History Characters / PhantasyStarIV

[[folder:Seth]]

* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: Whether Seth was Dark Force in disguise or possessed by him is never stated.]]

* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Assuming that he was not aware of his impending transformation into Dark Force.]]

* DevelopersForesight: If you hack the game to force Seth into a fight with [[spoiler:Dark Force 3]], you'll find that he's completely immune to dark-type status effects, a clever hinting to his true nature that most players will never witness since none of the Islandcave's monsters use these.
* {{Foil}}: To Alys as a parent/mentor figure, to the point that it can serve as evidence that he's [[spoiler: not a real person and never was.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Rune seems wary of him from the start, and if you use the TALK option after getting the Aero-Prism he'll stop Chaz from letting Seth inspect the relic. [[spoiler:The correct decision]].

* MagicallyIneptFighter: Sort of. He can use Dark magic skills, but he has no TP and never learns any techniques. This lends some credence to the theory that [[spoiler:he was Dark Force all along, as the only other party characters who never learn ''any techniques at all'' are the androids Wren and Demi]].

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: He's the only Protector that does not get a profile in the game manual. [[spoiler:Which, of course, is because he isn't really a Protector at all]].
** In the section of the strategy guide that lists off the techniques of all characters at either their maximum level (for characters that don't last to the end) or average level at the end (if they do), the description for Seth is [[spoiler:Seth at level... Who cares, he's a bum]].
* MysteriousPast: [[spoiler:It's not clear if he was OnceAMan or if he really is just Dark Force in a human disguise. Returning to the university town of Piata with him is interesting, as former party member Hahn will say that he doesn't know Seth's face]].

* ObviouslyEvil: Hm, okay, this random archaeologist guy seems friendly enough, let's see what he can do... [[spoiler:SHADOW, CORROSION, DEATHSPELL, all attacks used by enemies in the service of Darkness]]. That's not suspicious at all!

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Though it's unclear if he's aware of it or not -- his scream of horror as his body twists into Dark Force seems to be genuine.]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: [[spoiler:He's the only villainous character that joins the party, or ''any'' party across the original four Phantasy Star games]].
* VagueAge: Subverted -- his character bio states very clearly that he's 39, which lends some credence to the theory that [[spoiler:he was OnceAMan, since if Dark Force just whipped him up he'd have a very young age like Rika]].

* WeakenedByTheLight: He shrieks in pain at the holy light of the Aero Prism, and [[spoiler:that's when Dark Force comes bursting out of him]]. This moment leads some credence to the theory that [[spoiler:he was Dark Force all along, as the Aero Prism is specifically stated to "illuminate everything", implying that it forced Dark Force to discard the Seth disguise and show its true self]].

* WhatTheHellHero: Rune gives Chaz a very gentle one after he[[RefusalOfTheCall flips out]] when he's told of [[spoiler:The Great Light and the delegation of its fight against the Profound Darkness to the sentient people of Algo]]. He rejects the whole thing on the basis that mindlessly obeying orders to kill complete strangers would make the heroes [[{{Hypocrite}} no better than Zio]], stemming largely from his guilt over [[spoiler:the death of Alys]] and blaming it on this very cause. Rune does help him see past this soon enough, but it says a lot that no one actually antagonizes Chaz over his opinion.

* BonusBoss: She is only encountered in the Silver Soldier quest at the end of the game, which a number of players may miss on their first playthrough.

* BonusBoss: The third guardian, Re-Faze, is an optional encounter that will either give Chaz some nifty LastDiscMagic [[spoiler:or deep-fry his ass with said magic]].

* PeekABangs: His headshot image reveals that he has overgrown hair hiding one of his eyes, which might be why he didn't recognize Alys in the party before foolishly giving out her measurements.

!!!'''Voiced by (Drama CD):''' Creator/YukanaNogami

* EnsembleDarkhorse: He's on this page despite being a speed bump miniboss with so little development, we don't even know if he's human or not. The guild desk clerk and Mito the Fortuneteller have more screentime but don't tend to leave as much impact. He is Juza, he stops guys from bothering Zio, he dies on the job and nobody minds.

* TheChick: She's the only female character that stays with the party from time of joining to the end of the game and early on is a source of mediation in the personality conflicts between Chaz and Rune.

* {{Expy}}: Of [[NamesTheSame Wren]] from ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIII''; they even look similar. (Note that their names were originally different in the Japanese versions - Phantasy Star III's Wren is Shiiren, while Phantasy Star IV's Wren is Fouren, but they're still explicitly the same model, if not series, of android)

* DeterminedWidow: [[AllThereInTheManual The Compendium]] has a side note about her life after the game is over; at the time, it was just a footnote and some doodles, but the continuation of the series into the Online games seems to have made it canon: [[spoiler: Chaz dies before he's 30, leaving Rika to formally join the Hunter's Guild and raise their half-Numan son.]]