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The title says it all, once again.

Who do you think was the central female character in Final Fantasy IV?  Rydia, Rosa, or perhaps someone else?

Personally, I think it was Rydia.  This may seem unusual, but I really do have reasons.  When it comes right down to it, Rydia had more development, and grew as a character more than Rosa did.  (In more ways than one, if you consider the child/adult thing.)

For me, Rosa was too much of your typecast healer-who's-in-love-with-the-hero.  Seems that her existence in the game was only validated by getting saved or fawning over Cecil and/or being the object of Kain's angsty affections.

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Rydia was the better character, IMO.

However, I think that the game centered around Rosa more. So, she's the "lead female" per se, but not necessarily the best female character.

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Rosa was the main lead, so I voted for her. There's no contest... You gotta go out of your way to save her, more than once. She loves the hero, and marries him. Blahda-blahda-blah. But everyone knows Rydia was the better charactrer!  

Well I'm gonna have to side with moogle on this on, Rydia was in my opinion the lead. I mean Rosa was the typical damsel in distress type character. But Rydia, she was thrown overboard and caught be Leviathan. They thought she was dead. But when the group was about to die by Golbez's hand who appears in the nick of time? Rydia!

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I think that Rosa was the lead in FF4...I mean, each of the two main females was in trouble a few times, yet the reaction from the rest of the party was different.

Rydia:  ::falls off a boat::
Yang:  Let's save her! ::jumps in::
Rest of Party:  Nahhh.

Rosa:  ::kidnapped by Golbez::
Everyone:  OMG!  Let's save her!

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Although we all know Rydia rocks, Rosa was the lead female.  I voted for Rydia just cuz she was the coolest, and Rosa's Damsel-in-distress is banal.

I had to choose Rydia. In the game she is more of a fighter. And has alot more character development. And anyways who can't forget. Zeromus meet my three friends. There is the guy looking like Shenron from DBZ my foster father Leviathan. Then the Black Dragon Bahamut and the foul mouthed finger gesturing pervert called Edge(Champion).

With a combination like Rydia does alright.

If Rosa tried that with Cecil and Kain you might start a little brawl so Go Rydia.

Well, it's very obvious that Rosa was the main female lead, mainly cuz 1) Girlfriend to the hero and 2) You had to rescue her from the main evil person. Those are very big common giveaways of the main female lead. Besides, with killer black magic and summons, Rydia can take care of herself.

And yeah, Rydia is much cooler than Rosa.

Man, this was a tough choice... I mean Rosa's the main character's girlfriend, even though that doesn't always mean someone's the main lady. But Rydia is simply a better developed, more rounded character than Rosa, and that generally does...

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Aye, tough choice here.   I had to vote Rosa, just cause she's the G/F of the Main Charecter.  While Rydia has a better plot, is a cooler charecter, and is just all around sweet, I think Square tried to make Rosa as the main female charecter.


You should have put Palom instead of other, being the only other female charecter you can play in the game.  

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I took Rosa because while Rydia is very valuable to the party with her black magic and summons, you gotta have someone around to cure the party, and Cecil's puny Cure2 won't cut it in the end

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U sir R a n00b >:-( - Cactuar

And you don't think Rydia can cure? CoughcoughASURA-AND-SYLPH-SUMMONScoughcough.

Asura is always a risk, she can either cast cure, life, or shell on the party. While I am a gambler I rather rely on Rosa to do all the healing

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Quote (Fadien @ 5 Nov. 2002, 22:04)

You should have put Palom instead of other, being the only other female charecter you can play in the game. Â

Not if you count Edward.  

Keep in mind that the topic has to do with which one you thought was the main female character, not which you liked better.  If it was the latter, it'd be no contest for me.  Rydia all the way!

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"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
~Dorothy L. Sayers

"The truly remarkable thing about television is that it allows several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."
~T.S. Eliot

"Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as reality - in your own mind!"
~ Bruce Lee

Although Rydia was better, cooler, better rounded, the list goes on, I had to vote for Rosa because she was the g/f of the hero and was captured by Golbez.

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Yeah, I agree... Rydia was a heckuva lot better developed, but Rosa was kinda' there for almost the entire game, even when she wasn't in your party. After you meet her in Kaipo, she's either with you or you're trying to save her somehow.

I think Rydia is better suited for a female lead coz she's a better character than rosa drives the story more than rosa

We all know that Cecil is the center of the story, so the lead female would have to be the one who affects Cecil's charecter the most. Rosa doesn't. Sure, he loves her, but he begins the game loveing her, and that doesn't change. Rosa is a plot device, put in to make the game move along, give you someone to save.
    Rydia, on the other hand, changes Cecil dramaticly. Think about it:

Cecil: "I'm a big bad dark knight and I kill people and take their crystals, but I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't."

Rydia: "I'm an innocent little girl, and you killed my mother. Now I'm going to follow you around and make you feel bad without meaning to."

Cecil: "You're right, this evil thing stinks. Oh no! She just got eaten by a big fish!"

Rydia: "I'm Back, and even though you killed my mom I'm still going to save you. See? That's what being good is all about."

Sorry about that, I really don't know what came over me. But to finnish up, Rydia is definitly the lead.

I picked Rosa. It's like Neal said, a large portion of the story centered around her: getting the ruby thing from the Antlion, the tower of Zot, etc. And nobody really cared about Rydia, just used her to defrost paths.

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Hard choice...I think it's Rosa, cause she's the Hero's dame...but Rydia is very close, but did Cecil go hogwild searching for Rydia?  (I know he thought she was dead, but still!) Rosa was kidnapped and Cecil went after her captor.  He didn't go after Leviathan...

That'd be an interesting fight...



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I voted Rydia: Why? Because you generally have more of her IN action, instead of Rosa's "I've been kidnapped (again)! Save me!". Rydia has bones to pick with the bad guys and personality that Rosa lacks.

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i was kind of hoping someone else would pick the "other" category. that person would clearly be on drugs.

i would have to give a little to each. though rosa was in the game almost in its entirety, she was consistent throughout, which is her downfall as a female lead.

rydia had much more development, so i would give it to her, even though there were large parts of the game where she was not included in the plot. in fact, there was a long time where she seemed downright forgotten.

and as for the person who though palom should have been in the place of "other", you are wrong. palom was not a female. porom was. yup. uh huh.

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Except for the ad-libbing, I agree with Iain Peregrine.

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This is because it's the first female u get to control. Just like i think Terra is the lead from FF6.

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Even though alas Rosa was the main girl Rydia should have been.  Like said she had more char devlopment and also there was more jokes with Rydia then with Rosa.  In my opinion is that Rosa gave me more of that im powerful but helpless type of person and Ryida gave me that feeling of im powerful but im weak which she is she dies fast but the most powerful chars have a great con. if they have a big pro like her summons.  Also when I play the monsters main targets are Cecil, Kain, and Ryida and there all very good that gots to tell you something.

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But what if one of them is CRAZY?

If all you're considering is "Lead Girl" as in who has more screen time, obviously Rosa wins.  
But if you want to consider who is more important to the story ...which lady changes?  Which one shows the real meaning of forgiveness and love and being strong and overcoming all sorts of hazards and difficulties?  Obviously, Rydia's development is more powerful; Rosa is stagnant, a static character who doesn't teach us much.  Rydia changes.  She's dynamic.  She teaches.
Also, look at Cecil's life (he IS the main character).  Both women had a profound effect on how he turned out - and you can't argue that Rosa affected him more just because they were in love.  Rydia's reactions were just as much of an impulse - it was in rescuing her that Cecil finally defied the king once and for all and took his first step toward renouncing Darkness.


Or mebbe I'm just prejudiced cuz I love Rydia.  But you have to admit it's a good argument ^^

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SHe's the love of the main character, the damsel in distress. Obviously (to me) Rosa is the winner of that contest.

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Quote (Super Moogle @ 5th October 2002 09:27)

Personally, I think it was Rydia.  This may seem unusual, but I really do have reasons.  When it comes right down to it, Rydia had more development, and grew as a character more than Rosa did.  (In more ways than one, if you consider the child/adult thing.)

For me, Rosa was too much of your typecast healer-who's-in-love-with-the-hero.  Seems that her existence in the game was only validated by getting saved or fawning over Cecil and/or being the object of Kain's angsty affections.

I agree with all of your reasons, but I still don't reach the main conclusion. Rydia may have gotten more development than Rosa, but she still didn't even come close to what Cecil got. The female lead is generally the girl who plays opposite the male lead, and that would be Rosa.

Take the scene where Rydia and Rosa are getting kicked off of the Big Whale, for example. It clearly centers around Rosa. Rydia doesn't even seem to realize at first that she, too, is being excluded because she's female. Rydia has more comic relief and weird-factor scenes, but I think Rosa was intended to be the main female lead.

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None of the above.

Not Rydia, neither Rosa, nor whichever-twin-was-the-white-mage. None of them were truly focused upon as a leading protagonist. Sure, Rosa drove the plot sometimes, and Rydia saves everyone's rear, but each of those two have about as much plot-importance as does Kain, and Cecil is still more 'central' to the plot than any of them.

I don't think I have to analyze the-white-mage-twin's role. (I don't think I remember her name either, again.)

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Rydia she had a way bigger role in the game, and has a nice story of her own

while rosa is just cecil's love interest
who kain sadly wants to be with

Quote

I agree with all of your reasons, but I still don't reach the main conclusion. Rydia may have gotten more development than Rosa, but she still didn't even come close to what Cecil got. The female lead is generally the girl who plays opposite the male lead, and that would be Rosa.

Take the scene where Rydia and Rosa are getting kicked off of the Big Whale, for example. It clearly centers around Rosa. Rydia doesn't even seem to realize at first that she, too, is being excluded because she's female. Rydia has more comic relief and weird-factor scenes, but I think Rosa was intended to be the main female lead.

not always, but generally speaking yes, is the female lead the one oppositye the male role

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

If you look at Rydia she is in a way cecil's foil(a character that amplifies another), she has a major loss in her life, and so does cecil, (rydia mother, cecil rosa being kidnapped worrying about the king's akwardness, how he harmed the people of mysidia), she also, like cecil, doubts herself and her abilities, and both have changes which affect them (Cecil becomes a paladin for honor, slight repent, and to become stronger/Rydia goes to the land of Summons and becomes stronger (magically) learning more summons and spells, and mentally(and physically)grows up.

So rydia as cecil's foil is the main female lead, the one opposite the protagonist, the female character who affects the plot

This post has been edited by Cloud_Strife510 on 19th October 2005 00:12

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