Ayla (Chrono Trigger)

Ayla (Japanese: エイラ, Hepburn: Eira) is a fictional character in the 1995 video game Chrono Trigger. She is a cave woman in 65,000,000 BC who joins a group of time travelers in their quest to prevent antagonist Lavos from ending the world in 1999 AD. She is the leader of the Ioka Village, and often clashes with a reptilian race called the Reptites.

Ayla
Chrono character
Official art for Ayla.
First gameChrono Trigger (1995)
Created byTakashi Tokita
Designed byAkira Toriyama

She was created by Chrono Trigger director Takashi Tokita and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. Her character design was among the most drastically changed in Chrono Trigger and took inspiration from singer Ouyang Fei Fei. Her name comes from the Clan of the Cave Bear character of the same name. She has received generally positive reception for her defiance of gender norms and stereotypes.

Concept and creation

Ayla was created by Chrono Trigger director Takashi Tokita and illustrated by Akira Toriyama.[1][2] She is a cave woman who lives in the year 65,000,000 BC. Tokita was inspired by singer Ouyang Fei Fei when making her and her name was taken from the Clan of the Cave Bear character of the same name.[2][3] He also added her due to a lack of simple, instinct-driven characters and the potential for humor. He identified her as his favorite character in the game.[2] Her design, along with fellow protagonist Robo's, was the one that changed the most of the main cast.[1] Ayla's hair was originally straight, but graphic designer Masanori Hoshino wanted her hair to be a "wilder, wavy style," so they had Toriyama change it.[1] Her design was changed to be neater and tidier.[1] Ayla's breasts originally had more bounce until producer Kazuhiko Aoki made them reduce it, though the bounce is somewhat retained in the final version.[4] Also cut from the English version of the game was her love of sake.[5]

Ayla is possibly bisexual, as suggested in a piece of dialogue in the Japanese Super Nintendo version between her, Crono, and Lucca Ashtear, where she identifies that she is attracted to both of them due to their power.[6] The scene was changed in the English version, instead having Ayla show respect for Lucca's power.[6] In the English version of Chrono Trigger on the Nintendo DS, the scene is written to only imply Ayla's attraction to Lucca.[7] In both Japanese and English, Ayla speaks in caveman speech.[8] Her vocabulary is considered rude by others, and she uses the personal pronoun "あたい" in Japanese to refer to herself, which represents femininity and toughness. The English version loses this context in localization.[9]

Appearances

Ayla appears in Chrono Trigger as one of seven protagonists.[10] She first appears when Crono and allies appear in the year 65,000,000 BC where she saves them from a race called Reptites. She recognizes their power and invites them to a celebratory party. She challenges Crono to a drinking contest with a valuable Dreamstone as a prize that Crono wins. The Gate Key, an object Lucca created to travel through time, is stolen by Reptites and its leader Azala due in part to her partner Kino, and they manage to take it back. After an assault on antagonist Magus, they are sent back to 65,000,000 BC by a time portal created by fellow antagonist Lavos. When they awaken, Ayla joins their party and assists them in their quest to prevent Lavos from destroying the world in 1999 AD. After assaulting the Reptites and Azala, Lavos begins to come down to Earth. Ayla tries to save Azala, but Azala resigns herself to death. Ayla and company escape and Lavos then makes impact with Earth. This causes the world to enter an ice age and the Reptites to go extinct. The name Lavos is given by Ayla ("la" meaning "fire" and "vos" meaning "big" in Iokan), and she continues helping them defeat Lavos. When Lavos is defeated, Ayla returns to 65,000,000 BC and marries Kino. It is revealed that fellow protagonist Marle is a descendant of Ayla and Kino.

Reception

Since appearing in Chrono Trigger, Ayla has received positive reception. Bitmob staff called Ayla their favorite character in the game due to her beauty and power.[10] Author Madeleine Brookman discussed Ayla's defiance of gender norms, noting that her otherwise "inherently sexualized" outfit is still less restrictive than women's outfits in other time periods and that her proposing to Kino is uncommon based on percentages of women proposing to men in 2014.[11][12][13] Loraine for Autostraddle had an initially negative reception due to her outfit, but was more positive due to her defiance of gender roles. She discusses her dominant role in her relationship, her powerful position, and stats that are more typical of male role-playing game characters.[14] Author Francis Montpetit discussed how Ayla breaks away from "militarized masculinity" by having her being the strongest among the protagonists.[15] Playboy model Pamela Horton identified Ayla as one of her favorite video game characters due to her assertiveness and independence.[16] She cosplayed as Ayla, and it was the only cosplay she had done.[17] Meghan Sullivan for IGN praised her introduction and her scene with Azala as two of the best in video games.[18][19] John P. Hussey of RPGFan however found her forgettable.[20] Author Michael P. Williams felt that she came close to the "dumb blonde" stereotype, but avoids it by being the most capable member of the cast. He cites her nobility and pragmatism as examples of this.[21] He also called her the sexiest character in the game.[21] A statue featuring Ayla, Crono, and Robo was shown at Toy Fair 2010.[22]

References
  1. V-Jump, ed. (1995). Chrono Trigger V-Jump Player's Guide (in Japanese). V-Jump. p. 189.
  2. "Kaihatsu Shuuryou". Famicom Tsūshin. March 1995.
  3. Chipman, Bob (March 22, 2013). "Rock On". Escapist Magazine. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  4. blackoak. "Chrono Trigger – 1995 Developer Interview Collection". Shmuplation. Archived from the original on November 24, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  5. Szczepaniak, John (February 2018). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 3. SMG Szczepaniak. p. 200.
  6. Brookman, Madeleine (August 6, 2015). "Sexuality". Nouspace Publications. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  7. Brookman, Madeleine (August 5, 2015). "Sexuality". Nouspace Publications. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  8. Brookman, Madeleine (August 5, 2015). "History and Features of the Chrono Trigger SNES Release". Nouspace Publications. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  9. Brookman, Madeleine (August 5, 2015). "Character Names and Personalities". Nouspace Publications. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  10. "The Rime of the Ancient RPGer: Chrono Trigger". Venture Beat. May 25, 2009. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  11. Brookman, Madeleine (August 6, 2015). "Gender Norms". Nouspace Publications. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  12. Brookman, Madeleine (August 6, 2015). "Gender Norms". Nouspace Publications. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  13. Brookman, Madeleine (August 5, 2015). "Anime Aesthetic". Nouspace Publications. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  14. Loraine (June 14, 2014). "Bout of Nostalgia: Chrono Trigger Makes Us All Heroes". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  15. Montpetit, Francis (2012). "Chrono Trigger - Analyse historique basée sur la jouabilité et la technologie". Academia.edu. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  16. Nguyen, John (August 23, 2013). "Interview with Playboy's Playmate and Gamer Next Door's Pamela Horton". Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  17. Takahashi, Dean (October 20, 2012). "Playboy's Miss October talks about gamer stereotypes and breaking into the game business". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  18. Sullivan, Meghan (April 2, 2013). "The Best First Encounters in Video Games". IGN. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  19. "A Look Back at Chrono Trigger". IGN. July 3, 2008. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  20. Hussey, John P. (January 5, 2009). "Chrono Trigger". RPGFan. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  21. Williams, Michael P. (2014). Chrono Trigger: Boss Fight Books #2. Boss Fight Books. ISBN 978-1-940535-01-2.
  22. Goldman, Tom (February 19, 2010). "Incredible Chrono Trigger Statues Shown at Toy Fair 2010". Escapist Magazine. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
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