Edea Kramer

Edea's design, created by Tetsuya Nomura, was originally intended to be featured in Final Fantasy VII and was known as "Witch". She was meant to be a servant of Jenova.[1] This design was not used, but they chose to use this design for her in Final Fantasy VIII due to how much Nomura liked her.[1][2] A scene depicting Edea murdering someone in front of a cheering crowd was met with speculation that Edea was mind controlling the audience, which was later confirmed in the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania guide.[3]

Edea first appears in the PlayStation role-playing game Final Fantasy VIII.[4] She is initially presented as a power-hungry sorceress who seizes control of the government of Galbadia from President Deling. Edea's motives are unknown, but the mercenary group SeeD dispatches Squall to assassinate her. The mission fails after Edea sends a bolt of ice through Squall's chest. It is later revealed that Edea is the wife of Headmaster Cid, and was the matron to Squall and the other protagonists who grew up in her orphanage. It is eventually explained that Edea was not acting of her own will, but was possessed by a sorceress from the future named Ultimecia. When Ultimecia's control is broken, Edea takes the side of SeeD in the struggle and joins Squall's party for a short time. However, Edea accidentally gives her powers to Rinoa Heartilly, one of the SeeD members and fellow protagonist, making her a sorceress. After Ultimecia is defeated, a younger Edea meets Ultimecia and decides to have her powers absorbed, resulting in a time paradox.

Edea appears as a playable character in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, while one of Ultimecia's designs in Dissidia Final Fantasy is based on Edea's.[5][6]

Edea's likeness appears as an alternate outfit for Ultimecia in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy,[7] and also in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT as part of the "Edea's Corpse Appearance Set" DLC.[8]

Edea has received generally positive reception since Final Fantasy VIII. Meghan Marie for Game Informer regarded her as one of their favorite video game characters and favorite character designs, a sentiment that Brittany Vincent for Game Revolution also shared.[9][10] Chris Hodges for Screen Rant identified her as one of the most interesting characters in the Final Fantasy series.[11] Her outfit was praised by publications including Complex and IGN.[12][13] Writers Brittany Vincent and Foster Kamer also ranked her as the 20th coolest video game villain, praising her for how the game shifts her from antagonist to likable ally.[13] Laura Burrows for IGN discussed how her true personality does not take away from how powerful and vicious she was when she was possessed. They further complement her attractiveness.[14] Matthew Walden for GameSpot noted the difficulty of finding a villain with a gentler side than her, comparing her non-possessed form to Mother Teresa.[15]

Chad Concelmo for Destructoid included her in their list of "asshole" wizards in video games, due to how difficult an encounter with her turned out.[16] Robert Steinman for RPGFan regarded her as an especially frightening villain, discussing how the twist regarding her true story as one of the strangest in the series.[17] They also drew a comparison between Edea's theme and the theme of Disney villain Maleficent.[18] Paolo Papi for Blasting News included Edea in his list of characters who are both sexy and deadly. He discusses her use of her sexuality to "beguile her enemies."[19] Chris Greening for Video Game Music Online discussed how various themes are used throughout the game to demonstrate how Edea's character grows. They cite "The Sacrifice" and "Premonition" as identifying of Edea's dark side, while "The Successor" represents her true nature.[20]