| Rikku | |
|---|---|
| Final Fantasy character | |
 Rikku, as she appears inFinal Fantasy X. | |
| First game | Final Fantasy X (2001) |
| Created by | Tetsuya Nomura |
| Voiced by | EN:Tara Strong[1] JA:Marika Matsumoto[1] |
| Motion capture | |
| In-universe information | |
| Race | Al Bhed |
| Weapon |
|
| Home | Bikanel Island |
Rikku is a character in theFinal Fantasy series, created byTetsuya Nomura. Rikku first appears inFinal Fantasy X as one of its protagonists, where she accompanies her cousinYuna and others on a journey to defeat the monster Sin. Rikku again appears as a protagonist in the game's direct sequel,Final Fantasy X-2. In that game, she, Yuna, and new friend Paine journey to find missingFFX protagonistTidus.
Square originally planned to make Rikku the protagonist of her own game, but the developer cancelled the idea. In order to make a game revolving around a group of female heroes,Final Fantasy X-2's protagonists became Yuna, Paine, and Rikku. To reflect the changing social mores between game titles, Rikku wears much more casual and minimal clothing inX-2 than the games' predecessor.
Rikku generally received a positive reception, with herX-2 design receiving praise for its attractiveness. Some critics have considered her attire to be fan service, and her character development thin. Most fans, however, have expressed positive views of her cheerful and bubbly personality. The character has appeared on many lists of fans' favoriteFinal Fantasy characters.
Rikku first appeared inFinal Fantasy X.Tetsuya Nomura designed her as a 15-year-oldAl Bhed girl. She is Cid's daughter and Brother's younger sister. After the game's release, the video game press reported that she might get her own game, code-named "Rikku Version",[4] but was later confirmed to not be in the works. Rikku, along withYuna, were the leads ofFinal Fantasy X-2 and were the only characters fromFinal Fantasy X to appear.[5] Developers chose her in order to create a game that centered on women.[6] Tetsu Tsukamoto, the designer ofFinal Fantasy X-2's "alternate" costumes, explained that Rikku's outfit was the product of a cultural change in Spira, the world Rikku inhabits. The staff also wished to make that cast seem more physically active.[7]
Rikku is voiced byTara Strong in English and byMarika Matsumoto in Japanese. Strong was offered an audition byFinal Fantasy X casting directorJack Fletcher. Before her audition, Fletcher gave Strong recordings of the Japanese version of Rikku and a description of the character.[8] Many of Strong's lines ended with "you know" in order to match the English dub with the character's mouth movements, particularly to end the sentence with a vowel sound. They decided to make this a vocal tic for her.[9]
Rikku first appears inFinal Fantasy X as one of itsprotagonists. She helpsTidus when he first arrives as a stranger in Spira, but then she disappears during an attack from the monster Sin.[10] Upon meeting Tidus again at the Moonflow, she becomes the last character to join her cousinYuna's entourage of guardians. Rikku's attitude is somewhat childish but is mostly quite cheerful and positive. She does occasionally suffer from instances of anxiety. This feeling originates from being attacked by a fiend on a beach when she was young; her brother then tried to destroy it with a Thunder spell, but he missed and electrocuted her instead. Cid's sister married Braska, which makes Braska Rikku's uncle. This relationship also makes Rikku Yuna's cousin. Rikku wishes to prevent Yuna from going through with her summoner pilgrimage as she will die in the process of defeating Sin.[11][12] Rikku returns inFinal Fantasy X-2 once again as a protagonist, now 17 years old. She is also the one who convinces Yuna to leave the land of Besaid and go on a journey along with their new friendPaine. Rikku convinces Yuna by showing her a mysterious sphere featuring a person resembling Yuna's lost love,Tidus.[13]
Rikku appears in the gameTheatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call as a playable character. Her appearance resembles achibi-esque version of herFinal Fantasy X-2 character.[14] She also appears alongside Yuna and Paine inKingdom Hearts II as a miniature fairy version of herself wearing modified versions of herX-2 attire.[15] The gameItadaki Street Special features a miniature Rikku also in herX-2 outfit, along with Yuna and Paine.[16] Rikku also appears as a character in the gameWorld of Final Fantasy.[17]
Rikku, along with characters Paine and Yuna, received a series of singles performed by Marika Matsumoto in a collection called "Final Fantasy X-2 Vocal Collection - Rikku".[18] The three characters also had figurines produced by Play Arts. They were the first figurines Play Arts produced in-house.[19]
Rikku has received generally positive reception since appearing inFinal Fantasy X andX-2.Final Fantasy fans voted her the 13th best femaleFinal Fantasy character.[20]Famitsu readers ranked her as one of the best video game characters.[21] She has been identified as one of the most attractive female characters in and outside of the series byIGN,Play,UGO, andG4TV readers.[22][23][24][25][26]Complex identified her outfit as the main reason to playFinal Fantasy X-2.[27]Houston Press expressed disappointment that the story ofFinal Fantasy X focused so much on Tidus, noting how much more interesting the relationship between Rikku and Yuna was.[28]Game Informer identified her as a character they would like to be around due to an abundance of positive energy.[29]Digitally Downloaded enjoyed her character as well, noting she was their ideal rogue and praised her for her uplifting attitude.[30] They also found her a highlight ofFinal Fantasy X and hoped to see her inDissidia Final Fantasy.[31]
Game Informer was critical of the sexualization of Rikku, noting her as being underage.[32]Digitally Downloaded noted that her outfit inFinal Fantasy X-2 wasfan service. They also noted, however, that it was story-related as it demonstrated the liberation of her society from restrictive rules between games.[33] Despite enjoying her "bubbly personality" in the face of hardships, they felt that there was not much depth to her character, and that people were too focused on her outfit.[34]CNET felt Rikku was a highly underrated character, though noting that she was mostly known for her outfit and "being scared" than her engineering prowess.[35]
Tara Strong was awarded "Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance — Female" for her portrayal of Rikku by theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[36]Game Informer identified Rikku as one of Strong's most notable roles.[37]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Rikku: We're Al Bhed. Can't you tell? Wait, you're not an Al Bhed-hater, are you? /Tidus: I don't even know what an Al Bhed is.
Rikku: Hey, do I look like Yunie, you think? /Tidus: Huh? /Rikku: Well, my dad's sister is Yunie's mother, you get it?
Rikku: Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin. But then...but then... If she calls it, the Final Aeon's going to kill her! Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know! /Tidus: Was I the only one who didn't know...?[...] I can't let her die! I'll find her!
Yuna [voiceover]: It all began when I saw this sphere of you. At least, it looked like you. I couldn't say for sure. I thought I might find more spheres like it if I joined the Gullwings. So I did. Oh, in case you're wondering, the Gullwings are sphere hunters, and sphere hunters are, well...this! We fly all over Spira. I'm really enjoying myself.
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