Terra Brandford named Tina in the Japanese version, is a playable character in Final Fantasy VI. Her unique abilities make her a key player in the war between the Gestahlian Empire and the rebel factions. Her gameplay name before the player is able to name her is ??????, and her "name" in dialogue is Girl.
Yoshinori Kitase has stated in an interview that Final Fantasy VI has no official main character, as the developers aimed to give the entire cast equal development and standing without anyone standing above the rest. However, Terra features prominently in much of the game's artwork and is pivotal to its plot; she is present in the game's logo, the game's main theme is named after her, and she was chosen as the heroine to represent Final Fantasy VI in Dissidia. Thus, she is considered the game's central protagonist, which gives her the distinction of being the first female protagonist of a game in the mainstream Final Fantasy series.
In Final Fantasy[]
Appearance and Personality[]
Terra is a young woman, eighteen years old at the beginning of the game. In-game, Terra has mint green hair, a red dress with a purple sash around her waist, red boots, red wristbands and purple shoulder-pads, although her baby's sprite did briefly depict her with blonde hair. In her concept artwork, Terra has blonde hair with a sleeveless red dress with floral patterns, flowered white tights, two long red gloves, red boots and a purple-pink cloak with the same flowered design as her tights. In Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 she sports both hair colors; in "normal" mode she is blonde and in "alternate" mode her hair is green. Her hair, regardless of color, is always seen tied into a ponytail and sometimes depicted as curly. In Terra's esper form, her hair is long and wild, and her entire body, hair included, is vivid lavender.
As a person, Terra is a confused young woman. She often questions her emotions, or lack thereof. She is easily confused and frightened early in the game. However, as Terra learns more about herself, she becomes more assertive and determined. Once she learns her true past, she is insecure about her unique heritage and questions if she can feel love. In the end, Terra is brave and willing to fight for what she knows is right, wanting to help make the world a better place.
Story[]
Terra was born in the Land of Espers, to an esper father, Maduin, and a human mother, Madeline. Two years after she was born, the Gestahlian Empire raided the Land of Espers and abducted Maduin. Madeline, with her last breath, told Emperor Gestahl to keep away from her daughter; however, it was too late. Terra grew up in the custody of the Empire, and was raised as a weapon of mass destruction. The exact details of this part of her life are unknown, but she developed a fondness for Moogles during this time. In addition, in large part because of her ability to practice magic due to her heritage, she was also promoted to an elite Magitek Knight.
Eventually, the Imperial general Kefka Palazzo took a keen interest in her and put a Slave Crown on her head, forcing her to obey his orders directly. Among them was to annihilate fifty of the Empire's finest soldiers, which she did with ease. Presumably this was a test of whether the slave crown actually worked and/or her ability to do so.
Sixteen years after the raid on the Land of Espers, Terra is assigned on a mission to Narshe, accompanied by two Imperial troopers: Biggs and Wedge. The mission was to do research on, and to retrieve, the frozen esper lying in the mines. The trio succeed in reaching the esper, but its sheer power removes Biggs and Wedge from the area and knocks Terra unconscious.
She is rescued by Arvis, a resident of Narshe, who removes the slave crown and nurses her back to health, although Terra suffers from total amnesia, although she does retain the memory of her first name. The local police know of her location and wants her in custody due to her former control by the Empire. Arvis helps Terra escape, but the guards catch up to her in the mines. This forces Locke Cole to rescue her, along with a group of moogles. They succeed, and Locke takes Terra away to Figaro.
Meanwhile, Kefka is worried his weapon is taken away. He heads to Figaro (where Terra is being hidden by the king, Edgar Roni Figaro, and Locke), to ask about her whereabouts. Edgar lies and says he never knew of her, but this does not stop Kefka from attempting to burn the castle down. Terra, Locke, and Edgar manage to escape riding chocobos, while the Figaro Castle submerges under the desert.
Edgar and Locke, knowing of Terra's power, take her to the Returner Hideout in the Sabre Mountains, where Terra meets Edgar's twin brother, Sabin. After passing through the Sabre Mountains, the party meets up with the leader of the Returners, Banon, who tries to convince Terra to join their cause. He does not want to force Terra to do so, because, as Edgar said, forcing her would make them "no different from the Empire", making her decision completely hers.
Depending upon the player's actions, Terra eventually agrees to join. Banon invites Terra to come to Narshe with him, Edgar and Sabin, and she accepts. On the way, the foursome is attacked by Ultros, an octopus inhabitant of the Lethe River. During the battle, Ultros latches onto Terra's leg with a tentacle, and while Edgar pulls Terra away, Sabin tries fighting it off with a Blitz. During the struggle, Sabin is thrown from the raft, and Terra, Edgar, and Banon have to reach Narshe alone and have to trek back through the mines to meet up with Arvis as the local police does not want Terra or the Returners in town.
Thereafter, everyone meets up in Narshe. The Empire stages an attack in order to get the to esper, this time led by Kefka. Banon leads the defense, which Terra participates in. The defense eventually wins and Kefka is forced to retreat. After the battle, the group goes to see the esper, which reacts with Terra. This time, Terra transforms into an esper herself, and flies away to a place unknown.
A search party is set up to look for her. She is eventually found in the city of Zozo, atop the tallest tower. She is being cared for by Ramuh, an esper. Ramuh tells the party that in order for Terra to recover, she has to meet with her father, who is still being held prisoner by the Empire. Celes Chere agrees to lead a party to attack the Empire, and Locke agrees to accompany her.
Locke eventually returns with Maduin, now a magicite shard, and brings him to Terra. She regains her memory, and is able to control her transformation. The party heads for Narshe to form a strategy to attack the Empire, where Banon thinks the best strategy would be to have the espers attack from the east, and then a coalition of Returners and Narshe guards would attack the Imperial capital, Vector.
Terra has to be the messenger to the espers, since she is the only one who can communicate with them. She leads a team through the Cave to the Sealed Gate, which leads to the Land of Espers. She is ambushed by Kefka, but is able to open the gate to the Land of Espers, and the army of espers that emerge, led by Yura, attack Kefka. Terra's group manage to escape to the party's airship, but the espers are in hot pursuit, and attack the ship, which is forced to land near Vector. The party agrees to enter Vector.
Once they arrive, they find the city up in flames, and Arvis and Banon are confused. Inside the castle, Emperor Gestahl appears to have surrendered. He invites the Returners to a banquet during which he proposes peace. He asks Terra to relay a message to the espers, who are hiding out on Crescent Island to the east. Locke agrees to accompany her, and General Leo Cristophe would act as the Imperial liaison. On the way, Terra asks Leo about love, because it is an emotion she has never felt. She is worried that being half-esper would prevent her from truly falling in love. Leo reassures her and says it wouldn't.
Upon arriving at Crescent Island, Terra and Locke, now accompanied by Shadow, make their way to the remote village of Thamasa, to ask about espers. They find the villagers hostile to strangers, and they ask an old man named Strago Magus for help. Strago denies the existence of espers, but is friendly nonetheless. That night, Terra, Locke, and Shadow are invited to stay for free at the inn. During the night, a building is caught on fire, and Strago's adoptive granddaughter, Relm Arrowny, is stuck inside. Strago asks Terra and Locke to help him rescue her, and they see Strago's magical abilities in the process.
As a result, Strago reveals the truth of his ancestry to Terra and Locke, and agrees to accompany them to the Espers' Gathering Place. Relm follows them, and catch up to them in a fight with Ultros. Eventually, the group reach the area where Yura is hiding with the rest of the espers who attacked Vector. Terra convinces Yura to set up a conference with General Leo.
Back in Thamasa, Yura and Leo begin peace negotiations, but are interrupted by Kefka, who reveals this was a set up for him and Gestahl to retrieve more espers to turn into magicite. Kefka kills Yura and the other espers and wounds everyone but Leo, who fights Kefka, but is defeated and dies. Kefka begins to collect the remains of various espers, and heads to the Sealed Gate to collect more. The Warring Triad are restored and the Sealed Gate rises above the ground and becomes the Floating Continent. Afterward, Terra leads a funeral service for Leo.
One year after Kefka destroyed the world, Terra finds herself in the village of Mobliz, which is attacked by Kefka's "Light of Judgment". All the adults have died, and Terra feels a responsibility to take care of the kids and realizes a new side of her is awakening, and thus she loses her ability to fight.
Celes and Sabin try to convince her to take up arms, but Terra refuses, knowing that she would only be a burden. She even proves her weakness when the town is attacked by Humbaba, a legendary beast. The second time Humbaba attacks the town Terra realizes what her new feeling is, love for the children, and with this new-found knowledge, she defeats Humbaba and rejoins the battle.
As the party prepare to invade Kefka's Tower, Terra's friends, most noticeably Celes, are worried about her fate, as they might have to destroy the Warring Triad, the source of magic which allows the espers' survival. As the party confronts Kefka, even if the player avoids recruiting her, Terra senses the party calling to her and flies to the tower.
After Kefka is killed, Terra transforms into an esper and uses the last of her power to help the party escape from Kefka's Tower. Maduin tells her as his magicite is about to shatter, that she would live on as a full human if she was attached to someone or something. Due to her love for the children of Mobliz, Terra is allowed to live, and the game ends with Terra standing at the bow of the Falcon releasing her ponytail and savoring freedom at last.
On Sora's Team[]
After meeting Lock, Shock, and Barrel, she was loyal for them bringing her happiness again. On missions, she show grace on battles.