Phantasy Star Cave Message Board

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Shen-FN-Woo wrote:- What's the deal with black hair? It appears to only be given to evil characters, and Wren (who has a relation to Earth through Mother Brain). Come to think of it, I don't remember any other characters throughout the series (Pstar3 not counting, haven't played through it) having it.

If you notice PSII's characters, there's a very large spread of hair colors, compared here on Earth and even compared to PSIV. Perhaps blonde/brown/red/black are more dominant traits compared to the other colors? That would suggest that some Earthmen escaped and intermingled with the population. As for why evil seems to prefer black hair, I suspect it's simply an artist's preference... have you seen a redhead try to destroy the world?

Shen-FN-Woo wrote:What supporting evidence is there that Zio is not Terran?

I don't think there is any. Very little is known about Zio.

Must one be born an Esper to use magic?

The games don't say. The only source we have on this is the Compendium, which has the following to say about magic:

Compendium wrote:A power that, unlike techniques, is inherited. By the AW 2200's, the humans who could use magic were restricted to the residents of the Esper Mansion.
Incidentally, the ability is a dominant genetic trait, and a person of mixed race with the blood of a human who cannot use magic [and the blood of a human who can] can learn the ability through training.

carlsojos wrote:... have you seen a redhead try to destroy the world?

Behold, Queen Beryl:

http://wikimoon.org/index.php?title=Queen_Beryl

...*Stands corrected*

Just because we don't hear of Espers practicing Black Magic doesn't mean it isn't happening. In fact, I think it'd be inevitable. I can envision underground cells practicing dark arts. We are only seeing a small part of the picture in our playthroughs. You use your imagination to fill in the blanks.

To me Zio was one of these rogue Espers. He became a prime candidate as a pawn for darkness because he not only became adept in the dark arts, but because a tragedy (losing his parents) blackened his soul with anger & spite.

Or it could be that he had no magical prowess at all to begin with, and Dark Force provided the punch himself by possessing him. But I like scenario #1 better.

If Zio was a rogue Esper then Rune and people at Esper Mansion would have known and mentioned him.

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BenoitRen wrote:If Zio was a rogue Esper then Rune and people at Esper Mansion would have known and mentioned him.

Why? The key word here is "underground". Nobody would have known about them except for those in that inner circle. And he didn't have to be known as Zio back then. Name could have been Bill, or Jim. Could have looked completely different too, dyed his hair black later, ect... It's possible Rune could have passed him by in the halls when Zio was a kid and was none the wiser.

I always thought Zio's power came exclusively from Dark Force (or PD through DF, you never know when it comes to PSIV).

That's certainly the most logical explanation, and probably the one that was implied. But to me it's sometimes boring to just accept the most logical explanation. The great thing about a good book is you can use your imagination to fill in those blanks, and a good RPG is like a good book to me. I think it's great that some people have their own ideas about the way things may have played out that stray from the more widely accepted views... just so long as they don't directly contradict known facts.

I even toyed around with the notion that the "Nightmare" hovering over Zio's head is Saccubus. The fact that the face looks just like it is one reason (granted, it looks just like DF too). The word "nightmare" is another clue (just as it was in PS1). And that it's a foe not meant to be defeated, almost like fighting a dream. In the first encounter it's impossible to win, as it "almost" is in PS1 (unless you're overleveled as h). But then I see Succubus as just kind of a dream version of DF anyway, so not a big diff. anyhow.

Shen-FN-Woo wrote:it is said that Magashi is not reborn by Dark Force, but actually IS Dark Force in Cast carnation. Where is it said or implied in the game that he is such?

You could make that conclusion based on the final boss of Phantasy Star Universe, where the two merged. But there isn't much to support it, and I can think of statements from the expansion, Ambition of the Illuminus, that are evidence against it.

Disclaimer: Will never refer to Dark Force as Falz unless talking about PSO

It's known as Dark Falz in Phantasy Star Universe as well.

Lucid wrote:Why? The key word here is "underground". Nobody would have known about them except for those in that inner circle.

I don't see something like that being ignored by someone like Lutz, especially by the time his title and memories inhabit Rune.

BenoitRen wrote:

Lucid wrote:Why? The key word here is "underground". Nobody would have known about them except for those in that inner circle.

I don't see something like that being ignored by someone like Lutz, especially by the time his title and memories inhabit Rune.

Actually, it is possible that Zio might've been stricken from the records; such things have happened in real life, such as the case of Nikolai Yezhov.

Not "ignored", just flat out oblivious to it. It's not like Lutz was omnipotent & omnipresent, like a God. He was just a wizard with a nice wind spell. I don't think it's too far fetched to imagine that a secret society could have operated undetected at/around Esper Mansion. And since nothing rules it out, I'm going with it.