When one talks about some of the greatest video games ever made, there are a lot of people who would stand by Final Fantasy IX as one such title that is arguably the greatest PS1 entry in the series — yes, even better than the legendary Final Fantasy VII — and serves as a refreshing throwback to a simpler time in the series when everything didn’t have to be based in a futuristic fantasy setting.
A big part of what makes Final Fantasy IX such a beloved title is easily its beloved cast of characters, with Vivi being one such character that was beloved by many due to his mysterious origins and infectious charm. For fans who wish to know everything possible about this party member, here are ten things about Vivi that aren’t exactly common knowledge.
10 Vivi Was Supposed To Accidentally Become A Part Of The Play At The Start Of The Game
Vivi’s introduction in Final Fantasy IX is already memorable enough as is, but an altered version of the opening would’ve seen him play a major role, starting with his inclusion in the Theater Ship as well.
Following this, an unfortunate turn of events would lead to him accidentally crashing the play, where a fire spell that he uses ends up burning Princess Garnet’s cloak and reveals her identity to the masses.
9 A Dummied Dialogue Reveals That Vivi Got A Theater Ticket From A Mysterious Hat-Wearing Moogle
In a dummied line of dialogue with Puck, Vivi reveals that the reason he managed to enter the theater in the first place was by getting a ticket from “a moogle wearing a hat”.
Puck would’ve responded to this by saying that he would find said moogle and beat the snot out of him… so perhaps it’s a good thing at the end of the day that such an aggressive line didn’t make it in the game.
8 Vivi Is Only Six Months Old, Even Though Official Sources Say He’s Nine
Initially, players are led to believe that Vivi is nine years old — a number that is pretty young enough as is. However, while his body might be nine years old, his actual lifespan is way less than that.
After the reveal that he’s actually supposed to be an instrument of war with an extremely short lifespan, it turns out that Vivi was born sometime in the middle of 1799 — a mere six months before the start of Final Fantasy IX‘s story.
7 Vivi Roughly Translates In Spanish As “I Lived”
One thing that people should keep in mind about Vivi is that his name is very much an allegory for the existential crisis that he faces throughout the game after learning the truth about his identity.
These motifs are depicted rather heavily through his name itself, which roughly translates to the phrase “I lived” in the Spanish language.
6 Vivi Also Translates In Italian As “You Live”… Or Just “Live”
Vivi’s name also means something rather telling in Italian as well — after all, it is the present form of the verb vivere, which means “to live.”
So, in this context, the meaning of this Black Mage’s name translates to “you live” or just “live!” in the present tense, which is rather befitting given his origin and the strife that he faces throughout the series.
5 In Latin, Vivi Means “To Live”
The final language where Vivi’s name holds some meaning is a language that is very much prevalent in modern times, regardless of how useful it may be in a day-to-day context.
In Latin, the word Vivi means “living” or “to live”. With the meaning clarified in three languages, it’s clear that Squaresoft was really hammering in the crisis that Vivi would be consumed by as the game progressed.
4 Vivi’s Name Represents A Black Magic Symbol In The Voodoo Religion
One thing to note about Vivi’s name is the fact that it’s not just an allegory for his short life — it also has its roots steeped in black magic as well.
In the voodoo religion, a Vévé is a symbol that is used in black magic to summon a god or spirit. Given the similarity between this term and Vivi, it’s clear that this was a calculated move on Squaresoft’s part as well, especially given the context of Vivi being a black mage himself!
3 His Last Name Has Changed Quite A Bit As Per The Official Lore
Most Final Fantasy fans would be well aware of the fact that Vivi’s last name is Ornitier — a rather odd name with not a ton of meaning behind it, but still a nice little detail about the character regardless.
However, this name has changed to Orunitia several times as well, making fans question what Vivi’s last name really is.
2 His Character Design Was Inspired By The Style Featured In The Film “The Dark Crystal”
Most people will be aware of the rather bizarre yet excellent show The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix. This show was actually a prequel to a popular dark fantasy classic called The Dark Crystal.
This movie has groundbreaking art direction for its time, so much so that the character design of Vivi was even inspired by this movie as well!
1 His Adoptive Grandfather Was Actually Grooming Him To Be A Snack
Vivi talks fondly about his adoptive grandfather, a Qu by the name of Quan. While he was generally quite happy during his time with Quan, his grandfather wasn’t exactly raising him out of the goodness of his heart.
The Qu race is notorious for being some truly gluttonous individuals — one need only look at Quina’s character to understand why this is the case. So — as disturbing as it may be — what Vivi never realized was that Quan was actually raising him in order to become a filling meal later on.
Thankfully, before Vivi would meet a premature end in his grandfather’s stomach, Quan ended up passing away and left Vivi to embark on the path that would help him meet Zidane and the rest of the gang.
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