What IX might have been

July 25, 2007, 5:51 AM

I recently stumbled upon alot of concept artwork for IX done by Toshiyuki Itahana, and while i absolutely adore IX, i would LOVE to see what Itahana's version would have been like.

Vivi's very different but cool look:

Summon-based Dragoon classes, VERY awesome:

Classes pt 1:

Classes pt 2:

Garland apparently looked much like his original self in FF1:

Apparently dragons were intelligent creatures:

And cooked their food without ovens:

So what do you guys think? Wouldnt you love to see a FF made with these concepts? It looks awesome to me. And if you want to see more of Itahana's concept art, you can go here: http://www.finalfantasytr.com/artwork/itahana-ff9.htm

July 25, 2007, 11:21 AM

im really not into this, i mean if vivi looks like THAT, i can only imagine what zidane, garnet, or steiner look like. and oh god, amarant

. i much prefer the look that they were given.

July 25, 2007, 6:06 PM

Vivi ... THAT?! No way!

Why does his Dark Knight look like a chicken? ...

Nah, I'm much happier knowing that IX had pre-set classes and non-radical illustration.

July 25, 2007, 7:02 PM

Umm...their isn't even a job class in FFIX. Did they mean for the game to have a job system? If they did that would of been incredible. But their is no Dark Knight, Bard, Archer, or Viking in IX so that leaves me kind of confused.

July 25, 2007, 8:23 PM

I think Vivi's alternate appearance looks fan-freakin'-tastic!

I mean, he's a cute little guy and all... but in all honesty, I am not really interested in playing with a dwarf sized kid black mage. I mean, we can all say what we want, but at the end of the day we are supposed to be saving the world! I'd like to believe that the characters I'm playing with actually have the potential to do so... which seems to be the case of this alternate version, more so than the real thing.

Anyways, I'm still not too sure about the rest though... smart dragons seem interesting.

July 25, 2007, 8:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrostCutlery

Umm...their isn't even a job class in FFIX. Did they mean for the game to have a job system? If they did that would of been incredible. But their is no Dark Knight, Bard, Archer, or Viking in IX so that leaves me kind of confused.

Well this was all just ideas they came up with and apparently they didnt like any of Itahana's ideas xD I would have loved to see classes though, especially those amazing Bahamut and Leviathan dragoon armours. It'd be nice to have a Dark Knight make a return too, i miss that class. Viking...meh...i'm not fond of axes and other weapons that deal random damage.

The whole dragon thing reminds me of FF2 where you got to actually interact with dragons, rather than just fighting them. I wouldnt mind seeing something like that in a FF.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabayon Leet

I think Vivi's alternate appearance looks fan-freakin'-tastic!

I mean, he's a cute little guy and all... but in all honesty, I am not really interested in playing with a dwarf sized kid black mage. I mean, we can all say what we want, but at the end of the day we are supposed to be saving the world! I'd like to believe that the characters I'm playing with actually have the potential to do so... which seems to be the case of this alternate version, more so than the real thing.

Anyways, I'm still not too sure about the rest though... smart dragons seem interesting.

Thank you! Finally someone else who likes Vivi's alternate look. Dont get me wrong, i love Vivi, he's one of my favorite characters and i use him in every file, but i still think that alternate look is awesome. It's just a complete contrast of cute unassuming Vivi.

July 25, 2007, 9:44 PM

For some reason, the Vivi sketch reminded me of a Heartless.

But anyways, no, I much prefer the current version. Changing the character designs to these would've made the whole medieval feel of the game go awry.
Well, I don't know.

July 26, 2007, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabayon Leet

I think Vivi's alternate appearance looks fan-freakin'-tastic!

I mean, he's a cute little guy and all... but in all honesty, I am not really interested in playing with a dwarf sized kid black mage. I mean, we can all say what we want, but at the end of the day we are supposed to be saving the world! I'd like to believe that the characters I'm playing with actually have the potential to do so... which seems to be the case of this alternate version, more so than the real thing.

Anyways, I'm still not too sure about the rest though... smart dragons seem interesting.

dont judge a book by its cover, vivi owned. and if your gonna complain about anyones appearance, why not quinas? would you really wanna bring that along to save the world? i like vivi just the way he is, you dont gotta be a 6 "4 cloaked black mage with a huge staff to be strong.

July 26, 2007, 1:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warbourne

For some reason, the Vivi sketch reminded me of a Heartless.

But anyways, no, I much prefer the current version. Changing the character designs to these would've made the whole medieval feel of the game go awry.
Well, I don't know.

Oh i'm not saying i would have preferred those sketches to the current version, i love IX the way it is. But i would definitely hate to see those ideas fade into obscurity, i would love to see them made into a FF (not by SE though, i'd want it to be mistwalker...so i guess the name couldnt be FF)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orichalcon

dont judge a book by its cover, vivi owned. and if your gonna complain about anyones appearance, why not quinas? would you really wanna bring that along to save the world? i like vivi just the way he is, you dont gotta be a 6 "4 cloaked black mage with a huge staff to be strong.

Part of what makes vivi so awesome is that he's so adorable and unintimidating, yet he packs such a punch that he's invaluable to the party. I still like his alternate look though, sort of has a witch doctor/shaman vibe to it. Of course it wouldnt be the vivi we all love, but it by itself as a black mage outfit looks pretty badass.