Sorceress Adel

In many fiction there is at least one or two characters that captured your interest but they never really got enough focus in the story.

Adel is one of those characters for me.

I mean, despite her having almost no dialogue in the game, we get a reasonable amount of information about who she was. She was the ruler of Esthar, she made Lunatic Pandora, she was searching for young girls to take over once she was dead...

Not Earth-shattering character development but hey, it's something. This is FFVIII - you take what you can get.

But what really captured me and made me interested in Adel wasn't so much her personality. It was her presence. FFVIII didn't exactly excel in storytelling but one of the things I think the game did right was impressing upon us the formidability of Adel. For one thing there is the flashbacks of Esthar under her brutal rule. Secondly the current fear of Sorceresses in the FFVIII world was caused by her. Third, the absolute panic at Rinoa releasing her was amazing.

It's usually the all-powerful and unimaginably destructive evil who is captured and later freed to the horror of the helpless onlookers.

Finally,, this line from Odine always stuck out very clearly to me:
Odine: Sorceress Adel is probably in ze process of awakening inside of Lunatic Pandora.
Ultimecia will want to possess Adel, if Adel wakes up. Zat vill be a horrible event. Adel iz a horrible sorceress. If Adel's consciousness wins over Ultimecia, Adel will first destroy this era.

That's a very fascinating idea I thought. Edea and Rinoa, when possessed by Ultimecia, were her powerless pawns. But here is the suggestion, however minor, that Adel could actually prove powerful enough to throw off the control.

oh and then there is this tidbit if you Scan her:

Esthar's ruler before Laguna and company confined her. Released by Ultimecia, and regaining strength.

So when you fought Adel she wasn't even at her strongest. The party only defeated her because she was still feeling the effects of being frozen all this time.

And finally, no matter what anyone says, looks are important.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...untitled-1.jpg

Yeah, I think the 15 foot tall chick who could probably pick you up and tear you in half is more intimidating than say a chick with hair horn things.

I guess what I'm trying to say is Adel, even with her rather minor presence in this game, impressed me more than Ultimecia ever did.

What do you all think?

I'm not sure what they expected from Ultimecia. You only ever meet her long enough for her to give some lame speech and then you beat her. She meddles a lot, but she seems to give the impression she's just riding on the coat-tails of others. She may be smart'ish and resourceful, but I never considered her all that intimidating. Adel definitely was intimidating. Ultimecia was a nuisance that got out of hand. Adel was a legitimate threat through and through. So I'm right there with you

I agree, I never really felt that Ultimecia was all that impressive in her game (she's been winning me over in Dissidia) and I honestly felt the whole "time traveling witch from the future using mind control to change the past" idea was utterly ridiculous and kind of kills any ability for me to take the story seriously. Which is kind of sad when you put that up against how ridiculous FFIV and V's stories and villains were.

I would have been happier having Adel controlling Edea and make her a carbon copy of Zemus cause at least Adel was more relevant to the plot and had better presence, so she would have been more accepted than Zemus ever was. I also was more curious about her cause the game tells you enough that she is an interesting element in the story. Unlike Ultimecia whose character is pretty generic "mustache twisting" evil and having to rely on silly speculation and double meanings about her dialogue to create some faux backstory that isn't canonically true and mostly dis-proven in another game.

Yeah, Adel controlling Edea is a really neat suggestion. On another forum I post on someone suggested the same thing and said Adel was just doing it all to get herself free.

This all works because it makes the Laguna flashbacks more relevant. We see in the past how one group of heroes managed to defeat an evil tyrant while our current group of heroes is being manipulated into freeing that same evil tyrant.

Adel is freed and our two groups of good guys converge to plan how they will finally stop the menace that has threatened them both.

Of course some additions are required. An actual boss fight with Adel in the past for one.

It'd make for an interesting prequel at least. I don't recall the part about Laguna and company sealing her. But I'd be interested in that story

How do you know that it's a she?

Good point, but I don't recall them ever making allusions to male sorceresses (sorcerers). I'm pretty sure they're all female, for some reason. She's just maybe a female Yeti rather than a female human :P

Whats funny is that adel is a sorcereSS and is called she, but adel is obviously male, or SE wouldnt have gotten away with leaving "her" bare chested. I really thought that it would have been an amazing ending if adel had vanished instead of died, and then when ultimacia dies, she all of the sudden floats upwards and starts growing and glowing and her eyes turn red, and it turned out Adle had taken control of Ultemecias dead body and was now a villian comparable to kefka, being able to move time and having the power of adel and ultimacea and greiver. bwahahahahaha! It would have been the most amazing thing ever, even better than after you beat kuja and a god appears to kill you.

She's not bare chested. That is armor she's wearing.

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Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover

She's not bare chested. That is armor she's wearing.

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I really hate to spark this debate, its been done, but no she's not. "She" is mostly shirtless and buffer than Brock Samson.

http://arenagames.org/forum/for-imag...nff/Adel_1.jpg

Either way though, it only adds to the fill-in-the-blank gaps in her story that you're sort of forced to fill in with your own imagination. I like that. I've never taken issue with this element of the story, although you're right: one can see how it would have been nice if this character was developed a little bit more.

However, the unexplained nature of Adel really helps create that looming, formidable presence. "She" is huge; her people feared her so much that they imprisoned her in space!

...there was a debate? I'm pretty sure everyone knows Adel is a female.

I believe he meant the idea of her being shirtless or wearing armor :}

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Originally Posted by Vyk

I believe he meant the idea of her being shirtless or wearing armor :}

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Yes, although you could certainly make a case for Adel looking like a dude. "She" has almost no feminine features. Everyone reveres Adel as a "she" and nobody asks any questions.

I would expect at least a stupid one-liner from Zell about this.

Well I can't see all that good but looking at the picture, that sure doesn't look like any exposed chest I've ever seen. Male or female.

EDIT:
This is a screen from the flashback of when Laguna imprisoned Adel. Presumably she's wearing the same clothes coming out as she was wearing when going in.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...ngMan/aDEL.png

As you can see, it's a very skimpy outfit, similar to Yunalesca's kinda. But it covers her nipples. That is the key thing when it comes to rating and censorship. Show as much of the breast as you want, as long as you keep the nipple covered.

but during the battle i dont think she does

Adel and other sorceresses likely have the power to change their form after becoming more acquainted with their power. Sorceresses like Edea and Rinoa that choose to pose no threat to ordinary people have little reason to do this other than for cosmetic reasons.

The Final Fantasy Wiki has a great article on Adel.

I thought that one of the most interesting parts was the following:

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Adel only speaks three lines throughout the entire game: "What is going on?" "Where?" and "You thought I would fall for that trick?" - however, on Squall's first visit to the Timber TV Station, several repeating phrases are shown on the huge screen, including "IAMALIVE" (I am alive), "IWILLNEVERLETYOUFORGETABOUTME" (I will never let you forget about me), and "BRINGMEBACKTHERE" (Bring me back there). These are undoubtedly the words of Adel, whose tomb in space is the cause of the worldwide radio interference down on the planet.

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Originally Posted by Roogle

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Adel only speaks three lines throughout the entire game: "What is going on?" "Where?" and "You thought I would fall for that trick?" - however, on Squall's first visit to the Timber TV Station, several repeating phrases are shown on the huge screen, including "IAMALIVE" (I am alive), "IWILLNEVERLETYOUFORGETABOUTME" (I will never let you forget about me), and "BRINGMEBACKTHERE" (Bring me back there). These are undoubtedly the words of Adel, whose tomb in space is the cause of the worldwide radio interference down on the planet.

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I agree, this part was really cool. It definitely added to the threatening, ominous presence you get from Adel.

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Adel's personality is mostly ignored throughout Final Fantasy VIII. She is actually quite the rarity in that even when she is finally resurrected and fights the party while junctioned to Rinoa, she says nothing to the player. She is said to be cruel, brutal, avaricious, power-hungry, and utterly ruthless. She has no morals and no sympathies; she is the epitome of pure evil. None of her actions in the game show anything more than this.

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Adel's Final Fantasy Wiki page

I just wanted to say one thing really fast since we are talking about a somewhat old J-RPG... is it at all possible that the She is a mistranslation...?
That said I think the game would of been better if Adel was the final boss and Ultimeca or w/e was just never made.
The whole "Im a witch from the Future! FEAR ME!" and the party looking at her still going "Who the @#%! are you?!" just didnt do it for me... i mean the first time you see and talk to her EVER is the final battle... yeaaaa... its still better then Necron I suppose...

I am a man who believes it takes a good villain to make a good game... Like Kefka great villain... that said I personally hate him cuz I dislike his char in general... he is a great villain, Golbez another good one... screw Zemus... And Seifer is a good enemy, villain no enemy yes.

Thats what I believe and I think it might be a mistranslation since in French they say "He" and "She" talking about Adel so who knows right?

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Originally Posted by Darkwolf090

I just wanted to say one thing really fast since we are talking about a somewhat old J-RPG... is it at all possible that the She is a mistranslation...?
That said I think the game would of been better if Adel was the final boss and Ultimeca or w/e was just never made.
The whole "Im a witch from the Future! FEAR ME!" and the party looking at her still going "Who the @#%! are you?!" just didnt do it for me... i mean the first time you see and talk to her EVER is the final battle... yeaaaa... its still better then Necron I suppose...

I am a man who believes it takes a good villain to make a good game... Like Kefka great villain... that said I personally hate him cuz I dislike his char in general... he is a great villain, Golbez another good one... screw Zemus... And Seifer is a good enemy, villain no enemy yes.

Thats what I believe and I think it might be a mistranslation since in French they say "He" and "She" talking about Adel so who knows right?

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R=U would make the plot alot better: Rinoa/Ultimecia was basically neither a villain nor hero.
Have you heard of or seen similar games or movies that resemble R=U? A few. R=U is a quite original material compared to other FFs.

It's a shame that Square didn't confirm the R=U to be true, but I suppose the "Open for interpretation" norm is fitting.

Rinoa couldnt be Ultemecia unless she lives to be reaaaaaallllyyyy oldddddd.
also. Ultemecia looks nothing like rinoa. plus rinoa is good. and has white hair. and stuff. I guess.

I believe that sources inside and outside of the game state outright that only women can become Sorceresses.

Like I said, the Sorceress Power appears to allow a sorceress to alter her body in various ways. I wouldn't be surprised if Adel simply used her powers to take on a more masculine and giantess appearance to intimidate her population, but the game gives us so little information about Adel and her personality that it is impossible to say for sure.

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Originally Posted by Hypoallergenic Cacnea

Ultemecia looks nothing like rinoa. plus rinoa is good. and has white hair. and stuff. I guess.

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Of course, the appearance difference between Rinoa and Ultimecia is striking. But answer this question yourself: what did Adel look like before becoming a sorceress? It's very likely that before her sorceress state, she looked much more human; more like Rinoa and other human beings.

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Originally Posted by Roogle

Like I said, the Sorceress Power appears to allow a sorceress to alter her body in various ways. I wouldn't be surprised if Adel simply used her powers to take on a more masculine and giantess appearance to intimidate her population, but the game gives us so little information about Adel and her personality that it is impossible to say for sure.

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I don't think it was Adel's decision to change her own appearance. Why would one want to make itself look more ugly? Because her radio words implied that she wanted to get out of there.
I think her appearance changes gradually when she's being imprisoned for so long. Out of control.

Just like Ultimecia. She and Adel got out of control. Both of them were insane. Adel was imprisoned. So it'd be logical to say that Ultimecia was also imprisoned as well. Ultimecia wanted to erase everything so that she can be free. Adel wanted to get out of there and go free.

You know what's interesting. Edea's appearance changes when Ultimecia possesses her. It definitely wasn't Edea's decision to change her own look; it was Ultimecia's decision. Ultimecia also got these lions and stuff on the Garabian garden; the same stuff she uses for her castle.

But the interesting part is that Rinoa's appearance didn't change when she was possessed by Ultimecia. There's no good reason to leave her appearance intact unless she's Ultimecia herself. Or was it because... when Rinoa is being possessed, Ultimecia couldn't concentrate properly because she felt the strong love between Rinoa and Squall? Love? Would that explain the crazy walking that Rinoa had when she was possessed - during the parade party, Rinoa and Adel were both possessed by Ultimecia at the same time. Edea could speak Ultimecia's language and remain... physically stable, however Rinoa wasn't physically stable and she couldn't even talk. Or it's simply because there's something special about Rinoa that many other sorceresses don't have.

Edea's hair and outfit changed, but to an extent you're right. Rinoa didn't change at all. But its not like they have to change. Yeah there appears to be a theme of becoming a sorceress / getting possessed by one and changing your appearance, but there's never any real guarantee of it. Matron could have just as easily bought a new dress and put her hair up to achieve the same look without the possession doing it for her

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Originally Posted by Serapy

I don't think it was Adel's decision to change her own appearance. Why would one want to make itself look more ugly? Because her radio words implied that she wanted to get out of there.
I think her appearance changes gradually when she's being imprisoned for so long. Out of control.

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Adel has the same appearance throughout the game. We never see her look like a normal woman. Do you remember the flashback sequence with Adel and Laguna? Adel still looked like a giant, inhuman sorceress.

adel should go down in history as one of the premier baddies, along with sephiroth, kefka, and perhaps degenerate genesis.
they were all the baddies who had no ultimate goal, they were just insane

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Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover

In many fiction there is at least one or two characters that captured your interest but they never really got enough focus in the story.

Adel is one of those characters for me.

I mean, despite her having almost no dialogue in the game, we get a reasonable amount of information about who she was. She was the ruler of Esthar, she made Lunatic Pandora, she was searching for young girls to take over once she was dead...

Not Earth-shattering character development but hey, it's something. This is FFVIII - you take what you can get.

But what really captured me and made me interested in Adel wasn't so much her personality. It was her presence. FFVIII didn't exactly excel in storytelling but one of the things I think the game did right was impressing upon us the formidability of Adel. For one thing there is the flashbacks of Esthar under her brutal rule. Secondly the current fear of Sorceresses in the FFVIII world was caused by her. Third, the absolute panic at Rinoa releasing her was amazing.

It's usually the all-powerful and unimaginably destructive evil who is captured and later freed to the horror of the helpless onlookers.

Finally,, this line from Odine always stuck out very clearly to me:
Odine: Sorceress Adel is probably in ze process of awakening inside of Lunatic Pandora.
Ultimecia will want to possess Adel, if Adel wakes up. Zat vill be a horrible event. Adel iz a horrible sorceress. If Adel's consciousness wins over Ultimecia, Adel will first destroy this era.

That's a very fascinating idea I thought. Edea and Rinoa, when possessed by Ultimecia, were her powerless pawns. But here is the suggestion, however minor, that Adel could actually prove powerful enough to throw off the control.

oh and then there is this tidbit if you Scan her:

Esthar's ruler before Laguna and company confined her. Released by Ultimecia, and regaining strength.

So when you fought Adel she wasn't even at her strongest. The party only defeated her because she was still feeling the effects of being frozen all this time.

And finally, no matter what anyone says, looks are important.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...untitled-1.jpg

Yeah, I think the 15 foot tall chick who could probably pick you up and tear you in half is more intimidating than say a chick with hair horn things.

I guess what I'm trying to say is Adel, even with her rather minor presence in this game, impressed me more than Ultimecia ever did.

What do you all think?

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Exactly! Exactly!!!!!!
I always thought that Adel was quite an impressive character. And the fact that the game itself says that she might be able to even turn the tables on Ultimecia and gain control of her powers is amazing. I think that would have been an interesting plot twist.

Sadly, Square once more wasted a great plot device.