The Un-Distressed Damsels

by Jdot

Original Editorial: Wanted: Leading Ladies

"Out of seven Final Fantasy games..."

While you do qualify the statement further in the article, limiting the number of games included in the survey weakens your statement. There have been 9 "true"* Final Fantasy games released in North America, and three additional games released in Japan. Final Fantasy XI, being an online game, should be removed from the discussion as it falls into a slightly different genre than the rest. Final Fantasy 1 through III are designed with no identifiable lead character, but each game from then on does have a lead character.

The original Final Fantasy never mentions the gender of its characters, although it can be assumed that they are all male. Most fans have attributed the White Mage/Wizard a female personality, but the rendering of the character in game does not necessarily concur with this. This is something you could easily use in defense of your argument.

Final Fantasy II has one female "lead" of the three main characters. The game focuses mainly on the interplay of various male characters throughout the game. This, again, is something you could use in defense of your argument.

I have not yet played Final Fantasy III. Are any of the characters played female? Do they have a defined gender? This is something you could use in defense of your stance.

"Although Final Fantasy VI did come the closest, the game had more of a multi-character lead than one defined lead."

I disagree with this opinion. The central storyline of the game focuses around Terra and her importance to the Empire. The second half of the game shifts, briefly, to a focus on Celes and her search for her allies before becoming something of an ensemble piece. Each character has numerous side-quests related to them, but, in actuality, few of those side-quests are required to complete the game and see the main story to its conclusion.

"The 'main' female character is usually someone who is either a love interest to the male lead and/or has to be rescued (think Aerith, Rinoa, Garnet, Yuna)."

There is a fundamental problem with your choices of female "damsels" in this statement. They were all incredibly powerful characters. Aerith, like most female leads in the Final Fantasy series, had vast amount of magical power. She alone had the power to summon Holy to defeat the Meteor. Rinoa inherited the powers of the Sorceress and, again, was the most naturally powerful magician in the party. Garnet, from the very beginning of the game, had the capacity to summon incredibly powerful entities, albeit she does not have the MP to do so until later. Finally, Yuna hardly qualifies as a damsel in distress. She has her Guardians to protect her on her journey, but she alone bears the power and duties of being a Summoner.

While none of these characters is "physically" formidable, I think you would be more offended to have the female lead be a Xena clone.

"Wouldn't it be a nice change of pace to have the princess rescue the prince, so to speak?"

So, you want Final Fantasy X-2? Oh, wait, we're getting to that.

"There are several games series that feature a female lead in one or all of the titles, such as Resident Evil and Parasite Eve."

You're only 50/50 on the comparison here. Parasite Eve is a perfect example of what you want. Kudos for including it in your editorial! However, Resident Evil has the option of playing either of the leads. My roommate has the game. He doesn't play as the female lead.

"Before continuing, I must address Final Fantasy X-2, since that does feature lead female characters. It is my opinion that FF X-2 does not count as a game that has 'serious' female leads. It falls more into the category of the scantily clad eye candy female characters and therefore I am not considering it in this editorial."

This game has yet to see release in North America, and I value my own personal budget too much to waste money importing. However, judging from the screenshots on RPGamer, I cannot agree with this categorization. Yes, the initial publicity artwork put out for the game is clearly aimed at the Tomb Raider poster-gazing crowd, but looking at what we have seen of in-game graphics certainly doesn't make it look to me as if the game is all jiggly bits and camp. They took one of the most powerful female characters in the Final Fantasy series to date and are giving her the opportunity to "rescue the prince", as it were. Further, the playable characters are all female. It certainly doesn't look like any of these characters are playing the "damsel in distress" part.

"It is my belief that Final Fantasy needs to produce a game in the future with a serious female lead, not only so the female audience can finally identify more with the lead, but also to breathe new life into the series. If female characters remain in the background or are resigned to damsel in distress roles, the series will one day become stale and boring."

I believe that the series has had powerful female characters for a long time.

Final Fantasy IV has two powerful women, Rosa and Rydia. Rosa does fill the traditional "Damsel in Distress" role for a bit, and Rydia begins as a small child, but both of them bring a level of power to the party that none of the male characters could.

Three of the five playable characters in Final Fantasy V are female. By the end of the game, none of them are likely to be thought of as needing rescuing. They're integral to saving the world.

I have already mentioned my thoughts on Final Fantasy VI, but I will re-iterate them here. The "lead" character of this game, if one had to select one, is clearly Terra. Her half-esper heritage is key to the majority of the plots throughout the game and, in terms of focal storyline, puts her at the center of the entire game.

Aerith in Final Fantasy VII, at first glance, is a "Damsel in Distress". Most damsels don't willingly sacrifice their lives in order to save the world, however. Tifa certainly is no damsel. I will grant you she falls into the "scantily clad eye-candy" frame of reference (she could put someone's eye out with those things), but she is a strong individual in spite of her physical representation.

Rinoa is a powerful character in Final Fantasy VIII. Of the games in the series, this one has the weakest character development, so we don't get to see the inner strength of most characters. However, she clearly develops into a force to be reckoned with on her own.

Garnet plays the role of Damsel now and then in Final Fantasy IX, however the source of those incidents is her own headstrong behavior. She goes out of her way to be an independent woman and seeks out her own personal strength.

Yuna in Final Fantasy X is the focus for much of the games storyline. She is the withdrawn, strong girl who fascinates the main character. Again, she also has the most inherent power of any of the other characters in the game. The people of Spira love and respect her unconditionally. The enemies of the party fear her power and covet it for themselves. She chooses her own destiny and refuses to bow to the wishes and whims of others, preferring to forge her own path. At first, she is unsure as to what her path should be, but once she sees her path, she pursues it with no looking back.

Of the fantasy RPG games in existence, the Final Fantasy series has one of the best representations of female characters as powerful, independent individuals. Perhaps the success of X-2 will allow game companies to think of having more truly strong and independent female leads. It's something to hope for and to look forward to.

I really enjoyed reading the original editorial. It was well written, but I felt it should have been fleshed out a great deal more. Singling out one series for treatment on a topic of this nature can be problematic, because someone somewhere will always find something to contradict you with. I would recommend looking at a broader range of RPGs, particularly from the most popular series, and using them in defense of your statement. It's also important to point out the exceptions to your statement, because by accentuating their rarity, you make them the exceptions that prove the rule.

Thank you for giving me something to think and write about!

*"Final Fantasy" games not included in this discussion are Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy Tactics (slightly different genre), Final Fantasy Adventure, Final Fantasy Legend (different actual series).