Locke, Sabin, and Edgar from Final Fantasy VI. Epic motherfuckers they are.
Also, I prefer Mario over Luigi, mainly because Mario isn't a pussy.
Exactly what makes Luigi a pussy though? If anything, he's probably got more courage than Mario. Mario's just all gung-ho and "Wheeee" like a 5 year old, which I find to be just plain annoying.
Anyways, on-topic; Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia, and Shing Meteoryte from Tales of Hearts. These two characters, are two perfect examples of what a main character in an RPG
should be.
Yuri, while he's still young, breaks the norm of "random 16 year old saves the world from random world ending catastrophe". Instead, gives us "21 year old former-knight who made a name for himself through petty crimes saves the world from the leader of the knights, and not so random world ending catastrophe". Granted, those both do sound random, but you'd actually have to play the game to understand that the story compliments his character very well, and it does a nice job of showing how the party works to catch up with the villain. Plus, he's not annoying, or immature, or a plain asshole, always eating, or an idiot idealist; he's pretty much impossible to unnerve, going everywhere with a straight face, he's sarcastic, and almost always seems to know exactly what's going on and where, having a good grip on any situation that comes to him, usually with the help of his companions. Plus, he actively follows his own path of "justice", taking the path of a common criminal by dirtying his hands and murdering two people that the law couldn't touch, effectively turning him into a hypocrite. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the way he fights is fucking badass? Best swordsman I've ever seen in an RPG.
Shing's character is pretty much summed up in his official character description: he's got an insatiable curiosity for the world around him, and lacks personal experience of the world, as he's only been in his hometwon until the start of the game, so he lacks the delicacy in his speech and the things he does that other people have, at one point trying to quote one of his party members, but failing miserably, trying to say that he's a coward, and that he's got peanuts for ball, but instead calling him a bunch of food names.
But unlike other RPG characters, who constantly make mistakes and are too stupid to do anything about them, let alone even notice them, Shing actually notices the mistakes he makes, properly reflects on them, and does his best to fix those mistakes. He also makes a nice punching bag for the other characters, frequently getting beaten, and at one point
is forced to stab himself when the villain has control over his body when he's still inside of Shing. But that just goes to show how truly tenacious he is.
Plus, he gets the best quote ever:
Shing said:
Gramps always said to help a pretty lady! And if she's got a big chest, help her at the cost of your life!!
And this adage even comes into play at one point in the story as well =P
Oh yeah, plus, he's voiced Tetsuya Kakihara, same guy who did Simon in Gurren Lagann.
