Heroes
Cecil Harvey
Cecil is the main protagonist in Final Fantasy IV and pretty much fits a stereotypical hero role. Extremely loyal, driven by justice, and caring of his friends, Cecil’s character really doesn’t go anywhere you wouldn’t expect it to. Only his original role as a seemingly evil Dark Knight ever really conflicts with this, but his eventual transformation to a Paladin ends up making a lot more sense considering the kind of person he is. Cecil also has a love interest in the game, Rosa. Not much is really done to develop their love story, as it is fairly well established at the beginning of the game.
Cecil knows very little about his past. His father, KluYa was killed just before he was born and his mother, Cecilia, died due to complications in childbirth. After his parent’s death, his brother, Theodor (later known as Golbez), ran off with Cecil, but left him outside of Baron. The king of Baron eventually found him and named him Cecil as he looked just like his late mother. Cecil was raised by the king as his own, and Cecil never learns of his past until later in the game.
Cecil has different special abilities depending on which job he is. As a Dark Knight, he can use the Darkness ability allowing him to sacrifice his own HP to damage all enemies on the screen. As a Paladin, he can use White Magic and the Cover ability which will let him take physical damage in place of the selected party member. Cecil will also automatically cover allies that are dangerously low on HP.
Kain Highwind
Kain is Cecil’s best friend; however, throughout a good part of the story, he is controlled by Golbez forcing him to turn on the party. Despite his close friendship with Cecil, he has always had a bit of jealous towards him. Initially, it stemmed from their youth in which Kain was jealous of the extra attention the king of Baron would give to his adopted son. Later on, there are some many hints in the game that he is also jealous of the relationship Cecil enjoys with Rosa.
Kain became a Dragoon in order to follow in his father’s footsteps. After Kain’s father died, he took his father’s role as commander of all the kingdom’s Dragoons. His special ability as a Dragoon is the Jump ability which allows Kain to take to the air to deal more damage than a usual attack. While he is in the air, he is also unable to take any damage.
At the end of the game, Kain vows to not return to Baron until he is worthy, taking to Mt. Ordeals as Cecil once did to atone for his jealousy and betrayal.
Rosa Joanna Ferrell
Rosa is a life-long friend of Cecil and also his lover. She sought the path of the White Mage much like her mother did before her. She also wanted to learn the art in order to fight alongside her love just as her mother did. Gentle and kind, much like Cecil her role doesn’t deviate much at all from a typical female love interest in such stories.
Rosa has several different special abilities. While being able to use White Magic, Rosa is also armed with a bow and as such, is able to use the Aim ability which allows her to hit her mark 100% of the time. Rosa can also use the Pray ability which, if successful, casts a cure spell on the party without using Rosa’s MP. If Pray fails, nothing will happen, save for a message that the prayer was unanswered.
Rydia of Mist
After her village was destroyed by a tricked Cecil and Kain, Rydia ends up being the last summoner in the world of Final Fantasy IV. After joining up with Cecil, Rydia is later tossed into the Underworld when Leviathan attacks the party’s ship and he ends up taking Rydia to the Feymarch, where all the Eidolons used by summoners reside. Even though she was only separated from the party a short time, due to a different time flow in the Feymarch she grew up quite quickly and became much more powerful. Thus, when she returns to the party, she returns as a young woman instead of a little girl.
Rydia originally starts the game able to use both White and Black Magic as well as being able to Summon. After her trip through the Feymarch though, she loses her ability to use White Magic; however, she is able to use much stronger Black Magic and Summons as well.
Edge Geraldine
Edge is the last of the “main five” members to join the party. The prince of the kingdom of Elban, he like many other men of the kingdom, became a Ninja. Thanks to Golbez and the Archfiend of Fire, Rubicante, Elban was reduced to rubble and his parents were killed. A hothead by nature, he pursues Rubicante and is easily defeated by him. After he joins Cecil’s party, he encounters his parents once again, only to find they have been turned into monsters by Dr. Lugae. Enraged by this atrocity, before the party faces off with Rubicante again, Edges latent Ninjustu powers are unlocked.
Edge also fancies himself a ladies man; in fact, the first time he meets Cecil and company, the first thing he does is hit on both Rosa and Rydia. Despite being initially disgusted by Edge, Rydia does begin to warm up to him, and it is hinted at the end of the game the two would end up being together.
Edge has two special abilities: Throw and Ninjutsu. The Throw command allows Edge to throw ninja tools like shuriken, but also any other weapon the party has in their inventory. The Ninjutsu command allows Edge to cast spells, ranging from weak elemental attacks to raising his evasion, as well as escaping battle. Edge is also the only character that can dual wield, allowing him to equip two weapons at once (Yang technically could too, although dual wielding claws is kind of uh…expected).
Next Page: Villans