Final Fantasy IX | |
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Developer(s) | Square |
Publisher(s) |
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Director(s) | Hiroyuki Ito |
Producer(s) | |
Designer(s) |
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Programmer(s) | Hiroshi Kawai |
Artist(s) |
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Writer(s) | Hironobu Sakaguchi |
Composer(s) | Nobuo Uematsu |
Series | Final Fantasy |
Platform(s) | |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Final Fantasy IX [lower-alpha 2] is a 2000 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the ninth game in the main Final Fantasy series. The plot focuses on a war between nations in a medieval fantasy world called Gaia. Players follow a thief named Zidane Tribal who kidnaps princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII as part of a ploy by the neighboring nation of Lindblum. He joins Garnet and a growing cast of characters on a quest to take down her mother, Queen Brahne of Alexandria, who started the war.
Game development occurred in parallel with Final Fantasy VIII . Envisioned by developers as a retrospective for the series, it departed from the futuristic settings of Final Fantasy VI , VII , and VIII by returning to the medieval style of the earlier games. Consequently, it draws heavy influence from the original Final Fantasy and features allusions to the rest of the series. The game introduced new features to the series despite this approach, such as "Active Time Event" cutscenes, "Mognet", and skill systems. Final Fantasy IX was the last game in the main series whose music was composed solely by Nobuo Uematsu.
Final Fantasy IX was released to critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than 5.5 million copies on PlayStation by March 2016. It was re-released in 2010 as a PS1 Classic on the PlayStation Store—this version was compatible with PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable; PlayStation Vita support arrived in 2012. In 2016 Square Enix released an enhanced port featuring minor gameplay and graphical enhancements, which would be released on several platforms. An animated series adaptation by Square Enix and Cyber Group Studios was announced in 2021.
In Final Fantasy IX, the player navigates a character through the game world, exploring areas and interacting with non-player characters. Most of the game occurs on "field screens" consisting of pre-rendered backgrounds representing towns and dungeons. [1] To aid exploration on the field screen, Final Fantasy IX introduces the "field icon", an exclamation mark appearing over the lead character's head, indicating a point of interest. [1] [2] Players speak with Moogles to record their progress, recover their energy, and purchase items. [3] An extensive optional quest involves sending and receiving letters from Moogles and other non-playable characters via Mognet, an in-game postal service. [1]
Players journey between field screen locations on the world map, a three-dimensional representation of Final Fantasy IX's world presented from a top-down perspective. [1] Players can freely navigate around the world map unless restricted by obstacles such as bodies of water or mountain ranges. To traverse these impediments, players can ride chocobos, sail on a boat, or pilot airships. Like previous Final Fantasy games, players enter battles caused by random encounters with enemies while traveling across the world map or hostile field screens. [1] [4] Final Fantasy IX offers a new approach to town exploration with Active Time Events (ATE). These allow the player to view events unfolding at different locations, providing character development, unique items, and prompts for story-altering decisions. ATEs are occasionally used to simultaneously control two teams when the party divides to solve puzzles and navigate mazes. [1]
When the player encounters an enemy, the map changes to a battle screen. The player issues commands to characters from an on-screen menu on the battle screen, including physically attacking, using items from the inventory, and unique character-specific abilities that define their role in battle. [1] [5] For example, the thief Zidane can steal items, Eiko and Garnet can summon "eidolons" to aid the party, and Vivi can use black magic to damage the opposition. [1] The speed and order in which the characters and enemies take their turn varies according to their agility, an implementation of the Active Time Battle system first featured in Final Fantasy IV . [4] Character-specific commands change when the character goes into "Trance mode", which is activated for a short duration when the character sustains a specified amount of damage similar to the Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII . Trance mode amplifies the character's strength and allows the player to select more powerful attack commands. [5] For example, Vivi's "Black Magic" command changes into "Double Black", allowing him to cast two magic spells at once. [1] Winning battles awards money, items, "experience points", and "ability points". [1]
Experience points determine a character's combat attributes like agility, strength, and magical power. Accumulating sufficient experience points results in a "level up", which permanently increases combat attributes. Equipment worn by a character may also amplify their attributes. Certain weapons and armor also bestow special abilities, which the character may use when equipped. When the character earns enough ability points, it becomes usable without the item equipped. [1] There are two types of abilities: action and support. Action abilities require magic points to use and include magical spells and special moves used in battle. Support abilities provide functions that remain in effect passively, such as increasing power against certain types of enemies. The maximum number of effects characters can equip at once is determined by level. [1] [5]
Final Fantasy IX takes place primarily in a world named Gaia. Most of Gaia's population lives on the Mist Continent, named after the thick Mist that blankets the lowlands. Large mountain ranges act as natural borders that separate its four nations: Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia, and Cleyra. Alexandria is a warmongering monarchy that controls the eastern half of the continent. One of its cities is Treno, a cultural nexus under perpetual starlight that is home to many aristocrats and paupers alike. The technologically advanced Lindblum, a hub of airship travel, is nestled on a plateau to the southwest. Both countries feature a mix of humans, humanoids, and anthropomorphic animals. Burmecia, a kingdom showered by endless rain, is in the northwest. Cleyra, a neighboring settlement that seceded from Burmecia due to its appreciation for war, is situated in a giant tree in the desert, protected by a sandstorm. Both are inhabited by anthropomorphic rats with a fondness for dance and spear fighting.
Players eventually explore the Outer, Lost, and Forgotten Continents as well. Civilizations on the Outer Continent include Conde Petie, home of the dwarves; Black Mage Village, a secret settlement of sentient magician drones; and Madain Sari, once home to a near-extinct race of horned humanoid summoners who conjure powerful magical beings called eidolons. Also on the Outer Continent is the Iifa Tree, which disperses the Mist to other continents through its roots. This Mist stimulates the fighting instinct in humanoids and contributes to Gaia's bloody history. The Lost and Forgotten continents are littered mostly with ancient ruins. Scattered throughout the marshes of Gaia are the Qu: large, frog-eating, and seemingly androgynous humanoids [6] who are considered great gourmands. Late in the game, players briefly travel to the parallel world of Terra and the dream realm of Memoria.
The main playable characters are: Zidane Tribal, a member of a group of bandits called Tantalus who are masquerading as a theater troupe; Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (alias Dagger), the Princess of Alexandria who runs away with Zidane; Vivi Ornitier, a young, timid, and kind black mage with an unknown origin; Adelbert Steiner, a brash Alexandrian knight captain and loyal servant of Princess Garnet; Freya Crescent, a Burmecian dragoon searching for her lost love; Quina Quen, a Qu whose master wants them to travel the world so that they will learn about cuisine; Eiko Carol, a young girl living in Madain Sari who is one of the last summoners; and Amarant Coral, a bounty hunter hired to return Garnet to Alexandria. [6] Other important characters include Cid Fabool, the charismatic Regent of Lindblum; Brahne, Garnet's adoptive mother and the power-hungry Queen of Alexandria; Beatrix, the general of Alexandria's all-female army; Garland, an elderly Terran male tasked with saving his world; and antagonist Kuja, an arms dealer and pawn of Garland who questions his own existence.
In Alexandria, Zidane and Tantalus kidnap Princess Garnet by order of Cid. Garnet does not resist, for she was already planning to flee and warn Cid of Queen Brahne's increasingly erratic behavior. [q 1] Vivi and Steiner join the party during the escape. En route to Lindblum, the group discovers that Brahne is manufacturing soulless black mage soldiers that look similar to Vivi. In Lindblum, Cid confirms that he hired the group to protect Garnet from Brahne's newfound aggression. After learning that Alexandria has invaded Burmecia with the black mages, Zidane and Vivi join Freya to investigate. Garnet and Steiner secretly return to Alexandria to reason with Brahne. [q 2]
Zidane's team finds that the Alexandrian forces, headed by Beatrix, conquered Burmecia with help from Kuja and the refugees have fled to Cleyra. Brahne imprisons Garnet, extracts her eidolons, [q 3] and uses the eidolon, Odin to destroy Cleyra while Zidane's group defends the city. The party escapes on Brahne's airship, rendezvous with Steiner, and rescues Garnet. Meanwhile, Brahne cripples Lindblum with another eidolon, Atomos. [q 4] Cid explains that Kuja supplies Brahne with black mages and the knowledge to use eidolons. The party befriends Quina and tracks Kuja to the Outer Continent. [q 5] [q 6] Brahne hires bounty hunters Lani and Amarant to capture Garnet. On the Outer Continent, the party defeats Lani and meets Eiko, a summoner who lives with a group of moogles in the village of Madain Sari. Eiko leads Zidane and the others to the Iifa Tree. Inside, they learn that Kuja uses Mist to create the black mages and that Vivi was a prototype. [q 7] The party defeats the monster that generates the Mist within the Tree, which clears it from the Mist Continent. While waiting for Kuja's reprisal at Madain Sari, Lani and Amarant attempt to kidnap Eiko but Zidane and the moogles foil them. Amarant then challenges Zidane to a duel and loses. He joins the party and Garnet learns of her heritage as a summoner who was adopted by Brahne as a child. At the Tree, Brahne attempts to kill Kuja with an eidolon so she can rule unopposed, but he takes control of it and destroys her and her army. [q 8] [q 9]
After Garnet's coronation, Kuja attacks Alexandria Castle. [q 10] Garnet and Eiko summon an extremely powerful eidolon in defense; Kuja attempts to steal the eidolon as a means to kill his master, Garland, but the latter arrives and destroys it. [q 11] [q 12] The party chases Kuja through a portal to Terra, where the antagonists' goals become clear. The Terrans created Garland to merge their dying world with Gaia; Garland, in turn, created self-aware, soulless vessels called Genomes. [q 13] For millennia, Garland has been using the Iifa Tree to replace deceased Gaian souls with the hibernating Terran souls, turning the former into Mist in the process; this will allow the Terrans to be reborn into the Genomes after the planetary merge. [q 14] [q 15] Kuja and Zidane are Genomes created to accelerate this process by bringing war and chaos to Gaia. [q 16] Kuja had betrayed Garland to avoid becoming occupied by a Terran soul. Kuja defeats Garland, who reveals before dying that the former has a limited lifespan anyhow: Garland designed Zidane to be his replacement. [q 17] Enraged, Kuja destroys Terra and escapes to the Iifa Tree.
At the Iifa Tree, the party enters Memoria and reaches the origin of the universe: the Crystal World. They defeat Kuja, preventing him from destroying the original crystal of life and thus the universe. [q 18] After defeating Necron, a force of death, [q 19] the Tree collapses; the party flees, while Zidane stays behind to rescue Kuja. [q 20] One year later, the game reveals the cast's fate: Tantalus arrives in Alexandria to put on a show; Vivi has implicitly died as Black Mages only live for a year, but he has left behind several identical "sons," as well as grown to understand the meaning of life; Freya and Fratley are rebuilding Burmecia; Cid has adopted Eiko; Quina works in the castle's kitchen; Amarant and Lani are travelling together; and Garnet presides as queen of Alexandria, with Steiner and Beatrix as her guards. In the climax of Tantalus's performance, the lead actor reveals himself as Zidane in disguise and reunites with Queen Garnet. [q 21]
Early planning for Final Fantasy IX began in July 1998 before Square had finished development on Final Fantasy VIII . [7] [8] The game was developed in Hawaii as a compromise to developers living in the United States. [8] As the series' last game on the PlayStation, Sakaguchi envisioned a "reflection" on the older games of the series. Leading up to its release, Sakaguchi called Final Fantasy IX his favorite Final Fantasy game as "it's closest to [his] ideal view of what Final Fantasy should be". [9] This shift was also a response to demands from fans and other developers. [8] Additionally, the team wanted to create a coherent story with deep character development; this led to the creation of Active Time Events which showcase the character's individual exploration away from the protagonist. [8] Sakaguchi wrote the scenario for the game, with further contributions from Kazuhiko Aoki and Nobuaki Komoto. [10] [11]
In the game's conceptual stage, the developers made it clear that the title would not necessarily be Final Fantasy IX, as its break from the realism of VII and VIII may have alienated audiences. This idea led fans to speculate that it would be a "gaiden" (side story) to the main series. [12] By late 1999, however, Square had confirmed that the game would indeed be titled Final Fantasy IX, and by early 2000, they had almost finished the game. The developers made several adjustments to the game, such as changing the ending seven times. [8] Director Hiroyuki Ito had designed the battle system. [13]
The game's developers sought to make the game's environment more "fantasy-oriented" than its PlayStation predecessors by reintroducing a medieval setting. [4] In the game world, steam technology is just beginning to become widely available. The population relies on hydropower or wind power for energy sources but sometimes harness Mist or steam to drive more advanced engines. Norse and Northern European mythology also inspired the game's setting. According to Ito, "[the development team is] attracted to European history and mythology because of its depth and its drama". [8] The game's art director was Hideo Minaba, [8] while the characters were designed by Shūkō Murase and Toshiyuki Itahana. [14] Recurring artist Yoshitaka Amano created promotional concept art of the characters and world, and designed the logo. [15] [16] The main Final Fantasy IX website says the development of the game's world serves as a culmination of the series by blending the "successful elements of the past, such as a return to the fantasy roots", with newer elements. [6] To accomplish this and satisfy fans who had become used to the realistic designs of Final Fantasy VIII, the designers stressed creating characters with whom the player could easily relate. [8] The characters had "comic-like looks" as a result. [8] In addition, The Dark Crystal was used as inspiration for the design of the world and characters. [17] Ito suggested that the protagonist Zidane should be flirtatious towards women. [18]
Regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu wrote the music of Final Fantasy IX. In early discussions about the game, Ito asked him to compose themes for the eight main characters along with "an exciting battle track, a gloomy, danger-evoking piece, and around ten other tracks". Uematsu spent a year composing and producing "around 160" pieces, with 140 appearing in the game. [19] [20] During writing sessions, Square gave him a travel break in Europe for inspiration, where he spent time admiring ancient architecture in places like Germany. Uematsu cited medieval music as a significant influence on the score of IX. He aimed for a "simple" and "warm" atmosphere and incorporated uncommon instruments like the kazoo and dulcimer. Unlike the stark realism of its predecessors, the high fantasy undertones of IX allowed for a broader spectrum of musical styles and moods. Uematsu composed with a piano and used two contrasting methods: "I create music that fits the events in the game, but sometimes, the [developers] will adjust a game event to fit the music I've already written". [20]
Uematsu incorporated several motifs from older Final Fantasy games into the score, such as the original battle music intro, a reworked Volcano Theme from Final Fantasy and the Pandemonium theme in Final Fantasy II . [19] [20] Tantalus' band plays "Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony" from Final Fantasy VII near the beginning of the game. Uematsu has stated on several occasions that Final Fantasy IX is his favorite score. [21] [22] "Melodies of Life" is the theme song of IX and shares its main melody with pieces frequently used in the game itself, such as the overworld theme and a lullaby that Garnet sings. [23] Emiko Shiratori performed this piece in both the Japanese and English versions with arrangement by Shirō Hamaguchi. [23]
Final Fantasy IX's release was delayed to avoid a simultaneous release with then-rival Enix's Dragon Quest VII . [24] On October 7, 2000, a demo day for the North American version of IX was held at the Metreon in San Francisco, California. [25] The first American release of the game was also at the Metreon; limited-edition merchandise was included with the game and fans cosplayed as Final Fantasy characters in celebration of the release. [26] In Canada, a production error left copies of Final Fantasy IX without an English version of the instruction manual, prompting Square to ship copies of the English manual to Canadian stores several days later. [27] Square heavily promoted the game both before and after its release. Starting on March 6, 2000, the game's characters appeared in a line of computer-generated Coca-Cola commercials. Figurines of several characters were also used as prizes in Coca-Cola's marketing campaign. [28] That same year, IGN awarded Final Fantasy dolls and figurines for prizes in several of their contests. [29]
Final Fantasy IX was released on Sony's Greatest Hits on June 30, 2003. [30]
Final Fantasy IX was also the benchmark of Square's interactive PlayOnline service. PlayOnline was initially developed to interface with Final Fantasy X but became a strategy site for IX when those plans fell through. Square designed the website to complement BradyGames' and Piggyback Interactive's official strategy guides for the game, where players who bought the print guide had access to "keywords" that they could search for on PlayOnline's site for extra tips and information. This design caused anger among buyers of the guide who felt cheated by the expensive print version's omissions. The blunder made GameSpy's "Top 5 Dumbest Moments in Gaming" list, and Square dropped the idea for Final Fantasy X, which was under development at the time. [31]
Square Enix re-released the game as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box Japanese package in December 2012. [32] A remastered version was released for Android and iOS in February 2016. [33] The remaster features HD movies and character models, an auto-save feature, seven different game boosters (cheats), including high speed and no encounter modes, and achievements. A port for Windows was released on April 14 the same year. In September 2017, the Windows port was released on PlayStation 4. [34] It was also released on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Windows 10 in North America on February 13, 2019, and in other regions a day later. [35] [36]
Aggregator | Score |
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GameRankings | PS: 93% [37] |
Metacritic | PS: 94/100 [38] iOS: 88/100 [39] PC: 84/100 [40] PS4: 85/100 [41] NS: 76/100 [42] |
Publication | Score |
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Famitsu | 38/40 [43] [44] |
Game Informer | 9.75/10 [45] |
GamePro | [46] |
GameSpot | 8.5/10 [5] |
Hyper | 95% [47] |
IGN | 9.2/10 [4] |
Next Generation | [48] |
TouchArcade | iOS: [49] |
Publication | Award |
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4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards [50] | |
6th Annual Golden Satellite Awards [51] |
|
Final Fantasy IX sold over 2.65 million copies in Japan by the end of 2000, making it the second-highest selling game of the year in the region. [52] Although it was a top-seller in Japan [53] and America, [54] Final Fantasy IX did not sell as many copies as VII or VIII in either Japan or the United States. [55] [56] In 2001, the game received a "Gold" certification from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), [57] for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. [58] The original PlayStation version sold over 5.5 million copies by March 2016. [59] [60] [61] [62]
Final Fantasy IX was released to critical acclaim both in Japan and abroad. It achieved a 94/100 on the review aggregator Metacritic making it their highest-scoring Final Fantasy game. [38] The game was voted the 24th-best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu . [63] Francesca Reyes of Next Generation called it "an imaginative return to the roots of the Final Fantasy series that hits the RPG mark dead-on". [48]
Critics generally praised the title's gameplay and combat system. GameSpot approved of the simple learning curve and that the ability system is not as complex as in VII or VIII. [5] Each character possesses unique abilities, which prevents one character from overpowering the others. GameSpot describes the battle system as having a tactical nature and notes that the expanded party allows for more interaction between players and between enemies. [5] Nevertheless, IGN disliked the lengthy combat pace and the repeated battles, describing it as "aggravating". [4] RPGFan felt the Trance system was ineffective because the meter buildup is slow and unpredictable, with characters Trancing just before the enemy dies. [64]
The characters and graphics also received positive reviews. Although IGN felt that the characters were similar to those in other Final Fantasy games, the characters were still engaging and sympathetic. [4] GameSpot found the characters amusing and full of humor. [5] IGN also noted that even the Active Time Event system helps expand the player's understanding of the characters' personalities as they grapple with many ideas and emotions. [4] RPGFan enjoyed the detailed animation and design of the semi-deformed graphical style. They also praised the pre-rendered backgrounds, noting the careful attention given to the artwork, movement in animations, and character interactivity. They commended the cutscenes for being emotionally compelling and highlighted the seamless transition between cutscenes and in-game graphics. [64] The music also received praise, with Electronic Gaming Monthly listing it the best soundtrack on their list of top five original soundtracks, [65] while GamePro praised the audio for evoking "emotions throughout the story, from battles to heartbreak to comedy". [46]
Critics acknowledged that Square primarily built the storyline upon elements found in previous Final Fantasy installments, such as evil empires and enigmatic villains. [64] The main villain, although considered by GameSpot to be the least threatening in the series, [5] was seen by IGN as an impeccable combination of "Kefka's cackling villainy" and "plenty of the bishonenosity that made Sephiroth such a hit with the ladies". [4] RPGFan felt that the music was "uninspired and dull" compared to previous Final Fantasy titles and criticized composer Uematsu for reusing some tracks from past iterations of the series. [64] Still, reviewers have concluded that this and many other elements are part of the overall effort to create a nostalgic game for fans of the older Final Fantasy games. [4] [5] [64]
The strategy guide also received criticism; it urged buyers to log onto an online site to gain the information instead of providing it within the actual guide. The book's given links are no longer accessible on the PlayOnline website. The minigame "Tetra Master" was seen by GameSpot as inferior and confusing compared to Final Fantasy VIII's minigame "Triple Triad" as the rules are vaguely explained and offered few rewards despite its expansive nature. [5]
During the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences honored Final Fantasy IX with the "Console Role-Playing", "Art Direction" and "Animation" awards, as well as received nominations for "Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", "Original Musical Composition", and "Character or Story Development". [66]
Final Fantasy IX was voted the 4th best Final Fantasy game in a poll by Japan's national broadcasting organization NHK. [67] IGN named it the 14th best game on the original PlayStation, calling it an "incredible" way to close out the Final Fantasy series's first nine games and complimented its reverence for those titles. [68] Rock Paper Shotgun named the title their 4th best Final Fantasy game available on PC, praising the cast and its eclectic group of heroes. [69] Though overshadowed during its initial release by other Final Fantasy titles, the game has been recognized for its mature themes, including mortality and handling death and is considered a JRPG masterpiece. [70] The music has also been called one of Uematsu's greatest scores. [71] The game has inspired a number of mods such as Moguri Mod , which is an unofficial remaster project developed by fans which saw its initial release in 2018. [72]
In 2015, OverClocked ReMix released a four-disc collection called "Worlds Apart" with 120 songs to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the game's release. [73] In June 2021, Cyber Group Studios and Square Enix announced plans to develop an animated television series based on Final Fantasy IX. [74]
Story notes
Final Fantasy is a fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix. The franchise centers on a series of fantasy role-playing video games. The first game in the series was released in 1987, with 16 numbered main entries having been released to date.
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the Final Fantasy video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton John as one of his biggest influences.
The Chocobo is a fictional species created for the Final Fantasy franchise by Square Enix. A galliform bird commonly having yellow feathers, they were first introduced in Final Fantasy II (1988), and have since featured in some capacity in nearly every Final Fantasy title, usually as a means of transport. Chocobos or chocobo-themed characters have played story roles in multiple titles, notably in Final Fantasy V and XIII. A recurring Chocobo also acts as protagonist of the Chocobo spin-off series.
PlayOnline is an online gaming service owned by Square Enix as the launcher application and Internet service for many of the online PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 games the company publishes. Launched on June 6, 2000, the service hosted games including Front Mission Online, Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion, Tetra Master, and the Japanese releases of EverQuest II, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and JongHoLo. As of 2022, however, the PC version of Final Fantasy XI is the only remaining game supported by the service.
Zidane Tribal is a video game character in the Final Fantasy series and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy IX. He was conceived and written by Hironobu Sakaguchi, while his appearance was designed by Yoshitaka Amano and re-interpreted by Toshiyuki Itahana. Like other members of the Final Fantasy IX cast, but unlike characters of previous Final Fantasy games, Zidane was designed after the plot for the game was written. Presented as a charming, puckish character, Zidane has an outgoing, self-confident and womanizing personality whose mixture of lechery and devil-may-care attitude helps put danger into perspective.
Final Fantasy is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes video games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. The series began in 1987 as an eponymous role-playing video game developed by Square, spawning a video game series that became the central focus of the franchise. The music of the Final Fantasy series refers to the soundtracks of the Final Fantasy series of video games, as well as the surrounding medley of soundtrack, arranged, and compilation albums. The series' music ranges from very light background music to emotionally intense interweavings of character and situation leitmotifs.
Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, alias Dagger, is a character in the Final Fantasy series and one of the main cast of Final Fantasy IX. She is the princess of the kingdom of Alexandria and one of the lead characters. In this game, she is trying to escape her kingdom and joins with her kidnappers, including protagonist Zidane Tribal, to do so. She assumes the pseudonym Dagger and cuts her hair, at which point the writers began to treat her as a different character while writing her. In time, she discovers herself adopted, having come from a village of summoners.
Freya Crescent is a fictional character in the 2000 video game Final Fantasy IX, where she is one of the main characters. She is an anthropomorphic rat called a Burmecian, and a Dragoon Knight. She is on a quest to find her lost love, Sir Fratley, only to discover that he has forgotten her due to amnesia. She also suffers from the destruction of different Burmecian cities. She was originally conceived by Yoshitaka Amano, before her final version was created by Toshiyuki Itahana.
Final Fantasy IX, a PlayStation role-playing game consisting of four CD-ROMs, features a cast containing various major and minor characters. Players control a maximum of four characters for combat at once, with eight main playable characters in the party and other, temporary characters.
Hiroyuki Ito, is a Japanese game producer, director and designer who works for Square Enix. He is known as the director of Final Fantasy VI (1994), Final Fantasy IX (2000) and Final Fantasy XII (2006) and as the creator of the Active Time Battle (ATB) system in the Final Fantasy series.
Beatrix is a fictional character in the 2000 video game Final Fantasy IX. She is one of its antagonists, serving Queen Brahne of the Alexandria Kingdom as Brahne invades various nations to steal crystal shards. Beatrix eventually betrays Brahne after the destruction of the nation of Cleyra and Brahne putting the life of the Princess, Garnet, at risk. She works with Steiner to battle against Brahne, and eventually falls in love with him. She has been a generally popular character among critics and fans, with her eventual turn away from Brahne and her power receiving commentary from critics.
Vivi Ornitier is a video game character in the Final Fantasy series. He appears in the video game Final Fantasy IX, where he serves as a member of the game's main cast. He is a shy character who through the game's plot grapples with the trauma of discovering his past and identity. He is a Black Mage, a class of magic users who employ fire, ice, lightning, and other elements into their magic. His design took inspiration from the film The Dark Crystal and was meant to appear both realistic and comic-like; part of the game's world was designed around him in turn. He has appeared in other games such as the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts II, and World of Final Fantasy. A felt doll of Vivi was included with pre-orders of the Japanese original release of FFIX.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy VIII was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack, a compilation of all music in the game, was released on four Compact Discs by DigiCube in Japan, and by Square EA in North America. A special orchestral arrangement of selected tracks from the game—arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi—was released under the title Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Final Fantasy VIII, and a collection of piano arrangements—performed by Shinko Ogata—was released under the title Piano Collections Final Fantasy VIII.
Dissidia Final Fantasy is a fighting game with action role-playing elements developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the campaign for the Final Fantasy series' 20th anniversary. It was released in Japan on December 18, 2008, in North America on August 25, 2009, and in Australia and Europe in September. It was then re-released in Japan, based on the North American version, as Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning, on November 1, 2009.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy IX was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. It was his last exclusive Final Fantasy score. The Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack, a compilation of all music in the game, was originally released on four Compact Discs by DigiCube in 2000, and was re-released by Square Enix in 2004. A Best Of and arranged soundtrack album of musical tracks from the game entitled Final Fantasy IX: Uematsu's Best Selection was released in 2000 by Tokyopop Soundtrax. Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack PLUS, an album of music from the game's full motion videos and extra tracks, was released by DigiCube in 2000 and re-released in 2004, and a collection of piano arrangements of pieces from the original soundtrack arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi and performed by Louis Leerink was released as Piano Collections Final Fantasy IX in 2001.
Final Fantasy is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes video games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. The original Final Fantasy video game, published in 1987, is a role-playing video game developed by Square, spawning a video game series that became the central focus of the franchise. The primary composer of music for the main series was Nobuo Uematsu, who single-handedly composed the soundtracks for the first nine games, as well as directing the production of many of the soundtrack albums. Music for the spin-off series and main series games beginning with Final Fantasy X was created by a variety of composers including Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Kumi Tanioka, as well as many others.
Final Fantasy is a 1987 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Originally released for the NES, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The first Final Fantasy story follows four youths called the Warriors of Light, who each carry one of their world's four elemental crystals which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the crystals, and save their world.
Final Symphony II is a symphonic concert tour first held at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Germany on August 29, 2015. The concert performances feature arrangements of video game music selected from the Final Fantasy series, specifically Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX, and XIII. It is divided into four acts, one per game, with the newest game, Final Fantasy XIII, first, and the oldest, V, last; all four arrangements are single-section arrangements, with the IX portion as a piano concerto. The tour is a follow-up to Final Symphony, a similar tour of orchestral arrangement performances from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X beginning in 2013. The concert is produced and directed by Thomas Böcker of Merregnon Studios, with arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen, along with Roger Wanamo and Final Fantasy XIII composer Masashi Hamauzu. The original works were composed by Nobuo Uematsu and Hamauzu, and an introductory piece was composed by Valtonen. The premiere concert was performed by the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under conduction from Eckehard Stier, with guest performer Mischa Cheung joining the orchestra on piano.
Kuja is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 2000 video game Final Fantasy IX. A member of the same race as the protagonist, Zidane. He exhibits narcissistic and egomaniacal traits, with his plot at first being to overthrow his creator, and then to destroy all life. He appears in other games, such as Dissidia Final Fantasy. His concept art was created by Yoshitaka Amano, which was later reimagined by Toshiyuki Itahana.
Quina Quen is a character in the video game Final Fantasy IX, being one of the playable characters that can be used. They are a Blue Mage, a Final Fantasy class that gains enemies' powers by defeating them, and is invested in eating food. They have an ambiguous gender, referred to with both male and female pronouns in the English version of the game. They join the protagonist, Zidane Tribal, as part of their own quest to learn about life beyond food.
Toshiyuki Itahana: Je ne suis pas sûr, car le scénario a été écrit par Hironobu Sakaguchi / I am not sure because the scenario was written by Hironobu Sakaguchi