Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-25405817-20160511154306/@comment-25936766-20160511163027

To be fair about PQ's Zen and Rin (or was it Rei?), while they could fight without Personas, they both had ways to justify it. Spoiler reasons, however.

Since this isn't the SMT Wiki I have no need to worry about Persona spoilers here so I'll tell you a bit: One is a god (kinda), the other is dead. In SMT it is known spirits and dead people can use magic (Hell, Lightning Zombie Cop is perfectly possible in IV), and so can gods. Won't tell you which one is which, nor why they are what they are, that would ruin all the fun out of the story.

Plus, they weren't really Mary Sueish, and gameplay-wise it was balanced by how they become one of the worst units by the end-game precisely because they don't use Personas, plus their stats and skills aren't as good as others, meaning that they really fall behind everyone else.

On a more topic-related angle: You can use OGCs, and make them as strong as the rest of the cast, it all just depends on the execution, and the work itself.

For example, look at Project X Zone; the OG characters can stand their ground against everyone else, yet avoid taking all the spotlight from them or making them look like pussies.

Or look at Dissidia Final Fantasy, whose OC Chaos is faaaar stronger than the other characters, yet it's justified since 1) He's the God of Discord for a reason, and 2) Chaos has been winning many cycles, getting stronger each time. The story begins in the 13th cycle. And 3) He's a future....past...version of one of the characters (I would explain, but it's paradoxical, in true FF fashion).