Did the Gesthalian Empire have child soldiers? Did the heroes kill children?

[Makoeyes987]

This has been bugging me awhile but...

When in the Magitek Factory, and other areas of Vector, you run into Imperial troops you have to fight. And sometimes, you fight these tiny little soldiers called "Onion Knights" which look like children in tiny suits of armor wielding little swords and shields.

​

Now...are they robots or are they actual children? I don't think they're robots since you can see them blushing and..robots don't blush. If these are kids, it just shows how truly twisted and sick Gesthal and his empire was.

Not only that but....the FFVI heroes are...killing kids....

I mean, am I the only one who thought that?

 

[Max Payne]

War is hell.

You don't have the luxury of choosing whose blood you spill

 

[Makoeyes987]

So I'm not the only one who thinks they're kids.

But I mean, that's pretty bizarre, isn't it?

 

[Max Payne]

No. Child soldiers are ingrained in history. Their presence in a video game heavily centered on widescale conflict wouldn't be much of a surprise for me.

Cloud was what, 16 in the MP? He was practically still a kid.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Yeah, but these kids look like they're what? 10...11 at most? They're fucking tiny. The fact they're called Onion Knights is a reference to the original, and he's only a little kid.

Just...weird.

 

[Sprites]

That's actually an interesting thought, I never thought of it like that before that the Onion Knights could actually be children and yet it wouldn't surprise me if there were children in the Gesthalian empire training from a young age to one day become an imperial soldier. After all it sort've also happens in FFVIII where you have the junior classmen training to become SeeDs and Mercenaries in Balamb Garden.

Its a wonder if the heroes are actually killing children or would they believe that because they're a part of the Gesthalian Empire it makes them their enemy and they don't see them as children but as future soldies who could become a major threat to them and the rebellion?

@Black Hand: Actually Cloud was 14 when he joined Shinra which I suppose further iterates the concept of Child Soldiers

 

[Max Payne]

Yeah, but these kids look like they're what? 10...11 at most? They're fucking tiny. The fact they're called Onion Knights is a reference to the original, and he's only a little kid.

Just...weird.

Those monsters in particular might just be midgets or something.

But I wouldn't be surprised. Child soldiers mean Child soldiers dood.

 

[Smaddy]

I always thought they were just robots, I had never considered that they were kids. It's certainly possible. I'm surprised nobody brought up the facts that-

Celes is 18, and is a General for the Empire. So it's assumed she's had several years in the military to work up to being a General.

Terra is 18, and we know she'd been used by the Empire for pretty much her whole life.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

You know what, I can check this right now. The Anthology version of FF6 has descriptions on all of the monsters.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Yeah apparently they're robots.

robots don't blush. If

Astro Boy.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Yeah apparently they're robots.



Astro Boy.

Fuck, I forgot about Astro Boy.

Dude, they have descriptions for all the enemies in the bestiary? The Advance version doesn't have that. Now I feel incentive to play my Anthology version T_T

Could you do me a favor and type up what they say about them, real quick?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

No problem.

"The Pipsqueak's Program 55 attack turns its target into an Imp. Finish these off quick and easy with Edgar's Flash attack"

Nothing really screams ROBOT in the description itself (except for the Program 55 thing), until you notice they're weak against Lightning. But then again I notice, so are the guards and the attack dogs in the facility as well.

Hmm. I dunno, I don't think they're little kids though. Even when I was younger, they struck me more as little attack bots or something.

 

[Super Mario]

Anybody else's bullshit detector just go off?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Huh?

 

[Max Payne]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Makoeyes987]

No problem.

"The Pipsqueak's Program 55 attack turns its target into an Imp. Finish these off quick and easy with Edgar's Flash attack"

Nothing really screams ROBOT in the description itself (except for the Program 55 thing), until you notice they're weak against Lightning. But then again I notice, so are the guards and the attack dogs in the facility as well.

Hmm. I dunno, I don't think they're little kids though. Even when I was younger, they struck me more as little attack bots or something.

The human Gesthalian are almost all weak against Lightning, have attack names with numbers prefaced by "Program XX." For example Gesthalian Sergeants have an attack called "Program 65" which inflicts Mute on the target. Even their dogs have Program attacks, like Program 95, which inflicts Confuse. So that's not really proof of anything. I think that's a testament to their armor which clearly is mechanical.

 

[Super Mario]

I don't wanna hear it man! not a word!

 

[Cat Rage Room]

The human Gesthalian are almost all weak against Lightning, have attack names with numbers prefaced by "Program XX." Even their dogs do. So that's not really proof of anything. I think that's a testament to their armor which clearly is mechanical.

Yeah, I suppose. For gameplay purposes, they're also listed as Human enemies.

I dunno. I don't really get the 'Child Soldier' impact, even if they technically are children who are dressed up as soldiers. It's hard to take seriously in a game with four armed zombie ninjas, bears that steal your money, dancing boxes opening themselves up, and naked women riding floating fat pigs.

 

[Super Mario]

Cole come on! stop pissing Mog off!

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Next off topic post and you're getting an infraction every post until you stop.

 

[Super Mario]

Worth a shot, man.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Yeah, I suppose. For gameplay purposes, they're also listed as Human enemies.

I dunno. I don't really get the 'Child Soldier' impact, even if they technically are children who are dressed up as soldiers. It's hard to take seriously in a game with four armed zombie ninjas, bears that steal your money, dancing boxes opening themselves up, and naked women riding floating fat pigs.

It looks like most of the evidence is pointing to them being human, man.

I mean, yeah FFVI is full of crazy stuff since its a fantasy game, but those look like kids.

And replaying it, I just have seen a kid in Vector who cures you, and her mom says that Cid gave him a Magitek infusion to allow him to use Cure spells.

So yeah. They're doing Magitek infusions on kids. It's certainly within the realm of possibility that they'd make them soldiers too.

 

[Super Mario]

Check this out!

I hope... No one believes in Espers.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

It looks like most of the evidence is pointing to them being human, man.

I mean, yeah FFVI is full of crazy stuff since its a fantasy game, but those look like kids.

And replaying it, I just have seen a kid in Vector who cures you, and her mom says that Cid gave him a Magitek infusion to allow him to use Cure spells.

So yeah. They're doing Magitek infusions on kids. It's certainly within the realm of possibility that they'd make them soldiers too.

I dunno. Alright, so they're human.

But about the child soldier thing, I mean, if it leaves that impression on you, man. Like, yeah, they're little dudes guarding the facility, but I never got the 'Oh my god, think of the children!' vibe when I saw them. For me, it was like 'Oh, another bizare what the fuck I have to get rid of.' I highly doubt the creators put that much though in it themselves and probably forgot about it.

In fact, I think if they were to take another look at the FF6 lore and wrote say, an Ultimania about it, they wouldn't have a section on 'Child Soldiers of the Empire'. I think they were more of just something else to put in for the sake of putting in as enemies, rather than a serious addition to the lore/setting of the actual game.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I dunno. Alright, so they're human.

But about the child soldier thing, I mean, if it leaves that impression on you, man. Like, yeah, they're little dudes guarding the facility, but I never got the 'Oh my god, think of the children!' vibe when I saw them. For me, it was like 'Oh, another bizare what the fuck I have to get rid of.' I highly doubt the creators put that much though in it themselves, in fact, I think if they were to take another look at the FF6 lore and wrote say, an Ultimania about it, they wouldn't have a section on 'Child Soldiers of the Empire'. I think they were more of just something else to put in for the sake of putting in as enemies, rather than a serious addition to the lore/setting of the action game.

Well it just strikes me as tragic that they've got even little kids indoctrinated in their war machine. It just hit me as, "these are kids" and for the years I played FFVI it never even occurred to me. FFVI has some weird enemies but they all make some sense in some way. And them being kid soldiers kinda makes sense too in sad way.

LOL, I doubt there'd be that section as well