In many ways, Jill Warrick’s characterization is contingent on the type of game that Final Fantasy XVI (FF16) is.
The Dominant of Shiva and the game’s female lead often finds herself on the sidelines. In most other Final Fantasy games, players are capable of utilizing more than a single party member. Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII benefit from this. Yuna from Final Fantasy X leveraged her popularity into a game entirely about her.
Jill doesn’t have this ability. Clive Rosfield, the game’s sole playable character, occupies that space entirely. In turn, the player’s opinion of Jill must solely come from a storytelling perspective, not a gameplay one. A notion that often wavers from likable to frustrating as the story progresses.
Jill’s Untapped Potential
Jill is Clive’s closest companion, and eventual lover. Due to necessity, it is easy to accept the overly convenient nature of their inevitable reunion. After years apart, the two have finally found each other once again. Her immediate absence following that event is emblematic of things to come. Jill is constantly at odds with the power of Shiva, facing its consequences upon each use.
This is not uncommon amongst the game’s Dominants. Joshua Rosfield (the Dominant of Phoenix) and Cidolfus Telamon (the Dominant of Ramuh) often display similar symptoms to their powers. The difference lies in Jill being the only Dominant in this game to often appear weak. When the power takes its toll, others rise to the occasion, while Jill seeks out the medical bay.
Even still, Jill is not without her shining moments. The entire escapade to destroy the Mothercrystal in The Iron Kingdom is noteworthy for her character’s development. She desires to accept herself in a similar vein to Clive coming to terms with his troublesome past. In this moment at the Iron Kingdom, with him, she does this, but she still relinquishes her power to him nonetheless.
Just Another Power to Obtain
In the world of FF16, power is a curse, but Jill is the only character of immense potential to actively reject their abilities. Jill’s decision, like most concepts relating to her character, is most likely a consequence of FF16’s sole playable protagonist. Clive is capable of harnessing the abilities of all Eikons, and players should be able to do so as well. Facts that don’t make Jill’s decision any less jarring.
She effectively removes herself from relevancy for the rest of the game’s duration. The transfer of Shiva’s powers from one to another intends to showcase the couple’s unity, but ultimately results in a singularity. Clive no longer needs her assistance, only her greatly diminished support from the sidelines.
It may be the best of compliments to the numerous fantastic female characters of the Final Fantasy series that Jill seems helpless. She is captured three times throughout the game. All while possessing the powers of Shiva. The player, and by extension, Clive, is the method by which she must be saved.
One can only assume that if FF16 featured a more traditional RPG party format that Jill would be given the growth that she deserves. Without it, she serves as only another power to obtain for both Clive and the player.
