Rydia

Overview

Rydia, sometimes called Rydia of Mist, is a playable character in Final Fantasy IV.  She is a very popular Final Fantasy character that has inspired numerous works of art, cosplay, and renditions of her theme song, Rydia.

She is a Summoner from the village of Mist. Characters Cecil and Kain are manipulated by the King of Baron to deliver a Carnelian Signet (known as the Package or Bomb Ring in some translations) to this village in a plot to eliminate the Summoners who live there.

Everyone in the village, including Rydia's mother, is killed by the explosive destruction of the Carnelian Signet. Because of this tragic incident, Rydia has a fear of fire which she overcomes at a crucial point later in the story.
 
 
 

Rydia is the third character to join the player's party. Her abilities include White Magic, Black Magic, and Summoning. Rydia is the only character in the series that undergoes permanent transformation from child to adult. Although she can no longer use White Magic after this incident, her proficiency in Black Magic and Summoning is greatly enhanced. Rydia is voice cast by Noriko Shitaya in the Japanese DS version of the game and Daniella Macey in the NA DS version.

Rydia's Story

Rydia was born in the Summoner village of Mist. He mother was the guardian of Mist, and her Eidolon she used was Mist Dragon, to protect the village. When Cecil and Kain defeated her Eidolon, Rydia's mother also died. Kain and Cecil discovered this after they found Rydia. When the village was torched, Rydia over heard them talking, and afterwards Kain proposed they had to kill her. Cecil protested, and instead offered to help her. It was then that Rydia summoned Titan, causing a massive fissure that separated Cecil from Kain. After Cecil regains consciousness, he sees Rydia, and notices that she is badly hurt aswell. He then decided to take her to the desert kingdom of Kaipo. In the night, Baron soldiers find out Cecil is in Kaipo saying that all summoners must be eliminated. Cecil decides to ignore the King's orders, and effectively defeat the invading Baron soldiers. Rydia saw this as a sign that Cecil had good intentions, and joined the party. The next morning, they find Rosa, wounded at the house of good Samaritans in Kaipo. The doctor present at the time told them they must get the Sand Ruby, in order for Rosa to recover. During their quest, they meet Tellah, who insists on helping them to get to Damcyan.  Once they arrive, they see the Red Wings attack the castle, and they rush to the scene. Afterwards they find Tellah's daughter Anna, who dies just after Edward arrives.
 
 
 

Edward then offered to help Cecil and Rydia get to the Antlion's Cave, to get the Sand Ruby.

Afterwards, the party heads back to Kaipo and heal Rosa. The party decide d to head for  Fabul, where the next crystal was. They had to get past Mt. Hobs, which path was blocked by ice. Rydia was the only black magic user, but was too afraid of using fire, due to her home being burnt down. Rosa manages to convince her to learn fire. The party then stumbles across Yang fighting Golbez's troops, and the party then assists him. Yang takes them to Fabul, which predictably the Red Wings attack. Rydia and Rosa briefly left the party to heal injured soldiers. After the party holds off the soldiers, Kain turns on Cecil, and defeats him with ease, and Golbez takes Rosa as a hostage. Rydia finds the party and heals them effectively. The party thought the best course of action was to go to Baron by see to get an airship from Cid. However, along the way to Baron, the ship is attacked by Leviathan , and Rydia falls into the ocean, where Leviathan takes her to the Feymarch; The Land of Summons.
 
 

Rydia's next appearance is when the party face Golbez in the Dwarvens' Castle. Golbez summons the Shadow Dragon, but Rydia shows up, summons Mist Dragon, and easily defeats the shadow dragon, along with Golbez. However, Golbez still managed to take Dark Crystal of the dwarves. Rydia explains that Leviathan took her to the land of summons, where time moves faster. Also stating that she lost the ability to cast white magic, in exchange for more powerful Eidolons. The party ventures to the Tower of Babel where Yang sacrifices himself to help the group escape. At that moment, Cid comes to help the party with his airship, the Enterprise and tells Rydia to call him "uncle Cid." However, he too sacrifices himself for the party to help the party escape from the Red Wings. Afterwards, in Cave Eblana, they find Edge the ninja prince from the kingdom of Eblan, who is seriously wounded. Rydia, not wanting to see more death, cries as she explains this fact to everyone. Edge then decides to join the group, because he hates seeing pretty girls cry. Rydia ignores his obvious flirting.

 
 

Later in the game, when the party must journey to the moon, Rydia and Rosa are asked to leave the fighting up to Kain, Cecil, and Edge. However, Both Rydia and Rosa stowaway on the Lunar Whale. Rydia also mentions that she is the only one who can aide the party with Eidolons. The party is then convinced to let Rosa and Rydia help them, alone with the now reformed Golbez, and FuSoYa fight Zemus on the moon. As the party reaches the Lunar Core, they watch as Golbez, and FuSoYa defeat Zemus with ease. However, Zemus' hatred tranforms him into Zeromus. Zeromus defeats them with ease, and Golbez give the party the Crystal. However, they party eventually defeated the evil Zeromus, and peace was restored. At the end of the game, Rydia is scene in the Feymarch claiming that Eidolons and humans are not so different. saying "isn't that right, Cecil?"
 

 
 

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

 

Rydia makes an appearance in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years in a rather significant way - she has her own Chapter Story (available for download on the Wii Ware store and in the PSP release of the game, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection). Rydia and the Eidolons are pivotal to the overall story of the game as well.

 

Character Analysis

  

Rydia's name may or may not be a mistranslation from the Japanese  リディア which could be read as "Lidia" as well as "Ridia". In Greek, the name Rydia means rose petals on still water. The name Rydia is most often used as a female name. Ly dia is also a female name which means noble or of nobility. Rydia is easily identified by her green hair and alluring green outfit. Although nothing has officially been stated, these colors possibly signify themes of renewal, rebirth, and growth. In Japanese culture, the color green generally represents youth, vitality, and the energy of growth. Characters in manga and other Japanese RPGs who wear green are typically courageous and are sensitive to issues of forgiveness and vengeance. Sometimes, "green characters" experience close friends return from a point of no return to a more emotional degree than other characters which involves their character arch (ie. Chie Satonaka, Yusuke Urameshi, Piccolo, etc).

Age Ambiguity

  As mentioned in the overview, Rydia goes through a physical transformation that changes her from a child into a much older person. It's unclear just how old she is - and furthermore, it is unclear whether or not her time in the Feymarch has caused her to mature mentally as well. In Japan, it is typical for 16-18 year old people  to be considered "adults" (also, high school is not mandatory in most prefectures) which may roughly be the age that Rydia becomes after living in the Feymarch. According to sources provided by Square-Enix, Rydia is 7 years old when Cecil and Kain meet her in Mist.

 




 

Rydia Makes Special Appearances

 
Rydia, and her iconic green outfit, also appear outside of Final Fantasy IV. Rydia is featured as a "super rare" card in Lord of Vermillion II, a Japanese card/arcade action game.

Her outfit and red tiara from The After Years  make an appearance in Crystal Chronicles.

You can also purchase her outfit for your Square Enix Member avatar.

She even has a figurine based on her child appearance from the DS version of the game.

Changing Hair and Tiara

Rydia's hairstyle and Tiara also changes throughout the games that she is featured in. 

The original Yoshitaka Amano artwork for Rydia (adult) featured a large feather in her hair. Current versions of Rydia show her hair in variety of looks:


 

FFIV DS Cinematic: Long, feathered ends with a red gemmed tiara
FFIV DS In-game: High volume, wavy, with a large feather-like object in her tiara
FFIV The After Years: Long, feathered ends with a more intricate red gemmed tiara
Lord of Vermillion: Long, wavy with a green gemmed tiara
FFIV: The Complete Collection In-game: Long, wavy with a red flower-like, heart shaped gemmed tiara