Quina Quen - JUST a Glutton?

[Lirael]

Over the past six-seven years, I have seen many negative comments about Quina Quen. Primarily, fans believe s/he is merely a glutton and lacks character.

Whilst I agree that Quina manages to include food in everything s/he says, I also perceived a warm heart in him/her. There were times in the game when another character was feeling uncertain, perhaps, and Quina sought to comfort them. It's possible I'm reading too much into small examples, but anyway.

Quina: Why you care about small things? World very simple place. World only have two things: Things you can eat and things you no can eat.

• To me, this is a lighthearted response in a tricky situation. Quina seeks to comfort friends because s/he believes that life is simpler. Food is Quina's purpose - in loving food, s/he is able to feel positive. S/he seeks to spread this positivity to others. It is a rather simple notion - food cannot combat adversity - but I do believe some sentiment is there.

Quina: You stand here say nothing, then you just like other dummy-dummies! No can tell difference!

• I'm not 100% certain what Quina means here, but is seems like s/he's saying that in order to change things, you must take action. There's no point in standing and dwelling on your problems. This quotation appears to be spoken after SPOILER
  Spoiler

  Zidane finds out about who/what he is.
  Quina even adds, 'Zidane what matter? You no seem yourself.'

Tell me what you guys all think! I'm ready to be fried.

 

[Starships]

No there is more to Quina than meets the eye. It may seem like h/she is obessed with food but there is something deeper than that. It's interesting because s/he uses food to express how h/she is feeling and Quina's character as a whole.

Quina may seem like a simple cliche of the gluttony character but something goes a bit more deeper than that and it's by using food. The thing that you'll think that would make s/her a big cliche and completely dry and unforgottable and it doesn't. It's very clever writting.

A example of this is when s/he says that left over food is good when Zidane tells s/him that h/she's the last one to be paired up with somebody else. It's her way of saying that being picked last is great.

Quina is a unique and creative character and his development and character is sadly mistunderstood. Imo he's quite funny and different and his Blue Magic makes him a deadly beast in battles. Quina may seem like a bit of a odd square but that's what FF9 is sort of about. Zidane befriending and leading a band of misfits to save the world because there's something powerful and deeper within them. Including Quina. FF9 is about helping others and Zidane helps Quina discover the world and learn more about her culture and become a better Qu.

 

[Richard B Riddick]

They could replace Quina with a fat, bald, guy who serves no useful purpose other than to fart every 30 minutes and loll & it could have near the same effect. The concept of a character who exists for no purpose other than to be ridiculed and serve as cheap entertainment is lame and saddens me even if Square did a decent job mixing things up and being original with the set up and execution of Quina lol moments.

Even if Quina's existence is a cheap trick of plot and character development at the very least she isn't a stereotypical female character wearing a chainmail bikini offering as much coverage as a shoe lace and two band aids spouting feminist dialogue trying to behave like a man.

That makes her cooler than half the female characters in videogamedom.

 

[greenyxi]

This is a tough one. There are a few times where Quina is shown to be more than just a glutton, but it's obvious that Square just wanted her to be a comical character with little to no effect on the story (for the most part).

However, this is why I love Quina's character. No overbearing story that could have overshadowed the main quest, nor is there anything to dislike about Quina (you don't know enough about her to dislike her imo). She's also very relatable in a strange kinda way: who doesn't love food? I know I go out of my way to try new food whenever possible.

Like I said though, she is sometimes more than a glutton:
She has the common sense to warp into the Invincible when no one else does. This shows she is actually smart and resourceful when she needs to be.
She is definitely dedicated and loyal and could only be obsessed with food because her master Qu wants her to be. Look how much she sucks up to him at the marsh
She shows restraint, which if we want to compare her to a similarish character (faintly anyways), then she is a far better character than the yeti from FF6. I feel they were both in their respective games for the sake of adding variety and Quina does this much better with more uniqueness.

Overall, Quina is not just a glutton, but was probably intended to be so for the most part

 

[kuranza]

I thought Quina was kinda an annoying character because she kept being such a food addict and never said much cool things

 

[Busta]

Yeah he/she's percieved as a uselsss clumsy fat characeter, but the part that sticks out the most about Quina is when Zidane is going through his personal emotion problems at the end of the game. I think it may just be a quick quote or phrase, but I think Quina comes by and says that ZIdane just has to keep it simply. Quina knows what he/she wants, and just goes after it; food.

Zidane needs to be the same way. Needs to focus on saving the world and his friends and clear his mind of other distractions that will hinder his adventure. I think Quina just bestows that simple lifestyle on the party.

 

[Master Cat]

They could replace Quina with a fat, bald, guy who serves no useful purpose other than to fart every 30 minutes and loll & it could have near the same effect. The concept of a character who exists for no purpose other than to be ridiculed and serve as cheap entertainment is lame and saddens me even if Square did a decent job mixing things up and being original with the set up and execution of Quina lol moments.

Even if Quina's existence is a cheap trick of plot and character development at the very least she isn't a stereotypical female character wearing a chainmail bikini offering as much coverage as a shoe lace and two band aids spouting feminist dialogue trying to behave like a man.

That makes her cooler than half the female characters in videogamedom.

I completely agree with you in reference to the "stereotypical female character" bit. I've tolerated the general video game industry's "need" to implement sex appeal to attract gamers, but it really annoys me to see leading female characters portrayed as mostly hypersexualized, hardcore-fighting eye candy (i.e. Onechanbara, Bayonetta, Dead or Alive, need I say more? xD).

Anyhow, I've always viewed Quina as a somewhat useless character, probably due to the lack of depth in s/he's back story && the fact that I was never a fan of her unique Blue Mage capabilities (the process of gaining abilities was too tedious at times). With that said, I think that s/he is mostly meant to be a comic relief character, but after considering some of the comments above, I can admit that s/he has impressed and surprised me with her rare moments of wisdom. I guess I'm having a change of heart now.

 

[Yatsumiko]

Quina is actually one of my favorite characters. While I don't like that the fork does random damage (I think), I found Quina to be highly valuable to my team. I loved using White Wind (I think that's what it's called) to heal the entire party. It didn't cost much mana compared to how much it healed.

I didn't pay much attention to what Quina said however, because I found his / her dialogue to be rather annoying. Because of this thread, though, I'll take more initiative to read what Quina has to say.

 

[PhoenyxAngel]

Sorry to any Quina fans out there, but she/he/it is probably my least favorite character in the series. I honestly don't know what to make of him/her/it. I won't deny that he (I'm just going to say he since it's supposed to be a he, even though I instinctively refer to him as a she based on his clothing) is very useful in battle. His Blue Mage abilities really came in handy both offensively and defensively.

But as a character? I can't stand him. Everything about him annoys the hell out of me. His dialogue, obsession with eating, failed attempts as a comic relief (the only time he made me laugh was with the quote used in this poll), his victory dance. etc. There were times I wish he would be

Spoiler

The Aerith or Tidus of this game and just die/go away

lol. I know that sounds harsh but the character just annoyed me more than any character in a video game. And that includes Cait Sith.

I'm going to have to go with: He's a glutton who is pretty much useless to the story. His only purpose is to be a comic relief, and for me he failed at that. lol.

 

[Omegadruid]

Well maybe we are overanalyzing but nevertheless I pretty much agree with what has been said. Quina is a friendly comic character that provides simple yet good advice during for example zidane's emotional crisis. In the end she might just be a glutton and we are just trying to give her some purpose.(I love Quina and Cait Sith btw, Idk why people hate on them so much xD)

 

[Squid]

I like Quina. I like that he/she is simple and I like that he/she is the comedic relief. I don't get why people hate on him/her because of it
I also think that Quina has more of a purpose, I think he/she is there to show the simple side of things, that not everything is complicated and that just because something seems like it is, doesn't mean there isn't a simple way out of it.

Quina has a lot of strange lines through the game but I also think he/she has a couple of very important and meaningful ones too whigh give him/her a place in the game. He/she is not as random as everyone says.

 

[dutch710]

Quina was very useful. I needed that mighty guard early, she's killed alot of enemies for me, and she can cook the earth guardian so i dont have to go through hell for an entire battle. And without him/her/it, you can't fight hades.