by Joshie Jaxon

Glorious Girls of Gaming – Eiko Carol

Now, before I even start, I know what you’re thinking; Joshie, Eiko isn’t glorious, she’s just a stupid kid. Give me a few moments of your time, and I’m sure I can make a believer out of you. If not, I apologize in advance for wasting your time. We good? Alrighty then.

It’s true that Eiko doesn’t have the leading lady appeal of Aerith, Rinoa, or Garnet. She doesn’t have a royal title like Peach or Zelda. Eiko most likely will never hold her own series spanning three decades like Samus. Why then am I devoting my post, and your valuable time, to her, instead of one of the ladies listed above? The answer is simple, I feel for her.

When we meet Eiko, she is the only citizen of Madain Sari, the lost village of summoners. She lives alone, with only moogles to keep her company. Kupo! Sorry, had to. Eiko is only six years old, and is living on her own. She knows how to cook, and take care of others, despite her young age. Yes, she’s a bit clingy, and kind of a brat, but she’s had to rely on herself. She has no parents, or grandparents to teach her right from wrong. Again, it’s just the moogles.

She steals from the citizens on Conde Petie, and you can’t really blame her. She has no way to earn money, as the Outer Continent has no real job market for a six year old. At least I assume there are child labor laws, I could be wrong, although the shopkeepers of FF IX all seemed to be adults. When she meats Zidane and the others, she is so starved for human contact, wait, is Zidane human, he has a tail, is he saiyan, never mind, she takes the party to her village and tries to make friends, and even get a boyfriend. Again, raised by moogles. Not exactly her fault. All she knows is their love, kupo!

Even though she is only six, the kid has power. She’s able to summon four different Eidolons on her own. Not only that, but when she combined her power with Garnet’s, they were able to call Alexander, which was strong enough to stand up against Bahamut. She gladly stands with her newfound friends to defend the world from Kuja. Not just power, she’s got guts.

As I mentioned, Eiko speaks to me, as I’m sure she does to a part of all of us. Look past the surface, and there is a scared child that just wants somewhere to belong. A person or a place to make us feel safe, and to call home. Even when we find a group of friends, are we ever able to truly connect, or do we wander, alone in a crowd, the sole member of our kind? Longing to find another like us, but knowing we never might. As Eiko says, “I don’t wanna be alone anymore.” She has the strength to keep looking, and finds friends greater than what she could have imagined, and to me, that’s pretty glorious.

-JJ