Thread:MMYP999/@comment-27109830-20171224010250/@comment-27416494-20180119221209

I just came up with an interesting alternative for Jin recently, and I thought I might want to hear your feedback on it.

The newest candidate in question is Richter Abend from Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World.

Both are mysterious non-human anti-villains originating from direct sequels to two highly acclaimed JRPG titles. As high ranking (with Jin as the official leader and Richter as a behind the scenes mastermind) members of the antagonistic organizations known as Torna and the Vanguard, they share a similar goal of tracking down the main heroines of their respective titles in order to extract a special artifact or set of memories from them.

Their villainous status is contrasted by their noble demeanors, and they have even served alongside the main protagonists near the beginning of their games as temporary, overpowered party members far beyond the capabilities of Rex and Emil... before subsequently turning around and marking themselves as mortal enemies. Their motivations mainly revolve around the deaths of their closest friends long before the events of each game, which made them into the cold, cynical, yet unwilling villains who cast away their morality in the present day. To that end, the two of them secretly hoped to sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of their goals, yet their ultimate fates ended up being more heroic than originally intended. (Jin sacrificed his own life to save the party from Amalthus, whereas Richter willingly sealed himself away with Ratatosk tom protect his world from a demonic scourge)

Both are also highly skilled swordsmen affiliated with the opposing elements of fire and ice, and were more than capable of overpowering the player characters in a good majority of their boss encounters. Their powers were bolstered even further during their final encounters with the heroes, where they undertook drastic transformations with somewhat similar appearances.