Adel in Final Fantasy VIII

Adel is a sorceress and minor antagonist in Final Fantasy VIII. There is a great deal of debate about this character’s gender identity. Adel has a very masculine form, but is referred to with female pronouns throughout the game. Players have read this character as a cisgendered woman who is meant to look “disfigured,” a transgender woman, and a cisgendered man whose gender was swapped in translation.

LGBTQ  references in this game series:

Final Fantasy V (1992): Faris Scherwiz, Bartz Klauser

Final Fantasy VII (1997): Ambiguous Characters; Cross-Dressing; Mukki

Final Fantasy VIII (1999): Adel

Final Fantasy IX (2000): Quina Quen

Final Fantasy X (2001): Tidus, Brother and Wakka

Final Fantasy XIII (2009): Fang and Vanille

Final Fantasy XIV (2014): Same-sex marriage, Gay NPC couple

Citations:

  1. Adel. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Adel
  2. Adel: Male or Female? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/822/t1889988-adel-male-female/
  3. BomberGirl. (2007, December 3). The curious case of Sorceress Adel. Girl In The Machine. http://girlinthemachine.blogspot.com/2007/12/curious-case-of-sorceress-adel.html
  4. Forum: Adel Gender Talk. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Adel_Gender_Talk
  5. Gamer Vince. (2008, August 18). Final Fantasy 8- Adel (Disc 4 Boss 1). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTsHpBb9uMc
  6. Headscrathers: Final Fantasy VIII. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Headscratchers/FinalFantasyVIII
  7. Isn’t “sorceress” Adel a dude? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/197343-final-fantasy-viii/answers/290504-isnt-quotsorceressquot-adel-a-dude