finalfantasytrivia

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Samarkand

Zanarkand (top image) was originally meant to be called “Registan”, which was an important part of the ancient city of Samarkand (bottom image), located in present-day Uzbekistan. It was later decided to be named after Samarkand itself, but with slight alteration. The city was a wealthy trading center.

Info and image source:

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Zantetsuken Kanji

When Odin is summoned in FFVIII, you might have noticed some kanji appearing on the screen during his attack. These are “zan”, “tetsu” and “ken”, which is the name of the attack itself, meaning “Iron-severing sword”.

The next bit of info contains a SPOILER!

When Seifer counters Odin’s Zantetsuken in Lunatic Pandora, the kanji that appear mean “Zantetsuken Reverse”.

Info and image source:

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BOO!

In the Gold Saucer's Ghost Square, there are some little details and secrets to discover:

1. Outside the hotel, if you hold R1, L1 and circle (generally, the buttons you use to escape battles + confirm) simultaneously, one of the bats will fly towards the screen. You can see how it works in the video below (by Sega Chief).

2. In the lobby, the ghosts play chess with pieces resembling the game's summons.

3. In the shop, there is a pumpkin with which you can interact to hear a slowed-down version of Kefka's laughter from FFVI.

Info and image source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Gold_Saucer_(Final_Fantasy_VII_field)#Ghost_Square

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Vanille of the Dia Clan

According to an interview with Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, Vanille's face was based on the Japanese model and singer, Meisa Kuroki:

Additionally, her outfit was inspired by traditional clothing of Himba women from Namibia:

Info and image source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Oerba_Dia_Vanille

https://www.themoviedb.org/person/94018-meisa-kuroki/images/profiles

https://9gag.com/gag/aQX1M0W

https://photos.com/featured/four-himba-women-namibia-africa-peter-adams.html

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Kirin

Kirin is a recurring creature in the FF series, most notably depicted as a summon with healing abilities.

In East Asian mythology, Qilin (or Kirin in Japanese and Korean language) is a creature with characteristics of a chimera, which is said to appear with the arrival and passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. Qilin represents luck, good omens, protection, and longevity. It is often described as being peaceful, refusing to walk on ground for fear of damaging a single blade of grass, and instead walking upon the clouds or water. Qilin's appearance varies in different myths. It generally looks similar to a Chinese dragon, but has a body shape of an ox, horse or deer and can also have fish fins, carp whiskers or a tail of a lion. It can be of any color and sometimes has a jewel-like brilliance. Its voice is said to resemble the tinkling of bells, chimes, and the wind.

(I don't know about you, but Qilin is becoming my favorite mythological being)

Info and image source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Kirin_(summon)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

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Praise be to Yevon

The Yevon script seen in FFX (top image) was inspired by a form of Sanskrit called Siddhaṃ script (bottom image), which is used in one of the oldest and biggest Japanese schools of Buddhism - the Shingon Buddhism.

The letter A of the Yevon script alphabet represents Yevon (you can see this symbol repeatedly throughout the game), while the letter Z represents Sin.

An important practice for Shingon Buddhists is “meditating on the letter A”.

Therefore, this letter has a profound meaning in both scripts.

Info and image source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Yevon

https://id.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksara_Siddha%E1%B9%83

(phew…I really did miss making these posts for you guys)

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Dr. Tot

The character of Doctor Tot from FFIX was likely inspired by Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of moon, wisdom, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art, and judgment. This deity is often depicted as a man with the head of a bird – ibis to be precise.

(...I honestly thought Dr. Tot has a beak while playing the game...guess it's just a large nose...).

Info and picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Doctor_Tot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoth

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A Little Bit of Everything

Ragnarok from FFXIII bears resemblance to the game's Eidolons. For example, notice the many arms (Hecatoncheir), claws and muscles (Bahamut), frills (Brynhildr), crown (Alexander), rings (Shiva), and cloak (Odin). There are also elements of the Pulse deity.

It's quite difficult to spot because these creatures have complex designs...but I found it fascinating either way.

Info and picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Ragnarok_(Final_Fantasy_XIII)

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Lunar Base Secret Cutscene

WARNING! FFVIII SPOILER AHEAD!

In FFVIII, there is an optional, missable cutscene on Lunar Base. To watch it, you have to follow Ellone into the elevator room leading to the escape pods when the Lunar Cry starts. Then, instead of taking the lift, return to the control room, approach the control panel and press X (or its equivalent in your version of the game). You will then see a camera drone being attacked by a monster.

I've forgotten to take some footage while playing this part of the game (which was recently). Bummer! Thankfully I've found this video by letsplayff:

Info source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Lunar_Base#Behind_the_scenes

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Sounds familiar...

FFIX pays tribute to previous games of the series in many ways. Music is no exception. Several tracks were re-used or remixed:

Mount Gulug – a remixed version of Gurgu Volcano dungeon music from the original FF

Pandemonium – a slowed-down version of the track from FFII, using Garland's theme elements

Zidane's Theme – resembles the music which plays inside the airship in FFIII

Doga and Une's Theme – plays in the Black Mage Village under special circumstances (see one of my previous posts), it originally appeared in FFIII

Skies of Alexandria – bears some similarities to the Red Wings track of FFIV

Moogles' Theme – plays at Mognet Central and is a remix of its counterpart from FFV

Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony – this track from FFVII is played by the Tantalus music band in Evil Forest when the corresponding Active-Time Event is activated

Info source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_IX_allusions

Picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_IX:_Original_Soundtrack

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Tidus the Plumber

Tidus from FFX was originally supposed to be a plumber, fixing pipes and dispatching underwater fiends. His personality was that of an angry Japanese gang member.

Yuna was portrayed to have a more "tropical" feel but she ended up having a Japanese design.

One story idea incorporated Auron as the commander of Crimson Blades (Crusaders) and actually being Jecht in disguise.

Shown above is an early design for Tidus, Yuna, and Auron by Yusuke Naora.

Info and picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Tidus?so=search#Behind_the_scenes

https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Yuna#Behind_the_scenes

https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Auron?so=search#Behind_the_scenes

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The Ultimate Let-down

Ultima is usually the strongest spell in FF games. However, this does not apply to FFII, in which this spell made its first appearance. Hiromasa Iwasaki, a programmer, made a blog post about his conversation with Hironobu Sakaguchi (the creator of FF series) on the topic of Ultima being useless in FFII.

The Ultima spell’s power was supposed to increase in relation to the level and quantity of other spells in player’s possession. But due to a bug, it only does around 500 damage at most. When the bug was discovered during development, Sakaguchi insisted on getting it fixed. However, the programmer in charge simply replied in a following manner:

“All of that legendary stuff, it dates back to an age that didn’t even have proper techniques. If you were to look at such things now in the present’s point-of-view, it would be natural that they look inferior. For this reason, it’s a given that Ultima’s abilities would be bad.”

“As for those who struggled and ultimately acquired it only to find out that it’s useless… well, that’s something that often happens in life. So, I’m not going to fix it!”

Sakaguchi then wanted to fix the bug himself, but found out the programmer has ciphered the source, so that he was the only one who could do something about it. And so, it remained unchanged.

Iwasaki said he can’t be sure whether the story is true, but it’s quite amusing either way.

Info source: https://www.siliconera.com/final-fantasys-first-ultima-spell-useless/

Picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Ultima_(Final_Fantasy_II)

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The Thin White Duke

Did you know that Yoshitaka Amano (the character designer and illustrator for the early FF games, best known as the author of the game series’s numerous logos) painted David Bowie? It was in 2004, during a collaboration with Neil Gaiman to create a sci-fi short story – Return of The Thin White Duke. The story takes place in a futuristic New York and features Bowie and his wife Iman.

See the art gallery for the book here: http://yoshitaka-amano.kouryu.info/gal-eng-divers-return_duke-p-1.html

Info and picture source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2016/01/12/that-time-when-yoshitaka-amano-painted-david-bowie/?sh=26cebeff790d

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The Banora Mystery

Emerald Weapon from FFVII can be found in FFVII: Crisis Core, trapped in crystal. It is located in the first area of the Banora Underground (Depths of Judgment). 

Banora is located in the Mideel area – quite far away from the North Cave, where the Weapons slumbered in the original game. The Great Cavern of Wonders (the mission area in Crisis Core) on the other hand, is located right next to the aforementioned North Cave. The area in which you fight Minerva has the same design as Depths of Judgment. It would therefore make more sense for Emerald Weapon to be seen there, rather than in Banora. Truly mysterious...

Info and picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Banora_Underground

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Buggy Rippler

Strago's Lore ability Rippler has the effect of exchanging the current status of the caster with that of the target. It was meant to exchange common statuses, such as Blind, Slow, or Protect. However, due to a bug, Rippler interacts with all statuses – even special ones which are not named or visible. These include Magitek, Critical, Trance or Interceptor Guard. Using the ability can therefore have many unexpected, strange effects. For example, characters affected by Rippler can use their Desperation Attack even when not low on HP (only the Critical status is transferred, while HP remains unchanged) and you can even permanently lose Interceptor (the dog companion) if an enemy casts Rippler on Shadow! This bug has been fixed in the iOS/Android/Steam version.

Another bug causes Rippler to seemingly miss its target, while in reality it does not. This was fixed in FFVI Advance. But then a new feature has appeared, causing characters and enemies who are immune to the Imp status to also be immune to Rippler. It may possibly be a bug as well.

The video below (uploaded by Smythejameson) shows one of the effects of the bug in action – Strago (confused) casts Rippler on Terra in Trance status, eventually resulting in two Trance Terras on the battlefield.

Info source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Rippler_bug

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Old Man Tellah

At the age of 60, Tellah is one of the oldest playable characters in FF series, plus first one to wear glasses. His physical stats (except for HP) actually decrease as he levels up, due to him getting older.

He was probably named after the Biblical Terah – father of Abraham and grandfather of Lot. The name is used in Hebrew as a slang for old man.

Info and picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Tellah

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Otherworldly

WARNING! FFXIII SPOILER AHEAD!

Fang and Vanille from FFXIII were given Australian accents in the English version of the game. In the Japanese version, they use Okinawan dialect of Japanese. It was meant to set them apart from other characters and strengthen the impression of them coming from a different world.

Info and picture source: https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Oerba_Dia_Vanille