Further Character Discussion

[mav]

Heh, I guess I'll just have to admit that he's a unique character, but not the best fighter. He's definitely unusual, or controversial, as you put it. I didn't think it made sense for his character to be so...funky, but that's just me; I'm sure a lot of people got a kick out of him. He definitely had a good storyline and backstory, and a very memorable side-quest. He's a neat little weirdo.

[V_Translanka]

I don't think I said I hate him...but he has faults and thus is obviously not (even close to) an A character.

[CelestialPhantasm]

I don't think I said I hate him...but he has faults and thus is obviously not (even close to) an A character.

I didn't say you did... I said you were hating on his magical guitar and androginous appearance- his more controversial aspects.

[V_Translanka]

Alright then, I'll rephrase...I don't think I said I hated his androginous appearance. I was just making the point that it wasn't something that made him unique.

[CelestialPhantasm]

well, you separated that aspect of his design to make an argument that he isn't unique, even though this aspect is an intrinsic result of his glam-rock status- which for an RPG is quite unique, even if you don't like it.

[mav]

Aye, I personally thought it was a bit strange, but I can't deny its uniqueness: it's a modern flare to the bard archetype. He's probably the most unique character that doesn't come off as completely ridiculous. Starky, for instance, was unique and different, but seemed outrageously strange...same with that little turnip guy. Nikki seemed like he could fit in a little more sensibly.

[placidchap]

He ripped off the top gun theme with his show boat performance.

[FouCapitan]

Since I missed every character poll, I'll just rate every single one of them from favorite to least favorite here.  Using the annoying, unoriginal, and craptastic GameFAQs tradition of putting everything into "tiers"!

I'll include a quick note to why I rate them how I do.

God Tier
--------
#1 Fargo - He's a pirate!  That's automatic first place!

#2 Kid - Sexy, one of the characters who can steal (other is above) decent well rounded fighter, and integral to the story.

#3 Glenn - Though not as much of a story as I'd liked, he's strictly badass, and with two Einlanzers and a double tech with Serge Glenn is easily one of the best fighters in the game.

#4 Serge - Would've been higher if his Luminaire wasn't a puny little lazer light show compared to Crono's original badass one.  Still, you gotta like the swallow weapons.

#5 Guile - The Magus that wasn't.  Still, one of the most badass magicians in gaming history.  Gotta love the flying runs.

#6 Sprigg - I loved this wrinkly old hag.  The dopplegang moves were fun, and added incredible depth to an otherwise wash/rinse/repeat combat system.

#7 Norris - Loved his character development, seeing as he was one of the few to actually get some.  Plus he uses guns.

#8 Razzly - If this was a cute contest, she'd have 1st place.  Since this is overall, and actually fighting ability plays a role, she drops a bit.  Although I hate the fact that her lvl 7 tech takes so much damn work to get, and can be ruined by using her too much.

#9 Pierre - He is to heroes what Carrot Top is to comedians, and yet Pierre actually manages to succeed.  How about that?

#10 Harle - Zexy French clown?  Oui!  Admittedly, I think she scored higher up here because I had  crush on Harle from Batman back in my younger days.  Still, crazy chicks need love too, amirite?


High Tier
---------
#11 Lynx (Serge transformed) - As a player, Lynx was fun.  But throwing the actual Lynx character into this, not what Serge transformed to, I have to rate him lower than the top ten.  He started off as a badass mysterious villain, then quickly turned into Darth Vader without a personality or soul.  "Serge, I am your father!"

#12 Janice - I liked her because of how unique she was, and not in an annoying way either.  A carrot weapon, strong attacks, admired by Spekkio (?), and she's a bunneh girl!  What's not to like!?

#13 Steena - Great magic attacks, unique techniques that were actually interesting to obtain, not to mention a knockout in the looks department (Yowza!) plus she's the only female character in the game that uses swords.

#14 Leena - Another winner in the looks department.  (Geez I'm biased here)  She starts off with good character development, but down the line the story just seems to forget she's there.  I wish her interaction with her alternate self was a bit less yawnworthy tho'.

#15 Riddel - Another integral part of the story, with great skills, strong magic ability, and not to mention yet another good looking character to have marching around in your party.  So why's she this far down?  She dies all the damn time in battle!

#16 Orlha - Strong blue innates seem to be hard to come by, Fargo being the big exception.  If you're looking for something less hairy and rugged, Orlha's halfway there!  (She's a bit rugged.  Cute, but rugged.  Don't tell her I'm here!  *Hides*)

#17 Nikki - I liked the 'Magical Dreamer's' segment at Marbule, and I liked his character, but they NEVER did anything with his revelation of Marcy being his sister!  Lame...

#18 Miki - Erm...  What?  She needs a comment?  *Stare*

#19 Radius - I wanted to name him "Grandpa Badass" but there wasn't enough room.

#20 Pip - He'd be more fun if his 'evolution' didn't take so long to pull off.  Pokemon on my Playstation?  It could happen.


Normal Tier
-----------
#21 Starky - Normal tier means decent, usable, but not awesome and standing out in my usual parties.  Starky is just too weird and annoying.

#22 Grobyc - Needed more backstory.  Still my favorite black innate when Guile isn't available.

#23 Marcy - "You're my sister!"  "Wat?"  *Forgets entire thing ever happened*

#24 Karsh - He annoyed me...  I don't know why...  I think it was the throwing away the flower bit.  GET OVER IT EMO!

#25 Viper - He was kinda cool, but by the time you get him, meh.  Radius already won the Gramps cup, so I guess Viper gets the silver medal.

#26 Zappa - He makes me weapons.  Wait, he can fight too?  Oh well.  Make weapons slave!

#27 Irenes - Annoying accent #42, umlauts over EVERYTHING.

#28 Sneff - Annoying accent #43, all I want for Chrisfffmas ith my two ffffront teeffff.

#29 Van - Ugh...  A painter with a boomerang who covets money...  ADVENTURE AWAITS!

#30 Luccia - A thicker German accent than any German on Earth, and the personality of a dead dog.

#31 Turnip - The fuck?

#32 Zoah - Someone needs to turn his Capslock key off.


Shit Tier
---------
#33 Doc - A surfer talking doctor?  Even though he gets plenty of backstory, and plays an integral role in the plot, I never used him in my party.

#34 Korcha - SPEEDO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

#35 Orcha - Hecha sayscha chacha toocha manycha timescha!

#36 Skelly - He's just weird...  I like his character and all, but I just never played with him in my party.

#37 Mel - A little brat...  And that's it...  Just a little brat...

#38 Leah - A little brat ripoff of a previous character who says UM all the time...  Bring back the "just a little brat" please.

#39 Draggy - No.

#40 Mojo - What?

#41 NeoFio - The hell?

#42 Poshul - 

#43 Macha - Someone call Captain Ahab.

#44 Greco - If someone had told me years ago that the sequel to Chrono Trigger would have a Mexican Wrestler exorcist as one of its characters, I would have told them to rot in hell for such blasphemy.  Why did this character need to exist?  Bring in the ninja from the development art!  Even the guy selling Churros would've been a more plausable character.

#45 Funguy - This one was just stupid...  This is saying a lot since I put him below Greco of all people.

[V_Translanka]

Why drag our nice little character poll through the mud (i.e. GameFAQs) when ZeaLitY went to the trouble of making a whole set of rating guidelines?

As part of a "Rank the Characters of Chrono Cross" feature, a huge public vote is being held. Every two days, forum members can rate a character on a scale of A-D. Your rating should be based on:

• Character Design - How good is this character's visual aesthetic, profile, and charm?
• Combat Usefulness - Is this character adept or fun in combat?
• Tilt - This can be anything, from how cool the character is to your judgment of the character's plot importance.
  

Good luck.

DO IT AGAIN, ONLY THIS TIME DO IT RIGHT!!

[utunnels]

#1 Fargo - He's a pirate!  That's automatic first place!

I agree with you, he's the coolest looking male character in this game. LOL
I like the tablet in his room with "天下無敵" written on it.

[CelestialPhantasm]

I don't agree he deserves a high place because he is a pirate.  There are a lot of lame pirates out there...

Well, this just proves that Chrono Cross has something for everyone.  Case in point: I think Mojo's really nifty and think Janice is terrible... I onced ranked all the characters in order as well, it was on Chrono Shock... sadly, the original forum is dead at the moment and I can't access that post.

[Mr Bekkler]

So... let me get this straight. There is a fan-edit of CC being made that only includes the characters that are deemed "good enough" by the community? Whatever floats their boats, I say. I think it's a horrible idea and I would never play it, but if that's what they want to do, let them.

A huge factor in my love for Chrono Cross is the freedom that I have to make any character I want seem important to the plot if I choose to. When I play, Poshul is a main character. When others play, she might not be in the story at all. Such is the beauty of Chrono Cross... You can play it however you want, unlike other RPG's, where you are forced to use certain characters and play a certain way. In Chrono Cross, your gameplay experience is tailored by YOU, and to take that away is to ruin the essence of the game.

But whatever, do as you wish. I just think it's a disastrous idea if I've ever heard one. I don't see the point in making a less flexible and variable version of a masterpiece of a game, just to cater to the minimalists and CT fanboys.

i'd play it.

i don't see the point in a lot of things in chrono cross. especially the accents or crazy amount of characters. if somebody did a fan remake or a rom hack i'd love to see it. fewer playable characters means more story for the game, including former pcs who are now npcs who still get mentioned and then the playables wouldn't need phonetic accents, and could maybe develop over the course of the adventure.

and i don't mean to argue or point fault or blame, i'm just saying half the people posting on this thread are saying "dood there's problems in the game" and the other half are saying "shut up its fine" and it's not going anywhere. agree to disagree and be done with it, jeez.

I don't agree he deserves a high place because he is a pirate.  There are a lot of lame pirates out there...

Well, this just proves that Chrono Cross has something for everyone.  Case in point: I think Mojo's really nifty and think Janice is terrible... I onced ranked all the characters in order as well, it was on Chrono Shock... sadly, the original forum is dead at the moment and I can't access that post.

chrono cross has something for me. there's just not enough of it. if there could be a third dimension to visit, with the story more spread out between dimensions, like one with chronopolis, one with dinopolis, and one with neither, and maybe less characters (only 25 to 35 or so ha) i'd LOVE the game and that'd be that.

somebody make this please!

[CelestialPhantasm]

I've been playing Suikoden Tierkreis which has 108 characters... which makes me appreciate the 45 in Chrono Cross even more. 

most of the 108 are shit and even the best characters aren't that great... Chrono Cross still offers a multi-faceted roster but with more interesting characters...

[V_Translanka]

Very few RPGs go so high in character number though (isn't that Suikoden an SRPG? though I know the regular Suikoden games have a shitton of characters as well...)...

To me, if CC was tailored to ME then the whole cast of characters would get my desired amount of Character Development: Moderate to Great. As is, I only see maybe half get Fair to Moderate, a couple (I would say literally 2) get Great and the rest get Next to None.

[alfadorredux]

Very few RPGs go so high in character number though (isn't that Suikoden an SRPG? though I know the regular Suikoden games have a shitton of characters as well...)...

All the Suikodens have 108 characters.  As a general rule, though, there's a central core of a dozen or so who get all the character development--the others are just extras who may not even be truly playable (they set up shops in your headquarters, or run minigames or what have you).

The real problem when you have a game with a large cast is maintaining focus on the most important characters.  The first three Suikodens did this fairly well.  Chrono Cross, unfortunately, doesn't quite pull it off.