Terrible RPG/game Character Names
Well, inspired by the recent reveal of a new Final Fantasy XIII character - Hope Estheim - I thought we could all have a few laughs at the terrible names we've seen in RPGs.
I think generally, the best terrible names are the ones where they just shoehorn a regular word into what's supposed to sound like a real name, then put this ridiculous character into an entirely serious setting. Needless to say, I'll be picking on Final Fantasy quite a bit. I'll get this started with a few:
Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII) - Alright, so they named a character "Cloud", which is ridiculous in so many different ways, but then they went ahead and gave him the last name Strife? GEE, I WONDER IF THIS CHARACTER IS GOING TO BE DEALING WITH A LOT OF CONFLICT.
Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII) - Really, I think the fact that he came immediately after Cloud made the idea of using "Squall" as a name much more acceptable. Plus, at least squall isn't a word most people use in their day-to-day lives; at least for me, it doesn't stand out nearly as much. I'd complain about Leonhart, but really, characters have had silly names like that for a long time, so it would be silly to start whining now.
Hope Estheim (Final Fantasy XIII) - Yeah, I know Hope can be a real name, but it's the garbled psuedo-European last name that drives this thing over the edge. I imagine if I tried to make up a Japanese-sounding name, I'd come up with something equally terrible.
Lightning and Snow (Final Fantasy XIII) - This would be beating a dead horse. We all know why this is silly. Unless they're two members of a hair band in the 80s, they don't need these names. (Now, I can deal with a quirky side character having a ridiculous name like Lightning or whatever, but when it's supposed to be the darling popular-crowd protagonists, it doesn't work for me.)
Fayt Leingod (Star Ocean: Til The End of Time) - I think the best part about this name is that they think misspelling it somehow hides how stupid it is. Say that name out loud. FATE LINE-GOD. Who would never think that's something that makes sense?
Edge Maverick (Star Ocean: The Last Hope) - The thing about this name is that as far as terrible names go, this just seems like an uninspired entry. Edge Maverick? I think I came up with a superhero with that name when I was 12, and he probably had a gun that shot knives or something like that.
chaos (Xenosaga) - It's not that his name is chaos, it's that his official name has it spelled with all lowercase letters. So, his name isn't Chaos, it's chaos.
Honorable Mentions: I could mention characters like Crono (Chrono Trigger) or Sol Baguy (Guilty Gear - not actually an RPG, I know), but those games don't take themselves quite as seriously as the titles mentioned above. It's like how the talking dog from Pixar's Up is named "Dug." It's silly, but it fits.
So, anybody else?
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Originally Posted by Shattered_weasel
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