Almost all of us have seen the 'confused about the world' robot type... and Tio is unfortunately no exception to this. But even though she remains almost clueless to the nature of the world, she manages to project an innocent sense of humor and determination that is probably among the most charming I have ever seen. By far my favorite character in Grandia 2, Tio receives the most development of any of your party - with the possible exception of Elena, and even then it is a close call.

Many millennia ago there waged a great war between good and evil - although I have to agree with Ryudo. If it was such a major event, could they not find a better name for it than the War Between Good and Evil? At the time the world was rocked by the tremendous battle being fought between Granas, the God of Light, and Valmar, God of Darkness and Destruction. The outcome of that battle would split the world as both Granas and Valmar were struck down, and the impact of their fall from heaven split the world.

Tio was born of the conflict that raged between the two powers, an android designed solely for battle with no will of her own. It is unknown which side she served, as both Granas and Valmar's followers possessed the technology that allowed them to create these androids. But at the end of the war Tio and her sisters were sealed away in a great factory for thousands of years. It was intended that they should sleep forever, and that there would be no conflict that would ever require them to serve again. And so Tio slept beneath the earth - until many years later, when dark forces began to move to restore the Dark God Valmar.

However, Tio's years of peace were not to last. As Ryudo and his companions gave chase to the Man/Demon Melfice, bearer of the Horn of Valmar, the factor that Tio and her sisters were sealed in was opened. Melfice then infected Tio with another one of the pieces of the fallen dark god - the Claws of Valmar. Mutated beyond recognition, Tio attempted to destroy Ryudo and his party before she was defeated and the Claws were absorbed by Millennia, an altered personality of Elena who bore the Wings of Valmar.

When a fragment of Valmar is removed from a human it devours their soul as it leaves, reducing them to an empty husk. Tio was an android, and thus possessed no soul for the Claws to devour. The removal was enough to wipe her memory clean of all of its previous data, leaving her as clueless as a newborn baby. A newborn baby that possessed blinding speed, superior strength, and a rather impressive arsenal of wind magic. Within a few minutes of her awakening, Tio helped to save Ryudo and the others from being killed by Melfice.

Once the current crisis has passed, Tio begins her quest to understand the nature of the world, and to begin her life anew. I honestly found this to be rather fascinating - instead of trying to regain her former memory and nature, Tio is more than willing to attempt to build a new life, completely free of her past. To this end, she adopts one of the party members, the beast man Mareg, as her 'Master'. Even though Tio has some measure of free will, she believes that she must have a 'Master' in order to function. Mareg reluctantly agrees to become her master, with the intent to help her become her own master. At first Tio believes that she has no emotions at all, but it is eventually revealed that she simply has no experience with them. Her reactions are somewhat predictable for someone who is experiencing love, fear, grief, or anger for the first time, but she remains fairly calm and collected for the most part - no imitations of Kei or Data for this android. ^_^

The interaction between Tio and the rest of the party is probably one of the most amusing aspects of the game. Tio is willing to question everything and makes some rather amusing deductions based upon what she knows. Her only real limitation is her lack of knowledge about the world - she obviously possesses a clever wit and is very intelligent. Her relationship with Mareg evolves into more of a father - daughter relationship, or perhaps the relationship between a martial arts master and his student. And when Tio is finally confronted with a chance to regain all that she has lost she rejects her past, more than willing to remain herself than return to the safety of her sisters.

One has to love Tio for her ability to escape the usual cliche's for both a hero who has lost their memories as well as those that plague the 'complete innocent'. She remains a key member of your party from the time that she joins, offering a keen insight into the quest as well as formidable combat skills. But perhaps most loveable of all is her ability to take the world one step at a time, using what she knows to make her own way despite all of the hardships or setbacks that she faces. For all of the handicaps that she possesses, she manages to remain true to herself and her humanity - something I wish that all of us could do. ^_~