Did Bartz really have a personality?

Tetra Master

Tetra Master

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what do you guys think about him as the leading character of FFV? would you tell how dull and development-lacking his character is or rather find something deeper about him and praise it, if there is any? let's open a discussion here to bring to the community another less-known character and see.

I think there isn't much exciting in him compared to the leads of IV and VI and does anyone think the scene where he's standing by those tall rocks after the earthquake early in the game is wrong? being that he is described to be fearful of heights from his childhood experience. and about his sprite, wasn't it pretty similar to the warrior of FF1-3? personally I think it might be modeled after them and to show the improvement of the next generation FFs in the SNES. what are your thoughts?
 
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FFV wasn't really big on character development. There probably even less developed than the IV characters. Faris and Galuf were pretty interesting though.

One thing interesting about Bartz though, he finds out later in the game that he was actually following in his father's foot steps. Usually if a character had a famous parent they're goal through out the game is them wanting to be just like them.

I would say though out of IV and VI, Bartz is the least interesting lead character. Maybe they were trying to go for a more traditional hero? You know, the simple boy from a small town that saves the world?
 
I don't believe so, the main char just kind of went along with everything were like Rydia said others changed and experiences based around them.
 
Did any of the characters in FFV have a personality?
I can't stand a single one of them. They're all so cliched it's painful, and not one of them has an ounce of personality to them.
 
the only one i liked was galuf, to be honest i didnt even know "bartz" had a name and now that i know it i like him less cause bartz is such a stupid name. i think galuf was the most developed and interesting character.
 
From what little of FFV i've played, he was okay personality-wise, IMO he just seemed to be the resident "nice guy" who just went along because it was the right thing to do.

Then again, does his personality expand further in the game? *is up to the second crystal*
 
We have to give Bartz some credit. I mean he definently had more personality than any NES Final Fantasy character.

Let's compare him to the other SNES leads.

Bartz was an ordinary person like many other RPG main characters who was put into an extraordinary situation.

In IV, Cecil was a dark knight who regrets his past decisions, questions the king for his actions, and later overcomes his old self and becomes a paladin.

VI, there's several characters that are candidates for the main character.

Terra was a half esper girl who wanted to find out who she was. Both physically and mentally, and gradually does through out the game

Celes was a former general of the empire who joins the resistance.

Locke, a treasure hunter, who feels bad about what happened to the person he loved in the past and wants to find a way to revive her.

I don't have time to describe all the VI characters, but pretty much all of them have a more interesting story than Bartz. Bartz just has the disadvantage of being a normal person. But he still has his own personality.
 
I'm not reading everything so let me just throw in my witty remark and go along my merry way.

If you conisder 'gay' a personality, then yes, Bartz did have a personality. He was a fag. A big gay-lord. So was Galuf. He found men interesting along with Bartz. Galuf and Bartz loved buts. Still don't remember? I'm refering to when they think Faris is a dude (with dangly parts), and they find 'him' sleeping and they get.. should I say.. aroused. Yes. They love it and they always will.

:monster:
 
that part was kinda hilarious. FFV has some errors in scenarios like this. Faris hasn't revealed her true gender in that part right? but who knows, if you were Bartz would you feel the same if that "guy" was soooo beautiful? or perhaps they could've noticed already that she's a girl since she's in bed and they might saw her chest.


At Rydia, I could add that Bartz is the same as them by discovering his past but what's lacking is a situation that's strong enough to make him change attitude. the only climax on him was when his hometown got sucked by the void and went crazy driving the airship aimlessly but what's odd is there isn't much development that followed after that. as if nothing happened until the ending.

overall I'd say he has some similarity to Tidus. It's like Bartz is a less-developed version of "him".
 
My translation called him Butz, which mightve added some funny to him. In general I dont think FFV is meant to be enjoyed by the casual fan but for someone who has a history with it already. So the game play is appreciated as well as the decent battles, enemy skills, job classes and quests within.

Best character wasnt even playable.. Gilgamesh.. Galuf was alright too but not nearly the level of Gilgamesh's random encounters..
 
He definitely had a personality. It may not have been as strong as many of the other characters, but he definitely had a personality. He improved with Advance, and the little avatar definitely helped.
 
Umaro said:
He definitely had a personality. It may not have been as strong as many of the other characters, but he definitely had a personality. He improved with Advance, and the little avatar definitely helped.
Click to expand...

Not so sure revisions of the game count as personality, its just an "oops, we lacked character development, here is a lil 3D for you new players to get roped in" tactic.

Depends how you define experience in such revisions. I prefer the originals, not much respect for graphical and character adjustments like 10+ years later. Doesn't add to it per say, just outlines a marketing ploy.
 
I think he is the second stupidest (next to Guy) final fantasy character ever. No I don’t mean the concept behind him, I mean that he seems to be really slow and gullible and probably has an extremely low I.Q.
 
I must disagree with the ordinary guy stereotype. We find out that his father kills "bad guys" for a living, and after Bartz's mother dies (which he is quite upset over) he travels with his father, whom I assume is still killing "bad guys". Its more of a, oh sure, I'll come along, I do this sort of stuff a lot anyway.
 
Bartz does have a personality bu the main problem is imo that his character ain't developed much compared to some of the other characters like Galuf and Faris.

But then again all the characters suffered from decent development due to the bad story. Yeah, I am saying that FFV has a bad story in my view.
 
I think Bartz was supposed to be more like Dragon Quest type- hero where hero is silent and the player is actually the hero. Bartz was only character to be named, just like in FFVIII you could name Squall and Rinoa but no others. They were lovers so obviously you and your loved one were Squall and Rinoa.

FFX probably had Tidus naming option just because previous titles had naming option too. Glad they dropped it in FFXII. It was stupid in FFX when Tidus was not mentioned.
 
Bartz did have a personality, it just lacked true development. He was a decent character as it went on, but he was only a proxy to the player. Most RPGs had you assume the lead character's role (excluding most FFs), and this was an attempt at that. He had a little personality and history, but he was merely a proxy for the most part.
 
I think you guys are confusing "personality" and "development." Bartz very clearly has a personality; he's a simple boy with a relatively strong sense of justice, a fear of heights, and a less-than-impressive IQ. Every character has a personality, in fact. Even Silent Protagonists have them: notice how they often communicate through gestures and facial expressions. Those gestures are what hint at their respective personalities, though it is true that they're often made as a proxy for the player. In any case, Bartz does, indeed, react to and interact with various situations, which means that he has a personality, however shallow it may be.

What Bartz (and the other FFV characters, for that matter) lacks is development. The main characters in this game fail to develop at all. Any would-be development they may have is quickly forgotten about and treated as if it never happened in the first place. My theory is that this was Square's intention, though. Think about it. This game's plot is nothing more than your basic sword-and-sorcery storyline, complete with simple characters and an even more single-minded villain ("I be EXDEATH! I'll destroy the world cuz its FUN! LAWLAWL!"). Perhaps Square was just trying to pay homage to that type of story? It does have a certain charm to it, after all.
 
Bartz had to have a personality to go through what he did. He saw loved ones all in his life dying and his past and their past was just one big confusion to him. He is thrown into a situation where he meets Reina, finds out about her dad's fate, his father's fate and history, and then is one a 4 man(and woman) mission to save the world from a past evil in Ex-Death; stronger and more evil than before.

He shows courage, bravery, sympathy, aggression, love, and passion for those around him, his mission at-hand, and the world he lives in. All those combine into one big personality it seems to me.
 
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