The Design Evolution of Sorceress Edea

In this episode we're looking at the character design of Sorceress Edea from Final Fantasy 8
FF8 was a milestone entry to the final fantasy anthology, not least for being the first to have prominently placed female villains, and anti-villains, situated through the story. Edea Kramer's visual design was one of the most visually striking introductions to this and here we'll break down what a huge contribution she was to the Final Fantasy VIII story
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If you enjoy the Final Fantasy 8 story you might enjoy some other episodes I have on the channel:
Sorceress Edea Kramer character analysis: • Sorceress Edea Explain...
Cid Kramer story analysis: • Headmaster Cid Explain...
Seifer Almasy story analysis: • Seifer Almasy Explaine...
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#FinalFantasy #ff8 #FFVIII

[@AlleywayJack]

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[@Dzzy123]

Edea is one of Nomura's best designs. It's simple but striking.

[@bdhuffman42]

Great video
I would love for Square to revisit the Jenova Cult idea for Rebirth or the third game.

[@fattiger6957]

The "frame" thing over her cloak looks like the back of a throne, adding to that regal atmosphere. And it seems like the sorceresses always took a queen-like role over the countries they ruled.

[@Fauntleroy.]

I think it's worth noting that the gold frame Edea wears appears to be the same sort worn by certain powerful mage enemies in FFVI, such as the Dark Force. Great video as always.

[@RaymondKarlVeasey75]

That "Frame" Holding Up Her Cape Reminds Me Of A Heraldric Sunburst Halo. Perhaps Her Proclaiming Her Divinity, Or Something.
She Definitely Looks Cool, Great Design.

[@ProfBrunoClemente]

One of my favorite FF characters. Her design is flawless, she is impactful on the story from both a personal and worldwide point of view.
Also, gotta love witchcraft and time travel

[@fattiger6957]

I really like Edea's design. Though I did find it strange when Utimecia lost control of her and Edea continued to wear the same ostentatious clothes. It was probably easier to program if she only had one character model, but it would have made more sense narratively if she went back to her humble matron clothes when Edea was herself again.

[@killcomis]

I always thought that too

[@astonishingmelanie]

Terrific!

[@chrisdillon8376]

Great stuff, as always!

[@lopirobinson1991]

Her headress is very Jenova-esc. Edea was so beautifully designed.

[@VenomSnack]

Always loved edea, wish she was in the game more post disc 1-2

[@jairekambui7738]

I know they said they’d never do it, but I really wish they’d remake this game.

[@killcomis]

She was one of the best character's. I remember thinking how crazy thst first scene when she took Seifer away was. Then finding out you now have to kill her. Then she kills the Galbadian president in front of the viewing audience. She was set up as one of the greatest villains in the series.

[@riry0ku]

Okay but genuine question - Do we consider Edea a villain?
I personally don't. When I replay FF8 now and I see the cool cutscenes with Edea in the parade sequence etc, I see and feel Ultimecia and her presence. I love it. I love Ultimecia and watching her possession of Edea is the closest we get to really seeing her. That exuding regality and confidence is all Ultimecia. I love her. I want to see more of her.

[@AlleywayJack]

I think it's part of what makes Final Fantasy 8 so rewarding on multiple playthroughs. When I play it now and get to Edea's speech at Deling City I can't unsee it being Ultimecia.

[@ColossalSwordFormAndTechnique]

She always reminded me of traditional thai girls, similar headwear

[@MrTwentington]

I like that Edea and Rinoa have this almost Snow White/Evil Queen dichotomy going on in design of pure maiden youthful simple and beautiful opposed to otherworldly decidedly feminine sexual powerful and contemptuous look of Edea. But I love that you can compare and contrast them to Adel and Ultimecia.Adel of course has this very masculine appearance with a lot of people being unsure she is even meant to be a woman at all. Her look is very otherworldly and seems more sci fi. And that’s kind of a part of character design for villains with how you play with gender- you can lean into a *dark* feminine archetype or you can invert femininity and present masculine traits and signifiers on a female villain to show them as transgressive.
Then there’s Ultimecia who is arguably doing both. She has long powerful animalistic limbs but a feminine face almost naked body this long silver hair and ornate make up and wings- which again is a great contrast to Rinoa.
I think what I’m getting at is I love analysing final fantasy through a lens of gender but I don’t really know where to go with it beyond pointing at something and saying that’s neat 😅