For me it is mostly a matter of presentation and connection.

Trevor from GTA V is such a maniac, to a ridiculous degree, that I am not in danger of identifying myself with him, so I can simply enjoy the ride, while being aware that it is just a character at all times.
Similarly, needlessly (very) brutal characters or over-the-top jerks don't bother me much, for the same reason.

It becomes problematic when my protagonist is acting like a douchebag, while still being somewhat normal otherwise. For example, I really disliked Rufus from the Deponia games. It is handled in a comedic way, but I still couldn't understand him from time to time and I certainly didn't feel for him, while I think that was intended. They toned that down much in the fourth game, which I liked more in that regard.

Every JRPG protagonist ever. Childish, irrational and always in a foul mood, and that goes without counting the looks. They are all the same, and sooner or later in the game they WILL do something idiotic a sane person would have never done or they will be carried by emotions forgetting any contact with reality!

I don't like my characters lacking character. Be it virtues or flaws, the character should be more than a mannequin.

Was FFIV protag childish and irrational? What about FFVI?

Looks like someone is judging whole genre by playing no more than three games :-D

Have you seen Grandia, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Xenosaga, Tales of Vesperia, Tales of Berseria or maybe Suikoden?

No?

I thought so :-D



There is much more diversity in JRPGs than in most western RPGs. They are even not afraid to make a woman as a main protagonist of the game, which is mostly unheard of in western games...

You really should try out more than few Square Enix games, by which you judge them all...

I'll second Vaan - FF12, he's such a prissy boy, the fact that he's mostly the main character instead of the cool pirate looking dude annoyed the hell out of me. I think the main character was originally supposed to be Balthier or something.

On that note I do like Squall, he's got a cool jacket and a gunblade n stuff, doesn't really bother me that he's all emo.

There's one shot of Vaan posing like a girl, with his vest falling off one shoulder, I'm like, wtf are you doing to me square...

Still have special permission to use inappropriate language.

I have never played a FF game. I'm guessing from this thread there is a lot to hate about a lot of those characters. :P

Actually makes me want to go out and start playing the series.

The Runaway characters weren't likeable but the story kept wanting you to plug on. There's plenty but that one in particular came to mind

Agreed, I love Chains of Satinav and Geron.

You should watch some of Spoony's FF reviews, then you'd see what real hate for those characters looks like :D

Final Fantasy 4 spoilers ahead:

Here, I'll describe the two instances where Cecil was sexist, and what happens as a result:

1. The defense of Fabul. In this instance, Cecil tells Rosa and Rydia to stay back and let the men handle the fighting. (I should point out that Rosa and Rydia are your only spellcasters at this point, so not having them is a significant handicap.) As a result, Rosa gets kidnapped by Golbez, and Cecil has to rescue her (even making rash decisions like giving a crystal to the bad guy).

2. After the Giant of Babel, the party is about to go to the moon, and Cecil tells Rosa and Rydia to stay behind, again for their own protection. The two oblige (or at least it looks like they do), and the men blast off to the moon. After the trip, Rosa and Rydia get back on the ship and (IIRC) scold Cecil for telling them to stay behind. (How did they manage to stay on the ship and survive?)

Interestingly enough, here's what happens with FF5 and FF6:
FF5: The protagonist is actually the least important playable character; he is not important to the story, and he is the least developed of the main characters (though he does at least get a few scenes).
FF6: If we take Terra as the protagonist, she is naive rather than irrational. Also, it's interesting that we actually get a queer protagonist (under my interpretation, anyway); Terra is clearly asexual (see her reaction to Edgar hitting on her). It's also interesting that the notion of "main character" or "protagonist" is rather muddy in this game; there are lengthy segments where Terra isn't in your party, and after a certain major event, the only character in your party is Celes. (Some people might even consider Edgar, who is in your party the most of any character, or Locke, as the main character.)

It's a shame the protagonists of later games in the series aren't that great (although FF10 and FF12 might be like FF5 in terms of the protagonist's non-importance, but I haven't actually played either game).

Being a Final Fantasy fan isn't easy.

That's why I switched to Persona.

I highly recommend that at least one of those SE games you try be a SaGa game; they're quite interesting and not like any other RPGs I am aware of. I wish that some indie developers would take inspiration from the SaGa series; there are some really interesting ideas there.

Or what about those SJW who are constantly preaching about how they don't like SJW ...

Hands down: Zoë Maya Castillo from Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2).
What a terribly spoiled and lazy brat with boy-friend/bonding issues on top.

If this character had been male, the hard-working rich dad wouldn't be all like
"Sure you can live at home forever, abort everything you start and not do anything about getting ahead, my princess." but rather like "Get your lazy bum out of my house!".