ffiv ds concept art, part fusoya and golbez. aka the final one. aka “holy shit how do i golbez”.
fusoya, much like tellah, is supposed to remind you of old, wise wizards you saw in cartoons or in picture books. something else he reminds me of, however, is a hermit. compare fusoya’s hair and beard to tellah’s: the latter’s might look a bit crazy, but it’s definitely cut and taken care of. fusoya’s, though, have grown very long. it reminds me of hermits such as alypius the stylite. fusoya’s is a sole watcher of the other lunarians’ sleep: he’s spent many years alone, without anyone to talk to. the player is supposed to not only think of fusoya as a more cleaned-up tellah and a wise mentor, but also as someone who may have become a bit… weird. you just arrived at the goddamn moon and you meet an old guy tells you cecil is half-alien. this is weird. this is creepy. ffiv’s moon is a really, really creepy place, and even the good-natured and helpful uncle is going to remind you of that.
let’s start talking about golbez with stating the obvious: golbez is supposed to make you think of darth vader. there. i’ve said it. let’s move on.
golbez is supposed to scare. he is large, intimidating, you can’t see his face (this is a motif ffiv uses quite a few times to show you the character is “dark” and/or has done evil things) and he has spikes on his armour. (i like to think he picked these up around the time he got to baron, because it was in fashion. … i need to go sleep.) golbez is designed and set-up to look like the model villain and to lull the player into thinking the game is going to be simple about him. the way he looks is frightening and imposing, but it’s also a bit over the top - look at the cape. then he has a dragon. then his hand comes to life and gets the crystal. did i mention he has huge spikes and a a dark armour? you’re supposed to look at golbez and think, “this is definitely a villain, and he’s not even that well done”. you’re supposed to roll eyes at how overpowered the plot makes him and how easy the final battle with him is going to be. and then you find out you’re wrong. ffiv tries very hard not to make you expect what golbez actually is, and in my opinion, it succeeds.
