Relm Arrowny

Relm Arrowny
Final Fantasy character
Relm concept art by Yoshitaka Amano
First game	Final Fantasy VI (1994)
Designed by	Yoshitaka Amano Tetsuya Nomura Kazuko Shibuya Soraya Saga

Relm Arrowny (Japanese: リルム・アローニィ, Hepburn: Rirumu Arōnī) is a character in the 1994 video game Final Fantasy VI. She is one of the last characters recruited into the main party, and is often accompanied by her grandfather, Strago Magus. Her mother died when she was young, and her father later left her. Despite her father, Shadow, eventually reuniting with her, she never learns his true identity. She was designed by various people; Yoshitaka Amano, Tetsuya Nomura, and Kazuko Shibuya all do art for her, while Soraya Saga was responsible for devising her backstory.

Concept and creation

Final Fantasy VI was developed with the mindset that none of the playable cast was the protagonist, and that each of them were equally the "main character". The cast of characters were selected from submissions from across the development team. Once the characters were selected, each individual would write their character's story, with Yoshinori Kitase balancing the plot as things developed. Relm's backstory was created by writer Soraya Saga.

Yoshitaka Amano was commissioned to design the cast of Final Fantasy VI from the brief outlines provided. Given full creative freedom, Amano wanted to make "real" and "alive" characters, though with consideration for their representation in-game as small computer sprites. Said graphics were designed by Tetsuya Nomura, who drew the chibi artwork of the characters, and Kazuko Shibuya, who designed the in-game sprites. The composer of Relm's theme, Nobuo Uematsu, identified her as his favorite character in Final Fantasy VI. Relm is a young girl, the granddaughter of Strago Magus and daughter of Clyde, who works as an assassin named Shadow. She, like her grandfather, is naturally capable of using magic, Her primary spell is Sketch, which, when used to draw a monster in battle, allows her to use its move against it.

Appearances

Relm first appeared in Final Fantasy VI as one of its 14 playable characters. She is one of the last characters to join the party. She first appears while the party visits her grandfather, Strago Magus, who tells her to go upstairs. The group go with Strago, and later come back to find the house on fire. It was at this point that Strago reveals that he, along with Relm and the rest of the village, have magic powers, attempting and failing to use their magic to put out the fire. The party enters the home to rescue Relm with assistance from the assassin Shadow. She later appears when the party is fighting the octopus Ultros, showing up and defeating him by offering to draw his portrait, using her Sketch ability to defeat him with his own attack. Recognizing her power, the party allows her to join. She later appears after the world is destroyed, being an optional character that Celes Chere can recruit. If recruited, she is able to help Strago get out of a cult, who joined it after believing Relm died during the end of the world. Shadow's parentage to Relm may not come up explicitly during the game, only implicitly, such as through his normally standoffish dog liking her. If Shadow dies during the end of the world, Relm will have a nightmare about her father leaving her at a young age. Relm never learns that he is her father.

In Final Fantasy XIV, Relm makes a cameo through a minion based on her, an item that allows players to have a small animated toy to follow them. Later, a class called Pictomancer was added in the expansion Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail. This class is based on Relm and her Sketch ability, with the character in the reveal trailer being designed to resemble Relm.

Reception

Relm has received generally positive reception. In the book Queerness in Play, Relm's role as a child character was analyzed, with the authors noting how children characters like Relm are not as limited to healer roles as "maiden characters" such as Rosa Farrell from Final Fantasy IV and Terra Branford. They discussed how Relm and other child characters emphasize potential instead of limitation like older teenage characters in Final Fantasy tend to do. She became a significant topic among fans and critics following the reveal of the Pictomancer job in Final Fantasy XIV, which is based on her ability in Final Fantasy VI. Writer Patrick Holleman felt that Relm, along with Strago, suffered from "late-arrival syndrome," feeling that she suffers from being behind other characters mechanically and receiving less development. He felt that being young made her unlikely to be featured prominently in the story, and while he enjoyed her "juvenile petulance," he would not have 20 years ago.

Relm's personality has been discussed by critics. Writer Sebastian Deken discussed how, despite her precocious behavior, the way she is introduced - with a title card he compares to a translation of the poem "Deer Park" by Wang Wei - conveyed a depth to her character. He commented that her actions and beliefs told how much she cared about Strago, and how motivated she is to do things for him. When discussing her music theme, he noted how it was "sweet but immature," talking about how it may cause listeners to wonder where it's going. He felt that the song went in a downward motion to convey sadness, speculating that it may suggest that Relm reflects on her sadness often. The stillness of the theme also caused him to speculate what it could mean, suggesting "time stretching out in front of her, as it does when you’re a child; maybe it’s daylight; or maybe she’s stepping back from her canvas, thumb to her chin." He found her theme "childlike without being childish." Writer Pierre Maugein discussed how, despite Relm seeming like a "sweet, naive" girl, she's strong-willed and able to criticize adults, discussing how her ability to convey a "particular truth" to people reflected the concept of a child being more able to "convey the image of raw life force." He also discussed how she contrasts with what Strago represents, namely the social paradigm of old people being the center of the family. He also commented that "Relm's acerbity symbolizes the shift among younger Japanese generations that have become estranged from this social paradigm."

The relationship between Relm and Shadow, her father, was discussed, receiving praise from critics. Destructoid writer Chad Concelmo felt that the story behind it was beautiful due to its subtlety. He believed that stories like this were a rarity in video games, arguing that most games are explicit about what is happening. Pierre Maugein argued that being abandoned by her father made her create a "hard outer shell" for relationships, considering her a heartbreaking character, especially since her father is in the same group, and she never learns his identity. He felt it was done subtly, and considered the relationship among the most powerful in Final Fantasy. Author Sebastian Deken suggested that her introduction, where she bounds downstairs, may be her hoping that her father came back for her.