Rosa Joanna Farrell

Rosa Farrell [ˈɹoʊ.zə] is a playable character in Final Fantasy IV and its sequel, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. She hails from Baron and is a skilled Archer and White Mage. Rosa is Cecil Harvey and Kain Highwind's childhood friend and harbors romantic feelings for the former. Though Cecil is reluctant to let her follow him into danger at first, she stays by his side. Rosa is the first love interest in the series and the first female White Mage.

Rosa has blonde hair styled in a half updo with long bangs and a tiara. Her eyes are dark blue, but appear slightly purple in most of her sprites. She wears spiked pauldrons over a floor-length white and gold cape, a sleeveless white top with long, decorated gloves, and a large belt that holds a dagger on her side. She wears purple paisley patterned bikini bottoms, white patterned pantyhose, gold and pink knee braces, and light purple ankle boots. She is said to be the most beautiful woman in Baron.

In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Rosa wears a long-sleeved and floor-length white gown with small horned pauldrons and a silver belt. She wears fingerless gloves, gray sandals, and a decorated pink and purple cape. Her hair is still styled as a half updo, but it is mostly concealed by her cape and she now has longer bangs framing her face. The opening video for the Nintendo DS remake of Final Fantasy IV depicts Rosa with a sword on her belt and wielding a staff. In pre-release screenshots for The Complete Collection, Rosa has a different menu portrait with a longer face, less-prominent bangs, and blue eyes instead of green.

Rosa is gentle and kind by nature. She is strong at heart, willing to follow Cecil into dangerous situations and stand by him, despite his numerous objections. She also takes care of the other party members, encouraging Rydia when she is frightened and forgiving Kain without hesitation. Like Cecil, she is deeply concerned about Baron's aggression and wants to help warn the other nations. As the Queen of Baron, Rosa continues to be a steadfast support for Cecil, while as a mother, she worries for Ceodore as he struggles to obtain his Proof of Knighthood and become as strong as his father.

Rosa became a White Mage because her mother was a White Mage who fought alongside her father, a knight of Baron, and she wished to fight alongside her lover, Cecil, like her mother did with her father.

Rosa is first seen in Baron when Cecil finds her in the castle after his mission to Mysidia and before he and Kain go on their mission to deliver a package to the village of Mist. She worries for and tries to encourage Cecil, who has doubts about the King of Baron. She responds to Cecil's fears and doubts about his current path in life by speaking about the goodness she sees in him, that he needs to follow his heart, and lastly wishes Cecil luck on his mission to Mist. When Cecil does not return and after learning of the new plans of the Red Wings, Rosa becomes worried and starts searching for him. The specifics of her travel from Baron to Kaipo remain unknown, yet she eventually contracts Desert Fever, an illness that only a Sand Pearl can cure, and collapses on the outskirts of Kaipo. An elderly couple tends to Rosa during her malady and, when Cecil and Rydia visit her, they vow to find the Sand Pearl so they can cure her. After obtaining the Sand Pearl in the Antlion's Den with Edward's help, they return to Kaipo and use it on Rosa, who recovers. Rosa tells Cecil about what happened after he left Baron, revealing that a man named Golbez took control of the Red Wings and seeks the remaining Crystals. Rosa offers to assist in reaching Fabul, where its people keep the Crystal of Air—surely Baron's next target—as a national treasure.

Rosa, Cecil, Rydia, and Edward cross the Mt. Hobs to reach Fabul, but a sheet of ice blocks their path. Only a Fire spell can melt the ice and only Rydia, who is gifted with Black Magic, can cast it, but the burning of her village has created a mental block that keeps her from casting the spell.

Rosa helps Rydia overcome it with encouragement and a reminder of the enormity of their quest and Rydia opens the way to Fabul. Further up the mountain, the party meets Yang Fang Leiden, a Monk from Fabul. They help him defeat several of Golbez's monsters and warn Yang about Fabul's impending danger.

Upon reaching Fabul, the party provides the urgent news of Baron's intentions to Fabul's king. He accepts the party's help and shortly thereafter, Baron invades Fabul. During the battle, Rosa and Rydia take the office of relief until the invading forces push Cecil, Edward, and Yang into the crystal room. Kain arrives in Fabul as Golbez's servant and defeats Cecil in battle, but the sight of Rosa stalls Kain and stops him from killing his former friend.

After Kain's hesitation, Golbez enters the crystal room and defeats the rest of the party. He then abducts Rosa and orders Kain to take the Crystal of Air. Golbez takes Rosa to the Tower of Zot and keeps her as a prisoner at its highest level. She remains bound as Golbez's captive until Cecil defeats Cagnazzo and obtains the Enterprise from Cid, at which point Kain parleys with Cecil and offers Rosa's freedom in exchange for the Crystal of Earth. Cecil reclaims the Crystal from the Dark Elf and fights his way to the top of the Tower of Zot, defeating the Magus Sisters to reach the top floor.

When Cecil arrives with the Crystal, Golbez takes it and denies knowing who Rosa is. Tellah then attacks Golbez and casts Meteor on him, which breaks Golbez's control over Kain, who guides Cecil to Rosa in time to rescue her. Cecil and Rosa admit their feelings for each other and share a kiss and Kain apologizes for having betrayed Cecil and mistreated Rosa. Rosa forgives him and invites him to fight alongside her and Cecil, to which he agrees. The party moves to leave the tower when Barbariccia, the Archfiend of Air, appears before the party. After her defeat, Barbariccia sets the tower toward its destruction, but Rosa casts the Exit spell to warp the party from the tower to Cecil's room in Baron.

With Golbez possessing all the four Crystals, Cecil's party worries about the next step in Golbez's plan. Kain reveals the existence of the Dark Crystals, a similar set to the Crystals stolen from each prominent kingdom, hidden in the Underworld. Kain explains that Golbez needs all eight Crystals—the four Dark Crystals and the four already in his possession—to open "the way to the Moon". Cecil decides that his party should head underground to protect the remaining Crystals and Kain gives Cecil the Key of Magma. Cid's airship Enterprise has since returned to Baron via remote control.

Following Rosa's rescue from the Tower of Zot, a visit to Rosa's mother (in the 3D version of Final Fantasy IV) leads to a conversation about Rosa's decision to pursue Cecil to Kaipo. Rosa's mother laments permitting Rosa to study White Magic, since it put her in harm's way, demanding that Rosa remain home. Rosa responds by expounding her thankfulness for the ability to help those in need and reminds her mother of the bond her parents shared that is similar to her relationship to Cecil. Confronted with Rosa's true feelings, Rosa's mother admits the value of her daughter's choices and entrusts Rosa's safety to Cecil.

From this point on, Rosa travels with the party in their quest to protect the Crystals, mainly in the background role. Upon witnessing the suicide of the transformed King and Queen of Eblan, who had been earlier turned into monsters, she is horrified by the cruelty inflicted on the deceased couple. Once on the Red Moon, the game reveals the tragic history of Cecil and Golbez, finalizing in a flashback of the first meeting between Cecil and Kain during their childhood years. In it, Kain initiated a scuffle with Cecil over the perceived special treatment that he believed Cecil received from the King of Baron, when Rosa intervened. She reminded Kain of the moral code of men stated by the King and when Cecil admits to starting the fight, Rosa shows admiration for Cecil's honesty. Following these revelations, Fusoya and Golbez head to the Moon to fight Zemus. Before heading to the moon on the Lunar Whale, Cecil asks Rosa and Rydia to leave the ship, convinced that the fight with Zemus would entail too much danger for him to allow them to accompany him for the final battle. The women reluctantly agree, but secretly stow away within the ship. Once the airship lands on the moon, Rosa and Rydia reveal themselves. Rosa defends her right to join Cecil out of love and by noting her ability to cast White Magic, a skill Cecil possesses, but with much less proficiency. Cecil admits to their value and allows the women to take part in the battle against Zemus. They journey to the core of the moon, where Fusoya and Golbez appear to have killed Zemus. However, the hatred that grew inside Zemus over the years gains sentience in the form of a creature called Zeromus, which continues the attack on the party. With help from the prayers of old friends, the party defeats Zeromus. Cecil and Rosa later marry and take the throne of Baron. All of the party members except Kain attend the wedding.

A year later, Cecil and Rosa send off the Red Wings to fly over the Damcyan Castle for the reconstruction celebration. While at the celebration, a guard enters and tells Yang that some monks were brutally attacked at Mt. Hobbs. Yang plans to leave and Cecil and Rosa decide to go with him. Once they get to the summit of Mt. Hobbs, they find two injured monks, whom Rosa heals. Soon after, they are attacked by the Dad Bomb. After defeating it, they head to Fabul, where Yang's wife, Sheila, is about to give birth to Ursula. Yang asks Cecil to be Ursula's godfather, which he gladly accepts.

When Cecil and Rosa are about to leave, they find Cid, Luca, Palom, and Porom, who tell Cecil that there is a swarm of monsters coming out of the Sealed Cave. As they are about to take off, Cecil tells Yang to stay with his family. Cid notices that Rosa looks pale and Cecil asks Yang to take care of her while he is away. After the incident in the Tower of Babil, back at Baron, Rosa lies in bed and Cecil asks if she is alright. Later, at Damcyan, Cecil reveals that Rosa is pregnant. Everyone is overjoyed with the news and tell Cecil that he should start coming up with baby names. Sixteen years later, Rosa is the wife of Cecil and the mother of Ceodore. She accompanies Cecil and Cid when Baron is attacked. After some debate, she escapes with Cid on the Enterprise, reluctantly leaving Cecil alone to face the Mysterious Girl and her summon.

Rosa journeys to Damcyan, where Kain's evil-side abducts her while stealing Damcyan's Crystal during the Second Battle of Damcyan. Once the real Kain has transformed after defeating his dark half, Rosa joins a small group in confronting the Mysterious Girl and Cecil, who is under the Mysterious Girl's thrall, in Baron's throneroom. After a fight, Odin, who was also mind-controlled, comes to his senses and knocks Cecil to his. Rosa joins Ceodore, Rydia, Golbez, and Edge to take out the girl, who escapes, and Golbez calls the Lunar Whale to pursue her.

In the crater's dungeon, the party must defeat Cecil's Dark Knight doppelganger to get to the Mysterious Girl and Bahamut, who also comes to his senses and pushes the girl back. They reach the Creator, who pursues them through several battles before finally being destroyed by Meteor. Rosa is last seen in Baron, serving as referee to a timed sparring match between Cecil and Ceodore.