Favoritism for Lightning?

[Unionhack]

This is something I've been thinking for a while, and I'm not sure how people will respond to it, but I'm curious.

I've been noticing that Lightning, as a whole, was REALLY put in the spotlight for 012. I mean, two story segments instead of one, getting the spotlight in almost EVERY piece of artwork and promotional material I've seen (She's even fronted on the cover of the game.), and gets a gigantic role in the CG rendered cutscenes.

Here are a few examples...


I'm pretty sure no other character got a nice close up...


Front and center.



See what I'm saying? Now, let's look at cut scenes.


I didn't even SEE Laguna or Yuna.


The party don't start till she walks in...


I find she's awfully highlighted even in the intro.

Now, normally, this wouldn't bother me that much (Though it still probably would), if I didn't find Lightning to be an extremely bland character. She's very hostile, has an awful attitude (to the point where she's an utter bitch) and her design is just... meh. Not to mention her unimaginative name (Falls into the same boat as Cloud, Terra, and other names that are just words.) I honestly find nothing to like about her (No offense to you Lightning fans out there.), so her intense highlighting in Duodecim (From my POV) just really irks me.

So, post/discuss/flame, please. I'd like to know if anyone else thinks this.

[Zero_Ruzai]

I think Squeenix was making up for the terrible job they did on XIII ^^

Just kidding, but yes I noticed it too. I suppose some stories need some sort of main character to follow. For me, since they debuted lightning so much, by keeping track of her in the story, I found out what was going on chronologically in many cases.

[TWOxACROSS]

Well, she's sorta the leader of the 012 crew.

Everything else sorta falls on your opinions. You think she's a bland character, you think she has an unimaginative name. That doesn't mean everyone does >.< I sorta wonder if you played XIII, you might have a bit more info to go on, like her name, and noticing that Duodecim waters down her character a little (like it does everyone's, really )

It's not too much different from Warrior of Light being the de facto leader of the Dissidia crew. They get displayed prominently because they are the leader - the hand that moves the piece forward, yadda yadda yadda

[Thiefcopy]

I think names like Lightning and Cloud are imaginative names, because they're not normal.

[Zero_Ruzai]

Pretty much all character's name's are unique. Something you wouldn't quite expect; Lightning, Cloud, and Squall are all pretty apparent. Whoever came up with a name like Exdeath should have gotten a raise. "Onion Knight" sounds like something totally out of the blue and it works out. Kain is an awesome name, Golbez is something you never hear and the list goes on. I think the only name that I've actually heard someone named is "Cid" and that name is present in ALL games. Kind of cool.

Speaking of which, not to be off-topic (even though this is slightly) but does anyone know the background of Cid's name? Origin etc.?

[TWOxACROSS]

Except Exdeath was supposed to be "Exodus" but got totally Woosley'd

As for Cid...I think it was just a name, and they just decided to keep reusing it.

[Scott]

Lightning is a "codename" of sorts. There's often little interesting points about it, like her friends being able to call her Light to show her as more human and friendly, enemies saying she's only good for bursting in, causing destruction, and leaving just as quickly, as real lightning does, and so forth.

If you really wanted to know, her real name is:

Spoiler:

Claire Farron

[BRKNglassIncarnate]

Just so you know Tetsuya Nomura drew this

Spoiler:

[CrimsonSH]

Meh, didnt bother me too much.


WoL is the main character in 013, Lightning is the main character in 012, both have the significance of being the representatives of the first and the last main Final Fantasy titles.

I know some die hard fanboys tend to deny it because it's a crossover, but for all intended purposes WoL is the main protagonist of Dissidia and his interaction with Lightning, his relationship with Cid and such all heavily imply this.

[Unionhack]

Not trying to promote fanboyism if that's what it looks like I'm doing :P
And you're correct, I have not played XIII (Thought I plan to do so), this is purely from a Dissidia player perspective. Like I said before, not trying to offend anyone.
Also, isn't Laguna technically the leader of the 012 crew? I remember her stepping down and letting him take charge, though my memory may be faulty.