Talk:Terra Branford

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This article was nominated for deletion on October 14, 2005. The result of the discussion was no consensus. An archived record of this discussion can be found here.

Robert 00:36, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

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Contents 1 Japanese names 2 Main character? 3 TekMissile! 4 Libra 5 I'm rewriting this. 6 Does anyone know the exact quote Maduin says in the ending? 7 This article needs a design section 8 Reworked sections?

[edit] Japanese names

I'm the person who put the Japanese class names on everyone to begin with, including this one, but I'm not sure about this one.

Character classes:

Character	Japanese	Romaji	Literal	My Choice
Tina	魔導戦士	madousenshi	Magic-using soldier	Magic Soldier
Locke	冒険家	boukenka	Adventurer, traveler	Adventurer
Edgar	マシーナリー	mashiinarii	Machinery	Machinist
Sabin	モンク	monku	Monk	Monk
Cayenne	サムライ	samurai	Samurai	Samurai
Gau	野生児	yaseiji	Wild child	Wild child
Shadow	アサシン	asashin	Assassin	Assassin
Celes	ルーンナイト	ruunnaito	Rune Knight	Rune Knight
Setzer	ギャンブラー	gyanburaa	Gambler	Gambler
Stragos	青魔導士	aomadoushi	Blue magic user	Blue Mage
Relm	ピクトマンサー	pikutomansaa	Pictomancer	Pictomancer
Mog	モーグリ	mooguri	Mogli	Moogle
Gogo	物まねし	monomaneshi	Imitator	Mime
Umaro	雪男	yukiotoko	Snow man (note space!)	Sasquatch

Machinist is proper English and fits. Sasquatch avoids the English idiom/word snowman. The hard ones are Tina and Gau. Maybe Orphan would be better for Gau, though it does lose the concept of wild. Tina's case is harder because no succinct way of saying it works. Mage Knight is the best I can come up with. Note that Rune Knight on Celes is written as English-derived katakana. Interestingly, Samurai is written in katakana, despite the existence of kanji for it (侍) and being hiragana in Final Fantasy V's class system.

--Myria 07:20, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I think magic using soldier is the better translation. Translating Terra's job to be essentially equivlent to Celes' job makes little sense, since Celes is a general while Terra is actually more of a weapon than anything else. She certainly does not command any authority in the empire army like the "Rune Knight" Celes. Zpops 22:00, 8 May 2006 (UTC)Zpops

The would senshi doesn't mean knight. It is usually translated to warrior/soldier/competitor. So in this case I think that the most correct translation would have to be Magic Soldier. 01:12, 9 May 2006 (UTC)~Mongo

[edit] Main character?

I've always considered FFVI as not really having a main character, due to a number of factors. For one, it is never mandatory to have Terra in your party, and it is quite possible to skip re-recruiting her in the World of Ruin. You don't need her to take on Kefka. I see no justification for her being the main character of the game aside from the fact that she's the first playable character you become familiar with. --Dalkaen 12:39, Jun 18, 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. She's definitely more important to the narrative than, say, Umaro, but I think calling her the main character is going a little overboard. – Seancdaug 00:46, Jun 19, 2005 (UTC)

I went ahead and fixed it; if someone disagrees with it, they can just bring it up here. --Dalkaen 15:35, Jun 24, 2005 (UTC)

I disagree quite a bit. Terra IS the main character. Just because you're the main character doesn't mean you have to be in party (In FFIX, Zidane didn't have to play Memoria, and in FFX, Tidus could just rot for all but the few beginning battles.) Also, note that even if you DON'T get Terra, she shows up at the end anyway. Crazyswordsman 23:06, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

My two cents are as such- despite the fact that Final Fantasy VI's storyline has an ensemble cast, Terra herself is one of (if not the) catalyst for the vast majority of the storyline. The narrative works its way around her to a massive extent; from the opening scenes to Figaro to the Resistance to the the Opera House to Vector's Factory and Cid to the recap of the Esper World and the final scenes, Final Fantasy VI places Terra in a position of prominence in the storyline that the game works itself around. Without Terra, the vast majority of the storyline just doesn't come into place. The reason why you can "skip" her in the World of Ruin is because it's a very freeform style of gameplay at that point; it would have been enormously difficult to shoehorn in a method to force the player to recruit her. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Doom127 (talk • contribs) .

Wrote a 13 lines explanation of why Terra isn't the main character, but now I am torn. Terra is indeed a very important character, but I would expand the protagonism to Locke, Celes and maybe Edgar as well. We must rewind to the flashbacks the game gives. If I recall correctly, Kefka kidnapped Terra from her village. But espers did exist before her, and advancements the empire obtained were based in the espers as much as in Terra. So, it may appear that Terra is the main protagonist. However, if you "kill" Terra in her encounter against the esper in Narshe, events would anyway develop. Celes would still want to raise against the empire, Locke would still be working against the empire, Edgar would still be member of the movement, etc. If you remove Locke and Celes, you still have Edgar left. Note that no matter from which character you start, you can still feature a full length game without needing the others.

In any case, I think the beauty of FFVI is that the main character "blends" very well between the other main and lesser characters. You get to learn the background of every character, and realize how important each is to the story. FFVI can be defined as a bunch of RPG clichés (knight who lost his honour, brain washed person trying to remember his past, officer trying to redeem herself, young boy working against the empire, etc) put together, giving every story enough time to develop and melt in a main plot. -- ReyBrujo 06:20, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

It was Geshtal, actually, who found Terra. He had discovered the portal to the Esper world, then his soldiers streamed in and murdered the townspeople. Terra's mother fell down dead at Geshtal's feet with the baby Terra, who was then subsequently raised by Geshtal in Vector. Kefka and Celes were created as results of Geshtal and Cid's experimentation. I understand what you mean about the blending of the ensemble cast though. Oh, and if you kill Terra off, then she can't help the Returners, which means the resistance doesn't take on its mission up the Lete River, which severs the events leading up the floating continent... Daniel Davis 06:59, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think this is even debatable. She is clearly the main character, but compared to other games in the series her role is not as strong and overbearing due to the large and rich cast. She is the first character introduced, the game's logo features an image of her riding the magitech armor, and her theme is used as the music in the overworld for the World of Balance. Shaolin Samurai 07:48, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think there's a fair argument that Terra is the main character. Terra isn't really a character per se as much as she is an idea or a rallying cry. The events of the world of balance undeniably revolve around her, but very few of them actually involve her. Large chunks of the game are about saving Terra, helping Terra, or even finding Terra, and in my opinion, this just makes her the main force of the game.

Here's another way to look at it. You begin the world of balance with Terra, and the party comes together because of her, but it's mostly in a reactionary way. Terra does not go out seeking party members, other people recruit on her behalf. Celes and the world of ruin offers the exact opposite "main character" experience. The story is not about Celes, the story is about Kefka's destruction of the world. Celes actively rises up and recruits a party to challenge the dominant force of Kefka.

Historically, the villian of the game has been the driving force, and the main character is the one who rises to challenge the villians actions. This is the pattern of FF4 (Cecil is the main character, but he's trying to save the world from Golbez (and ultimately Zeromus). In FF7, Cloud is clearly the main character, but the story is about Sephiroth trying to destroy the world with the meteor. I could go on, but you get the point. FF6's brilliance is that it DELAYS the villian's key role until halfway through the game. The plot device of centering the story on a character before centering it on the villian is very original, and unique. But it doesn't change the foundation of the series. The Villian is the focus of the story, and the leader of the band that ultimately defeats the villian (in this case Celes is the best fit) is the main character. Zpops 17:07, 8 May 2006 (UTC)Zpops

And who gets first priority to talk to Kefka? Terra. Terra leads the discussion. It is her in the center, not Celes, assuming you brought the pair of them. Crazyswordsman 03:33, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

"Terra isn't really a character per se as much as she is an idea or a rallying cry." ...This is completely nonsensical. However I have no major issue with the article as it stands. Shaolin Samurai 05:01, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

I meant her primary story importance isn't really based on her character, and I stand by this. Terra is more important for what she is than who she is. Also, I feel like the various comments about whether she is or is not the main char should probably be in their own section, instead of in the intro to the article.Zpops 06:51, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

For those of you who think Celes is the main character, the ONLY thing she has going for her is she starts the World of Ruin. Everything else is against her. The WoR is only linear for a short time, and most of it has nothing to do with Celes. And the only reason she was the starting character was because she was the only one without a purpose to fulfull. Think about it:

• Terra was trying to find love.
• Locke needed to find a way to revive Rachel.
• Edgar needed to get back into the castle.
• Sabin is the only other character who could have started. But they chose Celes, and her entire story was finished on the WoR.
• Shadow was either dead or wounded.
• Cyan was writing love letters.
• Gau was training to face Kefka, and returned to the Veldt.
• Setzer lost all hope in fighting.
• Mog, well, he was optional anyway in the WoB.
• Strago was in the Cult of Kefka, and needed Relm to save her.
• Relm was doing her thing for Owzer, or she was wounded.

So most other characters had other loose ends to tie up before fighting Kefka. Celes had nowhere to go, or no one to find but Locke. So they had to do something about that, and finished up her story in the Solitary Island. This has been debated on for YEARS by FFVI fans. And Terra has the most importance because the entire ending, and the entire WoB, revolves around her. Crazyswordsman 03:31, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

To add some more, I quote a Next Generation's article about Final Fantasy XIII: For the first time ever in the series, the main character is a girl. (Final Fantasy VI starred a girl who was considered by some to be the hero, though the consensus is that the game had no defined "main character.") [1] -- ReyBrujo 00:53, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Okay, this is ridiculous. Of course Terra is the main character. While it is true that the game was very non-linear that you didn't really have to have any specific person in your party for the vast majority of the game, you can't ignore that the game's main plot points revolve around Terra. She's the "Magitek-riding Witch" that the Returners and the Empire are looking for, she's the sole survivor of the magical Esper race that the Empire draws its power from. She's the one who gives the cliched love speeches that are typical with main characters. The fact is while you can skip Terra in the 2nd half of the game as far as your part goes, you can't avoid her all together. If if you don't get her back in the World of Ruin, she ALWAYS shows up at the end of the game to give Kefka that speech on life, love, etc. Terra is the main character!--Sima Yi 20:39, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

I think that the blurb at the start of the article is not the place for this argument. Maybe there should be a section in the article where this should be discussed. Until anyone is willing to write this section, I'm cleaning the begining up, to look more professional, and to be more in line with the other FFVI character entries.Zpops 17:54, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I should probably say that Yoshitaka Amano thinks Terra is the main character. If James Arnold Taylor's pronounciation of Tidus is notable, the fact that Amano thinks Terra is the main character certainly is. It is sourced from the same interview I have already on this article. Sir Crazyswordsman 18:50, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] TekMissile!

TekMissile owns you! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.128.155.91 (talk • contribs) .

[edit] Libra

Maybe her birthdate, but a Libra? Who cares! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.127.128.2 (talk • contribs) 18:00, 2006 January 23.

[edit] I'm rewriting this.

Like the FFVII and FFX characters, I'd like to see the FFVI characters brought up to good status. Right now, I'm looking for places to add references to. I'd like help with several things:

1. Proofreading and revising the prose
2. Adding images (specifically, the Amano art or a game sprite of Terra as an Esper (or both), and a CG picture from the Anthology release).
3. Helping me word the quotes exactly as they appear.

Thanks for any input and support! Crazyswordsman 04:32, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Does anyone know the exact quote Maduin says in the ending?

So I can reference it. Thanks! Crazyswordsman 07:41, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

"Terra...We must part now. We espers will disappear from this world...forever. But if the human part of you is very strongly attached to something or someone...You will probably be able to remain in this world as a human being..." -Js2756 15:09, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This article needs a design section

Amano in particular made some comments about Terra. I can get the interview for you if you need it. Also, we need to find a source about the changing of the hair color. Sir Crazyswordsman 14:13, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reworked sections?

Why the reworked sections in the article? ie: removal of morph/ability --ZeWrestler ^Talk 17:10, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

The ability section does nothing to help the article. To someone who hasn't played the game, they wouldn't need to know her abilities and to someone who's already played/playing, they would already know. Besides, most of her abilities are incorporated into the story anyway. The blurb about the main character debate in the header was also handled very neutrally, suitable to the article because the debate is notable but refrains from reporting anything but the facts. Also the trivia section needed to die anyway. Trivia section =/= featured article status. Axem Titanium 19:12, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

The main character debate absolutely should not be in the blurb. It makes the blurb look unprofessional, and breaks cohesion with the other FFVI character articles. I also disagree on the ability section, and triva, since both are 1) useful information and 2) comparable to corresponding sections for other FFVI characters. I am reverting the edits again, and repeat my earlier suggestion that anyone who wants to include the main character debate should create a new section in the article. As it stands, the debate in the blurb looks like a spillover from the discussion page, and is unprofessional. Zpops 04:27, 13 August 2006 (UTC)