Final Fantasy XIV Reference Archive: References to Final Fantasy IX

1. The Moogle Mail system is similar to that of the Mognet from Final Fantasy IX.

2. The Heavensward Hildibrand questline centers around a mammet named Gigi, which is modelled after Vivi. The similarities grow even more blatant the further you go into the questline as it is revealed that Gigi's actually a time master mammet created by the late Scholar Quan in order to make him younger, a plan he does not put into fruition, hiding Gigi so no one could abuse his powers before dying.

Vivi in FF IX is a little young boy belonging to a race of Black Mages that are being manufactured with Mist. Vivi has short life-span, yet his character development makes him a foil to Kuja. As the latter is afraid of dying, Vivi ends up accepting it as a part of life. Vivi was raised by the late Quan of the Qu race who planned to eat him when he grew up, but ended up not going with it because he ended up caring for the lil' boy. The stories Quan told Vivi would serve as motivation for him to go out and explore the world after his eventual death, which is why you begin controlling him in Alexandria at the start of the game.

As a side note, the Gigi minion you get after completing the questline does Vivi's signature hatholding pose that he does whenever he gets up from tripping on the floor.

Gigi (FF XIV)

Vivi (FF IX)

Quan (FF IX)

3. Ozma, the superboss from Final Fantasy IX makes an appearance in both The Weeping City of Mhach and in Eureka, you can also get him as a mount in the last one.

Ozma (FF IX)

Ozma (FF XIV)

Demi-Ozma mount (FF XIV)

4. The fact that Antitower is upside-down may reference Ipsen's Castle from FF IX.

5. The Cruise Chaser from the Alexander - The Heart of the Creator raid is both a reference to Ark from FF IX and a reference to Cruise Chaser Blassty, which is where Ark took his design from and where this boss takes it's name from. The Cruise Chaser has access to Propeller Wind and Photon, which are moves Ark uses in his boss fight, as well as his Summon attack, Eternal Darkness, in which he also summons Lapis Lazuli orbs in FF XIV referencing the jewels in FF IX, as Ark would do more damage with Eternal Darkness the more Lapis Lazuli jewels the player had.

Cruise Chaser Blassty (1986 game)

Ark (FF IX)

Ark (Airship Mode, FF IX)

Cruise Chaser (FF XIV)

Cruise Chaser (Airship Mode, FF XIV)

6. In the final phase of Alexander - The Soul of the Creator, Alexander will sprout wings, just like the Alexander from FF IX.

7. The weapons for SMN/SCH based on the Thornmarch and the crafted items made with materials from Thornmarch (Extreme) have a moogle with a quill pop out of the book when unsheathed. This is a reference to the save moogles from FF IX, as they will take a quill and a book to record your progress.

8. Zidane's outfit will be awarded to you as a veteran reward for 150 days of sub.

A member of Tantalus, a group of thieves masquerading as theater artists, Zidane is a flirtateous but well-meaning and positive guy. He set out to kidnap Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, and while his mission was a success, the chain of events that followed ended up changing him for the better. As an orphan adopted by the leader of Tantalus, Baku, his goal is to find the place he'll return to someday, his place of birth.

"You don't need a reason to help people"

9. The ship that you board in the Ivalice set of raids is called the Prima Vista, referencing Tantalus's Airship from FF IX.

10. The mermaid statue in Aleport is similar to the one that is in the Prima Vista in FF IX.

11. One of the pre-order rewards for Dawntrail is a minion of Zidane, the protagonist of Final Fantasy IX.

12. The second to last 6.0 quest is called "You're Not Alone" referencing the song with the same name from FF IX.

13. The Dawntrail Collector's edition comes with a minion of Princess Garnet and a mount based on her ultimate summon from IX, Ark.

14. In Eulmore there are a pair of unnamed jugglers that wear red and blue matching outfits, they're very reminiscent of Thorn and Zorn.

15. In the first Dawntrail dungeon, Ihuykatumu, the final boss is the Apollyon, based on the Abadon from FF IX.

16. The first boss from the Skydeep Cenote, the Feather Ray, is based off of the Feather Circle from FF IX.

17. The FATE "Feed Me, Sentries" has a boss called Plant Brain, named after the boss with the same name from FF IX.

19. The first boss in Yuweyawata Station is the Lindblum Zaghnal, named and modeled after the same creature from FF IX, whom you first encounter in the Festival of the Hunt, in Lindblum.

20. The Gargant appears as the first boss in the Underkeep, based on the same creature as in FF IX who, curiously enough, was just a method of transportation and not an actual enemy.

21. The final boss of the Underkeep is the Valia Pira, modeled and based after the boss of the Desert Palace from FF IX.

21. In the Ninth Shard resides the Kingdom of Alexandria, led by their (artificial) queen, Sphene Alexandros XIV. The Kingdom is based and named after the same kingdom from FF IX, and Queen Sphene is based and is a direct inversion of Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII, also known as Dagger.

22. Sir Otis Velona, Captain of the Knights of Alexandria, is a character based off of Adalbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto from Alexandria. Both are chivalrious knights sworn to protect their queen and princess respectively, no matter the cost.

23. The boss from the Recollection trials is Knight Zelenia, who is based after Beatrix from FF IX. While the boss itself is a mechanical recreation of Zelenia, Sphene mentions about her human counterpant which as much reverence as Dagger spoke of Beatrix in IX.

The theme that plays during the trial is a remix of Beatrix's theme, Roses of May

Roses of May (FF IX)

Roses of May (Dawntrail)

24. During the Patch 7.2 MSQ, the real Queen Sphene appears, and she's much more alike her FF IX counterpart, Princess Garnet, in personality and goals.

25. Necron is the boss of The Ageless Necropolis trial, he's based off of the final boss of FF IX and has a similar design. Just like in FF IX, he's meant to represent the fear of death, being able to both accept and overcome it is one of the core messages of FF IX.

The theme that plays during the trial is a remix of The Final Battle from FF IX

The Final Battle (FF IX)

The Final Battle (Dawntrail)

26. The Mistwake dungeon is based off of Quan's Dwelling (the area you first enter the dungeon in even has the name Quan Caverns) and the second half is based off of Treno. The bosses encountered there are the bosses you fight in Treno's weapon shop arena: Catoblepas, Amdusias and Griffin

Quan's Dwelling (FF IX)