Originally posted here on 2023-03-16.

Some very dedicated trawling of the internet a few months ago led me to MintArisu’s collection of FFX character models, which includes various excellently obscure entries such as the shoopuf and several varieties of fiend. Today, the need to know the answers to such burning questions as “does Braska wear a wedding ring?” and “what is the exact configuration of beads hanging from Auron’s belt?” finally got the better of me, so I downloaded the Auron and Braska models and XNALara and had a look at them.

It turns out Braska doesn’t wear a wedding ring – I guess people tend not to in Spira? – but he does wear two identical bracelets, one on each wrist! In the game we never have cause to see his left hand because it’s constantly under his enormous sleeve, but I very inexpertly moved the arms of the model around until it became pretty clear.

And in answer to the second question, here are Auron’s beads, which are mostly symmetrical, but then seem to break the pattern slightly at the bottom.

These were pretty easy to isolate because the models are broken into different components; although Braska’s only has three, which, oddly enough, are 1. his face, 2. the jewel in his headdress, and 3. the entire rest of him. He also can’t move his fingers individually, while young Auron can independently move his index fingers, and the older edition can move all of them. Braska’s model was a lot more simplistic in general; I was hoping to solve the mystery of what he wears on his feet, but as it turns out: Braska, you don’t have any legs.

The way Auron’s models are divided into parts is sometimes just as weird as the Braska one: it turns out young Auron’s teeth are in the same component as his torso and left arm. This is perhaps a slightly disturbing image, although I’m the kind of person who gets very easily squicked by weird body stuff and I don’t have any issues with this, so I hope it’s not too bad!

The way young Auron is constructed also allows very fine-grained control of his hair. I need to go back and study the spheres to confirm this (oh no! what a chore!), but I’m wondering if more loose hair on display equals more progress through the pilgrimage, i.e. more desperation and lack of attention to personal grooming.

(The ponytail on this model just stuck out at the back and couldn’t be manipulated by any means. A stubbornness worthy of its wearer, tbh.)

I was also able to get a good look at Auron’s trousers and boots, finding to my delight that he really does wear trackie bottoms:

And here’s a gratuitous side view of young Auron, because it’s something we don’t get to see very much. The only facial muscle I was able to control in this model turned out to be his jaw, although older Auron lets you move his eyebrows and cheeks and all sorts.

Speaking of the more mature variety of Auron, one of the first things I did was check out the exact configuration of his ponytail:

Also, it turns out the direction of the light source has really noticeable effects on certain parts of his hair. (The extra spiky bits of hair at the front and side are also a separate part of the model, along with the lenses of his glasses!)

Finally, because I can, here are two views of Auron without his glasses and collar: