Highlights
- Final Fantasy's strength lies in its rich cast of characters, with each mainline title featuring memorable characters that are a treat to use in battle.
- Noctis from Final Fantasy 15 is ridiculously strong, with his warping ability and Armiger Unleashed being devastating moves.
- The summoner character Rydia in Final Fantasy 4 and the cool and powerful Shadow in Final Fantasy 6 are also standout party members with unique abilities.
Final Fantasy is comfortably one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, and one need only look at the massive success that each mainline title has enjoyed to understand why this is the case. From single-player experiences that are brilliant in every sense of the word to MMORPGs that have grown to become some of the biggest modern successes of all time, there's no avenue that this series hasn't successfully explored over the past three decades.
One of Final Fantasy's biggest strengths is the rich cast of characters that accompanies every mainline title, with some of the most memorable JRPG characters of all time coming from this illustrious franchise. Using each and every one of these characters can prove to be quite a treat in battle, especially when they whip out their toughest moves to absolutely decimate their opponents in one fell swoop.
Updated on August 4, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Final Fantasy is one of the most legendary JRPG series of all time, with the games being jam-packed with content across the board. Players love the epic storylines, lovable characters, and hateable antagonists that are present in each and every title, with these games being extremely memorable despite featuring their fair share of faults. Players especially love using party members in each game who can destroy enemies with their immense power, making them some of the most important characters in the games... especially if players level them up to the highest possible extent.
8 Noctis Lucis Caelum (Final Fantasy 15)
Final Fantasy 15 might have its fair share of critics, but one can't deny that the characters featured in this title are quite engrossing indeed. Noctis is especially a character to be noted, although players might be blown away at how ridiculously strong this character is over the course of the game.
His warping ability is pretty much broken in the later stages of the game, and his Armiger Unleashed ability is pretty much a death sentence for any player that might be unlucky enough to face this massive limit break.
7 Sabin Figaro (Final Fantasy 6)
Final Fantasy 6 was first released all the way back in 1994 on the SNES, but it is still considered to be one of the series' finest entries today.
A person who can suplex a moving zombie train is bound to be one of the strongest characters ever introduced in Final Fantasy, and Sabin definitely lives up to this mantle. His Blitz abilities are genuine game-changers that can take care of even the toughest foes with relative ease, allowing the player to breeze through sections that they would be struggling with otherwise.
6 Rydia (Final Fantasy 4)
Summoners are some of the most powerful party members that players can have in their team, and it's easy to see why this is the case. These characters boast some immensely powerful magic spells and can call forth massive entities with earth-shattering attacks that hit for a ton of damage. These summons cost quite a bit of MP but are definitely worth it in the long haul.
Rydia is a party member who takes over the role of the summoner in Final Fantasy 4. After Kain and Cecil inadvertently destroy her hometown and kill her mother, she loses her mind and accesses her powers, before being transported by Leviathan to the home of the Eidolons and slowly honing her powers while aging up dramatically. Regaining her services as a party member later on in the game is a power trip, with Rydia having access to a wealth of summons that are pretty powerful in their own right!
5 Shadow (Final Fantasy 6)
Not only is Shadow one of the strongest party members in Final Fantasy 6, but he's also one of the coolest as well. His backstory is the stuff of legends and the perfect example to show why this character is so beloved among the fanbase.
In battle, Shadow can hit for a ton of damage and straight-up one-shot enemies with his Throw ability — something that players would be using a ton due to how ridiculously high the damage numbers get, even in the early game.
4 Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy 8)
A great example of a character with amazing damage output in Final Fantasy 8 would definitely be the protagonist, Squall Leonhart. With his Critical Hits being completely in control of the player, each and every one of his attacks can definitely hit for 150% damage if the player times their triggers properly.
However, it would be impossible to talk about Squall's damage without mentioning his amazing Limit Break. Lion Heart stands out in a game that is already full to the brim with amazing Limit Breaks, and the sheer amount of damage it can deal is truly breathtaking.
3 Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy 7)
Cloud is one of the most recognizable characters in Final Fantasy history, and it's only fitting that he's one of the strongest as well. He has the highest Strength potential in the original game, with his attacks hitting like a truck and decimating most enemies with ease.
As is the case with Squall, Cloud's ultimate Limit Break is also a thing of beauty. While Omnislash is automatically activated at the end of the main game, players who decide to grind out the points in the Gold Saucer to get this Limit Break will be treated to one of the most powerful moves in the entire game.
2 Warrior Of Light (Final Fantasy)
The Warriors of Light in the first Final Fantasy are four malleable individuals who can take on whatever role they wish, selected at the very start of the game. These characters may not have any personality whatsoever, but most people won't mind as long as they understand the time period when the first Final Fantasy game was made.
While starting out pretty weak — just like any other party member — the Warriors of Light slowly come into their own as they gain access to better equipment, skills, and stats. By the end of this game, this party has the ability to challenge the very embodiment of Chaos itself, which is no mean feat!
1 Any Party Member (Final Fantasy 5)
After Final Fantasy 4 took things in a more serious direction with a mature narrative and some hard-hitting moments, many fans were split down the middle about the change in tone present in the sequel. For the most part, many people didn't mind these changes, especially given how engaging and refined the job system in this title was.
All the party members started out as Freelancers before gaining access to a wealth of powerful jobs. Not only was each designation pretty unique in its own right, but players who mastered each job could use their abilities as Freelancers. This meant that, by the end of the game, the Freelancer job became the most powerful role in the entire game and allowed players to unleash a ridiculous amount of damage that could wipe out most enemies with ease!