Zell Dincht
Zell Dincht, as depicted by Tetsuya Nomura
Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VIII
Designed by	Tetsuya Nomura
In-Universe Information
Weapon	Gloves
Limit Break	Duel
Age	17
Blood type	B

Zell Dincht (ゼル・ディン, Zeru Din^?) is a main character from Squaresoft's (now Square Enix) Final Fantasy VIII. Like Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy, Zell is a student at Balamb Garden. Passionate, energetic and impulsive, Zell is used as a foil for the spotlight protagonist, Squall Leonhart. Image File history File linksMetadata Ff8-zell. ... Tetsuya Nomura (野村哲也; Nomura Tetsuya, born October 8, 1970), is a Japanese game and character designer working for Square Enix. ... For the first installment in the series, see Final Fantasy (video game). ... Final Fantasy VIII ) is a console and computer role-playing game created by Square Co. ... Tetsuya Nomura (野村哲也; Nomura Tetsuya, born October 8, 1970), is a Japanese game and character designer working for Square Enix. ... Limit Breaks (sometimes shortened to Limits) are powerful combat moves featured in Squaresofts (now Square Enix) Final Fantasy series. ... It is popularly believed in Japan that a persons ABO blood type or ketsu eki gata is predictive of their personality, character, and compatibility with others, similar to the Western worlds Astrology. ... Square Co. ... SQUARE ENIX (Japanese: スクウェア・エニックス) is a Japanese producer of popular video games and manga. ... Final Fantasy VIII ) is a console and computer role-playing game created by Square Co. ... Squall Leonhart ) is the taciturn hero of Squaresofts (now Square Enix) role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII. He was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with heavy influences coming from game director Yoshinori Kitase. ... Seifer Almasy ) (the first syllable is pronounced with a long i sound) is both a playable character and an antagonist in Squaresofts (now Square Enix) role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII. He has short blond hair, green eyes, and a scar across his forehead mirroring Squall Leonharts. ... Garden is a group of elite military academies in Squares computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII. There are three Garden schools, including Balamb Garden, Galbadia Garden, and Trabia Garden. ... A foil character is either one who is opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. ... Squall Leonhart ) is the taciturn hero of Squaresofts (now Square Enix) role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII. He was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with heavy influences coming from game director Yoshinori Kitase. ...

At 17 years of age, he measures 5' 5" tall with wavy light blond hair and light blue eyes. Zell is a martial artist (or a "monk" in terms of traditional Final Fantasy character classes) and his weapons are gauntlets. Zell grew up in the town of Balamb, where his mother still lives. His motivation in enrolling at Garden to join the mercenary organization SeeD is to live up to the memory of his grandfather, who was a famous soldier. Zell shows a persona of overconfidence in his own skill and strength, but also shows a general over-motivation and exaggeration in everything he believes in. Quite the opposite from Squall, he seeks to become a hero. Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Garden is a group of elite military academies in Squares computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII. There are three Garden schools, including Balamb Garden, Galbadia Garden, and Trabia Garden. ... Sir Galahad, a hero of Arthurian legend, detail of a painting by George Frederic Watts From the Greek , in mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female) usually fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture. ...

Development

Zell's design was achieved with the notion in mind that he would look and act like the main character from a shōnen manga (Japanese comic books intended primarily for boys), a concept reflected by how his neighbors from the town of Balamb view him in-game.^[1] Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac), a classic example of Shōnen Shōnen sometimes transliterated as shounen or shonen, boy, or literally few years) is a Japanese word used in English to refer to anime and manga primarily intended for boys, although there can be crossover appeal to females... Manga )   is the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Throughout the course of Square Co. ...

Their opinion of his behavior and personality, as described in the Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide, is that he's something of a "'comic-bookish' type of hero."^[2]

Overview

In Final Fantasy VIII, Zell is often used as comic relief, and has the misfortune of constantly being tricked, antagonized, and instigated by both friends and enemies. This effect is enhanced by Zell's extreme sensitivity - when Seifer calls him a "chicken wuss," he loses his temper.

Additionally, in the Americanized version, Zell speaks and acts in a poser manner. He constantly tries to act tough and street-smart, although he is a small-town boy who still visits his mother on a regular basis. This is driven home in a scene where he confronts Raijin - Zell accidentally starts to mimic Raijin's language patterns before he realizes what he's doing and stops himself.

Zell, as seen during his intro FMV

In the Americanized version of Final Fantasy VIII, Zell's favorite food is hot dogs, which (furthering the comic relief) are always sold out by the time he reaches the cafeteria. In the Japanese version, his favorite food was bread; the food was changed due to differences in the two cultures. No matter how the game progresses, Zell is unable to eat the hot dogs/bread until the final full motion video of the game, upon which, he chokes on them as he tries to eat them too quickly. Image File history File links Zell Dincht Final Fantasy VIII This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links Zell Dincht Final Fantasy VIII This work is copyrighted. ... Screenshot of an FMV from Final Fantasy VIII. Full motion video, usually abbreviated as FMV, is a popular term for TV-quality movie or animation in a video game. ... A large hot dog with ketchup A hot dog is classified as a type of sausage or, alternatively, a sandwich on a suitably shaped bun with the sausage and condiments on it. ... Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... Screenshot of an FMV from Final Fantasy VIII. Full motion video, usually abbreviated as FMV, is a popular term for TV-quality movie or animation in a video game. ...

Despite his attachment to his mother and respect for his grandfather, it is revealed that Zell is adopted, having originally grown up in an orphanage with the other main heroes. As the game progresses, his mother and other citizens of Balamb confide in other characters that they worry that much of Zell's zeal is motivated by an unconscious desire to try to live up to his adoptive family's standards, although they do not expect such from him. Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. ...

References