The Complete Evolution of Dragoons

►Subscribe to Final Fantasy Union!
bit.ly/1ARxUIG
►Want to support us? We have a Patreon!
/ ffunion
After their first appearance in Final Fantasy II, Dragoons have become a fable job class. Kain Highwind was the watershed moment in terms of cementing its legacy, and there have been strong showings within Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV...
But such is the strength of the job, that traits have featured within pretty much every single Final Fantasy game, even if there is no designated Dragoon present.
When people think of Dragoon, they think of Kain Highwind, but they also think of Cid Highwind, Freya Crescent and in more recent times, Aranea Highwind. And its these mystical warriors, that help to continue the legacy.
►KEY POINTS WITHIN THIS VIDEO
1. Final Fantasy Dragoon Evolution
2. Freya Crescent Dragoon
3. Dragoon Abilities
4. Dragoon Final Fantasy Tactics
5. Final Fantasy XIV Dragoon
***
Website: www.finalfanta...
Facebook Page: / finalfantasyunion
Facebook Group: / ffunion
Twitter - / ffunion
Discord: / discord (we're a partner!)
Thanks for watching!

[@MarketCipher1]

Khimari's mixture of blue mage and dragoon will always stay with me. He's a character that grows on you through successive playthroughs.

[@micahlindley7515]

He also has a bit of Red Mage sooooo.... Purple Mage?

[@spoonimefan]

​@@micahlindley7515: And now I say we need "A Mage Formerly Known as Prince"

[@xq1234wzts]

He was always the first character I stopped caring about in post game. He was nice until the story lasted, but after that, he was redundant.

[@ndnofmana521]

I wish they would bring his style of"class" to ff14

[@davidgeorge1943]

It also helps that he has one of the easier Celestial Weapons in the game, at least for me. The Butterfly Hunt minigame will likely vary depending on your screen setup and version.

[@gianghuynh9570]

14’s dragoon has a few points you neglected to mention. They have Life Surge which restores health when landing the next weapon skill. They also retain the “sole survivor” motif in the form of the Azure Dragoon Estinien, who is the only child surviving the onslaught of the dragon Nidhogg in his village. Your character’s shift into dragoon from A Realm Reborn into Heavensward is also the result of being one of the survivors from a purge aimed at you and your comrade.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

Not mentioning everything is not really enough to be called "neglect"

[@ndnofmana521]

Not to mention being the sole survivor during raid party wipes....

[@jacobawojtowicz]

Cid Highwind was a genius callback in an installment that really shifted the atmosphere and style of the game. Cid in previous installments is the mechanical type, the Highwinds were the dragoons. So to combine the two (by personality and name) was a great way to make them both fit in a less fantasy, more futurey environment.

[@Owl-yc2yu]

The connection with dragons is with his ship? Yknow since he's all aerial and stuff.

[@biggamefreak]

That is a genius observation. An airship captain carrying on the dragoon discipline in a futuristic setting.

[@mitch4904]

Dude was the technical genius of the gang, used the most primitive weapon of the gang, called upon dragon spirits with seemingly zero magical aptitude or knowhow, had incredible dragoon-like abilities with seemingly zero knowhow, and not only threw dynamite at his enemies as a sort of "special attack" but lit the damn thing with his cigarette. go ahead and name a better Dragoon than that lol

[@spoonimefan]

And if I recall correctly, he was the only surviving member (or at least could be considered that) for Shinra's failed/abandoned space/rocket program. (If there were other people stilk alive that had been involved, I believe they weren't ones that had wanted to see it succeed.) That point may stretch longer than a halberd, but it's there. 🤷

[@brockmckelvey7327]

Dragoons: Winning at "The Floor Is Lava" since FF2

[@Konpekikaminari]

untill FF11/14

[@ggEmolicious]

F for all the floor tanks....it wasn’t always this way! *tear*

[@BlueMageDaisen]

@@Konpekikaminari Now you know WHY they played floor is lava

[@gianghuynh9570]

In FF14 they play the floor is a feather bed by hugging it most of the time.

[@rawnorth7882]

😂😂😂

[@StephanieDeBootler]

Sadly I've been in love with Kain since I was eight when my brother first played the game. I'm 33 and his still my favorite character.

[@Raharu95]

Why Sadly?

[@fastasgaupthebargaining7174]

@@Raharu95 because they are 33 and are attracted to a vedio game character im guessing.

[@hyperspace2752]

@@fastasgaupthebargaining7174 lmao . you're so bad

[@fastasgaupthebargaining7174]

@@hyperspace2752 lol

[@arturopinto6724]

Yeah, Kain is the best Dragoon ever. The only thing that is a rock in the shoe, was that he tried to cuck Cecil and steal his GF xD

[@yunatuna6011]

Fang's eidolon was Bahamut, the king of dragons.

[@dimitriusshinamorri4406]

Thank you!! I came here to say the same thing lol

[@bvnbvn7654]

LOL I was going to say the same thing too!

[@BYERE]

Was about to point out the same.

[@johnnybeard]

She also takes down a wyvern-esque enemy, "Gran Pulse" style if I recall

[@ashade2877]

her ultimate ability is also called highwind

[@edaphus]

Actually, the azure dragoon from ff14 was the sole survivor of a dragon attack on his village.

[@Sethir]

Yeah box was ticked.

[@FreedomSylph]

also no mention of FF XIV dragoon LB manifesting a spiritual dragon

[@33link333]

@@FreedomSylph Or Mirage Dive for that matter

[@TheBonkleFox]

I mean, we can go all the way back to Haldrath, but then we'd basically be explaining the entire HW plot.

[@timmytonberry3246]

Estinien was but he was Azure Dragoon by title. At the end of Heavensward he relinquishes that title. In the Dragoon role quests the player actually becomes the Azure Dragoon. I wish Estinien would have gotten a shout out in this video though since he plays a huge role in the series.

[@cloudkitt]

Also, Final Fantasy Tactics features a character named Reis, who was turned into a dragon by a curse. She is referenced by Freya's ability Reis' Wind in IX

[@peachpot]

Regarding Cid in FFVII, I know this isn't 100% definite, but I always saw the connection between Cid and Dragons because of the love of flying . Cid wanted to go to space (kind of like flying) and owned the Tiny Bronco in his backyard. Whenever I think of dragons I think of powerful beasts that fly around. It's a bit of a stretch, but that's how I see it.

[@goonerOZZ]

I want to add, Cid in FFVII also fit the "sole survivor of a devastated country/town/ village" motif. If we paralel the rocket as the dragon and rocket scientist as the dragoon, Shinra pulling funding on the Space Program practically "kill" the rocket AND destroyed the town economically. Making Cid and his assistant Shera, the only rocket scientist left in a decayed town.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

No that's linking the consequence, not the facts. 1. A dragoon is not a dragon 2. So both like flying. And? That's not a link. They might like flying because of an actual link

[@caiodhernandezdeoliveira9492]

Bahamas zero is a matéria that works as the battery of the ship no?

[@acehealer4212]

I’d never thought about how so many Dragoons share a backstory about being one of the few survivors of their village, clan, order, or what have you. It’s pretty tragic, but I guess it makes sense thematically to give the Dragoon class a kind of uniqueness and prestige. Something like that anyway. Thanks for the cool video!

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

Ah yes, my favorite series of FF: Raid shadow legend

[@deiradinn]

Can't blame em for getting some funding.

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

@@deiradinn Well, they're actually promoting a scam game. But the scam game itself got a good price for the promoting, can't blame them tho.

[@samuelwest6435]

😂😂😂

[@GreasyOaf]

@@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop anyone who shills mobile games lives in a hole

[@yaboizxs7350]

Why am I still laughing after seeing this?

[@daviddaaannggg]

You forgot to mention that Fang’s eidolon was a dragon, Bahamut

[@Enclave.]

Kain was still able to Jump with a sword just didn't deal as much damage as with a spear.

[@digiing1992]

That was probably not the case with the first version.

[@clonesharpshooter101]

There’s something romantically alluring about Dragoons surviving a previous presence of dragons to use in mounted combat. Like a sword’s interest over firearms, there’s something of an impressive tradition that commands respect and thought. It’s a really good storytelling element.

[@williamaha]

The only thing that call it is mistake is within this video you claimed that Fang does not have an illusion to dragons and yet her summon is Bahamut how is that not a illusion to fighting beside a dragon?

[@FinalFantasyUnion]

Ahh shoot, you're absolutely right! My apologies for that omission William! ~Darryl

[@mifunesanchez8446]

As a dragoon/lancer main (fan), thank you. Love the extensive research and history you did. As well as, I commend you on your background music. It sets the mood of the dragoon class and thank you for not using meme dub-ish musics. More power to your channel.

[@Seawalls]

Kain is the best dragoon. Best story, best looking armor, first holy dragoon, my god what a character.

[@Gingerbeard]

my personal favorite Dragoon is Freya. Shes just so cool and useful.

[@SprunkCovers]

One of my favourite FF characters overall

[@kungfluhustle2475]

DRG is my main in XIV there for my favourite floor tank is me xD

[@GooseGumlizzard]

Aranea >> Freya

[@CrnaStrela]

She looks like Red Mage more than a Dragoon

[@phillipcormier216]

@@CrnaStrela I think she was given both as a Nod to the series, sort of how lots of characters play dual roles. Steiner is a Knight but also a Magic Knight with Vivi in the party, Amarant is a Monk and Ninja, Eiko/Garnet are both White Mages and Summoners(although one is clearly better at an area than the other and vice versa), Freya by definition is a Dragoon but is dressed as a Red Mage and her Dragon Magic reflects that as it has both Damaging and Healing effects(Black and White).

[@HelenaeCat]

The lore for dragoons is pretty extensive. Mirage dive isn't our jump upgrade, super jump is. Also, too bad you didn't talk about Estinien and his connection to Nidhogg or the jump called Star diver.

[@Konpekikaminari]

Or the Limit break being Midgardsormr's head Dragoons have a lot of depth to their attack visuals

[@matthagen67]

My favourite FF class... I'm interested in this!

[@ChefR3ll]

Mine too!

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

Yea, this job saved me from Garuda's tornado hell attack in III

[@platinumpixel7819]

Me too

[@kuroiryu9434]

In FF XIII Fang fills the dragoon roll but has no links to dragons. Proceeds to ride Bahamut into battle.

[@ggEmolicious]

Oh ffs, in ff14 I’m a pink hrothgar dragoon...I’m just realizing all I did was make a pink kimarhi >.

[@elioalbertopereyra4702]

LMAO!!! Pink Kimarhi i cant- xD

[@ndnofmana521]

😂😂😂 yes!!!

[@snafuproxy8064]

The unlock Dragoon Job story in FFXI was the most heart felt defining moment for the class. Mind you, FFXI was the pinnacle for most classic jobs in any case. Freya is still my favourite from the single player games and I wish FFX-2 had included Dragoon.

[@Geheimnis-c2e]

The fact that the kid in FF2 was named Kain was a nice easter egg, though idk if it’s canon. Oh, and in FF6, there was an esper that makes your whole party jump when you use it. I think it was Quetzalcoatl.

[@liamgreyeyes9498]

Was it in the base game or only in advance?

[@starbound-soul6269]

in regards to the FFXIV entry, i have a few minor corrections to put forth: Estinien, the Azure Dragoon mentioned, is the sole survivor of an attack on his village by Nidhogg, and the Azure Dragoons are chosen by the Eye, not simply wielders of it. I feel it could also be relevant to mention that, at least in the context of Heavensward content and before, Dragoons are solely dragonslayers, in contrast to the prominent dragon riders of previous FF games. The video is fantastic, regardless! Very comprehensive, and I appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into researching all of these games! Well done!

[@rh0dr1]

Another addition to this, in the Dragoon Job quests after Heavensward, after the Dragonsong war has been resolved, we see Estinien, the Azure Dragoon, working as sort of mediator with Dragons, and the Life of the Dragon and their Limit Break exemplify the evolution of Dragon Slayers to ally's of Dragons.

[@Konpekikaminari]

I feel like it's worth mentioning, but the ffxiv dragoons were, in fact, dragon _riders_ in their earliest days It's a nice bit of lore from "Tales from the Storm"

[@GruntSquad92]

Additionally: ishgard only had somewhere between 20 and 30 dragoons at the beginning of the dragon song war, and only around 10 survived. They were the best of the best, not everyone receive the privilege to train as one, and many die during the grueling trials. Most dragoons die during service (floor tanks, even in the lore)

[@Thehotdogman]

I always loved Freya. I was sorry to see she wasn't in most of ff9. I'd like to have seen more of her interactions with Zidane as they were always funny.

[@holysparkbatman]

Same nine is my favorite I’ve only played a couple though

[@dragonmsterd]

I have always leaned toward using the Dragoon class in any final fantasy game I've played, it's always been my favorite ascetically and lore wise. nice video!

[@HarleyHerbert]

You forgot to mention that another link to dragoons Fang has is that her Eidolon summon is Bahamut, so matches the trait of being tied to or working with a dragon. She's also shown multiple times that she's also very proficient in riding dragons and wyverns too.

[@Mito383]

I would just like to say that Dragoons in FFXI getting a pet dragon was the coolest thing.

[@sleepingkirby]

I miss my little wyvern... It was like having a mini whm around with you all the time if you subbed a mage class.

[@moety2]

Firewing, I miss you lol.

[@MekareP]

This is why I have Midgardsormr as my minion in XIV, the wyvern was so neat in XI.

[@blackkkabllakkcaa]

Raiden was mine

[@aspieatheist6040]

Interesting fact about FF IV: You mentioned about the Holy Dragoon from The After Years. There is an unused sprite in the memory of the original FF IV of Kain working a spell. It appears that getting the Holy Dragoon was an idea at some point in FF IV.

[@hathuiv1975]

Dragoons are not actually plentiful in Ishgard, being the elite of the knights there were maybe 10 at the start of Heavensward

[@Dante-mw2ez]

30 at the start of heavenward, about 8-10 after the massive battle with Nidhogg

[@zedek_]

I *distinctly* remember equipping Kain with a sword, and he was able to jump just fine. At some points in the game, having him equip a sword is better than the currently available spear. This was in the USA/World "FF2."

[@StormEcho]

I'm a big fan of the Dragoon crossover into Monster Hunter World, as the Insect Glaive in that game is a near-perfect fluid approximation of the Dragoon moveset!

[@kylemoore2467]

I think it's important to consider FFVII Cid's affinity for rockets (and Shinra's dismantling of the Space Program) in relation to the "sole survivor" trope here. In this sense Cid is indeed one of the last surviving "dragon riders", whose way of life was ended through the actions of an "evil empire".

[@Kougeru]

18:24 she literally summons (rides on) Bahamut....

[@goonerOZZ]

I want to argue that CId in FFVII fit many of the Dragoon motifs of the Final Fantasy mitos, not just the spear and jump, he also fit the "sole survivor of a devastated country/town/ village" motif. If we paralel the rocket as the dragon and rocket scientist as the dragoon, Shinra pulling funding on the Space Program practically "kill" the rocket AND destroyed the town economically. Making Cid and his assistant Shera, the only rocket scientist left in a decayed almost abandoned town. Now about the noble story relating to dragons, again, if we paralel the rockets as dragons, Cid had to "kill" his rocket launch so it's blast wouldn't literally kill Shera, there's a dragon and damsel in distress re threading in there if you think about it.

[@64power72]

Do a evolution of the chocobo please.

[@tataladdd4251]

64 power nah i’ll do it *ahem* the chocobo has been unchanged since FF2 until they grew these weird sideburns/chops in FF13 and then went normal again after that

[@JaeshaunDT]

@@tataladdd4251 metal chocobo best keyblade

[@ShinFahima]

FF9, best chocobo usage

[@Dracobyte]

Wark!

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

FFVII's rodeo chocobo theme is the best western theme imo

[@toxicity791]

Kain was always a standout character in the main series for me, and that combined with Sony's alternate interpretation of Dragoons in The Legend of Dragoon game, and in general highly favouring lancer/spear wielding classes in games led me to always be excited when games included the class. I started playing FF XIV recently and so far have completed the Lancer/Dragoon storyquests up to the ARR finale, with the multiple jump abilities and general aesthetic I'm having a lot of fun.

[@nahuelkid]

Dragoons: When everyday is leg day.

[@leonardo_pandaboff]

My coolest experience with this job was in ffta2, when I were in a very hard battle and there was a big threat on the field, who was a powerful dragon. I just moved my dragoon next to it and used "Dragontame" ability. As aresult, my dragoon convinced the threat to leave the battle making it much more easier to fight.

[@Leondragon06]

Thanks Dragoon is one of my favorite classes up there with Paladin so nice to see the evolution.

[@aurizzistic]

Dragoon is far and away the coolest job. Edgy boy armor, taming/befriending a fierce dragon, protecting the city, access to ancient magic. Too bad I can't jump 😂😂😂

[@tenkaikagaya]

A few things you missed: FFV has King Alexander *Highwind* Tycoon, father of Lenna and Faris. Though not a playable dragoon, his design is dragon influenced and his kingdom has wind drakes, a clear relative of dragons. Also about in FFXIII Fang not having any association with dragons...bro her eidolon is *ahem* Bahamut.

[@barrybend7189]

Bravely Default and the Valkyrie class which is a reskinned Dragoon.

[@Wickedincarnate]

The Highwind is Cid's dragon. Its all come together now.

[@gomezpovina]

Well, to be honest, I'd like to see an episode about smaller jobs. Y'know, those that appear in few final fantasy games. Like dancer, mime, bard... machinist? Yeah, I think that's a good example. Y'know, like FFT Mustadio, and maybe Edgar from 6 or noctis/prompto from XV. Hell, if they don't show enough variations between iterations to make it interesting, you can do a "top 10" of the least used jobs in final fantasy series. Call it something positive, like jobs with more potential or something like that. I don't know, I just think that some of the weirdest jobs will never make it to this series on their own.

[@Patatatatate]

also interesting to note for Fang (FF13) is the fact that she is associated with bahamut (king of dragons)

[@midshipman8654]

Dragoons also have some similarities to the actual historical troop type called a dragoon, which where traditionally mounted infantry: that is a soldier who rides on horse for mobility, but fights on foot in actual combat. this is kind of like the in game use of dragoon’s jump (high mobility infantry), but moreso, seems to relate to the og dragons no longer fighting on the backs of dragons (they are THEMATICALLY dismounted cavalry, bereft of their mounts, as well as practically), which I think is really poetic. as a sidenote, idk if i would classify most of the stuff you mentioned as subversions as subversions. they seem more like references or different takes rather than actively trying to undermine the concept of a dragoon itself. Unless you want to classify all the common elements of FF that have alterations in each take like chokobos and black mages and crystals and stuff. which seem more like loosely tied thematic elements.

[@antitheist3206]

I know I'm late, but I have an idea: Evolution of Black Mages. They've changed more than most people realize.

[@stayhungry8052]

I appreciate the depth and effort in your videos! Thank you for the content

[@FinalFantasyUnion]

Thank you Mustadio! ~Darryl

[@TheFeri]

oh that Dragon Heart sceane... My childhood... oh I love that

[@Holyduck777]

The amount of dragoons I see around limsa with the last name Highwind is staggering.

[@alphad2327]

Something you forgot to mention is that Fang does have Bahamut (a dragon) as her eidolon.

[@dibeichan]

Alpha D23 I’m pretty sure, remembering the early trailers of XIII Versus before it was XV, that Nomura wanted Aranea to be a Dragoon under Bahamut.

[@jamesmason3734]

I would like to see a evolutions video on the fighter class, because man that class goes through the most changes.

[@joshuaturnquist5538]

Very nicely done video! The only thing I think was missed was the Dragoon from Tactics Ogre. While not Final Fantasy per se, it's another Square Enix series that features Dragoons as a class, with a focus on jumping and monster/dragon hunting. The female Dragoon had the iconic Draconic look, while the Male dragoon had gold armor similar to Richard's armor in FF2. The big difference is they didn't use only Spears, but Greatswords as well.

[@lordpoundcake2317]

Ffxiv DRG main here: thanks you for the awesome lore history dump. This was fun.

[@thomasboys7216]

You'll never be a dragoon if you skip leg day.

[@OkayAnd]

I really appreciate your perspective on Dragoons, I always thought that they was just Valkyries but dragon theme and non gender specific. I’m surprised you don’t have more FF job evolutions, but keep up the good work

[@Thoreaux]

Drink every time he says the exact phrase "affinity for spears."

[@KainHighwind27]

Thank you so much for this video! Dragoons have always been my favorite class in the series, and I always use them as much as I can when possible! It's probably obvious, but my favorite Dragoon is Kain :D Paladins would be a cool class to do an evolution on!

[@FinalFantasyUnion]

You're very welcome! I'd never have been able to tell that Kain was your favourite ;) ~Darryl

[@highwind9693]

Glad to find another fellow Kain lover!

[@KainHighwind27]

@@highwind9693 YES!! Another Highwind :D

[@sladelius6174]

After Years Kain is GOAT status.

[@KainHighwind27]

@@sladelius6174 100% agree!

[@daviddragoon82]

May be Biased but Best Class. Tactics gave them great support abilities too.

[@JustJohn816]

18:30 Fangs Eidolon is Bahamut! I'd argue that's worth something Also AAAAAAH 14

[@camgoodkicks]

You forgot to point out that 95% of Dragoon’s tend to be left handed thanks to Cain, Spirit Surge in FFXI is literally “Dragon Sword” in JP aka the original name for Lancet, they just changed the name for English releases, and that Fang’s summon is Bahamut.

[@stevenmike1878]

redmage/dragoon with 2x cast is my fav dragoon. the pesky fly that revives the whole party if they get wiped. an already clutch character made extra clutch.

[@stardust-reverie]

since a bunch of people have mentioned already that the azure dragoon from xiv, estinien, is a sole survivor, it’s also worth mentioning that the thing that defines an azure dragoon is nidhogg’s eye selecting them, granting them its power, which is why your character in xiv becomes one so quickly other historical azure dragoons worth mentioning: - haldrath: he was involved with a certain… incident, in xiv’s lore, and was probably the sole survivor-he also tore out nidhogg’s eyes and became the first azure dragoon - saint reinette: became a dragoon with the sole intention of hunting the dragon that killed her partner, and once she accomplished this she laid down her legendary lance Gae Bolg to become a woman of the cloth, taking a vow of poverty and being canonized post-mortem by the ishgardian orthodox church - ser alberic bale: the azure dragoon before estinien who trained him and is your job mentor for the dragoon job quests i’ve played so far

[@TheBanishedWind]

21:32 In FF4, Kain's father's name was stated to be Ricard as a nod to his predecessor. I'm not 100% certain on this part, but IIRC the above came first, and the FF2 change was to complete the shout-out.

[@Firestar4041]

Side fun fact: According to google resources; There were a real life equivalent to Dragoons, being early 17th century British cavalry units, trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback. Dubbed dragoons for their musket flashes, resembling dragon fire. Was mainly curious what might've inspired the class

[@isaacthelastn7687]

The Dragoons are absolutely fascinating. Thanks for this video

[@ReachSkyla]

Freya and kain are the quintessential dragoons. They really embody what it means to be a dragoon. Especially Freya. Her race is almost completely wiped out. And her story is incredibly sad.

[@robertvanderlinden1772]

FFIX is by far my favorite, and Freya is by far my favorite character from it. She's an amazing combatant offensively and defensively and I lover her story line with Sir Fratley, so tragic.

[@tempestbryson7136]

Evolution of the Black Mage would be awesome!

[@eliasdankness9250]

When it came to me being a DRG/SAM in FFXI so many years ago, I had one goal: Make DRG a respected job class. Before they gave it a makeover, I kept trying to fine detail how I played it despite how people viewed it. Yea I got overlooked a lot for other DPS jobs. But usually once I got in they seen the potential and I even convinced some to become a DRG! My best moment was when I was around low 60s looking for a party and an all Japanese party let me join. I think they picked me because I was the only looking for a party at that hour so it was kinda a pity recruit lol. But I was dishing out so much damage I kept taking hate from the tank but I knew how to control it with Super Jump and Third Eye. At the end they told me good job in the auto translate and the party disbanded. I was real proud then ☺

[@eliasdankness9250]

Btw went by the name Baraka on the Carbuncle server with my wyvern Raiden 😎

[@universalronin7212]

One of my takeaways from this series of videos is that Kamari (not sure on the spelling, not really bothered about that) is FF 10’s representation of almost every class 😂. Fun video. I’ve never really thought about Dragoons, thanks.

[@pershop4950]

My first exposure to "Jump" skill was in FF6, and it was pretty fun. I think it was later that I learned it is related to the dragoon class, but that connection was easy to see because of using the dragoon boots in Ff6.

[@vulpinedeity3379]

Oerba is a village, not a clan. Fang is from the Yun clan, and Vanille from the Dia clan.

[@legoworld246]

18:22 "Even though there was no association with dragons..." EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO ASSOCIATION WITH DRAGONS??? Her summon was freaking Bahamut! That, and also there was that one time she rode a wyvern in chapter 9.

[@whalebaitj1983]

I would like to add that the Valkyrie job from Bravely Default is inspired by the Dragoon. Having the jump abilities and using spears. But has more angelic armor than dragon

[@brandonHines76]

DragonLance had a huge impact. not only the calling of the red, white and Black mages, but... "Dragonlance".... There is literally a lance in some games called the Dragonlance

[@gungriffen]

I always find it strange that Dragoon came to Mean something else in Fantasy then in actual history. A Military Dragoon was an infantryman who rode a horse. Unlike Calvary they didn't fight from horse back. Dragoon were to ride to an extreme flank and dismount and attack on foot with rifles and hand guns. Dragoons were created in the 16 hundreds specifically to use rifles. This allowed them to fire at the enemy and as the enemy got closer with melee weapons they'd mount up, ride to maximum range again, dismount and keep shooting. But the key features were a rifleman who rode a horse and dismounted to fight. Later on they were also called Mounted Rifles. I feel people just liked the name.

[@Rem694u2]

Not even gonna mention that Fang from FF13's Eidolon was Bahamut? No correlation to dragons? What??? lol Oh and Raid Shadow Legends sucks ass.

[@lunatic447]

I do think 14 needs a bit more credit than given in this vid. Some iconic drg skills were left out. I also like the evolution of the job over the years. At first the lvl 50 drg acts like professional hunter of dragons, only using efficent hunting arts, and having few flashy skills compared to the other jobs at the time. In HW we restored the bond between man and dragon and it also marks the point where our abilities became more and more draconic in nature over future expansions. Dragoons became such a jrpg icon that other franchises ,even seperate from square enix, have dragoons. For example grand blue fantasy, tree of of savior, twin saga, legend of dragoon and so on

[@remyd8767]

Have you not played The Legend of Dragoon - the best rpg involving dragoons?

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

Isn't it kinda look like Tekken / MK?

[@Shorkshire]

@@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop no it's the best Jrpg ever created

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

@@Shorkshire I remember exactly that legend of dragoon in PS2 is kinda like Tekken or DBZ budokan Tenkaichi. It's like side scrolling stage game, right?

[@DaveRuben7]

@@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop Legend of Dragoon was a PS1 game, a jrpg similar to ff but with a few different mechanics, one of which was that every character could transform into a kind of elemental dragon knight. Tl;dr: no, it's not a side scrolling beat'em up.

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

@@DaveRuben7 Gosh my B. The title in my Harddsik version of PS2 stating it as Legend of Dragoon, but the game itself is Legend of Dragon. Sorry

[@bitarctic4859]

I have an addition I would like to add as someone very into Brave Exvius, but it does have it's own stuff I believe is worth mentioning. First, as far as story goes, a dragoon is featured in the main story in both season 1 and 2, through Cid. He appears as a member of the Sworn Six of Paladia in the first season, under the title Veritas of the Wind, and while there isn't much connection to the cultural aspects of Dragoons with him, he has large call backs to Cid Highwind of 7, as he is the father of airships in the story. Mechanically, on the other hand, Dragoons and their associated abilities have gone through refinement over the years. Firstly, Jump abilities were given modifiers that greatly increased their damage in comparison to other attacks, and it can be furter boosted by a large margin with equipment and passives. A variety of different variations of Jump were added, but most notable was that, as of now, all jump abilities have been changed, and no longer automatically resolve after a turn. To synergize better with the chaining system within the game, all Jump abilities need the player to activate the descent. The chaining system involves having attacks go off within frames of each other, and the higher you chain, the more damage the next attack will do, up to a maximum of a 300% boost. This has created a need to units to have "finisher" moves, high damage, but only hitting once. With jump now being an active ability, you can time when the jump actually hits to be the finisher to a massive chain, stacking what can already be hefty damage boosters with the boost from the chain, to nuke a target in oblivion.

[@justinhanna9152]

Hope you make more of these your evolution series is my favorite and is what got me into your channel

[@FGTRTD24]

Currently playing FF6 for the first time and it's certainly different of how dragoons are handled. Kain is often talked about when it comes to dragoon characters and I hope that FF4 gets a port or remaster for the Switch or PS4. I've always wanted to play it.

[@EU_Cafe]

You probably can, FFIV is on steam and the SNES/GBA/PSP versions are pretty common to buy or easy to emulate. Not to mention the DS version isn't too rare.

[@FGTRTD24]

Matthew Meek which one do you recommend? The PSP version looks awesome.

[@EU_Cafe]

@@FGTRTD24 The PSP version is the definitive version imo, the DS (and PC) version plays differently and does add some extra scenes, but not a fan of the 3D models. I would go with the PSP version if you can

[@anivmoreno9612]

@@FGTRTD24 The PSP version is on 2D graphics, full old school, of 4, a new connecting story and The After Years. On Steam you can find the 3D Remake and 3D After Years. The 2D version has that extra story, while the 3D has full voice overs, but the models are kind of blocky. I don't mind the 3D because they remind me of early PSX games, but if you're not a fan of blocky characters, I'd say go for the PSP one.

[@badrjahwari]

In my first attempt at Tactics, I used Dragoons the entire time. Their Jump ability is super. Then I learnt the Math+Height+Holy technique and the rest was history.

[@Beryllahawk]

The only addition I would make to this excellent rundown on the class has to do with FF14's Dragoon. I feel like the "sole survivor" note is at least touched on, in the character background for Estinien. I'm still getting used to the concepts involved for this class in FF14, having only just unlocked it, but I also have worked my way through the Heavensward content and it's referenced a few times that Estinien was the only survivor within his family. That's not the same scale as some of the other survivor stories you mention, but I still think it should count for something!

[@boobah5643]

'Survivor of a dragon attack' is a pretty common backstory for dragoons in _FFXIV;_ that whole thousand year long Dragonsong War between Nidhogg (a top-tier dragon) and Ishgard (a city-state) kind of makes it inevitable. Another case of note, however, is Heustienne, a dragoon the PC starts mentoring in the dragoon class quests, who is an orphan driven to excellence as a way to repay her adoptive parents.

[@barrybend7189]

Then there's Einheria from Bravely Default and her job the Valkyrie which has every hallmark of the Dragoon( except breath weapon) but has new abilities based around the Brave/Default battle system.

[@Konpekikaminari]

Dragoon has the second best story among the class stories mostly because it's basically a sideplot to Heavensward

[@alarsenal10]

Ricard Highwind is the most underrated Dragoon ever, and my personal favorite. The Dragoons of FFXI sound pretty amazing, though. Great video again, guys!

[@GreysonMacAllister]

They were at early levels but mechanically they dropped off quickly since their wyvern's damage didn't scale. And since their damage was half supposed to come from the wyvern they couldn't keep up with the other damage classes.

[@alarsenal10]

@@GreysonMacAllister Did they patch that in later expansions?

[@dannyxu9569]

Completed FF9 over 5 times but 13:50 is the first time I've ever see Freya's face and it totally goes against the picture I had in my imagination

[@isaacgraff8288]

I am watching the evolutions and my brain keep saying, "Why isn't there a FF-TTRPG?"

[@Galaxy-ys5nx]

I really wish this was a thing

[@tobiaspause1775]

Didnt realize this is Final Fantasy only, and was suprised Legend of Dragoon has not been mentioned.

[@jamesmcqe9287]

You guys are great at story telling and just... everything. Great work again, love this channel!

[@FinalFantasyUnion]

Thank you so much James ~Darryl

[@totalpartykill999]

"..SO.. YOU OFFER YOUR LIFE IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIRS?" "No. I offer yours." -Kain Highwind, before defeating Exdeath

[@cloudvii7777]

Thank you a beautiful video, I don't know why, but I was smiling throughout. Oh tough.. obviously Cid is the best.. but Kain is the benchmark for all dragoons.

[@gorimbaud]

Don't forget Palidor/Quetzalli, an esper in VI who causes the entire party to make a jump attack!

[@Hereticbliss322]

In FFXIV essentially the entire theme of the first expansion Heavensward was based around a war between Dragoons and Dragons. That was by far the best the franchise has ever been to Dragoons and it’s quite a good storyline. Unfortunately I don’t enjoy the class much in the game as it has always seemed slow to me, but it’s very popular among the player base and undoubtedly has some of the coolest armor.

[@rorykurek643]

I'm not a huge fan of the class either, but mah boi Estinien was pretty great.

[@HelenaeCat]

I'm a dragoon main. It was faster paced at one point with all of the weaving we had to do and our positionals were important. But I find it about on par with sam with speed. Not a blm slow poke but not a jittery speedest like mch.

[@WillM38]

Ricard's sprites in the original release of FF2 had winged helms as well, but it's a bit harder to make out due to graphical limitations. Also worth noting is that Kain, who you said was Ricard's adopted son, was actually the son of his close friend Philip. For obvious reasons, he never truly became a dragoon, but he would have been the first dragoon in the series to be named Kain in game had Deist not been wiped out nearly to a man. I never played 13 myself but I think other in the comments have covered Fang's abilities, and as far as FFXIV goes, Estinien, the Azure Dragoon before/alongside the player was actually the sole survivor of an attack by Nidhogg and his horde 20 years prior to the events of A Realm Reborn, which is sort of a reference to the sole survivor trait. Great video though and I hope to see more like it! Hoping for a Dark Knight vid as they are my second fav FF class ( assuming you haven't made it already, it's late and I'm a wee bit drunk so I might've missed it)

[@KainH93]

Even though it could get me crucified I liked a lot the Edgar and Mog dragoon feats in FFVI (after Kain of course that's obvious )

[@nightstrider15]

Love these videos, would love to see a history of machinist/engineer video! ❤

[@UltimateSoulX]

Can you make a lore-evolution of Dark Knights too please? 🤩

[@barrybend7189]

And add Alternis Dim from Bravely Default.

[@piedpiper1172]

“In several games, Square made a token nod to the kinds of losers who cut themselves, drone endlessly about their emotions, and write the word edgy repeatedly in composite notebooks. It is always been, and will always be, a tremendous failing of the series that appeals only to the literal worst people.” There you go, job done.

[@barrybend7189]

@@piedpiper1172 well in Bravely Default Alternis kinda subverts that. As his class mirrors and is the polar opposite of Breav Lee's palidin class. Also personality wise Alternis is not the edgelord.

[@Geheimnis-c2e]

@@piedpiper1172 Aren’t necromancers close to that too? They have to cut their palms for blood rites.

[@roxastidus]

Fang does have a connection with dragons. Her eidolon is bahamut. I believe that would count.