I don't know an awful lot about Red XIII from Final Fantasy VII, however I am aware that as a character Red XIII as a non-human character is quite well-liked, in fact I've heard from a number of fans that they prefer the lion-esque Red XIII over most of the human characters in the game. That's why I found him an ideal case to discuss.
So, it was necessary to look into this character and find out why he is so popular amongst FF fans - other than the fact that he's a badass-looking cat with the ability to talk.
Even though he is the least featured character, he strikes a chord with a large number of players. And while he is inspired by Native American culture -which goes without saying by his design and the nature of Cosmo Canyon, the place of which his tribe are the guardians - the fact that he is a beast detracts from any particular expectation from him. He isn't viewed as a Native American since he isn't even human, however his inspiration derives from it.
So why, when he is the least present character in the game, is Red XIII so particularly easy for people to relate to? As already said, there is no specific expectation from him to act or think in a certain way since he is a fictional race from a fictional culture. Regardless, he has a strong tie-in with the physical game world, having once been captured by the Shinra and now harbouring a strong resentment towards them. This is a very human, very identifiable emotion. Because he is entirely sentient, and suffers from internal struggles that the best part of the human race deal with, he is believable as an entity within his given world - despite the fact cats can't talk for real.
In this case it's not about him being real - it's about him being believable and having a tie with both the player and the game space. Not to mention the strange affinity that people have with animals as opposed to other humans. It's very likely people sympathize more with the character since he ISN'T human.
Red XIII experiences the fear of loss and longevity, battling with his all-too-human emotions that contradict his nature as a beast. The reason I point this out is because, yet again, it's something that strikes a chord with players since many have known loss. Okay, so we don't live as long as Red XIII - whose real name is Nanaki - but we all experience loss. Red XIII packs a hell of a lot more emotion than a lot of human characters.
The hypothesis behind this is that his characteristics have far fewer restraints as a non-human character than if he was human.
Even though he is the least featured character, he strikes a chord with a large number of players. And while he is inspired by Native American culture -which goes without saying by his design and the nature of Cosmo Canyon, the place of which his tribe are the guardians - the fact that he is a beast detracts from any particular expectation from him. He isn't viewed as a Native American since he isn't even human, however his inspiration derives from it.
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| Cosmo Canyon |
In this case it's not about him being real - it's about him being believable and having a tie with both the player and the game space. Not to mention the strange affinity that people have with animals as opposed to other humans. It's very likely people sympathize more with the character since he ISN'T human.
Red XIII experiences the fear of loss and longevity, battling with his all-too-human emotions that contradict his nature as a beast. The reason I point this out is because, yet again, it's something that strikes a chord with players since many have known loss. Okay, so we don't live as long as Red XIII - whose real name is Nanaki - but we all experience loss. Red XIII packs a hell of a lot more emotion than a lot of human characters.
The hypothesis behind this is that his characteristics have far fewer restraints as a non-human character than if he was human.
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