It’s a simple fact of life that everybody has, at some point, had parents. Even immaculate conception along the lines of Jesus Christ and Anakin Skywalker needs at least one parent. Some people have adoptive parents. Parents are everywhere. So too are parents present in the
Final Fantasy series. Most of the time. While it seems a sad trait that the main parties are usually orphans of one kind or another, there are some NPCs who are parents, some main characters who fortuitously retain their parents, and some who even are parents themselves. In a toast to the people who raised us, let’s look at the parents throughout
Final Fantasy and the impacts they have had! Watch out for spoilers, kids.
Final Fantasy
The original
Final Fantasy was light on plot and character development, there’s no denying. However, this was the first instance of a character having both parents alive. Princess Sarah, of Cornelia, was kidnapped by the wicked Garland. Her father who is aptly named King of Cornelia, tasks the Light Warriors
with rescuing his daughter and defeating the evil knight. Queen Jane, who resides elsewhere in the castle, appears rather distraught at her daughter’s disappearance. You can always be sure that your parents are missing you when you’re kidnapped by an evil knight, I guess.
Final Fantasy II
The main party of
Final Fantasy II are all presumed orphans, their parents killed by the Palamecian Empire in the raid on Fynn. However,
Final Fantasy II is also the first instance of a party member being a parent! Josef, of Salamand, joins the party as they search for the Goddess’s Bell. Sadly, when exiting the Snow Cavern with the bell, the party is ambushed and Josef sacrifices himself to save them.
In another sad moment, the King of Fynn, father to Princess Hilda, leader of the Wild Rose Rebellion, passes away from the injuries he received in the raid on Fynn. Lastly, there is an NPC named Elina, who resides in Castle Deist. Her son is Kain, whose name would later become synonymous with dragoons. Little wonder, since his late father, Phillip, was a dragoon and his almost-step-father-until-he-too-died, Ricard, was also a dragoon. Happy families is not what
Final Fantasy is all about, it seems.
Final Fantasy III
There are many more biological parents present in
Final Fantasy III than the previous games in the series. The kings of both Sasune and Saronia are alive – at one point. King Gorn of Saronia is mind-controlled by Gilgamesh into attacking his son, but he resists, stabbing himself. On his death bed, he begs forgiveness for all the things he did whilst under Gilgamesh’s power. Sad stuff! Takka, in the DS remake, is the adopted father of Refia.
Cid Haze, and his wife Mrs Cid, are the pseudo-adoptive parents of the main party – the onion kids. After Cid and the four children survived an airship crash ten years prior, he and Mrs Cid looked after them until they found other families. Though Mrs Cid falls ill during the course of the game, the party heals her right up with an elixir. Phew!
Final Fantasy IV
Thanks to
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, we have an abundance of parents. That’s something to celebrate, I think! Our first parent is Tellah, most famous for his line “You spoony bard!” Sadly, his daughter Anna dies in the attack on Damcyan, which then prompts the famous line. However, in a valiant sacrifice, Tellah casts the
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