Main Characters
Julian is a free-spirited settler from Sinon. He has a strong sense of justice and doing what is right, often leaving him to take on other people's troubles. When Monika stumbled into the village, he quickly rose to offer his help.
After the prologue, his personal scenario involves choosing or refusing to become Monika's personal bodyguard. In other scenarios, he always becomes Monika's new bodyguard.
- Bodyguard Crush: Becomes smitten when Monika ends up in Sinon, and becomes her bodyguard in most scenarios.
- Book Dumb: Admits to Monika that he's not really one for books, be it reading or studying.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Quick to lend his aid to any that are in need.
- Country Mouse: Just a typical settler from a small village that has a speech pattern of a rube, which shows the cultural divide between him and Monika.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: His default weapon and has a natural affinity with the Swords/Greatswords skill.
- Permanently Missable Content:
- Only recruitable while Buné is attacking Loanne, leaving Loanne Castle accessible. Should the Wind Abyss Gate be closed without recruiting Julian, he becomes unavailable for the rest of that playthrough.
- Only available in Monika's scenario when choosing to run away from the castle. Opting to go through with the arranged marriage will cause events that leave Julian unrecruitable for the rest of that playthrough.
- The Power of the Sun: Has good affinity with Solar Arts.
- Praetorian Guard: Becomes Monika's bodyguard after Katarina gets banished, unless the player chose otherwise for Julian's scenario.
- Rags to Royalty: Goes from a commoner to being granted a Baron title in an ending he shares with Monika.
- Standard Hero Reward: Finishing his or Monika's scenario with each other in the party, they share an ending where the two of them become officially engaged to be married.
- Uncertain Doom: When going through with the arranged marriage in Monika's scenario, the events result in the shipwreck separating Monika and Julian. He disappears from the game, implying that he likely drowned.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Starts off the game trying to ask out his childhood friend Ellen, who bluntly shuts him down. Shortly after, Monika stumbles into the picture and his eyes are on her.
Thomas is a sensible and coolheaded settler from Sinon. He's skilled in many fields, ranging from cooking to magic to fighting with different types of weapons. Thomas is set to take over his father's company and heads off to Pidona to prove his business talents.
His personal scenario leaves him forming an alliance with the Fullbright firm to expand on his trading empire, with a successful first step leading to Fullbright suggesting Thomas proceed to create a monopoly and remove shady or corrupt businesses.
- The Ace: Skilled in physical and magical fighting styles, cooking meals, and economics. He says it was part of his father's strict way of raising him to become the next leader of the Brent family company.
- Character Select Forcing: Will always join the party for the sidequest of finding Gon in the Archfiend Palace, as long as there's room in the party.
- An Entrepreneur Is You: His personal scenario involves a questline of building up a trading empire, with his degree of success affecting his ending. The questline can be started by other main characters, too, as long as Thomas is in the party at the time.
- Jack of All Trades: Has a few levels in using Spear/Shortsword and Bow weapontypes, as well as basic Genbu magic. But while this leaves him versatile to a degree, he's not amazing in one particular field, and can easily get outshined by characters that specialize in one of his weapontypes.
- Making a Splash: Starts off with Squall, the basic Genbu Art.
- Magic Knight: Already has knowledge on using a few weapontypes and some magic.
- Merchant Prince: Comes from a family of skilled merchants situated in Pidona, and his personal scenario heavily revolves around the economics minigame of expanding his business' finances and influential reach.
- The Power of the Sun: Has an affinity with Solar Arts, stronger than his default Genbu Arts.
Khalid is a highly-skilled warrior from the destroyed Naj Kingdom. He uses his abilities to make his way through life as a sellsword and prefers to not get involved in other people's troubles, unless the payment is sufficient. Khalid's personal scenario involves him haunted by the memory of the Naj Kingdom's destruction and hopes to find a woman named Fatima again.
- Berserk Button: The Order, as they wages war on the Naj Kingdom and massacred its people. This means that Khalid absolutely refuses to don the robes to head into the Archlord Tower.
- Blow You Away: Has an innate affinity with Soryu Arts, befitting someone that was nicknamed the Tornado, because of his speed and skill.
- Cynicism Catalyst: The destruciton of his homeland by The Order has left him jaded and bitter.
- Failure Knight: Haunted by his inability to protect Princess Fatima when The Order attacked the Naj Kingdom.
- Hired Guns: Works as a mercenary.
- Master Swordsman: Has a strong affinity with swords and his skills on the battlefield have already gotten him a degree of fame.
- Named Weapon: Names any scimitar weapon he uses 'Khamsin' in honor of the Naj Kingdom's king's own scimitar that was actually called Khamsin. The actual Khamsin itself is his ultimate weapon.
- Only in It for the Money: All set to ignore Monika's plight and not get involved, as she didn't have any money on her person, and he doesn't work unless he's getting paid. His Greed counter begins at 14, just under the limit of being denied some sidequests caused by high Greed.
- Red Baron: The Tornado.
- Sinister Scimitar: His personal weapontype is a scimitar, but it's used to portray him as a warrior of the fallen Naj Kingdom.
- Stuck Items: The first weaponslot can't equip any weapon that isn't a scimitar type of sword.
Mikhail is the Marquis of Loanne and ascended the throne after his father's death three months ago. His people consider him a strong and fair leader, despite his young age.
His personal scenario involves his ruling of Loanne and how he can balance its population, finances, and influential power across the counry.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Performing a good job at increasing Loanne's standing across the country leads to Mikhail crowning himself Duke or King of Loanne, ascending past the title of Marquis.
- Big Brother Instinct: Incredibly protective of his little sister Monika, preferring to keep her in the safety of the castle's walls instead of letting her run outside and into danger.
- Blue Blood: Descended from the legendary Ferdinand, one of the Matriach's generals. The prologue begins because his relative Baron Godwin intends to usurp his position.
- Disc-One Nuke: Comes equipped with an Estoc and Lordly Armor, the former being the best buyable shortsword in stores and the latter being unique armor for him, making him a strong partymember in his, Khalid's and Katarina's prologue. Also has access to a personal storage room in his scenario that contains some powerful equipment.
- The Good King: Loanne's population considers him a just and fair ruler.
- The Leader: Has very high Charisma, which makes him a good option for Commander Mode.
- Magic Knight: Good at wielding shortswords and Solar Arts.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members:
- Cannot be recruited while Monika is in the party, as he'll always force her to leave and remain in the castle. However, he can be recruited if Monika is the protagonist.
- Cannot recruit Tatyana if he's the protagonist.
- Permanently Missable Content: Only recruitable while Buné is attacking Loanne, leaving Loanne Castle accessible. Should the Wind Abyss Gate be closed without recruiting Mikhail, he becomes unavailable for the rest of that playthrough.
- The Power of the Sun: Has a strong affinity with Solar Arts.
- Purple Is Powerful: The Marquis of Loanne and a strong fighter and magic user, clad in purple armor.
- Royal Rapier: His default weapontype, with a good affinity in Spears/Shortswords.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: More arrogant and coolheaded compared to his gentle and demure younger sister.
- Solar and Lunar: Sharing this dynamic with his sister, with him using Solar Arts and her Lunar Arts.
Sarah is the younger daughter of the Carson family from Sinon. She's a little gullible, but also very kindhearted and a little shy because of her overprotective and assertive sister. She admires Thomas because of his skills in various areas.
Her personal scenario doesn't alter much compared to the other potential protagonists, but Sarah makes up for this by having a unique aspect in the final battle.
- Anti Anti Christ: Set to be the one to inherit the Archfiend's legacy, spreading terror and chaos across the world again. Sarah has no desire to harm anyone.
- The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest of the eight main characters.
- The Chosen One: She's one of two people that survived the latest Death Eclipse, making her a Child of Destiny.
- Lunacy: Has a strong affinity with Lunar Arts.
- Mage Marksman: Her affinities leave her as an excellent bow-user, using long-ranged attacks and fire or moon magic to defeat her enemies.
- Playing with Fire: Has a strong affinity with Shucho Arts, on-par with her Lunar Arts.
- Shrinking Violet: Very shy and quiet, often bossed around by her older, overprotective sister.
- Solar and Lunar: Shares this dynamic with the Boy, as she's aligned with Lunar Arts and they are aligned with Solar Arts.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The shy and girly-girl compared to her outspoken, tomboyish sister.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: The final boss gets fought in a unique Commaner Mode when Sarah is the protagonist because Sarah has been removed from the frontline and can't be in the active party.
Ellen is the older daughter of the Carson family, and has a very overprotective streak when it comes to her younger sister. She's a shrewd person and comes across as hardheaded at times, but she always does have the best interest of people in mind.
She has a bit of a wandering note to herself, as she doesn't put much stock into planning things ahead and lets life take her where it goes.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Has a strong affinity with Martial Arts as a recruited character, making her one of the best unarmed fighters available.
- Big Sister Instinct: Very protective of Sarah, often insisting that she doesn't get involved in dangerous situations, or insisting that she stay in Sinon rather than heading off to new places on her own.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Has an affinity with Byakko Arts.
- Hot-Blooded: Has a fierce temper when it comes to fights, and is quick to anger when those she cares about are harmed.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tough tomboy to her demure sister's girly girl.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Keeps her hair in a ponytail, to contrast with Monika's straight cut and Sarah's curls.
Monika is the younger sister of the Marquis of Loanne and instigator of the prologue, when she overheard Baron Godwin planning to usurp her brother's position. She's demure and kind, but has a headstrong nature when pushed.
Her personal scenario overlaps with aspects of Julian's and her main decision is going through with an arranged marriage or to escape the palace.
- Arranged Marriage: Receives an official proposal to marry the Duke of Zweig's son, but nothing comes of it as Monika is considered 'lost at sea' while on the way there or runs off with Julian instead.
- Blue Blood: The princess of Loanne and descendant of Ferdinand, one of the Matriarch's generals.
- Damsel in Distress: Gets kidnapped by Godwin's monsters in her extended prologue.
- Hime Cut: Her bangs are cut straight across, symbolizing her nobilty.
- Lunacy: Has a strong affinity with Lunar Arts.
- Magikarp Power: Starts off with no skills in any weapon or magic, which allows her to become more versatile, though she has an affinity with Shortswords and Lunar Arts. Trained up enough, she can become a threat on the battlefield.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: Can't be in the same party as her brother, unless she or Julian are the protagonist.
- Permanently Missable Content:
- Can only be recruited while Buné is rampaging near Loanne. Closing the Wind Abyss Gate without recruiting her first leaves her unavailable for that playthrough.
- If Julian is the protagonist and Monika chooses to go through with the arranged marriage, the two of them are separated during the shipwreck and Monika becomes unavailable as a partymember.
- Rebellious Princess: Can choose to eshew her arranged marriage by running away from the palace with Julian.
- Royal Rapier: Her default weapontype, similar to her brother.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: Has been greatly protected by her older brother, leaving her with no real combat skills.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Gentle and demure compared to her coolheaded and more arrogant brother.
- Solar and Lunar: Shares this dynamic with her brother, whose affinity lies with Solar Arts and Monika's lies with Lunar Arts.
- Uncertain Doom: If Julian is the protagonist and Monika goes through with the arranged marriage, they get separated during the shipwreck and Monika isn't found anymore, implying she drowned. However, Julian's ending shows that Monika survived.
- Uptown Girl: A noblewoman that quickly develops an attraction to Julian, a country boy with nothing to his name. In their shared ending, Mikhail bestows a Baron title on Julian so that he's eligible to marry Monika.
Katarina is the personal bodyguard of Princess Monika and has been entrusted with the Masquerade, one of the Matriarch's holy relics that was left in the possession of the Loanne family.
After Gowdin's attempt to usurp the throne has been thwarted, Katarina gets tricked by the Jackal and the Masquerade stolen from her. She sets out to retrieve it, banished from Loanne until then.
- BFS: The Masquerade is a Shortsword that can transform into a Greatsword with its unique skill Alarm.
- Blue Blood: A noble of Loanne's court that became Monika's bodyguard. Her noble status and successful protection of the Masquerade makes her the unofficial fiancée of the current Marquis, Mikhail.
- The Exile: Failing to protect the Masquerade leads to Mikhail banishing her from Loanne, until she succeeds in retrieving the blade.
- Important Haircut: Cuts her long hair short to show her determination to find the thief and obtain the Masquerade back.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Fights in a floor-length gown in her prologue. After retrieving the Masquerade and gaining access to Loanne Castle, the player can choose to have her change back into her long gown for the rest of the game.
- Lady-In-Waiting: Served Monika as one, as well as being her bodyguard.
- Permanently Missable Content: Can only become playable by picking her as the protagonist.
- Playing with Fire: Has an affinity with Shucho Arts.
- Ship Tease: Clearly has feelings for Mikhail. Jackal took advantage of this by impersonating Mikhail, getting her to lower her guard enough to steal the Masquerade from her.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Never mentioned past the prologue in any other scenario, when she leaves to retrieve the Masquerade.
Recruitable Characters
The Minstrel wanders towns with many tales to sing about.
Little is known about this wandering musician, as he's found in several towns and always up to entertain with a song of the ancient legends or the latest events.
- The Bard: Uses Folk Song as a buffing tool during combat.
- Character Select Forcing: Refuses to leave the party once recruited, until at least one Sinistral has been defeated and their respective gate closed.
- Eye-Obscuring Hat: Wears a poofy hat that hides most of his face.
- Jack of All Trades: Has equal affinity with all weapon types and magical arts, with a minor penalty in Lunar Arts.
- Multi-Melee Master: Can effectively use any weapon type the player equips him with, making him one of the most versatile partymembers.
- No Name Given: Only ever referred to as Minstrel, Poet, or Bard.
- Recurring Character: Design-wise based on the Minstrel of Romancing Saga 2, and a recurring type of character in the series, with his actual plot importance or playability depending on the game.
- Stuck Items: Has a Minstrel's Fiddle equipped in his weapon row that can't be removed, but does allow him to use Folk Song.
- Wandering Minstrel: Wandering the world to sing about tales of heroship.
Fullbright XXIII is the latest generation of the family. He's the current head of the Fullbright Firm and offers an alliance with Thomas, in order to improve the Bent's trading empire, and stamp out shady companies like the Dophore Group.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Has several Byakko Arts when recruited.
- Jack of All Trades: Has equal affinity with every magical arts type, with the exception of Lunar Arts, making him an excellent pure-spellcaster partymember.
- Merchant Prince: His family has been in the trading business for centuries, including having been a known associate of the Matriach.
- Power of the Sun: Has a few Solar Arts upon recruitment.
Muse is the heir of the Claudius family. She lives in the Old Town of Pidona alongside Charl, watching over the children. She rarely leaves the bed as her health has been delicate lately.
- Deep Sleep: Falls into one upon drinking the Dream Eater's Serum, with the eponymous sleep-demon plaguing her dreams with monsters that are slowly devouring her soul. Awakening her will cause her to become recruitable.
- Fallen Princess: Her family was stripped of its noble title and wealth, after her father was killed when Ludwig's regime took over Pidona. All that Muse retains from her legacy is a unique gem that Maximum stole while she was asleep.
- Friend to All Children: Watches over the orphaned children in Pidona's Old Town.
- Lady and Knight: The lady to Charl's loyal knight.
- Lunacy: Has a strong affinity with Lunar Arts.
- Magikarp Power: Has no skills in any weapon type or magical art when joining, but her parameters allow her to become an exceptionally strong spellcaster rather fast.
- Overrated and Underleveled: Her amazing magical arts growth and lack of skills becomes a hinderance if she's recruited late into the game, leaving many players to leave her aside.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Gives one to the Dream Eater, transformed into her father, before one-shotting him.My father is no longer here!
- Required Party Member: Always joins the party inside of her nightmare before confronting the Dream Eater, as the party always consits of four recruited characters and Sharl, leaving space for Muse to join.
- Squishy Wizard: Has only 6 LP and poor Stamina, but is an amazingly strong spellcaster if trained up enough.
Tatyana wanders the streets of various cities and loves to play tag with people, but always giving a false name of various sweet foods when recruited. She's actually the runaway youngest daughter of the Rzhyev family in Ryblov, and its heir.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: What her older siblings consider her, finding her immature and frustrating.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Only 14 years old, making her the youngest character in the party.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: Has four older siblings, all more than a decade older than she herself, and none of them seem to like each other when talked to in town.
- Character Select Forcing: Refuses to leave the party once she forcefully joins by bumping into the hero often enough. She does leave, if you head into Ryblov with her in your party.
- Edible Theme Naming: The aliases she gives when joining are all based on sweet dishes or dessert foods, as they are all her favorite types of things to eat.
- I Have Many Names: Her alias can change for every playthrough and her affinity for Lunar or Solar Arts alters with the name. note
- Lunacy: Has a default affinity with Lunar Arts, though several of her aliases have extra affinity with them, depending on which one she uses. Candy has the highest affinity.
- Meaningful Name: Her aliases are all based on her favorite foods. They were to be part of her birthday dinner, but she overheard her older siblings planning to poison them and get rid of her as the heir. She uses those names to never forget why she escaped her family.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: Cannot be recruited if Mikhail is the protagonist.
- Parental Favoritism: Mentioned to be the favorite of her father when talking to the inhabitants of Ryblov.
- Practically Different Generations: All of her siblings are at least two decades older than she, with her oldest sister mentioning a gap of at least thirty years.
- The Runaway: Ran away from her home after overhearing her older siblings planning to poison her favorite foods on her birthday.
- Sibling Murder: Her older siblings planned to poison her birthday dishes to get her out of the picture, so that she won't inherit the vast fortune of the Rzhyev family. She ran away before they could.
- Stuck Items: Has a Teddy Bear equipped in her armor slot that can't be removed, but it gives her minor defense and a resistance to cold attacks.
- Youngest Child Wins: Will inherit the vast fortune of the Rzhyev family, much to the annoyance of her older siblings, while her oldest brother will inherit the family firm.
Charl is an ex-Runeblade warrior and Muse's partner.
He served under Lord Claudius when he was still in the army, but left when Claudius was killed after Ludwig took over. He lives with Muse in the Old Town parts of Pidona.
- Artificial Limbs: The Silver Glove serves as one to him, as equipping it restores his impaired hand's functionality.
- Handicapped Badass: Has a severely damaged hand that greatly reduces his physical strength. Equipping the Silver Glove removes this disadvantage, making him a strong, physical fighter.
- Killed Off for Real: Will die if he proceeds into Muse's Nightmare on his own.
- Lady and Knight: The knight to Muse's demure lady.
- Magic Knight: Fought as a Runeblade in the Pidona army, being a physically strong fighter that has the ability to cast magic.
- Playing with Fire: Has several Shucho Arts when recruited, which can't be exchanged for any of the other earthly elements.
- Required Party Member:
- Gets taken along for Thomas' scenario when heading into the Archfiend's Palace to find Gon. Also joins other characters, as long as there's room for him to join after Thomas does.
- Must be taken along into Muse's Nightmare, as he's the initiator of the plan.
Nora works in her family's workshop in Pidona.
Her workshop was famous for having been founded by the person that crafted the Matriach's Spear, but it was stolen, and her father murdered when he tried to investigate the culprit. She plans to find them and get her revenge.
- The Blacksmith: Comes from a long lineage of blacksmiths. Should she leave the party, she can be tasked with joining Cain and any returned apprentice to craft weapons and armor.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Has an affinity in Byakko Arts.
- Multi-Melee Master: Has a proficiency in the Axe/Club weapontype, but comes equipped with a club and a spear.
- Permanently Missable Content: Can't be recruited again after being set to craft weapons and armor for the party.
- Wrench Wench: Has a proficiency in using and crafting strong weapons, having been taught by her deceased father the trade of her family's long history.
Ward is a man from the north and does some odd jobs.
He wanders around looking for people in lending him a hand of controlling the population of monsters that would make the upcoming hunting season dangerous.
- Ambiguously Related: Descends from one of the Matriach's twelve Generals, which leaves him distantly related to Mikhail and Monica.
- BFS: Has an affinity for Greatswords.
- Hunter Trapper: His job by trade, and his sidequest involves asking the party to help him fight monsters in the Arctic Lake to make the next hunting season a bit safer.
- Mighty Glacier: Has low Speed, but an excellent HP growth, leaving him to take and deal a lot of damage.
- Mountain Man: Has the look and trade of one, including being recruited in a far nothern village that's covered in snow.
- Permanently Missable Content: His sidequest becomes unavailable if the Greed is too high, also leaving Ward impossible to be recruited for that playthrough.
Paul left Kyrdlund to become an adventurer.
His plans didn't work out and he joined a gang of thieves, but clearly is not happy with their modus operandi. He can leave them, with a promise to return to his home.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Will join the party if they get kidnapped by the thieves, as long as it contains a female member. He leaves as soon as they reach the exit for the Thieves' Hideout.
- Lovable Rogue: Cares more about the well-being of his girlfriend Nina than treasure, despite being a thief for a long time.
- Permanently Missable Content: Can't be recruited if Nina hasn't been rescued during the Sacrificial Cave sidequest.
- The Power of the Sun: Has a minor affinity with Solar Arts.
Herman watches the sea in Great Arch.
He's an old pirate and offers to show people in exchange for some Aurum the location of the treasure that the legendary pirate Black had acquired. He seems to be hiding a secret about his identity, and has quite a grudge with Forneus, the Sinistral of Water.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Getting Black into the party becomes this in the remaster, as any skills taken over in New Game Plus are based on Herman's levels. Meaning that increasing any of Black's skills are thrown away in a new playthrough.
- Blow You Away: Has an affinity with Soryu Arts, starting with two of them when recruited.
- Curse: Was cursed to become elderly by Forneus.
- Dub Name Change: Was always referred to as Black in the original version, but the remaster added the last name 'Sparrow' as a reference to Jack Sparrow.
- Dressed to Plunder: As a pirate, it's his chosen attire.
- Locked into Strangeness: His white hair is part of his curse.
- Pirate: An elderly, retired one. Though he's not actually elderly.
- Required Party Member:
- If he hasn't revealed the location for Black's treasure yet when the Dolphin Statue is needed, he insists on joining as Herman refuses to tell the location of the treasure otherwise.
- Must be in the party to uncover Maximus' real identity and start the sidequest to obtain the Matriach's legendary relics, including the Masquerade.
- Seadog Peg Leg: Has a wooden peg instead of a left, lower leg. His younger self has two intact legs, though.
- Secret Identity: Actually the legendary pirate Black Sparrow, cursed by Forneus to become elderly. He reverts to his true, younger self if he's in the party when Forneus is defeated in the Undersea Palace.
Vampire Earl Leonid resides in his castle in Podorui and calls upon a beautiful maiden to join him every so often, with the promise of beauty and life. He possess the Holy Grail, an item that once held the Matriach's blood in it.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: On good terms with the nobles of Loanne and the inhabitants of Podorui don't mind his calling some of their beautiful women to grant them immortality in his castle.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Exceptionally handsome, with curls that reach down his back.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: Can't be recruited in Monika's scenario because her events leave her incapable of participating in the Zweig Tournament.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Comes with unique Abyss magic that can charm and drain health from foes, but is incapable of learning any elemental spells. He also has 0 LP, instantly reviving outside of battle.
- Permanently Missable Content: Dropping Leonid from the party after equipping the Holy Grail on him leaves him incapable of being re-recruited.
- Really 700 Years Old: Immortal as a vampire and almost a millenia old, as he was around for the Matriarch's and the Archfiend's rule of power.
- Vampire Vords: His first words when meeting Monika in the prologue.Velcome, Lady Monika.
Robin is a masked hero, defending the citizens of Yarmouth.
He dramatically enters upon any scene of the citizens being put in danger, with his sight mostly set on the shady Dophore Firm that runs its business in town.
- Blow You Away: Has an affinity with Soryu Arts and starts with several spells when recruited.
- Large Ham: Full of theatrics and antics, often announcing his appearance on the scene with a loud, boastful laugh and then descends from rooftops or ceiling beams.
- Magic Knight: Talented in using blades, along with his innate wind spells.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: With the Stand-In/Fat Robin, obviously.
- The Power of the Sun: Has a minor affinity with Solar Arts.
- Secret Identity: Actually Lime, the seemingly timid Seahaws Bar employee.
- Super Hero: Obvious copy of Zorro with his dark cape, the R on his black bandanna, and the rapier as a chosen weapon.
Stand-In Robin is a second hero protecting the citizens of Yarmouth.
With a noticeable difference in bodyshape and size, this stand-in or fat Robin comes out when Robin himself is out and about or otherwise indisposed.
- Acrofatic: Has a high Speed, despite being short and round.
- Epic Fail: Appears to save Lime from the Dophore Firm's men and leaps onto a barrel to make his dashing exit, only for the top to break under his weight and Robin gets stuck inside.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: With the regular Robin, obviously.
- The Power of the Sun: Has a high affinity with Solar Arts.
- Secret Identity: Actually Trucks, the chubby bartender of the Seahawks Bar.
Undine leads the northern half of Mahzoz.
She takes in many apprentices to teach them the art of water magic, preferring to find young and handsome men. She's at odds with the fire magician Volcano to the south.
- Arch-Enemy: With Volcano, splitting the town in half over something inside of Dead Man's Well.
- Cutting Off the Branches: Re:Universe states that the heroes sided with Undine against Volcano.
- Dual Boss: Fought alongside Volcano if the party chooses to head into Dead Man's Well and getting its treasure for themself.
- Killed Off for Real: Should the party side with Volcano and assassinate her.
- Making a Splash: Has an extremely high affinity with Genbu Arts, making her the most powerful water spellcaster in the game.
- We Used to Be Friends: Re:Universe shows that she discovered Volcano's innate talent for Shucho magic and became his mentor. The incompatibility of their respective schools of magic caused them to drift apart.
Peony is a fairy that was kept captive in the travelling circus called Show of Wonders. After being freed, she returns to her home of the Fairy Village inside of the jungle near Ache.
Shows her gratitude for the rescue by revealing which color of butterfly to follow, to definitely reach the Fire Palace inside of the jungle, where Aunus and the Fire Abyss Gate are located.
- Ambiguous Gender: Listed as 'genderless' in the remaster, and has the ability to charm male and female enemies.
- Dub Name Change: Given the name of Peony in the remaster, as she was originally only known as Fairy.
- Floral Theme Naming: Called Peony in the remaster, with the peony flower having many positive connotations. One of them being prosperity and good fortune, and this Peony is the only fairy that won't tease the player by giving them the exact information they need to locate the Fire Abyss Gate.
- Permanently Missable Content: Can't be recruited if the player decides to visit the Show of Wonders, and then not follow the crying sounds they hear the next night.
- Stuck Items: Has a tunic called 'Scarf' that can't be removed. It renders her immune to ground-type attacks, but leaves her susceptible to anti-wind-type attacks.
Tiberius is the head priest of The Divine Order, having previously waged war against the Naj Kingdom. He's of high faith and eagerly awaiting the next Child of Destiny to reveal themselves, believing that they will become what The Order calls the 'Archlord'.
- Elemental Powers: Has equal affinity for all earthly magic, meanig he can equally improve in any of them, despite starting with Genbu Arts.
- Evil Old Folks: Started the war against the Naj Kingdom for not following The Order's demands.
- Making a Splash: Starts with some Genbu Arts.
- The Power of the Sun: Also starts with some Solar Arts.
Flurry is an animated snowman found in Frostburg, a town filled with nothing but those that are like him. He wishes to leave Frostburg and experience the world outside of his icy home.
- Accidental Tickle Torture: Done by the protagonist when interacting with Flurry in Frostburg, who eventually moves around enough to reveal that all the snowmen in town are sentient.
- Ambiguous Gender: Listed as 'genderless' in the remaster, which allows him to successfuly charm male and female enemies. Usually talked about with male pronouns, though.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Has a strong affinity with Martial Arts.
- Dub Name Change: Given the cold-themed name of Flurry in the remaster, as he was only known as Snowman in the original version.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Should Flurry be the last surviving member in the active party while fighting Aunus, he'll use the Everfrost Crystal item to defeat the Sinistral and die alongside him as revenge.
- Making a Splash: Has innate affinity with Genbu Arts.
- Older Than They Look: Mentions that he previously left the village with the Matriarch herself upon being recruited, meaning he's at least 300 years old.
- Stuck Items: The 'Everfrost Crystal' accessory because he needs to wear it to survive outside of Frostburg.
Boston is a lobster-man that lives at World's End with the others of his tribe. They know the location of Forneus' Undersea Palace and are under threat of the Water Dragon, to ensure they won't tell anyone.
Boston wishes to ride on Vanguard itself and see the world.
- Ambiguous Gender: Listed as 'genderless' in the remaster and can charm male and female enemies. Usually referred to with male pronouns, though.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Has an affinity with Martial Arts, making him one of the strongest Martial Art users in the game.
- Glass Cannon: Has an incredible physical attack and required armor that gives a permanent 25% boost to his water magic, but said armor leaves him susceptible to blunt attacks and the only other equipment he can wear are accessories like rings.
- Making a Splash: Has an innate affinity with Genbu Arts.
- Permanently Missable Content: Closing the Water Abyss Gate without defeating the Water Dragon at World's End first leads to Boston and the rest of the lobster men to be wiped out.
- Punny Name: Named after the Boston Crab
, a wrestling term that matches Boston's innate affinity for Martial Arts. - Stuck Items: His 'Lobster Mail' armor, as it's actually his own shell. The upside is that it has a permanently 25% boost to his water magic, but leaves him weak to blunt attacks.
Rukh is an elephant-man that lives in Rashkuta, an Eastern town that's under a spell of the Archfiend. He's concerned for his brother, who has been stuck in a comatose sleep for many years.
In gratitude of awakening his brother from his sleep, Rukh can be recruited.
- Dub Name Change: Given the name 'Rukh' in the remaster, as he was originally only referred to as Elephant.
- Permanently Missable Content: Can't be recruited without waking his brother up from his sleep, which requires the Boy or Sarah in the party, and they are not available if all four Abyss Gates have already been closed.
- Stone Wall: Has the highest count of 36 LP for any playable character in the game, and second-highest in the entire series. This gives him a high survivability in battles, and perfect usage of the Dragon Descent spell, which takes one LP for every hit the character receives during battle.
- Stuck Items: Wears a 'Cotton Shirt' that can't be removed, though he can fortunately still wear suit-types of armor.
Bai Meinyang is a strong magician from the East, renowned for her power and wisdom. She has close relations with the city of Xuan, sometimes even stepping on some toes to ensure that its government doesn't do anything stupid.
- Blow You Away: Has a strong affinity with Soryu Arts.
- Cool Old Lady: Overall a cool and chill old lady, willing to do the right thing and not above calling someone an 'Idiot!' for doing something wrong, regardless of who they are.
- The Gadfly: Enjoys teasing and mocking people, with her cutscene in the ending even showing her casting magic just to scare some people for her amusement.
- Old Master: One of the most powerful magicians in the world, she also was the former teacher of Yang Fan and Zhi Ling.
Zhi Ling lives in Muenge village and is one of Bai Meinyang's students. She's eager to leave the East as she's very curious about what the West is like.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Has an affinity for Martial Arts, but her Speed is low enough that she doesn't excel in it.
- Character Select Forcing: Will always join for the quest of defeating the Zelmnas, even if the party is full with six members, as Bai will take the sixth out of the party for Zhi Ling to join.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Hates being called 'Lin Lin' by her master, citing that she isn't a young child anymore.
Yang Fan is the army general and top-man from the city of Xuan, and a former apprentice to Bai Meinyang. He's overall strict and just when it comes to making decisions, though he sometimes errs on the side of caution to not let any harm come to his home.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Starts off with quite some skill in Martial Arts, but he's not as amazing as other Martial Art-focused characters, like Boston or Ellen.
- Blow You Away: Has an affinity with Soryu Arts, just like his old mentor Bai Meinyang.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Has an affinity with Byakko Arts, just as strong as his Soryu Arts.
- Late Character Syndrome: Becomes the last recruitable character after closing all four Abyss Gates, and approaching the penultimate fight before heading into the final area. While his skills may be strong, he's unlikely to be as strong as the oldest recruitable member in the party.
- Lunacy: Starts off with some Lunar Arts.
- Magic Knight: His overall growth serves to be a good mash of fighting physically with Martial Arts, along with an adequate growth for magic. His physical strength isn't enough to warrant focusing on strength-based weapons.
An unnamed young boy wearing Eastern-styled clothes and often found in the pubs of various towns. Interacting with him results in repeatedly being rebuffed, preferring his solitude.
He's actually a Child of Destiny and therefore sought by the Sinistrals to open the Abyss Gates, so they can roam the world again instead of merely sending phantom versions of themselves through.
- Blow You Away: Has a strong affinity with Soryu Arts.
- Character Select Forcing: Always forced into the party for the final area because only a Child of Destiny can open the gates to enter the Abyss itself, though he can be recruited early if Sarah is the protagonist.
- The Chosen One: One survivor of the latest Death Eclipse, with Sarah being the other one to have survived. His destiny is set to become the successor to the Matriarch's legacy.
- Doom Magnet: Considers himself one because of his destiny since childhood, with monsters intending to kidnap and force him into opening the Abyss Gates. Every one of his parental figures has met with bad fate, with Rukh's brother having it easier by having been placed into a coma.
- No Name Given: Never has his name revealed, though it's possible he doesn't have one or remember it, with everyone that ever took care of him dying or otherwise being rendered incapacitated.
- The Power of the Sun: Has a strong affinity with Solar Arts, on-par with his Soryu Arts.
- Solar and Lunar: Has this dynamic with Sarah, as she has an affinity with Lunar Arts and the boy is aligned with Solar Arts.
Other People
She survived the previous Death Eclipse, being the second Child of Destiny known in history. She uprooted the world by going against what her predecessor the Archfiend did, and she sealed the Sinistrals back into the Abyss by closing their gates.
- Legend Fades to Myth: Several of the stories told about the Matriarch are widely viewed as legends or fairy tales, as accounts of the Matriarch's life haven't been properly chronicled. The only evidence that can be certified are descendants of her family, the Mausoleum that serves has her grave, the Fullbright Firm, and armaments she and the Archfiend has used. Even the Vanguard being a mobile seaship city has become mere lip-service to its inhabitants.
- Mystical White Hair: Always has long, silvery-white hair when she physically appears, befitting a person said to have a great destiny on their shoulders and becoming a legend to the people.
- No Name Given: Only ever referred to as the Matriarch. Even when Re:Universe elaborates on her background, she's still merely called by her title.
- Posthumous Character: Lived several centuries ago.
Nina is a common woman living in Kyrdlund. Her town is set upon by a beast demanding a sacrifice, and she rescues the hero when they get locked into the cave by the mayor. Her actions cause her to be chosen as the next sacrifice.
She's in a relationship with Paul, a recruitable character that she says left the town some time ago to become an adventurer.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blonde hair kept in pigtails, and she doesn't hesitate to rescue the imprisoned hero from the cave, stating that sacrificing a life for the sake of the town isn't the right way.
- Killed Off for Real: If Algernon can't be brute-forced or the player doesn't receive the Eraticator in time, Nina ends up devoured by the rats.
- Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: Defeating Algernon in time leaves the hero lamenting how Nina was sacrificed, only for her to appear behind them and shaking them out of their grief.
The Professor is a female scientist that lives in Westos Forest, free to perform her various odd creations. She's quite in love with her own genius, even having her own song and dance praising it.
- Mad Scientist: Creates various creatures that she lovingly refers to as her pets. They include not only a white rabbit and cat-squirrel mixture, but also a hyper-intelligent rat called Algernon that's terrorizing Kyrdlund and an out-of-control sentient car called Nacht Zweiger.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Falls into a state of despair when her latest creation the Nacht Zweiger goes out of control and rampages the area around Zweig. She does snap out of it fast, telling the hero to take care of things and lending them a tool as aid.
- No Name Given: Only known as The Professor.
Volcano leads the southern half of Mahzoz.
He's at odds with Undine in the north, as both of them are fighting over a treasure found in the Deadman's Well. He offers the heroes money to assassinate Undine for him.
- Arch-Enemy: With Undine, to the north of town.
- Cutting Off the Branches: Re:Universe states that the heroes sided with Undine in the feud of Mahzoz.
- Playing with Fire: An exemplary spellcaster in the Shucho Arts.
- We Used to Be Friends: Re:Universe reveals in an event that Undine discovered a young Volcano because of his potential in magic and taught him everything she knew. Their respective, conflicting ways of teaching magic caused them to drift apart.
- You Kill It, You Bought It: Choosing to assassinate Undine leads to Volcano taking command of the local Genbu magicians, so that the Vanguard can be made mobile again.
Maximus is the leader of the Pidona divison of The Divine Order.
He has his hands in various events and seems to focus on collecting an array of antique treasures, much to the confusion of The Order's people and the Pidona citizens.
- Distinguishing Mark: Noted to be the only one in the Pidona church to wear a red earring. It's a red coral earring that Jackal is known to wear. He also has a tattoo on his right arm.
- Looks Like Jesus: Leaves his long hair open and couples it with a long, brown beard.
- Master of Disguise: Manages to perfectly impersonate Mikhail in Katarina's prologue, to the point that she lowered her guard and he managed to steal the Masquerade from her.
- One Degree of Separation: He's the one that stole the Masquerade from Katarina, and is the one that stole the Matriach's Spear from Nora's forge, as well as having killed her father when he came too close to figuring everything out.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Herman or Black calls Maximus out in the Pidona church, he sets monsters loose in the area and runs away through a secret passage to the Archlord tower.
- Secret Identity: Actually the Jackal, a ruthless pirate known for his violence and said to have gone missing some time ago.
The Abyss Sinistrals
Alloces is the Sinistral of Earth.
His gate is located in the depths of the Archfiend Palace.
- Bishōnen Line: His true form in the Abyss is a muscle-packed, shirtless man with long, flowing blond locks.
- Dishing Out Dirt: His personal element, along with using some Byakko Arts while fought in his phantom form.
- Horse of a Different Color: His phantom version rides into battle on what appears to be a two-headed, quadpedal dragon.
- Warm-Up Boss: His gate is the easiest to locate, as it's located in the Archfiend Palace's depths in Pidona, which is one of the earliest locations visited past the prologue.
Forneus is the Sinistral of Water.
His gate is located in the Undersea Palace, kept safely hidding below the ocean.
- Bishōnen Line: His true form is a handsome, green-haired young man whose clothes are seemingly made of water, the complete opposite of his phantom version being a monstrous fish.
- Fiendish Fish: His phantom version is a giant, scaley fish that can swallow partymembers whole.
- Knight of Cerebus: Serves this purpose as his minions suddenly infiltrating Vanguard at night and murdering an innocent, happy couple is the first time that the Sinistrals and their potential horror for the citizens really strikes the player, as most of the monsters beforehand were wild life or human thieves.
- Lord of the Ocean: The indisputable ruler of all waters.
- Making a Splash: His personal element.
- Ontological Inertia: Defeating Forneus while Herman is in the party leads to the curse being broken and revitalizing him back into Black. However, Herman remains unchanged if he wasn't recruited.
Aunus is the Sinistral of Fire.
His gate is located in the Fire Palace, hidden somewhere inside of the jungle near Ache.
- Hero Killer: Can be this if fought and he defeats every partymember except for Flurry. Flurry will use the Everfrost Crystal to kill Aunus, dying alongside him because Flurry can't survive without it.
- Playing with Fire. His personal element, and he has a permanent fire shield up that damages anyone that attacks him physically.
- Sinister Scythe: His phantom version uses one as his main weapon.
Buné is the Sinistral of Wind.
Her gate is located on the Taftan Mountain.
- Blow You Away: Her personal element.
- Cute Monster Girl: Her phantom and true form are very beautiful for being a Humanoid Abomination of absolute terrror.
- Expy: Of Barbariccia. Both are the sole female enemy in a group of elemental evils to fight, and both use the wind element.
- High-Altitude Battle: Can be fought in the skies by teaming up with Gwayne and riding the dragon into battle.
- Revenge: Only becomes available to fight when she attacks Loanne as revenge for one of the other Sinistrals having been defeated and their gate closed.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female Sinistral.
- Wolfpack Boss: When fought at her gate, she will end up summoning Buné Baby, Buné Dog, and Buné Imp as her health goes lower, with each of them adding another attack to her turn and more targets to fight.
Oblivion is the personification of the destructive power inside of the Abyss.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Of the Rise of the Mostratum itself, signifying the destructive power unleashed from the Abyss that ends all life born that year.
- Elemental Powers: Gains extra forms if fought without defeating the Sinistrals in the Abyss before confronting Oblivion, allowing them to have all four earthly elements as separate phases to fight.
- Expy: Of the Cloud of Darkness. Both bear androgynous appearances and fulfill the near-identical roles of returning everything to the void through the power of pure destruction. Both can also be weakened by defeating the four Sinistrals or Guardians of the Dark Crystals, respectively, before confronting them.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Pops up in the Abyss as the final thing to destroy in hopes of any kind of happy ending.
- The Juggernaut: As the party fights against Oblivion, the destructive power of the Abyss continues to grow strong enough that the party or the Children of Destiny flat out admit that they can't do anything against it anymore.
- One-Winged Angel:
- Always has the ability to switch between its Light Wing and Void Wing form, with the latter being stronger and more aggressive, as well as altering the environment to constantly damage the party after every turn.
- Gains four extra forms if confronted without defeating the Sinistrals in the Abyss, allowing it to transform into a version of itself that uses one of the Sinistrals' powers.
- The Voiceless: The official translation reveals it to be this, as it never speaks. When Mana's fan-translation came out, they mistranslated and it appeared like it was directly taunting the party by saying it could overwhelm them.
