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What's you favorite species in Spira?
My favorite is the Al Bhed. I found their language, customs, and distinctive eyes appealing.
A few of the categories may need explaining:
Hydrids include a mixture of two species, like (SPOILER)Seymour or (SPOILER)Yuna
Other covers miscellaneous races like the musicians and the bird-man who runs the butterfly catching mini-game. And Fiends if you really want to.
The Al Bhed are a race, not a species. Members of two different species are unable to breed with one another, and properly speaking it would be groups like the musicians and the bird-man who qualify as different species, but "race" is used pretty much indiscriminately as a synonym for "species" in fantasy literature. Then again, elves and humans are generally able to breed with one another in those stories as well despite their vastly differing lifespans, so whatever.
That said, I’m partial to the Al Bhed as well. They’re pretty much the rebels against the evil yevonic empire, so I naturally favour them due to my antireligious beliefs.
I originally wanted to use the term 'race', but ironically I decided it was too controversial. There's no single term to adequately describe all these groups.
Although swirling pupils are not normal to humans, I guess you have a point about the Al Bhed being a race. Still, humans can interbreed with Guado in addition to Al Bhed, and Guado are definately not human. It's kind of like lions and tigers interbreeding, possible but unlikely in nature.
Well, judging from the fact that elves are considered a race rather than a species in fantasy literature, I think the Guado would also qualify as a race. I see no references to Ronso and humans interbreeding, however, so they would probably qualify as a species. That said, I’m not 100% clear on what the exact difference between races and species is, but seeing the Al Bhed referred to as a species irked me, so I had to speak up. :p
Ronso are so cool. Also, they are blue! I don't like it when they have yellow horns, though. It's funny when they insult each other. :D
I understand race to mean particular subgroups with similar characteristics within a larger species, mainly applied to humans. But that is more of a biological definition, not a fantasy definition.
Once again, I contend that spiral pupils is not a feature common to humans. I hope you can understand my reasons for applying the term species in this case. 'Subspecies' would have been possibly more accurate but also more potentially offensive. :greenie:
If I recall my biology lessons correctly, a species is a group of individuals that can breed with each other to produce fertile young, but not with individuals of another group (ie IF they produce young, they are sterile).
Using this definition, a little terrier dog can happily (if thats the right word) breed with a great big dalmation, but cannot ever breed with a person. In this case, I believe that both the terrier and the dalmation are the same species, both dogs, but are different breeds, races, ethinicity etc, whereas the person and the terrrier are different species, one is a human, the other is a dog (or both dogs if thats what you think of people who try to breed with dogs, but purley metaphorical in this case).
Therefore, the Guado may be considered as another race of human, but only if Seymour was able to impregnate his wife. If he was not, then the Guado can be considerd as a seperate species from human Spiran and human Al Bhed (assuming such hybrids themselves are fertile, if not, Yuna and Tidus might have to adopt and Al Bhed can also be considerd a seperate species from humans)
Anyway, my favourite group of unique individuals I think is the Ronso tribe.
I like human because Tidus is on e he is so cool.:D
Just because Seymour's my favourite character, i'll go with hybrid.
Al bheds pwn all!:D Humans are good too.
I like the Guado. Dunno why, probably due to the fact that they are a misunderstood race. The outcasts I guess. I also like their look. I really liked the look of the female Guados and Jyscal.