Sabin Rene Figaro

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Sabin Rene Figaro

Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VI
Character designer(s)	Yoshitaka Amano
In-Universe Information
Class/Job	Monk
Special ability	Blitz
Desperation Attack	Tiger Break
Race	Human
Age	27

Sabin Rene Figaro (マッシュ・レネ・フィガロ, Masshu Rene Figaro^?, Mash Rene Figaro in Japanese) is a fictional character of the Square Co., Ltd.'s computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VI. His twin brother, King Edgar Roni Figaro, is the king of Figaro Castle.

1 Biography
2 Blitz
3 Trivia
4 Quotations
5 Music
6 Sabin or Mash?
7 External links

[edit] Biography

Sabin won freedom to leave the kingdom in a rigged coin toss with his brother (his brother lost on purpose but did not tell him) and became a master at martial arts training with the world-famous Duncan. He himself became a master learning the art of Blitz. Vargas, Duncan's son and student, became jealous of Sabin, believing Duncan would leave the school in Sabin's hands. Vargas attempts to kill Duncan and flees to Mt. Koltz, only to be defeated by Sabin.

In the World of Ruin, Sabin is found in Tzen. Sabin is using all of his strength to hold up a collapsing house, and does so until the party rescues a child trapped inside. Having been given hope from finding one other, Sabin joins the party to search for their remaining friends. (This scenario is typically played out with Celes and Sabin alone, but it can be skipped until later and played with any party combination.)

Sabin was born on August 16th, making him a Leo.

In the game, Sabin is a strong fighter. His weapons and armor choices are somewhat limited but more than made up for with his high vitality and martial arts skills.

[edit] Blitz

Sabin's Blitz command can be used in battles to perform various martial arts techniques. They are executed by selecting the Blitz command and pressing a certain sequence of buttons, much like a special move in a fighting game. The player cannot control which enemy the blitzes target. His different moves are:

Pummel - Attacks a single enemy with a flurry of punches.
AuraBolt - Attacks a single enemy with a beam of Holy damage.
Suplex - Leaps holding a single enemy and crashes them into the ground head-first. Does not work on all enemies.
Fire Dance - Creates fire images of himself to attack the enemy party.
Mantra - Heals other party members by the amount of life Sabin has divided by the amount of alive party members, and cures status effects. (Does not work on himself, and this move was later changed to "Chakra" by other Final Fantasies)
Air Blade - Creates blades that attack the enemy party for wind damage.
Spiraler - Heals his party's HP and MP by the amount Sabin has of each; removes him from battle and must be revived when the battle ends.
Bum Rush - Attacks a single enemy from all around for massive damage. This attack is magical despite the graphics, and can be enhanced by any Magic Power enchancing equipment.

[edit] Trivia

In an optional cinema scene, entering the main walkway of Figaro Castle with both Sabin and Edgar in the party causes Sabin to leave the party and wander the castle. Sleeping in the inn there triggers a scene of Sabin in the throne room, where he remembers the death of his father, and his disgust over the obsession with the successor rather than the King's death. It is in this cinema scene that the coin flip is shown. Afterwards, Edgar emerges from the behind a curtain, and the two toast their parents and Figaro. This cinema creates some minor timeline issues, as it can be seen in either the World of Balance or the World of Ruin, and in either Sabin remarks that he left the castle a decade ago.

Although the glove weapons used by Sabin and some characters in different Final Fantasy games appear to have been made up by the game's makers, they are similar to a real-life weapon, the Bagh-nakh.

Another cinema (and one that players are less likely to discover) takes place if Sabin and Edgar are in the party that attacks Vector. When Celes flips the coin to determine her deal with Setzer, if Edgar is in the party (regardless of if Sabin is as well), she asks him for a coin, and Edgar hands her the two-headed coin he used in his coin flip with Sabin. If Sabin is also in the party, he exclaims "Big Brother, don't tell me!", Edgar turns away, and Sabin thus discovers that his brother rigged their coin toss.

[edit] Quotations

"Huh? Why is everybody singing?" - In the opera house
"So, you finally hit pay dirt, huh?" - Disapproving of his brother's way with women
"You think a little thing like the end of the world was going to do me in?" - World of Ruin - Tzen
"Riiiiiight!" - World of Ruin, on Airship
"Let me at the Empire!" - World of Balance, on Airship
"Worried? Can't wage war on an empty stomach!" - Phantom Train
"I'm tired of this, thou art such a pain in the...confound it all, I'm starting to talk like you!" - Frustrated over Cyan's style of formal speech.
"And you're a King Crab!"-To his brother after returning to Figaro.

[edit] Music

In Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version, Sabin shares a theme with Edgar, his twin brother; their theme is called "Edgar And Mash" -- disc 1, track 7 sample (help·info). (It is also the background music in Figaro Castle.) Their leitmotif is also found in the tracks:

Coin Song -- 2, 2 sample (help·info)
Ending Theme [Character Medley] -- 3, 15 sample (help·info)

[edit] Sabin or Mash?

Sabin's Japanese name (as displayed above) is マッシュ (Masshu), or "Mash," as supported by the text of the game and Japanese instruction booklet. In the Japanese version, his full name is Matthew, but he goes by the nickname Mash,^{[citation needed]} which alludes to his aggressive nature and to his preferred fighting style. Some fans outside of Japan have taken to referring to him by his Japanese name as well.

Some fans have argued that the Mash of the Japanese version and the Sabin of the English version are distinctly different characters. The Japanese version portrays him as more articulate and intelligent than the American translation by Ted Woolsey, though he is still brash in both versions of the game.^{[citation needed]}