FFIX Trance Forms. Which is your favourite?

[Dionysos]

With a surge of emotion an inhabitant of Gaia might attain a state of heightened power known as Trance. This state goes beyond being a reimagining of the franchise’s Limit Break mechanic. In Trance states the characters actually temporarily transform their physical appearances.

When I was younger I used to think that the majority of these Trance forms were simply inverted colours (whites turning into blacks, and vice versa) and didn’t think much about any of them except for Zidane and Kuja (who were evidently different). However, they all endure metamorphosis in various subtle ways.

Zidane (the big flirt) removes all of his clothes and shows off
his monkey (or cat) fur, which is now pink.

Kuja, also being a Genome, follows Zidane’s lead, albeit he becomes red.

Vivi’s hat, usually floppy, becomes straight and pointy.
His robe is also longer, and the patterning on his clothes is more ornate.

Garnet changes clothes completely into a sleeved leotard.
Her pink tights have lacy patterns.

Steiner now hides his face behind a visor, and the precise style of his armour also changes.

Freya also suits up differently. Her pink clothes and hat are dropped in favour of metal armour.
Her face is now hidden behind a helmet.

Quina’s chef hat also hardens into a metal helmet. Their white face becomes black.

Eiko’s summoner horn actually grows longer, and her wings get larger.
Her sleeves now have a decorative pattern.

Amarant becomes almost mineral-like (making me wonder whether the English localisations similarity to
the word Adamant is deliberate for this very reason, instead of using the original Salamander).
He is almost naked now, and his skin has hardened, turned darker.

​

I don’t know, I find it all fairly interesting.

Do you have a favourite Trance form?

And, if you like, if you were to attain Trance like this what would you end up looking like?

 

[Miko]

This is actually a hard one for me. I recently played through again about two months ago and was thinking about this very thing. The thing is, they're all really cool in their own right! It's very cleaver how they've made their designs, and it makes me excited to get a trance, eeeeeven if it's invoked at the worst possible time.

Zidane, one of my favorite characters, is probably on the lower end of my favorites in terms of trance forms. It's still cool, but it falls short, in my opinion, compared to the others. I get what they're going for - how his and Kuja's are similar yet different from the others - it just looks... strange I guess. I couldn't get over how it almost makes it look like he's gone wild in the pubic area.. ; Pink pubic hair, can you even imagine.

Kuja's is very interesting, despite being similar to Zidane's in that it's just very... hairy. That said, the disheveled, ripped up clothes & hair just really speaks for itself during the time you see Kuja trance. It makes sense, and it's really cool how he's red instead of the iridescent colors of the others in battle.

Vivi's is really cool because he really looks like this high-ranking mage. The hat straightening out is really cool and the pattern for his clothes is amazing. I love it.

My only issue with Dagger's is that I don't like the leotard, however I think that can be overshadowed by the really cool patterns you see on her legs. You can't see it in the concept art but her character model does show it off along her outer thighs. I think they add an accent that really makes the white color seem highlighted in a way, which is fitting since she is a white mage.

Steiner's & Freya's are both really amazing. I love the helmets & the stoic armor they're wearing. Makes them look like their best versions of themselves - they definitely make my team feel more powerful, they're just so.... cool!

Quina's looks like a piggy-bank on the hat Is that how it is in the character model too? I never really noticed I guess. I like Quina's character model because of the white being swapped for a darker, more contrasting, color. I like this infinitely more than the base design

Eiko's is really nice too. The white seems a lot more highlighted in her as well, especially since she is also a white mage. I like how her horn is larger & she appears more angelic in a way. I don't recall the bow on her backside from memory of the game, but in the concept art it really looks nice!

Lastly, Amarant's is actually one of my favorites. It's just so.... *interesting* to look at, despite the concept art's choice for clothes I guess. I just like how grungy and dark it comes across, and how his hands are somehow insanely larger than before. Such a contrasting difference compared to the others, I wonder why! Either way, really like this one.


All that said, I dunno, it's hard to pick like I said. I think I wanna say Amarant's is my favorite, but Freya's is really awesome too. Dagger's accents are really, really cool to me - and I like how simplistic and pure Eiko's looks! I just really like them all! So I guess for now I'll say Amarant's is my favorite, but maybe tomorrow it'll be different!

 

[Dionysos]

This is actually a hard one for me. I recently played through again about two months ago and was thinking about this very thing. The thing is, they're all really cool in their own right! It's very cleaver how they've made their designs, and it makes me excited to get a trance, eeeeeven if it's invoked at the worst possible time.

Zidane, one of my favorite characters, is probably on the lower end of my favorites in terms of trance forms. It's still cool, but it falls short, in my opinion, compared to the others. I get what they're going for - how his and Kuja's are similar yet different from the others - it just looks... strange I guess. I couldn't get over how it almost makes it look like he's gone wild in the pubic area.. ; Pink pubic hair, can you even imagine.

Kuja's is very interesting, despite being similar to Zidane's in that it's just very... hairy. That said, the disheveled, ripped up clothes & hair just really speaks for itself during the time you see Kuja trance. It makes sense, and it's really cool how he's red instead of the iridescent colors of the others in battle.

Vivi's is really cool because he really looks like this high-ranking mage. The hat straightening out is really cool and the pattern for his clothes is amazing. I love it.

My only issue with Dagger's is that I don't like the leotard, however I think that can be overshadowed by the really cool patterns you see on her legs. You can't see it in the concept art but her character model does show it off along her outer thighs. I think they add an accent that really makes the white color seem highlighted in a way, which is fitting since she is a white mage.

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Steiner's & Freya's are both really amazing. I love the helmets & the stoic armor they're wearing. Makes them look like their best versions of themselves - they definitely make my team feel more powerful, they're just so.... cool!

Quina's looks like a piggy-bank on the hat Is that how it is in the character model too? I never really noticed I guess. I like Quina's character model because of the white being swapped for a darker, more contrasting, color. I like this infinitely more than the base design

Eiko's is really nice too. The white seems a lot more highlighted in her as well, especially since she is also a white mage. I like how her horn is larger & she appears more angelic in a way. I don't recall the bow on her backside from memory of the game, but in the concept art it really looks nice!

Lastly, Amarant's is actually one of my favorites. It's just so.... *interesting* to look at, despite the concept art's choice for clothes I guess. I just like how grungy and dark it comes across, and how his hands are somehow insanely larger than before. Such a contrasting difference compared to the others, I wonder why! Either way, really like this one.


All that said, I dunno, it's hard to pick like I said. I think I wanna say Amarant's is my favorite, but Freya's is really awesome too. Dagger's accents are really, really cool to me - and I like how simplistic and pure Eiko's looks! I just really like them all! So I guess for now I'll say Amarant's is my favorite, but maybe tomorrow it'll be different!

'Best versions of themselves' is a great way of putting it! It isn't just an 'angry' form or anything. Instead it is their evolved state that they are attaining. Steiner is no longer a loveable bumbling idiot but is knight to be taken seriously.
Vivi is no longer a scared and curious child but a confident and powerful black mage.
Amarant is no longer a reformed bandit / assassin roaming the planet with a might-is-right attitude but, being rocky and mineralised, is now one with the planet itself!

And so on.

In general Quina's helmet is like that in the character model. It is just a bit more difficult to notice because the PSX graphics look a by blocky and are limited with their textures anyway. I didn't notice piggy bank slot on top of head though.
The only image I can find doesn't show that part.

I think I agree about Amarant. Amarant might be favourite too. He almost turns into a different species entirely. It is the most thorough transformation after Zidane.
I do wonder if it is something to do with the symbolism of him representing a Salamander. The folkloric salamander that is (for the reason I expressed in the above linked blue skin thead). So maybe he is a bit more lizardlike now in form, and can figuratively withstand the heat.