Main Character Gameplay Builds!

[Meeplelard]

Yes, another Meeple Mega List!

Not long ago, saw someone claim that most Mains are built like "Fighter Mages", which is to say, a "balanced between Physicals and Magic, well rounded, etc." at least to me.  So...I was wondering...how true is this?   Anyway, decided to look at each Main I can think of and see where I'd classify them.  In general, there are 3 MAIN Groups:

Fighter
Mage
Fighter-Mage

I call them "Fighter/Mage" rather than "Balanced" cause cases like FE exist where, say, the Main will have Balanced Stats...but is clearly a pure Fighter, so its not the same kind of build.  There are some more specific classifications like "Support Mage" or "Tank Build" that I might mention in passing, but the above three are what I'm covering.  There may be a completely random guy who doesn't fit anything, in which case, I'll just come up with something creative!

First off, let me note that to be a Fighter-Mage, its not just "Have a magic based skillset"; that's too vague.  That would make someone like Cecil a a Fighter-Mage, which I feel wrongly represents him.  I mean the person has to genuinely have Magic as a viable option, be it his primary offense or at least adequate secondary, or what not, to be one.  IN Cecil's case, he merely has Healing, a skill set that COMPLIMENTS him as a Fighter (let alone a Tank build one), which as a result, makes him just a Fighter who has healing, and not a fighter mage.   Furthermore, if the person has attack magic, but the magic sucks and is practically worthless, just kind of there, it doesn't count.
Contrast that to Suikoden 3 Hugo.  True, his primary offense is his physical, but he can shift to using an adequate Magic attack due to his potential True Runes, and how he has non-fail Skill Ratings in a few offensive magics, making it a viable option there.  In this case, he's a Fighter-Mage, if one that leans more towards the Fighter side; yeah, they don't need to be perfectly balanced, just both the Physical and Magic side need to have a certain level of competence.

For games like FF7, FF8, WA3, etc. where the character's skill set is completely dependent on the player's choice, I'll be using a more statistical analysis, or look at another factor like "What's their unique specials based off of?".  So if the character has a good magic score and a meager physical score, I'd label them a Mage; even if you can technically tweak their stats to say otherwise, they default to that build.

For sanity's sake, I'm skipping Solo RPGs like Crisis Core, since the very nature of them...well, do I NEED to explain?  also leaving off games where its only nameless generics ala FF1, or games where the characters have literally NO differences like FF3 (BUT NOT FF5!!111!?)  Leaving off games that have 0 distinction between Magic and Physicals like...say...DBZ RPGs collective.  Additionally, games where you basically BUILD your main character get excluded as well.

LASTLY!
I'm trying to factor out screwed up balance factors, such like "Yuri is a mage cause Shadow Hearts Physicals suck!"  True as this maybe, he was clearly intended to be something else, as its just a quirk of the game's programming, less so than the actual character being bad at something.

And so...LETS GET STARTED!!!

7th Saga: We start off with 6 Mains!!! ...;_;.  Anyway, from what I recall, Kamil was a text book Fighter-Mage, Wilme was a fighter (but had shitty fire magic!!!), Esuna and Valsu were Mages of different types.  Olvan was a Fighter, Lejes was...Fighter-Mage I think, different style than Kamil?  Lux I wanna say was a pure cannon in both Physicals and Magic, so Fighter-Mage for him too!
Arc the Lad: Arc is a Fighter-Mage.  He's got a decent physical, and learns a whole bunch of attack spells.
Arc the Lad 2: Elc is a Fighter-Mage, I believe; gets some decent Fire magic, in addition to a non-fail physical.  If we include Arc...see above.
Arc the Lad 3: Alec is a Fighter-Mage.  Similar to the above, he gets some offensive magic, and good physicals.
Arc the Lad 4: Darc and Kharg are both Fighter-Mages.  Darc is more of a Mage, Kharg is more of a Fighter, from what I recall, but they both have adequate physicals (...by that game's standards...), and good magic.
Atelier Iris: Klein is a Mage.  Big magical skillset, his basic physical is Magical Based; I think he technically gets some physical weapons, but I seem to recall they never make him really good at it with his Physical based skill, which mostly just existed in case he ran into some high magic defense enemy or something.
Bahamut Lagoon: Byuu is a Fighter.  He's...somewhat of a subversion, though; while he's 100% physical, he does function a lot like an Attack Mage, having distance, AoE based Map Attacks.  He's about as close to a "Fighter Mage" as you can get in Bahamut Lagoon, but still, technically 100% Physical, thus a fighter.
Beyond the Beyond: Finn is a Fighter-Mage.  No real explanation needed; gets a well rounded set of magic spells, and a competent physical to match.
Breath of Fire: Ryu's a Fighter.  Well, ok, Dragon forms act like Magic, but then I could argue that item casting = MAGICAL! or something, so yeah, sticking with the Fighter thing.
Breath of Fire 2: Fighter again.  Dragons cannot be realistically used in such a manner to promote being a mage, and they're technically not even magical.  His AP is also too low to support being a Mage, and his stats and equipment suggest Fighter.
Breath of Fire 3: Fighter...who can be given Magic, but innately, he's a Pure Fighter.  He gets a lot of spells, but everyone of them is support/healing, so it just compliments him as a fighter.  True, he can get Magic in DRagon forms...but there's literally one Gene that allows it (Eldritch) where as a bunch support the notion of being used as a Fighter.
Breath of Fire 4: Fighter-Mage.  Unlike the above, all of his Dragon Forms have a degree of competence in Magic, and he gets a bunch of summons, though they can't be spammed.  Yeah, arbitrary split between the two, but quiet!
Breath of Fire 5: Fighter.  Kind of hard to argue since he has absolutely NO MAGIC OR ANYTHING CLOSE TO IT WHATSOEVER.
Brigandine: LOTS OF MAINS TIME! Cai/Lyonesse are Mages,  Dryst/Zemeckis are Fighters, and Lance/Vaynard are Fighter-Mages.
Chrono Cross: Serge is a Fighter-Mage.  Stats are well balanced to support both roles.  Furthermore, he even has techs that are both magical and physical.
Chrono Trigger: Crono is a Fighter-Mage.  While his magic stat sucks, his spells have awesome enough Mults to make his magic damage not suck; this combined with a firm physical skillset, stats and equipment make a pretty text book Fighter-Mage.
Digital Devil Saga (2): Serph is whatever the fuck you want him to be, lets just leave it at that.
Disgaea: Laharl is a fighter.  Pure physical based skillset, good rankings in physical based weapons, and stats support that of a Fighter.
Disgaea 2: Adell is a Fighter.  Basically, see Laharl; there are some differences but for these purposes, nothing changes.
Dragon Quest 2: The Main is a Fighter; he's the only character to get no spells!
Dragon Quest 3: Loto is a Fighter-Mage.  Well rounded skillset covering just about all areas some with good stats and equip draw, pretty text book.
Dragon Quest 4: Solofia is a Fighter-Mage...for the same reasons as above.
Dragon Quest 5: The Not!Hero is a Fighter-Mage...again, see above.  BUT HE USES WIND MAGIC INSTEAD OF LIGHTNING!!!
Dragon Quest 6: Botts is a Fighter-Mage; typical balanced stats, equipment, and learns Zap naturally!
Dragon Quest 7: Aluze is a...a...I think a Fighter-Mage...yeah, lets just go with that for similar reasons above, remove "Zap!!!" hype.
Dragon Quest 8: Guv is a Fighter-Mage; gets some attack magic, good physical skills, yada yada yada HE'S A FIGHTER-MAGE DEAL.
Earthbound: Ness has the only competent physical in the game...yet still has a nice strong well rounded magic skillset...so yes, he's a Fighter-Mage.
Final Fantasy 2: Firion intially started off with 100% Balanced stats, so I guess that counts as a Fighter-Mage.
Final Fantasy 4: If not implied by my above disclaimer, yes, Cecil is a Pure Fighter, in both versions.
Final Fantasy 5: Bartz has the best physical stats with lower magic stats thus FIGHTER!!!! No, I'm not being 100% serious here...
Final Fantasy 6: Terra is a Fighter-Mage.  High Magic stats with innate magic makes the magic part obvious, and while her physical stats kind of blow, her weapons more than make up for it.
Final Fantasy 7: Cloud is a Fighter-Mage; I think game best Strength with #2 Magic (#1 if you exclude Destined to be Shishkabobed Flower Girls) says everything.
Final Fantasy 8: Squall is a Fighter.  I'm basing this entirely off how he has AUto Crits and his Limits are 100% Physical oritened, yes.
Final Fantasy 9: Zidane is a Fighter.  Skillset is gimmicky, so he relies on physicals to do damage for pretty much everything; even his Dynes are physical.
Final Fantasy 10: Tidus = Fighter.  Similar to Cecil, just instead of Healing he has stuff like Haste...but same logic applies.  admittedly, he's more speed oriented than Tanking, but hush!
Final Fantasy 10-2: I...guess Yuna's...a...fighter...based on...how she starts...in Gunner? Ok, someone who knows this game better than me and the actual differences (primarily in the unique classes) can shed some light on this!
Final Fantasy 12: Vaan had balanced Magic and Physical stats...much as that means ABSOLUTE SHIT in FF12, its still technically making him a Fighter-Mage!
Final Fantasy 12 Revenant Wings: Vaan is a Fighter here, however; entire Skillset is support oriented, barring one physical move.
Final Fantasy Legends 3: Unlike FFL1/2, the main here is an actual non-generic with a name! I think he was a Human, which by default means he excels in physicals, for all that you could turn him into a Monster or Robot or something.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: Benjamin gets a shit load of good weapons and a shit load of magic of all kinds...gee, I wonder what he could be?
Final Fantasy Tactics: Ramza has the best of both worlds when it comes to Male vs. Female stats, stats are balanced as an uber squire, high starting Faith, skill set that works for BOTH Fighter and Mages...he's clearly someone whose meant to, you know, work as whatever you want, thus a Fighter-Mage.
Fire Emblem Lord Collective: They're all Fighters *EXCEPT* for Celica (FE2), whose a Fighter-Mage, and Micaiah (FE10) whose a Mage.
Grandia: From what I recall, Justin had a decent draw on Magic, unlike, say, Rapp or Temps, so his magic didn't totally suck ass, despite being outclassed by his physicals, so I'll call him a Fighter-Mage.
Grandia 2: Ryudo I believe was similar to Justin so...
Grandia 3: ...Yuki too, for that matter.  Note that these 3 Mains were clearly more "leaning towards fighter" side.
Golden Sun: Isaac had the best overall stats in the game, and had passable Magic complimenting a good physical draw.  So a Fighter-Mage, leaning more towards the fighter side.
Golden Sun 2: Felix = Isaac Mk2, so...
Grandia Xtreme: Ok, here's a clear case of a Fighter-Mage!  Evann has both Magical and Physical skills, and balances it out between Mana Egg Slots and SKill Book slots, which strongly suggests a balanced build, especially backed up by Well rounded stats, so he's a more obvious Fighter-Mage than the above 3.
Hoshi: Fazz started off in Amu, which is more Physical offense oriented *BUT* still had adequate magic (2 slots at least).  So I guess its a Fighter-Mage, with definite lean towards the Fighter side.
Kingdom Hearts (2): Fighter-Mage; true, you can take him down a route that makes him emphasize on anything, but he'll always delve in physicals and magic.
Koudelka: I think Koudelka's starting stats were more Mage heavy than fighter heavy, so I'll claim her to be a Mage, but someone who knows the game better can cover this.
Legaia 2: Lang had good magic damage and solid physicals, so text book Fighter-Mage, of the pure offensive kind!
Legend of Dragoon: Dart was balanced in...lets just say everything, being average to above in most regards (...except speed, where he was lower)
Legend of Legaia: Technically, everyone could use Physicals and Magic in this game...however, Vahn stands out cause he didn't suck at either.  His physicals actually registered as damage unlike Gala, and he had magic stats to make use of magic, so Fighter-Mage.
Live a Live: I don't know enough about this game to say anything, so I won't; also TOO MANY MAINS ;_;
Lufia: Hero is a fighter; true, he gets a lot of nice spells...but everyone of them is support oriented, complimenting him as a fighter.
Lufia 2: Meanwhile, Maxim is a Fighter-Mage, since while his Attack Magic isn't very good...it doesn't completely fail either, as it registers as a secondary damage source, works for giving him consistent MT damage, etc.  So typical "Fighter-Mage, leans towards Fighter" route.
Lufia 3: Wain is...similar to Maxim, I believe.
Lufia 4: The Main (whose name eludes me) had balanced stats, so he could be taken down either route effectively.
Lunar Silver STar Story/Legends: Alex was primarily physical, but also had a a few magical moves like Red Dragon Anger.  So...Fighter-Mage with a bit more emphasis on the Fighter part.
Lunar Eternal Blue Complete: Hero is similar, only change those Dragon moves to Wind Spells, and there you go.
Mana Khemia: A dilemma!  Vayne's entire skillset is physical oriented...so I guess Fighter by default.  He did have stats to support giving him magic, but everything he had is physical, unlike a few other characters, so...uh, yeah, lets just say Fighter.  Yeah, I said that, WANNA FIGHT ABOUT IT!?
Mother: Ninten had Magic, but I can't remember if any of it was offense oriented, or if it was just a case of a bunch of support spells on a primarily physical fighter so...
Naruto: *dodges bullet* Its an RPG, IT COUNTS!  Anyway, Fighter-Mage; good Magic and Physicals, or at least had quirky abilities for the latter that made him able to function in that...as well as good weapons...so yeah.
Ogre Battle: Destin was well rounded, and could have magic in some incarnations, so yeah, Fighter-Mage, I think.
Okage: Ari is a fighter.  From what I recall, while he had some Magic-like moves, they were all technically classed as Physical (didn't hit that Physical Immune boss), so yeah, Fighter in a technical sense.
Paladin's Quest: Main was from a Mage school, but his physical was also good, so...take a wild guess where I'm going with this...
Persona: I don't know enough about Naoya to say anything so...
Persona 2: From what I recall, someone tried making a Physical Maya...and it didn't work...at all.  Considering all her unique stuff typically ends up magical, from what I remember, I'm pretty sure she'd fall under Mage.
Phantasy Star: While you'd think a basic spell like Fire sucks...it doesn't...and its enough to make Alis a Fighter-Mage, especially when we have Pure Fighter Odin over there ->
Phantasy Star 2: Fighter-Mage.  I mean, its not like Rolf has the best Magical *AND* Physical damage in the game...by far...to make this obvious...
Phantasy Star 3: Rhys was a Pure Fighter!  After that it...depends on who slept with who.  Nial was a pure fighter, Ayn had...some magic, but can't remember what beyond Healing, and fuck if I can remember what each 3rd Gen main had.  Screw it, Phantasy Star 3 sucks.
Phantasy Star 4: Chaz was well rounded in all forms of Magic and Physicals...take a guess what that implies...
Pokemon Starter Collective: Given the nature of the series...no.  HOWEVER, offhand, I think all of them could be classified as Fighter-Mages, with different areas of specialization (such like Torterra is clearly better at physicals, but has non-fail Specials) at least in the main stream ones.  The Eevees...well, Espeon/Vaporeon/Jolteon are Mages, Umbreon is a PURE TANK WITH NO OFFENSE WHATSOEVER, and Flareon just sucks.
Rudra No Hihou: Sion was a Fighter, Riza was a Mage, Surlent was a Fighter-Mage...and better than the specialists in BOTH areas cause he's just awesome like that.  Dune was...uhh...I think balanced so a Fighter-Mage?
SaGa Frontier: Blue is a Mage, Asellus, Emelia and RIki are Fighter Mages, Red, and Lute are Fighters.  Ok, fine, Lute is more "Blank slate" but fuck, who bothers raisng Lute as a Mage? I mean, seriously?! What about T260G? The slim line between Magic and Physicals in SaGa kind of EXPLODES VIOLENTLY when dealing with Mechs, so I'm just gonna call her a "What the fuck are you?"
Sailor Moon Another Story: I think this game distinguished Magic and Physicals...and Sailor Moon sucked at both!  Well, I guess her Magic registered as something, while her physicals did not, so Mage <_<
Secret of Mana: Randi is a Fighter. I DARE YOU TO TRY AND ARGUE THIS!
Seiken Densetsu 3: Duran and Kevin are Fighters, Hawk is a Fighter-Mage, Angela and Carlie are Mages.  Lise...is weird; most of the game she's a pure Fighter (with some support spells)...until the very end where she gets competent magic.  IN FAIRNESS, she could toss Magic Items with a degree of competence, due to non-fail Int, but...eh, screw it, I'll just say "Fighter, but she can use some attack magic that doesn't totally suck eventually!"  I'll let you decide what that means.
Shadow Hearts (2): Yuri is a Fighter-Mage.  He's got strong physicals (...relative to the game), and high end magic...but that's just what happens when you're best at nearly everything in at least one game!
Shadow Hearts 3: From what I recall, his unique skillset was pretty much entirely Magic reliant, and for 90% of the game, his physicals were pretty bad (I'm kneejerking Awaker might have something to say about that end game though), so I'm just gonna give a nod to the Mage side.
Shining Force: Original, Max was a pure Fighter, plain and simple.  Remake, he's a Fighter-Mage, having not only strong physical stats, but gets a magic attack that doesn't suck and even magic Resist (trait of Mages); he definitely leans towards physicals mind, due to his MP.
Shining Force 2: Bowie is a Fighter-Mage, much in the same vain as Remake Max. 
Skies of Arcadia: Vyse is a Fighter, plain and simple; ok fine, he's of the "Offensive Geared" variant, but yeesh, did I have to say that *dodges missiles*
Slayers; Not!Lina had an awesome skillset of magic, but also good weapon draw to make her physicals competent.  So yeah, Fighter-Mage, but leans towards the Mage route.
Star Ocean 1: Ratix/Roddickdescendant of a Star Ocean 4 Fortune Teller and somehow, Crowe... (yes, that's a spoiler) is a Fighter...in every sense.
Star Ocean 2: Claude is a Fighter in every sense as well.  Rena is a Mage in every sense.  Yay even spread or something!
Star Ocean 3: Fayt is a Fighter. TRUE, he gets some attack magic...but realistically, its not viable.  Its more just kind of there to mix in with the plot.  For what I mean, contrast him to Adray, who does the Physicals and Magic thing as well, but can actually DO BOTH roughly equally, where as Fayt's Magic is pretty much a lost cause (I am NOT saying Adray > Fayt, bare in mind, just indicating the difference of their natures.)
Star Ocean 4: Edge is a Fighter.  He gets a few support spells...and a status spell or two even...but they're clearly secondary and again, no offensive magic, so he's relying on his physical to kill things.
Suikoden: Tir is a Fighter-Mage.  I know, Suikoden Physicals suck, but that's not Tir's fault!  More seriously, compare his physical to the likes of Luc to see what I mean.
Suikoden 2: Riou is a Fighter-Mage.  See Tir, only his physical can be salvaged due to actual Rune twinking existing to some degree...for all that its not suggested.
Suikoden 3: As I noted above, Hugo is a Fighter-Mage, leaning towards the Fighter route.  Geddoe is...the other way around; Fighter-Mage leaning towards the Mage route (as someone once said, a "Mage in Fighter's Clothing").  Chris, meanwhile, is pretty strictly a Fighter, of the Tankish variant!
Suikoden 4: Lazlo = Fighter-Mage.  Basically, see Riou, for the most the part, except the Physical builds might be more worthwhile here.
Suikoden 5: Freyjadour is a Fighter-Mage.  Ok, he's a guy who can do both rather well, cause you know, BASE PHYSICALS DON'T SUCK HERE, and he isn't exactly dominant at one thing.  He'd be a perfectly balanced Fighter-Mage...if he could use MP Absorb Rune or whatever, but shh!
Suikoden Tactics: Kyril is a pure Fighter...and really, the only way you could be a Fighter-Mage in this game is to be Lazlo <_<
Super Mario RPG: Mario is a Fighter-Mage; his entire skillset is offensive oriented based on magic, and he had good physicals to match.
Tactics Ogre: I'm told Denim is much more a fighter build than a mage so...uhh...lets go with that?
Tales Main Character Collective: They're all Fighters. PERIOD.  I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU-...wait, Stahn exists and can use non-fail Fire magic? *^@^*@&^@ TALES OF DESTINY AND YOUR *@^*%@.  Ok, he's a Fighter-Mage.  ok, to be fair, I think in Stahn's case, he can technically use any Swordian, thus gain even more variety on magic (I remember him using Atwight for example.)
Thousand Arms: Meis' primary source of damage was from summons...but he still had competent physicals.  So...Fighter-Mage, leans towards mage route I guess works.
Treasure Hunter G: Red is a Fighter, plain and simple...OF THE TANKISH BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THINGS MOLD! But still a fighter.
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.  Fighter. No Magic. Do Not Argue.
Valkyrie Profile 2: Alicia. Fighter. Only Healing Magic. Don't Care. About Elemental. Sword. Logistics. STOP MOCKING ME!
Wild ARMs: Rudy = Fighter.  Pure physical, shitty magic, what have you.
Wild ARMs 2: Ashley = Fighter.  Yes, his magic didn't totally suck for summons...but they're a waste on him for a number of reasons, he's pretty much relying on ARMs or Knight Blazer...though I suspect someone's going to correct me and note Gunblaze is magical, but for now *flees*
Wild ARMs 3: Virginia is a Mage.  True, she has 10 Shot Gatling, but you can't exactly spam that and its relying primarily NOT on physical damage, but gimmick.  Her main source of damage comes from Magic, Mystics, and summons, and her stats definitely suggest Mage.
Wild ARMs 4: Jude = Fighter.  He's not Yulie or Arnaud, so...
Wild ARMs 5: Dean = Fighter.  Magic was not exactly a strong point with him, and pretty much all his worthwhile set ups used his physical so...
Wild ARMs XF: Clarissa = Fighter-Mage.  She can be worked at both adequately, if you so inclined to take her down either route.
Xenogears: Fei is a Fighter.  No, his assy attack magic doesn't make him a Fighter-Mage.  That would be Elly and Emeralda, whose Magic registers as...something other than "Total suck" (even if its not very good.)
Xenosaga: Shion is a Mage.  AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA to her Non-Ether Based damage.
Xenosaga 2: Jr. is a Fighter...I think?  I'm mostly just going "Well, Shion and MOMO had Ether Based physicals, and Attack Magic in Xenosaga 2 sucked way to much to consider ever" or something.
Xenosaga 3: Mage for Shion...I think.  I honestly don't remember if her physical techs were decent cause I barely used Shion, and I think she was mostly a support character to boot.  Note that when a character is primarily support with crappy physicals, that's a Mage, of a different breed, contrast to "Good Physical with some support moves" which just means "Fighter" to me.  Yes, I've got fucked up standards, but Shion doesn't run off logic, hence doesn't deserve much!

Disagree with my classifications if you will, and say I'm being too stricted, but...uh...ITS MY LIST OR SOMETHING! MWAHAHAHAH!

Phew, its done, and yes, I know, there will be arguments, but...uhh...BUNNIES! *Runs*

[Rozalia]

Final Fantasy 10-2: I...guess Yuna's...a...fighter...based on...how she starts...in Gunner? Ok, someone who knows this game better than me and the actual differences (primarily in the unique classes) can shed some light on this!

The two classes she has a claim to are Gunner (Completely physical) and songstress (Completely Support). In terms of the other classes she would be an excellant fighter mage if you took her as a blue mage.
This is becauce she has Physical moves which hit enemy weakness if used on the right enemies, and her blue magic has very powerful magic and a few physical moves.

[Meeplelard]

These aren't DL related things; Yuna merely starts as Gunner, but Rikku/Paine can become it as well; ditto to Songstress.  Flipside, there's the Ultimate Dress Spheres that are totally unique, and Mascot/Trainer Dress Spheres which differ among the three.  I just don't know how Yuna is built in those classes.

[Rozalia]

These aren't DL related things; Yuna merely starts as Gunner, but Rikku/Paine can become it as well; ditto to Songstress.  Flipside, there's the Ultimate Dress Spheres that are totally unique, and Mascot/Trainer Dress Spheres which differ among the three.  I just don't know how Yuna is built in those classes.

Oh. From what I vaguely remember from Yuna's ultimate is it has a physical that hits like 10 so times meaning quite a large amount of damage and all the basic elemental spells (Firaga and so on). Stats are of course for an ultimate class quite large in all areas.
I could be wrong but thats how I remember it.

No idea about trainer as I never used it.

[Dhyerwolf]

If Geddoe's, who's natural magic laughs at his competent physical (if only because the magic is awesome) counts as a fighter-mage, shouldn't Rena too? Her physical isn't much worse than her magic (Certainly a better ratio than Geddoe naturally has), is more spammable, is buffable, is twinkable...etc. Mind, I think mage is the right category for Rena, but a lot of fighter-mage just seem to be Mage whose physical is decent (Which...Klein has decent physical damage too!).

Kharg and Darc are fighter-mages, but mostly because everything in ATL 4 is a fighter-mage. The techs (whether classified as Magic or Skills) run off MNT, and all normal physicals run off ATT (And they all hit the same defense stat! The differentiation between Skills and Magic only storyline based).

[superaielman]

Rena's physical is a bad joke besides for spam locking enemies every so often. Her magic is infinitely more useful.  You don't ever use Rena for damage, you do it for the quick attack magic and the overall awesome support skillset.

[Niu]

Just to note Sthan is not the only Tales mage with magic.

[Taishyr]

DQ7's main is a Fighter. Mainly gets (limited) support spells, doesn't do well in offensive magic classes.
FFTA and FFTA2, both Marche and Luso are Fighters. You... can raise them in magic... ...if you want a really bad mage. Physicals are the usual way to go for them.

[Meeplelard]

Just to note Sthan is not the only Tales mage with magic.

yeah, Xer was quick to point out in chat there were others, like Kyle, but I haven't played those Tales games, so that was based on the ones I played (which is...primarily all the Tales games released stateside, outside of Radiant Mythology.)  Though, it sounds like Kyle's magic is mostly just kind of there, and completely garbage (compared to Stahn whose magic WOULD be fine if it was given to any character but him, not so much cause he's bad with it, but cause he's the character you control, and controllable Mage in ToD does not really work so well; more a battle system quirk than a character quirk though.)

Care to elaborate which Tales mains have magic and just how significant it is?

[Dhyerwolf]

Rena's physical is a bad joke besides for spam locking enemies every so often. Her magic is infinitely more useful.  You don't ever use Rena for damage, you do it for the quick attack magic and the overall awesome support skillset.

Can't say I'd really want Rena to cast any attack magic most of the game, since it means that she's less available to heal. Maybe it's just a limitation of the classification, but Rena would be a mage, Lunar Jessica would be a fighter because of being solely physical, and Yulie might be a fighter-mage? They all basically have the same general role in game, and by this classification, they'd probably all be in categories that didn't really fit at all.

[Meeplelard]

Thing is, Healers are Mages, of a specific kind.  You don't use Yulie for her physical; that's just something you do if she really has absolutely nothing worthwhile on her turn (which I'd call complete Bullshit, since she has Turn Shift, which means she'd be turning her worthless turn into another Jude/Arnaud/Raquel Turn and you get far more out of it that way.)

This is contrast to a Fighter who has a support skill set, like say, Tidus.  You're still using him for the physical, just he has a few abilities that COMPLIMENT him at as a fighter.  It just ups his worth as a fighter (possibly others in the team as well), but they don't do much stand alone.

Rena's worth comes from her magic skillset.  Its true her offensive magic isn't worth much (but you're vastly underselling it; Star Flare is a quick casting spell that hits full screen, though while not powerful, it does the job of interrupting enemies fine), but if you're using Rena, its for her MAGIC.

Again, I noted that, through one of Shion's two points, that when a character is reliant on a support skillset pretty much entirely for their worth, as in don't have any sort of respectable damage, they are a Mage by default.  Rena definitely falls under this.  The fact that her physical can stunlock things but do really horrible damage is a quirk of the battle system, which I said I'm tossing out, lest we get scenarios like "YURI IS A PURE MAGE!" in SH1, just cause Magic crushes Physicals there.

You're trying to oversimplify things, I feel, just going "Their physical is as good as their attack magic = Fighter-Mage!"  That's not what entails that though; it depends on their general uses.  I suppose I could broaden the definition of Fighter-Mage to entail "Fighters who also have full magic skillsets" like the Lufia 1 Hero, who while not attack magic, has a full set of spells that range from more than just healing and defensive magic (think he got some debuffs, for example, like Dread?), but in general, I was thinking Fighter-Mage had to be genuinely balanced enough to run both routes, something Rena fundamentally fails at.

This is doubly so given how Star Ocean 2 makes it clear the difference between Fighter and Mage.  Fighters use Killer Moves, Mages use Spells.  The game makes it obvious who does what role, and isn't subtle about it, similar to a Fire Emblem in that regard.

[Dhyerwolf]

If someone like Lufia 1 Hero was classified as a fighter-mage, that really would even out most of the problems I have with the classification. Just...Rena's real worth is a solid support skillset (making her a mage), but then the use of a similar skillset is discounted if they have a passable physical, which feels odd.

I also said that I thought mage was the right category for Rena; it's more some of the people in the fighter category that should be moved.

[Nephrite]

Clearly you need a 1-10 scale where 1 is Pure Mage and 10 is Pure Fighter. It is the only democratic thing to do.

[Niu]

Just to note Sthan is not the only Tales mage with magic.

yeah, Xer was quick to point out in chat there were others, like Kyle, but I haven't played those Tales games, so that was based on the ones I played (which is...primarily all the Tales games released stateside, outside of Radiant Mythology.)  Though, it sounds like Kyle's magic is mostly just kind of there, and completely garbage (compared to Stahn whose magic WOULD be fine if it was given to any character but him, not so much cause he's bad with it, but cause he's the character you control, and controllable Mage in ToD does not really work so well; more a battle system quirk than a character quirk though.)

Care to elaborate which Tales mains have magic and just how significant it is?

first Kyle's magic is not garbage, technically, none of the character is garbage at magic in ToD2. why? Because ToD2 physicals SUCK ASS. Any magic looks godly in front of physicals, so physical's only purpose in ToD2 is to tie up the enemy so you can cast magic. And the game system actually punishes you by relentlessly fighting in front line, so everyone has to go to back row once a while.

As for Sthan, in the original ToD, he can be a mage only because you can switch lens. In ToDr, his magic are very good combo starter. Opens with Explode, and it makes rest of his combo connects better. Some of his other spells also does a good job in connecting into other's combos. So, instead of damage, his magic in ToDr is best at facilitating your combo chains... not saying his magic has bad damage though.

As for Luca in ToI, his magic is fine as it is, just that ToI physicals are waaaayyy too superior, just even your mages want to go to front line and spam phsyical. It is also kinda ridiculous that the game's best mage is actually the game best physical spammer too.......

[Meeplelard]

*nods*

My experience with Kyle is based on ND3, and I seem to recall his magic was assy there (a few basic fire spells and that's about it.)  Though, is his Magic only good cause of a quirk in ToD2's system making Magic godly and physicals suck, or are there other characters in the game who are Fighters with worse magical capabilities?  I'm not trying to say you're wrong, just trying to get some feedback on the nature of Kyle.

It sounds like ToD2 is the opposite of ToI, where the latter, the character has adequate magic...by magic standards, just the game was balanced funkily so that that Physicals >>> Magic.  Sounds like from ToD2 is the same deal, but in reverse, so Kyle's magic ends up being better than its suppose to.

Basically, what I'm asking is, what kinds of spells does Kyle get?  Does he get any sort of remotely advanced things?

[Niu]

Kyle can cast up to mid level spells and the extensions. If anything, Burn Strike has its uses, but that is because Burn Strike is one of the better spell in game. Of course, he can't compare to full mages.

As for ToI, everyone gets to learn at least one or two high end spells... just only a few people would actually cast them.

[kokushishin]

FFTA and FFTA2, both Marche and Luso are Fighters. You... can raise them in magic... ...if you want a really bad mage. Physicals are the usual way to go for them.

They work as Blue Mages, but well, Blue Mage pretty much is physical in TA, and support in TA2.

[alanna82]

Rena can be a good fighter early on if you abuse the treasure chest item in Mars (Marze in remake) to get her a better weapon >_>

(well okay, I do that since I like controling her over Claude)

[Anthony Edward Stark]

I think I'd introduce main characters who are tanks or support characters to fuck with you one day.

[Lord Ephraim]

I think I'd introduce main characters who are tanks or support characters to fuck with you one day.

Valkyria Chronicles' main is a tank....literally. >_>

[Zakeri]

Final Fantasy 10-2: I...guess Yuna's...a...fighter...based on...how she starts...in Gunner? Ok, someone who knows this game better than me and the actual differences (primarily in the unique classes) can shed some light on this!

Hello! Was perusing around the forum when I saw this, and had to mention it, so I signed up.

The following comparisons were made based on level 99 Stats for all characters.

Code: [Select]

Trainer

HP and MP are all the same
ATK: Yuna>Paine>Rikku
Def: Yuna>Paine>Rikku
Agi: Rikku>Paine>Yuna
Eva: Rikku>Paine=Yuna
Mag: Rikku>Paine>Yuna
MgD: Rikku>Paine>Yuna
Acc: Paine>Rikku>Yuna
Luc: Paine>Yuna>Rikku

Attack: Yuna, Paine, Rikku
Magic: Rikku, Paine, Yuna
Speed: Rikku, Paine, Yuna
Hit: Paine, Rikku, Yuna

Code: [Select]

Mascot

HP: Yuna>Rikku>Paine
MP: Rikku>Yuna>Paine
Atk: Paine>Yuna>Rikku
Def: Yuna>Rikku>Paine
Agi: Yuna=Rikku>Paine
Eva: Yuna=Rikku>Paine
Mag: Rikku>Yuna>Paine
MgD: Rikku> Yuna=Paine
Acc: Paine>Yuna>Rikku
Luk: Paine>Yuna>Rikku

Attack: Yuna, Paine, Rikku
Magic: Rikku, Yuna, Paine
Speed: Yuna and Rikku, Paine
Hit: Paine, Yuna, Rikku

Code: [Select]

Specials
*Note: the parenthesizes indicate the replacement party being factored in as well
(i.e. Paine has Lower Defense than Rikku, but her Wings have a high enough defense
that combined with Paine, they overshadow Rikku's and her Smasher-R and Crusher-L)

HP: Paine>Rikku>Yuna
MP: Rikku>Yuna>Paine
Atk: Paine>Rikku>Yuna
Def: Rikku>Paine>Yuna (Paine>Rikku>Yuna)
Agi: Paine>Rikku>Yuna (Paine>Yuna>Rikku)
Eva: Paine>Yuna=Rikku
Mag: Yuna>Rikku>Paine
MgD: Yuna>Paine>Rikku
Acc: Paine>Rikku>Yuna
Luk: Paine>Yuna>Rikku

Attack: Paine, Rikku, Yuna
Magic: Yuna, Rikku, Paine
Speed: Paine, Yuna and Rikku
Hit: Paine, Rikku, Yuna
For those who don't know, all DressSpheres other than the above mentioned have the exact same stats for every character. "Attack" refers to the ratings for the HP, Atk, and Def stats, Magic refers to Mp, Mag, and MDef, Speed refers to Agi and Eva, and Hit refers to Acc and Luk (Luk being given less importance, since it mainly affect critical hits.)

For Trainer, Yuna tops Attack and bottoms out the rest, giving the impression of a fighter. Most of Yuna's Trainer abilities however rely on inflicting different elements (Fire, Water, etc). I don't know if these abilities rely on Strength or magic, but I'm leaning towards the former. Her abilities also include inflicting death, doom, and the holy element as well as healing and curing statuses (Although, all Trainers have the last two abilities). Rikku's Trainer skills revolve around stealing, and I can't say for Paine (I haven't maxed out her Trainer abilities yet) But even with differing skills, most skills are about/include inflicting statuses. I would say that for Trainer, Yuna is a Fighter much the same way Byuu from Bahamut's Lagoon is a Fighter. Definitely Attack oriented, but very Magelike.

Mascot Makes Yuna Definite Fighter-Mage Material. On top of top tier Attack and Second Tier Magic, She gains Kupo! Skills (Which are essentially Super White Mage abilities, i.e. Haste and Regen on all party, Full-Life on all party, and Moogle Beam which is basically Holy+) Which makes her a REALLY solid White Mage. On top of this, She's given Swordplay (Warrior abilities - Elemental Sword, Status Breaks, and Enemy delaying physical attacks) And Arcana (Dark Knight abilities - mostly debilitating Statuses, like Poison, Petrify, and Death.)  Which completely rounds out everything the "Fighter-Mage" could stand for.

Floral Fallal Yuna is is Mage, hands down. Her top is Magic, but she bottoms out Attack and Hit. Most of her skills are basically "Fire, but Cast repeatedly" Or "Flare, but cast repeatedly." Her Right Pistil mainly uses healing skills, buffs the party, or debuffs the enemy stats, while her Left Pistil works on Status Aliments. Nothing about these abilities strike near the need for Physical damage except maybe the Right Pistil's Stat breaks.

So in short, Yuna is a Fighter, a Fighter-Mage, and a Mage.
That's probably even more confusing.

[alanna82]

Mana Khemia 2: Roze is fighter, Ulrika is a mage. Its pretty clear cut.

[Lurkerson]

Phantasy Star 3: Rhys was a Pure Fighter!  After that it...depends on who slept with who.  Nial was a pure fighter, Ayn had...some magic, but can't remember what beyond Healing, and fuck if I can remember what each 3rd Gen main had.  Screw it, Phantasy Star 3 sucks.

It's possible to get attack magic with at least one of the 3rd generation heroes, but honestly attack magic in that game is so horrible I never used it for anything other then healing.  So I'd consider them all Fighters, with some better at support then others.

[BaconForTheSoul]

I think I'd introduce main characters who are tanks or support characters to fuck with you one day.

Valkyria Chronicles' main is a tank....literally. >_>

You win at life!

[Drifloon]

Rudra No Hihou: Sion was a Fighter, Riza was a Mage, Surlent was a Fighter-Mage...and better than the specialists in BOTH areas cause he's just awesome like that.  Dune was...uhh...I think balanced so a Fighter-Mage?

Dune is a Fighter. He has more MP than Sion but nowhere near as much as Surlent...you'll probably just be using his MP to buff, like with Tidus, who you class as Fighter. So yep, Fighter.