Fandomy Things

[crankyoldman]

So I'm almost done with FFIV DS! Just have the final boss fight left (I think, knowing FF I have like three boss fights).



So, if I didn't like the characters as much as I do, I would have quit this game ages ago. The dungeons are needlessly difficult, and I am not a grinder. Which is hilarious considering how much I like RPGs. If I had more control over the abilities for people, I would be ok with the dungeons, but I don't. In fact, they switch party members around on me so much that I can't really refine anyone but Cecil. And Rosa and Rydia, but only later. I am clearly spoiled by later RPGs.

Even though I know most of the story from having watched old boyfriends play it (yes, my knowledge of FFIV is from being a Gamer Girlfriend... I am so glad I'm hanging with less patronizing nerds now), I still find myself reacting to the plot twists. XD Which is a good thing! Storyline is very early RPG, but it's fun.

Mostly, I just really enjoy the characters.

Cecil - I cannot go on about how much I enjoy his character arc. There is nothing I love more than a drone of an empire deciding to think for himself (or herself in some cases). I feel an incredible amount of empathy for his character, and it's nice to see he breaks the Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker mold, but with the fun elements still intact (HALF MOON PERSON ABANDONED BY HIS BROTHER? HOW CRACKY). I mostly love how much of a contrast he is with the "cool" sorts of protagonists, who are kind of douchey. I would totally want this guy to have my back.

Rosa - The DS version seems to go a long way trying to show her motivations, and I think she's a dear. I really adore that she wants to go out into battle with the man she loves, and how freaking powerful of a white mage she levels into (unlike some games, YOU NEED A HEALER BADLY in this game), and how competent she is (anything bad that happens to her is more the douches' the creators' fault). I also like that they gave her an offensive weapon that actually does damage. This is how you do a white mage.

Edward - So, I really love Edward. I'm going to measure up every bard from now on against this guy. Because he's fabulous. And femme-y (not just Japanese pretty, HE'S REALLY FEMME-Y). I love femme-y guys. I just. There are no words. You can bet he'll show up in every FFIV fanfic I write ever, or at least get mentioned.

Rydia - I get the fandom love. She's a great character. In fact, my favorite FFs ALWAYS without fail have female characters in the main party I love. While it doesn't have a trifecta like FFVII, FFX/2 of awesome (Porom is lovely, but she's just a kid and only there for a brief time), Rydia and Rosa really make up for the loss of the third. I think my favorite thing about Rydia is that she's not entirely human (like Terra) in her values, but is still a person of feelings. Also badassery (I have a thing for summoners). And I adore baby!Rydia as much as grownup Rydia.

Edge - A kind of douche I can get behind. XD His ability to get right to the point and say what I am thinking (come on, "What happens when you get mind controlled again?" BEST LINE) makes up for his arrogance and bravado. Approve.

Yang - WHY ARE THERE NOT A BAJILLION FANFICS ABOUT THIS GUY. SRSLY. I love how badass he is, how noble, and I especially love that they took the time to establish a spouse for him (even if they failed to give her a name). Another dude I would want to have my back.

Cid - Never met a Cid in an FF game I didn't like, and this Cid ties with Cid Highwind for Favorite Cid. THIS SAYS A LOT. I mean, I like dwarves, because they aren't a pretty speshul race, they MAKE THINGS. This Cid and Edgar from FFVI need to get together and build mecha or something. ADORE.

Palom and Porom - WAAAA ADORABLE LITTLE WUNDERKINDS OF MISCHIEF. I love how many different magic users this game gave me. I want them in my final party, I need more black and white magic. T_T

Tellah - I MISS YOU. A LOT. WHY COULDN'T YOU MAGICALLY COME BACK LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. I love cranky old men and Tellah is THE DEFINITION. I really do miss him. D:

Golbez - WHY HALO THAR SYMPATHETIC VILLAIN. That kind of smacked me upside the head liek whoa. Hooray family issues! I wish I'd seen more of this guy not being an MYSTERIOUS DOUCHE in the game. Approve.

Kain - I saved him for last, because um, he's the only character I just can't like. I tried, because he has so many fans, clearly there was something there I was missing? But no. I know a lot of fandom is obsessed with this guy but... I don't get it. He's not snarky; he's mean, petty, and kind of psycho. And not in the fun way I like, either. He's got every character trait that I can't stand in either myself or other people, and kind of acts like my ex-husband. His kidnapping Rosa leaves me with creepy almost rape-y vibes (I'm sorry, the whole "I just wanted her to be near me longer" was fucking CREEPY and Cecil and Rosa's "..." reactions didn't help). I'm mostly disappointed because they could have done a lot with the character, but instead they made him into a creepershark with no personality, aside from being obsessed or jealous. Disapprove. Of course, I could also be really tired with the "unrequited love makes you crazy" trope.

So, overall, enjoying the game, and hope that the boss battle goes well!



My two favorites:

FFVI Daryl Goggle'd by ~Litheba on deviantART



The rest are on my dA.

Still need to do a shoot with my Setzer someday. I swear I will make it happen. I'll probably do a photoshoot with my sorceress!Selphie costume when it gets even warmer, as that costume lacks a nice coat to keep me from freezing.

Comments

[jerkface]

1. I agree with you 1000% percent on pretty much every character description up there. The characters are the best part of FFIV, and it's a shame they don't get as much love from newer fans as, say, Cloud. FFIV is very old-school, but it's also very progressive for an old-school game, and that comes through with the characters.

2. AWESOME COSPLAY IS AWESOME. I want that coat. Now.

[crankyoldman]

1. OH GOOD. XD And I would crossover FFIV with FFVII any day. FFVII is still my favorite, and that's not likely to change, but it doesn't mean I enjoy any of the others less. Hell, FFVII/FFX/FFIV would be the best crossover for me EVER. Cecil would be such a good influence on Cloud, Auron would hit Kain with a cluestick, and Rydia and Yuna would be SUMMONER BFFS FOREVER. Tifa and Rosa can make out.

2. It was a really easy pattern actually! It's from the Simplicity Project Runway line. Which meant I could costumize it. Making coats is my FAVORITE part of sewing. XD

[lassarina]

Part of why I like Kain is how broken he is, how warped his concepts of honour and love and devotion are. He's not a nice guy. I think in some ways he wants to be, but he's...just not. And that is what intrigues me: he's deliberately anti-heroic.

[crankyoldman]

Oh, I get why that would be interesting. It's just not as interesting as the rest of the cast to me? Like, I don't mind people liking the character, it's a fictional character. I just... can't. XD

[lassarina]

See, the way you feel about Kain, I feel about Cecil, and vice-versa. XD Individual tastes!

[jack_of_none]

YES EDWARD OMG. I also love him because he has, like...absolutely zero adventuring skills whatsover. As annoying as "OH MY GOD I got hit, run the fuck away" might be in a video game context, I can RELATE to that. He's normal in a way that video game heroes never, ever are, and you get the sense that he is COMPLETELY in over his head. It's fantastic.

Rosa is awesome, Cecil is awesome. I <3 noble knights so hard. In general, FF4 exists in a weird place where all the tropes that people expect of a Final Fantasy game these days (magitech, airships, chocobos, etc) were just starting to crop up, but the series still had one foot in traditional D&D-esque high fantasy. Which I think is an interesting mix, and fun to play with. Cecil is also a pretty mature protagonist (even if he is actually ridiculously young, because lol video games), which is a nice break from the coming-of-age thing you get in a lot of RPGs nowadays. I also like how...I don't know, the heroes in FF4 virtually never have the upper hand. They're really the underdogs, even when Cecil turns out to be an Amazing Space Paladin, even when Rydia comes back from the supposedly-dead with phenomenal powers...they're always ridiculously outmatched, outclassed, and outgunned, and they keep on fighting anyway. And they make it, through persistence and having made a LOT of allies. Fantastic stuff.

I do not get the lack of Yang! I, however, have been contributing to the problem by never writing any fanfic about him. Maybe I should rectify that.

Totally agree with you on Kain...I do enjoy some fanfic about him, but man, I totally cannot be bothered to care about him in the game. Also, like you, he reminds me of someone I used to know who did not exactly enrich my life -- I have, essentially, been in Rosa's exact position (in a relationship with one person, good friend secretly seething about it and getting increasingly skeevy) and FFFF it was one of the top worst years of my life. So. My sympathy meter is sorta busted in that direction.

Your Daryll costume is fantastic! I would wear all of those pieces as normal clothes, haha. The wig looks amazing too.

[crankyoldman]

they're always ridiculously outmatched, outclassed, and outgunned, and they keep on fighting anyway.

omg I know. I loved that too.

[mullenkamp]

In fairness, Kain's problem wasn't that unrequited love made him crazy, it was the manipulative voice of an ancient evil in his head that made him crazy (Zemus, via Golbez). FWIW, I've never gotten rapey vibes from the Rosa kidnapping, even in the original version, largely because to me it was obvious that if he wasn't outright being puppeted, he totally wasn't in his right mind at the time. It'd be sort of like blaming Cloud for trying to kill Aeris in FF7. Neither dude was in control of his actions.

Stick him as party leader and watch the progression of his menu quotes in the Lunar Subterrane and it becomes a bit more obvious what was going on earlier in the game, because you see him having one half of a conversation with someone who's not physically present. It's one of the subtle details I liked about the DS version, and I think the other characters benefited from those glimpses inside their heads as well.

Re: the mass amounts of Kain love in the fandom, I suspect you might be feeling a bit of Seinfeld is Unfunny (warning for TV Tropes link!). The thing you've got to understand is that the original script and characterizations were really flat and a textbook example of a basic early 16-bit RPG script with early basic 16 bit RPG tropes. IMO Kain has such a massive fandom because in the original game he was really the only character that wasn't a typical plucky 16 bit hero. Kain was the only one with any level of nuance to him, and was pretty damned flawed compared to the others, even taking into account the headfuckery. In 2011 that sort of thing is kinda passe, especially as Final Fantasy games go, but back then it was unusual enough to make a lot of people sit up and take notice. Thus the crazy love he gets from people, including me admittedly. Without Kain, we wouldn't have characters like Seifer, Riku, etc. He was the original fucked in the head vaguely jerkass anti-hero archetype for a metric assload of Final Fantasy fangirls. Being hot and halfway masked also helped.

The DS script went a really long way toward making every character interesting, and fleshed them out a lot more (especially Cecil) which is why I think Kain doesn't necessarily stand out as much in that version. Personally I think it's a really good thing, but he's still my favorite.

[crankyoldman]

Keep in mind, I am in no way condemning the fans, and that really does help explain a lot of the appeal from the originaltimes. I am probably just overwhelmed with anti-heroic jerkasses, so seeing a 16-bit plucky hero is actually refreshing to me. It's half the reason I adored Sora in Kingdom Hearts. It's a pendulum swing.

[cumuluscastle]

This costume suits you so well and I love the colours and patterns and textures.

[wallwalker]

Did I ever tell you how much I love the costume? Because I really love the costume. :D

Anyway.

Yay, another Edward fan. :D I love the guy. He's not cut out to be a hero, but darn it, he does his best, and ends up saving the day. (BTW, I read your Cecil/Edward fic on the kiss battle and really enjoyed it.)

Yang is awesome, but up until this version of the game he's always been kind of one-dimensional, IMO. That might explain the lack of fan love, along with his relatively short tenure in the party, and I'm glad that this translation remedied that somewhat. (I've heard that it's possible, if you save Yang in the underworld without Kain in the party, that you can take him to the moon instead. I don't know whether that's just a rumor or something that's actually true. I might have to look into that sometime.)

I like Kain and Cecil equally, which I think puts me in the minority because almost every other FFIV fan I talk to puts one above the other - although for some reason Kain is the one I tend to put through hell in my head, whether it's from Golbez or Barbariccia or something else entirely. For some reason I imagine his search for redemption at the end taking him to rather disturbing places, whether it succeeds or not. As for Kain, I can actually somewhat relate to everything you said about him, and it does make me wonder why I never saw it before. I suppose that part of the reason that I like him, and Cecil too, is because I'm a sucker for stories about redemption and I see that potential in Kain that hasn't been achieved yet.

What, may I ask, are your thoughts on pairings? In particular, on Edge/Rydia?

[crankyoldman]

Oh I saved Yang without Kain in the party, and I still got Kain in my party and not Yang. I did a lot of things before getting Kain back. XD

I actually think I like fandom!Kain, a bit, because writers are so inventive in either explaining why he's a jerkass, or wanting to give him a redemption arc later. I was just disappointed with him in canon, given what a lovely job the game did with Cecil and well, the fact I didn't play this game until now, after having played FFVIII and gone through the double jerkass duo of Squall and Seifer. XD

Pairings are probably going to go how I do in all fandoms: I have a couple canon ones I find to be lovely and several crackships that I'll end up writing more about. FFIV is one of the few games where I liked the Canon Het Main Couple (the other being FFX, only as much as Tidus is a dream, because I don't believe you find your "soulmate" at 17). I think the fact that Cecil and Rosa are into their twenties and have an actual history helps tremendously with that.

I think Edge/Rydia is pretty cute, but I also don't see Rydia just settling down. I imagine they're like a lot of teenagers (whatever their ages, they both have the relationship maturity of teenagers; Edge because he's Edge and Rydia because despite all the aging she did off in Summons Land likely didn't have time for relationships) and kind of dramatic at times, but they're a lot of fun. I also kind of ship Rydia with Edward a bit, and Rosa, because I'm like that. XD

Also Kain/Golbez, but only post-game. Because that would be interesting.