Red 13, what is he?

[Galactus]

Reason I ask is because both Red and his Father are 4 legged animal like creatures, yet his "grandpa" as Red calls him looks nothing like them at all, can someone explain why his grandpa looks humanoid while Red and his father look like animals? was there a strange mutation?

My only other thought was maybe his "grandpa" simply adopted or raised him in his fathers absence, I really don't know.

 

[Bambi]

I'd go with the latter myself. I never assumed they were related

As for what he is, dunno, don't think its ever stated

 

[Ayen]

A red lion-like beast. And that's probably the best way to sum up what he looks like because Kelly is right, they never state exactly what he is in the story. I kinda always just assumed he was a member of the Cat family or something like that.

Oh yeah

Spoiler

and Bugenhagen did adopt him some time after his parents died so they are not related.

 

[Galactus]

Makes me wonder if his species was an experimental cat or something that got away, who knows.lol. I mean his species are remarkably strong and powerful for an ordinary feline like creature.

 

[Clerkin]

Makes me wonder if his species was an experimental cat or something that got away, who knows.lol. I mean his species are remarkably strong and powerful for an ordinary feline like creature.

No Red XIII is just a unique species to Cosmo Canyon although he can use human speech and is very strong there species protected Cosmo Canyon. They have a very long lifespan of a couple hundred year's so that would mean Seto would have been around long before human's could possess any technology for experimentation.

You can see that Red XIII Species is very interesting that's why Hojo was experimenting on him.

 

[The Witch]

He's a Lion.

Why?

1. He growls and roars like a Lion
2. His long, flexible tail is the trait Lions have
3. His mane is what lions have
4. He jumps and moves like a Lion.
5. Only Lions/cats are that flexible, wolves cannot move like that

He's a lion

 

[Dionysos]

I don’t think that they were experimental creatures. They were presented as a dying race of intelligent feline-canine beings, and were very natural. There was no science behind their origins.

Hojo captured Red XIII mainly because he wanted to research the species and perhaps to preserve the species for the benefits of science (perhaps because of the longevity of their lifespan).

The name of this race is never revealed, and we only know of four others of his species through the game and related spin-offs:
Seto – Nanaki’s father
Deneh – a female (seen in Before Crisis, which I’ve never played)
Nanaki’s

Spoiler

children – (seen at the end of the game

)

They were once likely the dominant race of beings at Cosmo Canyon, and Bugenhagen tried to help the dying race. However both the human habitation of Cosmo Canyon and the invasion of Cosmo Canyon by the Gi Tribe likely wiped the majority of them out.




As for the relationship between Bugenhagen and Nanaki... I've read somewhere before that the Japanese for "grandpa" bears the same meaning as "elder", and therefore it is the fault of the translation for naming Bugenhagen as Grandpa and not the status of a respected elder. I don't know any Japanese myself, nor have I seen the Japanese text, so I can't confirm this. In my opinion it is likely to be something like this anyway. Nanaki likely named him as Grandpa because he was a respected elder, and someone who had been important throughout Nanaki's life.

 

[Jimmy]

I don't think there's any blood relation between Nanaki and Bugenhagen, unless Bugenhagen is some kind of sick pervert if you know what i mean...

I think Argor251 explanation makes sense, i always saw Nanaki's race as a type of "animals/monsters" with the intelligence of a human who served to protect Cosmo Canyon from their birth.

 

[Ryushikaze]

He's a Lion.

Why?

1. He growls and roars like a Lion
2. His long, flexible tail is the trait Lions have
3. His mane is what lions have
4. He jumps and moves like a Lion.
5. Only Lions/cats are that flexible, wolves cannot move like that

He's a lion

Nah. Even as a father, he lacks a proud Mane, and his body/ tail type is too thin for a Lion. Compare him, for a handy example, to even Scar of Lion King.
He's definitely a large cat, but he's more physically like a Jaguar, Cougar, or Cerval than Lion.

As for Bugen, Bugen's his adoptive grandfather, not his biological one.

 

[The Witch]

That's still a cat, ain't it?

The point of the matter was that he's not a wolf or a dog of some kind, he belongs to the feline family.

As for Bugen, Bugen's his adoptive grandfather, not his biological one.

Really? I didn't know that. Thanks for the help, anywayz

 

[CassinoChips]

The point of the matter was that he's not a wolf or a dog of some kind, he belongs to the feline family.

His muzzle length and head shape is closer to canine than feline. And cats aren't generally known for Howling (at the) Moon. I think I remember reading somewhere that he was meant to be a blend of both big cat and wolf.

 

[The Witch]

His muzzle length and head shape is closer to canine than feline. And cats aren't generally known for Howling (at the) Moon. I think I remember reading somewhere that he was meant to be a blend of both big cat and wolf.

That's true. Me and my brother just spoke of his face looking like a Canine than Feline;

But,

And actually, his tale and limbs look exactly like a lions;


Red has the same paw size, shape, and the same tale/mane as a lion; 1, 2

He also facially looks like a lion, too.

Cougars don't have his face/ear/tale shape;

Its body is too long, Red's is shorter, and more even like a lion


And Jaguars also don't have a tale that ends with a mane-type thing;

Maybe Red has the muzzle shape like a Jaguar, but its tail is all wrong. Same with the print. Red Doesn't have a print. Also, his body shape around his stomach resembles a Jag.

I don't think you've ever seen a Serval. He's definitely not a Serval for obvious reasons;

If anything he looks like a female Lion
But then again, someone could argue he looks like a combination of all of them. Still, not counting the mane, he looks most like a Lion/possibly Jag than any other.

 

[Six]

I think he is a mix of a few creatures. For me, he looks nothing like a lion, really, but definitely feline looking. However, on my first play through, I renamed him Red Wolf, because I suppose that's what he reminded me most. (I was seven or eight at the time).

I don't think you can pin him down to be exactly one species, if it's an existing species. Because to be fair, he might as well be one of the made up creatures in the Final Fantasies.

So... A catlikedogcat.

 

[Galactus]

Whatever he is he's a really cool and badass character. His final limit break "Cosmo Memory" is awsome. Makes me wonder what kinda abilities and stuff his father Sato had.

 

[Ryushikaze]

That's true. Me and my brother just spoke of his face looking like a Canine than Feline;

But,

And actually, his tale and limbs look exactly like a lions;


Red has the same paw size, shape, and the same tale/mane as a lion; 1, 2

He also facially looks like a lion, too.

Cougars don't have his face/ear/tale shape;

Its body is too long, Red's is shorter, and more even like a lion


And Jaguars also don't have a tale that ends with a mane-type thing;

Maybe Red has the muzzle shape like a Jaguar, but its tail is all wrong. Same with the print. Red Doesn't have a print. Also, his body shape around his stomach resembles a Jag.

I don't think you've ever seen a Serval. He's definitely not a Serval for obvious reasons;

If anything he looks like a female Lion
But then again, someone could argue he looks like a combination of all of them. Still, not counting the mane, he looks most like a Lion/possibly Jag than any other.

I have seen Cervals live and in person. Their overall body type is about right for Red, if a bit small. The head, quite obviously, is way off, but I wasn't trying to suggest Red's a 1 for 1 for any of the ones I used for comparison, just that he's more a mix of Big cat characteristics than just 'magical Lion' since he's not a perfect 'Lion, just add Fire' either.

 

[The Witch]

Oh, in body shape? That still is lease like Red, if you ask me. He's more like a lion-jag-wolf hybrid if anything. xD

 

[Dionysos]

I think in terms of figuring out what species he is we are looking too closely at our own planet. If we were to do the same for the chocobo then we'd be arguing whether Boko is a chicken or an ostrich. If we were to do the same for a moogle then we'd be arguing if Mog is a bat or a cat.

Nanaki’s a fictional creature.
He’s not a cat. He’s not a dog. He’s a strange combination of the two.

Physically he looks like a cat, but with a few canine features of the face. As far as how he acts is concerned, he does act more like a wolf. Not only does he howl when the truth about Seto is revealed (and also in his limit break, Howling Moon) but he scratches with his hind legs a lot like a dog.

I think the creators just tried to be a bit creative and designed a believable creature, without just throwing an animal from Earth into the game. Cats and dogs are well known creatures, and they share a lot of similarities and are often pitted against each other in fiction, and in our minds. It was natural for the creators to think “hmmm, let’s mix up a large wild cat and a wolf and see what badassrawrmonster we can come up with”. Nanaki was the result.

By turning him red, adding fire to his tail, and also dressing him up like a Native American, they were producing a creature which shouldn’t in any way be taken as a lion, a tiger, or a bear (oh my! ).

 

[Ryushikaze]

I think in terms of figuring out what species he is we are looking too closely at our own planet. If we were to do the same for the chocobo then we'd be arguing whether Boko is a chicken or an ostrich. If we were to do the same for a moogle then we'd be arguing if Mog is a bat or a cat.

Nanaki’s a fictional creature.
He’s not a cat. He’s not a dog. He’s a strange combination of the two.

Physically he looks like a cat, but with a few canine features of the face. As far as how he acts is concerned, he does act more like a wolf. Not only does he howl when the truth about Seto is revealed (and also in his limit break, Howling Moon) but he scratches with his hind legs a lot like a dog.

Cats do the back leg scratch too. They're better at it than dogs, actually.
Also, his face is perfectly feline. It's just a 'big cat' face.

As for 'howling', different cats make different noises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUJ1MnvyKOw&feature=player_embedded
Note the Lynx's 'Bark.'

I think the creators just tried to be a bit creative and designed a believable creature, without just throwing an animal from Earth into the game. Cats and dogs are well known creatures, and they share a lot of similarities and are often pitted against each other in fiction, and in our minds. It was natural for the creators to think “hmmm, let’s mix up a large wild cat and a wolf and see what badassrawrmonster we can come up with”. Nanaki was the result.

By turning him red, adding fire to his tail, and also dressing him up like a Native American, they were producing a creature which shouldn’t in any way be taken as a lion, a tiger, or a bear (oh my! ).

His tattoos and markings are just generically tribal, not native American.

And really, he's a cat. The sequences with Nanaki and Cait were called 'One cat riding a bigger cat' by the staff. He's just 'a Big cat' not any particular breed.

 

[Dionysos]

As for 'howling', different cats make different noises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUJ1MnvyKOw&feature=player_embedded
Note the Lynx's 'Bark.'

I've heard similar noises before on a few cat videos, but I think in the minds of most players the general rule is that dogs would go "woof" or "howl" and cats would go "meow" or "purr". That's only regarding the general depiction of the two animal families, and what most people would recognise as being characteristic. I think that Nanaki howling in front of the moon is quite significant too, as moon howling is popularly associated with wolves.

In terms of species, I don't think that there is any real reason to define him as either a big cat or a wolf, when they really just wanted to portray a large wild creature.

His tattoos and markings are just generically tribal, not native American.

I disagree with this. I didn't mean to suggest that he was a Native American, as that would be crazy. I just meant to state that the markings, the feathers, the beads, the hair, the colour and name 'red' (perhaps as in Red Indian) when combined with the location of Cosmo Canyon as resembling the Grand Canyon, and also the use of the species for lighting tribal fires, do all appear to point towards a reference to Native Americans. I think that the theme of that region in general, and the appearance of Nanaki's race, is very significant.

That Nanaki's race is nearly extinct (and that Cosmo Canyon is now predominantly a human settlement and attracts tourism) could be reflective of the loss of land and culture of the Native American tribes on our own planet.

And really, he's a cat. The sequences with Nanaki and Cait were called 'One cat riding a bigger cat' by the staff. He's just 'a Big cat' not any particular breed.

Cait Sith didn't ride Nanaki until the movie. Even then I think that the staff probably said that because it was a catchy thing to say, and it could be stretched to say that Nanaki is a cat. Likewise, if Cait Sith was a dog then the staff could just as easily have joked that he was 'one dog riding a bigger dog'.

 

[GalaxyFlare]

I always got the Impression that RED XIII was a Feline/Canine hybrid.............saying that after the in depth nature that this thread has taken seems pointless but......Im gonna say it anyway.

The dude has the Feline agility and the speed and endurance of a Canine, you see it in the ending FMV on FFVII when he runs with his Pup/kitten? things.........I can only assume that they were running a long distance, and Felines of any size have low endurance over long distances.

So he goes bounding up the cliff with Feline precision and agility.........when is the last time you have seen a dog go up a cliff like that? Never? thats right dogs are useless at speed going up......useless. You can see it on a wooden floor they struggle to get a grip and end slipping lol

Then there is RED XIII limits:

SLED FANG & BLOOD FANG, both Canines and Felines have these kind of teeth(snakes ad spider as well but thats not the point)

HOWLING MOON, clearly howling is more of a Canine attribute.........but as Mr HasTheAnsweToEverything(Argor) stated earlier even some of the Big cats bark in a fashion, lending even more ambiguity to this discussion.

His other Limit Break LUNATIC HIGH,STARDUST RAY & COSMO MEMORY
have no real bearing on species designation, but...........EARTH RAVE is elemental
and maybe its just a personal thing but I affiliate Earth more with Canines?

What I dont get is how anyone can miss interpret Bugenhagen and RED XIII as being anything but different species.........Sure Bugen is old as fuck and apparently flies but He is still human.........transformation and mutations indeed lol