boothiers-pants-blog-blog:

Reks is… An interesting character.

In reviews, and even in the fandom I see Reks get a lot of hate – or at least a healthy dose of disapproval. Why use Reks? Why not use Basch? What is his purpose? Is he just another way to feel sorry for Vaan? As such most of the fandom forgets him as a confusing enigma, or, worse, just that ‘tutorial guy’. But, in fact, Reks is a very powerful story telling tool.

So why Reks?

Well, there are several reasons. From a game designer’s stand point it’s easy to see that the tutorial section of the game should be played from the eyes of a character who has little experience in what’s being taught. It’s a logical conclusion. The designer wants the player to learn realistically and not feel as though their character is forced into learning things they already know. This, of course, eliminated the use of Basch. 

Basch is already, at this point in the game, an experienced Captain (General in the original Japanese). He knows all the things that the player has to learn, and in having him be the playable character within a tutorial would be instantly breaking the players suspension of disbelief within the game. True there are ways to get around this, but that sort of innovation was new to many games at the time, and practically unheard of in Jrpg’s. Instead, the design team made Reks the playable character.

But Basch was still the focus.

Which brings me to the second defining function of Reks’ character. We see Basch through him. Through out the tutorial the developers use Reks as a tool through which the player is introduced to the world and to two pivotal parts of it: Basch and Vossler. We are exposed to two men very different in view and approach, instantly setting up the emotional conflict played upon later in the game. We are shown a working relationship that runs deep into friendship territory, yet two very different attitudes towards life and war. 

Vossler is presented as the more aggressive.

Basch as the more preventative.

I like to call this Juxtaposed Foreshadowing, as through out the rest of the game we slowly see the two ways of life switch places. Basch forces himself into aggression for the sake of Dalmasca and Vossler tries the path of diplomacy. I personally don’t believe that this set up would have been as elegantly executed were it played out from Basch’s perspective. From Reks’ eyes this exchange is insignificant – two higher ups and friends bickering – as such the player dismisses it in much the same way Reks does, making for a greater impact later in the game.

However it’s Rek’s reliability that makes him a truly great character. Unlike most Jrpg heroes, Reks is presented from the get go as a boy – an inexperienced child, simply fighting for his country. He is not a hero, he isn’t destined for greatness. He’s just a teenager who can barely swing a sword. This is painfully apparent through out all his interactions: his hunched, shy stance, his fumblingly awkward lunge when handling a sword and his slouched posture (Along with the constantly terrified expression upon his face). 

He is there to be empathised with, and damn does he do his job well. His animations consist of short, sharp motions that make it seem as though he’s constantly hovering. Reks is a boy out of his depth, and it shows. Even as he cowers behind Basch, his expression is one of wary fear, and his hands are rarely still.

Design wise, there are a couple of interesting things to discuss (Besides his rather defunct armour – Dalmascan’s really need to revise their designs). Firstly, his sickly pallor. Reks’ skin is grey. There is no other way to describe it. It speaks of a boy who’s malnourished, sick with fear and still recovering from wounds attained on the battle field. Secondly, please take note of the pendant, wound about his neck. Now most people I know miss this on their first few play throughs, but that pendant is the exact same one that Vaan wears upon his waistcoat. The brothers mimic each other quite well, even down to the shape of their chin and ears, but this one aspect stays with the player for the rest of the game – a constant reminder of Vaan’s loss.

So there you have it – Reks the badass tutorial boy. But is he just a cheap ploy to make us have more empathy towards Vaan? There is certainly a case for that, I wont deny it, but is that his soul reason for being? No. Definitely not.