In an recent interview with Ascii publishing, Vice president of Square and producer of the Final Fantasy series, Nobuhiko Sakaguchi revealed a number of notes regarding Final Fantasy IX.

 

Characters

A few additional details regarding characters revealed up to the current point-

Jitan

Full name is Jitan Tribaul (or close to the pronunciation).
A right handed 16 year old boy, who has a handsome face and a tail.
Jitan Lives life for what it is without any goals, and likes women. A lot.
Together with Bibi, Jitan plays an important role in the storyline from the middle of the game.




Bibi

Full name is Bibi Alnitia (or close to the pronunciation).
A right handed 9 year old black magician, Bibi is truely weak at heart and even questions himself if he actually exists.

While only a child, Bibi plays is the key character in Final Fantasy IX -he is the center of the storyline.

Steiner

Full name is Edward Steiner (or close to the pronunciation).
A right handed 33 year old knight.
Steiner serves under the Kingdom of Alexandria, directly for the King's family.

Scenario Related

1- Approximately 8 Main Characters in Game
There is no "one" main character in final Fantasy IX- all characters are main characters. Thus far there have only been 3 male characters revealed, but there will be at least 1 female character as well.

In total, there are approximately 8 main characters. However, the storyline does not split during the game. All the characters live lifes of their own, and meet up due to events.

2- Not Only human race
The world of Final Fantasy IX has many different races, many of those whom are not human, such as mice.

3- Black Dragon and White Wings
The Black dragon and while wings image shown, takes during the latter third of the storyline. The white winged mystery which seems to be guarding the castle from the black dragon, is hinted to be guarding a Crystal.

 

4- The Flying Theater
The Colossal ship seen in the previous article, is that of a flying Theater.
The flying theater has a hatch which can open, and actors can be seen performing when beside castles and other tall edifices. For the town shown in the picture, the visit of the Flying Theater is an once in a year event.

The Theater Ship flys across different regions, traveling places to places. However according to Sakaguchi, in the case of the theater ship shown in the image, it is actually taken over by a thief (or a group of thieves), Jitan.

Game System & Development

1- Returning to The Basics
As said previously, since Final Fantasy IX is the last of the series in one single digit, the theme has been returned to the classical days in the series with a fantasy-like atmosphere and the crystal. Likewise, knights and magicians, and a princess are in the game.


2- Yoshitaka Amano is Official Illustrator in place of Tetsuya Nomura
Since the concept is to return to the basics of Final fantasy, the Official artist for the game is once again Yoshitaka Amano, in place of Tetsuya Nomura (artist of FFVII & VIII).

3- Theme to be same as Final Fantasy -The Movie
While the background and settings are different, the "Theme" of Final Fantasy IX is the same as Final Fantasy -The movie. While it may not be easily figured be the audience, the script was written by Sakaguchi during the same period, which is one of the reasons as to why.

4- Games runs Fully SD
While FFVII was not fully SD due to graphical problems (ie: swinging a sword made the character hit its own head with the blade in 3D style SD), FFIX rises over the problem and uses SD characters.


5- Average Playing time, Etc.
Final Fantasy IX's average playing time is 40 hours. The game's allows 4 characters instead of 3, to be in a party. This allows more options for the player, but also brings in essential strategies in fighting.

In addition, FFIX will include a new system which has only been commented by Sakaguchi as a "combining system" that uses lots of data, and will probably differ between players. The key words hinted are "Gain" and "Dispose".

Final Fantasy IX is scheduled for release on the PlayStation in 7/19/00, price undetermined.
The Madman's Cafe will keep on track for the latest news regarding Final Fantasy IX.




Related Articles:
Details On Final Fantasy IX (3/12/00) | Sakaguchi Interview (2/18/00)


Additional Images

100.58 Kb 478 x 597

110.94 Kb 598 x 517

210.08 Kb 646 x 891

152.95 Kb 460 x 893