"Petrina, better known as Petri, hails from an eastern archipelago kingdom, sent on a whim by her family to assist research efforts of the Yggdrasil trees. Exceedingly proud of her capabilities (and having the strength to show for it), she enjoys pushing herself, joining other squads to test out new equipment and prosthesis."

One of the most fun characters to play, to be honest! EMD is my first experience using a dedicated tank, and I never expected to have such fun with it. The 3D model helps a lot, I think. Seeing her turn and raise her sword is just way too cute. Admittedly her character is a work-in-progress, but I've noticed that she does what she wishes most of the time.

(Now that I think of it, I think EMD having active and dynamic representations of our characters helps a lot too and is just so ToT it makes me cry... I wanna have little them's in real life)

"A prosthetist from Tharsis, called to aid in the exploration efforts in Aslarga. Because his practice primarily deals with rehabilitation, Seth has to adjust himself to different responsibilities, such as immediate response and further treatment. Apart from this, he would often find himself catching to and worrying about the rest of his squad."

Obligatory frazzled medic insert. The guy always finds himself wondering whether or not he should heal his teammates, but they say they're fine. I don't always get to pilot him that often, but I suppose it's rather in-character given that he's the one who tries to look out for everyone, much to his own detriment.

The few times I did pilot him, he would run headfirst into traps or enemies, only to be saved by Alma later on. One funny moment was when I accidentally made him eat a sleeping pill in the third boss. (foreshadowing maybe. those are the wrong pills, Seth)

"An heiress whose family has strong ties to the Lagaardian research society. Much of Alma's work involves the cursory elemental explosion, earning her a reputation in her old schools. For a researcher, her senses are very sharp, making her a good fit for her group's assigned task."

One of the characters I pilot most often. Alma's portrait ingame totally doesn't reflect how she is as a person, and that's partially why I'm hiding this under a cut.

She tends to hang around in the front with Petri, and so is able to sling spells while Petri draws monsters to herself. They're a very fun combo honestly.

"A quiet young woman travelling from a reclusive clifftop village. Chika has a knack for knowing when and where trouble is brewing, and so has the tendency to be drawn to such places; hence, how she got to Aslarga in the first place."

Admittedly my favourite of the four mains in Squad C concept-wise. While she is the youngest of them (21 vs late 20s-30), she manages to keep her wits about her throughout the treks through the mystery dungeons.

I noticed that she has the tendency to linger at the back, which means that she has more time to chill and observe their surroundings.

So far, I've met two NPCs that wished to join the group, a dancer and a landy. The writing of these characters is honestly so charming, I'm surprised.