I don't mind him much, his behavior, while immature, can be easily justified by him being a teenager. Same with Rena's behavior tbh. I am more concerned by how bad the overall story is, with how meander-y it gets and how it loses all appeal and nuance in Energy Nede.

Originally posted by Second Duke of Aeria Revier:

I don't mind him much, his behavior, while immature, can be easily justified by him being a teenager. Same with Rena's behavior tbh. I am more concerned by how bad the overall story is, with how meander-y it gets and how it loses all appeal and nuance in Energy Nede.

Yeah the story is also not that great. As a teen i never behaved like that, but everyone is different.

Teenagers typically aren't known for being very mature or restrained, puberty is a hell of a process lol.

Originally posted by Second Duke of Aeria Revier:

Teenagers typically aren't known for being very mature or restrained, puberty is a hell of a process lol.

Yeah your right. But it is still annoying lol :)

There's a reason I usually rename him to Loser. Rena deserves the main protagonist slot far more, her story is actually relevant to how the events of the game play out. Same reason I prefer Laeticia to Raymond in Star Ocean 4.

I actually found Claude's premise and initial concepts far more interesting than Rena's. A shame he becomes a generic JRPG hero after like...the first two-three hours.

Still got a few moments, though!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A76D4bqu1No

Originally posted by Sky Render:

There's a reason I usually rename him to Loser. Rena deserves the main protagonist slot far more, her story is actually relevant to how the events of the game play out. Same reason I prefer Laeticia to Raymond in Star Ocean 4.

I mean. Calling him a Loser is a bit extreme, but i get your point. But i also find Rena cringe, but she doesn't annoy me so much like Claude.

Originally posted by Second Duke of Aeria Revier:

I actually found Claude's premise and initial concepts far more interesting than Rena's. A shame he becomes a generic JRPG hero after like...the first two-three hours.

Still got a few moments, though!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A76D4bqu1No

Yeah he was fine the first 1-3 hours, but when he got jealous for no reason, he began to annoy me

people will now hate on me for this but
he is not as bad as some of the Final Fantasy Characters like Cloud (the original not the remake version) ,Squall, Zell/Xell or Snow&Hope

Originally posted by AtheistChris:

people will now hate on me for this but
he is not as bad as some of the Final Fantasy Characters like Cloud (the original not the remake version) ,Squall, Zell/Xell or Snow&Hope

I see. Yeah i like Cloud and Squall, but i can understand why you don't like Zell, Snow and Hope

Tbh Rena can also get overly jealous over Precis's interest in Claude. Or even Welch's attentions.

Claude's main problem IMO is that he is a bit too generic. He got his daddy issues as his only flaw but otherwise acts as an all loving hero shounen MC.

The cool thing about SO2 (and SO in general) is that characters are fairly normal and have flaws, and Claude in particular has his insecurities pretty much laid bare and gets called out for being an immature, jealous weirdo over some girl he literally just met, and by that girl no less, who is also the main character. And he just gets over it and changes.

It's the complete antithesis of all the harem dating sim JRPGs that would become super popular later and still are today like Persona or whatever.
It almost feels like they're kinda making fun of the average gamer / anime fan.

Originally posted by neonfatum:

The cool thing about SO2 (and SO in general) is that characters are fairly normal and have flaws, and Claude in particular has his insecurities pretty much laid bare and gets called out for being an immature, jealous weirdo over some girl he literally just met, and by that girl no less, who is also the main character. And he just gets over it and changes.

It's the complete antithesis of all the harem dating sim JRPGs that would become super popular later and still are today like Persona or whatever.
It almost feels like they're kinda making fun of the average gamer / anime fan.

Interesting. Yeah i see now. Claude is still unlikeable and to be honest, he destroyed the story for me. I don't care about the story anymore, because its cringe. But you are right. He is still better than the average harem protagonist, who gets all the girls, but has the personality of a goldfish.

I also don't like those harem protagonists and games XD

Originally posted by wadim0:

Originally posted by Second Duke of Aeria Revier:

I don't mind him much, his behavior, while immature, can be easily justified by him being a teenager. Same with Rena's behavior tbh. I am more concerned by how bad the overall story is, with how meander-y it gets and how it loses all appeal and nuance in Energy Nede.

Yeah the story is also not that great. As a teen i never behaved like that, but everyone is different.

you are acting like that in this threat. hilarious child.

24 years ago, I didn't like Claude. 10 years later, I still didn't like him. Now, when I actually consider his back story, I can kind of understand why he has all his insecurities.

His dad was rarely ever around, because he was always fulfilling his duty in order to help maintain peace throughout the galaxy. His mom was also a Federation Officer, though not of the same rank as Ronixis, but seeing how both his parents devoted themselves to their work, he had a lot of respect for them.

Claude was actually a very brilliant individual. In some PAs, you discover that he actually had remarkable grades in school. Coupled with being the son of Ronixis J, Kenny, it's only understandable why he stood out. However, as he got older he began to realize that people were treating him differently BECAUSE he was the son of a Federation Hero. As such, he naturally felt like he had a lot to live up to, and would often hear whispers of others around him basically saying that the only reason he even got to where he was is because he was the son of a Federation Hero.

It all leads up to Milokeenia, where he is trying to prove himself on his own merit, so he decides to take initiative, but what he perceives as taking initiative at the time ends up being folly, since he ends up getting blasted to another planet instead. Not just that, but he is now alone, with no one else from the Federation even knowing where he is, and all his attempts to establish contact with the Calnus are in vain. You see in the story that Dias himself realizes just how lonely Claude seems to be, and Dias recognizes it, because Dias himself has experienced that same loneliness. Add that feeling of being blasted to another world with suddenly being dumped on with the expectation of being a Hero of Light, and you can see where his efforts to try and be the best he can be around Rena start to take form.

Anyway, when you understand all that, you can kind of start to see why he has as many insecurities as he does. Really, the unfortunate part is that his growth isn't really communicated well, which is something I actually really hate about the story. But basically, once Dias defeats him in the Tournament of Arms, Claude gets recognition from the very opponent he lost to, but even Dias tries to keep Claude humble at the time. At the Lacour Frontlines though, Dias gives him full acknowledgement, seeing that Claude has a strong ability to protect his comrades - especially Rena - which is something that Dias feels inadequate in doing, especially since Dias himself failed to protect his own family. THIS was supposed to be the real turning point for Claude, but again, it's not exactly communicated as well as it could be, especially considering the Energy Nede Arc isn't nearly as fleshed out as it should have been when it comes to dealing with the party characters. In fact, much of the character development starts to stagnate once we get to the continent of El.

Anyway, Claude is certainly a flawed individual, but if you pay attention, you'll find that he's really quite redeemable, and in some ways, you can understand where he's coming from.