Final Fantasy IV is considered by many gamers to be an underrated masterpiece, being the second mainline Final Fantasy game to be more story-driven and the first story-heavy Final Fantasy title that wasn't completely broken from a gameplay perspective. Of course, a great story could not be told without the help of some memorable characters, and Final Fantasy IV definitely has that in spades when it comes to its main cast.
One such character from the game who has definitely become iconic in her own right is none other than Rydia the summoner, a child who disappears for the longest time before coming back as an adult with truly fearsome magical powers. For players who want to know everything possible about this amazing character, here are ten things about Rydia that most fans had no clue about.
10 Her Age Is Rather Inconsistently Portrayed Throughout The Series
Any hardcore Final Fantasy fan would know what the Ultimania is — a guidebook full of facts and behind-the-scenes details that would satisfy anyone who wanted to know everything there is to know about their favorite franchise.
In the Ultimania, Rydia's age is shown to be 20... even though the official info present in World of Final Fantasy puts her as 16 instead.
9 She And The Summon Titan Have Apparently Been Together Since She Was A Child
During the first few moments of the game when both Cecil and Kain unwittingly end up destroying the town of Mist, Rydia ends up losing control of her powers and summoning the almighty Titan.
There's a reason why Titan was specifically the one Eidolon that heeded Rydia's call for help — she reveals in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years that Titan has been a close and steadfast companion of hers ever since she was a child.
8 She And Tellah Never Interacted Much... But Official Lore Would State Otherwise
Throughout the entire game, we barely see Rydia interacting with Tellah. However, as per the official lore, this was not even remotely the case.
Instead, Tellah is referred to as Rydia's mentor in the Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen's (a guide book of sorts) character relationship chart — a rather odd dynamic, given their total lack of interaction and Tellah's premature death.
7 She Considers Rosa To Be Her Mentor As Well, Along With Tellah
The fact that Tellah is Rydia's mentor doesn't make any sense at all — if anything, this dynamic would've been more sensible with Rosa instead, given both Rosa's experience and the fact that they spend an ample amount of time together in the series.
This is thankfully reflected in the Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen as well, where Rosa is also labeled as Rydia's mentor as per the character relationship chart.
6 She And Cecil Were Bound By Fate From The Get-Go
One can't deny that Cecil's encounter with Rydia was just pure chance — if anything, what makes more sense is that there was a greater power in the universe that was pulling the strings to get these two characters together.
This is something that has been confirmed to be canon, as seen in the fact that the character relationship chart also refers to Cecil as being "bound by fate" to Rydia's destiny.
5 Edge Definitely Fell Quite Hard For Rydia
Edge is a self-proclaimed ladies man who definitely adds a ton of charm to the overall dynamic of Final Fantasy IV's group, but there's no denying the fact that he's not as sleazy as everyone may think.
After all, he does fall for Rydia quite a bit — something that is reflected in the character relationship chart as well, which shows just how much unrequited affection Edge really has for Rydia.
4 She Can Use White Magic Spells As A Child
While most people peg Rydia to be a cross between a Black Mage and a Summoner, she actually does end up going against this class a bit as a child.
After all, if the player levels her up enough, then she can actually learn and use some White Magic spells that can prove to be quite useful in the early goings of Final Fantasy IV.
3 Her Original Concept Art Made Her Look Way Wilder Than The Final Design
Initially, Rydia was meant to be more of a wild child of sorts, similar to Gau from Final Fantasy VI. She was supposed to have a disheveled hairstyle and clothes that were quite tattered and mismatched.
However, as her design evolved, she was made to look more conventionally attractive, leading to the finalized character design of Rydia that we all know and love.
2 She Has The Highest Damage Potential In The Party
The fact that Rydia is a Summoner certainly makes her out to be one of the more powerful offensive members of the party... and she definitely doesn't disappoint in that regard.
The fact that she's likely to be the first person to reach the 9999 damage limit — after obtaining Bahamut as a summon — is proof enough of just how much of an effective mage she actually is.
1 Her Name Could've Been Lydia, But Translation Issues Prevented This From Happening
While this is a rumor that hasn't really been confirmed as of yet, it's been considered by many to be fairly accurate that Rydia was originally supposed to have the name Lydia instead. It's a similar situation to the huge Aeris/Aerith debacle in Final Fantasy VII.
However, due to transliteration issues, her name in the West came out as Rydia instead. Due to the rather unique nature of this name, Rydia ended up being the official name of this character for good.