With so many characters in the Final Fantasy series, do you often wonder who the strongest protagonist is? Or who the weakest Final Fantasy character is? It’s a fair question without any direct answers from the source material, as each game comes with its own dramatically different world, magic systems, and powers that are hard for fans to accurately compare.
When it’s all about the merits of the particular character in their original game, the most powerful Final Fantasy protagonists differ in all sorts of ways, even if they sometimes clash in games like Final Fantasy Dissidia for a slightly more balanced fight. If there were to be a proper clash of the strongest Final Fantasy characters, though, this is likely where each protagonist would line up.
Updated May 5, 2021 by Gene Cole: Final Fantasy characters are hard to compare, but specifically figuring out the strongest Final Fantasy protagonist involves some fascinating history and trivia to help explain what makes them different from each other. For those wondering who is the strongest Final Fantasy character, we felt it would be good to give a better explanation of why some of these protagonists are the most powerful Final Fantasy characters in the series.
21 Warrior Of Light (Final Fantasy)
The first ever Final Fantasy hero is also the first one on this list, much because he’s just fairly bland compared to every other follow-up. He’s a standard RPG hero, so isn’t as impressive as some of the later protagonists. He can change into several classes like Knight, Mage, or Thief. Each class has powerful weapons and abilities, but nothing crazy.
The Warrior of Light is strong in his own world, but wouldn’t stand a chance against powerhouses like Cloud or Lightning. He may not be the strongest, but he sure has one of the biggest hearts, and while that won’t put him high on the list it still means he isn’t some kind of pushover.
20 Firion (Final Fantasy 2)
A continuation of the previous game, Firion is similar to the Warrior of Light. He doesn’t specialize in anything and can take on a number of jobs. That being said, he also isn’t very impressive in strength, even though he’s definitely more recognizable in terms of looks. Otherwise, though, there isn’t much to separate him from the Warrior of Light.
He’s a jack-of-all-trades and extremely versatile, but he can only use one class at a time, so he can’t make use of his multiple talents. At least this time he has a proper name and storyline, a big step up from the Warrior of Light, but that doesn’t grant him much in the way of original powers that match up to the supernatural abilities of later characters.
19 Reynn & Lann (World Of Final Fantasy)
These twins come together, since they are two parts of a whole in the game they first appear in. Their strength comes from the ability to tame and capture the monsters of the Final Fantasy universe. This isn’t summoning, so they are eligible for the list. Reynn and Lann are able to tame some of the strongest beasts of the Final Fantasy, like Behemoths, but they aren’t necessarily as powerful by themselves.
They rely mostly on the power of the monsters they summon into battle, meaning they likely wouldn’t be able to keep up with most other characters. The strongest Final Fantasy protagonists are plenty capable of defeating monsters, so if Reynn and Lann aren’t using their objectively best options, it’s impossible for them to survive long.
18 Luneth (Final Fantasy 3)
Luneth falls into the same old category of an adaptable main character like Firion, but since Final Fantasy III has more job classes and character options than its predecessor, Luneth has far more options thanks to the game’s more polished mechanics. This gives Luneth far more versatility in battle, but it’s definitely hard to describe this early character as being too much stronger.
At this point, you may be getting sick of the standard bland heroes with no set role or job. Thankfully, when the Final Fantasy games started breaking the limits of standard medieval fantasies and ventured more unique worlds, there were tons more options that could give the heroes more to talk about, rather than ever main character being job-swapping neutral faces like Luneth.
17 Bartz (Final Fantasy 5)
Finally, a character with some level of specialization. Bartz has greater strength stats than magic, so you want to make him a physical class like warrior or monk. His higher relative stats means that he can actually make the most of these jobs, making him a greater threat than Luneth or Firion.
This gives him much more of an identity as a fighter and is substantially stronger than the heroes mentioned before, but he still lacks much in his individual story that would protect him from more magical enemies. Plus, with pure physical damage, Bartz definitely can’t hold a sword to some of the mixed-damage heroes yet to come.
16 Ace (Final Fantasy Type-0)
This game doesn’t have a clear main character, but Ace is generally considered to be most prominent one. He’s on the cover and most of the marketing material, but unlike the earlier heroes he’s more of a mid-range mage, attacking with magic-infused playing cards that can cut through foes.
This magical identity makes him more powerful than the physical and versatile fighters so far, but not by much. Ace would be able to beat strong Final Fantasy characters like Firion or Bartz, but that’s about it. He’s fast and unique, particularly compared to other future Final Fantasy characters, but not by enough.
15 Rain (Final Fantasy Brave Exvius)
Rain is from a mobile game, making it harder to compare his power with that of everyone else due to its more unique mechanics. That being said, he’s not overly impressive and one of the weaker main characters in the franchise, but is definitely stronger by having a simultaneous combination of ways to fight.
Rain is primarily a swordsman who can wield magic. He doesn’t have access to multiple classes like some of the others, but is a solid knight in his own right with magic that can top the more mystical heroes of the franchise. His lack of a specialty or unique backstory powers keeps him from being much further down this list, but that’s not to say Rain is weak in the slightest.
14 Cecil Harvey (Final Fantasy 6)
Cecil was a departure from other main characters having an adaptable characteristic. He starts off as a Dark Knight and later becomes a Paladin, building off his skills as a powerful warrior and increasing them with light magic. He may not be able to change jobs at will, but he’s hardly set in stone as a melee-based warrior thanks to the growth of his powers through the game.
He is still lower on the list since earlier Final Fantasy characters tend to be on the weaker side when compared to the newer titles. His Paladin class also gives Cecil some defensive capabilities which are fairly unique for a main character, so if there were to be some kind of Final Fantasy battle royale, Cecil would likely be able to last until the final round thanks to his bulk alone.
13 Serah (Final Fantasy 13-2)
It probably won’t surprise most fans of modern Final Fantasy games to see Serah so high on this list, as she’s hardly one of the more popular protagonists of the series. Lightning, the main star of Final Fantasy XIII, spends most of her time trying to save her sister Serah, with the sequel giving Serah the opportunity to save Lightning in return.
The extent of what makes Serah unique is the Eyes of Etro, a curse that allows her to see visions of the future at the cost of a shortened life span. This gives her a great edge for knowing what to do to save the world, but otherwise the extent of her power is some great skills with a bow and some alright general magic abilities.
12 Vaan (Final Fantasy 12)
Vaan is another one of those balanced fighters you can adapt to any role. He has some of the highest attacking stats in the game and is best suited for physical roles. However, he’s no slouch with magical abilities, which can be incredibly powerful depending on which job you end up building him into.
In Final Fantasy Tactics A2, he even returns as a full-fledged sky pirate, with finely tuned speed and evasion to make him an expert fighter. The more grounded nature of Final Fantasy XII might make him seem underwhelming and less magical, but he makes up for it in a wide variety of tank and DPS skills.
11 Ramza Beoulve (Final Fantasy Tactics)
It was a close call between Vaan and Ramza. They’re both from the same universe and are both able to be built into different jobs, but Ramza is also able to access a wider variety of jobs and is adept at both physical and magical skills. This gives him just a bit more power in his versatile roles, making him edge slightly above Van in the standings.
More importantly is his magical prowess, as he can learn one of the best spells in Final Fantasy, Ultima. Compared to Vaan’s max level spell of Scathe, it simply deals more damage and makes more of a lasting impact, meaning Ramza can hit the ceiling with his magic powers far more easily than Vaan can in any of his appearances.
10 Squall Leonheart (Final Fantasy 8)
Squall’s main asset is his mastery of the gunblade, a unique weapon that can be oddly surprising given its obvious appearance. Being the main character, Squall has well-rounded stats and his magical abilities are quite good, but Squall’s power comes in his luckiness to appear in one of the more sci-fi inspired Final Fantasy games.
He’s mostly just a fighter built on skill and technique. He doesn’t have a magical background or hidden cheesy protagonist powers like some of the other protagonists to come, but he’s well-trained and keeps an incredibly level head in stressful situations, making him one of the most capable fighters that simply lacks the tools to defeat his foes.
9 Tidus (Final Fantasy 10)
In Final Fantasy X, we start seeing a major increase in the power levels of the strongest Final Fantasy protagonists. The poorly dressed Tidus is one result of this shift, being a skilled swordsman and also able to use both White and Black magic. He’s fast, agile, and hits hard thanks to his athletic history, and his massive skill tree in Final Fantasy X only expands his power in both physical and magical forms.
The main issue with Tidus is that he’s not particularly high in the areas you want a protagonist to be. Speedy and agile characters are great as side characters, but particularly with Tidus’s childishness and egocentric nature, it’s easy to have him fall to his demise through most of his game, meaning he’s likely to be behind most other protagonists that endure similar challenges.
8 Yuna (Final Fantasy 10-2)
Take Tidus and add to that the versatility of Yuna’s dresspheres, which can infuse her with more magic than nearly any Final Fantasy protagonist so far. She lacks the physical strength of the protagonists mentioned so far, but being a pure mage comes with her own strengths, having the widest range of spells among nearly any protagonist in the series.
Unlike most hardcore mages that are in your party, Yuna can adapt to whatever situation is required of her in Final Fantasy X-2, giving Yuna a huge edge over the more limited Tidus. More than that, her magical prowess sets the standard for mage protagonists of nearly any JRPG, and can absolutely push past a majority of the weakest members of this list without breaking a sweat.
7 Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy 9)
Zidane is a great physical attacker, but what sets him apart is the Trance mechanic from Final Fantasy 9. Whenever he experiences a surge in emotion, he’s able to activate this power-up to raise his physical damage, but can also use a unique set of “Dyne” abilities that set him apart from his fellow party members. These are some of the best attacks in the entire game, and only Zidane can use them.
The more skills he learns in his base form, the stronger his Trance form becomes, meaning he can grow exponentially faster than other characters who simply level up through their gear. An endless cycle of leveling-up can make Zidane one of the strongest Final Fantasy characters of all time, even if there’s usually a quick limit you’ll reach without a ton of grinding.
6 Terra Branford (Final Fantasy 6)
Final Fantasy 6 does not have an official “main character.” Many of the characters play important roles in the story, but Terra is often at the front of the cover and other promotional material, making her the clear choice. More than that, she fits this list best by having a similar Trance power to Zidane.
In this form, Terra turns into a pure esper, a powerful being full of magical energy. In this form, Terra is easily one of the strongest Final Fantasy heroes ever made, and her magic would be at the top level and could easily disintegrate the others. If she didn’t need this special form to reach this power level, she could easily be near the very top of this list.
5 Vincent Valentine (Dirge of Cerberus)
Vincent is quite the powerhouse. His base powers aren’t that great, as he only wields a gun and wasn’t the best magic user when he originally debuted in Final Fantasy 7. However, he has the ability to transform into beast forms, something that didn’t do a lot in the original game but made him remarkably powerful in the spin-off game Dirge of Cerberus.
The Chaos form is the reason why Vincent is high on the list. He gets a massive power boost and new skills while taking this shape, and by the end of the game he also learns to properly control the form. Early Vincent likely would struggle to hold up against most of these characters, but he easily has some of the best potential of any great Final Fantasy protagonist.
4 Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy 7)
Despite his famous buster sword making him look like a Roman gladiator, Cloud happens to be one of the best mixed-attackers you’ll find in a Final Fantasy game. The Materia system of Final Fantasy 7 gives him a huge edge, letting him use all sorts of spells and infuse his attacks with so much more power than nearly any other character in the series.
His Limit Breaks are extremely powerful as well. Attacks like Cross-Slash or Omni-Slash were good enough to slay Sephiroth, one of the strongest Final Fantasy villains of all time, much less the other character’s on this list. It’s no surprise he’s appeared in games like Super Smash Bros, as his power and skills are some of the clearest of the entire series.
3 Zack Fair (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7)
Zack and Cloud are quite similar in strength, having both been injected with Jenova Cells to give them accelerated strength and similar backgrounds in the form of their training and experience in the SOLDIER program. What gives Zack a slight advantage is his limit break, Digital Mind Wave, which allows him to learn the abilities of others and use them for himself.
Cloud has the general skills locked down, but this limit break gives Zack the power to take down nearly any opponent stronger than him with their own moves. Unique magic is what gives the edge to the strongest Final Fantasy characters, and that’s especially clear with the underrated Zack Fair.
2 Noctis Lucis Caelum (Final Fantasy 15)
At first, the characters of Final Fantasy 15 don’t seem too overpowered. Noctis can warp around the battlefield at intense speeds, but his magic abilities are extremely limited and his physical attacks are quite standard. The main characters of this game mostly fight using weapons with very little signs of augmentation or supernatural abilities, making him seem like an odd choice for the second-best hero.
This changes when you learn of Noctis’ armiger abilities, and the Thirteen Royal Arms. Using this ultimate power, Noctis gains the ability of flight while also being able to shoot laser beams at will and wield a variety of shifting weapons, making him much more reminiscent of a Sephiroth-style boss and setting him above nearly every other traditional main character of the Final Fantasy series.
