I know, I've already written a blog on how dear is Final Fantasy IX to me, but I felt that I need to say more. The more I play this game, the more I feel that, there's a lot more than meets the eye. It's the simplicity of the delivery that made some of the parts a bit overlooked, but that what is exactly what made the game so brilliant. You HAVE to think of each and every part, because there might be a hidden meaning, and you might find your gem. In this blog, I'll talk a bit on some parts that really moved me as I looked for a meaning.
Is Eiko really a brat?
When you first meet Eiko, she acts like a complete brat. With her jumping and screaming and getting between this tamed relationship between Zidane and Dagger, you won't like a six year old kid hanging around you. Quite surprising that she actually fell in love with Zidane, and fancied him and called him her man. I'd hate her.
When she starts cooking for the party when they visited her in Madain Sari, she stopped for a moment, then started praying; seeking help from her dead grandfather, because she doesn't want to be alone anymore. I found this really heartbreaking. She's bloody six, yet she already feels broken down and lonely. Her heart would settle for anyone now, and Zidane came to her like a hero from a novel. Handsome, charming, smart, capable. As much as Eiko sounded like a little brat, she is still an innocent kid who wanted to be loved.
Black Mages
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| *sobs* |
I feel emotional as I type this. Visiting the Black Mage Village was simply my favourite part in the game. A black mage is one of the most prominent icons in the series, and seeing a bunch of them very relevant to the story made me delighted. But, it was sad. In Gaia, the world of Final Fantasy IX, Black mages are tools of war. Weapons deployed by warmongers. They bring destruction, they bring terror. However, in reality, they are simple, living beings, who built a home hidden deep in a dead forest. They fear humans, and death.
Then, we have Vivi. Our cute little black mage who follows around the entire game. During the game, Vivi sees Black Mages who are similar to him. He called them "dolls" because they showed no emotion, or control of their movements. He questioned his existence. Why he is like this? Where are his family? Does he have loving parents waiting for him to come back? Does he have a home? Later, when he founds out he was created for war, he was never born, he was made by human beings, that made him question his existence even more. Actually, he started wondering whether or not he exists.
When he visits the village, he learns of "stopping". The term itself made me really sad because it's so innocent. They are so afraid of death, they can't even say the word. Vivi learned that all the black mages will "stop" very soon. What's worse that he'll die before all the black mages, because he was built to last a bit longer than the others. He will watch them all fade before his time comes. He might be the last ever black mage left in this world. It's just depressing whenever I think about it. Black mages are like aware children. Their innocence shine from their glowing eyes. How does it feel when you know when will you die?
From Hero to Zero
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Zidane. Zidane Tribal. That cool, unstoppable thief who stole the princess (by help from the princess herself) from her own castle, under the Queen's purple nose. The entire game, he was a winner. He does this, gets away with that. His chin was always up. He is a leader of leaders.
Deep inside him, Zidane was always searching; looking for "a place to call home.". His only memory of it is an ambiguous blue light. Eventually, our hero Zidane finds his home, but it was never what he hoped for. He is a being above empty vessels. He is a bringer of doom. He is from a planet that lives on the life of planets. He is Immortal. Knowing all that, knowing that he was born to take the life of his friends he protected with his life, he refused to accept it. Then, he was made an empty vessel.
Zidane. Zidane Tribal. That cool, unstoppable thief, broke down. He fell. From the moment the game started until now, he never, ever showed signs of defeat. When did you see Zidane ever "crack" before this moment? That part of the game itself was more talking about friendship and how the party helped one another throughout, but what really caught me was how Zidane suddenly lost it. When your favourite team goes on to win hundreds of matches and dozens of championships, then they suddenly lose all their grace, and get humiliated, its unfamiliarity make it unbearable. It was so sad to see Zidane lose after winning so much.
