The Role(s) Of The Final Fantasy Female Characters
As we all know, all of the Final Fantasy games have something in common. But did any of you notice that all, if not, most of the Final Fantasy games have females that play roles that are more important then the actual main character? I just find that to be pretty interesting. I'm not saying that the main characters of Final Fantasy were not important, but it looks like their female partners play either a more important or just as important role as they do. I'm not saying it's the actualy sex of the character that changes everything, but it's the fact that the game does not revolve around the main chracter. You will see what I am trying to say as you read this entry. :)
Let's start with Final Fantasy 7. The main hero is a former SOILDER grunt by the name of Cloud Strife. In the beginning of the game, he is introduced as a mercenary with little regard to the planet, and is more focused about money. But as time goes on, he beings to understand that the planet is in danger, and tries to protect it. His former role model, Sephiroth has become a madman, and his intentions put the whole planet in danger. So in a nutshell, Cloud simply is trying to save the world from Sephiroth, and the Shinra Company. But there is a much bigger threat that is beyond Cloud's control. This is meteor. But who is destined to stop meteor, which is the planet's main threat? This person is Aeris, who happens to be an Ancient. Her job was to summon the magic of Holy to stop the meteor, which only she could summon. So do you see what I mean? Even though it did matter if Cloud was to kill Sephiroth, meteor was still making its way after the battle was won. There was nothing else that AVALANCHE could do...it was because of Aeris that everything worked out for the better, despite Cloud's role as the main character.
Next in line is Final Fantasy 8. A SeeD by the name of Squall is this game's main hero. He attends an academy known as Balamb Garden that trains him to defeat the Sorceress. A power Sorceress by the name of Edea threatens the entire world. So it is Squall's job, along with his teammates to defeat Edea, and save the planet. So that is a pretty big role in the game, no doubt. But let's take a look at Rinoa's role in the game. Unlike the importance of Aeris' role in FF7, Rinoa's role was not very important when she was first introduced into the game. Many fans thought her role was simply to bring Squall out of his shell, which she did pretty well. But halfway in the game, her role goes skyrocketing when she becomes a sorceress herself. Though I am not 100%...I do know that Rinoa was closely related to Time Compression which in my eyes is just as important as defeating Ultimecia. In a sense, it was thanks to Rinoa that Squall and the others were even given the chance to fight her. So once again, despite Squall's title as the main character, it was a Rinoa who had a responsibility was either just as, or more important then Squall's.
Last, but not least is Final Fantasy 10. The game focuses on a blitz ball player by the name of Tidus. Following some very strange events, Tidus ends up lost in the future. Compared to Squall and Cloud, Tidus did not have a very important role in the beginning of the game, even though he's the main character. Ironically, his role as the main character of FFX is nothing compared to his friend Yuna's, who is has spent of her life training to become a summoner. Yuna's role was no doubt the most important in Final Fantasy 10. Her job was to send the spirits of the dead into the farplane to prevent them from turning into fiends, and to defeat the main threat known as Sin. Even though she played a huge role in FFX, Tidus' role increased as the game went on, until it rivaled Yuna's role. Once Tidus realized his father was Sin, he felt as though it was his destiny to stop his old man, thus the reason the game slowly began shift focus from Yuna to Tidus.
To conclude what I am trying to say...the main characters of the Final Fantasy series had female friends that played either a more important role then they did, or a just as important role. In fact, it's not a matter of the sexes of the characters, but it's the fact that the game itself does not revolve around the main character, and that's what I love about Final Fantasy. Of course there are still so many questions to answer. What if Rinoa died during the Garden War, who would have received Edea's powers? If Tidus and his father had a better relationship, would he have fought Yuna and company to prevent them from killing his father, who is Sin? I suppose we can save that for another debate topic.