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Call me Ishmael.
First, a bit of explanation: My video-gaming career began at age 2, when my family invested in that infamous Challenger of consoles, the Atari 5200. That was a major disappointment, as it broke almost instantly, and left my primitive mind yearning for something more. Years later, I played Duck Hunt at a Federated electronics store, and was sold on the NES, thinking I'd never need any other game but Duck Hunt. HA! What a fool! I noticed my older brother trying out the other game on the cartridge, something called "Super Mario Bros.", and was intrigued. Who or what was this mustachioed beast who picked on helpless mushrooms, stomping some and eating others? What of these "tuttles," as we called them before digging out the instruction booklet, and the strange flower that sometimes appeared when we really got on a roll? As these questions were answered, more blossomed, like a dandelion field of video mysteries.
My skills improved; I learned how to tell a Cheep-Cheep from a Podoboo, and learned that the evil tyrant's real name was "Bowser" and not "King Koopa" as everyone else seemed to think. The names were a particular bone of contention with me-- I recall sitting on a third-grade classmate's chest, slapping his face over and over, screaming "BLOOBER! Not 'Blooper'! BLOOBER!" Appallingly, we were still friends the next day. He must have been really desperate for companionship. (Even more appallingly, the game programmers made the same mistake years later in Paper Mario.) I had been sucked into what would become an enormous, sprawling, self-contradictory mythology.
It was a nigh-Lovecraftian horror to some of my other friends: I had developed brand loyalty to Nintendo. When the original, toaster-sized Game Boy hit the market, I was there. When my favorite system of all, the Super NES, arrived, I waited with open arms. But the true test of brand loyalty arrived when, one Xmas, a Sega Game Gear arrived unannounced... and although it was much appreciated, I never found myself asking for new games for it, and eventually sold it, with both cartridges (Sonic The Hedgehog, and Ren & Stimpy) for $50. My Nintendo systems would be happier without it hanging around to make them nervous anyway.
Back to that plumber and his misadventures. The SNES was my favorite system for several reasons, but one of the biggest was the RPG quotient. Lovers of role-playing games all know that the SNES library was loaded with RPGs, many of them peculiar by design. I was never a huge fan of the swords and sorcery genre, but thankfully the SNES was glutted with RPGs to such a dangerous obesity that it became necessary to innovate. Squaresoft, much beloved for their Final Fantasy games, wormed their way into my heart with my favorite video game of all time: Super Mario RPG. I was so engrossed with this deep, deep game that I didn't hear about how Squaresoft, disenchanted with Nintendo's bad business decisions, had made the jump to Sony and their johnny-come-lately Playstation system (which itself was cobbled together from discarded SNES CD-ROM plans-- what audacity!). They were not even the first of many. It took a long time for many of Nintendo's beloved franchises to return, but Squaresoft and Capcom were the biggest blows for a while. No wonder that I only own one N64 game that wasn't made by Nintendo itself.
So now it has become evident that my loyalty wasn't exactly well-rewarded with the previous system's reign. As much as I love my N64 and all fifteen games, Nintendo hasn't been "on top" for quite a while. And that mistake, gentle reader, is why I have no idea who any Final Fantasy character is... with the exception of the one shown here in four different interpretations.
Her name is simply White Mage, because her game, the very first Final Fantasy, did not give the characters "default" names. Like all of the most delightful anime girls, she's spunky, has nifty magic powers, and carries a hammer as big as my head. Unfortunately, the game itself gave us very little personality development for her and the rest of the characters, but (as always) a talented cartoonist saves the day. The comic strip 8-Bit Theater provides wonderful personalities for each character in the story. While it may not be Squaresoft-approved, it's a darn sight better than what the company itself offered.
The first of our White Mages, brought to my attention just two days after my challenge (more on that later), is by longtime contributor Stephen, who highlights her spirited personality and talent with one-use magic tomes. The second is from ZDemian, who worked her into his collection of Final Fantasy girls, and gave her a winsome expression and a very impressive girth. The third is by Roverpup, known here for his bunnygirl Callie, and he's put White Mage in a gentler, almost vulnerable light. The final is by Ukio379, no stranger to the art community but a stranger (until now) to my website; his interpretation is large, strong and determined, and could be read as the most maternal of the four.
Are you wondering what would have caused four unrelated artists to offer their interpretations of this lovely damsel? I was a little surprised myself to see all of these, but they were inspired by a joking blurb in the previous art archive. Since White Mage is the one character whose game I actually own, she's the only one I have any experience with, so I mentioned that if anyone drew her, I'd certainly have something to say. So they did, and so I did too. It's a self-sustaining ecology, you see.
This example provides an illuminating look into the heads of artists like myself and those who contributed to this update. A request for a specific will draw contempt, but a challenge piques interest. Would it have occured to anyone to draw White Mage had I not essentially dared them? I don't know. Will the artists' community respond this well to regular challenges, wherein I stoke their fires with random artwork suggestions? Time will tell. In the meantime, the four White Mages beckon thee.
This blurb is now a thousand words long. If PG-13 has patrons who can't read English, they must be sorely confused by now.
The rest is silence.
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