Faize Sheifa Beleth is the tritagonist of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. He accompanies Edge as an ally throughout most of the storyline, but circumstances force him to ally himself with the Grigori, becoming an avatar of their creator, the Missing Procedure. He serves as the final antagonist of the story. .
Story
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Faize is a genetically-created Eldarian: as atmospherical conditions on Eldar are incredibly harsh due to the state of its star, reproduction is enhanced by genetic engineering.
Faize is first met on planet Aeos. He and a group of Eldarians goes to the aid of the shipwrecked spaceships on Aeos to aid the Earthlings at the request of the SRF Commander. He encounters Edge Maverick and Reimi Saionji at the crash site of one the ships, before being able to properly introduce himself the group is attacked by Armaros and he helps them dissipate the new threat. He then tells the, rather surprised, partners that he is what they could refer to as an alien. Amazed at this they question if the SRF had know about his race, to which he replies positively. He then says that the two are wanted back at the new base established at the SRF-003 Calnus site.
The trio returns, and Edge and Reimi are shocked at the advancement of the site. What had been a crash site has been transformed into a huge exploration base. Explaining the sudden change as Eldarian technology, the two can only be amazed. Meeting Supreme Commander Gaghan and their own commander, they explain that Faize's magic is symbology, and the three get made into an actual group. Edge is promptly given command of the SRF-003 Calnus with Faize and Reimi as his only crew members.
Acting as the Calnus' navigator, the trio make for the unexplored planet Lemuris. After setting foot in Triom Village they are treated as gods, for one of the villagers had seen them land in the "celestial ship", they come to the aid of Ghimdo Triom Phi, the village chief, who seems to have some sort of disease. Ghimdo explains that the disease, called Bacculus, is plaguing the planet and it turns people into stone. While discussing the disease, a child walks in and begins drawing on the floor next to the village chief. Explaining the child as his granddaughter, Faize then suddenly realizes that the child is drawing a symbology symbol. Amazed by this he asks Ghimdo about it, to which he explains that Lymle is the planet's best symbologist. Whilst Faize laughs at the explanation, Lymle summons Cerberus, a blazing demon dog, to sic Faize, in effect silencing him.
After finishing the symbol, therefore delaying the disease's effect, Lymle then proceeds to tell her Grandfather that she's leaving to get a symbol. Shocked and concerned about her safety, he explains that she means to go to a hermit symbologist living in a tower to learn a spell to cure the disease by herself. Before Ghimdo has a chance to ask, Edge decides to help her get there using the SRF exploration mission statement as a reason. Asking only to stop treating them like gods, all four leave for the tower.
After traversing a snowfield, the group reaches Alanaire Citadel (where before entering, Edge's hidden symbology instinct kicks in) and enter. However when they reach the top they see the symbologist being attacked. After fighting off the Dragon Newt, the tower starts to collapse, taking the symbologist along with it. Cursing their late timing, Lymle explains that her friend in nearby Woodley Village should know a way to cure it. When asked about her knowledge, she states that one must write their name on the walls of the tower, when mastery of the symbol is completed. The group heads to Woodley Village.
After Edge and crew escapes from the Alternate Earth and lands on Roak, Faize has a run-in with a girl from a tribe of nomads called the Black Tribe. They share a common interest in symbology, and the girl gives Faize a cloak which he wears for the rest of the game. Later on, when Sarah Jerand is kidnapped, it turns out the nomads were kidnapped as well. After hearing an augury from the oracle Eleyna Farrence saying that Sarah and the nomads have been captured for a sacrifice ritual in the Purgatorium, Faize insists that they hurry and storm the Purgatorium, leading to a brief argument with Edge. After searching the Purgatorium the next day, defeating the cultist leader and rescuing Sarah, Faize learns that the friendly tribe girl had been slaughtered, thus being the catalyst for his descent into darkness.
Upon returning to Aeos and finding the exploration base in ruins, the crew runs into Crowe F. Almedio and Arumat P. Thanatos, who save them from an onslaught of Phantoms. Eventually, Arumat informs Edge's crew that Eldar is no more. Initially Faize is struck by disbelief and sorrow, but Crowe reassures him, saying that the Eldarians managed to escape and that their refugee ships were orbiting Aeos with the Aquila. Upon notification that the Eldarian ships were under attack, Edge advises Crowe to protect the Eldarians while his crew takes out the Grigori located on Aeos. Faize, concerned for his brethren, decides to go with Crowe to ensure that they will be safe, and promises they'll meet again on En II. Arumat then joins Edge's crew in Faize's place. Unfortunately, the Phantom warships proved formidable as many Eldarian ships were destroyed.
After Faize witnessed many innocent people die, people who he was powerless to help, he becomes possessed by the Grigori and the party must face him at the end of the game as the final boss, the Apostle of Creation.
Upon undergoing conflicted thoughts and feelings, he transforms into Satanail, and the party defeats him for the final time. Luckily enough, he comes back to his senses. Edge and Lymle rush to his side, concerned about his well-being. After making amends with Lymle, and apologizing to Edge, Nox Obscurus begins to collapse, due to Faize's defeat. Giotto appears in a transport symbol, urging everyone to get to the symbol. Picked up by Edge, the two make way for the symbol, avoiding the collapsing segments of the Palace of Creation. Talking to Edge along the way, Faize asks Edge where he went wrong as all he wanted to do was to protect people. The two talked for while, despite the peril they were both in, and Faize comes to the realization that he should have protected people with his own power, instead of reaching for a power that was right in front of him.
As the pair get close, a floor segment collapses, causing Faize to fall. As Edge continues to hold on to him, Faize is amazed by Edge's willpower. Entrusting him with the continued safety of the universe, Faize lets go of Edge's hand, falling into the abyss to his (presumable) death. However, Faize manages to help Edge even after his apparent death. Edge looks to the rest of the party and gives Giotto the signal to teleport them out of Nox Obscurus, before jumping into the abyss after Faize. However, Faize's Sol manages to reach Edge in time and takes him to safety.
Edge makes many points in his argument against continuing contact with underdeveloped planets. Much of his motivation likely stems from Faize's death. Soon after the events of the game, the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact was created.
The hidden "Faize ending", which is obtained by viewing eight specific Private Actions over the course of the storyline, takes place on Lemuris. In the ending, as Lymle is standing at her grandfather Ghimdo's grave and after she says how she isn't really lonely, but then starts to silently cry, an unknown figure greatly resembling Faize walks up to Lymle and places a daisy in her hair, and when Lymle turns around and sees him, she smiles. Like the other hidden "Crowe ending", this is also open to interpretation. However, it greatly implies that Faize did, in fact, survive and has gone into seclusion on Lemuris to be with the remaining Eldarians.
Personality
A young Eldarian, and the first being from another planet that Edge Maverick ever met. His looks are indistinguishable from any Earthling. A stickler for politeness and harmony, Faize is capable of cool, calculated reasoning, and his engineering talents are vast enough that he designed the Sol (an Eldarian shuttlecraft) on his own. He can also use symbology. Still, he was deeply moved upon meeting Edge, looking up to his swordsmanship skills and take-charge attitude. Seemingly quiet and calm, he is in fact easily surprised and emotionally swayed, revealing a pure, honest side to his personality.
Relationships
- SRF-003 Calnus: Faize acts as the ship's navigator. When he leaves the party, Sarah takes over his seat, most likely Bacchus has taken over for navigation.
- Edge Maverick: Faize and Edge seem to have a close relationship, with Faize looking up to Edge and admiring him and Edge clearly caring about him deeply. They get along really well, though they sometimes disagree when it comes to certain things (mostly trusting unknown people). This led to a blow-up with Edge when after Eleyna Farrence collapses, he urges Edge to hurry to the Purgatorium, while Edge insists they stay until she recovers. Sick of Edge being stuck in despair he lashes out at Edge. After saving Sarah, it seems that their relationship was repaired, but Edge ends up being the catalyst behind the reasoning for a great number of Faize's actions. In the end, Faize confesses that all he ever wanted was to become a person like him, and that it feels nice to follow Edge's lead and hear him calling back to him.
- Reimi Saionji: As with most of the crew of the SRF-003 Calnus, he holds her in high regard. He supported Reimi when she relieved Edge of captain after the events on Earth.
- Lymle Lemuri Phi: A complicated and major relationship. At first, Lymle seems to act extremely cold towards Faize (which may have to do with Faize's disbelief over Lymle's powers as a Symbologist) and Faize tends to avoid her, trying to not be attacked by Cerberus again (sans life-threatening events). Throughout the various PAs, they seem to become closer (though, of course, they reluctantly show it). In one PA, where Lymle and Welch Vineyard are playing a prank on the other shipmates, she ends up accidentally kissing Faize (an interesting fact is, given the lifestyle and origins of the two, it is very possible that this is both of their first kisses) and both of them end up walking away embarrassed. Another show of romantic feelings is when Lymle tries to take a nap with Edge. Faize spots them and quickly conceals himself behind a wall (disbelieving himself for doing it). When Reimi asks what he is doing, he jolts from the wall, quickly making fun of Lymle (which is a bit out of character for him, though that can be said for all the times he interacts with her) into sleeping by herself, then leaves quickly. It appears on Roak that Lymle has become the closest to Faize, always waiting for him to rejoin to group, becoming uneasy when Faize gets along with the female Black Tribe member, and being the only one to sense the pain Faize feels when he discovers the remnants of the Black Tribe (though he quickly dismisses her when asked about it). By the time he leaves the Calnus for good, he seems to understand a bit about how he feels about Lymle, especially when he notices her dejected attitude to his departure. When he comes to his senses on Nox Obscurus, he seems to accept Lymle's feelings towards him and his own. If his ending is proof of anything, it's his desire to be with her.
Battle
In battle Faize's skills focus entirely on Symbology, though is still competent in close range fighting. At first, Faize has only access to Earth Glaive, but learns more symbols as he levels up. Though he can fight pretty well in close range, he never learns any close range battle skills, leaving something to be desired. He specializes in Dark and Earth symbology, but is also proficient in Ice and non-elemental symbology as well.
Faize is also skilled in Alchemy, which allows him to transmute common metals into rare materials and create a small number of potions.
Symbols
| Name | Max Level | Damage | MP Cost | CP Cost | Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Glaive | 10 | INT x195%-260% | 5-14 | 3 | Level 1 | Earth elemental attack symbol; Blades of stone burst forth from under the enemy's feet. |
| Antidote | 1 | NA | 4 | NA | Level 6 | Curative symbol; Purifies one ally of poison. |
| Ice Needles | 10 | INT x312%-532% | 5-14 | 2 | Level 12 | Ice-elemental attack symbol; Launches six needles of ice at the enemy and increases to nine at level 10. |
| Stone Rain | 10 | INT x195%-430% | 7-16 | 4 | Level 21 | Earth-elemental attack symbol; Countless rocks rain down on the enemy. |
| Shadow Needles | 10 | INT x162%-332% | 5-14 | 2 | Level 27 | Shadow-elemental attack symbol; Launches five needles of darkness at the enemy from behind and increases to eight at level 10. |
| Enlighten | 10 | NA | 16 | NA | Level 34 | Support symbol; Temporarily boost one ally's INT by 30%. At higher skill levels, the effect duration increases. |
| Deep Freeze | 10 | INT x161%-281% | 7-16 | 4 | Level 41 | Ice-elemental attack symbol; Cools the air surrounding the enemy, freezing them from ground up. |
| Vampiric Blade | 10 | INT x41%-131% | 10-19 | 4 | Level 48 | Shadow-elemental attack symbol; Mows down the area surrounding the caster with dark blades that absorb MP. |
| Terra Hammer | 10 | INT x304%-672% | 21-30 | NA | Level 55 | Earth-elemental attack symbol; Digs up three giant boulders then smashes them to the ground, and increases to six at level 10. |
| Dark Devourer | 10 | INT x375%-646% | 21-30 | NA | Level 61 | Shadow-elemental attack symbol; Summons a creature from the netherworld so it could feast upon the enemy. |
| Reaping Spark | 10 | INT x163%-311% | 10-19 | 5 | Level 66 | Non-elemental attack symbol; Creates four black spheres that slice up anything inside. |
| Extinction | 10 | INT x269%-399% | 7-16 | 6 | Level 73 | Non-elemental attack symbol; Encases the enemy in a ball of light, then releases the energy inside in an explosive blast. |
| Divine Wave | 10 | INT x447%-616% | 21-30 | NA | Skill Manual | Non-elemental attack symbol; Summons a wall of light around the caster, damaging nearby enemies. |
Weapons
- Eldarian Rapier
- Guardian's Rapier
- Iron Saber
- Icicle Rapier
- Elastic Rapier (I.C. only.)
- Rune Saber (I.C. only.)
- Mithril Rapier
- Sylph's Saber
- Infinity Saber
- Sky Sword
- Onyx Saber
Gallery
Etymology
Faize's last name, Beleth, is the the name of a fallen angel and one of the kings of Hell.
Trivia
- While on Roak, Faize receives a cloak that he wears in cutscenes and in battle. He eventually wears it as a memento. A running gag with the cloak is that Lymle always says that the cloak looks horrible on him whenever she gets the chance. This eventually plays a small part in the final battle as it allows Lymle to identify him before they fight.
- In the second playthrough of the game onward, when Faize is about to leave the party, you can choose to keep him instead of letting Arumat join. If you do keep Faize, though, the story will still continue as if Arumat joined the party and Faize left. However, Arumat is still seen in cutscenes even though he isn't in the party .Of course, Faize will appear on the Calnus instead ofArumat , therefore eliminating any Private Actions with Arumat.
- Faize's surname, Beleth, is most likely derived from the Goetic demon of the same name. This demon is said to be bent on saving the earth from destruction from the drove of humans whom have become too thick in numbers.
- Faize's character design and personality bears a remarkable ressemblance to Spock from Star Trek. They both have the same type of ears and are both very logical in nature.
- Faize resembles Eureka from Eureka 7. they both have green hair, the both appear as the main lass boss controled or manipulated, and they both had purple then red eyes.
- Faize also resembles Yuki from Draglade. Yuki, like Faize, looks up to the main protagonist and feels that he is much less skilled then they are, and both also turn evil by taking hold of a dangerous power (the Missing Procedure for Faize and the Dark G-Con for Yuki). Both also wield rapiers and serve as the final boss of their respective games.