Final Fantasy IV is considered to be one of the most important games in the series, featuring the first-ever story-driven experience in the series. That is, without any broken mechanics. It's also the first known use of the ATB battle system, and the first-ever recorded main character death in the series.
Tellah was easily one of the more unique characters in the early goings of Final Fantasy IV, making his death one of the most shocking moments in the series, albeit not the most well-known due to the prominence of a similar event in Final Fantasy VII. It's a shame, since Tellah is easily one of the more interesting characters in the series, and one need only look at the following underground facts about him to understand the sheer depth and complexity of this underrated character in the franchise.
10 He's One Of Just Three Characters To Not Have A CG Model
Contrary to popular belief, Final Fantasy VII isn't the first game to be remade from the ground up. That honor, among many others, goes to Final Fantasy IV as well.
However, due to Tellah's early exit, it seems that he never benefitted from a new CG model and never really appeared in a single FMV, which is quite a bummer indeed.
9 Tellah Is Considered One Of Rydia's Mentors As Per The Official Guidebook
Tellah and Rydia have virtually zero interactions throughout the entirety of Final Fantasy IV, which makes it more nonsensical that the Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen guide's character relationship chart places Tellah as a mentor of sorts to Rydia.
Rosa is also labeled as a teacher to Rydia, which makes way more sense since these two characters spend a ton of time together, at the very least.
8 Final Fantasy IV Advance's Scripted Battle Between Edward And Tellah Is Bugged
The Advance versions of Final Fantasy were certainly great when it came to updating the games for the handheld generation, but they certainly came with their fair share of annoyances as well.
A rather notable glitch in Final Fantasy IV Advance came in the scripted encounter between Tellah and Edward, when the latter tries to hit the former but keeps on missing repeatedly. This ends up lengthening the battle unnecessarily.
7 Without Tellah, The Bypass Event Glitch For Mist Breaks The Game
Final Fantasy IV was infamous for a Bypass Event glitch that would allow the player to skip the town of Mist altogether. This evaded the events that would lead to Kain's departure and a young Rydia's introduction.
However, it would be impossible to continue the game post this, since one of the mandatory dungeons in the game, the Underground Waterway, features a scripted battle between Edward and Tellah. Since the latter isn't there in the party, the game just freezes.
6 His Physical Stats Decrease With Every Level Due To His Age
There's no denying the fact that Tellah is a very old character, and one need only look at this stats after every level-up to realize the clever way in which the developers have communicated this in the game. With every level, Tellah's physical attributes actually end up falling as a way to show that his ailing body is slowly getting weaker over time.
5 His Back Pops Every Time He Celebrates A Level-Up In The 3D Remake
In the 3D remake, the developers figured out another great way to show just how old and fragile Tellah really is. After leveling up, all characters in the remake end up celebrating quite joyously. The same applies to Tellah, although that's not really a wise decision, since his back always pops out in the middle of this ill-fated celebration.
4 His Natural MP Reserve Can't Go Past 90
While Tellah might remember all the spells in his arsenal as the story progresses, there's a really clever way that the developers have managed to balance him out. They simply don't let his natural MP reserves go over 90.
This renders him unable to cast Meteor, a spell that costs 99 MP, although the player can still do the same by using permanent MP-increasing items to given Tellah more MP. Still, that isn't recommended in the slightest since these items will just go to waste on a character who will permanently depart from the party anyway.
3 For A Sage, His Magical Power Is Ridiculously Low
While Tellah does end up being a clutch character of sorts who can help the party clear out several dungeons with ease, one has to admit that his magical power is pretty low throughout the series.
While he might have a ton of magic at his disposal, his overall utility in the party becomes quite muted over time. That is, unless the player is fine with spending valuable MP-replenishing items on him to keep his MP reserves high at all times.
2 He's The First Playable Character In The Series To Wear Glasses
A rather unique piece of information when it comes to Tellah is the fact that he's the first playable character in Final Fantasy history to wear glasses. There are only three other playable characters after him who wear glasses in the series, including Quistis from Final Fantasy VIII, Seven from Final Fantasy Type-0, and Ignis from Final Fantasy XV.
1 He's The Only Playable Character Who Permanently Dies
There are several party members in Final Fantasy IV who end up leaving the party on their own accord or because they meet a premature end of sorts. However, out of all these temporary playable characters, Tellah is the only party member who ends up dying permanently after a final stand against Golbez without any hope of revival, which is quite saddening indeed.