Alphabet Meme, A
May. 28th, 2011 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigozealAnn, Clock Tower: Is there an "e" on the end officially? I forget. Anyhow, Ann/e is the "bad" choice of the two girls you can save, which is kind of ridiculous on reflection: she and Rolla get about two lines apiece to characterize themselves before they bite it. Hard to say even who has the better death, isn't it? Rolla's curtain-raiser is the "correct" choice, being scored to the game's theme and having that tense build-up and being genuinely scary, but checking out through a Suspiria homage isn't bad, either. I think this all just means that if you can't save Lotte, then it's not worth saving anyone; I always did like the C ending the best. Odd that Ann's deaths all involve falling (or sinking) in some way.
Anna, Final Fantasy IV: I've gone on about Anna a bit in the After Years post, but I want to note that I've always liked the sprite of her that appears to Edward in battle that night in Kaipo. I like the coloring, from her off-rose hair with those bright blue eyes to her sunny yellow dress. I like her anachronistic '80's yellow headband. This site has a spellcasting sprite for Anna posted and claims that she was supposed to be shown fighting in the battle for Damcyan at one point, though they don't say on what information beyond that sprite they're basing that claim. (On the other side of the coin, they also mention a spellcasting sprite for Cain but are puzzled as to its purpose, oblivious that he initially had a White Magic command, if early screenshots in the Settei Shiryou Hen are to be believed.)
Anyhow, I like Anna's spellcasting sprite, too.
Anna, Phantasy Star II: I always stuck Anna in my party once she arrived because she was a tough broad in a age where tough broads were in short supply and because I strictly conformed over multiple playthroughs to the hint book's Rolf-Rudo-Anna-Kain party. I experimented later on, though, with using every character and keeping their levels fairly uniform. I'm not sure, however, that Anna is that much more useful overall than, say, Hugh or Kain; while she deals damage to multiple enemies at once, that damage gets fairly slight as time goes on. I didn't go so far as to throw her out come endgame, though, so dependable across-the-board (or halfway across) non-elemental damage must still be preferential to the alternatives. And Anna's tough broadness, particularly untempered by the temptation to succumb with these characters to softhearted slop(*cough**cough*Celes), is still greatly appreciated.
Amy, Phantasy Star II: The other "A" of PSII. Being excluded from the hint book's recommended lineup, she was never a staple of my party, and upon reflection, that seems rather stupid, doesn't it? Traveling without a healer? I always got through with Dimates/Trimates, though. I should try that more often - going through an RPG with just item-based healing, though I'm not sure it'd go as well in a more boss-heavy title.
Anyhow, despite her assuredly estimable intellect as a doctor, she looks a bit like a Pekinese in that portrait, doesn't she? That filmy pale-blue wrap of hers must've been quite the affectation upon reflection in PSII society, given that clothing's all about clean, utilitarian lines in bold colors. She and Anna make for an interesting dichotomy - cold & aggressive as opposed to nurturing & healing, "masculine" vs. "feminine." All sorts of women can make a meaningful contribution to a group effort, without disparaging competition or value judgment! How low we've sunk since 1989.
(On a lighter PSII note: Welcome to Data Memory!)
Arngrim, Valkyrie Profile: Speaking of seven-letter "a" words. It shows how far the genre has to come that Arngrim got top billing in his segment over Jelanda, the true example of courage in their morality play. Arngrim's a black hole of ego, willing to sacrifice any loyalty to inflate his name, and it's poetic justice that he ends up framed for the vile crime he did. Despite copious kabuki in that direction, he never truly grows or learns, and it's one of the great hypocritical flaws of his heavily moralistic title that he's allowed its center stage. If RPGs ever get over their fetish for young men with swords, tragedies like Arngrim will never happen, and I'd like to go back to ignoring him now.
.
Anna, Final Fantasy IV: I've gone on about Anna a bit in the After Years post, but I want to note that I've always liked the sprite of her that appears to Edward in battle that night in Kaipo. I like the coloring, from her off-rose hair with those bright blue eyes to her sunny yellow dress. I like her anachronistic '80's yellow headband. This site has a spellcasting sprite for Anna posted and claims that she was supposed to be shown fighting in the battle for Damcyan at one point, though they don't say on what information beyond that sprite they're basing that claim. (On the other side of the coin, they also mention a spellcasting sprite for Cain but are puzzled as to its purpose, oblivious that he initially had a White Magic command, if early screenshots in the Settei Shiryou Hen are to be believed.)
Anyhow, I like Anna's spellcasting sprite, too.
Anna, Phantasy Star II: I always stuck Anna in my party once she arrived because she was a tough broad in a age where tough broads were in short supply and because I strictly conformed over multiple playthroughs to the hint book's Rolf-Rudo-Anna-Kain party. I experimented later on, though, with using every character and keeping their levels fairly uniform. I'm not sure, however, that Anna is that much more useful overall than, say, Hugh or Kain; while she deals damage to multiple enemies at once, that damage gets fairly slight as time goes on. I didn't go so far as to throw her out come endgame, though, so dependable across-the-board (or halfway across) non-elemental damage must still be preferential to the alternatives. And Anna's tough broadness, particularly untempered by the temptation to succumb with these characters to softhearted slop(*cough**cough*Celes), is still greatly appreciated.
Amy, Phantasy Star II: The other "A" of PSII. Being excluded from the hint book's recommended lineup, she was never a staple of my party, and upon reflection, that seems rather stupid, doesn't it? Traveling without a healer? I always got through with Dimates/Trimates, though. I should try that more often - going through an RPG with just item-based healing, though I'm not sure it'd go as well in a more boss-heavy title.
Anyhow, despite her assuredly estimable intellect as a doctor, she looks a bit like a Pekinese in that portrait, doesn't she? That filmy pale-blue wrap of hers must've been quite the affectation upon reflection in PSII society, given that clothing's all about clean, utilitarian lines in bold colors. She and Anna make for an interesting dichotomy - cold & aggressive as opposed to nurturing & healing, "masculine" vs. "feminine." All sorts of women can make a meaningful contribution to a group effort, without disparaging competition or value judgment! How low we've sunk since 1989.
(On a lighter PSII note: Welcome to Data Memory!)
Arngrim, Valkyrie Profile: Speaking of seven-letter "a" words. It shows how far the genre has to come that Arngrim got top billing in his segment over Jelanda, the true example of courage in their morality play. Arngrim's a black hole of ego, willing to sacrifice any loyalty to inflate his name, and it's poetic justice that he ends up framed for the vile crime he did. Despite copious kabuki in that direction, he never truly grows or learns, and it's one of the great hypocritical flaws of his heavily moralistic title that he's allowed its center stage. If RPGs ever get over their fetish for young men with swords, tragedies like Arngrim will never happen, and I'd like to go back to ignoring him now.
.
