon Age Origins and Persona 3 do it well where you still have the character be silent but their canon choices still serve ti help the other characters in the cast grow while still showing that even if only alittle this character has emotions that sine through quietly.

So happy I found your channel love the topics you discuss and the way you discuss them. I've been streaming TotA to some friends recently and they asked what rpgs have my fav characters in terms of how they're written. Grandia 1 and 2 smoke every game in that regard for me, criminally underplayed games by modern rpg fans.

Sora is what I like to call an Effortlessly Well-Written Character. In my opinion, character writing and dynamics are some of what Kingdom Hearts does best, taking simple characters and giving them a lot of depth, and Sora is no exception that, but at the same time, with a character who's so naturally likeable like Sora, it almost doesn't matter how well written they are, and I think no moment better exemplifies this than the ending of Dream Drop Distance. Without going into spoilers, I think, in universe, it's so stupid and unfair that Sora doesn't get the same reward as Riku, but the way he reacts makes me not care about it anymore. It's representation of his character and somehow takes that should be frustrating and makes extremely wholesome. Craziest part is he's not even my favourite character (Ventus Sweep/Xion Sweep).

Glad to see Sora on the list. I'd also throw in Vyse from Skies of Arcadia, Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia, and Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening

She got me at the end lol i just knew Cloud was number 1 when she said "A job is a job"

Loved seeing Ryudo on top. Great character. Glad it’s available on modern systems.

I love any shout out to Ys Origins, I remain grateful that you introduced me to the game.

I am pleasantly surprised by your picks. Especially the number one and two slot. You get so used to the same final Fantasy style picks on these lists you took me by surprise. Great stuff and couldn't agree with you more with Shulk, Ryudo though, I think he is very different by the end of the game. At the start he's all like, "I know you already hate me so I hate you first." by the end of the game he is spouting about righteousness and stopping evil. I missed his attitude but Grandia 2 is one of the very best RPG's that no one ever talks about. Pelvic Gaming you did good on this one.

Amazing list! So happy to hear your love for TWENY and Grandia 2!!!!

I'm also not a fan of silent protagonists, but I weirdly felt very connected to Persona 3's protagonist (and the female counterpart too in Portable). Probably because of how they have the ability to impact others and seeing that payoff return beautifully. Also love seeing Neku, Shulk, Zidane, and Sora mentioned! I'm gonna check out Grandia 2 and Tales of Berseria, you got me very intrigued!👀

Kaim Argonar from Lost Odyssey. To this day one of the only JRPG "angsty" protags that has a legit reason to be off-putting and still have his team put up with him. The character arc, the side characters, the story, the music, the writing for the 1000 years of dreams by Kiyoshi Shigematso. The games characters and writing legit brought me to tears. Chrono Trigger will always be my #1 greatest JRPG of all time, but It was a photo finish between it and Lost Odyssey.

Great vid as always. Also I almost snorted out my drink when the 5 came up and you made that noise XD

Great list, my nomination for this list would be brother Nier from Nier Replicant and the Japanese version of the original as one of the greatest protagonists the genre has ever had.

You mentioned tales but we didn’t get you to mention luke! He has an incredible arc…The starts from being a piece of trash to something new arc.

Great picks. Neku is one of my favourites possibly my favourite. I also saw a bit of myself with him being distant & then opening up more as time goes on. Some of my other favourites include Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, Ike from Fire Emblem Path of Radiance & Vyse from Skies of Arcadia.

Zidane is my genome

Greatest intro to Neku ever. I knew exactly who you were revealing with that!

Yay, finally some Zidane love

Really liked Yuri Lowell. Loved his no nonesense attitude towards villians. He aint the type to let you get away.

A couple of others have said it, but you have to check out Trails in the Sky. If you loved Ryuudo's sass (love Grandia 2, played it on my Dreamcast as a kid), you'll love Estelle Bright.

Yes, I agree Cloud is the best.

Rocking the hair!

Love all of yours picks, but can I would I put Ashley Riot from Vagrant Story somewhere. That's just my opinion, stay yourself Pelvic, you're doing amazing as usual.

Hell yeah with Ryudo at #1! Love your hair in this vid.

Zidane from FF9 is my favorite protagonist, especially after the more silent edgy protagonist like Squall & Cloud. He's funny, charismatic, cunning and not shy of expressing his attraction to women. Also love the space buns ❤

Bersaria is most underrated tales of by a mile.

Ah, good. Velvet Crowe made the cut. I can rest easy. :D

Great list. Personally, while I haven't given it a whole lot of thought, I think my top 5 would all be from tactical rpg games. Kyrie from Fell Seal, Denam from Tactics Ogre, Serenoa from Triangle Strategy, Edelgard, and finally probably Mordred from King Arthur: Knight's Tale. That may just be significant bias for srpg's over everything else on my part though.

Some favorite jrpg protags: KH1 Sora Luke Fon Fabre (Tales of the Abyss) Yuri Lowell (Tales of Vesperia) FF10 Tidus Kite (.HACK quadrilogy)

There is only one best silent protagonist and that would be "Link" from Legend of Zelda, but I think by design, its meant to be that way since its a first person perspective of exploring a world in an action rpg.

Very good list. My vote is for Clive. He has everything: complexity, a superb design, warmth and kindness, grittiness, badassery in combat, and intelligence. Letting the player play as a lead in his 30s was a good decision.

I think silent protagonists can work sometimes, but yeah, all things equal, I almost always would prefer a more fleshed out character, too. Also, I love your goofy presentation of each number, always helps keep your list videos fun since I never know how you're going to choose to say the next one.

I see you sneaking "Hide, Hideaway" in there at the beginning. ;) Nice list and saw the FFIX entry coming from a mile away. Haha,

Love me some Yuri Lowell from Vesperia, he was very refreshing.

i adore neku and shulk is my favorite protagonist of all time. great list! thanks for the video.

I really appreciate your cometary

Man, I was so excited to play Grandia after beating 1 on the Switch Collection, but the sound effects for 2 are so much louder than the voice and music that I couldn’t get through more than an hour or two. It’s the first time I’ve found a game to be unplayable for this reason. If I had the PC version there would probably be mods to help but I think I’m SoL. Anyone know anything that might help?

I think my top 5 would be: 1. Ichiban Kasuga 2. Kaim Argonar 3. Fei Fong Wong 4. Shulk 5. Stocke

Yes 😌 #5 the boi, continues to be a beacon of light even many many years later, due to the impact of his change

You’ve GOTTA play the trails series

Velvet Crowe (Tales of Berseria) and Lightning/Claire (FF13) are probably my favorite protagonists in jrpg !

Damn, can't watch the top pick. I have to pick it up and continue first. The first game of the series is so charming and nostalgic to me. My cousin visited our place like twice in my childhood and the second time, he bought it. He played some of it on my PSX(acronym at the time, before the actual Japanese-only PS2 console existed) with like a 10" tv. Fell in love with the game, and only played it years afterward, in adulthood myself. I guess I have to get a grip and play the second one now!

It makes me so sad that every classic rpg seems to be getting a reboot or spiritual successor except Grandia 😢

A new pelvic list and on a fun topic. Me personally off the top of my head i got Neku Sakuraba, Velvet Crowe, and Vyse. oh hey great minds think alike lol

"How to Be Pelvic's Most Eligible Bachelor"

Love it! Great list! 100% agree that silent protagonists kinda suck!

0:13 amen, I want my protagonists to speak and have a personality. Even if I’m choosing outcomes for them. I’m playing Dragon Quest 11 for the first time right now, and I haaaaaate that the Hero feels like such a blank slate. Then again I haven’t played a silent protagonist RPG in a while so maybe I’m just rusty. But I never dug it. Even when it comes to naming a character, like Persona, I check to see if the character has an official name.

You already know I’m with you on FF9 being the best FF (that I’ve played) and that Zidane is THAT GUY!

The FF16 music 😍

Yay another video woo hoo! 🎊🎉

Great list :)

But what about cloud? He stole somebody's identity and pretended to be a hero (i think) and than became a hero. Thats confusing but pretty good, right? Actually my favorite vid game character is Relm because her Grandpa's a wizard and her dads a ninja with a cool dog. And shes the most OP ff character ever made as long as shes got her fake mustache and memento.

Ichiban and Sora are my favorites.

Velvet is maybe my favorite character ever

Zidane 💗

I agree that I hate silent protagonists. The best one thought was Lea from CrossCode due to having detailed emotions via facial expressions.

YASSS GRANDIA II FOR THE WIN!!!!!

So many protagonist so many heroes, working with the friends to fight against evil. If only we as humans will band together to fingt against evil, but we had rather turn a blind eye so long it doesn't concern us cus that's how dead hearted most of humanity have become in this day and age. We can easily turn a blind eye to the systematic suffering of 2 million humans than has been going on for almost 70 years. Shame on humanity that's why jrpg heroes will only ever be fantasies.

I think squall from ff8 a great character

The entire point of a role playing game is to play a role, which means the player making the decisions for that role. The JRPG protagonists who make all the choices in the player's stead are fundamentally antithetical to role playing games, but then again JRPGs have very little to do with role playing anyway. They're more visual novels with stats and battles attached. At least the silent protagonists attempt including the player, though poorly.

Yes

Velvet ❤

Yes! I love Shulk.

TWEWY worked sooooooooo good on mobile, theb they just stopped updating it.😔

I'm still laughing at reviewers who absolutely hated Neku's character when TWEWY first came out. Like, really... did they not even bother playing past the first week of the game?? (Let alone the first few days?)

Nr1: Final Fantasy 1 Fighter. eh fights bad guys and doesn't afraid of anything!!

But… but… Sabin suplexed a train

Idk what it is, but you get finer in every video

You should really play yakuza, you will like Ichiban a lot

I don't like the silent protagonist either

Great list, but Estelle Bright

I only got halfway through Xenoblade because I thought the characters were really underwhelming, Shulk in particular. I don't understand the appeal of a character who's just defined by being "the good guy". Doing the right thing isn't a personality trait and sadly I really don't know what else there is to him. No real quirks or flawscome to mind. He really does nothing for me.

Chrono is the best hands down

...

You made me wanna play ff9 even though I disliked every one I've tried outside of 14.

Gm pretty lady.

SHULK

You put cloud on your pic but not talk about him and he fit your profile of good protagonist is a crime

Hmm no Ichiban Kasuga…

Silent protagonist are better off being dead

❤❤❤Wow! I love your hair! ❤❤❤ We would make spectacular videos together and our babies would come out beautiful! I understand why you need a lot of friends though...😅 Nice video!! Have you ever done a video on Child of Light and Grandia 2 for Dreamcast?

This list is magnificent. The taste on display here 🤌

Damn this hair, you could also be a JRPG character.