Oh gosh, I don't have a single favourite, I have favourites from every game.
I wish I could say the same. As much as I love certain characters from each game, I definitely do have my top favourites XD
My quick answer is a pretty shallow one. My two top favourite Final Fantasy characters are
Mog and
Red XIII... both for similar reasons. They're talking animals who aren't restricted by being animals (which numerous RPGs - and other gaming genres - have done), they're adorable and awesome for what they are, they have interesting and/or fun personalities, and... they're adorable? >>; To be honest, I do enjoy using both of them in my teams but they're not necessarily the "best" characters - just my favourites.
Now for a more expanded reply like El's... I've played numerous FF games, and if I didn't enjoy the characters as much as I do I probably wouldn't have kept going back to the series. So, naturally, I do have many favourites as well, but not necessarily from every game... Gonna skip FF 1-3 and 5 for various reasons (its been ages since I played FF1 and I can't even remember its secondary characters or antagonists, I haven't played FF2 or FF5 extensively, and FF3... its characters just didn't stand out to me).
In FF IV,
Rydia has always been a favourite of mine. I love how her character transitions throughout the game and her connection to the summoning world, and in trying to keep things semi-spoilerless... she has one of the best scenes in the game XP
As for FF IV: The After Years... My pick is easily
Kain. I always loved him in the original, but about as much as I did Cecil and Edge (which was less than Rydia). The After Years did something with Kain I always wanted to see done... and it's frelling awesome. He's just a really fun character with some great plot points.
FF VI... Many to mention.
Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Mog, Umaro, Setzer, Gau, Shadow, and Kefka. I love that game more than any other in the series, and one of the reasons why is its cast. Pretty well all of the main characters are awesome for their own reasons, and Kefka is one of my favourite gaming antagonists to date. No FF VI character is like the others, in both their personalities and their special abilities (not counting Gogo, but even Gogo has a unique personality... XD). As for Kefka... I've said it before. He's insane, completely and utterly, and for that he is awesome.
FF VII has, again,
Red XIII, but I must admit that I do have a soft spot for
Cloud, Aeris, and
Cait Sith,. I don't dislike any of the other characters either, I'd just place those four above 'em for different reasons (Cloud and Aeris for their impact on the plot, and Cait Sith for being an interesting character in various ways).
FF VIII is another like FFVI for me... I adore the game and love the cast.
Rinoa, Squall, and Laguna stand slightly above for me (Squall and Riona being one of the cutest RPG couples ever, and Laguna for being his awkward yet heroic self), but all of the main characters were great and highly enjoyable. Like El, the secondary characters (like Edea and Ellone) were really well-developed, too, so they get notable mentions... and Rajin/Fujin crack me up.
FFIX had
Zidane, who I've long felt was one of the better FF heroes since FF6 (edging out Cloud and Squall), and characters like
Vivi. Vivi always intrigued me for his origin story, and I really enjoyed his portions of the game. As for Zidane... he was just a really likable character, not overly angsty, and made things fun.
FFX... hmm...
Rikku was a really fun character with an interesting history, and I'm probably in the minority of people who liked
Tidus. He's basically just a regular, sports playing kid who gets thrown into this strange new reality - his character development reflecting that. He didn't feel quite the same as the usual FF characters, something I really liked about him.
FF XII... To be honest, none of the characters were really powerful, but I do love
Basch, Balthier, and Fran. I wasn't expecting to like Fran originally, but she found a way into my main trio early on and I very much enjoyed the plots surrounding her. Balthier probably has the most character out of all of the main cast, including some interesting twists, which makes an impression on my mind. As for Basch... I dunno why, I just love the guy for what he is. He was also part of my main trio.
I think the only spin-off title I'll mention is the original Final Fantasy Tactics, because many of the ones I've played (FF Adventure, the FF Legend collection, Mystic Quest, etc.) aren't really true FF games, and as fun as FFTA was... its characters didn't strike me quite the same as others have.
Anyways, in FF Tactics,
Ramza and Delita really make the game, but I also really love some of the secondary characters like Zalbaag and Alma. Delita is one of the most interesting characters in the game for everything he schemes and manages to achieve considering where he started, and it's really nifty that you get to play extra missions involving him in FFT: The War of the Lions. As for Ramza... for all the shit he's put through he rises to the occasion and never loses sight of his guiding beliefs. Even when the entire world seems against him he keeps going, following his own path, and I love him for it. The guy really makes a great hero.
As a side point,
Chocobos, Moogles, and Tonberry are easily my favouirte creatures from the FF world, though tbh I like FF6's Moogles by far the best. Their new, more bunny-ish look don't do it for me quite the same way XP
[quote author=Tonberry]I know, totally pathetic of me to support the leading man[/quote]
*coughs*
Yeah... I think you can see by my reply that I'd be much more pathetic than you. What can I say? I generally enjoy the leading characters as much, if not more, than the others. They tend to shape the game XP