Furina (Genshin Impact)

Created for miHoYo's 2020 action role-playing gacha game Genshin Impact, Furina's conception dates back to the beginning of its development. When designing her, the developers wanted to give her an aesthetic that demonstrated the different sides of her personality. To do this, they incorporated "contradictory elements" into her aesthetic, such as her streaked hair and heterochromatic eye colors represents Ousia and Pneuma forms based on her Arkhe outfit modes. The developers created several designs for Furina throughout her development, though they eventually settled on her final look due to development restrictions. Furina is a young woman standing approximately tall. Her outfit pairs a typical morning dress (used to demonstrate her nobility) with shorts (which index her mobility and more playful side). Other elements of her outfit were inspired by French and Christian culture; influences from French culture include the "ruff collar" design of her socks, a design on her hat that resembles the iris flower, and her ribbons. Additional elements of her outfit were inspired by classical stories and musicals, such as a fish-tail shaped decoration on her back that was inspired by "The Little Mermaid". Furina is voiced by Amber Lee Connors in English, Inori Minase in Japanese, Qian Chen in Chinese, and Kim Ha-yeong in Korean. "La vaguelette" is performed by Cécilia Cara. == Appearances ==

Furina de Fontaine was added to Genshin Impact in an August 2023 update. She is the ruler of Fontaine, a nation in the fictional continent of Teyvat. Each nation is associated with a specific element, and ruled by individual gods known as "Archons", with Furina acting as the "Hydro" element Archon.—considered sinful. For Egeria's transgression, the Heavenly Principles prophesied that Fontaine would be destroyed by means of a great flood, which would revert the people of Fontaine to their oceanid state. To prevent this prophecy and outsmart the Heavenly Principles, Focalors separated her divinity and humanity around 500 years before the events of the game, leaving Furina as her human half. Furina possesses no divine powers, but has been cursed to remain forever young as long as Focalors is alive. In the centuries since becoming Fontaine's leader, Furina has been forced to isolate herself and oppress her inner thoughts. If she were to give up the role, she would risk bringing the prophecy to pass. Gameplay In November 2023, a trailer known as "All The World's a Stage" was released, demonstrating Furina as a playable character while making numerous references to musicals in of itself. Afterwards, Furina was added as a playable character in Genshin Impact with the 4.2 update that same month. She is obtainable through the game's "wish" system as a five-star character. Furina uses a sword as her weapon, with her signature weapon being one called the "Splendor of Tranquil Waters". Multiple characters from Fontaine possess one of two "Arkhe" energy modes: "Ousia" and "Pneuma"; when the two combine, a special elemental reaction occurs. Furina has control over both modes, and whichever one is active also changes her outfit. In her Ousia form, Furina possesses the ability to summon the "salon solitaire", three companions that help attack opponents but drain the health of the other party members. In her Pneuma form, Furina will summon a single companion that heals the active party member. Both forms can also grant damage buffs to the entire party dependent on how much the health percentage changes, as well as the ability to walk on water. This makes Furina a character who can be used both offensively and defensively in combat. == Critical reception ==

Furina's story and character have been praised by critics, with many applauding her mental strength and her sacrifice. GamesRadar+'s Austin Wood echoed these thoughts, directly comparing Furina's character arc to the story of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", in which a great city prospers at the cost of one child being sentenced to misery. If said child is saved, then the city would crumble. Wood wrote that Furina was Fontaine's equivalent to the nameless child "almost shockingly one-to-one." He stated that Genshin Impact "does gods better than the vast majority of RPGs", and considered Furina's story to be one of the best in video games from 2023. Both Ku and Wood argued that Furina's story surpassed Nahida's, another one of the game's Archons whose story they considered to be among the game's best. Furina has also been described as one of the most influential characters in Genshin Impact's metagame, particularly in her Ousia form; Ku described Furina as "meta-defining". She wrote that, due to Furina's significant power, she made several characters previously viewed as unviable become crucial parts of the player's party when used to take advantage of Furina's full power. == Notes ==