Author Topic: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*  (Read 780 times)

maggiekarp

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General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« on: August 11, 2008, 03:35:45 pm »
Calling this thread this, but I do have a specific passage in mind to start us off.

In the Catacombs scene (quoted below) when Magil talks about mental walls, is he referring solely to Kid/Schala, or could he also be talking from personal experience?

It's safe to assume he's talking about Schala when you consider that the Frozen Flame Schala Explanation (also quoted below) matches the situation he described almost exactly, but that would also mean he knew exactly what Schala went through prior to being de-aged. He uses Kid as a specific example, though, so he could just be speaking of her and not Schala.

I wonder if he could have a similiar view on what happened to himself in his childhood. I know he's meant to be mysterious and he keeps to himself at all times, but if he does relate to this on more than a "it happened to my sis" level, and actually kind of admits to it, it could tell us a lot about Magus's history and character on the whole. He seems a bit too emotionally effected by the whole thing for it to just be Kid, and since Serge himself mentions that Magil resembled Kid, it seems to suggest a bigger link...

I could go on and on just about this part, how it relates to the other games and the character of Kid as well, but I think it's best to just ask for some thoughts for now.


Quote from: Catacombs Scene
I peer around the corner into the cell. In this dim, damp space, an old man
sits in solitude, quietly mumbling to himself.
"Hey, Mister..."
"Everyone.. and it was all because of me. Every last one of the Dragoons...
Miss Riddel... even the General...! Forgive me... please..."
Ignoring us, the old man continues to mutter, staring at the floor as he
rocks back and forth.
"Hey, can ya hear me?" Kid says, shaking the bars a little.
"He will not hear a thing. He has constructed a wall around himself," Magil
says.
"What do you mean?" I ask Magil.
"A wall, used for shielding one's mind from reality. After being exposed to
horrific events, tremendous amounts of pain and guilt has this effect on a
person. He has made a safe world inside his own mind, where he retreats
into. From there, he refuses to acknowledge anything he does not want to
admit."
I notice that talking about this has given Magil a sort of sad, lost look in
his face. Noticing my glance, he quickly turns away from me.
Strange... Magil somehow reminded me of Kid just then.
When Magil turns back, his usual blank expression has returned.
"Does this make sense to you, Serge?" Magil asks.

*"Yeah, it does..."
**"Maybe if you gave me an easier explanation..."

*Magil continues, looking at Kid and me. "We rarely see the walls we're
trapped within. However, given time, some can come to understand and
possibly even break free of these shortcomings... I... ..."
I wait for Magil to finish, but he doesn't end up saying anything. I'd ask,
but... oh well.
The mind... Revealing itself to itself...

**"Very well," Magil says, taking me aside. "For example, there was probably a
time when Kid was very different than who she is now. She couldn't have been
a thief her whole life, correct?"
Hearing this, I look over to Kid. Somehow she looks different than I've ever
seen her...
"Kid convinced herself to be a thief. However, on the inside, she's not as
rough as you think."
"I see... so in other words, there's a normal man trapped somewhere inside
all that mumbling."
"Aw, come on, enough with all this jibber jabber!"
"But Kid, we were just saying..."
Thwap!
I stare at Kid, rubbing the red mark left on my cheek.

Quote from: Frozen Flame
Long ago, in a far off kingdom, lived a girl. Because of her power, the kingdom
had come to an end, crumbling under its own weight. Many became engulfed in the
temporal vortex that was created, never to be heard from again...
...But not the girl. She lived on, enduring a much sadder fate... Running from
her past and fearing her future, she wanted nothing more than to be swallowed
up in the surging waves of the vortex of time...
Hating what she'd done, refusing what she'd said or heard, to simply continue
living was her curse. But the stone, It had other plans for her...Turning back
the hands of her clock, scattering her memories, she was granted another
chance. Since the precious stone was in her possession, she carried with her
all its will and power. And so, she was born into this era, returning to
reality as a mere infant...

wwfgd

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2008, 09:21:58 pm »
I haven't played RD in quite a while (or maybe I never finished it?), but based on CT I think your insight into Magus here is a sound one.  Remember what the Elder says about Janus in Zeal:

Quote
I heard from the Philosophers that Jyaki-sama hides an incredible magical power that surpasses even Sara-sama.  However, he hates that power, which drives the Queen mad and torments Sara-sama, and along with his heart...... he has shut that power away.

Imagine having the raw arcane talent of Magus and living in Zeal of all places without using magic AT ALL.  That seems like a clearcut example of a "mental wall"; it would be akin to an able-bodied person deciding never to walk.  Of course, Magus later embraces magic, but he never does unlock his heart (as far as we're able to see in CT).  What's most interesting to me about this sequence in RD is the suggestion that Magus is starting to recognize what he's done to himself and is trying to grow out of it.  Does that jibe with what you know about the rest of Magil's portrayal in RD?

maggiekarp

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2008, 11:52:13 pm »
I don't want to jump to conclusions, but it could be. Magil's got the whole Magus vibe down pat, you can tell it's him before any part of his past is revealed, but while he's always called emotionless and mysterious, he shows a lot more feeling than Magus did(optional smiles here and there, the hand on Serge's shoulder when the Mirror died [arguably just reminding him that there's still work to be done, but still an unusual tenderness from the character we knew]).

More than that, he seems annoyed by Kid's reckless quest for revenge... You could say that, since he knew Kid VS Lynx is a losing battle, he was just making sure Kid didn't die until she remembered who she was, but he could have also wanted to save her from turning out a miserable pile of dark and sad like him.

maggiekarp

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2008, 07:05:36 pm »
Yeah yeah double-post SUCK IT UP

Quote from: From the battle with that BASTARD LYNX!!!
I hurry over to Magil!
"Magil, are you okay!?"
"Don't worry about me...!"
"Dammit...!!"
Behind me, Kid moans in pain!
"Go, Serge! You're forgetting what's important...!"
Magil's eyes look straight over my shoulders.
"Don't repeat the same mistake I did! Protect... Kid..."
Wiping the sweat and tears off my face, I quickly rise to my feet!

Now Magus is a dude rife with failure and regret, but is this "mistake" referring to a specific event in CT or RD? Probably is but I cannot remember. Asking y'all before I go into theories and such.

V_Translanka

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2008, 11:00:23 pm »
Maybe he's referring to the Ocean Palace incident...? Either when he was simply Janus or later when he was the Prophet maybe...?

maggiekarp

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #5 on: September 21, 2008, 05:47:39 pm »
Makes sense, after I asked I figured that would be it...

Ho hum, anyone else play RD?

maggiekarp

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2008, 06:49:39 pm »
Double-post that everyone can enjoy! Now, in Cross, Serge is a 17-years-old Crono throwback, but in RD I don't think his age is ever specifically stated. However, he wrote Lucca's favorite song at least six years prior to the night of Le Tresor Interdit, and continued to be a traveling musician until he met Kid when she was around 13 years old. I know in Japanese things, especially RPGs, people have full lives by very early ages, but what would be a good approximation for Serge's age considering this info?

utunnels

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Re: General RD Script/Character Analysis Thread *SPOILERS*
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2008, 03:52:33 am »
Well, they did not just simply translate Japanese script into English(I'm talking about the demiforce translated version).
It includes some some extra works that make the story more fleshed, so maybe there're some slight differences between it and the original Japanese version.

Quote
*Magil continues, looking at Kid and me. "We rarely see the walls we're
trapped within. However, given time, some can come to understand and
possibly even break free of these shortcomings... I... ..."
I wait for Magil to finish, but he doesn't end up saying anything. I'd ask,
but... oh well.
The mind... Revealing itself to itself...

In the original Japanese script, this paragraph is much shorter, Magil says 'it is like one's face, you can't understand it immediately, but when time goes by, you will eventually understand.'

But in next paragraph (of course you can't choose both of them), Magil says 'Kid doesn't feel she's stealing now, instead, she feels she's just picking up her own goods.', that is an example for 'We rarely see the walls we're
trapped within.'

« Last Edit: November 07, 2008, 04:13:20 am by utunnels »