The Character's Ages

[StarGirl87]

Why is it that most of the characters in FF are really young? Or in any RPG for that matter?

When I first got into the series the ages didn't seem that young to me, in fact they felt quite old compared to my age at the time! I was 12-13, exactly 10 years ago now! I remember finding out the FFVIII characters ages and thinking "Wow 17, and Quistis is 18 even!" Then playing VII and thinking the characters were well into adulthood being in their 20's. Then I felt around the same age when getting IX and X, even though I was still younger. Now I'm just feeling old! LOL! Not only that but I realized how silly it is to have some of these characters that young, how it just doesn't seem realistic to some of their personalities and what they have achieved. And that Squall is too young for me now j/k.

Anyone agree? Felt the same way? Also what was your age when you got into FF?

 

[DLFlux]

I'm not really bothered by it tbh.

There has been alot of romance or love stories during FF games though, and there seems to be a thing abit "young love" which people tend to enjoy. Obviously that's not always the case.

I was about 12 when I got into FF. 22 now.

 

[GameGeeks]

FFI - Can't tell.
FFII - 16-18
FFIII - I get the impression they're really young so maybe around 13?
FFIV - Early to mid 20's with a few quite a bit older.
FFV - I think most are 18+.
FFVI - Don't know for sure but I think they're in their twenties.
FFVII - 20-25 though Yuffie is 16.
FFVIII - 16-18.
FFIX - They're all over the place age wise.
FFX - Can't tell for sure but I think they're in the 17-19 range save a few like Auron.
FFXII - Like IX it's a bit all over the place.

FFVI and X I don't know for sure since for various reasons I was never able to finish them. So I'm just going by what I've managed to play of them.

So the majority don't fall into the young category (at least for a game). I could be wrong but In games like IX I got the impression chars like Freya and Stiener where in their twenties while chars like Zidane and Garnet where in the 16-18 range. As much as I hate VIII the 17/18 ages fit since the chars where from a school and were orphans together. So I don't think the ages are made young. I think they're thought out for the game/chars.

 

[StarGirl87]

I'm not really bothered by it tbh.

There has been alot of romance or love stories during FF games though, and there seems to be a thing abit "young love" which people tend to enjoy. Obviously that's not always the case.

I was about 12 when I got into FF. 22 now.

Same as me then, I'm 22 now too. I'm not bothered by it, it was just something I thought was kind of strange and wondered if anyone else noticed.

So the majority don't fall into the young category (at least for a game). I could be wrong but In games like IX I got the impression chars like Freya and Stiener where in their twenties while chars like Zidane and Garnet where in the 16-18 range. As much as I hate VIII the 17/18 ages fit since the chars where from a school and were orphans together. So I don't think the ages are made young. I think they're thought out for the game/chars.

You don't think the ages you've listed there are in the young category? Steiner gave you the impression he was in his 20's? Did we play the same game?

Most of the characters (the main ones anyway) are only 16-17, which definitely seems too young to be going around fighting and saving the world. They're not even adults! I understand why VIII's characters had to be young because they were in a school and grew up together. I find it very unbelievable though that Quistis managed to become an Instructor at a whole *gasp* year older. Most of them are far too smart, knowledgeable and experienced for their age. I mean IX had characters that were 6-8 years old!! Auron acts like the old guy, even though he's only like in his early 30's or something. I wouldn't be surprised if we found out Headmaster Cid was 25!

I think the thought goes into the youngest ages they can get away with more like! Hehe.

Funny paragraph I got from this link. [FONT=Arial,Univers,Helvetica]This is exactly what I mean. [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Univers,Helvetica][/FONT]

"[FONT=Arial,Univers,Helvetica]RPG characters are young. Very young. The average age seems to be 15, unless the character is a decorated and battle-hardened soldier, in which case he might even be as old as 18. Such teenagers often have skills with multiple weapons and magic, years of experience, and never ever worry about their parents telling them to come home from adventuring before bedtime. By contrast, characters more than twenty-two years old will cheerfully refer to themselves as washed-up old fogies and be eager to make room for the younger generation."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Univers,Helvetica]
I don't mind, it doesn't bother me. I think part of why they do this is to appeal to the younger gamers (which the majority of the gamers are). But at the same time they should try and be a bit more realistic too.
[/FONT]

 

[GameGeeks]

Yeah, Steiner did, the FF wiki has him at 33. Besides in midevil times 22 was considered old. Back then people started training to be soldiers at a really young age. So I don't think it's that big of a deal since most of the games take place in that era somewhat despite technology. Though if you look at FFVII it was more modern day in feel and 22 wasn't considered old, nor was 35 (Barret).

 

[kupo-nutt]

the only age thing that bothered me was that in ff7 they are 16 - 30 except cid who was like 40 or something... dont you think hes a little old to hang around with kids??? creepy eh? xxkupoxx

 

[GameGeeks]

Nah, Barret was 35 and in FFIV you have Fusoya (age unknown but depiction leads you to believe he's quite old for a lunarian), Tellah was in his fifties and Cid was 35. Quina is 86 in FFIX.

 

[.Tifa]

Lol ! -when first played Final Fantasy IX when was 12.

'' Zidane is sixteen ?, That's so ooold ! " xDD

Final Fantasy 1 characters could be really any age you want them to be, just like using your imagination. X3

Final Fantasy 2 Firion and Leon could pass for 23- 28 year olds same with Guy, though Maria looks only about 18- 23, but she could still maybe pass for the middle 20's age.

Final Fantasy 3 had the onion knights, and that was just plain random. Cute Though !

Final Fantasy 4 is just like FF2 with characters being in the mid 20, minus Rydia. ^^

Final Fantasy 5 Bartz could pass being in his early 20s and Leina and Fairs look like that they are late teenagers, or they are about to become adults. like 18- 20.

Final Fantasy 6 most of the characters are kind of matured, think 6 has the highest age group with people being mostly over the age of 21, but on the other side there is some very young characters in there. Relm is only 12, Gau is 13, and Celes and Terra are just finishing their teenaged years. [ 18 ]

Final Fantasy 7 most characters sub Marlene and Nanaki were again the mid/ Early 20s

Final Fantasy 8 They were basically older teenagers around the 17- 18 mark.

Final Fantasy 9 Zidane and Garnet are basically teenagers [16] Vivi and Eiko are under the age of 10 and Freya is only 19, feel like the characters are kind of young and Steiner and Amarant seem to be very odd ones out. xD

Final Fantasy I0 It seems to be a mixture of Young adults and older teenagers.

Final Fantasy 12 Uhm, a bunch of mid- aged adults following a young 17 year old Teen.

It seems kind of mixed around the series. But most of the time it seems like it's early or mid 20 year olds, or 17- 18 year old teenagers.. guess the age, helps make the main character seem even more stronger if they are kind of young though ?. Mean Squall is only seventeen, and he has to go through leading a whole school, lead a war, head to the other side of the world, be apart of assassinating scheme, head up into space, head into a unknown time zone where he has no idea what's going to happen next, and then the pressure of fighting a deadly and powerful sorceress, and if he looses he could be trapped into the unknown time zone for all eternity. It's scary stuff, and it would nuts, for a young seventeen year old to go through it all. Reckon if the player is a older teen or a young adult it makes you notice how much they go through.

 

[StarGirl87]

Yeah, Steiner did, the FF wiki has him at 33. Besides in midevil times 22 was considered old. Back then people started training to be soldiers at a really young age. So I don't think it's that big of a deal since most of the games take place in that era somewhat despite technology. Though if you look at FFVII it was more modern day in feel and 22 wasn't considered old, nor was 35 (Barret).

Yeah you make a good point. I'm sure back then people were raised a lot differently though and acted/matured a lot quicker. In the worlds of FF they pretty much act their age, minus for the part they're very experienced and strong. FFVIII was more modern day than any FF game! VII's ages were a bit more realistic but I dunno for Cloud

Spoiler

(Zack)

to have achieved what he has with SOLDIER and to be this amazing fighter is kind of a stretch for someone who has JUST left their teens. Barret was a lot older by comparison.

Lol ! -when first played Final Fantasy IX when was 12.

'' Zidane is sixteen ?, That's so ooold ! " xDD

Funny isn't it? Now we realize just how young they actually are.

It seems kind of mixed around the series. But most of the time it seems like it's early or mid 20 year olds, or 17- 18 year old teenagers.. guess the age, helps make the main character seem even more stronger if they are kind of young though ?. Mean Squall is only seventeen, and he has to go through leading a whole school, lead a war, head to the other side of the world, be apart of assassinating scheme, head up into space, head into a unknown time zone where he has no idea what's going to happen next, and then the pressure of fighting a deadly and powerful sorceress, and if he looses he could be trapped into the unknown time zone for all eternity. It's scary stuff, and it would nuts, for a young seventeen year old to go through it all. Reckon if the player is a older teen or a young adult it makes you notice how much they go through.

I don't really think so. If anything teenagers would be less stronger, they could be at their physical peak strength/health wise at any young adult age (in the 20's-mid 30's). Not at 17. Yeah Squall has to do all that and the world is counting on him, everyone expects so much from him and he's not even an adult. They say the brain doesn't mature until you reach your 20's. At 17 you've only just left from becoming a child really. It's not realistic for such young people to be able to deal with all that mentally. Then there's Quistis that managed to become a SeeD at 15, which are supposed to be these Elite Mercenaries! Would you trust a bunch of 15-18 year olds with the world? She became an instructor at 17, how'd she manage to become a SeeD AND a teacher at that age? Lol.

 

[GameGeeks]

FFVIII is more sci-fi in my opinion. Take Midgar in FFVII, it looked like it used technology that we use today. Also, Freya is 21 not 19. In II you can assume that they're learning as they go along since they don't mention or hint at prior training. I don't believe Squall acts mature, after all he pushes people away. As for Could/

Spoiler

Zack

they where enhanced and received military grade training for several years. Same goes for Squall and them minus the enhancement. Quistis also isn't odd. You can get a pilot liscense at 14 and become in instructor in 2 or 3 years. Also she was a Seed at 17. Remember she was there a year earlier then Squall and them. A lot of the FF chars start training in the 8 to 13 range so there's nothing wrong with there personalities for their age.

 

[StarGirl87]

FFVIII is more sci-fi in my opinion.

Well modern/sci-fi, so not medieval.

Quistis also isn't odd. You can get a pilot liscense at 14 and become in instructor in 2 or 3 years. Also she was a Seed at 17. Remember she was there a year earlier then Squall and them. A lot of the FF chars start training in the 8 to 13 range so there's nothing wrong with there personalities for their age.

She said she was 15 when she became a SeeD. Quote:

Quistis: They told me that I failed as an instructor. Basically, that I lacked leadership qualities. I was a SeeD by the age of 15, got my instructor license at 17... It's only been a year since I got it... I wonder where I went wrong...I did my best... Are you listening?

Oh a whole year older, she really had a head start then. You can't seriously get a pilot license at 14?? I think you can only fly with a trained pilot at that age. So not exactly the same as being an elite mercenary solider (who the world counts on) at 15... 15!! You can't do a lot of things in the US at 17 even, they consider you too young.

I don't believe Squall acts mature, after all he pushes people away

Yeah Squall pushes people away and had a lot to learn, but that doesn't mean he wasn't mature! He always thought practically and obeyed all commands. He was the leader, he had to be mature. How many 17 year olds are like that though?

Yeah Cloud and Zack were

Spoiler

enchanced

so that makes more sense. Squall wasn't though, I guess a lot can happen to young people if brought up with the proper training (child soldiers for example), but there's still a limit to what they can achieve. Especially mentally as like I said the brain doesn't fully develop until your into your adult years.

 

[GameGeeks]

Actually, you can get your license at 14. At least for small planes and what not. I miss spoke about cloud, he wasn't enhanced till after Nebelhiem. And you'd be surprised about the brain. It can adapt quite well despite its state of development.

 

[StarGirl87]

Well even if you can get it at 14 it's completely different to becoming an elite soldier. Something that's far more important which the many lives count on.

Zack was apparently 13(!!) when he joined Shinra's military forces before getting into SOLDIER. LOL totally ridiculous! Cloud was probably around that age too. Yeah whoops,

Spoiler

Zack was in SOLDIER before the experiments.

Yeah it can adapt well but there's a limit, your mind can't drastically develop as soon as you leave childhood. Your still a kid at 13 really anyway. Why would a military service have 13 year old boys working for them?

 

[Exoskeleton]

Haha! This is exactly the type of thread I've been waiting for! I say they should make a game with a 90-yaer-old Battling dragons with his wheelchair and he falls in love with a hot young 86-er!...But of course they all die in the end of old age...

 

[StarGirl87]

Haha! This is exactly the type of thread I've been waiting for! I say they should make a game with a 90-yaer-old Battling dragons with his wheelchair and he falls in love with a hot young 86-er!...But of course they all die in the end of old age...

Uhh... yeah... lol. Why does it have to be either extreme? How about some believable experienced fighters in their mid 20's+? That are still young but not kids, and hadn't started training before they reached double digits.

 

[Exoskeleton]

Uhh... yeah... lol. Why does it have to be either extreme? How about some believable experienced fighters in their mid 20's+? That are still young but not kids, and hadn't started training before they reached double digits.

Trueeee.....I think they have already made some characters in their mid 20's though.... I think. I think if they had a character at like in their 30's or 40's with kids from a past relationship it would make a good love story... I guess they do it to appeal to the younger audience. Game makers need the young kids to play their games and so they make young characters to relate. Surely a mid-20 year old would be busy getting their exciting life together rather than playing videogames nonstop like teens...30 and 40 year olds...well they barely have time to play videogames. Its all in the marketing...

 

[Serah]

the only age thing that bothered me was that in ff7 they are 16 - 30 except cid who was like 40 or something... dont you think hes a little old to hang around with kids??? creepy eh? xxkupoxx

And why in particular does that bother you? The only 16 year old one was Yuffie. Cloud's 21, Aerith is 22, Tifa is 20, Cid is 32 and Barret is 35. They're sort of like the older brother/daddy figures in the group. So why is that creepy? It's no different than some of you being 14, 15, 16 on here and me being 26. Do you find that creepy?

 

[HighwindPilot]

the only age thing that bothered me was that in ff7 they are 16 - 30 except cid who was like 40 or something... dont you think hes a little old to hang around with kids??? creepy eh? xxkupoxx

Uh, none of them were younger than 20 other than Yuffie, who was 16. And Cid was 32. Barret was actually older than he was, and it's not like either of them really acted outside of their roles with the others. So what's creepy about this?

I think the only time when age became an actual bother is when they addressed characters like they were older or younger than they were. Cid and Steiner have both been examples of this. Yuffie would refer to Cid as things like "old man" and Cid would call the group things like "youngsters", while Barret (who was older than Cid) never received any such age references. Likewise, I recall Steiner on the receiving end of a few lines that implied that he was old, when he was actually only something like 33.

Other than that, the age thing never really bothered me, and I thought they did a very nice job of having characters "act their age" more often than not. Maybe not so much in some of the earlier installments, but as a whole I don't think it was an issue.

 

[StarGirl87]

Trueeee.....I think they have already made some characters in their mid 20's though.... I think. I think if they had a character at like in their 30's or 40's with kids from a past relationship it would make a good love story... I guess they do it to appeal to the younger audience. Game makers need the young kids to play their games and so they make young characters to relate. Surely a mid-20 year old would be busy getting their exciting life together rather than playing videogames nonstop like teens...30 and 40 year olds...well they barely have time to play videogames. Its all in the marketing...

I don't think they did have any around 24-26, never the main character anyway.

Yeah that's one of the reasons I think too, as most of the gamers would be really young/teenagers. The age of the characters doesn't have to be same as the majority of the players though. Oh and just because your in your mid 20's it doesn't mean your more busy than people slightly younger. Everyone has free time and hobbies they enjoy. You can play video games any time.

I think the only time when age became an actual bother is when they addressed characters like they were older or younger than they were. Cid and Steiner have both been examples of this. Yuffie would refer to Cid as things like "old man" and Cid would call the group things like "youngsters", while Barret (who was older than Cid) never received any such age references. Likewise, I recall Steiner on the receiving end of a few lines that implied that he was old, when he was actually only something like 33.

LOL yeah. I've always felt that too. The one or two in the group that aren't teenagers or in their 20's are always treated like old timers! So I feel like they're in their 40's+ but when I find out the actual ages I'm like, 32-35 isn't that old, and that's when I was a teenager. Now I know it's still quite young. So it's stupid really, at least make them in their 40's or something.

What 32 year old calls people in their 20's as youngsters, as though he was much older? But then again, to Yuffie Cid was an old man. Yeah I noticed it especially with Steiner, he always gave the impression he served for the Knights of Pluto for a long time, acted older, and was treated a lot older than his true age. Same thing with Auron. It's like this for most of the characters, even ones that are slightly older than the teens. Lulu acted a older than 22 also. I remember her referring to Tidus' as 'little boy'.

I thought they did a very nice job of having characters "act their age" more often than not. Maybe not so much in some of the earlier installments, but as a whole I don't think it was an issue.

In some cases the personalities seemed believable. Though do you know many 18 year olds that act like Quistis? Or 13 year olds in the military? For their age, what they have achieved is not very realistic.

 

[HighwindPilot]

So it's stupid really, at least make them in their 40's or something.

Haha, they could stay the same age, just take out the lousy age-related dialogue implying that they're older.

But then again, to Yuffie Cid was an old man.

Well, a lot of great or even top athletes of different sports are in their early 30s (FIFA, NFL, NBA, MMA, etc...), so I always thought of years 20-35 as when you're, like, "prime" or something.

But I guess I could understand why she'd feel that when compared to the others, except that Barret was even older and seemed exempt from all that.

Maybe it was Cid's smoking? =p Game's social commentary: Smoking and engineering makes you age poorly.

Yeah I noticed it especially with Steiner, he always gave the impression he served for the Knights of Pluto for a long time, acted older, and was treated a lot older than his true age.

Yeah, seriously. I think the fact that he was so out of shape contributed to that "older" image. Always falling over, huffing and weezing.

Lulu acted a older than 22 also. I remember her referring to Tidus' as 'little boy'.

At first glance, I thought this was lousy too. But as I thought about it, I have a sister about 5 years my senior who acts similarly about the age thing. I think this was meant more taunting than anything, and kind of played to her obvious "superiority" complex. She and Wakka kind of took on the role as his older siblings as well.

In some cases the personalities seemed believable. Though do you know many 18 year olds that act like Quistis? Or 13 year olds in the military? For their age, what they have achieved is not very realistic.

But you have to remember that not many 18 year olds are implemented in the type of system that Quistis and the others were. Their lifestyle is severely structured from a very early age, and they're forced into a disciplinary system with reminder that they will one day carry weight as the military of their country. Some of them follow suit (Squall, Seifer), some keep innocense (Zell, Selphie), and there's bound to be one or two beyond their years (Quistis). Isn't there the occasional kid in college?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31128101/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/21/tech/main550399.shtml

Regarding the military thing specifically, a lot of countries had child soldiers in the past (see China and Japan 20s-40s, Vietnam in the 60s), and this sadly exists in a number of countries today. It's not unheard of.

In any case, either of the things you mentioned could merely be their way of telling us that they live in excellerated societies.

And from the developer's standpoint, I'm sure ages like that were made low so that they could commonly be ages 18 and up when their "save the world" story plays out (like Zack). That way, the general gamer can feel more admiring of or familiar with them. 'Cause no offense, but I'd rather ages like that than in their 40s.