Thursday, February 10, 2011

So, is the white mage in the first Final Fantasy a he or a she?

How's this for a pointless question: Is the white mage in the original Final Fantasy a he or a she?

I've always assumed the white mage is a she, mainly because I consider the character's pre-class change sprite (below left) to be on the feminine side. I recently came across a few comments on line, though, that suggested the white mage must be a he due to the more masculine appearance of the white wizard sprite (below right).


Those broad shoulders don't necessarily mean the white wizard/mage is a he, though, do they? I mean, we're talking about one member of a four-person party that's been tasked with saving the world--you'd think such a person, whether male or female, would have to buff up a bit beforehand, wouldn't you?

As such, I'm sticking with my initial opinion that the white mage in Final Fantasy is a she. That's just my opinion, though; what's yours?

8 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I always thought it looked like a girl. Most of the character sprites from that game are sort of ambisexual, though. The fighter could be a butch girl, and the black mage is...questionable at best.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I'm with you regarding the black mage. How could anyone tell? Although, the black wizard sprite definitely is a bit masculine.

I've never thought of the fighter as a butch girl, though. Very interesting :)

Anonymous said...

It's pretty much FF tradition to make white mages female. Can you think of a male white mage, only?

Bryan Ochalla said...

You're right, anonymous, although I don't think this tradition began until after the Famicom/NES versions of Final Fantasy were released. These first versions didn't really apply a gender to *any* of the main characters, although it's clear some of them are supposed to be male. The white mage/wizard is the most ambiguous, in my mind, and the most likely to be a female.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

It's funny that we assign femininity to ambiguity.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Huh. I definitely didn't use the word with that in mind, although I may have done so subconsciously. I just meant that the combo of the white mage/wizard sprites are the most ambiguous overall, and along with that most likely to be female. Does that make any sense?

Zigfried said...

FF1's white mage is totally a he, replete flowing red Fabio hair. For further proof, it's all in the eyebrows -- they tell the tale.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey, this game was released during the era of Brooke Shields -- i.e., when "strong brows" were "in" for the ladies. Why, oh why, do I know this??? ;)