CoN 25th Anniversary: 1997-2022
FF1 White Mage woman only or could it be a he?

 
What gender do you consider the FF1 White Mage
He is a macho man! [ 6 ]  [10.34%]
She's always been a woman to me! [ 19 ]  [32.76%]
Does it matter the sprite looks like it could be either. [ 21 ]  [36.21%]
Flea! [ 12 ]  [20.69%]
Total Votes: 58
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Posted: 15th October 2011 02:42

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Onion Knight
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Yeah in for the first sprites they all looked like guys but the one for the psp looked like a chick until he/she was promoted
Post #197817
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Posted: 31st October 2011 04:19
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Chocobo Knight
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Male-to-female transsexual.

Or Jesus without a beard (NES).
Post #197977
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Posted: 23rd November 2011 10:44
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Post #198221
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Posted: 11th December 2011 21:42

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When I first played Final Fantasy way back in the early 90s, I never really thought about it. When I first got the white wizard, however, I then began to think the white mage was meant to be female. After playing the other Final Fantasys, where most White Mages are female, I felt my conclusion was correct. Now, with the remakes I am quite certain it's a female, but I see no problem with giving a male name and turning it into the stereotypical ambiguous japanese character.

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Post #198430
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Posted: 24th July 2013 22:39

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Engineer
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I doubt it matters. The characters were specifically designed to be androgynous, so the player decides the gender. I gave mine the feminine name "Jade" this time around, but I also named the Black Mage "Rose", so there you go. The White Mage always looked somewhat more like a boy to me, but I always assumed that was to compensate for his profession, which would now be considered feminine. But also keep in mind most people, especially at the time the game was released, tend to assume doctors are male; and the White Mage is like a doctor, only magical.

This post has been edited by RavenLalonde on 24th July 2013 22:56
Post #203973
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Posted: 25th July 2013 19:26

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Black Waltz
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I'm in the neutral camp.

In the NES version, the graphics weren't detailed enough to accurately portray secondary sex characteristics. The Medusa is a good example, because even the uncensored version just doesn't have the detail to appear convincingly feminine.

FF1 was probably done very quickly and cheaply. When it shocked everyone (including Square) by being a runaway hit, I'm thinking one of the first design choices for 2 was "we need an obviously female main character." Thus, Maria was born. Pay attention to her eyes as compared with the male characters. Her eyebrows (and Leila's!) are pointed up toward the center of her face.

Now, when they went to make the 3rd one, and decided to reuse the Job System from the first game, my instincts tell me somebody said "I liked having a female party member." Although the translation by SoM2Freak specifically states that the 4 mains are boys, it's interesting to note that the White Mage and Sage classes retain what would become the defining facial characteristic of females in the series for many more games: their eyebrows are pointed up towards the center of their faces.

This was the sprite Brian Clevinger used for White Mage in 8-bit Theater.

I also agree that it is likely that the decision was made over time to make the White Mage/Wizard class more feminine in the remakes. I would say it was a way of capitalizing on the popularity of Rosa in FF4, as well.

This post has been edited by Spooniest on 25th July 2013 19:44

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Post #203990
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Posted: 20th September 2013 22:10

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I think he's Flea from Chrono Trigger sleep.gif

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Posted: 5th October 2013 00:16

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Wow, he does look like Flea.

How did I not notice that before?
Post #204822
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