Welcome to my ninth annual Final Fantasy Character knockout game! I have 128 characters, from Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy XV, and Final Fantasy Tactics all meshed in and spat out to form battles. Who will be victorious?

Due to the ruling on the 5th Annual Games that the winner from the previous year will take the next year off, so this year we say goodbye to Laguna from Final Fantasy 8, and welcome back Beatrix from Final Fantasy 9!

Here's the podium finishes each year thus far:
The 1st Games 2011: Squall, 46 points | Sephiroth, 37 points | Shadow, 31 points
The 2nd Games 2012: Vivi, 42 points | Beatrix, 36 points | Zidane, 32 points
The 3rd Games 2013: Vivi, 26 points | Zidane, 25 points | Squall, 21 points
The 4th Games 2014: Vivi, 37 points | Gilgamesh, 26 points | Laguna, 30 points
The 5th Games 2015: Kefka, 36 points | Auron, 29 points | Edgar, 27 points
The 6th Games 2016: Rydia, 35 points | Celes, 29 points | Quina, 25 points
The 7th Games 2017: Beatrix, 28 points | Cid (Tactics), 24 points | Terra, 25 points
The 8th Games 2018: Laguna, 25 points | Zidane, 22 points | Red XIII, 19 points

We've had another reshuffle after last year's game and we say goodbye to the following characters:
- Tiamat (FF1)
- Gordon (FF2)
- Djinn (FF3)
- Zemus (FF4)
- King Tycoon (FF5)
- Wakka (FF10)
- Yunalesca (FF10)
- Lion (FF11)
- Hope (FF13)
- Niellefresne (FF14)
- Cor (FF15)
- Gladiolus (FF15)
- Iris (FF15)
- Ardyn (FF15)
- Mustadio (FF Tactics)
- Rafa (FF Tactics)

So, who are replacing the characters above? We have some returning faces and some brand new faces. Here's who is returning...
- Kraken (FF1)
- Josef (FF2)
- Xande (FF3)
- Bartz (FF5)
- Barthandelus (FF13)

And what about who's joining us for the first time ever? Say hello to the following...
- Edge (FF4)
- Cyan (FF6)
- Yuffie (FF7)
- Cid (FF8)
- Eiko (FF9)
- Cid (FF10)
- Eald'narche (FF11)
- Ba'Gamnan (FF12)
- Cid nan Garlond (FF14)
- Cindy (FF15)
- Wiegraf (FF Tactics)

Returning characters will be in Purple and brand new characters will be in Blue. We'll keep the FF15 characters in Red for the last time this year, after this they've had plenty of time to bed into the game. Please give them all some love!

So with all these changes, who is going to win this year? Next to each character I've put down the game they appeared in, followed by position each character is in tally wise, and their votes tally from the result of both years as well. In Round 2 onwards I'll also post their total tally this year. This is all for information purposes, if you're a statistical nerd like me. If that doesn't make sense, here's what Laguna's name would look like, if he were playing this year:

Laguna (VIII, 6th, 141)

If you haven't played any of my FF Knockout Games in the past, here are the rules:

The Rules
1. To vote, simply check who is going against who and reply with your favourite character in each roundup, preferably in a column format.
2. When a round finishes, if there are any tiebreakers, I'll post them up at the end. Tiebreakers are to be decided by listing them, and asking the question again about who is their favourite, the first response wins the tiebreak (eg. if the tiebreaker was Kefka vs Cloud, and the first poster to respond chooses Kefka, Kefka goes through to the next round).
3. All these battles are chosen randomly, I've used a simple Excel spreadsheet and the "Rand" formula to help me make it fair and square. The only exceptions I've made is that there's no two characters from the same game going against eachother. I'm going to try and keep characters from the same games apart for as long as possible, although that may get difficult later.
4. I'll keep these rounds open for around a week before posting the next one.
5. Because Round 1 has 64 battles, I'll split it into four sections (so you'll see 16 battles today, 16 in the next update etc). Round 2 will have 32 battles and I'll split that into two sections. Round 3 onwards will be posted in the complete forms.
6. Don't take this seriously, it's just a bit of fun. By all means debate why you love or hate certain characters, just be respectful of others feelings of those same characters.

So without any further delay, here's the first part of Round 1...

Round 1A
Ellone (VIII, 108th, 12) vs Rikku (X, 52nd, 48)
Barthandelus (XIII, 116th, 6) vs Seifer (VIII, 57th, 43)
Bartz (V, 117th, 4) vs Stiltzkin (IX, 73rd, 32)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 27) vs Thancred (XIV, 92nd, 23)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 141) vs Rubicante (IV, 65th, 37)
Ashe (XII, 66th, 36) vs Sabin (VI, 45th, 55)
Cloud (VII, 27th 80) vs Kain (IV, 19th, 87)
Dagger (IX, 23rd. 83) vs Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 79)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 76) vs Aria (III, 84th, 25)
Cid (V, 78th, 29) vs Vanille (XIII, 86th, 24)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 80) vs Faris (V, 40th, 60)
Prishe (XI, 92nd, 23) vs Cyan (VI, 129th, 0)
Red XIII (VII, 52nd, 48) vs Kuja (IX, 31st, 77)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 84) vs Cid (III, 113th, 8)
Cid (VIII, 129th, 0) vs Penelo (XII, 78th, 29)
Kimahri (X, 17th, 88) vs Golbez (IV, 72nd, 34)

Also - if you haven't already, please take part in Shad's Final Fantasy Rumble game to vote for your favourite Final Fantasy music - we're on the Semi Finals now! :D

Thread 232836

Round 1A
Rikku (X, 52nd, 48)
Seifer (VIII, 57th, 43)
Bartz (V, 117th, 4)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 27)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 141)
Ashe (XII, 66th, 36)
Cloud (VII, 27th 80)
Dagger (IX, 23rd. 83)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 76)
Vanille (XIII, 86th, 24)
Faris (V, 40th, 60)
Prishe (XI, 92nd, 23)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 77)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 84)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 29)
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 34)

Round 1A
Rikku (X, 52nd, 48)
Seifer (VIII, 57th, 43)
Stiltzkin (IX, 73rd, 32)
Thancred (XIV, 92nd, 23)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 141)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 55)
Kain (IV, 19th, 87)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 79)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 76)
Vanille (XIII, 86th, 24)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 80)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 0)
Red XIII (VII, 52nd, 48)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 84)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 29)
Kimahri (X, 17th, 88)

Round 1A
Rikku
Barthandelus
Bartz
The Emperor
Beatrix
Sabin
Cloud
Sephiroth
Tellah
Vanille
Hojo
Cyan
Kuja
Balthier
Cid (VIII)
Kimahri

Round 1A

Ellone (VIII, 108th, 12)
Seifer (VIII, 57th, 43)
Stiltzkin (IX, 73rd, 32)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 27)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 141)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 55)
Kain (IV, 19th, 87)
Dagger (IX, 23rd. 83)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 76)
Cid (V, 78th, 29)
Faris (V, 40th, 60)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 0)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 77)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 84)
Cid (VIII, 129th, 0)
Kimahri (X, 17th, 88)

Round 1A
Rikku (X, 52nd, 48)
Barthandelus (XIII, 116th, 6)
Bartz (V, 117th, 4)
Thancred (XIV, 92nd, 23)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 141)
Ashe (XII, 66th, 36)
Cloud (VII, 27th 80)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 79)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 76)
Cid (V, 78th, 29)
Faris (V, 40th, 60)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 0)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 77)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 84)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 29)
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 34)

---------- Post added at 09:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 AM ----------

go barthandelus!

Hype! I can add FFX and FFXI to my repertoire of characters I actually remember since the last game.

Round 1A
Rikku (X, 52nd, 48)
Barthandelus (XIII, 116th, 6)
Bartz (V, 117th, 4)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 27)
Rubicante (IV, 65th, 37)
Ashe (XII, 66th, 36)
Kain (IV, 19th, 87)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 79)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 76)
Vanille (XIII, 86th, 24)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 80)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 0)
Red XIII (VII, 52nd, 48)
Cid (III, 113th, 8)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 29)
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 34)

Stickied! :D

Round 1A

Ellone (VIII)
Seifer (VIII)
Bartz (V)
Thancred (XIV)
Beatrix (IX)
Sabin (VI)
Kain (IV)
Dagger (IX)
Tellah (IV)
Cid (V)
Faris (V)
Prishe (XI)
Kuja (IX)
Balthier (XII)
Cid (VIII)
Golbez (IV)

hyped also. lets see who wins this time.

I'm a little bit early with Round 1B but I have a busy day tomorrow!

Here's Round 1B, if you haven't voted in Round 1A yet don't worry, you can vote on both now :)

Round 1B
Lahabrea (XIV, 106th, 13) vs Zidane (IX, 2nd, 169)
Celes (VI, 9th, 113) vs Cid nan Garlond (XIV, 129th, 0)
Yuffie (VII, 129th, 0) vs Noctis (XV, 104th, 15)
Exdeath (V, 67th, 35) vs Shadow (VI, 15th, 97)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 0) vs Papalymo (XIV, 83rd, 26)
Locke (VI, 11th, 111) vs Jecht (X, 42nd, 56)
Lulu (X, 31st, 77) vs Setzer (VI, 37th, 70)
Aphmau (XI, 94th, 22) vs Edea (VIII, 55th, 45)
Leo (VI, 45th, 55) vs Prompto (XV, 104th, 15)
Josef (II, 108th, 12) vs Yda (XIV, 95th, 21)
Shadow Lord (XI, 81st, 27) vs Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109) vs Ba'Gamnan (XII, 129th, 0)
Zell (VIII, 60th, 42) vs Galuf (V, 33rd, 75)
Sara (III, 98th, 19) vs Vivi (IX, 3rd, 158)
Rosa (IV, 54th, 46) vs Barret (VII, 27th, 80)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81) vs Eald'narche (XI, 129th, 0)

Round 1B
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 169)
Celes (VI, 9th, 113)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 15)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 97)
Papalymo (XIV, 83rd, 26)
Locke (VI, 11th, 111)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 70)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 45)
Leo (VI, 45th, 55)
Josef (II, 108th, 12)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109)
Zell (VIII, 60th, 42)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 158)
Barret (VII, 27th, 80)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81)

Lahabrea (XIV, 106th, 13)
Celes (VI, 9th, 113)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 15)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 97)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 0)
Jecht (X, 42nd, 56)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 70)
Aphmau (XI, 94th, 22)
Leo (VI, 45th, 55)
Josef (II, 108th, 12)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 75)
Sara (III, 98th, 19)
Barret (VII, 27th, 80)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81)

Round 1B
Lahabrea (XIV, 106th, 13) - ffxiv hype.
Celes (VI, 9th, 113) - if only this rumble appeared next week, when i'll be in the thick of the A Realm Reborn storyline. Then my vote would probably go to Cid.
Yuffie (VII, 129th, 0)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 97)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 0) - underdog favourite.
Locke (VI, 11th, 111) - love the romance story haha.
Lulu (X, 31st, 77)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 45) - know nothing of aphmau unfortunately
Leo (VI, 45th, 55) - best general ever! save for Auron's role as tidus mentor think it's safe to say he epitomizes goodness lol
Yda (XIV, 95th, 21) - unfortunately know nothing about josef.
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50) - same as previous.
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109) - rydia's story gets me pumped lol.
Zell (VIII, 60th, 42)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 158)
Rosa (IV, 54th, 46) - cecil's love haha.
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81)

Zidane
Celes
Noctis
Shadow
Cindy
Locke
Lulu
Edea
Leo
Josef
Quistis
Ba'Gamnan
Galuf
Vivi
Barret
Steiner

Round 1B

Zidane (IX, 2nd, 169)
Celes (VI, 9th, 113)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 15)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 97)
Papalymo (XIV, 83rd, 26)
Locke (VI, 11th, 111)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 70)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 45)
Leo (VI, 45th, 55)
Josef (II, 108th, 12)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 75)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 158)
Barret (VII, 27th, 80)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81)

Round 1B
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 169)
Celes (VI, 9th, 113)
Yuffie (VII, 129th, 0)
Exdeath (V, 67th, 35)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 0)
Jecht (X, 42nd, 56)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 70)
Aphmau (XI, 94th, 22)
Leo (VI, 45th, 55)
Yda (XIV, 95th, 21)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 75)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 158)
Barret (VII, 27th, 80)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81)

Round 1B

Zidane (IX)
Cid (XIV)
Noctis (XV)
Shadow (VI)
Papalymo (XIV)
Locke (VI)
Setzer (VI)
Edea (VIII)
Leo (VI)
Yda (XIV)
Quistis (VIII)
Rydia (IV)
Zell (VIII))
Vivi (IX)
Rosa (IV)
Eald'narche (XI)

Again I'm a little early with Round 1C, and again if you haven't voted in Round 1A and Round 1B yet there's still plenty of time to vote!

Round 1C
Kefka (VI, 8th, 129) vs Leon (II, 83rd, 26)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 72) vs Bahamut (I, 78th, 29)
Squall (VIII, 14th, 101) vs Ignis (XV, 113th, 8)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 47) vs Irvine (VIII, 47th, 51)
Unei (III, 100th, 16) vs Aerith (VII, 42nd, 56)
Marilith (I, 92nd, 23) vs Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Xande (III, 115th, 7) vs Seymour (X, 57th, 43)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 15) vs Quina (IX, 29th, 78)
Cid (X, 129th, 0) vs Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 38)
Astos (I, 92nd, 23) vs Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169) vs Semih Lafihna (XI, 94th, 22)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 42) vs Garland (I, 65th, 37)
Alma (Tactics, 96th, 20) vs Cid (VII, 11th, 111)
Cid (IX, 46th, 53) vs Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 30)
Selphie (VIII, 60th, 42) vs Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 73) vs Aranea (XV, 111th, 10)

Round 1C
Kefka (VI, 8th, 129)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 72)
Squall (VIII, 14th, 101)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 47)
Unei (III, 100th, 16)
Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Seymour (X, 57th, 43)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 15)
Cid (X, 129th, 0)
Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 42)
Cid (VII, 11th, 111)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 30)
Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Aranea (XV, 111th, 10)

Round 1C
Kefka (VI, 8th, 129)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 72)
Squall (VIII, 14th, 101)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 47)
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 56)
Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Seymour (X, 57th, 43)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 15)
Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 38)
Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 42)
Cid (VII, 11th, 111)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 30)
Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 73)

Round 1C

Leon (II, 83rd, 26)
Bahamut (I, 78th, 29)
Squall (VIII, 14th, 101)
Irvine (VIII, 47th, 51)
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 56)
Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Xande (III, 115th, 7)
Quina (IX, 29th, 78)
Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 38)
Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169)
Garland (I, 65th, 37)
Cid (VII, 11th, 111)
Cid (IX, 46th, 53)
Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 73)

Round 1C
Kefka
Bahamut
Ignis
Irvine
Aerith
Cid (IV)
Seymour
Quina
Cid (X)
Yuna
Auron
Sazh
Cid (VII)
Cid (IX)
Selphie
Aranea

Round 1C
Kefka (VI, 8th, 129)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 72)
Ignis (XV, 113th, 8)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 47)
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 56)
Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Seymour (X, 57th, 43)
Quina (IX, 29th, 78)
Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 38)
Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 42)
Alma (Tactics, 96th, 20)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 30)
Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 73)

My lack of FFXI knowledge is showing in this one. Can't ordinarily vote for someone that you don't even know who they are :\

Round 1C
Kefka (VI, 8th, 129)
Orlandu (Tactics, 36th, 72)
Ignis (XV, 113th, 8)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 47)
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 56)
Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Xande (III, 115th, 7)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 15)
Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 38)
Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 42)
Cid (VII, 11th, 111)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 30)
Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 73)

Round 1C

Kefka (VI)
Cid (Tactics)
Squall (VIII)
Rufus (VII)
Aeris (VII))
Marilith (I)
Xande (III)
Lilisette (XI)
Gabranth (XII)
Yuna (X)
Semih Lafihna (XI)
Garland (I)
Alma (Tactics)
Cid (IX)
Terra (VI)
Ramza (Tactics)

Round 1A
Ellone (VIII, 108th, 12)
Seifer (VIII, 57th, 43)
Bartz (V, 117th, 4)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 27)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 141)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 55)
Cloud (VII, 27th 80)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 79)
Aria (III, 84th, 25)
Cid (V, 78th, 29)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 80)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 0)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 77)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 84)
Cid (VIII, 129th, 0)
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 34)

Round 1B
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 169)
Celes (VI, 9th, 113)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 15)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 97)
Papalymo (XIV, 83rd, 26)
Locke (VI, 11th, 111)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 70)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 45)
Prompto (XV, 104th, 15)
Josef (II, 108th, 12)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 50)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 109)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 75)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 158)
Barret (VII, 27th, 80)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 81)

Round 1C
Kefka (VI, 8th, 129)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 72)
Ignis (XV, 113th, 8)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 47)
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 56)
Cid (IV, 50th, 49)
Xande (III, 115th, 7)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 15)
Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 38)
Yuna (X, 49th, 50)
Auron (X, 2nd, 169)
Garland (I, 65th, 37)
Cid (VII, 11th, 111)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 30)
Terra (VI, 4th, 152)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 73)

Here's Round 1D, the final part of Round 1. Voting for Round 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D ends on Friday/Saturday so if you haven't voted yet, you have a week :)

Round 1D
Desch (III, 104th, 15) vs Lightning (XIII, 106th, 13)
Chaos (I, 92nd, 23) vs Basch (XII, 62nd, 38)
Vincent (VII, 16th, 89) vs Serah (XIII, 98th, 19)
Kraken (I, 118th, 3) vs Cecil (IV, 21st, 86)
Edge (IV, 129th, 0) vs Rinoa (VIII, 40th, 60)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 55) vs Eiko (IX, 129th, 0)
Freya (IX, 35th, 73) vs Lenna (V, 65th, 37)
Larsa (XII, 72nd, 34) vs Edgar (VI, 7th, 134)
Lunafreya (XV, 109th, 11) vs Fran (XII, 72nd, 34)
Ricard (II, 99th, 18) vs Tidus (X, 81st, 27)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 34) vs Y'shtola (XIV, 72nd, 34)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 86) vs Boko (V, 86th, 24)
Krile (V, 75th, 30) vs Ultros (VI, 19th, 87)
Firion (II, 92nd, 23) vs Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63) vs Leila (II, 111th, 10)
Jihl (XIII, 115th, 7) vs Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0)

Round 1D
Desch (III, 104th, 15)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 38)
Vincent (VII, 16th, 89)
Cecil (IV, 21st, 86)
Rinoa (VIII, 40th, 60)
Eiko (IX, 129th, 0)
Freya (IX, 35th, 73)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 134)
Fran (XII, 72nd, 34)
Ricard (II, 99th, 18)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 34)
Boko (V, 86th, 24)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 87)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0)

Round 1D
Lightning
Basch
Vincent
Cecil
Edge
Eiko
Freya
Edgar
Lunafreya
Tidus
Yang
Tifa
Ultros
Gilgamesh
Leila
Jihl

Round 1D
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 13)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 38)
Serah (XIII, 98th, 19)
Cecil (IV, 21st, 86)
Rinoa (VIII, 40th, 60)
Eiko (IX, 129th, 0)
Freya (IX, 35th, 73)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 134)
Fran (XII, 72nd, 34)
Tidus (X, 81st, 27)
Y'shtola (XIV, 72nd, 34)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 86)
Krile (V, 75th, 30)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0)

Surprised Shantotto wasn't in the mix. Definitely the most memorable character I've encountered in my FFXI dabblings.

Round 1D
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 13)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 38)
Serah (XIII, 98th, 19)
Cecil (IV, 21st, 86)
Edge (IV, 129th, 0)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 55)
Freya (IX, 35th, 73)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 134)
Lunafreya (XV, 109th, 11)
Tidus (X, 81st, 27)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 34)
Boko (V, 86th, 24)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 87)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0)

Round 1D
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 13)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 38)
Vincent (VII, 16th, 89)
Cecil (IV, 21st, 86)
Rinoa (VIII, 40th, 60)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 55)
Freya (IX, 35th, 73)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 134)
Fran (XII, 72nd, 34)
Tidus (X, 81st, 27)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 34)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 86)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 87)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0)

Surprised Shantotto wasn't in the mix. Definitely the most memorable character I've encountered in my FFXI dabblings.

Shantotto was in the first 6 years of the game but only got 9 points in that time so was dropped. You're right though, I was surprised too.

Round 1D
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 13)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 38)
Serah (XIII, 98th, 19)
Cecil (IV, 21st, 86)
Edge (IV, 129th, 0)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 55)
Freya (IX, 35th, 73)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 134)
Fran (XII, 72nd, 34)
Tidus (X, 81st, 27)
Y'shtola (XIV, 72nd, 34)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 86)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 87)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0)

Round 1D
Desch (III, 104th, 15) <-- Lightning, you do not deserve two lackluster sequels to your lackluster game - yet, you got them anyway.
Basch (XII, 62nd, 38) <-- My favourite from FFXII overall.
Vincent (VII, 16th, 89) <-- Tall, dark, mysterious. If only his spinoff game wasn't so short-lived.
Cecil (IV, 21st, 86) <-- Cecil, an all right bloke put under bad circumstances.
Edge (IV, 129th, 0) <-- When your parents are fused with monsters by Dr. Mengele, and you don't suddenly learn to channel electricity and water, what kind of son really are you?
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 55) <-- I also love her theme music. Filled with orchestral brilliance.
Freya (IX, 35th, 73) <-- Legend has it every time Kain or Freya uses 'jump' in combat, it's to soar into the skies to fiddle about.
Edgar (VI, 7th, 134) <-- Handyman, warrior, king, and champion skirt chaser. Sounds like a man among men to me.
Fran (XII, 72nd, 34) <-- Any character from XII who isn't Vaan is a winner in my book. Plus Fran is no-nonsense and can drive a flying motorcycle.
Ricard (II, 99th, 18) <-- Sorry Tidus, you simply annoy me.
Yang (IV, 72nd, 34) <-- Never heard of the other one.
Tifa (VII, 21st, 86) <-- Sorry Boko. You're still ace to me.
Ultros (VI, 19th, 87) <-- Total twat, this one, but you gotta hand it to any octopus who can form a rivalry by chance and chase his quarry through the skies.
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 103) <-- Big dumb oaf can hit me a few times, I'll give him that; he's lovable enough not to wipe the floor with straight away.
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 63) <-- Totally OP
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 0) <-- There's something to be said of a rival in a videogame who you actually feel sorry for fighting.

Surprised Shantotto wasn't in the mix. Definitely the most memorable character I've encountered in my FFXI dabblings.

Speaking as an old FFXI player (and a Windurstian one at that), I always found Shantotto to be utterly insufferable, as she was definetely unhinged, if not outright insane (a long quest line had her getting revenge on a peeping tom who didn't exist, and then tried heaping the blame onto the player when her revenge spell nearly kills an innocent reporter). Not to mention she was actually a comparetively minor character in FFXI's story, with others having far more importance in events like Aldo, Zeid, Lion and Verena. It was only with Dissidia that she became a breakout character and even got her own miniexpansion in FFXI. But I still find her annoying at best, and outright obnoxious at worst (even though she's my favourite character in the two Dissidia games on the PSP ;)). But I digress.

On with the game! :D

Round 1D

Lightning (XIII)
Basch (XII)
Cecil (IV)
Rinoa (VIII)
Ovelia (Tactics)
Freya (IX)
Edgar (VI)
Fran (XII)
Ricard (II)
Y'shtola (XIV)
Tifa (VII)
Krile (V)
Gilgamesh (V)
Agrias (Tactics)
Wiegraf (Tactics)

Speaking as an old FFXI player (and a Windurstian one at that), I always found Shantotto to be utterly insufferable, as she was definetely unhinged, if not outright insane (a long quest line had her getting revenge on a peeping tom who didn't exist, and then tried heaping the blame onto the player when her revenge spell nearly kills an innocent reporter). Not to mention she was actually a comparetively minor character in FFXI's story, with others having far more importance in events like Aldo, Zeid, Lion and Verena. It was only with Dissidia that she became a breakout character and even got her own miniexpansion in FFXI. But I still find her annoying at best, and outright obnoxious at worst (even though she's my favourite character in the two Dissidia games on the PSP ;)). But I digress.

On with the game! :D

Round 1D

Lightning (XIII)
Basch (XII)
Cecil (IV)
Rinoa (VIII)
Ovelia (Tactics)
Freya (IX)
Edgar (VI)
Fran (XII)
Ricard (II)
Y'shtola (XIV)
Tifa (VII)
Krile (V)
Gilgamesh (V)
Agrias (Tactics)
Wiegraf (Tactics)

You've missed Vincent (FF7) vs Serah (FF13)! If you want to vote you've got limited time! :)

Last chance for all of Round 1 before we hit the tiebreakers, if we have any! So that's Round 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D! :D

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTES WIN!

Who do you prefer?
Cloud (FF7) or Kain (FF4)?
Cid (FF5) or Vanille (FF13)?
Hojo (FF7) or Faris (FF5)?
Cid (FF8) or Penelo (FF12)?
Cindy (FF15) or Papalymo (FF14)?
Squall (FF8) or Ignis (FF15)?
Xande (FF3) or Seymour (FF10)?
Edge (FF4) or Rinoa (FF8)?

Round 2 will be starting shortly after! :)

Penelo
Squall
Edge

I won't be too greedy ;)

Thanks Shad :) We still need more tiebreakers resolving! I'll give it around 24 hours or so :)

Cloud (FF7) or Kain (FF4)?
Cid (FF5) or Vanille (FF13)?
Hojo (FF7) or Faris (FF5)?
Cindy (FF15) or Papalymo (FF14)?
Xande (FF3) or Seymour (FF10)?

Cloud (FF7)
Cid (FF5)
Hojo (FF7)
Penelo (FF12)?
Cindy (FF15)
Ignis (FF15)?
Xande (FF3)
Edge (FF4)

Thanks B@d@pple :)

Round 1 Roundup
Most Popular Characters - 7 characters lead the way so far, all with 8 points, but obviously this will open out as the game goes forward. I'll list them in Round 2 onwards due to how many people "lead" at the moment.

Most Popular Characters (All Time) – Zidane from FF9 and Auron from FF10 started this years game tied in first/second place, so I was certainly interested in knowing how this was going to develop going forward. As things stand, Auron is now unofficially in first place, because he got one point more than Zidane in Round 1. Beatrix of FF9 has moved up a place to 5th, while Edgar from FF6 also moves up a place to 6th.

Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings – Kraken of FF1 was voted back into the game and was ranked 118th coming in. Due to not getting any points in this years game, Kraken has moved down six places to 124th. For the characters who have been here for some time, there are a number of characters who have moved down five places, most notably Kimahri of FF10 moving from 17th to 22nd after only registering 3 points in this years game, his worst performance in the nine years playing.

Highest Rise in All Time Rankings – Wiegraf of FF Tactics has debuted in style for this years game. Initially being ranked 129th, his 7 points in Round 1 have moved him up 11 places to 118th. Other than the newer characters, Fran of FF12 has risen 8 places from 72nd to 64th.

Centenarians – Shadow of FF6 becomes the 15th character to hit the 100 point mark. Cecil of FF4 is the next character to try and hit the landmark, currently sitting on 94 points.

"Biggest Upsets" – Quina of FF9, who came 3rd place and 4th place on previous games, got surprisingly defeated by Lilisette of FF11 – 75 rankings are between them! Quina was ranked 29th and Liliette 104th.
In other news, Kimahri of FF10 got defeated by Golbez of FF4. 55 places separate them, from 15th to 72nd place respectively.

Okay! Round 2 will be split into two parts over two weeks. Naturally, we'll start with Round 2A.

Round 2A
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Characters that have rejoined the games this year are in purple
Brand new characters for this years games are in blue
FF15 characters joined two years ago are in red

Aerith (VII, 42nd, 7) vs Rikku (X, 52nd, 5)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 8) vs Tellah (IV, 32nd, 7)
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 6) vs Leo (VI, 45th, 7)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 7) vs Vivi (IX, 3rd, 7)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 4) vs Vincent (VII, 16th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 5) vs Noctis (XV, 104th, 6)
Cid (V, 78th, 4) vs Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 4) vs Yang (IV, 72nd, 5)
Kefka (VI, 8th, 7) vs Squall (VIII, 14th, 4)
Seifer (VIII, 57th, 5) vs Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Yuna (X, 49th, 8) vs Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 5)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 5) vs Cloud (VII, 27th, 4)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 8) vs Xande (III, 115th, 4)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 6) vs Edge (IV, 129th, 4)
Auron (X, 2nd, 7) vs Galuf (V, 33rd, 5)
Cid (IV, 50th, 7) vs Josef (II, 108th, 5)

Round 2A

Aerith (VII, 42nd, 7)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 8)
Leo (VI, 45th, 7)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 7)
Vincent (VII, 16th, 4)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 6)
Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 5)
Squall (VIII, 14th, 4)
Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 5)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 4)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 8)
Edge (IV, 129th, 4)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 5)
Cid (IV, 50th, 7)

Rikku
Edgar
Leo
Vivi
Vincent
Sephiroth
Locke
Cindy
Kefka
Seifer
Yuna
Sazh
Xande
Tifa
Auron
Josef

Rikku (X, 52nd, 5)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 8)
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 6)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 7)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 4)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 6)
Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 5)
Squall (VIII, 14th, 4)
Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Yuna (X, 49th, 8)
Sazh (XIII, 60th, 5)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 8)
Edge (IV, 129th, 4)
Auron (X, 2nd, 7)
Cid (IV, 50th, 7)

Round 2A
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 7)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 8)
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 6)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 7)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 5)
Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 5)
Kefka (VI, 8th, 7)
Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 5)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 4)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 8)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 6)
Auron (X, 2nd, 7)
Cid (IV, 50th, 7)

Round 2A
Aerith (VII, 42nd, 7)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 7) <-- Why can't we all have a granddad like Tellah?
Leo (VI, 45th, 7)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 7) <-- This was tough. I love Rydia and her character arc. But Vivi is hard not to have feels for.
Vincent (VII, 16th, 4)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 6) <-- At least Noctis is active for his whole game, not hiding in a crater. Both equally badass IMO.
Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 5) <-- One needs be more than a pair of jugs spilling out of a jacket to intrigue.
Kefka (VI, 8th, 7) <-- Emo boys with a god complex need not apply.
Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Yuna (X, 49th, 8) <-- Dycedarg just reminds me too much of a corporate pencil pusher, not even subtle enough and too arrogant to hide his own sins.
Cloud (VII, 27th, 4)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 8)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 6) <-- Badass? Check. Interesting story arc? Check. Jugs? Check, and check. Take notes, Cindy.
Auron (X, 2nd, 7)
Cid (IV, 50th, 7) <-- Anyone who can blow himself to smithereens in midair, then be in one piece later with just a few cuts and bruises should always be shown due respect.

Round 2A

Rikku (X, 52nd, 5)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 7)
Lightning (XIII, 106th, 6)
Vivi (IX, 3rd, 7)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 4)
Noctis (XV, 104th, 6)
Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 4)
Kefka (VI, 8th, 7)
Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Dycedarg (Tactics, 75th, 5)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 4)
Xande (III, 115th, 4) If I got mortality for Christmas I would be upset too
Tifa (VII, 21st, 6)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 5)
Josef (II, 108th, 5)

Round 2A

Aerith (VII, 42nd, 7)
Tellah (IV, 32nd, 7)
Leo (VI, 45th, 7)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 7) - that is an interesting match up, given their similar roles in each game.
Penelo (XII, 78th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 28th, 5)
Locke (VI, 11th, 7)
Cindy (XV, 129th, 4)
Kefka (VI, 8th, 7)
Celes (VI, 9th, 7)
Yuna (X, 49th, 8)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 4)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 8)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 6)
Auron (X, 2nd, 7)
Cid (IV, 50th, 7)

Sorry guys, I've only been able to get on the site today! We'll run Round 2 for another 6 days, so you've got until Tuesday next week to do Round 2A and now, Round 2B.

Round 2B
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Characters that have rejoined the games this year are in purple
Brand new characters for this years games are in blue
FF15 characters joined two years ago are in red

Kuja (IX, 31st, 6) vs Cecil (IV, 21st, 8)
Terra (VI, 4th, 7) vs Freya (IX, 35th, 8)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 6) vs Rufus (VII, 53rd, 6)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 5) vs Edea (VIII, 55th, 6)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 6) vs Bartz (V, 117th, 6)
Cid (VII, 11th, 6) vs Cyan (VI, 129th, 6)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 6) vs Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 8)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 6) vs Steiner (IX, 24th, 7)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 4) vs Setzer (VI, 37th, 6)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 7) vs Barret (VII, 27th, 6)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 8) vs Beatrix (IX, 6th, 7)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 5) vs Tidus (X, 81st, 5)
Fran (XII, 72nd, 6) vs Lilisette (XI, 104th, 5)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 7) vs Balthier (XII, 22nd, 7)
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 5) vs Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 5)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 7) vs Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 6)

Round 2B
Cecil (IV, 21st, 8)
Terra (VI, 4th, 7)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 6)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 6)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 6)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 6)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 8)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 6)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 4)
Barret (VII, 27th, 6)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 8)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 5)
Fran (XII, 72nd, 6)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 7)
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 5)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 7)

Kuja
Terra
Zidane
Edea
Bartz
Cid (VII)
Gilgamesh
Steiner
Hojo
Barret
Beatrix
Sabin
Fran
Balthier
Golbez
Wiegraf

2B

Kuja (IX, 31st, 6)
Freya (IX, 35th, 8)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 6)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 6)
Bartz (V, 117th, 6)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 6)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 8)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 7)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 6)
Shadow (VI, 15th, 7)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 7)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 5)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 5)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 7)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 5)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 7)

Cecil (IV, 21st, 8)
Terra (VI, 4th, 7)
Rufus (VII, 53rd, 6)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 5)
Bartz (V, 117th, 6)
Cid (VII, 11th, 6)
Cid (Tactics, 36th, 6) ~~tough one
Steiner (IX, 24th, 7)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 4)
Barret (VII, 27th, 6)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 8)
Tidus (X, 81st, 5)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 5)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 7)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 5)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 7)

Tactics hype? I guess it panned out that way for me.

Round 2B
Cecil (IV, 21st, 8) <-- Of the two most stylish drag queens of the FF franchise, Cecil clearly wins by virtue of his redemption.
Terra (VI, 4th, 7)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 6) <-- A bloke who always sees the glass half full versus a corporate shill? No second thought needed.
Edea (VIII, 55th, 6)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 6) <-- Bartz is a perfectly all right gent, but Ramza's tale just grips me more.
Cyan (VI, 129th, 6) <-- Good lord that was a kicker. Both are among my personal favourites in the whole series.
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 8)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 7)
Setzer (VI, 37th, 6) <-- Chasing skirt all across the skies, acing the poker table and always scoring the booty. That's how you do it, son.
Shadow (VI, 15th, 7) <-- Nothing against Barret, I just tend to favour mystery and tact over brute force.
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 7)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 5) <-- For the record, Sabin would snap Tidus over his knee two seconds into a spar.
Fran (XII, 72nd, 6)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 7) <-- In an alternate timeline, Balthier and Setzer are friendly rivals of the skies.
Golbez (IV, 72nd, 5)
Gabranth (XII, 62nd, 6) <-- Very tough. I like both Wiegraf and Gabranth. But Gabranth, I felt, was mildly underused, and far more intriguing than his counterparts.

Round 2B

Kuja (IX, 31st, 6)
Freya (IX, 35th, 8)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 6)
The Emperor (II, 81st, 5)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 6)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 6)
Orlandu (Tactics, 36th, 6)
Ultros (VI, 19th, 6)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 4)
Barret (VII, 27th, 6)
Quistis (VIII, 49th, 8)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 5)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 5)
Agrias (Tactics, 38th, 7) Tough one...
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 5
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 7)

Last chance to vote on Round 2A and 2B! :D

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTES WIN!

Who do you prefer?
Kuja (FF9) or Cecil (FF4)?
Terra (FF6) or Freya (FF9)?
Ramza (Tactics) or Bartz (FF5)?
Fran (FF12) or Lilisette (FF11)?
Agrias (Tactics) or Balthier (FF12)?
Golbez (FF4) or Ovelia (Tactics)?

Round 3 will start soon after :)

I'll break three of them.
Terra (FF6)
Ramza (Tactics)
Balthier (FF12)

Here's the other three.

Kuja
Lilisette
Ovelia

Round 2 Roundup
Most Popular Characters – We now have 3 characters leading the way after two rounds – Celes and Locke of FF6 and Basch of FF12, who all have 13 points. 7 characters have 12 points.

Most Popular Characters (All Time) – Auron of FF10 continues to be a single point ahead of Zidane of FF9 in the fight for the top spot. Vivi of FF9, who was third place, has however been eliminated! Terra of FF6 has an opportunity to take the bronze spot providing that she continues to collect points.

Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings – Despite getting 3 points in this year’s game, Dagger of FF9 has currently dropped 7 places so far, due to the characters around her doing well in the game – she’s gone from 23rd to 30th place. Another character that has dropped 7 places so far is Lenna of FF5, who didn’t register a point this year, and has gone from 65th to 72nd.

Highest Rise in All Time Rankings – Wiegraf of FF Tactics continues to impress on his debut, now going up 15 positions, from 129th to 114th. Also rising 15 positions is Noctis from FF15, who impressively defeated Sephiroth in the last round, he’s gone from 104th to 89th.

Centenarians – With Cecil of FF4 losing his tiebreaker and Tifa of FF7 going through, both of which are currently sit on 97 points, to you’d imagine that if Tifa gets to Round 4 she’ll likely to get to 100 points.

"Biggest Upsets" – In terms of highest place rankings, Vivi of FF9, currently in 3rd, lost to 12th place Rydia of FF4. But when it comes to largest gap between rankings, the biggest upset has to be Cid of FF7 losing to newbie Cyan. Cid is ranked 11th and Cyan is ranked 129th, a huge 118 places between them! But again, when it comes to characters who are not new or re-entering the games, the biggest upset is Ultros of FF6 losing to Krile of FF5. Ultros as ranked 19th and Krile was ranked 75th, a massive gap of 56 places!

We no longer have any characters left that re-entered the games this year, so there will no longer be any characters in purple.

Okay! Round 3 will be posted in its entirety. I’ll be keeping the games open until next Tuesday so you have 6 days to vote!

Round 3
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Brand new characters for this years games are in blue
FF15 characters joined two years ago are in red

Noctis (XV, 104th, 10) vs Locke (VI, 11th, 13)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 11) vs Auron (X, 2nd, 12)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 12) vs Hojo (VII, 27th, 8)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 9) vs Edea (VIII, 55th, 10)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 10) vs Barret (VII, 27th, 10)
Cid (IV, 50th, 12) vs Celes (VI, 9th, 13)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 11) vs Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 12)
Yuna (X, 49th, 12) vs Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 12)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 11) vs Aerith (VII, 42nd, 11)
Terra (VI, 4th, 10) vs Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 8)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 8) vs Leo (VI, 45th, 11)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 9) vs Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 9)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 10) vs Beatrix (IX, 6th, 11)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 9) vs Lilisette (XI, 104th, 8)
Kefka (VI, 8th, 12) vs Steiner (IX, 24th, 11)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 13) vs Sabin (VI, 45th, 10)

Round 3

Locke (VI, 11th, 13)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 11)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 12)
Edea (VIII, 55th, 10)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 10)
Celes (VI, 9th, 13)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 11)
Yuna (X, 49th, 12)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 11)
Terra (VI, 4th, 10)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 8)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 9)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 10)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 9)
Kefka (VI, 8th, 12)
Sabin (VI, 45th, 10)

Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're off to the races!

Round 3
Noctis (XV, 104th, 10) <-- Already a hard one. Locke's all right. But Noctis is style and substance, and he's a prince.
Tifa (VII, 21st, 11) <-- I'll give you two huge reasons why Tifa takes the win; her limit break is aces, and she threatens to "crush them". Woah.
Edgar (VI, 7th, 12) <-- Hojo just blows all around.
Edea (VIII, 55th, 10)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 10)
Celes (VI, 9th, 13)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 11) <-- I'm in the mood for positivity, and this guy is all glass half full.
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 12) <-- Sorry, but I can't think about Yuna or Tidus without that infamous laugh scene. Ugh.
Rydia (IV, 12th, 11) <-- Rydia seemingly dies, and then comes back, ten years older. Aeris can't lay claim to that. Oops...too soon?
Terra (VI, 4th, 10)
Leo (VI, 45th, 11)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 9)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 10)
Cloud (VII, 27th, 9) <-- Whoever the other one is, Cloud looks down upon them amidst an Omnislash.
Kefka (VI, 8th, 12)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 13) <-- Tough. Sabin is a bruiser. But Basch is a character I can really root for.

Locke (VI, 11th, 13)
Auron (X, 2nd, 12)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 12)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 9)
Barret (VII, 27th, 10)
Celes (VI, 9th, 13)
Gilgamesh (V, 13th, 12)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 12)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 11)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 8)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 8)
Yang (IV, 72nd, 9)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 10)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 8)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 11)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 13)

Locke
Auron
Edgar - tough choice
Kuja
Cyan
Cid (IV)
Zidane
Yuna
Aerith
Terra
Leo
Yang
Beatrix - oof :(
Cloud
Kefka
Sabin

---------- Post added at 06:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:57 PM ----------



Rydia (IV, 12th, 11) <-- Rydia seemingly dies, and then comes back, ten years older. Aeris can't lay claim to that. Oops...too soon?

Burn! Love it :D

Rydia seemingly dies, and then comes back, ten years older. Aeris can't lay claim to that. Oops...too soon?

Spoilers! :laugh:

Rydia (IV, 12th, 11) <-- Rydia seemingly dies, and then comes back, ten years older. Aeris can't lay claim to that. Oops...too soon?
Hahaha! Someone cast waterga to put that burn out!

Round 3

Noctis (XV, 104th, 10)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 11)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 12) - not really a fan of Hojo
Kuja (IX, 31st, 9) - I like both of them a lot
Cyan (VI, 129th, 10) - one of my favorite characters from VI
Cid (IV, 50th, 12) - a man that rides a bomb out of a plane, or a chick that feeds you bad fish?
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 11) - my favorite main protag
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 12)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 11) - went from the light side to the dark side
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 8) - I'm getting Shad's Tactics bug
Leo (VI, 45th, 11) - I wish he had more game time.
Yang (IV, 72nd, 9)
Beatrix (IX, 6th, 11) - duh
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 8)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 11) - clank clank
Sabin (VI, 45th, 10) - it's suplexing time!

Around a day and a half or so to go until I tally up Round 3 votes and move to Round 4! :D

Round 3

Noctis (XV, 104th, 10)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 11)
Hojo (VII, 27th, 8)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 9)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 10)
Celes (VI, 9th, 13)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 11)
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 12)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 11)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 8)
Penelo (XII, 78th, 8)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 9)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 10)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 8)
Steiner (IX, 24th, 11)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 13)

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTES WIN!

Who do you prefer?
Noctis (FF15) or Locke (FF6)?
Terra (FF6) or Ovelia (Tactics?)
Penelo (FF12) or Leo (FF6)?
Yang (FF4) or Ramza (Tactics)?
Cloud (FF7) or Lilisette (FF11)?
Kefka (FF6) or Steiner (FF9)?
Basch (FF12) or Sabin (FF6)?

Round 4 will be announced after soon :)

Ovelia (Tactics)
Ramza (Tactics)
Lilisette (FF11)
Steiner (FFIX)

I leave the rest to you guys :)

Let's keep Locke (FF6) alive.

Gonna give this another 24 hours before I'll make my own decision on the tiebreakers :)

The outstanding tiebreakers are:
Penelo (FF12) or Leo (FF6)?
Basch (FF12) or Sabin (FF6)?

Spoilers! :laugh:

Oops, you're absolutely right. Sorry about that, everyone! I got a tad carried away there. Someone must've cast Confuse on me.

As for the tiebreakers, I vote Leo and Basch!

It took a while but we got there! Thanks for those who helped break the tiebreakers! :D

Round 3 Roundup
Most Popular Characters – Two characters now lead the way, both from FF6 - Celes and Edgar with 17 points so far. Trailing behind them on 16 points are 5 characters.

Most Popular Characters (All Time) – Breaking news - Auron of FF10 has been eliminated from the tournament! This has been his worst performance in 9 years, which is pretty impressive, because he got to the 3rd round. But that now means that Zidane of FF9 leads the way and can strengthen his lead at the top of the all time rankings if he continues to do well in this year's game! So our Top 3 is now Zidane with 185 points, Auron with 183 points and then Vivi of FF9 with 168 points. Terra of FF6's attempt at claiming bronze too have come to an end as she lost her tiebreaker against Ovelia of FF Tactics.

Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings – Kimahri of FF10 has now taken over as the character who has dropped the most places, having dropped 8 places from 17th to 25th. It's strange though because he did get 3 points this year! But those around him obviously have made strides.

Highest Rise in All Time Rankings – Wiegraf of FF Tactics strengthens his position again on his debut, and is now up 22 positions, from 129th to 107th. For the non-new characters, what a run from Noctis from FF15! He’s gone from 104th to 83rd, a rise of 21 positions. In the "older" characters, another impressive rise in rankings is Lilisette of FF11, who's gone from 104th to 89th place, 15 places and is still in the game!

Centenarians – Tifa of FF7 has officially become our 16th Centenarian! Next up is Balthier of FF12, sitting nicely on 98 points. Just a couple more of your votes and he'll be #17!

"Biggest Upsets" – We must say that Cyan of FF6 beating Barret of FF7 is, rankings wise, the biggest upset, with 102 places between them. When it comes to the non-new characters however, the biggest upset goes to Lilisette of FF11 defeating Cloud of FF7 - 73 places are between them!

In other news Beatrix of FF9 has been knocked out, so that's the returning ex-champ gone and unable to reclaim their throne. In fact all ex-champs have been eliminated with the exception of Rydia of FF4, which means the chances of crowning a new champ are relatively high!

We no longer have any FF15 characters left this year, so there will no longer be any characters in red.

Round 4 time! I'll aim to get this done in 6 days, so you have until Tuesday to vote! After Round 4 things get very interesting in the Quarter Finals!

Round 4
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Brand new characters for this years games are in blue

Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 16) vs Steiner (IX, 24th, 14)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 17) vs Lilisette (XI, 104th, 11)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 16) vs Cyan (VI, 129th, 15)
Locke (VI, 11th, 16) vs Kuja (IX, 31st, 13)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 15) vs Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 11)
Leo (VI, 45th, 14) vs Zidane (IX, 2nd, 16)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 12) vs Basch (XII, 62nd, 16)
Celes (VI, 9th, 17) vs Balthier (XII, 22nd, 14)

Steiner (IX, 24th, 14)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 11)
Rydia (IV, 12th, 16)
Locke (VI, 11th, 16)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 11)
Leo (VI, 45th, 14)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 16)
Celes (VI, 9th, 17)

Round 4
Steiner (IX, 24th, 14)
Edgar (VI, 7th, 17)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 15)
Locke (VI, 11th, 16)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 15)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 16)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 12)
Celes (VI, 9th, 17)

Round 4

Steiner (IX, 24th, 14)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 11)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 15)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 13)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 11)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 16)
Basch (XII, 62nd, 16)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 14)

Round 4

Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 16)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 11)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 15)
Kuja (IX, 31st, 13)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 11)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 16)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 12)
Celes (VI, 9th, 17)

Steiner
Edgar
Cyan
Kuja
Tifa
Zidane
Basch
Balthier

Last chance to vote before tiebreakers, and then, the Quarter Finals! :D

Round 4
Wiegraf (Tactics, 129th, 16) <-- Wiegraf is who Steiner's only try'na be.
Edgar (VI, 7th, 17)
Cyan (VI, 129th, 15)
Locke (VI, 11th, 16)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 15)
Leo (VI, 45th, 14) <-- This was tough. I do rather go for Zidane, but Leo's onscreen tenure just leaves a slightly more gut-punching impact for me. Also, Triple Slash.
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 12) <-- Another nearly impossible choice. Both these two have character arcs that move me. But, Ramza needs love too.
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 14)

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTES WIN!

Who do you prefer?
Edgar (FF6) or Lilisette (FF11)?
Locke (FF6) or Kuja (FF9)?
Tifa (FF7) or Ovelia (Tactics)?
Ramza (Tactics) or Basch (FF12)?
Celes (FF6) or Balthier (FF12)?

The Quarter Finals will be announced soon after :)

Ramza
Lili

Rest is up to you :)

Locke (FF6)!
Ovelia (Tactics)!

Just one more tiebreaker to resolve, I'll give it another day if needed before I'll step in and solve it myself :)

Celes (FF6) or Balthier (FF12)?

Balthier (FF12)

Round 4 Roundup

Most Popular Characters - Cyan from FF6's debut effort is incredibly impressive, topping the year's rankings so far with 20 points. Joint on top with him is Zidane from FF9. In third place with 19 points is Locke from FF6.

Most Popular Characters (All Time) � Edgar from FF6 has been eliminated but not before he joined Beatrix from FF9 into sixth place in the all time rankings. Other than that, not much has changed at the top.

Highest Rise in All Time Rankings � Cyan from FF6 on his first outing has so far risen 26 places. Incredible. When it comes to the non-new characters Lilisette from FF11 is having the tournament of her life on the FF Shrine Forums, rising 22 places so far and has nearly DOUBLED her entire tally this year. She has 29 points, 14 which have come from this year's game.

Centenarians - Congratulations to Balthier of FF12, who has made the Quarter Finals AND hit over 100 points, the 17th character to do so! Next up on the list is Steiner of FF9, who's on 99 points. 1 more point and he'll be character #18.

"Biggest Upsets" � In ranking terms, Cyan of FF6 beating Rydia of FF4 is the biggest upset as there's 117 places between them. But for me, Lilisette of FF11 defeating Edgar of FF6 is definitely the highlist of Round 4, there's 97 places between them.

With Rydia of FF4 being eliminated, that means we'll be officially crowning a new champ this year!

It's Quarter Final Time! At this point in the competition we start to remove the statistics and talk more about who's left and how they've done in the past. Please welcome, the Top 8!

Balthier - The only surviving member of FF12, this is the first time Balthier has ever got to the Quarter Finals. His previous best placement was 11th place, which he did two years in a row back in 2013 and 2014. Can he also get to his first ever Semi Finals?

Cyan - Well, what a debut Cyan has had! He's the first "new" character to get to the Quarter Finals on their first try! When it comes to "new" characters, we've only had one get to the semi finals before, and that's Red XIII of FF7. Can Cyan be the second?

Lilisette - We've NEVER had a character from FF11 get this far before. What makes this fascinating for me personally is that Lilisette almost got removed from the game entirely last year. What a year she's had. For further perspective, the best ranked character from FF11 in a single year's game was Prishe back in 2011, when she got to 24th place. Lilisette is in the Top 8. Can she make the Top 4?

Locke - Locke is in relatively familiar territory here, because this is his third Quarter Final appearance, and second in a row. But he's never made the Top 4. Is it finally time? He's actually the second highest ranked character left in the game in 11th place, so it's as good a chance as any!

Ovelia - This is Ovelia's second Quarter Final appearance, having done so before two years ago. She came dead last in the Top 8 that year though, coming in 8th place. Can she do better this year and perhaps make the Semis on top?

Ramza - The same year Ovelia made the Quarter Finals, Ramza did too, when he narrowly missed out on the Top 4, coming in 5th place. Can he make the Semis this time round?

Steiner - "Princess!" Welcome back to the Quarter Finals Steiner! This is only his second appearance in the Top 8, he did it back in 2013 when he came 6th. He's never made the Top 4 though, is it his time, finally?

Zidane - And finally, we have Zidane. The FF Shrine Knockout Tournament veteran who has NEVER won the tournament. Always second best, never the winner. Zidane has been here SIX times in nine years. He's been runner up TWICE. But he's NEVER won. Is it finally his year to lift the crown?

Let's go, it's Quarter Final time!

Round 5: The Quarter Finals
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year�s Rank, This Year�s Points Tally)
Brand new characters for this years games are in blue

Cyan (VI, 129th, 20) vs Steiner (IX, 24th, 18)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 20) vs Lilisette (XI, 104th, 14)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 17) vs Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 14)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 15) vs Locke (VI, 11th, 19)

Steiner (IX, 24th, 18)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 14)
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 14)
Locke (VI, 11th, 19)

Steiner
Zidane
Balthier
Locke

Round 5: The Quarter Finals

Cyan (VI, 129th, 20)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 14) really tough one...
Ovelia (Tactics, 45th, 14)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 15)

Round 5: The Quarter Finals

Cyan (VI, 129th, 20)
Lilisette (XI, 104th, 14)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 17)
Locke (VI, 11th, 19)

Quarter Finals!

Steiner (IX, 24th, 18)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 20)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 17)
Locke (VI, 11th, 19)

My oh my, it's really heating up now. Onward and upwaaaaard!

Round 5: The Quarter Finals
Cyan (VI, 129th, 20)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 20)
Balthier (XII, 22nd, 17)
Ramza (Tactics, 35th, 15)

Did you just quote Nature Cat? lol

Final chance to vote before we prepare for the Semi finals! :D

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTES WIN!

Who do you prefer?
Cyan (FF6) or Steiner (FF9)?
Zidane (FF9) or Lilisette (FF11)?

The semi finals will be announced soon!

>_>

<_<

Zidane

Cyan

A few notes before I reveal the Semi Final pairings...

- We'll be crowning a new winner this year!
- This is the third all-male semi final, and the second two years in a row. The other one was the first year of this competition back in 2011.
- This is Zidane's fourth semi final appearance, and two in a row. No character has made it to four semi finals before, so Zidane has broken the record! Vivi and Beatrix have had three semi final appearances. That being said he's still never won this game before!
- This is the first time that Locke has got to the semi finals!
- Cyan on his debut has gotten to the semi finals too! Locke and Cyan become the sixth and seventh FF6 characters to get to the semis. Cyan is also the second "new" character to get this far into the game, after Red XIII did it last year.
- Balthier becomes the first character from FF12 to get to the semi finals, so lots of "firsts" in this year's game!
- FF6 bringing us seven characters to get to the semi finals is the most by a single game. So while FF9 dominates for total number appearances, FF6 dominates for individual characters getting this far. Only 5 FF9 characters have got this far in comparison.

We're almost there! Who will make the final?

Round 6: The Semi Finals
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year�s Rank, This Year�s Points Tally)
Brand new characters for this years games are in blue

Cyan (VI, 129th, 23) vs Balthier (XII, 22nd, 21)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 23) vs Locke (VI, 11th, 23)

Ooo, the two big guns got paired.

Cyan (VI, 129th, 23)
Locke (VI, 11th, 23)

Ack! The finish line is in sight!

Cyan (VI, 129th, 23)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 23)

Cyan
Locke

Balthier
Zidane

Cyan
Zidane

Round 6: The Semi Finals

Cyan (VI, 129th, 23)
Zidane (IX, 2nd, 23)

Gonna bring this Round to a close tomorrow - you have around 24 hours to vote if you haven't already! :)

It's the final! :)



Route to the Finals

Cyan
Game: Final Fantasy VI
Ranking prior to 2019 game: 129th
Ranking in 2011: None
Ranking in 2012: None
Ranking in 2013: None
Ranking in 2014: None
Ranking in 2015: None
Ranking in 2016: None
Ranking in 2017: None
Ranking in 2018: None
Total points prior to 2019 game: 0
Points in 2019 game: 28
Opponents in 2018 game: Prishe (XI), Cid (VII), Barret (VI), Rydia (IV) Steiner (IX), Balthier (XII)
Interesting fact: This is the first time a "new" character has gotten to the finals.

Zidane
Game: Final Fantasy IX
Ranking prior to 2019 game: 2nd
Ranking in 2011: 5th
Ranking in 2012: 3rd
Ranking in 2013: 2nd
Ranking in 2014: 5th
Ranking in 2015: 33rd
Ranking in 2016: 20th
Ranking in 2017: 11th
Ranking in 2018: 2nd
Total points prior to 2018 game: 169
Points in 2018 game: 27
Opponents in 2018 game: Lahabrea (XIV), Rufus (VII), Gilgamesh (V), Leo (VI), Lilisette (XI), Locke (VI)
Interesting fact: Zidane is the highest ranked character NEVER to have won this game, coming 2nd six years ago AND last year.

Who's your favourite character?
Cyan or Zidane?

Cyan

Zidane

I definitely never expected Cyan to get here.

But I am ok with this.

Art thou?

Zidane

Spicy.

Both people left voted for Cyan and Zidane last round.

Well, that's just not justified... Zidane deserves his win! I vote Zidane!

Last chance to vote guys! We'll aim to close the vote in around 24 hours :)

I was fighting with myself for a long time here, because I love a good underdog story, but it would be a bit unfair for Zidane if he were to lose again in his 3rd final. 3rd time a charm xD

Third time lucky but he finally did it! Congratulations to Zidane!


Statistics after the Ninth Annual Final Fantasy Character Knockout Game
- Zidane from FF9 is our seventh winner and continues the streak of a new winner every year since Vivi from FF9 won five years in a row from 2012 to 2014. Five different people have won it since that period of dominance.
- Zidane is our third winner from FF9, after Vivi won the tournament three times between 2012 and 2014 and Beatrix of FF9 won it in 2017. He's also the fifth male to win the competition.
- Zidane is the first character to get to three finals. He's also the first character to become a DOUBLE Centenarian - he's accumulated 200 points exactly!
- With Zidane finally winning a tournament, Auron from FF10 is now the leading character in the rankings never to have won the tournament - he's in 2nd place.
- The top rankings go like this - Zidane leads, Auron is in 2nd, Vivi is in 3rd, Terra of FF6 is in 4th, Beatrix of FF9 and Edgar FF6 are in joint sixth and Kefka of FF6 is in seventh. Laguna of FF8, who won last year, has now dropped from 6th to 8th.
- Lenna of FF5 is the highest ranked character not to register a single point this year. She was ranked 65th and now is currently in 72nd place.
- Rikku's strange trend of ranking worse year upon year "kinda" continues because her ranking is the same this year and last year. She's gone from 17th to 19th, to 29th, to 39th, to 42nd to 43rd to 46th, last year she was 52nd and she still ranks 52nd.
- Kimahri from FF10 is the highest ranked characters to not get to Round 2, he was ranked in 17th place. He's also the character who has dropped the rankings the most, going down 9 places to 26th place.
- It may come as no surprise to learn that Cyan from FF6 has risen the most in the rankings after an incredible debut. He's gone from 129th to 83rd, rising an astronomical 46 places.
- We had 905 votes this year which is the most we've had since 2011 and a huge rise from the 636 votes we had last year! Thank you all SO much for voting this year, I'm incredibly grateful for your participation!

Quarter Finalists
Auron - 6 time
Zidane - 6 time
Beatrix - 4 time
Terra - 4 time
Vivi - 4 time
Laguna - 4 time
Celes - 3 time
Locke - 3 time
Dagger - 2 time
Edgar - 2 time
Kefka - 2 time
Ovelia - 2 time
Quina - 2 time
Red XIII - 2 time
Shadow - 2 time
Squall - 2 time
Steiner - 2 time
Ramza - 2 time
Balthier
Cid (FF7)
Cid (FF Tactics)
Cloud
Cyan
Freya
Gilgamesh
Kimahri
Kuja
Lilisette
Lulu
Rydia
Sabin
Sephiroth
Setzer
Tellah
Vincent
Yuna

Semi Finalists
Zidane - 4 time
Beatrix - 3 time
Vivi - 3 time
Auron - 2 time
Laguna - 2 time
Quina - 2 time
Squall - 2 time
Terra - 2 time
Balthier
Celes
Cid (FF Tactics)
Cyan
Edgar
Gilgamesh
Kefka
Kuja
Locke
Lulu
Red XIII
Rydia
Sephiroth
Shadow
Tellah

Finalists
Vivi - 3 time
Zidane - 3 time
Beatrix - 2 time
Auron
Celes
Cid (FF Tactics)
Cyan
Gilgamesh
Kefka
Laguna
Rydia
Sephiroth
Squall

The Winners
2011 - Squall
2012 - Vivi
2013 - Vivi (2nd time)
2014 - Vivi (3rd time)
2015 - Kefka
2016 - Rydia
2017 - Beatrix
2018 - Laguna
2019 - Zidane

I've decided that from next year onwards I'll be removing the "red font" for the Final Fantasy XV characters that started in the 7th games. They've had chance to settle in now.
New characters will remain in blue though, and returning characters will remain in purple.

So here’s the big table of the results of the nine years combined for the characters, and the characters in order of official rank!

(Key: New Rank, Character Name, Game, Total Points)
1) Zidane (IX, 200) - this year's winner
2) Auron (X, 183)
3) Vivi (IX, 168)
4) Terra (VI, 165)
6) Beatrix (IX, 154)
6) Edgar (VI, 154)
7) Kefka (VI, 144)
8) Laguna (VIII, 141) - (last year's winner didn't take part this year)
9) Locke (VI, 136) - third place this year
10) Celes (VI, 133)
11) Rydia (IV, 126)
12) Cid (VII, 119)
13) Gilgamesh (V, 116)
14) Squall (VIII, 107)
16) Shadow (VI, 106)
16) Balthier (XII, 106)
17) Tifa (VII, 104)
18) Steiner (IX, 102)
19) Cecil (IV, 97)
20) Vincent (VII, 96)
21) Ultros (VI, 95)
22) Kuja (IX, 93)
23) Cloud (VII, 92)
26) Kain (IV, 91)
26) Barret (VII, 91)
26) Kimahri (X, 91)
27) Ramza (Tactics, 90)
28) Hojo (VII, 89)
29) Sephiroth (VII, 87)
31) Tellah (IV, 86)
31) Dagger (IX, 86)
32) Freya (IX, 84)
33) Galuf (V, 82)
34) Quina (IX, 81)
35) Cid (Tactics, 80)
36) Lulu (X, 79)
37) Setzer (VI, 78)
38) Agrias (Tactics, 73)
40) Ovelia (Tactics, 71)
40) Leo (VI, 71)
42) Sabin (VI, 68)
42) Aerith (VII, 68)
45) Faris (V, 64)
45) Rinoa (VIII, 64)
45) Yuna (X, 64)
46) Cid (IV, 63)
47) Quistis (VIII, 60)
48) Jecht (X, 58)
50) Edea (VIII, 57)
50) Basch (XII, 57)
52) Cid (IX, 56)
52) Rikku (X, 56)
53) Rufus (VII, 54)
54) Irvine (VIII, 53)
55) Red XIII (VII, 50)
57) Seifer (VIII, 49)
57) Sazh (XIII, 49)
58) Rosa (IV, 48)
59) Seymour (X, 47)
60) Yang (IV, 46)
62) Zell (VIII, 45)
62) Gabranth (XII, 45)
64) Selphie (VIII, 43)
64) Fran (XII, 43)
65) Golbez (IV, 42)
67) Garland (I, 40)
67) Penelo (XII, 40)
68) Ashe (XII, 39)
70) Rubicante (IV, 38)
70) Dycedarg (Tactics, 38)
72) Lenna (V, 37)
72) Y'shtola (XIV, 37)
73) Exdeath (V, 36)
76) The Emperor (II, 34)
76) Stiltzkin (IX, 34)
76) Larsa (XII, 34)
78) Cid (V, 33)
78) Tidus (X, 33)
80) Krile (V, 32)
80) Lilisette (XI, 32)
81) Bahamut (I, 31)
83) Cyan (VI, 30) - this year's runner up
83) Papalymo (XIV, 30)
85) Vanille (XIII, 28)
85) Noctis (XV, 28)
87) Leon (II, 27)
87) Shadow Lord (XI, 27)
90) Aria (III, 26)
90) Boko (V, 26)
90) Thancred (XIV, 26)
91) Prishe (XI, 25)
94) Marilith (I, 24)
94) Aphmau (XI, 24)
94) Yda (XIV, 24)
98) Astos (I, 23)
98) Chaos (I, 23)
98) Firion (II, 23)
98) Semih Lafihna (XI, 23)
101) Alma (Tactics, 22)
101) Lightning (XIII, 22)
101) Serah (XIII, 22)
102) Ricard (II, 21)
103) Sara (III, 20)
104) Josef (II, 19)
105) Wiegraf (Tactics, 18)
107) Desch (III, 17)
107) Unei (III, 17)
108) Prompto (XV, 16)
110) Ellone (VIII, 15)
110) Lahabrea (XIV, 15)
113) Xande (III, 13)
113) Bartz (V, 13)
113) Lunafreya (XV, 13)
115) Aranea (XV, 12)
115) Ignis (XV, 12)
116) Leila (II, 11)
118) Cid (III, 9)
118) Barthandelus (XIII, 9)
119) Jihl (XIII, 8)
120) Cindy (XV, 7)
121) Edge (IV, 6)
122) Cid (VIII, 4)
124) Kraken (I, 3)
124) Eiko (IX, 3)
126) Yuffie (VII, 2)
126) Cid (X, 2)
129) Eald'narche (XI, 1)
129) Ba'Gamnan (XII, 1)
129) Cid nan Garlond (XIV, 1)

So that's it until next year! I'll be bringing this game back in around July time. But I'll be back in January for the 2nd Favourite Final Fantasy Locations Game!

There's nothing more to say other than to say goodbye to Zidane for a year! And to say welcome a return to...

Laguna!

Thanks for hosting!

Excellent!!! Truly brilliant round; thank you for giving us this chance. I'm already stoked for the next go!

Woohoo! Zidane finally got his win! Thank you Johnny for hosting this again, it's always a good time, much appreciated and I look forward to the locations rumble next.

Thanks for hosting this every year Johnny. Looking forward for the next one :D

Thanks for hosting!