Exploring One of the Greatest NPCs of All-Time
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2023
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Final Fantasy XVI featured some fantastic characters. Amongst them, a few NPCs stood out, but perhaps one of the best and most impactful is Dion Lesage.
Throughout this video we explore what made Dion Lesage such a strong NPC in our typical granular style.
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To be honest, I didn't expect much depth from Dion after first seeing him. I thought he would be just a pompous, pretty boy prince. I'm happy to be proven wrong.
Exactly what I thought early on. Realizing the opposite was such a pleasant surprise
I was wrong about almost every time about which characters I would like. Goetz, Dion, and Annabella all seemed boring at first, but Barnabas seemed awesome. By the end I felt the opposite about all of them lol
@@ArrakisHeir88I fuckin LOVE Goetz!
@muaddib8138 I hated Annabelle from the jump and I was mad she got to go out on her own terms instead of getting her dome lobbed off.
@@ArrakisHeir88Barnabas going crazy halfway during his fight was cool asf and redeemed his cliche fanatic personality, wished they expanded on him further, he had such a cool drip
Dions speech to his father was an absolute banger. I felt that emotion throughout.
one of the best acted scenes in the game.
"'For every citizen who falls, another can be bred. For every home that burns, another can be built.' Those were your words. But when the last of your citizens has fallen, and all of their homes have been reduced to ash... What will you become of your empire? Of its rulers? Of your god?"
-Dion Lesage
Dion is basically the human incarnation of bahamut which is one of the most popular and memorable summon in the franchise. This character really stole alot of attention and eyeballs from the players. Both his human and summon forms are attractive to look at not to mention he is of noble birth and also a noble character in the game as well.
HA!!! GAYY!!!
@@aidansearle5023
Use that overused joke for a stereotypical character. And not a well written character like Dion.
For a game that has plenty of nude scenes the fanservice shots for Dion are a lot more restrained, pretty much just his bandaged torso in one cutscene. The neckline of Cid’s clothes is more alluring than Dion’s uniform in terms of skin coverage or lack of.
@@jbcatz5well they had to appeal to the conservative fanbase because if Square had it's way they would've made Dion and Terence full on make out that transitions into sex scene.
@@_____2219 Nah, you see it everywhere in media, both as a general rule and because most straight directors probably don't want to direct a gay sex scene unless they're girls then you know, go ham with the camera. Only a handful of movies and TV shows (usually by gay writers and directors) try to show anything further than just kissing.
Dion is such a special character, a gay man not defined by his sexuality but by his actions, i love him, he makes me so proud to be a dragoon in FF14 ❤
Thank you, that's another aspect I really liked about him as well. He should be used as a reference when making same sex characters!😊
As a straight man, if my character were put in a game, I would be profoundly disappointed if my sexuality was the defining focus of what was presented to the gamer. I have no reason to think this would be different for someone who isn’t straight. Well played FFXVI.
@@VesiustheBoneCruncherto be fair while it wasn’t made a spectacle that he was gay what other final fantasy even cared about the sexuality of its characters? Some were couples yes, but the naked bedrooms scenes and Odin literally fucking a polymorphed ..entity.. just why? Moving on and acceptance isn’t done by shoehorning in brothels and sex scenes. Amazingly Dumbeldore is a peak gay character, he’s gay but they didn’t shoehorn in a scene where he’s kissing someone in his office when the doors are closed. You can feel the game of thrones influence and personally I just don’t like it, it just makes everything that should be casual and normal feel so vulgar. Like why discuss these matters in bed? Why is there a scene where Odin cuddles the naked image of his mother? Why is Dions relationship behind closed doors when you see more examples of homosexuality throughout the kingdoms? It’s like they are trying to make it as depraved as GoT.
@@TheGreatAmarant72The Barnabas scene was to show the lengths he would go to please his master. When Ultima presented itself as Beneditka and asked Barnabas to have sex, Barnabas sighs and says “if that’s what you want.”
It’s interesting to think Ultima wanted to get laid every so often, which furthers Clive’s point that Ultima had much more in common with humanity than it wanted to admit. The Judeo-Christian belief is that god made humanity in his image. FF16 did a good job portraying this idea. God is as much flawed and selfish as humans are.
Edit: typo
@@Caporg3000 that's... actually great justification.
i'm still not happy with the oversexualised HBO scenes, but Ultima seems a bit better now.
When dion says I ask not for acceptance only forgiveness I had to pause the game and recover from the sheer power of the line and it’s delivery. I like to call him baja blast
Dion is probably the first gay character I've seen in a game that didn't feel like blatant pandering. His gayness had nothing to do with his character ark and he just fit naturally into his role within the story.
Really wish we got more of Dion. Every scene he was in was so well done
Maybe in the DLC?
@@jamesgravil9162 Maybe but my guess is the DLC will be focused on Leviathan the Lost.
Maybe we will get a FF16-2 staring Dion?
@@mikeozello I think that'd be cool.
Justice for Dion and Terrence!
Dion is such a bad ass character! I wanna see a DLC with him as the playable character.
Me too
Oohh, that would be amazing! And fun. Don't think I've played as a dragoon in an FF game yet.
Dion is definitely one of my favorite characters in the game. I enjoyed watching his story arc, from him losing everything (his throne, father, and his kingdom), to finding redemption/closure in helping Clive and Joshua against Ultima, the entity responsible for everything
Probably the best gay male representation in ANY game ever. Possibly any media ever. Not a stereotype. Sexuality not his entire personality. Actual depth and resolve. What a character.
Edit: Or any same sex attraction sexuality I’m not out here to destroy your head canon or mine. 😁❤️
Why do we need to know if he’s gay? We don’t know if Clive is gay or straight. This is done for financial reasons only and it is sad that companies have no choice to include a gay character only for financial incentives, it’s the exact same reason why all the big companies plaster the pride flag everywhere during June. All because of finances and Not because the actually support the people.
@@issamkholoud2009 I'm assuming you haven't finished the game, because we absolutely do know that Clive is straight and there are multiple cutscenes confirming it.
@@peobryant there is no explicit confirmation
@@issamkholoud2009 you dont need to know it, The game never mentioned Dion being gay or Dion self proclaiming himself as gay in any line as some form of showing off or sending a political message by breaking the 4th wall. His portrayal is same as any other straight relationships, no mention of their identity as being gay or straight directly within the media to justify it. And it cant be done for financial reasons as the game is banned in Saudi Arabia and SE didnt bothered to censor it. If it was about money, they would have removed all the gay scenes.
@@issamkholoud2009 There is just as much confirmation of Clive being straight as there is Dion being gay. There is a scene of Dion kissing a man, which you use to confirm Dion being gay, and by that logic, the scenes of Clive kissing Jill would be used to determine Clive is straight.
Dion is my favorite and Bahamut was awesome.
Yes omg I loved him so much
I feel like alot of people don't relize how much having a gay character means for some of us. It means alot to me to be represented in a game that I love and a franchise I love. Dion will forever live on in my heart.
I'm not gay, but exactly 😊.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley we love allys!!! Some people can be so close minded so I thank you for considering others!
For me, Dion really made the game. My favorite character of all time. Amazing story, amazing personality, good depth. I NEED a Dion DLC honestly.
I loved they tied in the Dragoons with Bahamut. It just makes sense.
Dragoons base their fighting style on how dragons would fight, hence the name.
Dragoons are not just tied to bahamut, but to dragons in general. Ig the imperial dragoons are said to be fond of training wyrms as pets and companions. And Bahamut is the king of all these dragons and dragoons.
@@Bahamut3525 The hint was in their name (dragoons) and yet I never connected the dots to their relation with dragons 😂. Thanks for pointing that out!
Honestly Dion stole the show for FF16 for me. Such a beautifully yet tragically written character!!!
Dion's decision to lead a coup against the Sanbreque Empire was one of those decisions you're always hoping this sort of character is going to make, but they never really do...until this game. And the fact that he followed through, full force, was such a rewarding element to the this game's story. Also, while there remains quite a bit of ambiguity as to what exactly was going on with the various appearances of Ultima, I believe that Ultima was revealed near the end of the game to be an entire race, where each appearance was actually a separate being. And based on that interpretation, I believe that Olivier was the reincarnation of one of these being, who Dion successfully eliminated - at least his avatar, though possibly the entire creature itself.
Dion, what a king. And Aranea - iconic. Dragoons really are something else in this franchise 🤍
Best Dragoons in the series since Kain.
you what Dion and Aranea have in common? less screentime and waster character. Talk about bad writing.
That "something else" is floor tank in 14 ;)
you should see estinien
add Kain and Estinien to that list please!
From the moment I saw his official art, I knew he was gonna be the most GOATED character in the game. The guy was epic af and had the best theme song.
The fight with Bahamut was beyond epic! The reunion of Clive and Joshua, the OST, and the scale of the battle. Without a doubt it is one of the best boss fights not only in the FF series but in gaming as a whole.
Preach it fam❤
That whole fight was just pure gaming magic!
Yeah, I really love Dion, he's the type of guy I would totally fall for. I know he's not related to Joshua and Clive by blood, but I still think he's an awesome brother to them.
I noticed a kind of a cousin-like relationship with them, particularly Joshua.
They are step-brothers through Anabella after all, as much as she’s moved on from the Rosfields.
@@jbcatz5 i never thought of it that way, i guess they are step brothers, a whole new perspective
I mean they are stepbrothers lol. Dion literally called Annabella 'stepmother' to Clive.
But yes I do really wish they have more interactions. They have a great harmony with each other from the snippets of them working together.
@@amnos180188 Technically, but it's not like the three were ever raised as brothers, since Clive was enslave and everyone thought Joshua was dead the when Annabella married Dion's father.
Dion needs his own DLC because he was absolutely stellar. There were points I cared about his story more than the main characters
It would flop hard this game isn’t even doing that well
@@ironrex6979keep coping mate. Everything points to this game selling well
@@kyzersoze8408 maybe learn actual vocabulary? Follow your own advice and stop projecting. 3 million sales, with the majority being digital, and only a total of less than 13% of PS5 users *is* bad. This is also the worst selling FF main entry. Dlc for a pathetic character like Dino would flop even harder. If you want the game to succeed they have to think outside of the box. No one who actually owns and is playing this game wants redundant character dlc.
@@ironrex6979 ironic how you talk about vocabulary when your grammar is as good as my nans memory. You can't spell the characters name right lol. FF16 sold 3 million copies on an install base of 38 million (per sony reports from april) in just 6 days. The game had a higher attach rate at launch than ff7 remake which square enix said was a success. Square enix has also said that ff16 launch sales are good and that they were within expectations. Argue with facts. Not feelings.
"Worst selling FF main entry"
Stop spreading false information. It's selling much better than ff7 remake when install base is taken into consideration. Ff7 remake released when there were 100 million ps4's on the market. Lmao.
@@ironrex6979 imagine believing that an M rated game being purchased at full price by more than 15% of an entire install base is bad
I'd love to see a video that touches on Uncle Byron! Dion and Byron were absolute magic to me in the game.
Straight up man Byron could have easily just been a small bit character but he truly hits this nice place of the closest thing to a father figure that clive and joshua have after they had lost everything. He holds his own very well and the scene where clive first sees him again after so many years almost left me in tears and every moment afterwards was truly such a joy right up until I almost cried again when he bids farewell to his two nephews.
Dion is in my top 3 favorite character in FF16 before Joshua and Clive! His personality really shined and stood out for me. Everything about him was perfect, and I truly hope he survived and will appear in the upcoming dlc.(also hoping he reunites with Terrance cause they deserve it)💕 Thank you FF Union for covering the amazing Dion Lesage!
Did not finish the hunts in the game clearly. Terrences fate is sealed
@@Rowanravens5220Which hunt confirmed that again ? It is the dragoon one ?
@@oceaane.That's the only one that involved someone Dion would know. And it's obviously not Terence.
Dion is my 3rd favorite character in the entire game, which is saying a lot because I am practically in love with literally dozens of them.
Also, I just wanted to give a shoutout to Final Fantasy Union for not even mentioning that Dion is gay. This is keeping in line with how the storytellers wrote his character: he's not a gay character, he's just a person who happens to be gay.
Too bad 9/10 conversations about him would be about his sexuality. Every time I see people talking about Dion on forums, somebody will always bring up that he is gay. Imagine being the Dominant of the greatest summon in the franchise, the only honourable man in the Empire who wants to do the right thing and then redeem and sacrifice yourself at the end and yet people care less about that and more about who he wants to bang.
@@georgehouliaras7239there’s always gonna be weirdos out there but most people just like dion for him as a person from what ive been seeing
@@sunderwire The most ridiculous argument that I've seen from these people is that his SPOILERS...
Final line about acceptance and forgiveness is somehow a symbolic lgbt message. Lmao. Is sexuality all these people see? It's clear that his last words are aimed towards his people because of what happened during the Bahamut mission and he wanted to atone for going berserk and destroying everything.
Dion's sexuality is how it should be presented in media. Don't make a big deal about it since no one is defined by who they want to sleep with. It's just another aspect of his personality. That's the difference between good writing and "woke" writing like we have gotten a lot from modern western media.
@@georgehouliaras7239 yea I wouldn’t listen to those people haha Dion was a great character
Easily one of the best written characters ever, his whole arc was brilliant. And with him being a royalist type he didn’t go into the dark side, or go max with power. Actually the opposite. His growth was amazing. From losing everything to redeeming himself and rediscovering himself as well. Absolutely love him. Some amazing scenes with him and let’s not forget just how incredible Bahamut is. For an NPC I’d deffo say he’s probably the best, as he’s not even a party member. Loved FFXVI
Imperialist rather than just royalist, but it’s just semantics of course.
Really Sanbrecque is more than a Monarchy, it’s an Empire with Imperial citizens, carrying an ethos like Rome or the Holy Roman Empire, and Dion was the steward of that Empire.
@@Bahamut3525 yep facts. The fact that he won’t accept nothing, he wants to make things right shows his true character. Absolutely loved him, loved watching him grow. For me he was deffo one of the top tier characters, kinda wish we got him out on adventures with us also.
Easily one of the most badass characters in the whole franchise
I kind of feel like you missed a major character point by not including his romance. It clearly demonstrated that he has personal ties and connections beyond his duty as Prince, and how he willingly, and dutifully, sacrifices his personal love for the greater good. Kind of feels like it was purposefully left out too, considering you named Terrance at one point, but only in passing without giving him his proper place in Dions story and life.
Anabella got off easy.
I will have to say that to withhold his relationship with Terence may have been an issue.
As it's Dion's decision to let Terence go, with the foreboding feeling that they'd never see each other again, plays with the idea that Dion would sacrifice his personal happiness if it meant doing the right thing.
In conjunction with Harpocrates, and how he refused the wild Wyvern Tail, also adds into the idea that Dion is effectively fatalistic at that point in time.
He was fully accepting of the idea that he were to die on Origin.
Can we commend the fact that they made him a gay character but unironically one of the manliest characters in the game?
I'm amazed at the fact that the community and those watching the streamers play the game, labeled Dion as a gay character but as they follow his story just labeled him eventually as a Gigachad. I personally think he's one of the best character in the game
To me, Dion is not only one of the greatest video game characters of all-time and a personal favourite of mine, but one of the best characters ever created in the whole entertainment medium, period. Absolutely exceptional character writing, truly phenomenal acting from Stewart Clarke, amazing character design. The list goes on and on. He’s literally the perfect character in any given story, for me.
Another reason I love him so much, despite being a straight man myself, is because he’s the definitive exemplary character when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation in entertainment media. I’m so glad that Square Enix didn’t make his whole character about his sexuality like every pandering, virtue-signalling western developer does. It’s just an integral part of him and his relationship with Terence, despite the limited screen time, was written and handled perfectly.
Nobody going to mention Dion is the only Dominant we never see Semi Prime?
Zidane fights bahamut semi prime in the first fight of FF9 I believe.
Dion literally carried this game and stole every scene he was in. He's easily one of the best characters in the franchise.
I disagree.
@@CidolfusTelamon Good for you.
@@CidolfusTelamonGood for you.
Loved when Mid hugged him and he didn't know what to do 😂
@@CidolfusTelamon I guess there are worse ways than to have two commenters respond in such a condescending fashion.
They probably see you as disagreeing with their lifestyle as well, which is a stretch in logic if that were true.
Dion needs a DLC episode.
DLC where you play as Dion during the main events of FF16 could be interesting
Imagine playing as Dion. With his lancer / bahamut abilties.
This is what pains me about ff16. It should have been a party made up of each dominant and their Eikon.
Could still be a full on action game, where instead of switching Eikon powers as Clive, you switch out controllable character on the fly.
So much potential lost having Clive run around essentially on his own. Especially in the final battle when he is yelling about his friends supporting him but no one is there.
@@naderkhouri9468i agree with everything but the last but Clive k knows he was going to die and we don't know if Dion survived it makes sense Clive would speak highly of his friends if you were clive and we're about to fight Ultima wouldn't you wanna piss him off with your "threads of consciousness"
@@naderkhouri9468 then you missed a mayor theme of the story. It's the fact that they aren't physically there, but spiritually they are, for he carries and embodies their faith.
@@osmaniesquijarosa4308 nah i didnt miss it, im saying that choice to make all the potential party members "there in spirit" made me not like this game as much as I would have otherwise
@@naderkhouri9468 I can understand the sentiment, and I would wholly agree under any other context, but it would sort of defeat the purpose of this games very nuanced psychology that can be very easy to miss/misunderstand because of all the tropes and “gimmicks” it has by virtue of its FF and “anime” heritage/dna.
I would love to see a Dion DLC to show more sides of the character.
Dion was really great. Garrus-level for me.
Dion fight is the most epic moment in gaming history
Morrid is my favorite NPC of all time. Coffee guy in FF9. He has a story, a role, and a function.
I love that the conversation between Josh and Dion was basically "I'll totally help you but I need to kill your mom first because she's a bitch"
If we get FF16 DLC, I'm hoping for it to focus on dion. Dragoon gameplay in 16 would be wild .
I would like it to be Joshua as protag and chronicler, looking for the lost eikon leviathan with Torgal and Jill.
Dragoon air combos would go crazy
Dion was written beautifully. His sexuality never felt forced or his sole defining character trait but just a part of who he was. I love FF16 and it has earned its place as one of my favorite games despite its flaws.
If this game had a party system he definitely would have been a party member
Press Square for Dion's earrings for their merch site. C'mon.
dion was my favorite side character at the end of the game with cid behind him. he was so strong and just wanted to protect his dad.
Estinien, Aranea and Dion spinoff series when?
Not only was Dion a great npc but his theme music slapped
I loved Dion's character, and that battle with Bahamut is one of the most epic moments I've experienced in any video game. And that's coming from someone who absolutely loved the final battle of Tears of the Kingdom.
Dion was such an amazing character and really one of the best parts of 16. Really great video you put together! Though I will say, one character I'm surprised wasn't really brought up in this video was Larsa from 12 because I do think there are a couple interesting parallels that could be made between him and Dion. And his scenes in 12 were some of my favorites❤
I dont care what anyone says, in my headcanon Dion went on to rule the New Sanbreque with Terence and their adopted daughter
Dragoons don't take fall damage.
This is literally what my brother keeps saying
Disgusting
Is Dion the greatest gay character in video game history? There aren't many, but....I can't think of a better one
Probably one of the best written npc I have ever come across
FFXVII Dion's Retribution. Take my money!! Let me play as Dion and Bahamut
FF creators really love their dragoons
The best character in 16 IMO.
Was not at all expecting this level of depth from Dion but boy am I glad we got taken there and that he made it to the final fight.
He EARNT his place in that final sequence against Ultima and went out like an absolute GOAT
God was I pissed that Terence wasn’t at the hideaway to give Dion a proper farewell
Dion and Joshua deserve to have a DLC together, where they just get to go do fun things and no one ever hurts them again.
Dion is definitely one of the best written characters in FFXVI, imo. I often found that some members of the supporting cast ended up being underwritten or not used to their full potential in the game, but despite not having a ton of screentime, Dion had a full character arc that was totally his own. He wasn't there to fulfill a specific role in Clive's life. I still would have loved to see more of him, but I think his arc was more impactful and satisfying than most of the others that get touched upon in the narrative.
Dion was my favorite character my first playthrough (with Joshua being my favorite the second time. I'm taking a break as I complete FF7: Rebirth, but so far in my third time, I think I like both equally, lol). Dion seemed set up to be the cliche, pompous pretty boy prince but instead was probably the most caring and strongest character in the game. His loyalty to his father spoke volumes about what the emperor meant to him and him pushing back against his father clearly cut him deep. I actually really liked seeing that love for his father, as in FF games, the characters usually don't have parents, or the parents don't get a lot of screen time...because they die. At least Dion's father had much more screentime and character development before his death.
I could feel the beginning of his sanity snapping as Annabella corrupted his father and Ultima also pulled her strings in the form of Olivier. Everything that Dion held dear was slowly crumbling and that loss of control honstly would be frightening. He at least had the support of his dragoons but otherwise stood alone in stopping the kingdom from falling apart. I could actually "feel" his anxiety with the way everything was going to hell in a handbasket, and it made him such a well-written character. I like though that egen upon razing Sanbreque to the ground, he didn't just immediately give up on life. Some of his letters read like he wanted to end it all (Clive remarks on this in the game), but still, Dion pulled himself together to continue fighting Ultima. You can easily see why his dragoons would follow him to the end of the world and I enjoyed that it was fostered through his personality and actions, not just because he's the prince. That earned loyalty endeared him to me all the more.
And...as for the elephant in the room and on the subject of his sexuality, I see a lot of comments that of course feel it was shoe-horned in and was unnecessary. To that, I ask...when is it ever "appropriate" to have gay characters in media? Is it necessary then to have straight characters? Why show that? What's the point? We should then never show any relationships of any kind, right? But never showing straight, or even cis characters would be extreme and rather ridiculous, because that's not reality, but the same is true on the opposite end.
Clive, for example, was not defined by his sexuality. He was a great character who just so happened to be straight. Likewise, same with Dion, a very well-written character who just so happens to be gay. It's important to show these different types of relationships because that is the reality of our world and it's been tiring seeing that reality ignored for so long, but these things do not have to be the token trait of characters. Even as an LGBTQ+ advocate, I don't want characters who's whole purpose is to just be there based on being part of that group. But when people take issue with characters like Dion, who honestly could stand as the pinnacle poster child of how to have LGBTQ+ characters in media, where his main role within the game had nothing to do with his sexuality, then that just becomes homophobia. The sexuality of Clive and Hugo Kupka/Titan is shoved in the player's face way more than Dion's and way more graphically and yet not a peep was heard (and that's not to attack these characters, but to show the hypocrisy).
There, had to get that off my chest, lol. Moving on, the final thing I'd like to point out and my favorite aspect of FF XVI is that I love that the final fight is technically three brothers going to save the world, not two. Dion would be a step-brother to Clive and Joshua and realizing that made me love this trio all the more 😊.
Dion was an amazing side character. Even more so than Jill his story had me just as invested as Clive’s
I would say that of designated Dragoons of the party, for me, Dion now stands tall along with such legends as Kain Highwind, Cid Highwind and Estinien Varlineau.
Nope stop being delusional
Did anyone else who has yet to play the game almost cry listening to this story of courage? Just me?
Me with Hugo: Cringe, I would never simp for him 😡
Me with Dion: At your service my prince 🙇
As an avid gaymer - this type of representation is done sooooo well. What I would have done to have grown up seeing this and not feeling ashamed.
Agreed. Growing up in the 90s (born in 1987) we barely had any gay representation, it ended up making me gravitate to Disney villains and such lol.
The 1st time Bahamut and Phoenix meets, the voice acting was tier 1
It’s not only just Dion, Every character in Final fantasy 16 is so impeccably well written with the right amount of depth that made them all have significant impact around the narrative. I dare say it that this games cast of characters might probably My favourite ever thanks to Maehiro san’s Masterful Storytelling and Soken’s music Team giving all sorts of emotions in every scene. Persona 5 might be my considered real life depiction of Phenomenal character work and Story, But FF16 Is the FANTASY masterpiece of the former.
I want DLC where Leviathan (Kihel) shows up and Saves Dion in the smoke. And then idk, i dont care. Let Dion live and have his redemption!
I'm still hoping he lived and went back to his lover and their adopted daughter in the end.
We need ffxvi DLC episode of Dion
It’s certainly amazing seeing square showcase a gay character without making them crazy, evil, over sexual, or delusional.
As a long time FF fan, certainly nice for some amazing representation with dion. ❤
Idt any of those 4 words describe Fang or even Vanille
@@billythenarwhal1579 I agree with you there but they also never outright say they are gay and fang was originally written to be a male character.
I should have included “hidden/ambiguous” in my list.
Although now that you have brought up fang, it made me realize she also controls bahamut…..does that make bahamut the king of summons, dragons, and the gays?
😂 kidding
Or have his whole personality revolve around the fact he is gay. Honestly that's how they should be portrayed, sexuality is just one facet of what could be a way more complex character, yet for some reason the gaming industry either goes for the stereotypes or goes out of its way to use them as a mouthpiece for the company's stance on the issue.
Dion is a heroic guy, and that's how he ultimately should be remembered as.
FF16 deserves GotY imo. Tons of great supporting characters as well, but Dion was amazing, you'd fully expect for him to be the typical arrogant prince type, he was quite the opposite. Not to mention, Bahamut's boss fight is the best in the game.
It's also interesting that you didn't mention that Dion is the 1st major final fantasy character to be openly lgbt. Final fantasy doesn't exactly have the most well-known lgbt characters and are usually in the background or they're implied to be. Dion has a fully realized story ark, and male love interest while still being treated with respect instead of tokenism. I'm surprised you didn't touch upon. Had Dion been given more screen time, they probably could've expanded on his relationship with Terrance and his friendship with the Rosfield brothers (aside from their scumbag mother). Dion stands as more of a counter to Clive in terms of design and even storyline. I really hope we get a dlc chapter for Dion
A man who lost everything in the pursuit of justice. Such a tragic character
I'm really hoping we get a side DLC for Dion. He was the perfect foil to Clive and became such a memorable character.
he reminded me a bit of General Leo from FF6
Would love to see more expolorations of NPCs or non main protagonist characters in the franchise! Another banger video great job FFU 👏
I swear, If they don't Add a Dragoon Spear in the later games and name it "Dion's Spear" Like how they did with Kain, I'll somehow Sue.
Dion isn't my number one favorite that belongs to Cid. But he is my second favorite. His whole character and story arc is an interesting one. He is complex yet you can feel where he is coming from. Sure, he is gay okay. But he doesn't make that his personality he actually has his own. It stays as his sexuality, but it isn't talked on. He kissed a guy and seeking comfort from his partner just like any other couple. Also, it fits into the story rather than, oh look we have a gay character. Its here's Bahamut and here is HIS story.
A wonderful video/tribute to Dion Lesage. Liked and subbed :)
Spoilers
How I really wished for him to join the party “earlier”
The background music - My Lady - ugh so good
I honestly wish Dion and Cid were the last two party members. Even though they weren't I loved them both and will look up on them both fondly in the future
To add me context on the Sanbreque situation, Annabella lied to Dion when she said that she did not menace Sylvestre. She actually pressed him and that is what caused the Phoenix Gate incident.
At that moment she already knew that Dion mother was a commoner, and since the king must be from pure blood, she warned Sylvetre that she'll spill the bean if he does not do what she told, making the nobility turn against him and his son that he love so much. Meaning that EVERYTHING Sylvestre do is to protect Dion from Anabella. Proof of that is that Sylvestre had NO REASON to have Oliver who is not a Dominant, when he had Dion, choosed by Bahamut and LOYAL to no bound and loved by the people. He would be OBVIOUS that he would be the next emperor. But he had to bend the knee to every of her commands (making the Black knights unit, killing mad bearer even tho they need them for war AND to make the assassin unit Clive was a part of at the very begining of the game, Phoenix gate incident, Olivier being the next emperor, ect...),
You can ALSO see that he is bending the knee to her by seeing Olivier's attitude. Sylvestre have nobility manners and ettiquette that he CLEARLY teached to Dion (the way he smell the dragon flower is perfect to represent that) and you can tell that he was strict about it since Dion do not play with etiquette he respect it to a T. But see how Olivier is siiting on the throne? VERY disrespectfull and Dion notice this multiple times and that is making him furious (the moment before Annabella reveal what she know about Dion's mother). How in hell Sylvestre is letting that slide? He who is SO STRICT about etiquette. The only reason is because he can't say shit. If he do, Annabella will spill the beans.
And to complete the takeover of Sanbreque she's manipulating the astromancer, making Sylvestre wages wars when before he was good and protective of his people. And like Jill, he conviced himself that it was Gwendoline will that was bestowed to him to commit these atrocities and not he himself, becoming a monster.
The thing that lead me to that is what Sylvestre says during the coup d'etat. When Dion exposed him, he says "Dion... you must understand..." with a sad and carring voice. The good emporor came back during that moment. and when he dies, the way he says "Dion..." with such sweetness... you can fell all the love he had for his son. From that I knew that he was manipulated by Annabella since the Phoenix incident.
Annabella was a freaking menace in that game she need her own video for sure
Dion is easily my most favorite character in FF16. His whole arc was done phenomenally well.
Apart from destroying his own city for the lols
@@petebagwell6666He was possessed by Bahamut....
@@petebagwell6666 He was under Ultima's control.
I would have preferred for him to atone by trying to rebuild Sabrenque instead of going on some suicide mission. Maybe if he was the main character that could have happened...
EXCELLENT video, Dion is I'd say the best npc in FF16. And I pray, I hope, I plead, that should DLC happen, Dion comes back.
Yes! We need Dion DLC! There's so much about him left unsaid (and we need to know what happened to the medicine girl and Terence 😢)
@@user-ec1mo6nm8c I REAAALLLLLYYYY want them to be the girl's adoptive parents. It would be so heckin cute. Dion deserves happiness!!!
That would be a flop. Truth is this game doesn’t need dlc.
Dragoons don’t take fall damage. 😂 he survived *copium 😢
having finished the game today, the ending feels a bit bittersweet - I would loved to have seen Dion reunited with Terrence, with the medicine girl as their adoptive daughter. To see the new world his efforts created and to rebuild for his people
Dion had the best arc easily in the game. The main characters were handled alright, but Dion's arc shows how they should have directed the whole game. You have intro, conflict, resolution all shown through cutscenes. They even snuck in things like romance. Most of the other characters in the game are watered down because there is so much exposition outside of cutscenes that outweighs plot action and moments that by the end of a lot of other character arcs they don't feel as impactful.
It’s nice to have a gay character who isn’t some silly cliche and is actually a phenomenally written character
As someone who didn’t really love the story of most modern Ff games, I adored 16. Absolutely great game
I got rollercoaster of emotions for this boi 😢
My favorite character in this game... I mean I Love Clive and Joshua... But Dion... Maaa, DION BADASS LESSAGE... he is in another level, he just reduced me to a sobbing mess
The funny thing about Dion is the typical media outlets screaming for more gay representation in video games were not happy with Dion. The reason is clear. They do not want a great written character who happens to be gay (Dion). They want a gayly written character who is great at being gay - whatever that means. Its funny it took a Japanese studio to finally get this sort of thing right. Almost every person I have spoken to has loved Dion. Zero of those conversations involved him being gay. It just doesnt matter.
He really shouldn’t be a non playable character though.
In a “normal” final fantasy game
The playable characters would be
Clive
Jill
Cid
Gav
Joshua
Mid (replacing Cid at level)
Uncle Byron
Dion
And then you would have a few temporary characters like Wade and the dudes with Clive in the prologue
I said, and got attacked for a theory. So here I go again:
I like to think, that Dion, knowing he'd likely not see the end of the adventure, made plans for the Empire to return to the people, with a new ruler who would truly care for them. Perhaps he gave the Medicine girl who helped him a Royal Seal or something inside that bag of money. If she couldn't be the ruler, perhaps she'd know best who could.
Just an idea I had after beating the game. Nobody has to accept this, as it's purely my own theory.
The cooler they made him, the more I wanted him actually included in the party tho :/
The only issue with Dion is ... there wasn't nearly enough of him in the game as we like.
More interactions, more backstory, more exploration into his personality.
It seems Dragoons end up player favorites recently (expect FF17 to be the same, after 15 and 16)
that`s every character that is not Clive. Its not a Dion issue.
After seeing dion, like Clive, i too had to "accept the truth"
One of my favorite FF characters among all the installments. The world is so goddamn ugly yet he stays a genuine noble person even in death. Right up there with Nyx Ulric.
When the original screenshots came out....Dion was my number one....I assumed, because of how beautiful he was....he was going to be the Villain...Antihero....he gets all of that in the final product....and to be an actual hero....Dion rules...I would have liked more scenes with him...
I love Dion almost as much as Jill, I only wish he had some more screentime!
And you could have developed more about his emotions and relationships with Terrence and Harpocrates as it's very important in his characterization