Swashbuckler!: Others

Swashbuckler!: Relations

The other characters in Arcadia, and how they relate to Vyse. ^^;

                 Aika
Aika has been best friends with Vyse since...um...probably most, if not all, of her life. Like Vyse, she's always ready for adventure (although she's more interested in the, uh, monetary gains of travel than Vyse), and is right at his side when anything big's about to happen. Never one for tact or subtleties, Aika's habit for speaking her mind leads to some rather interesting results.
Aika is a unique character in that her relationship with Vyse is...well...it's definately uncommon in the RPG world, while at the same time being something a lot of people have experienced before. The strength and depth of their friendship is impossible not to notice, and it's conveyed beautifully. The two play off of each other well; the one time they are seperated, there is a distinct feel of loss. Although both act as they normally do, the fact that they aren't able to interact does make them seem less interesting and more flat as characters--definately the sign of a strong bond.

                 Fina
A young woman from the ancient Silver Civilization, Fina is the person who sets the events of Skies in motion. Shy and reserved, she isn't very knowledgable about the day-to-day workings of the world. Fina's sweet and friendly nature earns her the friendship of her saviors Vyse and Aika, and the three are inseperable.
Given the tight friendship already shared between Vyse and Aika, it would be very easy for Fina to become an outsider, distinctly apart from the two; but in fact she is very easily intergrated into their group. I think part of it is simply how her personality merges well with the other two; her shyness and reserved personality compliments Vyse and Aika's extroverted, enthusastic personalities, and tones down the more irritating aspects of such personalities. Her need for friendship and genuine gratitude to the two for offering it helps too, of course. ^_~
In many ways, Fina may be considered Vyse's primary romantic interest, but this idea is never really developed fully enough in the course of the game to say without a shadow of a doubt that yes, Fina is Vyse's one love. As it stands, Fina's feelings for Vyse seem to be mix of role-model admiration and the beginnings of a young woman's first romanitc relationship, rather than the sort of love a lifelong relationship is made of. That doesn't mean it can't happen, of course; but they certainly aren't on the theshold of marriage yet.

                 Drachma
Drachma (aka 'Captain Ahab') is the captain of the tiny fishing ship-turned-arcwhaler Little Jack. Although he doesn't want to help the group at first, something about the enthusiastic bunch touches his hardened old heart, and Drachma ends up saving the threesome more then once throughout their adventure.
Drachma, in many ways, acts as Vyse's teacher throughout the earlier parts of the game, instructing him in the ways of sailing and at times simply how to survive in the world. His grudging fondness of Vyse is brought about by Vyse's apparent similarity to Drachma's deceased son.


                 Enrique
The Prince of Valua, Enrique's one of the few Valuans who isn't a complete bastard. In fact, he's one of the kindest and soft-hearted characters in the game. Despite his nonviolent nature, Enrique is one of the better fighters in the game--he's roughly at the same level as Vyse; a little lower in attack power but faster in learning spells and such.
Out of all the three fourth party members, Enrique is the closest to Vyse in terms of age, although there's still a fairly sizable age gap (Enrique is 25), and he's also the character who is with your party for the longest amount of time; as a result, the two have a stronger friendship than the other optional members. Enrique, in many ways, acts as a sort of balance for Vyse's personality--while Vyse is rather spontaneous and jumps into things head-first, Enrique is more thoughtful and deliberate in his actions. His more mature demeanor helps tone down the sometimes overwhelming exuberance of Vyse and Aika as well.

                        Gilder*
Gilder is just...cool. There's no other way to describe him...unless you use words like suave, smooth, goregeous....::tries to concentate on typing:: uh...yeah. Gilder rocks. He's also a blue rogue, and the captain of the Claudia.
Gilder is a lot like Vyse if he were older and less responsible. Gilder doesn't seem to take anything seriously, while Vyse does; this is the biggest and most obvious difference between the two.


                  Belleza
Fourth Admiral in the Valuan Armada, Belleza is in charge of the Armada's intelligence and covert operations. She very rarely engages in all-out ship battles if it can be avoided; her prefered way of dealing with enemies is through trickery and playing sides off one another. Belleza believes that it is her duty to prevent the loss of life as she conquers new lands for her leaders.
Belleza is very fond of Vyse, but she's not one to let such a minor attraction get in the way of her intended goals. I think Belleza sees in Vyse, Aika, and Fina the sort of life she might have had under different circumstances, or the way she'd like to live. The same goes for her attraction to Vyse; he's someone she might have cared for, or had for herself, if she wasn't already hopelessly devoted to Galcian.
As for Vyse's feelings...when he first meets her, he's obviously quite smitten (along with a whole lot of male gamers ^_~). Once he learns her true nature, his attitude is no longer that of a crushing teenager, instead becoming that of a respected foe. Despite the fact that they're on opposing sides, the two are pretty friendly (not just 'civil', but genuienly friendly) towards each other.

De Loco
Another Admiral in the Valuan Armada, De Loco is first encountered in the lands of Ixa'taka, enslaving the natives and burning their forests in order to find the Green Crystal. After a disastrous first encounter with Vyse and Co., De Loco becomes obsessed with defeating the Rogue.
There isn't much to say here; De Loco loathes Vyse with a passion, as he continously overcomes each of De Loco's elaborate schemes and inventions designed specifically to destroy him. And there's not much else more vexing than having someone, time and again, prove your best work inferior. Vyse, for his part, seems to view De Loco as more of an annoyance than as a serious threat....which only serves to incite De Loco more.

Alfonso
An Admiral in the Armada by birth, not by talent. Alfonso is rather useless and a liability for the Armada, but like many nobles by birth, he doesn't know that. He is the first Admiral encountered in the game; he has been sent to track down and capture Fina. He's rather cowardly, and in the face of danger, always lets someone else do the dirty work while he runs to safety.
There isn't much interaction between Vyse and Alfonso in the game after the opening sequence. While Alfonso clearly sees Vyse as a rival (albeit an unworthy one), Vyse only sees Alfonso as a (very) minor annoyance.

Vigoro
One of the strongest Admirals in the Armada, Vigoro sees personal physical strength as the greatest power. He views himself as irresistable to woman, although few see him that way, and he becomes obsessed with Aika after she (along with Vyse and Gilder) soundly beats him.
Again, there isn't a whole lot of interaction between Vyse and Vigoro (Vigoro is more of Aika's personal enemy). Vyse is clearly disgusted by Vigoro's coarse personality, and Vigoro is highly irritated that someone who appears so physically inferior (in terms of pure physical power, anyway :P) is apparently a better fighter and attracts more women than he does. Other than that, there's not much to say.

Ramirez
At first Galcian's vice-captain, Ramirez is later promoted to Admiral status. He is a Silvite, like Fina, and is sent down to Arcadia for the same reason as she. The reasons for his defection are at first unclear to Fina, but later become clear.
There is suprisingly little interaction between Vyse and Ramirez, even though Ramirez is one of the more prominent villians of the game. There is a distinct lack of confrontation between the two at the end of the game; Vyse (and Aika as well) both hold back as Fina makes her attempts to persuade Ramirez to join them. Later on, Vyse goes so far as to make it clear that he is fighting Zelos, not Ramirez, and at the very end of the game, gives him respectable funeral. In other scenes, Ramirez is usually trying to kill everyone, and makes that goal very clear, making Vyse's actions at the end of the game that much stranger. The game hints at Vyse and Ramirez being similiar as children (both had a thirst for exploration and sailing in particular, both were friendly and fairly open in childhood), which may explain the somewhat odd holding back at the ending. It's also likely that Vyse understands the closeness Fina still feels toward Ramirez, and thus tones down the conflict between them whenever possible.

Galcian
The Grand Admiral of the Valuan Armada. He is a brilliant tactiction; Galcian has never been defeated in combat. Under the command of Queen Teodora, Galcian is subjugating the other countries in the world and searching for the Moon Crystals. However, Galcian's ambitions do not end there...
As the main villian for the majority of the game, it's pretty obvious that Vyse and Galcian are not on good terms. In fact, of all the characters, it looks as if Galcian is the only one that Vyse truly hates, and the feeling, as far as I can see, is mutual. In the few scenes in which Vyse and Galcian directly interact, there is a distinct level of disgust on both their parts. There is a measure of respect, as there usually is between well-matched foes, but this respect is underscored by the obvious hatred the two have for each other. Such extreme dislike probably stems from the fact that the two have completely different views; Galcian's lust for pure power over people and heartless manipulation of others for his own good is so alien and disgusting to Vyse that he has a hard time simply showing respect for such a powerful person. Likewise, the carefree, uninhibited lifestyle and somewhat loose morals of the Air Pirates, coupled with their desire for material goods, is the antithesis of what Galcian believes in most. Another interesting note is the fact that, in many ways, Vyse and Galcian are similar--they're both highly charismatic, inspiring, wildly successful people. As a result, they both end up being leaders on opposing sides--which serves as more fuel to their hatred for each other.

*thanks to Princess Mint for providing the Gilder pic!