Tvtropes has Tidus and Yuna from FFX and Fang from FFXIII (They also had Mickey Mouse and main characters from BBS but we are just discussing Final Fantasy). Now I would like to like who you think has had it the worst whether it be: losing a loved one, being kept out of the loop, not obtaining the one they loved, not escaping death, or just being a sheer butt monkey. Please list some reasons as to why there lives are so bad.

Well ill have to say Zack due to the fact that he knew that hew was going to die in Crisis core yet kept on fighting and whats more is that he died in the end which made it only more hard to bear. he tried so hard to make things right but in the end when he knew he was going to die kept on fighting yet perished in the end. Zack deserves total respect for his courage and bravery. (not to mention that he never got a break in BBS either but were only discussing Final Fantasy so nvm)

Zack had it bad, but so did Cloud, and Cloud had the added hardship of being controlled by yours truly when I had never before played a final fantasy game,

so he fell off of a lot of stuff, got the grenade in Junon, and lots of other stuff to add to his problematic history.

Poor fellow.

All the villains. Always just dying. Never happy ending for them

Cyan loses everything that matters to him (his family, his city, his honor, and possibly his mind [dream stooges?]), and the man responsible for doing so becomes the god of his world, making revenge all but impossible, driving him to total dispair, finding solace only in inhabiting the identity of a dead man and writing false love letters to try to make up for his own sense of failure.

Wow, that's hard.  There's about three characters that come to mind, really.  But I think either Cloud, Vincent, Cyan, or Tidus had it the worst.  I'll try to explain why.

 

Cloud was never a strong character, and yet he accomplished so much.  His home was destroyed, he suffered from Mako poisoning AND watched his best friend die (who shall remain nameless for the sake of spoilers).  He then forgot who he was due to the poisoning and adapted Zack's life and personality instead.  Then, he suffered from mako poisoning again!  Not to mention he'd suffered losing Tifa in his childhood, or, rather, failing to get her attention.  The guy's been through an awful lot, when you really look at it.  Death would've almost been a mercy to him back at the end of Crisis Core.

 

Vincent's had it hard just because he got involved with two screwed up scientists that ruined his life.  One of them tried to kill him, the other one--which he loved--turned him into a beast for the rest of his life.  He then put himself to sleep for decades, only to be harshly awakened and having to suffer with his losses (and facing them) all over again.

 

 

 

Cyan loses everything that matters to him (his family, his city, his honor, and possibly his mind [dream stooges?]), and the man responsible for doing so becomes the god of his world, making revenge all but impossible, driving him to total dispair, finding solace only in inhabiting the identity of a dead man and writing false love letters to try to make up for his own sense of failure.

Very good reason for Cyan.  I totally agree with that.

 

As for Tidus, well, I can't really say his life was all that bad.  He did, however, lose his mom at a young age, and he'd always hated his dad.  His quest with Yuna seemed alright, until he discovered she'd have to die.  And during those last scenes of the game...  I can't help but wonder if he was freaking out inside.

 

Alright, after I've summed everyone up, I'm sort of thinking Cloud had it the hardest.  That or Cyan; it's a tough call.

Zack Fair had it the worst out of all. Just the way he went and what he did. All the pain

Cloud Strife- I mean his last name says a lot

Shuyin- No one thinks of him, but if you look at it 1000 years; he had it worse than Tidus.

Okay someone besides Zack

Having it rough is a prerequisite for participating in a Final Fantasy game so it's hard to pin down, but relatively speaking and because Cloud's been mentioned multiple times, probably Terra.  She was captured as an infant by the Empire due to her half-esper heritage, and was raised all her life to be a weapon of mass destruction.  Her time with the Empire isn't elaborated on, but given how she wonders if she deserves to be loved--and the Empire being, well, the Empire--it couldn't have been pretty.  When we see her working for the Empire in the beginning of the game, she's been brainwashed by a slave crown to be a mindless puppet that kills anyone and anything who gets in her way.  When she finds her mission objective (recovering a frozen esper), she falls unconscious with amnesia, the Empire's after her for reasons she doesn't know, and the people she meets are in danger by hanging around her because the Empire wants her back/dead.  She eventually finds out the truth of her heritage, goes through a crisis regarding her identity and powers, can't stop the Empire from capturing and experimenting on her kin so they can be used for destruction (thanks a bunch, Kefka), and fails to stop Kefka from going nuts on the world.  She takes care of a group of orphans in the World of Ruin, having no other purpose with her life, but fails to protect them from a dangerous monster.  It's only when she embraces her esper-ness and her worthiness to be loved does she find the strength to protect her loved ones and help kick Kefka's ass.

Terra

 

She was taken from her parents at a young age was used a experimental testing tool for magic and killing and she was used as a puppet to slaughter others without her control since she was brainwashed to follow orders under the slave crown that Kefka gave her. When the slave crown is removed from her she looses all of the memories and she has no idea why Kefka and the Empire is after her. She starts to believe that she is a bloodthirsty Solider killer even though she's not, and she has no idea why she's half- Esper. She thinks that she's this monster when she's not. 

 

Then half- way through the game she looses everybody and she believes that they all died and she's the only survivor and she takes care of the now orphaned children that lost their parents thanks to Kefka.

 

Basically what everything Dracozombie said. 

Quina: I no can eat

Quina: I no can eat

 

S/he just wanted yummie yummies...

Caius-he was just a Guardian who wanted to protect the seeress, but after seeing her die so many times along the timeline, drives himself crazy and soon resolves to destroy the world just to keep her alive.

WoLs. Come on, they walk into Cornelia probably just for grocery shopping, and they're forced into a save the world situation.

 

Or Zidane. All he wanted was a kidnapped princess.

 

But probably Kain. Lost his best friend, the girl he liked, and the respect of everyone and he has to spend 17 years atoning. 

But probably Kain. Lost his best friend, the girl he liked, and the respect of everyone and he has to spend 17 years atoning. 

Ohhh yeah, I totally forgot about Kain!  He's definitely had it rough.  Perhaps even worse than Cloud, though that one's debatable.