Final Fantasy has become such a juggernaut that the franchise could get away with just about anything and still be alright. Unfortunately, they tend to try and play things safe instead of pushing the envelope in a way that they are uniquely capable of.
This safety means that a good chunk of their protagonists are boring as far as their characterization goes. Sometimes they are done even dirtier and given poor stats to account for the fact they are going to be forced into the party forever and they shouldn't become overpowered on top of it all. This makes it agonizing to keep them in the party despite the fact they are required for the story.
10 Give Them Underused Jobs
Like many video game protagonists, the heroes of Final Fantasy have such standard roles. They're your character with the big sword that hits decently well, but is typically not going to be your best fighter.
Final Fantasy already has a ton of jobs in its own canon, even if most of them have been neglected as of late. Exploring some of these underused jobs would be an awesome take and force players to play a little differently. For example, a Red Mage is already a jack-of-all-trades sort and would fit seamlessly in as a protagonist. Letting them be a White Mage or some other sort of good healer would have a kinder approach to the story while also ensuring there is always healing on the team.
9 Let Them Have Well-Balanced Stats
When building protagonists, they are never given the absolute best stats in any one field. They're going to be stuck in the party the whole game, so it's best not to let them get overpowered.
However, that seems to involve giving the protagonist less than stellar stats all around, or making them difficult to use other party members with. Letting a protagonist have stats that are well-rounded at the very least would make them less of an annoyance the player has to keep in their party, and make them at least vaguely useful throughout the game.
8 Have More Of Them Be Non-Human
Final Fantasy has a problem with introducing many humanoid races and then never doing much with them. Very few characters in general even get to be some of these fantastical races, with even fewer taking on important roles.
Zidane of Final Fantasy IX really stood out as he was not human himself, and was more of the party thief instead of the party swordsman. He was unique and interesting in a way most of the other protagonists fall flat on, so having more along the lines of that would ideally shake things up.
7 Go Ahead & Just Be A Super Special Snowflake
It's become uncool in more recent years for protagonists to be a super special snowflake really good at something, and instead they have to be normal. At that point, it starts feeling like a forced story when there's no good reason for the protagonist to be embarking on their quest.
It doesn't hurt for the protagonist to be the last of something, or to be the first. They should be remarkable and capable of extraordinary things, they're the hero. Let them be that super special snowflake and finally they'll be worth following along.
6 Someone Else Can Be The Information Scapegoat For Once
It's really easy from a narrative standpoint to let the protagonist be a buffoon who constantly needs things explained to them. That way, the player gets to learn along with the protagonist about everything going on in the game.
However, that makes it extremely difficult to understand why anyone else is following them and raises a ton of questions unless handled well about how they were able to exist in their world previously. Occasionally letting the protagonist know things that they tell a side character, or having side characters coming to them for help about things, would really be a breath of fresh air.
5 It's Okay To Have Living Relatives
For some reason it's become a thing to kill off a protagonist's family well before the story starts, or even not address them in the first place. They're all alone, with only their new party making up a semblance of a family life with their friendship. Sometimes they're even struggling with the loss of their families which is a good motivator to get on with the plot.
However, this isn't really required. Letting the protagonist have some family isn't going to end the game and could even make them stronger knowing they have someone outside of here counting on them. They don't even need to be kidnapped for cheap shots at them either, they could just be there to give support and that would be good enough.
4 Make Choices Matter
A common demand from games in the modern world is to make choices matter, and Final Fantasy could do with some of that especially in their protagonists.
It would solve a lot of problems and allow the player to have some real control over the protagonist, their lives, and what kind of perception other people have of them. Make the decisions color how things go or what sorts of skills the protagonist gets to learn for another layer of customization in a series of games that doesn't have much of that.
3 Be Nice Just For The Sake Of Being Nice
Especially after Final Fantasy VII, so many of the games have to be gritty and dark, full of traitorous jerks and people with ill intentions. This is so not just in the franchise, but in video games in general.
So when there's a character who does something nice just for the sake of being nice, it's really a shock. Having characters who don't want to be doing the awful things they have been, or take the time to be kind just to be kind, really sets them apart. So, a protagonist who is just being nice for the sake of it could really drive home that they are really, truly the hero of the story.
2 People Have More Than Just Romantic Interests
A lot of Final Fantasy's characters, especially in more recent installments, have had one or two interests. The second they get close to a person, they're assumed to be romantically interested in them by everyone around them.
Giving the protagonist a few more interests than fighting and getting with this girl they met once and have an intense crush on really could add extra layers to them. Let them have friends, rivals who aren't rivals just over a romantic interest, and acquaintances, and suddenly they'll feel more like real people instead of flat impersonations of them.
1 Friends Should Be Able To Help The Protagonist Too
Video games have the player going all over the place and getting into all sorts of trouble while they help their friends solve their problems. Very rarely do the protagonist's party need to get involved to save them from their shenanigans or give them emotional support for the trauma they are experiencing.
When it does happen, they're rushed in a cinematic that the player could have handled on their own. It wouldn't take much to have a small arc here and there where the player is controlling another character to rescue the protagonist, or to have the party roster expand right before a major event to show that they got their backs.