Players assume role of female lead in Final Fantasy XIII

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Squaresoft has decided to cast a female character as the lead in Final Fantasy XIII...which is interesting, because the lead male characters from every FF since 7 have looked feminine anyway. It seems they finally worked up the courage to make the hero a girl, instead of featuring a man that looks like a girl.

What does it mean that millions of adolescent males will be role-playing as a woman in a mainstream game? Does it mean anything at all?

And why do Japanese game and anime character designers love effeminate men so much? (Exhibit A: Revolutionary Girl Utena.) Why does androgyny seem so pervasive in Japanese culture?

Side note: Terra > CloudSquall.

EDIT: To be fair, if you look at the concept art for any Final Fantasy game, including FF6, most of the male characters have that feminine air.

EDIT: By the way, I'm about four hours into FF12 so far, and I think it's great. I'm not commenting on gameplay or game quality, only character design.

EDIT: The trend of androgyny in Asian cultures is nothing new. Click here to learn more about the story of Hua Mulan.
 
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[toj.cc]phantom;202230 said:
Uhmmm I know it sucked but X-2 let you play as a girl...3 of them in fact.
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When writing about Final Fantasy, I disregard three games: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy X-2, and Final Fantasy XI (which was incorrectly titled and should have been labeled as Final Fantasy Online). Mystic Quest was an embarrassing ploy to push RPGs into the US mainstream, X-2 was a direct sequel to a FF game (breaking a longstanding tradition with no obvious purpose), and XI was a MMO, which, by its very definition, has no end.

Technically, Final Fantasy Adventure wasn't a FF game, but rather the first Seiken Densetsu game re-titled in the US to boost sales. We know Seiken Densetsu 2 as Secret of Mana.

Final Fantasy Tactics, on the other hand, is awesome.

</offtopic>
 
Tek7 said:
When writing about Final Fantasy, I disregard three games: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy X-2, and Final Fantasy XI (which was incorrectly titled and should have been labeled as Final Fantasy Online). Mystic Quest was an embarrassing ploy to push RPGs into the US mainstream, X-2 was a direct sequel to a FF game (breaking a longstanding tradition with no obvious purpose), and XI was a MMO, which, by its very definition, has no end.

Technically, Final Fantasy Adventure wasn't a FF game, but rather the first Seiken Densetsu game re-titled in the US to boost sales. We know Seiken Densetsu 2 as Secret of Mana.

Final Fantasy Tactics, on the other hand, is awesome.

</offtopic>
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Fine by me. I think I'm in the Sandsea or whatever its called in FF XII.
 
Tek7 said:
X-2 was a direct sequel to a FF game (breaking a longstanding tradition with no obvious purpose)
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Actually, the obvious purpose was to make Squarenix a bazillion yen with a fraction of the development cost of a traditional FF. Which, if memory serves me correctly, it did.
 
i actually thought cloud and squall were very masculine looking..... but thats kinda kool if they casted a female
 
IMO, FFVI doesn't have a main character. You could make a case for Terra, Locke, Celes, and to a lesser extent, Setzer, Sabin, and Edgar. But none of them really stand out as the main character.
 
Weazel said:
IMO, FFVI doesn't have a main character. You could make a case for Terra, Locke, Celes, and to a lesser extent, Setzer, Sabin, and Edgar. But none of them really stand out as the main character.
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I've always thought as Terra as the main character only because she was the first you get to play as. FF VI was by far my favorite FF game to date, FF VII is a close second.
 
if u take into account FFT, ramza looked like a chick now that i think about it
 
Cloud
Squall
Zidane
Tidus
Vaan

Versus the more masculine males...

Barret
Zell(laughing at "masculine" to describe any FFVIII character)
Steiner
Auron
Basch

You can see a trend toward feminine features in the heroes, but masculinity is apparently seen by Squarenix as something achieved later in life (as the male sidekicks are generally listed as between the ages of 28 and 35). Keep in mind, the main characters of almost every FF are between the ages of 15 and 18, before a male body "fills out" into a more manly form.

That being said, nothing can be said that can explain Kuja.
 
If FF games were made from a North American company, they would look right.

I think the makers of games from Asia are just trying their best to make American versions of males; masculine.

People would split differences if the female characters in games were masculine and male characters were femine.

How would you feel if the lead female character in FFXIII was masculine? Hehehe... *Evil laugh*
 
Hey, we've had no choice but to play as a guy or a sex object for...practically forever? There should be more games with lead female characters that AREN'T simply male characters in every respect except their appearance, or else totally helpless. Why can't females be feminine AND competent in games? (Yes, it happens. Once in a while.)

/endrant

Corpfox said:
How would you feel if the lead female character in FFXIII was masculine? Hehehe... *Evil laugh*
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Pretty ticked off. See above.

/endrant for real
 
MaidMirawyn said:
/endrant

/endrant for real
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Umm..what does that mean, endrant? :confused:

Hey, we've had no choice but to play as a guy or a sex object for...practically forever? There should be more games with lead female characters that AREN'T simply male characters in every respect except their appearance, or else totally helpless. Why can't females be feminine AND competent in games? (Yes, it happens. Once in a while.)
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If it makes you feel any better, I only play with male characters. Male Paladin, Warrior, Marine, Fighter, etc.

<off-topic> Lara Croft, yes, she is a sex object, but there are other female characters that are feminine and competent in a game. Only example I can come up with is from Resident Evil: Outbreak. The female characters (Cindy, Alyssa, Yoko) are not a sex object, they actually look like us, normal, with a few good skills and techniques that I'm sure everyone has if a zombie outbreak occured in real life.
 
rant /rænt/ [rant] –verb (used without object)
1.to speak or declaim extravagantly or violently; talk in a wild or vehement way; rave: The demagogue ranted for hours.
–verb (used with object)
2.to utter or declaim in a ranting manner.
–noun
3.ranting, extravagant, or violent declamation.
4.a ranting utterance.
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(Definitions of "rant" from Dictionary.com)

"End rant" (sometimes shortened to "endrant" to be fun) simply means to stop ranting. :cool:
 
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