There has been a lot of shade thrown in the direction of Final Fantasy XV for its depiction of women. To hear it laid out, fans of the long-running series are a bunch of misogynists for wanting to play a game where the main cast is all male and the females lack agency and are treated as disposable sex objects. While the game is not without its flaws, I would argue that the depiction of women is not among them. Not even arguing the fact that the series as a whole has had plenty of strong, memorable characters, from Terra and Celes in Final Fantasy 6 to the trio of heroines found in the all-female Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XV alone has more respect for the fairer sex than most would care to admit. Careful for spoilers from the game, as I will not be restraining myself in that subject.

To start, I would voice the opinion that most who would care to read this article likely have. Whatever depictions of women there are in this game, gamers know the difference between fantasy and reality even a game which calls itself “a fantasy based on reality.” There have never been any definitive studies proving that real world sexism is caused by viewing video game sexism and it is something I will not even give the time of day in this article. Such accusations are the weak ammunition of those who have nothing else to fight with and far discredits a community I know can be more than what games journalism would try to paint them as. With that said, let’s jump into a case-by-case basis of the female characters of Final Fantasy XV to get us started.

Cindy Aurum is the main culprit used by those critical of the game as a subject of sexualization. Yes, she does dress in a rather scantily-clad nature but much of that can be explained by the fact that she is working inside a garage, known to be rather warm due to the equipment running inside, in a desert location which results in the player party commenting on the heat every five minutes while hunting monsters in the field. Despite this manner of dress, she is never treated with anything less than respect by the player party, with all four members far more impressed by her skills as a mechanic than how she looks, never making a single comment about her looks, save for Prompto, who seems to revere her more like a goddess than eyeball her like a object to be possessed. He even referred to her as such during one of the sidestories in which he attempted to take a photo of her. Even after the ten-year jump, we’re told she didn’t become some trophy wife but had remained career oriented, even in the face of what was basically the end of the world. Shouldn’t she be praised by forward-thinking social justice types for being an independent woman who doesn’t need no man?

After Cindy on the highly-contested list is Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, considered to be a wasted character due to the short screen time and abrupt end to her time within the game. Like many of the flaws in the game’s story, Luna suffers from the fate of a tight narrative, one that insists on following Noctis, thus anything happening away from him is rarely shown to us. What we do see is how much reverence the people who meet her hold for Lunafreya. Whether she is healing the sick or holding an address in front of the grand city of Altissia, she is treated in higher regard than even the gods she speaks to, mainly because she is approachable where the gods are mostly wrathful. Again, she lacked sexualization, appearing in modest clothes of a pure white, even having her own moment of badassery when she stood up to Leviathan, refusing to back down even after being injured. Her death had a profound effect on Noctis for a short time (too short, really, but things moved rather quickly at that time)

That brings us to Iris, Gladio’s little sister, perhaps even the little sister of the whole group. Besides being the only character in the game with a dedicated healing magic that made me wish she was a permanent addition to the party, she is also a spirited character who added a bit of lightness for the brief time she traveled with the party. Just as the developers suggested when the all-male cast was introduced, iris did change the dynamic by being a woman among a group of males. One need only look at the car ride, where they were so worried about if she had enough room in the backseat, doting on her and showing nothing but kindness. Furthermore, we’re told in the future-forward that she had become a badass daemon hunter in her own right (yet another example of Square Enix perhaps spending too much time telling and not enough showing.) Again, Iris was never sexualized, always treated as that little sister, even on her supposed date with Noctis in Lestallum, where everything is kept quite innocent. The fact that she comes up so little in articles written by the sexism camp tells me that she is being ignored for going against the narrative trying to be painted.

One could argue that the costume of Aranea Highwind was designed with some sex appeal in mind but it wasn’t as if the camera ever took the time to make it obvious we should have been staring at her. If anything, Aranea’s appearances were some of the most high energy, whether she was your enemy or dropping out of an overhead ship to join you in battle. This was a woman shown to be badass, with much of the in-party chatter revolving around making her sound like a warrior, while Prompto’s lovestruck personality lets him show some more reverence. Gentiana, for her part, maintained an air of mystery about her with her sparse appearances and her sneaking into your photos, something which hinted at a playful nature later seen in Shiva who might have had a sexualized form but more than made up for it by not only being a goddess capable of immense destructive power but also being the one who helped you defeat the penultimate boss where even Bahamut was unsuccessful. Even minor characters, such as the Altissia stateswoman Camelia, who proved herself a shrewd but competent leader of her people, managing to develop more character in her negotiations with Noctis than most characters pulled off through the whole game.

So we have a number of good portrayals of female characters, as limited as their appearances may be. Contrast them with the way the male leads are shown in respect them. Noctis is emotionally stunted in comparison to the far more mature Lunafreya, all the scenes of his childhood shown with her, even at the cost of chances to show his relationship with his father which had been hinted at in earlier trailers. Prompto is played as a lovesick fool who is always falling for the women he encounters, including one sequence where you have to help select the right options for him to speak. His hopelessness with the opposite sex keeps him from seeming like a player, instead making all the women seem unobtainable. Gladio becomes a giant teddy bear for Iris, much in contrast to the gruff exterior he shows throughout most of the game, something even more obvious if one has watched the expanded content and saw deeper into their sibling bond. Ignis manages to avoid being directly affected by any of the female cast directly, though does show a certain degree of jealousy when it was suggested that Iris’ cooking might have been something special that he could not produce. The man whose special skill, the one we build up ten levels and acquire countless recipes for, cannot stand up to the joy of having a woman cook for you and show that little bit of care and affection.

This is not a game which hates or diminishes women, as some would have you believe. I would argue that, in many cases, it actually puts them on a pedestal. The evil empire of Niflheim that stands as the main enemy of the majority of the game? The only woman among their ranks turned to the side of good after a single mission alongside the party, leaving only male foes to oppose you, while even Ravus, a man driven by hatred of King Regis and Prince Noctis, was swayed back by little more than the words of his wise, younger sister. The two female gods, Shiva and Leviathan? One was instrumental in saving Noctis and his friends more times than they might realize, while the other put almost an entire city underwater in a showing of her power, followed by the most harrowing battle of all the Astrals. These are things which came out as part of the story without having to beat you over the head with it. Final Fantasy XV might have lacked story in a great many places, but it could subtly render its characters without getting in your face about them.

To conclude things, I would argue that the women of Final Fantasy XV suffer from the same thing that every character suffered from and that was a lack of development. That is something which comes in equal opportunity among the cast, male or female. Now, if only the mainstream public, most of whom will judge this game based on little to no gameplay and even less introspection, would show as much respect for these women as the male characters in the game do. If they did, we’d have far less articles written about misogyny that doesn’t exist and demonizing of gamers who just want to play their games.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some more post-ending content to work my way through before the DLC starts dropping.