Nial vs. Ayn

Explore the Alisa III as it travels the stars.

Nial or Ayn?

Nial
3
38%
Ayn
5
63%
 
Total votes : 8

Nial vs. Ayn

Postby Rune_Walsh » Sun Nov 2, '08, 9:21 pm

With PS III, I am probably one of the few who prefers Nial's generation, as well as the generation of his possible kids (Adan and Gywn - my favorite).

Nial's story seems much more interesting, also, in my opinion.

(Also, I can't help but think there's some great potential for some Lena/Rhys fanfiction. Lena certainly seems to love Rhys, truly, and unconditionally...)

Anyone else a Nial fan out there? Whom do you prefer?
Rune_Walsh
Sage
Sage
 
Posts: 1103
Joined: June 2008
Achievements: 9

Postby Celeith » Sun Nov 2, '08, 10:14 pm

I'm a Nial fan only because Adan / Gwyn (More of Gwyn) are my favorite characters so I've gone this path first.
Image
Cele~Chan Streaming
Saturday at 8pm cst and Sunday at 6pm cst.
The Subscribe button is just a click away.
User avatar
Celeith
Palman
Palman
 
Posts: 2148
Joined: July 2007
Location: Celeith's Shop in Zobi
Achievements: 111
Gender: Female

Postby Rune_Walsh » Sun Nov 2, '08, 10:19 pm

Ah, that's right, Kaloes... you are a Gwyn fan (probably as much as I'm a Rune fan, lol). I agree with you, though, I love Gywn - she's one of my favorite PS characters.

(By the way, I love your sig, did you illustrate it yourself!?)
Rune_Walsh
Sage
Sage
 
Posts: 1103
Joined: June 2008
Achievements: 9

Postby Srijita » Mon Nov 3, '08, 2:18 pm

[face=Times New Roman]

My views on this topic are likely to be unpopular, but I also opted for the Nial/ Adan storyline. The notion of Rhys and Maia being in love never rang true for me. If I recall correctly, Rhys found her washed up on a beach, suffering from amnesia. A couple of months later, they were preparing to tie the knot.

Quoting Ayn Rand, “To say ‘I love you’, one must first be able to say the I.”

With her near-complete amnesia, Maia was in no position to say the ‘I’. Perhaps, with time, she might have regained a sense of self, by acquiring her own tastes, values, and aspirations; but until then, her feelings for Rhys could only have been a combination of physical attraction and appreciation for having rescued her.

As for Rhys, he seems to have become infatuated with a beautiful mystery. His passion might have turned into love as he got to know the flesh-and-blood woman behind the enigma. But Maia would have to develop a sense of identity before that could happen.

Lena, on the other hand, knew who she was and what she stood for. She was courageous and independent, being willing to risk her life to help Rhys. Rhys and Lena also had time to get to know each other – not in the stylised environment of the dating scene, but amid the harsh reality of an arduous journey and constant physical danger: circumstances conducive to bonding. As a result, I have no trouble believing that Rhys, having won the right to marry Maia, would instead turn around and choose Lena – the woman who fought by his side.

For similar reasons, in the subsequent generation, I chose to match Nial with Laya (the companion who shared his journey) rather than Alair (whom he encountered for all of five minutes).

Side note: I’ve only played PSIII once, with marriage choices as stated above. Some time, I hope to go back to it and tackle the alternative quests. My main regret in choosing the Nial/ Adan storyline is not encountering Lyle again; he was such a cool guy :wink:
[/face]
Srijita
Esper Novice
Esper Novice
 
Posts: 678
Joined: August 2008
Location: London, UK
Achievements: 15
Gender: Female

Postby Rune_Walsh » Mon Nov 3, '08, 4:35 pm

I definitely agree with you on all points, Srijita. Well said.

Maia is clearly the PSIII generation one hottie, but taking her relationship with Rhys into consideration, I think it can be argued that their relationship is not really based upon love, but perhaps infatuation.

I say this in support of your quote in regards to Maia's amnesia. Maia does not know who she really is, or where she came from. She is a Layan princess, Rhys an Orakian prince. Considering who he is (prince of Orakian Landen) and that he is from an Orakian-centric culture, it seems difficult to imagine that Rhys would give up his duty and position as the prince of Landen, all for a Layan woman, in an Orakian world.

Sure, one could say that "love conquers all", and Maia was the forbidden fruit that Rhys desperately had to have. But, again, as Srijita pointed out, how do we know if Maia really loved Rhys, also? She didn't even remember who she was. Maybe, for all we know as the audience, that the real Maia hated Orakians. And why wouldn't she? In her Layan culture, every other Layan did, so why would she be an exception?

If I am remembering correctly, Rhys and Lena were already arranged to be married, although Rhys did not know it was Lena whom he was supposed to marry. But Lena really fell in love with Rhys by getting to know him, observing him, and being a witness to all that happened in regards to Maia. And still, despite Rhys becoming engaged to Maia, Lena nonetheless wanted to help him find her. She literally fought for this very cause, going through dangerous caves and even to a Layan world in this effort. That is quite remarkable.

So, from this standpoint alone, we can attest that we don't know if the real Maia loved Rhys, but we know Lena did.

Lena/Rhys works better, not only because we know Lena loves Rhys, but also that they are both Orakian. I say this in regards to the both of them having duties as successors to their thrones, not to mention they spent a considerable amount of time together on their quest. We as the audience gets to appreciate Lena more than Maia as a character, because we see more of her.

So... yeah. Lena x Rhys all the way. :D
Rune_Walsh
Sage
Sage
 
Posts: 1103
Joined: June 2008
Achievements: 9

Postby Celeith » Mon Nov 3, '08, 8:11 pm

Rune_Walsh wrote:(By the way, I love your sig, did you illustrate it yourself!?)


Just some old pictures I found a long time ago, placed em all in a line to make somewhat of a banner.

Anyways yea I'm probably as big of a Gwyn fan as you are a Rune fan. She's just the black sheep of the whole PSIII, and I like the less appreciated characters in alot of games so Gwyn is one of my favorite characters in the series.
Last edited by Celeith on Mon Nov 3, '08, 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image
Cele~Chan Streaming
Saturday at 8pm cst and Sunday at 6pm cst.
The Subscribe button is just a click away.
User avatar
Celeith
Palman
Palman
 
Posts: 2148
Joined: July 2007
Location: Celeith's Shop in Zobi
Achievements: 111
Gender: Female

Postby Lemina » Mon Nov 3, '08, 8:15 pm

^ Jealousy of your art skills. I can't even draw stick figures that well. *Sulks in corner*
As for the discussion, I always did think that it was weird for Rhys, the prince of Landen, to marry some seeming no one that washes up on a beech just because. You think that his parents and everyone around him would stop him.
Image

Image


Credits to Altin for the sig. Thank you dude! ^_^
User avatar
Lemina
Esper Apprentice
Esper Apprentice
 
Posts: 792
Joined: March 2008
Location: Illinois
Achievements: 29
Gender: Female

Postby Thoul » Tue Nov 4, '08, 12:06 am

I prefer the Ayn route, but just for Sari.

Personally, I think both of Rhys' marriage options are very sketchy.

Maia, like said above, seems more like an infatuation. She was stolen from him, so he went after her. His abandonment of his country and every one he knows to live in a country where everyone except one person hates him with a passion. I wonder how many assassination attempts he had to endure there?

[quote:*]Maybe, for all we know as the audience, that the real Maia hated Orakians. And why wouldn't she? In her Layan culture, every other Layan did, so why would she be an exception?[/quote:*]

That's a good point. Maia's views might have been changed by the time she spent with Rhys in Landen, learning that Orakians weren't evil monsters. Traveling with Rhys certainly did wonders for Lyle's attitude towards the Landen prince.

I have to wonder if the real Maia, the Maia who existed before the beach incident, even still existed. IIRC, we were never told that Maia's memory was recovered.

On the Lena side, she's certainly proved her devotion and makes for a stronger marriage option. I question Rhys' choice here because he and Lena don't share that mutually. Lena knew Rhys well enough, but how well did Rhys know her? He had no idea they were engaged or that she was a princess from the neighboring castle. I have to wonder if Rhys' choice to marry Lena wasn't in some part inspired by "Maia's a Layan and Layans are icky!"
User avatar
Thoul
Administrator
Administrator
 
Posts: 12923
Joined: March 2007
Location: USA
Achievements: 123
Gender: Male

Postby Tsunami » Tue Nov 4, '08, 9:13 am

I also felt that Rhys and Maia's relationship was based purely off infatuation and agree with both Rune_Walsh and Srijita. There's people who claim, "I went through all the trouble to rescue Maia so I'll be damned if I choose Lena!" which is a good reason for some I s'pose, but I simply like Lena a LOT more than Maia - she's one of my favorite characters after all. :D That, and it makes more sense to me that Rhys would choose Lena... She was with him and supported him from the beginning of his quest to be reunited with Maia. To me, she deserves more credit than she's given, since if it wasn't for her, then perhaps Rhys wouldn't have found Maia after all since her Moon Stone was essential to the quest.

And I definitely prefer Nial's route over Ayn's, as Nial's quest has always been my favorite. ^_^ While in terms of story it's not as fleshed out as Ayn's, but I really liked the conflicts between Lune and both Orakians and Layan rebels... Much untapped potential there.

It also has the more positive outcome of the game and everyone is happier...'cept the Layans of Aquatica who I believe to be completely and utterly annihilated, as they were without Ayn and Rhys to lead them to Satellite. Lune's not depressed in Nial's time, there's no war between Lune and Landen, and Kara grows up to be princess-like.

And, unlike Ayn, Nial doesn't die when he goes to live at the purple moon and it doesn't go BOOM like Azura did! =P

I gotta say though, the Nial/Laya pairing never set well with me. That, and I always liked Alair more than Laya. I know people will disagree with me, but I'll say it anyways. Laya always felt dull in comparison to Alair (I know, funny of me to say considering you only catch a glimpse of Alair <3). For the most part, I get sick of her since you get her in not one, not two, but four paths of the game, and do note that you are stuck with her for a second time if you choose to marry Alair. =|
Tsunami
Numan
Numan
 
Posts: 1683
Joined: May 2007
Achievements: 22

Postby Srijita » Tue Nov 4, '08, 10:33 pm

[face=Times New Roman]
Lemina wrote: I can't even draw stick figures that well. *Sulks in corner*


Heck, I don't even try. :wink:

Rune_Walsh wrote: Also, I can't help but think there's some great potential for some Lena/Rhys fanfiction.


Although I’ve never been motivated to write fanfiction for PSIII, I can't resist a writing challenge. This is likely to be a one-off, but here’s my take on Rhys’s marriage choices. The first part is available at http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4636197/1/; the second part should be up within the next couple of weeks. I'd upload it here, but part 2 will require "M" rating for mild, implied sexual content.


[/face]
Srijita
Esper Novice
Esper Novice
 
Posts: 678
Joined: August 2008
Location: London, UK
Achievements: 15
Gender: Female

Next

Return to Phantasy Star III

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests