Summary
- Some Final Fantasy characters, like Snow and Hugo, display stubbornness and are unwilling to see other points of view.
- Noctis becomes more stubborn due to tragedy but becomes open-minded as the story progresses.
- Characters like Kefka and Wakka are so set in their ways that they never change their dark mindsets or beliefs.
Every Final Fantasy party is made up of characters from different walks of life, all of whom tend to also be drastically different in personalities. Therefore, while there will be some who are agreeable and are always up for taking other people's advice to help in the journey, not everyone is quite as willing to rely on others, and this also applies to a few villains. In fact, there have been several characters in this franchise who are simply downright stubborn, refusing to shake their view of the world, even when others try to convince them otherwise.
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This can usually result in a compelling arc where the character learns to open up and eventually realize how close-minded they've been and that seeing things from another point of view doesn't have to be a bad thing. On other occasions, though, they carry their stubbornness right until the very end, remaining adamant that their way of thinking is the right one. Before jumping in, this list will contain heavy spoilers for most of the mainline titles.
8 Snow Villiers
Snow's Obsession With Being A Hero Comes At The Annoyance Of His Allies
Final Fantasy 13
- Released
- March 9, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
To put it simply, Snow is a man who just can't act his own age. He has created this 'hero' persona for himself, which causes him to always believe that he's on the path to saving the world and everyone within it, despite having gotten numerous people killed. Despite Lightning trying to snap him out of his delusion, Snow never gives in and chooses to ignore his faults to instead play hero for much of the game.
He does, eventually, begin to look at the world in more of a realistic light after being confronted one too many times by Hope, but Snow's obsession with being a hero resulted in him becoming an incredibly stubborn and irritating ally for the other party members for quite a while.
7 Hugo Kupka
There's Simply No Convincing Hugo That His Moral Compass Is Skewed
Final Fantasy 16
- Released
- June 22, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Hugo Kupka, the Dominant of Titan, simply doesn't care if other people tell him that what he's doing is wrong. Even when Clive tries to call Hugo out for his merciless behavior and the thousands of lives he has taken, it's simply not enough to make the Dominant reflect on what he's done. Instead, once Hugo has a goal in mind, he relentlessly pursues it, no matter how dangerous or obsessive it may be.
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After the death of Benedikta, for example, Hugo becomes utterly infatuated with the idea of killing Clive rather than acting as a leader. This eventually thrusts him into some pretty dangerous scenarios until he eventually loses control of his Eikon entirely, with his stubbornness being one of his greatest flaws.
6 Noctis Lucis Caelum
The Weight Of Being A King Causes Noctis To Display His Inner Stubbornness At Several Points
Final Fantasy 15
- Released
- November 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Language, Mild Blood, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Though Noctis is always happy to have his friends around him, throughout Final Fantasy 15, he does showcase a little bit of stubbornness every now and again. For example, during the very first cutscene, he seems less than willing to accept the praise from his father, not knowing that would be the last time he would ever see him. A little later, when Noctis is moping around, Gladiolus attempts to remind him that he needs to start assuming the responsibilities of being a king, which Noctis seems more irritated about than happy.
The sudden destruction of his home and the death of his father clearly caused Noctis to become a lot more stuck in his own ways as he struggled with the idea of being a king. However, he does loosen up a lot as the game goes on and eventually becomes much more open-minded by the second half of the adventure.
5 Kefka
Kefka Never Lets His Dark And Twisted Mindset Be Changed
Final Fantasy 6
- Released
- October 11, 1994
WHERE TO PLAY
Kefka doesn't have any end goal that he wants to achieve. Rather, he is simply a sadistic man who enjoys watching the world and everyone in it suffer. Kefka keeps this bleak view of the world intact for the entirety of Final Fantasy 6, and even when witnessing the generosity and heroic willpower of the main party, he never changes his dark mindset.
This is ultimately what makes Kefka so utterly terrifying since he is so stubborn about seeing the world burn that nobody can talk him out of it, especially since he's shown not to have any close friends who can even do so. Kefka is simply stuck in his ways and never once thought to reflect on the amount of damage that he had caused due to his actions.
4 Wakka
Wakka's Stubborn Dedication To Yevon Tends To Put Him At Odds With Others
Final Fantasy 10
- Released
- December 17, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Yevon is the popular religion that many residents of Spira follow, including Wakka. However, it's soon revealed Wakka's dedication to Yevon primarily comes due to the death of his brother, Chappu, who defied the religion by using a Machina weapon, which is forbidden. No matter how shady or mysterious the religion may seem at times, with even the ministers turning against Wakka and his friends, he is adamant that he will never give up his faith.
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Even when Wakka meets Riku, who is a nice and friendly young girl who clearly means no harm, he suddenly turns on her just because Yevon says that Al Bhed is the enemy. Many of the party members, especially Tidus, try to encourage Wakka to see the damage his blind faith is causing to others, but it takes a long time before he comes to realize this himself.
3 Adelbert Steiner
It's Only When Steiner Finally Lets Go Of His Unwavering Loyalty As A Knight That He Begins To Grow As A Person
Final Fantasy 9
- Released
- July 7, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
When Steiner first shows up early on in Final Fantasy 9, it initially seems as though this guy may be one of the game's antagonists, considering how hostile he is towards Zidane. Steiner's dedicated loyalty to his knighthood causes him to view people in terms of groups and categories, so Zidane, for example, was nothing more than a petty criminal despite the protagonist clearly having a heart of gold.
While it takes quite a while for Steiner to break out of this mindset, after learning more about Zidane and his true motifs, he realizes just how stubborn he has been all this time. While the party never convinces him to stop being a knight, they do help him shake off his tunnel vision to see the world in a much fairer light.
2 Seifer Almasy
Seifer Thinks A Little Too Highly Of Himself, Resulting In A Stubborn Attitude
Final Fantasy 8
- Released
- February 11, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
While Squall and Seifer share more than a few similarities, there are still several areas where they differ. For example, while Squall learns to open up to others as the game goes on, Seifer's arrogance and dedication to his 'romantic dream' result in him gradually becoming more stubborn and less sociable than he is in the beginning.
All Seifer cares about for much of Final Fantasy 8's story is living out his dream and is less than willing to accept help from others to achieve it, though it is suggested that this could be due to Ultimecia manipulating part of his mind. He also believes that everybody should be taking orders from him rather than authority figures, showing just how uptight and stubborn he truly is.
1 Cloud Strife
Cloud Is Convinced That His Version Of The Past Is The Right One, Even If Everyone Tells Him It Isn't
Final Fantasy 7
- Released
- January 31, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original), PC, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Though Cloud may claim to be an Ex-Soldier at the beginning of Final Fantasy 7, fans of the game will know all too well that this, and many other things Cloud says, are lies. The truth is, due to the trauma of losing his village and best friend, alongside an immense amount of Mako poisoning, Cloud's mind has been completely warped to believe a series of events that never actually happened. While Tifa may try to push back every now and again, Cloud remains adamant that his line of thinking is correct despite having underlying doubts himself.
Cloud also comes across as stubborn because of how unwilling he is to drop his moodiness, at least for a good chunk of the story. It doesn't matter how much someone tries to have some fun and lighten the mood, Cloud is determined to remain as stoic and serious as possible as another way to amplify his made-up persona.
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