Was Snow stupid or not?

What frustrates me about Snow is the way he talks to and about Serah. :lew: On the one hand, he's incredibly dedicated. Snow's love for Serah is deep and honest; he'll do absolutely anything for her. On the other hand, he calls her 'baby' and goes around saying he's her 'hero,' simultaneously claiming her as his property and suggesting she can't stand on her own two feet!!! I cannot stand terms like that! :gasp:

His heroic persona did come across as quite forced and fake, but I can't help feeling he only wanted to be this 'hero for others. Snow comes across as a bit of a jock at times, but I don't think being a 'hero' was about being cool or popular. Instead, he wanted to support those around him. He was silly on purpose to make them smile and 'heroic' to provide them with a pillar of hope. I think he likes to make himself laugh a little bit too! :lew: I'm not saying that's the better option - sometimes, one needs to be responsible - but he's a 21 year old guy (still a kid, really), living in a world where men are always at odds with some higher power. He's had to grow up prematurely and adopt a position of responsibility he's not quite ready for.

His behaviour throughout the game is a little brash and he certainly acts on his own will without really thinking things through, but he has a good heart.
 
I don't think Snow was stupid at all. Of course, I know a guy just like him, so perhaps that made the character seem that much more realistic to me :P

Snow seems like the type of guy that was just born with a natural charisma and good looks which caused people to always like and follow him without consideration for his maturity. As such, in some ways he never really did mature and instead just kept trying to rely on his own awesomeness to always make the right decisions despite a lack of true wisdom in a lot of ways. People always told him he was cool and before long he believed it. But at the same time, the guy does have a good heart and genuinely cares about other people, and this only causes him to try even harder at being a leader figure and the kind of person people rely on so that he can help them.

Even though he ultimately didn't change much, throughout FFXIII Snow was humbled and forced to mature and wise up in some situations. It's not that he's stupid at all; it's just how that kind of person is.
 
I wouldn't say he was stupid. Just very....I don't want to say obnoxious. But very 'in your face' and constantly claiming to be a hero. And like Salmakia said, he was treating Serah like property or like she couldn't handle protecting herself. That got very, very annoying.
 
He was just very very naive, that was the whole point of his character.

He had skated through his life, he was very hopeful that he could achieve anything, he was over-confident, but he was never malicious. That's just what his character is meant to be, so I don't hate him. Whether you consider him 'stupid' or not is kind of irrelevant, naivete isn't necessarily stupidity.
 
Let's see. His dialog is the hamiest in the game along with the likes of Vanille. He has a cliched 'hero' complex (which he fails to understand until the very end) and he attempts to punch the main villain 3 TIMES and fails. Oh and lets not forget he faces giant robot scorpions with nothing but an augmented trenchcoat and fistycuffs like he's got its number. Seems legit.

I mean, sure it's true that Tifa in VII could suplex weapons in a heart beat, but it was excusable due to the games anime esque art design and her impied training prior to the games story, but with Snow all we know is that he's a big burly giant of a man who wants to save his fiance with no real combat experience or even leadership skills.

In short...he's a moron, albeit a likeable moron as rare as that may seem.
 
Strospiteri said:
Let's see. His dialog is the hamiest in the game along with the likes of Vanille. He has a cliched 'hero' complex (which he fails to understand until the very end) and he attempts to punch the main villain 3 TIMES and fails. Oh and lets not forget he faces giant robot scorpions with nothing but an augmented trenchcoat and fistycuffs like he's got its number. Seems legit.

I mean, sure it's true that Tifa in VII could suplex weapons in a heart beat, but it was excusable due to the games anime esque art design and her impied training prior to the games story, but with Snow all we know is that he's a big burly giant of a man who wants to save his fiance with no real combat experience or even leadership skills.

In short...he's a moron, albeit a likeable moron as rare as that may seem.
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1. Sorry but that's incorrect. he changes long before that, he's still reckless but he definitely changed.

He started charging around here and here

2. I think that was just for comedy, it is pretty funny.
 
Kuja9001 said:
1. Sorry but that's incorrect. he changes long before that, he's still reckless but he definitely changed.

He started charging around here and here

2. I think that was just for comedy, it is pretty funny.
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So how do you explain this near the end of the game? (Obvious spoiler) Snow punching Bart again.

Dont get me wrong what you pointed out was true, but he still has much to learn by the end. It's his character.
 
Snow is just the typical optimistic, friendly "hero" who tries his best to save the day. I think it's due to his distress for Serah, that he acts externally to help the ones he can save. I wouldn't say that he's stupid, though. He's the type of character who is in denial and a little bit unaware of the situation but that doesn't make him stupid per say. Out of all his comrades, he's to play the role of being "dumb" he's naiive... i'd say. I can agree and say his actions were a bit irresponsible, but again that doesn't make him an idiot.

I liked Snow... I felt he brought a sense of hope (pun not intended) to himself, and the rest of the party. [lol maybe not lightning] he was the type to say "don't give up." especially when Lightning had lost her way of trying to save Serah.
 
NO, he was suppose to be the way he was. You know, annoying and 'white-knighty'. he's just blindly optimistic, is all. and in a game where the main lead is a droopy-stiff character, you need that sometimes.

i honestly think snow gets too much hate. i mean, he's just like zack (but better) but people only love zack while they dis snow. it's ridiculous. i thought snow was very original, even in looks. he looked like a frat-boy-hipster trying to be 'rugged' and while i don't think he's attractive in personality or looks, he's still a good guy. that's why i didn't like what the rest of the games did to him. he changed and it was weird to see.
 
i always thought he was stupid. big heart, small mind.


there were plenty of times when he was over-zealous. over all, the only contribution he made was somehow getting hope to forgive him.
 
You know... At first I thought I'd hate Snow. I thought he'd just be yet another generic heroic male character.

I thought he'd be cocky. I thought he'd be rushing blindly into fights.

He was these things, and yet the character still surprised me.

Despite the flaws of FFXIII, I do think that they handled the concept of Snow quite well. They used the super-confident action hero trope, but they also explored the consequences of this type of personality... The risks that Snow takes may ultimately cost other people their lives. Hope's storyline deals with this head on (when you purge your memories of Hope's whines - store them away in some dark corner of your brain, along with Vaan's abs and Tidus and Yuna's laughing scene).

Snow attempts to deal with the darker side of heroism when it dawns on him. He's not stupid, and I do not believe that he is naive either, but I feel that he continues to want to act as he does as otherwise things wouldn't get done. He might be a bit of an ass, but people get behind him. His positive outlook is an act. Deep down, I do believe he is haunted by the consequences of being a hero with an inflated ego, but he tries not to let that stop him.

I'm grateful for them exploring the other side of this. It's not commonly done. Often the hero acts like an ass, gets a lot of people killed, and then gets kissed by all the girls. Confidence means more than morality. So long as a hero is more or less charging in the right direction (against an evil threat, or saving the world or something) then it doesn't matter how many people he kills or gets killed if he is confident and cool about the whole thing.

It's perhaps healthier to turn around and question our adoration for such heroes. Snow's story does this to an extent, although the game inevitably tilts the player towards adoring him (and forgiving him) anyway. At least the questions were asked.
 
Snow is a hipster doofus. Enough said.

Enough with me being a glib wiseguy. Seriously, though. I feel that Snow is a deconstruction of the hotblooded shounen hero. Snow tried to be a pillar for his friends, his lady, and everyone in his community. Sadly, he failed. Lightning is the manifestation of everything he wanted to be. Lightning isn't without her failings, but she didn't give up. Snow lost Serah, and all his spirit. He became the empty king of party town. It is quite tragic, but it all does get better thanks to Lightning. He should seriously thank his "Big Sis". Somehow, I feel Lightning might appreciate one of those gift baskets full of those sweet smelling fruity scented soaps and shampoos.
 
I don't think Snow was stupid, personally. I think Square-Enix were trying to represent a stereotypical bonehead kind of guy - that is, act first think later. Though when it came down to it, he seemed to think a lot when he had the "emotional" scenes, especially in the Hope-Snow scene and the whole thing about his mom. I think the whole hero thing probably reminded him of his childhood days of Nora but this time he could do actually be a 'hero', though it did get annoying having to be reminded of it every 5 minutes.
 
Snow was an obnoxious ass, and a highly irritating character to me. He rates up there with Zell from FF8. Actually I think Snow is WORSE than Zell. And that's quite a fucking feat.
 
Dionysos said:
You know... At first I thought I'd hate Snow. I thought he'd just be yet another generic heroic male character.

I thought he'd be cocky. I thought he'd be rushing blindly into fights.

He was these things, and yet the character still surprised me.

Despite the flaws of FFXIII, I do think that they handled the concept of Snow quite well. They used the super-confident action hero trope, but they also explored the consequences of this type of personality... The risks that Snow takes may ultimately cost other people their lives. Hope's storyline deals with this head on (when you purge your memories of Hope's whines - store them away in some dark corner of your brain, along with Vaan's abs and Tidus and Yuna's laughing scene).

Snow attempts to deal with the darker side of heroism when it dawns on him. He's not stupid, and I do not believe that he is naive either, but I feel that he continues to want to act as he does as otherwise things wouldn't get done. He might be a bit of an ass, but people get behind him. His positive outlook is an act. Deep down, I do believe he is haunted by the consequences of being a hero with an inflated ego, but he tries not to let that stop him.

I'm grateful for them exploring the other side of this. It's not commonly done. Often the hero acts like an ass, gets a lot of people killed, and then gets kissed by all the girls. Confidence means more than morality. So long as a hero is more or less charging in the right direction (against an evil threat, or saving the world or something) then it doesn't matter how many people he kills or gets killed if he is confident and cool about the whole thing.

It's perhaps healthier to turn around and question our adoration for such heroes. Snow's story does this to an extent, although the game inevitably tilts the player towards adoring him (and forgiving him) anyway. At least the questions were asked.
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I like this take on Snow. Granted, at times he was annoying like most are mentioning. But right now I can't help but have at least some respect for the character. Think of the world they live in, and what personal strength that must take to have that kind of optimism. Even if at times it seems forced. I think Snow has always been the cheerleader, so to speak, for NORA.

But yes, he does lead some people in some stupid directions and can be annoyingly naive. However, at least he's standing up for his ideals and not taking it sitting down.
 
Snow doesn't learn however. He was there to show a slightly different side. But he didn't change, he didn't do anything different. Heck he still does the same thing, running toward barthandelus and trying to punch him. It was to the point that it was comical.

But no, as much as I loved the hope-snow scene as much as I'll ever like ff13 as a whole. Snow is still the overzealous, tough guy, do it himself, obnoxious jerk. A person like him would have changed a lot more based on what happened. And yet they don't. None of them to. I like hope a lot but even he reduced back to the hopeless attitude only to gain Alexander.
 
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