Sabin Rene Figaro

Sabin René Figaro is a playable character from Final Fantasy VI. He is Edgar Roni Figaro's twin brother and thus an heir to the throne of Figaro Castle. He fled his kingdom in search of a quiet life free of corruption, and lived as a student of the martial arts. His name is Mash in the Japanese version.

During the flashback when he is first seen, his dialogue is credited to Youth.

Appearance and Personality
Sabin wears white pants and a blue tank top belted with a sash, though several pieces of concept art also depict him shirtless. He is tall and very muscular, and he wears his hair up in a small ponytail. Some concept art shows him with facial hair, but he is clean shaven in the PlayStation remake's CG cutscenes, as well as in his menu screen portrait across all versions. Like his brother, he has blond hair and blue eyes.

Sabin is a brash and straightforward fighter. He is content to leave the tactics and strategy to the rest of the group, since his greatest strength is physical. In particular, he sees Edgar as the brains of the party and trusts his judgment implicitly. Sabin can get very emotional at times and has a strong sense of right and wrong. He has a quick temper and takes rash actions that get him into trouble, but he is also a loyal and dedicated friend, encouraging Terra and taking a shine to Gau. Whenever he sees an opportunity to use his strength to help someone he takes it immediately.

He is noticeably less cultured and erudite than Edgar; for instance, he is puzzled by all the singing at the opera. However, Sabin usually doesn't mind jokes at his own expense and will laugh heartily at them himself. He has an unflappable determination and excels at thriving in situations where most ordinary people would die or give up.

Story
Sabin was born to the royal family of Figaro and shared the status of heir to the throne with his twin brother, Edgar. As a child, Sabin was considered the smaller and weaker of the two brothers. When Sabin was seventeen the Gestahlian Empire poisoned his father, whose last request was for both of his sons to rule the kingdom.

Sabin, upset at the apparent lack of sorrow for his father's death and the talk of succession, urged Edgar to run away with him. Edgar wanted to go but knew abandoning the kingdom would go against his father's wishes, so he gave his brother his freedom in trade for his own. Edgar proposed a coin toss, picking "heads" for Sabin. The coin he threw had his face on one side, and Sabin's on the other. Sabin left the kingdom, unaware of the trick that had been played on him, and Edgar became the new king. Sabin tells Edgar later he did not want to leave him with so much responsibility, but knew his brother would look out for Figaro the best.

Sabin fled the kingdom, and after some time met the renowned martial arts teacher Duncan Harcourt. Having trained before and wanting to be stronger in order to protect his brother, Sabin asked Duncan to teach him, and Duncan agreed. He became Duncan's best student, which made Vargas, Duncan's son, jealous, as Vargas thought Sabin was going to be the next master. Sabin knew otherwise, as Vargas was Duncan's only son and heir. After apparently killing Duncan, Vargas fled into Mt. Kolts and Sabin pursued him. Sabin made no attempt to contact Edgar in the ten years they were apart.

When Sabin sees Vargas attack Edgar, along with Terra Branford and Locke Cole, he jumps in to save them. After confronting Vargas about his deeds, Sabin reveals his mastery of Duncan's Blitz techniques and defeats Vargas. Edgar recognizes Sabin, and Sabin offers to help his brother after a short reunion. Together, they see Banon in the Returner Hideout, but the rebel group is attacked by Imperial troops shortly after their arrival.

Banon heads for Narshe to investigate the frozen esper, and Terra, Edgar, and Sabin accompany him. On the way down the Lethe River they are attacked by Ultros who sticks a tentacle to Terra's leg. Sabin is enraged and jumps into the river to fight the octopus directly, but he is swept away and separated from the group.

Sabin washes ashore near a house, where he meets Shadow, the infamous mercenary. Shadow agrees to help him find his way to Narshe, and leads him south towards Doma, a kingdom under siege by the Empire. Sabin and Shadow sneak through an Imperial Camp. They observe General Leo, and Sabin is impressed by his principled nature. Then they overhear Kefka Palazzo's plan to dump poison into the river, which would kill Doma's citizens. Sabin and Shadow try to stop him, but to no avail. Cyan Garamonde, one of the finest soldiers in Doma and one of the only survivors of the poison, attacks the camp alone in revenge. Sabin and Shadow help him, and Cyan agrees to help them travel to Narshe. Together they escape the camp in Magitek Armor and head south to the Phantom Forest. The trio board the Phantom Train and learn that they must shut off the engines to escape. They enlist the help of a ghost and stop the train. They head to the Baren Falls where Shadow leaves Sabin and Cyan. Sabin and Cyan jump down the falls and float down the river to the Veldt. They are rescued by a wild child named Gau, who refuses to talk to them unless they feed him. They buy Dried Meat from the nearby town of Mobliz and feed the boy, who shows them his "shiny thing," a scuba-diving helmet which allows them to travel the Serpent Trench to Nikeah. From Nikeah they take a ferry to South Figaro and complete the journey to Narshe.

Sabin, Cyan and Gau arrive as Kefka is planning a raid on Narshe to get the frozen esper. The three meet up with Banon, Terra, Locke, Edgar, and Celes Chere and successfully defend Narshe. After the battle Terra reacts with the esper and is turned into one herself, flying away. A search party is sent to look for her. On the way the party passes through Figaro and Sabin walks around the castle, which calls back some old memories, including the coin toss with Edgar.

The party finds Terra atop the tallest tower in Zozo, where she is being cared for by Ramuh. He tells them they need to go to Vector and free the imprisoned espers, one of them being Terra's father, Maduin. They meet up with Setzer Gabbiani, the infamous gambler who owns an airship, after tricking him into kidapping Celes. Setzer was not willing to help them, but Celes proposes a coin toss to decide it. If she won, Setzer would help; otherwise, Setzer and Celes would marry. Edgar provides a fixed coin to guarantee Celes's victory, much to Sabin's dismay. It is assumed this was the coin Edgar used when deciding which of the brothers would rule, but there is no ensuing conversation on this matter. Setzer helps anyway and the group recovers the espers from the Magitek Research Facility. Maduin's magicite returns Terra to normal and restores her memory.

Back in Narshe, the Elder joins with the Returners. They plan to have Terra contact the espers and ask them to attack Vector, after which a coalition of Returners and Narshe guards would storm the city from the north. The plan is a success, and Emperor Gestahl sues for peace. At a banquet he asks Terra to convince the espers to negotiate a treaty. She and Locke go to Crescent Island to relay the Emperor's message, but Edgar and Sabin are skeptical and stay in Vector to make sure the Emperor wasn't lying.

Edgar seduces one of the Emperor's maids into revealing the Emperor's true plan: he wants to lure out the espers to capture them. They fly to Thamasa to warn Terra and Locke, but are too late. Kefka attacks the town and kills the espers, as well as General Leo. Then, he uses his newly-acquired magicite to revive the Warring Triad and turn the Esper World into the Floating Continent. The party chases after him and tries to stop him, but Kefka's power has grown exponentially. He moves the statues out of alignment, causing the End of the World.

One year later, Sabin makes his way to the town of Tzen (and apparently passes through Albrook on the way) just as Kefka strikes with his "Light of Judgment." When the tallest building in town begins to collapse, Sabin uses his strength to hold the building up while he waits for someone to save the child inside. That someone happens to be Celes, and Sabin joins her after she saves the child.

Sabin and Celes make their way to a destroyed Mobliz where only the children have survived, being cared for by Terra. She is feeling things she never felt before, and as a result can no longer fight. Sabin and Celes defend the town from a monster named Humbaba. They make their way to Nikeah, where they find Edgar disguised as a thief named Gerad, purportedly the leader of the Crimson Robbers.

They don't know what Edgar is up to, so they follow him to South Figaro and through South Figaro Cave. They corner Edgar in Figaro Castle's engine room, where he reveals he was using the thieves to get into the submerged castle so he could resurface it. They help Edgar fight off the tentacles jamming up the engine, and Edgar rejoins them. They head to Kohlingen where they meet up with Setzer, who takes them to Darill's Tomb to find a new airship: the Falcon.

Sabin finds out Duncan is still alive, and is meditating in his house north of Narshe. Sabin pays Duncan one final visit where Duncan helps him perfect his ultimate Blitz technique: the Phantom Rush (Bum Rush in the original SNES translation). After defeating Kefka and while fleeing Kefka's collapsing tower, Sabin saves Edgar from being crushed by a falling girder. He says he only left Figaro to become stronger, and defend the kingdom and his brother from an Imperial attack.

Battle
Being a Monk, Sabin has naturally high physical stats, but low magic stats. Despite his stats, most of Sabin's Blitzes are dependent on his magic power. His weapons are limited to claws, his shield options are limited to those universally used, and he can equip lightweight vests and tunics. Sabin's ability is Blitz, which lets him perform special attacks if the player inputs the proper button commands. Sabin learns more Blitzes as he levels up, but can learn his final ability from his master Duncan in the World of Ruin at any level. Sabin's Desperation Attack is Tiger Break that deals magical damage to one enemy.

Sabin begins with a Metal Knuckle, Leather Cap and Leather Armor.

Musical Themes
Sabin shares his theme with Edgar, and it is the background music for Figaro Castle, as well as when either character is the focus of a scene. This leitmotif has a more sentimental reprise in "Coin Song", played during flashbacks of the two, and is reprised again in the "Ending Theme".

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Sabin makes a cameo during the data install sequence. If the player repeatedly presses the button during the install, eventually Sabin and Edgar will drop down from the top of the screen.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Sabin appears as a Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

Pictlogica Final Fantasy
Sabin appears in Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character. His initial weapon is the Metal Knuckles.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Sabin appears in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Sabin makes an appearance in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. His cards are Earth-elemental.

Etymology
"Sabin" is an Italian name that means "Man from the Sabines" (an ancient tribe from central Italy). Rene is an alternate spelling of the French name René, which is derived from the Latin renatus, or "reborn". His last name, Figaro, is a French and Italian word for "barber", as well as the name of the central character from Pierre Beaumarchais's 1775 play The Barber of Seville.

Trivia

 * Before Yoshitaka Amano drew the final artwork, Sabin, Edgar and their backstory were designed by Kaori Tanaka (later nicknamed Soraya Saga), an artist who would go on to participate in the development of Xenogears. Two royal siblings named Rene and Roni appear in the latter game. Soraya Saga also authored the doujinshi Figaro no Kekkon: Tales from Desert, which explores Sabin and Edgar's backstory.
 * The Blitz "Aura Cannon" ("AuraBolt") has the same button commands as the famous "Hadouken" from Street Fighter. They are both ranged attacks. However, Aura Cannon's appearance more closely resembles the more powerful "Shinkuu Hadouken" from the later X-men vs Street Fighter and VS series games.
 * In the same vein, the "Raging Fist" ("Pummel") shares the button command and name of a special move in the Art of Fighting series, and is one of the signature moves of the Kyokugenryu style of karate, practised by protagonist Ryo Sakazaki.
 * For the instruction manual of Final Fantasy Origins, the PlayStation remake of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II, Sabin is shown as an example name chosen for the Monk class of Final Fantasy.
 * Professional wrestler and world champion Joshua Harter, formerly one half of the tag-team "The Motor City Machine Guns", wrestles under the ring name "Chris Sabin", a direct reference to Sabin Figaro. One of his signature moves is also the Bum Rush, further referencing Sabin Figaro.
 * Using a Game Genie and the "Super Sprint Shoes" code, it's possible to bypass the battle with Vargas when the party meets Sabin by reaching the cave entrance before Vargas hops down. The player continues to the Returner Hideout and Sabin will not appear until the Lete River sequence at which point he's suddenly added into the party at level 1, with no equipment and no Blitz abilities.