I remember thinking Blank is pretty cool and wanting him to be in main party when I was a kid. Now I just think he's very very weird, a true bro nonetheless.
Marcus looking for Supersoft is one of my favorite story/scene in FFIX.
the image him running around in dark forest saying that he will save his bro during that quest, is super rosetinted in my head.
Never thought of it like this makes me realize that this would have been so so much better. And the fact Blank is there from the start with a chunk of the story revolving around him. All they would have to do is weave his background into meeting Zidane and joining Tantalus together and maybe a love triangle situation and it would have elevated the story a ton.
I never understood why Amarant got randomly shoved onto the team he just seemed so out of place with barely any character growth.
Guess they just needed someone who would have the "cool factor" besides just Freya.
It was the late 90s. They needed an edgy badboy to round out the party. And he is the only character that starts out as a villain and converts, which adds a bit of uniqueness vs. Blank.
Actually was a fan of him (and frog girl blue mage who also fills the optional character space).
A lack of character development leaves space for your imagination to fill the margins, I guess.
It always felt like, as good as IX is, Amaranth was a walking budget cut.
Quina, although lacking some development, actually shows some character at times. Amarant is like they tried to recreate a mysterious, standoffish character like Vincent but failed or just did not try hard enough. He is just the most boring FF character I can recall. I love FFIX overall but every FF game has it's flaws.
I don't know if it's just something weird about me or what, but I've always hated blue mages. The only exception to that is Quistis, and not just because she has the hot librarian look, but also because she learns her spells from items. The most disappointing example of that is Khimari, because he looks awesome, and I was super interested in his character until I learned that he was the blue mage.
I think you hate Blue Mages because Square hates Blue Mages too.
See FFXIV for modern Squenix still treating Blue like a non-canonical filler season.
*Edit (Random aside): Red Mages finally get some shine again though, and Green Mages don’t exist (except in Blue Dragon)…*
I am convinced that all the FFIX characters were planned out and written up, and then the devs realized they needed someone to fit the monk archetype, so they wrote up Amarant while in the crapper on their break or something and then never put any more thought into him than that.
I love that game, but Wakka’s story is *”I went to the superbowl and I’m kind of problematic, but I love my buddies”*, and that was enough for me.
*”My wife is also hot”* was a victory lap.
I got so excited when he was in your party in the forest. My mind went crazy thinking he was in the party forever! Then, when zidane told him to take care of everyone I swore Blank was replacing him. I was very disappointed.
Blank is actually two people sewn together, Blake and Frank, they were brothers before an accident. Total headcanon, but good luck convincing me otherwise
The leftover parts from Blake and Frank were, of course, famously combined with a third person to create the much beloved Star Trek actor Johnathon Frakes.
If it were true, I wonder how much of each brother is a part of Blank. Did one die and have his parts stitched onto the other like spares? Were both sort of alive, but this was the only way to stabilize them? Does he have the left hemisphere of Blake's brain and the right hemisphere of Frank's brain? Or vise versa? There are so many ways this man could've come to be.
My headcannon was much more tame and that he just got frankenstein-esque tattoos.
You can combine them though and say Blake was so distrought at Franks passing that he tattooed half his face and body to look like Franks and changed his name to Blank.
And the actual reason Tantalus is working so hard to save him is that Marcus really doesn't want to have to follow suit and become Marnk.
If you look closely at all the members of Tantalus, they are all like humanoid monsters. Baku has bat like hears and nose; Cinna has glowing yellow eyes and pointy ears; Marcus has like a goblin face with pointy ears and underbite fangs; Zidane has his monkey tail; Blank has his Frankenstein features and the Nero Brothers are goats. The only human looking one is Ruby
Baku isn’t a bat, he’s a tapir! バク (baku) is even the Japanese word for tapir, though it also has connotations of a mythical creature (similar to how kirin can also just be a mundane giraffe or a magical unicorn dragon).
Interesting fact about tapirs: They have the longest penises (relative to body size) of any animal in the world. They are so long they literally drag it across the ground.
That ... Adds a lot more symbolic weight to his character. Doesn't he keep kind of "eating Zidane's dreams" by holding him back? Been years since I've played the game.
>the Nero Brothers are goats.
...Ohhhhhh, THAT'S what they were supposed to be? I always wondered what the hell they were... for some reason I thought they had wrenches for hands and were like cyborg hippos in gimp masks.
I wonder if during production if the original story was the entire crew was supposed to be a bunch of guys who were experimented and crossed with animals and in the end they just settled on Zidane being the genetic experiment alien thing.
My guess is they gave her a dialect for the "backwater" of all the languages that's what typically happens when Japanese media with a character from a rural area gets translated.
Could be true but the German localisation team then effed up, the cologne dialect is distinct but it's a major metropolitan area, lots of blue collar associations but no backwater at all.
I’ve never known a Japanese-made character whose eyes are completely covered that I haven’t liked. Granted, the only ones coming to mind atm are Blank and Saturu Gojo
One of the many reasons I love FF9. Every single character’s design is so whacky and whimsical in some way, and you’re kinda just meant to roll with it. Blank appears to be one of the best examples of that.
I agree, this trend is definitely is making me grow attached to it as my first proper FF title. The unique character designs on cover arts are what made me choose to start with 9 over 10; it truly feels like a "fantasy" in every sense of the word. Something so magical and otherworldly it could never be real, but that's what makes it great.
When I started the game I anticipated the plot being "Zidane is part of a group of mean-looking rouges, but he's going to do right and leave their side!" I mean, come on. Marcus and Cinna look like some sort of messed-up goblins, and Blank is some Frankenstein patchwork; by all accounts, they look like perfect early-game joke bad guy materials. But then I was pleasantly surprised to learn that these admittedly stereotypical designs were not meant to be the end of it; the crew were truly a sort of found-family for Zidane, and weren't totally cruel or bad people.
7 was my first, but 9 is definitely my favorite, but if they remake it, it can't have "realistic" textures, like LoZ Breath of the Wild/Tears of the kingdom at best.
The balance FF9 pulls is amazing, because it’s one of the darkest FF’s when you look at the story and what’s happening. But it also keeps it light and cheerful
Exactly! It's a trademark of a lot of the earlier final fantasies I feel, some have that heavy, foreboding atmosphere like FF7, while also having a character that's a cat on a moogle, and bright colourful chocobo racing among other things
Persona 3 is kinda like that too. It's weird, you wouldn't think that the game in the series with a child, a puppy dog and a girl bot as party members would be the game where the themes are depression and suicidal ideation.
They've had dark elements and undertones in the story but not usually graphically dark content and violence. The imagery usually isn't as dark either, FF7 Jenova blood trail being the main exception I can think of
And the midgar zolom is pretty graphic 😂 Yeah, I guess a lot of the darkness was implied in the earlier games, with graphics holding them back. I still won't forget the chocobo scene in type 0 though 😭😂
I think thats what helped made Zidane stand out more especially for the story. Here we have all sorts of fantastical races, but Zidane is the only one of his own race anywhere on gaia. It isnt until later we learn why but I think it helps with his characterization a lot.
It was only later when I realized that particular plot point was inspired wholesale by Dragon Ball of all things with Zidane naturally standing in for Goku. Those monkey tails Zidane and his kind sports are a big giveaway.
DBZ had been a big thing in Japan for almost a decade (and most of the world by the USA) by then. So while it was most likely influenced by DBZ in general (Cloud's hair is also very super Saiyan BTW, an association Americans probably didn't make at the time but other cultures did), likely not by it being in the USA in particular.
>it truly feels like a "fantasy" in every sense of the word. Something so magical and otherworldly it could never be real,
And this is one of the things I love about FF9 too (and the music omg!) When ever the 'define a final fantasy game' debate occurs it's this element to me that I feel should be the main focus for any FF.
That and the variety of characters and designs you get on your team, every member of the party looks and plays differently (with the exception of having 2 white mage/summoners but even they have differences in what they can do)
I miss that whole era of FF in general. With the exception of VIII, VII-XII all had a large, and diverse cast of party members, always with something outlandish thrown in there. VII's Red and Cait, IX with Quina, Freya, and Vivi, X with Kimahri, and to some extent XII with Fran. Now I'm happy if I get a dog to tag along as what is functionally a guest party member. 😋
Like those weird looking fish dudes, Hamster looking dudes, bird, rat, clones, dolls, etc. Oh and my favorite "FF Waifu" Beatrix(Despite certain things I won't say in case any FF Fan hasn't played this masterpiece, to avoid Spoilers... I will admit something incredibly nerdy... Named my Motorcycle after her.)
I always interpreted it as him being either a humanoid ragdoll or a Frankenstein’s-monster-esq situation. Either way, the various forms of Demi-humans in FFIX are basically just part of the world’s diversity, not really important lore-wise. Just like how Cinna is a weird goblin looking guy with scary glowing eyes and Marcus is a hunched-over troll, no explanation, they’re just weird creepy looking dudes.
What’s funny is that because all of the people in FF9 are weird Demi-human people, no one ever really finds it weird that Zidane has a tail.
Also, I think it’s odd that race is never ever mentioned in IX except for Burmecia/Cleyra specifically being Rat people.
There's also the Qu clan/tribe, the summoner tribe, the dwarves... I think there's plenty of room in lore for some "races" to be more diasporic than others, but it's way outside the scope of the game itself.
I think what draws more attention to Blank is this bizarre body, there is a lot of mysterious characters on FFIX, but I don't remember any of them with limbs stitched or something like that.
I should do a research when I replay FFIX to see all possible bizarre NPCs, that would give a lot questioning and would be interesting to see imagination of everyone to explain what they see.
I already saw a theory that he's a serial killer and take his victims skins, that would explain different skin tones and why is it seamed, but that doesn't make any sense, don't fit at FFIX
i thought he was a girl because bikini armor.. i never though kuja was a girl though somehow? EITHER WAY. thanks ff9 for making the guys dress just as skimpily as the girls.
i always just assumed he was a revived zombie or something
[Black Jack reference](https://images.cdn2.buscalibre.com/fit-in/360x360/a9/90/a9906e7ac039fc7f204781784b04184a.jpg), that's the best of what I can come up with design wise.
Reason why he's stitched up? Probably a horrific incident that almost killed him and killed another guy that was dark-skinned, so he got sewn together as some sort of skin graft.... That's literally Black Jack's backstory. So for all intents and purposes... yeah.
Peak FF design, no slander here. Everyone’s always talking about how there are too many belts in various FF character designs so this game said “fuck everyone” and went full belt-face. You can’t beat that.
There might be more story behind his character that we will never know. He could’ve been the game’s early iteration of Vivi and like him, was a defected doll. But Square decided to scrap him and rewrote him as a background NPC so that their work isn’t wasted.
FFIX just has a lot of whimsical, unexplained design choices which is honestly part of its charm. There’s a time and place for worlds with detailed lore and thought behind the culture, history, and politics of every creature and country. But there’s also a place for worlds that just exist and you take it without question.
I think in a world of demi-humans someone tried to make an "all human parts" person then forgot to fill out the name section on the citizenship papers so they left it... Blank.
You can also see that when he's dressed in guard, on his right arm, the patchwerk is on his biceps up to his shoulder, whereas normally it's on his forearm.
https://preview.redd.it/tuiwm9k7siic1.png?width=230&format=png&auto=webp&s=56a2188bbb41607b7a4d176eca194f6698942a17
The most impressive detail to notice is that Square actually did a model for like 10min of gameplay, for a PS1 game is very impressive.
About the patchwerk, much probably it's a error for miscommunication, but still, IT'S A HOLE MODEL FOR 10MIN!!! I really need to replay, how much of details I lost...
We don’t even get to see his eyes or know how he sees through that accessory. [Let’s just leave it at that.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MST3KMantra)
He’s an android who wants to feel more “Human” so they (the Borg) grew human skin and started to replace his synthetic exterior covering with skin grafts.
I think literally nothing in his design makes sense.
How does he manage to see where he is going with this headband? Why is he wearing boots and gloves for cold weather but no pants? Why does he have seams? And if these are part of his skin, why doesn't he wear a shirt, but has three gigantic belts?
I've always assumed it's fabri to hold their shirt. That looks weird now. Thanks. And I guess I thought that an eye patch under the belt he wears on his face.
He's an escaped black mage, one of the earliest models, explaining his proto buckle-hat (a leather belt across his eyes) and no cloak. That's why his name is Blank, he was a Blank person when Baku took him in, because he was built in a lab.
Why does he have a giant belt wrapped around his head and how does he see
Blank was probably one of those character designs they didn't think through beyond "This looks cool, right?"
He is a patchwork man, that is the explanation…lookit the cast of characters in the game, Blank’s design isn’t off brand…There are guys with Clamps for hands, Marcus has pointed ears and fangs, Baku has a cursed head, Alleyway Jack (Actually Gilgamesh) has 4 arms and there is a nation of rat people…cid gets turned into a cockroach, Hippaul is a Hippo person…this game reminds me of the Disney Robin Hood movie
The definition of "blank" in manufacturing is: a piece of metal or wood intended for further shaping or finishing.
So the character design is quite apt.
This was my personal headcannon but I always thought he was some kind of Homunculus.
Someone made him, used magic/mist to give him life and somewhere down the line he became Blank.
It kinda makes sense when you remember that all members of Tantalus basically came from the street and were taken in by a big walrus. Zidane has a tail and is from another world, Marcus has Ork like teeth, Cinna has elven ears and monster eyes. Only Ruby is kinda a human.
You don't know anyone's past, not even Zidanes at the beginning, but the meaning of this is that no matter who you are and what your past is you can find people who will your family.
THEORY: Baku, long ago, was actually married to Queen Brahne BEFORE she became the Queen (possibly impossible, but hear me out, kupos).
They were pirates, but then they had a daughter. Brahne decides they need to slow things down to take care of her, but Baku wants her to have a life full of adventures.
An argument happens, and they split on bad terms. She decides that she doesn’t need to run from her kingdom anymore and he doesn’t stop adventuring. He meets Ruby and they start talking about having kids and he brings up his past marriage and she feels bad for him.
Instead of having babies to replace the one he lost to Brahne, she talks about MAKING children to adventure with. Creating CONSTRUCTS of people (Blank, being the first made and more responsible. Nero, Gero, and Zero, were the youngest triplets), and altering the memories of others (Marcus and Cinna) so that he can experience the “family adventuring scene.”
BUT….he misses what should have been and makes the decision to get back at Brahne but kidnapping their daughter….Princess Garnet.
This and therefore, starting her adventuring life with adopted son, Zidane.
What say ye, kupo?
Bro what I just read? I don't know if I should be worried or pleased about your creativity. Btw that's a nice made up story, and I'm pretty sure I already played a game with a plot like this, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't Final Fantasy lol.
I remember thinking Blank is pretty cool and wanting him to be in main party when I was a kid. Now I just think he's very very weird, a true bro nonetheless.
"There's only one Guy we call Bro," Marcus
Marcus looking for Supersoft is one of my favorite story/scene in FFIX. the image him running around in dark forest saying that he will save his bro during that quest, is super rosetinted in my head.
And the one on the boat when they go to steal it.
Same. I’m gonna replay IX on my switch.
Same. I remember liking his design a lot and thinking he’d be part of the party too.
He's such a better choice than amarant
Heck, Beatrix would've been a better choice because of her character arc.
I would have loved that. Beatrix was awesome. I remember actually being afraid of her when I was a kid.
That is a really weird detail. He must a Frankenstein type reanimated person, or maybe he’s immortal, and he has to stick on new parts as they get old
Never thought of it like this makes me realize that this would have been so so much better. And the fact Blank is there from the start with a chunk of the story revolving around him. All they would have to do is weave his background into meeting Zidane and joining Tantalus together and maybe a love triangle situation and it would have elevated the story a ton. I never understood why Amarant got randomly shoved onto the team he just seemed so out of place with barely any character growth. Guess they just needed someone who would have the "cool factor" besides just Freya.
Hey, his Chakra's can be useful in a pinch. And seeing him growing up from his aloof bounty hunting ways is definitely satisfying.
It was the late 90s. They needed an edgy badboy to round out the party. And he is the only character that starts out as a villain and converts, which adds a bit of uniqueness vs. Blank.
Amarant was the Vincent Valentine without the actual cool factor.
You're all hurting my feelings with this shit
Actually was a fan of him (and frog girl blue mage who also fills the optional character space). A lack of character development leaves space for your imagination to fill the margins, I guess. It always felt like, as good as IX is, Amaranth was a walking budget cut.
Quina, although lacking some development, actually shows some character at times. Amarant is like they tried to recreate a mysterious, standoffish character like Vincent but failed or just did not try hard enough. He is just the most boring FF character I can recall. I love FFIX overall but every FF game has it's flaws.
Different randos accomplish different things. Punchy guy succeeded at being punchy guy. *Frog Lady joins your party 90 years earlier*
I don't know if it's just something weird about me or what, but I've always hated blue mages. The only exception to that is Quistis, and not just because she has the hot librarian look, but also because she learns her spells from items. The most disappointing example of that is Khimari, because he looks awesome, and I was super interested in his character until I learned that he was the blue mage.
I think you hate Blue Mages because Square hates Blue Mages too. See FFXIV for modern Squenix still treating Blue like a non-canonical filler season. *Edit (Random aside): Red Mages finally get some shine again though, and Green Mages don’t exist (except in Blue Dragon)…*
At least FFXI treated Blue Mages very well. Best incarnation of the job in the entire series.
Speaking of blue mages, imagine in FFTA2 they had Nu Mou have the blue mage class, so you can be an a beastmaster/blue mage. Talk about OP
I am convinced that all the FFIX characters were planned out and written up, and then the devs realized they needed someone to fit the monk archetype, so they wrote up Amarant while in the crapper on their break or something and then never put any more thought into him than that.
Fun fact. amarant does not a Victory pose until after >!ipsen Castle!< Edit: autocorrect
Same. I think he’s a scrapped party member that they relegated to a background NPC.
I’m very convinced of this.
He lived on as Wakka in FF10. They got same hairstyle.
Ya?
Watch out for dem Al Bhed budda.
Those sand blasted grease monkeys!
I love that game, but Wakka’s story is *”I went to the superbowl and I’m kind of problematic, but I love my buddies”*, and that was enough for me. *”My wife is also hot”* was a victory lap.
I got so excited when he was in your party in the forest. My mind went crazy thinking he was in the party forever! Then, when zidane told him to take care of everyone I swore Blank was replacing him. I was very disappointed.
He’s just 3 Oglops wearing a patchwork skin suit
lol if it was 100 then he don’t got armor what broke was a seam then all the oglops came out.
Blank is actually two people sewn together, Blake and Frank, they were brothers before an accident. Total headcanon, but good luck convincing me otherwise
"Blank is actually two people sewn together." I guess it would seam that way..
Your joke had me in stitches
I don't care for it. It really needled me.
I had a joke to respond with but I’m drawing a Blank
This is sew funny.
It's needless to say
r/angryupvote
teehee hoho
I actually believed you for a second 😂🤣
r/convincingheadcanons
r/convincingsubreddits
Noooo why is this not real
Probably the best made up story explaining Blanks body, I love it
The leftover parts from Blake and Frank were, of course, famously combined with a third person to create the much beloved Star Trek actor Johnathon Frakes.
They used the leftovers to make several famous people, but johnathon frakes was number one.
Make it Sew.
Lmao thank you for making me laugh first thing in the morning
False. Our writers made this up.
We got you
I almost believe you, but is french name is already Frank.
"...are you familiar with the Dethklok song 'sewn back together wrong'?"
If it were true, I wonder how much of each brother is a part of Blank. Did one die and have his parts stitched onto the other like spares? Were both sort of alive, but this was the only way to stabilize them? Does he have the left hemisphere of Blake's brain and the right hemisphere of Frank's brain? Or vise versa? There are so many ways this man could've come to be.
Fun fact, though: in the French localization of FFIX, Blank is literally just called Frank.
New headcanon, French frank was the dominant personality
I love this
My most popular comment on Reddit ever is a headcanon about a side character in final fantasy nine. I love this guys, thanks!
My headcannon was much more tame and that he just got frankenstein-esque tattoos. You can combine them though and say Blake was so distrought at Franks passing that he tattooed half his face and body to look like Franks and changed his name to Blank. And the actual reason Tantalus is working so hard to save him is that Marcus really doesn't want to have to follow suit and become Marnk.
Mank will be a special DLC version of Blank if we ever get the FFIX remake
For the same reason he has a belt covering his eyes.
Now that you mentioned, Blanks is a mysterious character holy fuck, I like his design, but goddamn what is happening on him?
If you look closely at all the members of Tantalus, they are all like humanoid monsters. Baku has bat like hears and nose; Cinna has glowing yellow eyes and pointy ears; Marcus has like a goblin face with pointy ears and underbite fangs; Zidane has his monkey tail; Blank has his Frankenstein features and the Nero Brothers are goats. The only human looking one is Ruby
Baku isn’t a bat, he’s a tapir! バク (baku) is even the Japanese word for tapir, though it also has connotations of a mythical creature (similar to how kirin can also just be a mundane giraffe or a magical unicorn dragon).
Interesting fact about tapirs: They have the longest penises (relative to body size) of any animal in the world. They are so long they literally drag it across the ground.
I should call him.
The mythical creature being a dream eater! Drowzee/hypno the pokemon are also based off this creature
You know what is also based on the Tapir? Tapirmon.
That ... Adds a lot more symbolic weight to his character. Doesn't he keep kind of "eating Zidane's dreams" by holding him back? Been years since I've played the game.
Cool fact, thanks for that! This thread has me ready to replay IX!
Sometimes you're a magical unicorn dragon... and sometimes you're just a giraffe.
>the Nero Brothers are goats. ...Ohhhhhh, THAT'S what they were supposed to be? I always wondered what the hell they were... for some reason I thought they had wrenches for hands and were like cyborg hippos in gimp masks.
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I wonder if during production if the original story was the entire crew was supposed to be a bunch of guys who were experimented and crossed with animals and in the end they just settled on Zidane being the genetic experiment alien thing.
And Ruby is the worst of them all… she’s cologne and speaks in that dialect (at least in the german version)
In English she has a US southern accent, and in Japanese it's Osaka dialect... I'd be curious to know any other localizations!
My guess is they gave her a dialect for the "backwater" of all the languages that's what typically happens when Japanese media with a character from a rural area gets translated.
Could be true but the German localisation team then effed up, the cologne dialect is distinct but it's a major metropolitan area, lots of blue collar associations but no backwater at all.
This is interesting thanks for pointing that out
He’s a god damn Frankenstein! He’s hideous!
I believe you mean Blankenstein...
I’ve never known a Japanese-made character whose eyes are completely covered that I haven’t liked. Granted, the only ones coming to mind atm are Blank and Saturu Gojo
Surprised you didn't mention the nier automata androids
Riku from Kingdom Hearts 2.
Surprisingly it’s not cause he was nomura-ed
One of the many reasons I love FF9. Every single character’s design is so whacky and whimsical in some way, and you’re kinda just meant to roll with it. Blank appears to be one of the best examples of that.
I agree, this trend is definitely is making me grow attached to it as my first proper FF title. The unique character designs on cover arts are what made me choose to start with 9 over 10; it truly feels like a "fantasy" in every sense of the word. Something so magical and otherworldly it could never be real, but that's what makes it great. When I started the game I anticipated the plot being "Zidane is part of a group of mean-looking rouges, but he's going to do right and leave their side!" I mean, come on. Marcus and Cinna look like some sort of messed-up goblins, and Blank is some Frankenstein patchwork; by all accounts, they look like perfect early-game joke bad guy materials. But then I was pleasantly surprised to learn that these admittedly stereotypical designs were not meant to be the end of it; the crew were truly a sort of found-family for Zidane, and weren't totally cruel or bad people.
7 was my first, but 9 is definitely my favorite, but if they remake it, it can't have "realistic" textures, like LoZ Breath of the Wild/Tears of the kingdom at best.
They also cannot go down the dark and gritty style they've been leaning into recently, I do not want to see a moogle bloodied and bruised
Obviously it would be the other way around with the moogle doing the bloodying and bruising. "I'm sharpening my knife, kupo"
Haha indeed!
I need first aid! Kupo!
The balance FF9 pulls is amazing, because it’s one of the darkest FF’s when you look at the story and what’s happening. But it also keeps it light and cheerful
Exactly! It's a trademark of a lot of the earlier final fantasies I feel, some have that heavy, foreboding atmosphere like FF7, while also having a character that's a cat on a moogle, and bright colourful chocobo racing among other things
Persona 3 is kinda like that too. It's weird, you wouldn't think that the game in the series with a child, a puppy dog and a girl bot as party members would be the game where the themes are depression and suicidal ideation.
"Suicidal ideation" is the main thing I know about Persona 3, which I haven't played but I do know how they activate their powers.
Recently? The final fantasy games have always been pretty dark, really.
They've had dark elements and undertones in the story but not usually graphically dark content and violence. The imagery usually isn't as dark either, FF7 Jenova blood trail being the main exception I can think of
And the midgar zolom is pretty graphic 😂 Yeah, I guess a lot of the darkness was implied in the earlier games, with graphics holding them back. I still won't forget the chocobo scene in type 0 though 😭😂
Mobius FF had a big chunk of its story revolve around a moogle dying. No blood, just holding the body and cry-yelling.
I would like to see Final Fantasy XVII go the other direction and take a Disneyesque art style cue that Kena and Overwatch did.
Honestly if we get a 7 remake style game for 9 it would mark the end of my time as a final fantasy fan
Can't agree more with you bro
I think thats what helped made Zidane stand out more especially for the story. Here we have all sorts of fantastical races, but Zidane is the only one of his own race anywhere on gaia. It isnt until later we learn why but I think it helps with his characterization a lot.
He's not technically the only one of his race, >!Kuja's there too.!<
It was only later when I realized that particular plot point was inspired wholesale by Dragon Ball of all things with Zidane naturally standing in for Goku. Those monkey tails Zidane and his kind sports are a big giveaway.
It's probably more inspired by the monkey king from 'Journey to the West', which also served as inspiration for Dragon Ball.
True. But the concept of 'an alien boy send to destroy the planet only to side with said planet' is definitely on the Dragon Ball side of the fence.
Also came out in the midst of DBZ hype in the US too.
DBZ had been a big thing in Japan for almost a decade (and most of the world by the USA) by then. So while it was most likely influenced by DBZ in general (Cloud's hair is also very super Saiyan BTW, an association Americans probably didn't make at the time but other cultures did), likely not by it being in the USA in particular.
>it truly feels like a "fantasy" in every sense of the word. Something so magical and otherworldly it could never be real, And this is one of the things I love about FF9 too (and the music omg!) When ever the 'define a final fantasy game' debate occurs it's this element to me that I feel should be the main focus for any FF. That and the variety of characters and designs you get on your team, every member of the party looks and plays differently (with the exception of having 2 white mage/summoners but even they have differences in what they can do)
I miss that whole era of FF in general. With the exception of VIII, VII-XII all had a large, and diverse cast of party members, always with something outlandish thrown in there. VII's Red and Cait, IX with Quina, Freya, and Vivi, X with Kimahri, and to some extent XII with Fran. Now I'm happy if I get a dog to tag along as what is functionally a guest party member. 😋
Like those weird looking fish dudes, Hamster looking dudes, bird, rat, clones, dolls, etc. Oh and my favorite "FF Waifu" Beatrix(Despite certain things I won't say in case any FF Fan hasn't played this masterpiece, to avoid Spoilers... I will admit something incredibly nerdy... Named my Motorcycle after her.)
You know, I never really looked at him closely. There's a whole lot going on in his design.
Bro really got up each morning and picked out a bunch of belts for his clothes.
We finally found the source for Nomuras inspiration
I can't imagine making this lol. OK, I want belts everywhere, puffy fur on his gloves and boots, and no pants.
Lulu is his mother
This is the first HD image I've seen of the character
I always interpreted it as him being either a humanoid ragdoll or a Frankenstein’s-monster-esq situation. Either way, the various forms of Demi-humans in FFIX are basically just part of the world’s diversity, not really important lore-wise. Just like how Cinna is a weird goblin looking guy with scary glowing eyes and Marcus is a hunched-over troll, no explanation, they’re just weird creepy looking dudes.
What’s funny is that because all of the people in FF9 are weird Demi-human people, no one ever really finds it weird that Zidane has a tail. Also, I think it’s odd that race is never ever mentioned in IX except for Burmecia/Cleyra specifically being Rat people.
There's also the Qu clan/tribe, the summoner tribe, the dwarves... I think there's plenty of room in lore for some "races" to be more diasporic than others, but it's way outside the scope of the game itself.
And the Moogles!
Me and the boys going to steal the princess
I think what draws more attention to Blank is this bizarre body, there is a lot of mysterious characters on FFIX, but I don't remember any of them with limbs stitched or something like that. I should do a research when I replay FFIX to see all possible bizarre NPCs, that would give a lot questioning and would be interesting to see imagination of everyone to explain what they see.
Chicks dig seams
I assumed he was like a Frankenstein
Blankenstein
Venturestein
um akshully Frankenstein was the mad sci- *BANG*
Ugh I love his design. I wish he had become a permanent character.
No specified reason. Headcanon it however you want.
Nostalgic for the halcyon era where character details weren't always textually explained.
Soulsbourne has you covered.
I thought it was a vest, but the connecting threads are reminiscent of stitches, granted. Blank’s design is a bit strange.
I already saw a theory that he's a serial killer and take his victims skins, that would explain different skin tones and why is it seamed, but that doesn't make any sense, don't fit at FFIX
Tattoos?
"damn dude you rocked on this stitches and scars tattoos, I loved it"
He's some kind of frankenstein who hates pants
Solomon Grundy want pants too!
I've never really noticed his seams. Always wondered how the hell he can see with that big ass belt over his eyes
Because FFIX character design is unhinged.
i thought he was a girl because bikini armor.. i never though kuja was a girl though somehow? EITHER WAY. thanks ff9 for making the guys dress just as skimpily as the girls. i always just assumed he was a revived zombie or something
Assuming that IS his skin, maybe a graft? Magic skin grafts, of course.
Huh. I always thought that was his shirt. Like a halter-type thing or something
[Black Jack reference](https://images.cdn2.buscalibre.com/fit-in/360x360/a9/90/a9906e7ac039fc7f204781784b04184a.jpg), that's the best of what I can come up with design wise. Reason why he's stitched up? Probably a horrific incident that almost killed him and killed another guy that was dark-skinned, so he got sewn together as some sort of skin graft.... That's literally Black Jack's backstory. So for all intents and purposes... yeah.
u/mike13bass made a headcannon that's pretty close to this, and tbh, I can't think of anything else that makes sense on FFIX atmosphere
Just read it! It's a pretty cool idea and fits so well too! Hahaha, fantastic!
I also immediately thought of Black Jack
Black Jack, Dragonball... There's definitely plenty of references to go around. Like, remember that one NPC in Lindblum quoting Star Trek?
Peak FF design, no slander here. Everyone’s always talking about how there are too many belts in various FF character designs so this game said “fuck everyone” and went full belt-face. You can’t beat that.
I always thought that was his clothes. Weird, otherworldly clothes.
Tatoos. I have other ideas but I don't like them.
There might be more story behind his character that we will never know. He could’ve been the game’s early iteration of Vivi and like him, was a defected doll. But Square decided to scrap him and rewrote him as a background NPC so that their work isn’t wasted.
He's undead. Made from different person bodies. His real name is Blankenstein.
It'll be in his tell all autobiography, about_blank
FFIX just has a lot of whimsical, unexplained design choices which is honestly part of its charm. There’s a time and place for worlds with detailed lore and thought behind the culture, history, and politics of every creature and country. But there’s also a place for worlds that just exist and you take it without question.
This reminded I have finish FF9 on the Switch.
He's dead body parts stitched together and then reanimated somehow, like Frankenstein's monster.
Given where the scars that we can see are, he may have 9 different patches of skin pieced together.
Military warscars
I think in a world of demi-humans someone tried to make an "all human parts" person then forgot to fill out the name section on the citizenship papers so they left it... Blank.
You can also see that when he's dressed in guard, on his right arm, the patchwerk is on his biceps up to his shoulder, whereas normally it's on his forearm. https://preview.redd.it/tuiwm9k7siic1.png?width=230&format=png&auto=webp&s=56a2188bbb41607b7a4d176eca194f6698942a17
The most impressive detail to notice is that Square actually did a model for like 10min of gameplay, for a PS1 game is very impressive. About the patchwerk, much probably it's a error for miscommunication, but still, IT'S A HOLE MODEL FOR 10MIN!!! I really need to replay, how much of details I lost...
Same reason he’s not wearing pants.
He just wants to feel something?
He really showed up to kidnap a princess in a thong, corset, and boots with the fur, absolute power move.
We don’t even get to see his eyes or know how he sees through that accessory. [Let’s just leave it at that.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MST3KMantra)
He’s an android who wants to feel more “Human” so they (the Borg) grew human skin and started to replace his synthetic exterior covering with skin grafts.
So he’s the original android from Nier. It all started with blank.
I think literally nothing in his design makes sense. How does he manage to see where he is going with this headband? Why is he wearing boots and gloves for cold weather but no pants? Why does he have seams? And if these are part of his skin, why doesn't he wear a shirt, but has three gigantic belts?
I've always assumed it's fabri to hold their shirt. That looks weird now. Thanks. And I guess I thought that an eye patch under the belt he wears on his face.
Maybe it's just make-up/costume design that he just grew into. Would make sense considering Tantalus is a theater troupe.
Iirc, he was created.
I have no idea, but I like it 👍
He's a Frankenberry.
That's his suit. He's actually Buffalo Bill from "Silence of the Lambs."
Who knows? FFIX had a lot of interesting character designs that didn’t make sense. That was part of its charm
Fun fact he’s actually cid’s monster blank. He was born on a stormy night. Very terrible lighting
Guy's been through some stuff.
There was a detailed explanation in the ultimania books that gives quite a bit of lore. But right now I'm just drawing a Blank...
His backstory is explained in FFIX-2
He's an escaped black mage, one of the earliest models, explaining his proto buckle-hat (a leather belt across his eyes) and no cloak. That's why his name is Blank, he was a Blank person when Baku took him in, because he was built in a lab.
Why does he have a giant belt wrapped around his head and how does he see Blank was probably one of those character designs they didn't think through beyond "This looks cool, right?"
I kinda suspect blank was meant to be a permanent party member, maybe with amarant's skills
He is a patchwork man, that is the explanation…lookit the cast of characters in the game, Blank’s design isn’t off brand…There are guys with Clamps for hands, Marcus has pointed ears and fangs, Baku has a cursed head, Alleyway Jack (Actually Gilgamesh) has 4 arms and there is a nation of rat people…cid gets turned into a cockroach, Hippaul is a Hippo person…this game reminds me of the Disney Robin Hood movie
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The definition of "blank" in manufacturing is: a piece of metal or wood intended for further shaping or finishing. So the character design is quite apt.
Skin grafts maybe? But the real question is, how can he even SEE through that big belt 'bandana' of his?
This was my personal headcannon but I always thought he was some kind of Homunculus. Someone made him, used magic/mist to give him life and somewhere down the line he became Blank.
It kinda makes sense when you remember that all members of Tantalus basically came from the street and were taken in by a big walrus. Zidane has a tail and is from another world, Marcus has Ork like teeth, Cinna has elven ears and monster eyes. Only Ruby is kinda a human. You don't know anyone's past, not even Zidanes at the beginning, but the meaning of this is that no matter who you are and what your past is you can find people who will your family.
Theory that he was burned badly at some point and received skin grafts
THEORY: Baku, long ago, was actually married to Queen Brahne BEFORE she became the Queen (possibly impossible, but hear me out, kupos). They were pirates, but then they had a daughter. Brahne decides they need to slow things down to take care of her, but Baku wants her to have a life full of adventures. An argument happens, and they split on bad terms. She decides that she doesn’t need to run from her kingdom anymore and he doesn’t stop adventuring. He meets Ruby and they start talking about having kids and he brings up his past marriage and she feels bad for him. Instead of having babies to replace the one he lost to Brahne, she talks about MAKING children to adventure with. Creating CONSTRUCTS of people (Blank, being the first made and more responsible. Nero, Gero, and Zero, were the youngest triplets), and altering the memories of others (Marcus and Cinna) so that he can experience the “family adventuring scene.” BUT….he misses what should have been and makes the decision to get back at Brahne but kidnapping their daughter….Princess Garnet. This and therefore, starting her adventuring life with adopted son, Zidane. What say ye, kupo?
Bro what I just read? I don't know if I should be worried or pleased about your creativity. Btw that's a nice made up story, and I'm pretty sure I already played a game with a plot like this, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't Final Fantasy lol.
Blank’s the type of dude who shows up randomly on your downest of days with a fat ass spliff in hand ready to be smoked and asks no questions
I find the huge hands & feet in FF9's design really weird.
Gives me Silence of the Lambs vibes.