| Edea Kramer | |
|---|---|
| Final Fantasy character | |
 Concept artwork of Edea Kramer forFinal Fantasy VIII, as drawn byTetsuya Nomura. | |
| First game | Final Fantasy VIII (1999) |
| Created by | Tetsuya Nomura |
Edea Kramer (Japanese:イデア・クレイマー,Hepburn:Idea Kureimā) is a character and majorantagonist inFinal Fantasy VIII. ProtagonistSquall is sent to assassinate her, though it is later discovered that the SorceressUltimecia had Edea under mind control. It is also revealed that Edea was the matron for Squall and the other main characters at an orphanage years in the past.
Edea was created byTetsuya Nomura, who originally intended her to be an antagonist named "Witch" inFinal Fantasy VII who served the characterJenova, one of the game's major antagonists. The design went unused inFinal Fantasy VII, but because Nomura liked it, it was featured inFinal Fantasy VIII. She has received generally positive reception, being noted as an effective villain and praised for her dress.
Edea is one of three character concepts, along withFujin andRaijin, to have been created beforeFinal Fantasy VIII. Edea's design, created byTetsuya Nomura, was originally intended to be featured inFinal Fantasy VII and was known as "Witch". She was meant to be a servant ofJenova.[1] Nomura based Edea's design on the style ofYoshitaka Amano, who was the character illustrator ofFinal Fantasy VI and previous games.[2] This design was not used, but they chose to use this design for her inFinal Fantasy VIII due to how much Nomura liked her.[1][3] A scene depicting Edea murdering someone in front of a cheering crowd was met with speculation that Edea was mind controlling the audience, which was later confirmed in theFinal Fantasy VIII Ultimania guide.[4]
Edea first appears in thePlayStationrole-playing gameFinal Fantasy VIII.[5] Prior to the game's release, she was marketed extensively in promotional material such as trailers, screenshots, box art and game descriptions or summaries as its main villain.[6] She is initially presented as a power-hungry sorceress who seizes control of the government of Galbadia fromPresident Deling. Edea's motives are unknown, but the mercenary group SeeD dispatches Squall to assassinate her. The mission fails after Edea sends a bolt of ice through Squall's chest. It is later revealed that Edea is the wife ofHeadmaster Cid, and was the matron toSquall and the other protagonists who grew up in her orphanage. It is eventually explained that Edea was not acting of her own will, but was possessed by a sorceress from the future namedUltimecia. When Ultimecia's control is broken, Edea takes the side of SeeD in the struggle and joins Squall's party for a short time. However, Edea accidentally gives her powers toRinoa Heartilly, one of the Party members and fellow protagonist, making her a sorceress. After Ultimecia is defeated, a younger Edea meets Ultimecia and decides to have her powers absorbed, resulting in a time paradox.
Edea appears as a playable character inFinal Fantasy Record Keeper, while one of Ultimecia's designs inDissidia Final Fantasy is based on Edea's.[7][8]
Edea's likeness appears as an alternate outfit for Ultimecia inDissidia 012 Final Fantasy,[9] and also inDissidia NT as part of the "Edea's Corpse Appearance Set" DLC.[10]
Edea has received generally positive reception sinceFinal Fantasy VIII. Meghan Marie ofGame Informer and Brittany Vincent ofGame Revolution regarded her as one of their favorite video game characters and favorite character designs.[11][12] Chris Hodges ofScreen Rant identified her as one of the most interesting characters in theFinal Fantasy series.[13] Her outfit was praised by publications includingComplex andIGN.[14][15] Writers Brittany Vincent and Foster Kamer also ranked her as the 20th coolest video game villain, praising her for how the game shifts her from antagonist to likable ally.[15] Laura Burrows ofIGN complimented her attractiveness and discussed how her true personality does not take away from how powerful and vicious she was when she was possessed.[16] Matthew Walden ofGameSpot noted the difficulty of finding a villain with a gentler side than her, comparing her non-possessed form toMother Teresa.[17]
Chad Concelmo ofDestructoid included her in their list of "asshole" wizards in video games, due to how difficult an encounter with her turned out.[18] Robert Steinman ofRPGFan regarded her as an especially frightening villain, discussing how the twist regarding her true story as one of the strangest in the series.[6] He also drew a comparison between Edea's theme and the theme ofDisney villainMaleficent.[19] Paolo Papi ofBlasting News included Edea in his list of characters who are both sexy and deadly, discussing her use of her sexuality to "beguile her enemies".[20]Chris Greening ofVideo Game Music Online discussed how various themes are used throughout the game to demonstrate how Edea's character grows; he cited "The Sacrifice" and "Premonition" as identifying of Edea's dark side, while "The Successor" represents her true nature.[21]
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