Final Fantasy IV: Батырлар мен Голбецке қарсы күрес

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Final Fantasy IV, a role playing video game released by Square in 1991, revolves around Cecil Harvey, a knight of Baron who embarks on a quest to defeat Golbez, a man that is controlling the king of Baron. During Cecil's quest, he is joined by his childhood friends Kain Highwind and Rosa Farrell, as well as other warriors from around the world who also seek to stop Golbez. The visuals of the characters were designed by Yoshitaka Amano. After its initial release, Final Fantasy IV was later ported to multiple consoles. In 2007, Square Enix released an enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS that added voice acting to both the Japanese and English versions. The game's 2008 sequel, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is set seventeen years after Final Fantasy IV and includes most of the characters from the original game as well as introducing several new characters. The story of The After Years primarily revolves around Ceodore Harvey, the son of Cecil and Rosa. In 2011, a third game in the series was released. Set one year after Final Fantasy IV and sixteen years prior to The After Years, Final Fantasy IV Interlude, was released for the PlayStation Portable, and featured several of the original Final Fantasy IV protagonists. As Final Fantasy IV was the first game in the series on the Super Famicom, character designer Yoshitaka Amano took advantage of the console's graphical capabilities, designing much more elaborate characters than prior entries. Lead designer Takashi Tokita noted how he and the staff worked in making all of the game's cast fit into the story. The characters were well received by video game publications with several of them finding the cast innovative thanks to their characterization.

According to Final Fantasy IV lead designer Takashi Tokita, Final Fantasy IV was the first Japanese role playing game to feature such "deep characters". The graphical capabilities of the Super Famicom allowed character designer Yoshitaka Amano to create more elaborate designs than he had done for previous games released for the Famicom. Tokita stated that although his inexperience may have hurt the story, the characters' personalities and roles made the story more appealing. Tokita also pointed out the variety of characters helped to appeal to a wider demographic, stating that the team worked hard to make all side characters fit into the story, something that, at the time, was difficult to do in Japanese media. For the Nintendo DS remake, the characters were handled by Airi Yoshioka. In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the characters were designed by Akira Oguro. Tokita stated that the inclusion of voice actors in the DS remake was pleasing for him, claiming that the voice overs "allowed for a much more dramatic localization". The Japanese voice actors reflected Tokita's vision of the characters, but he noted that others did not feel the same way. English translator Tom Slattery had to change various parts of the original script for the voiced scenes in order for the characters' mouth movements to match the words they were speaking.

Cecil Harvey (セシル・ハーヴィ) is the protagonist of Final Fantasy IV and Interlude and a major character in The After Years. He was raised by the King of Baron to become a Dark Knight. Although Cecil is reluctant to master the Dark Sword, he excels as a Dark Knight and is eventually promoted to the command of Baron's airship fleet, the "Red Wings". When the King orders Cecil to rob the magical town of Mysidia of its Water Crystal at the cost of killing innocent people, Cecil begins to question the king's morality. After the King tricks him into bombing the village of Mist, Cecil openly rebels and forms an alliance of warriors to oppose Baron. His first recruit is Rydia, a child he rescues from Mist. During his quest, he becomes a Paladin by climbing Mt. Ordeals and overcoming the darkness in his heart. This represents one of the game's themes; "brute strength alone isn't power", as when he becomes a Paladin, Cecil's power actually decreases, although he gradually becomes more powerful than he ever was as a Dark Knight. Although Cecil initially cannot accept that Golbez is innocent, he later forgives him, acknowledging him as his brother after Zemus' defeat. Cecil then returns to Baron, marries with Rosa, and becomes the new King of Baron. Interlude depicts Cecil investigating the unexplained appearance of multiple monsters one year after the events of Final Fantasy IV. The game ends with Cecil discovering that Rosa is pregnant. Sixteen years later, in The After Years, Cecil and Rosa have a son named Ceodore. During an invasion of Baron, Cecil is defeated and possessed by the summoner Maenad, and his friends are forced to fight him to free him from the Maenad's control, though Cecil is left weakened afterwards. After he joins them, they travel to the True Moon and encounter the incarnation of Cecil's negative emotions, the Dark Knight, who seeks to become the real Cecil and take revenge against Golbez for abandoning him when they were young. With the help of his family Golbez, Rosa, and Ceodore, Cecil is able to make peace with his dark half and regain his full strength. Cecil has also been featured in the fighting games Dissidia Final Fantasy, Dissidia 012 and Dissidia NT where he uses both his Dark Knight and Paladin forms. He also appears in the rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and its sequel, Curtain Call, as the main character representing Final Fantasy IV. He is voiced by Shizuma Hodoshima in Japanese and Yuri Lowenthal in English. Cecil also appears in Secret of Evermore as a weapons dealer and makes several references to Final Fantasy IV, including being king of Baron Castle, his wife Rosa, his battle with Zeromus, his being a paladin, and his adventures on the moon.

Zemus (ゼムス) is the mastermind behind Golbez's actions in Final Fantasy IV. Wishing to destroy the planet, he manipulates Golbez into carrying out his will in hunting down the Crystals. Fusoya reveals that Zemus is the only Lunarian who refused to go into stasis until the time when Lunarians and Earthlings could live in harmony. Even though Golbez and Fusoya seemingly vanquish him, Zemus comes back to life as Zeromus (ゼロムス), the monstrous embodiment of his hatred and evil. Cecil and his friends use a Crystal to reveal the true shape of Zeromus, and manage to slay him. Zeromus returns in The After Years as Zeromus' Malice, which the Maenads unleash on the Lunarian's Moon by shattering the Crystals there. Fusoya and Golbez attempt to stop Zeromus, but he proves too strong and Fusoya is forced to send Golbez to the Blue Planet alone in order to protect it from the Maenads. The final fate of Fusoya and Zeromus is left unrevealed. A different version of Zeromus is fought in the Easytype version of Final Fantasy IV, with a different graphics and attacks. It later appears in the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable versions as the final boss of the new Lunar Ruins dungeon, named Zeromus EG. Zeromus is also an optional esper in Final Fantasy XII, combining the Zeromus and Zeromus EG designs. He is voiced by Ryō Horikawa. Another version of Zeromus appears in the patches storyline of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. Golbez, seeking to break the barrier between the Thirteenth and the Source, fused the Great Wyrm Azdaja with the remnants of the primal Zodiark's aether. This created an extremely powerful voidsent that Golbez named "Zeromus", and intended to use to fulfill his plans once Zeromus had finished gathering its full strength. Fueled by Azdaja's longing for home, Zeromus nearly shatters the barrier between the worlds, but is stopped by the Scions and a repentant Golbez, with Zero separating it from Azdaja and sealing it in a memoria crystal. In the aftermath, its crystal is given to Ryne in hopes that its Darkness can be used to restore the First.

Rubicante (ルビカンテ) (Rubicant in the original SNES release and PlayStation re release) is the leader and strongest member of the Four Elemental Lords. The Lord of Fire, he is working with Dr. Lugae to raise the Giant of Babel, and is the archenemy of Edge. Cecil and Edge defeat Rubicante in the Tower of Babel and the Giant of Babel. Unlike the other Lords, he is very honorable, going so far as to heal Cecil's party before fighting them. He later advises Edge not to let his anger get the best of him, as it will merely blind him. He did not authorize Lugae's transformation of Edge's parents into monsters, and he apologizes to Edge for the deed before they fight. The party faces him again within the Giant of Babel. Rubicante also appears in Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls, in the final level of Hellfire Chasm. In The After Years, Rubicante is revived by the True Moons, in which he once again proves his honor to Cecil and his party. He is voiced by Norio Wakamoto. He also appears in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, appearing in Endwalker 6.2 patch Buried Memory. As Golbez's archfiend, he witnesses the defeat of Scarmiglione and Barbariccia at the hands of the Warrior of Light, then promises to enact revenge alongside Cagnazzo. In patch 6.3 Gods Revel, Lands Tremble, Rubicante destroys the path the Warrior of Light had been using to enter the Void; the Warrior then battles and defeats Rubicante. His backstory in Endwalker was that he was a powerful mage who trained alongside another mage daily. One day while out hunting fiends attacking their village, a girl's mother that had become a fiend attacks the pair. The girl pleads for them not to kill her, and while distracted, the mage's partner is killed. The mage vanquishes the fiend using powerful fire magic and the girl dubs him Rubicante due to the red glow. The girl forgives him and he sets off to use his powers for good. He eventually meets and joins Golbez, vying to use his powers to restore his world, even if it means destroying the neighbouring one.

Barbariccia (バルバリシア) (Valvalis in the original SNES release and PlayStation re release) is the only female member of the Four Elemental Lords. The Lord of Wind, Barbariccia can transform herself into an almost indestructible tornado. Cecil's party first defeat Barbariccia in the Tower of Zot, and again inside the Giant of Babel. She also appears as an optional boss in Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls on the final level of Hellfire Chasm, and is one of the revived Lords in The After Years. She is voiced by Yūko Kaida. She also appears in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, primarily appearing in Endwalker 6.2 patch Buried Memory. She is dispatched by Golbez to defeat the Warrior of Light and their companions after he senses the death of Scarmiglione, but she too is defeated by the Warrior of Light in battle. Her backstory in Endwalker was that she was daughter to a nobleman who was kept her from seeing people she had interest in. On a night she snuck out to see those people, she instead found her father who revealed he had killed them all. Enraged, she bludgeoned him to death with a hatchet and embraced her new freedom becoming Barbariccia, where she would eventually meet and join Golbez.

Cagnazzo (カイナッツォ) (Kainazzo in the original SNES release) is the Lord of Water. He is a large turtle demon with a humanoid face, hired by Golbez and Zemus. Cagnazzo killed King Baron and impersonated him. It was in fact Cagnazzo that ordered Cecil to steal the Water Crystal from Mysidia and bomb the village of Mist. He was also responsible for imprisoning Cid after he would not divulge the location of his hidden airship. The initial battle with Cagnazzo is fought in the throne room of Baron. His battle tactics primarily consists of drawing water around him to unleash a powerful tsunami, although when struck by lightning, Cagnazzo will retreat into his shell and attempt to restore his lost health. Upon his defeat, he attempts one final attempt at killing the party by crushing them between the walls of the antechamber to the King's throne room, but this is foiled by the sacrifice of Palom and Porom. He later joins the other Lords in a final battle against Cecil and his friends in the Giant of Babel. He also appears in Dawn of Souls on the fifth level of Hellfire Chasm. In The After Years, he is revived inside the True Moon. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono in Japanese and Michael McConnohie in English. Scarmiglione first appears as a small cloaked figure. Though Cecil thinks that he has defeated Scarmiglione and his zombie minions, the Earth Lord soon transforms into a hunched, zombie like beast, attacking the group from behind. Even though Cecil and his allies believe that Scarmiglione had been destroyed as he fell off a bridge at the summit of Mt. Ordeals, he faces the Lord once again in the Giant of Babel. Both of his forms appear in Dawn of Souls on the fifth level of Hellfire Chasm and in The After Years as a revived guardian of the True Moon. He is voiced by Konishi Ōnishi in Japanese and Dameon Clarke in English. Lugae appears in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker as a boss in the Tower of Babil. Like his original incarnation, Barnabas initially attacks him before warping away, and appears later as a cyborg. He later appears in the Hildibrand Manderville questline. Having survived his initial defeat, he sought to continue his work on artificial lifeforms, eventually taking interest in Hildibrand's near invulnerability. He arranges a deal with a Hannish representative to bring the inspector's comatose body to him, but are stopped by his assistant Nashu and the player's Warrior of Light. After a dramatic awakening of Hildibrand's body, he destroys the scientist with his own shoulder mounted missile, leaving only his head remaining. Later, his head is stolen by a thief in Radz at Han. He kidnaps Nashu and demands the Warrior to come to the Tower of Babil in exchange for her freedom, only to be confronted by Hildibrand and his father Godbert in the Warrior's place. The doctor is then defeated by the father son duo, freeing Nashu. Afterwards, his head is recovered and later taken to a secret meeting in Thavnair where he plotted with someone against the Warrior, later attacking them, but is defeated by Hildibrand and his friends and is sent flying.

Baigan (ベイガン) is a knight of Baron. He is a good friend of Cecil — although like Kain, he joins Golbez and the King in their army of evil. When the party sneaks into the seemingly vacant castle through the Watery Passage, he is the first apparently friendly face to greet them. However, the twins Palom and Porom smell "something fishy", and Baigan reveals his true self, telling the party that he was given the gift of his alternate form by Golbez. He is subsequently killed by Cecil's group. He reappears in The After Years as a revived guardian of the True Moon.

Anna (アンナ) is the daughter of Tellah and is engaged to Prince Edward of Damcyan. After the death of Anna's mother, Tellah became overly protective of Anna, in the hopes of never losing her. When he learns of Anna's elopement with Edward, Tellah becomes furious and sets out after her. In Baron's raid on Damcyan, Anna is killed saving Edward's life. Edward later meets Anna's spirit in Kaipo, where she assuages his fears. She is voiced by Hitomi Akino in Japanese and Zarah Little in English. When his family disappears, Ceodore goes on a quest to find them and eventually joins forces with others to fight against the Maenad. He is trained in swords and lances, and can also tap into his inner energy to temporarily enhance his strength.

Ursula Fang Leiden is a supporting character in The After Years. She is Yang's daughter, a childhood friend of Ceodore, and his godsister. Unlike Ceodore, she takes great pride in being Yang's daughter and the princess of Fabul, and knows no better way of expressing this than by training as a monk herself, which frustrates her father greatly: the two often quarrel since Yang does not want her to be a monk. However, when he sees how she has developed, and that she understands what it means to be a monk, he gives in. Ursula continues to aid her friends as the battle for the Blue Planet leads them to the True Moon.

Leonora is a supporting character in The After Years. She is an Epopt from the kingdom of Troia who is sent to be trained as a Sage. Palom is chosen as her teacher in Black Magic, and though Palom's brashness conflicts with Leonora's shyness, the two slowly begin to open up to each other. It is later revealed that Leonora had always looked up to Palom since she was a little girl listening to his stories about his adventures with Cecil, and their friendship grows stronger as they travel to the True Moon. Like Tellah in the previous game, Leonora can use both White and Black Magic, though she does not have the same strengths as those who specialize in one or the other.

The Eblan Four are a group of ninjas who serve under Edge: Gekkou, Izayoi, Tsukinowa, and Zangetsu. During the events of The After Years, Edge sends each of the four on a reconnaissance mission around the world before meeting up with them later in the storyline. Should any of the four die during their mission, they will not rejoin Edge and thus will not become party members during the final assault on the True Moon.

Harley is Edward's personal secretary and an aspiring scholar. In The After Years, Harley is first found investigating a meteor landing and is helped by Edward. Later, Harley is stricken by desert fever while she and Edward are traveling to Baron to meet with Cecil, and Edward is disheartened at his inability to protect anybody until the spirits of Anna and Tellah tell him to not grieve for his losses and to find what his heart truly wants. Encouraged, Edward retrieves a Sand Pearl to cure Harley, and she continues to aid Edward as they journey to the True Moon with the rest of the party. Harley is briefly seen in Interlude as Edward's secretary in training.

The Maenad, initially only known as the Mysterious Girl, is a strange being with summoner powers encountered in Interlude and The After Years. In the first of the two, she impersonates Rydia and causes trouble for Cecil and his friends. She is defeated by Cecil, Edge, Cid, Palom and Porom with the real Rydia's assistance but she escapes from them. In the second game, she first appears in Baron Castle where she defeats Cecil and brainwashes him. She later plays a cruel trick on Ceodore, forcing Cecil to fight him for her own amusement. She regards humans as lower life forms than herself and therefore has no qualms about hurting them physically or psychologically. It is later revealed inside the True Moon that the Maenad is not a singular entity. There are many Maenads brought into being by the true antagonist of The After Years: The Creator. These beings were born to retrieve the Crystals for their father. It is implied that they also receive their summoning abilities from him, as their powers are not how a summoner's powers usually work: the Maenads overwrite the Code of the Eidolons by trapping them in another dimension and forcing them to serve their will, and by extension, The Creator's. Before meeting the Creator, the party encounters a child Maenad who opens the passage to his chambers. When the Creator begins to destroy the True Moon after being defeated, the party rescues the child as they escape, and the other Maenads protect them from the Creator by stating "that child is our future". In the ending, it is revealed that Rydia has adopted the child Maenad and named her Cuore, and she is raising her with help from Edge and the Mist villagers.

The Creator is the name given to the primary antagonist of The After Years. The driving force behind the Maenads, he is the last survivor of a mysterious race that prospered too greatly, causing them to destroy their own planet. He has embarked upon a lifetime's experimentation using the Crystals to learn where his kind went wrong, but somewhere along the way, he decided that the universe should not be overrun with inferior races, and programmed his ship, the True Moon, to consume the planets of races that do not live up to his expectations. He has the ability to create Crystals, which he uses to record data on various races, and later on the True Moon to summon demons from Cecil's past and from other worlds (the worlds of Final Fantasy I, II, III, V, and VI) to attack the party. He ends up inadvertently showing the party what laid his kind low: as they prospered, so too did the evil within them, but while the people of the Blue Planet worked to contain the damage done by their inner demons, the Creator's race did not do anything like this. Using their planet's Crystals, the party draws out and destroys the darkness within him, causing him to become unstable and destroy the True Moon. He is then killed by the Maenads as the party flees from his lair with a child Maenad in tow, his last words being an expression of gratitude towards them for what they have done.

The cast of Final Fantasy IV has been well received by video game publications. GameTrailers stated that by the time the game was first released, the characters surpassed common RPG stereotypes, and that the relationships between the main cast would still entertain gamers a decade later. Dragon reviewer Sandy Petersen added that the cast was notable for each having their motives in the plot which attached him to the game. The diverse number of characters has been praised for their distinctive traits by RPGFan's Matt Rickert. Greg Kasavin from GameSpot had similar comments, and appreciated that unlike other RPG protagonists, Cecil was already an experienced warrior at the start of the game and had strong relationships already established. Similarly, Micky Gunn from GamePlanet stated that thanks to the characters' expertise, the player had access to a wide variety of moves from the game's beginning. Cecil was listed as the best hero in the Final Fantasy franchise by GamesRadar as well as one of the top 10 franchise characters by GameZone, owing to his heroic traits and character arc. Both GameSpot and IGN stated that the cast was interesting and avoided common cliches. On the other hand, while RPGamer's Michael Beckett found the main characters likable, he felt that some of the most important ones "have been copied by so many other titles in the genre that they have been rendered cliche", specifically pointing to Cecil and Rosa's personalities. The designs from the Nintendo DS remake were praised by Elisa Di Fiore from GameSpy as making the characters appealing, while Cheat Code Central complained that some were too pixelated. Lark Anderson from GameSpot instead said the acting was "weak", stating that it made some scenes overdramatic. Cheat Code Central enjoyed the voice acting but felt it could have been better.