I'm not certain I understand the popularity of Kain in Final Fantasy IV, especially when it comes at the expense of Cecil. I get that people tend to like the bad-boy edge, especially when juxtapositioned next to the literal white-knight, but really, Kain's not badass. Anything ill or edgy he does comes about as a result of his being under mind control of Golbez/Zemus, and even then, he doesn't really repent or brood about the things that he's done. The thing that's always bothered me, though, is that he never has to actually pay or compensate for anything that he does. He gets to flip off Cecil and the team at least twice, but gets to come back into the fold without a hitch. Cecil, on the other hand, has to actually face his problems, having his past sins siphoned out of him slowly and painfully. He has to revisit the villages that he himself attacked, come to grips with the fact that he killed Rydia's mother, and ultimately look himself in the mirror and make himself into a better man. His emotional and mental journey is far more interesting, and his quest for redemption, both from the world and from himself, is a compelling one. Kain just sort of lacks this journey all together.

 

Mostly, I just don't understand why Kain is as popular as he is.

I'm not certain I understand the popularity of Kain in Final Fantasy IV, especially when it comes at the expense of Cecil. I get that people tend to like the bad-boy edge, especially when juxtapositioned next to the literal white-knight, but really, Kain's not badass. Anything ill or edgy he does comes about as a result of his being under mind control of Golbez/Zemus, and even then, he doesn't really repent or brood about the things that he's done. The thing that's always bothered me, though, is that he never has to actually pay or compensate for anything that he does. He gets to flip off Cecil and the team at least twice, but gets to come back into the fold without a hitch. Cecil, on the other hand, has to actually face his problems, having his past sins siphoned out of him slowly and painfully. He has to revisit the villages that he himself attacked, come to grips with the fact that he killed Rydia's mother, and ultimately look himself in the mirror and make himself into a better man. His emotional and mental journey is far more interesting, and his quest for redemption, both from the world and from himself, is a compelling one. Kain just sort of lacks this journey all together.

 

Mostly, I just don't understand why Kain is as popular as he is.

 

You see, things like that with Cecil, now-a-days, does not please society. (smh) With people today it's all about how cool they LOOK. Frankly, he looks dark and awesome. He's mysterious, those are things that appeal to people now. I suppose we have to deal with it

It's like Sora and Riku. People loved Riku after KH1 and I was like "Hello, he never did anything good except for the ending! All he did was be possessed by Ansem for half of the game."

 

It's the bad boy image, and nothing more.

Wynaut?

Edited August 23, 201312 yr by Jaune Arc

He didn't have to pay or compensate anything since it technically wasn't his fault, it was Golbez/Zemus's doing. Then again, he did help Cecil and the others battle Zemus/Zeromus in the end, which I think makes up for what he did. Y'know, help beat the baddie that made him do bad stuff. You do have a point about Cecil's journey being more interesting, though. I didn't even know Kain was popular until you pointed it out, so I can't speak for the appeal aside from what everyone else says: the bad boy image.

 

Oh, and he's a dragoon and dragons are awesome. That's why I thought he was cool when I was a kid, at least. But c'mon, people, Cecil's cool. What he did took a lot of balls, and you can't go wrong with paladins. Just look at Mickey Mouse.

Kain's a dragoon (always cool), but he also has heart. Even though everything he did was under Zemus' control, he still tortured himself over it. He's a bad boy with a heart... I'll admit that even I like that.

 

Or maybe it's all those romance novels I've been reading.

He's Kain firetruckING Highwind. He don't mess around. It's not that he's just the bad boy of FFIV. He's pretty much at the same level as Cecil in terms of power, if not slightly higher. He takes down the party when he's evil (as far as I remember, I may be messing this up), he helps the heroes take down the she-beast Barbariccia using his signature attack, AND he's the only member of the party who can consistently avoid damage while dealing it back out.

 

Seriously. He's cool because he kicks ass.

 

For any other questions about Kain Highwind, consult the handy dandy fact list about him: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Kain_Highwind_Facts

Remember, Final Fantasy IV IS Cecil's game, and it hardly gives Kain's thoughts and actions, just Cecil's. It was the mysteries surrounding him, and the good you could clearly see in him, even if he didn't show it. He WAS just a quiet bad-boy, but he pulled it off. We didn't get to see Kain maybe repent because it usually showed Cecil's point of view.

Edited August 24, 201213 yr by Number XV

I've always loved Kain ever before he started to gain a massive fanbase. He's the mysterious, relatable, engmatic, attractive, dangerous, bad boy, rebel type.

 

Kain was one of the very first video game characters that I loved; way back when all the Final Fantasy fandom chatted about was Cloud and Sephiroth and who's better and any Final Fantasy below FFVII didn't exist and and/ was a total mystery. http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/sleep.png

Edited August 26, 201213 yr by axele

Well, he did exile himself at the end.

beyond that.. its really just a matter of him being the anti-hero.

He IS also voiced by Liam O'Brian... so there's that

And really, when t comes down to it, both Cecil and Kain had to just beat up a shadow clone of themselves to gain supreme atonement...