Character Spotlight - Rikku

Wait, there’s something wrong here…. Does anybody read Al Bhed?

At just 15 years old, Rikku is the youngest member of the party in Final Fantasy X; but she really goes to prove that sometimes, age has no relevance when it comes to intelligence and heart.

Rikku is the heart and soul of the party, when everyone else has their angst and trouble, Rikku acts like a light in the darkness and a beacon of support. Of course, she’s not without angst of her own, for a while into the Pilgrimage she keeps her Al Bhed background a complete secret from Wakka, who despises the Al Bhed and Machina.

She is also Yuna’s cousin, so it is understandable as to why she wanted to stop Yuna’s pilgrimage and protect her. However it wasn’t just Yuna, she tells Tidus on the way to the Macalania Temple that the Al Bhed want to protect all of the Summoners in Spira. It is also Rikku who reveals to Tidus the truth about what happens to the Summoners when they defeat Sin.

It could be argued that Yuna is acting on Kantian ‘Duty’, in which an act of good will is chosen out of good will to another human being(s), and not if it is done because it makes them feel good, or if they wanted to appear virtuous. “Duty involves freely choosing the action.” (Immanuel Kant)

In Yuna’s case, she knows she has no true obligation to the obey her cause, but she knows that she must achieve the outcome, the reason for her action always relates to the outcome – defeating Sin. Rikku doesn’t understand this, and the reason behind the Al Bhed building such huge machina to attack Sin (for example, with the Sinspawn at Mushroom Rock Road) is to try and defeat Sin themselves, to end the ‘Duty’ of the Summoners.

Rikku is the character who often shows the most intelligence, and is the only character who wants to veer away from the traditional method of defeating Sin, until she tells Tidus the truth, and he wishes to do the same.

As well as bringing spirit to the group outside of battle, in battle she has an amazing array of skills relating to all things technical, with her class being a mixture of Chemist and Thief. Her Overdrive 'Mix' can be pretty deadly if used correctly, you can mix up a cocktail of total carnage, or you can pick something which will defend your party with multiple status changes! “Hyper Mighty Guard” is a firm favourite, casting Haste, Shell, Protect, Regen and Auto-Life on all members of the party, and the cost? Just a Light Curtain and an Amulet.

In terms of usefulness in battle, she is probably down at the bottom end of the scale overall, her physical attacks are very weak unless you max her out on the Sphere Grid, but she is certainly useful for stealing handy items and disassembling Machina bots which occasionally show up in battle.

Her theme music really captures her personality in Final Fantasy X, if you could bottle Rikku's essence, and make it music - Rikku's Theme would definitely be the result, it's not a half-assed piece of music, it's probably one of my own personal favourites from the Final Fantasy X soundtrack. It captures her innocence, curiosity and flair perfectly and to me it certainly seems to convey a lingering sense that there is something else to her.


It's easy to understand why people would criticise Rikku, she falls into that category of character that is young and hyper and sometimes annoying. Other examples from the series are Yuffie and Selphie. But really, Rikku is needed in Final Fantasy X, in a world where everything is so dark and at times very twisted; Rikku is a character who brings some joy and at times, sass to the mix.

In Final Fantasy X-2 she makes a strong reappearance as a main character. Having gotten older and having gained confidence by the bucket load, she is still just as fresh and exciting a character as any other in the Final Fantasy universe, and it's easy to see why so many fans of the series love her, I certainly do!