While every Final Fantasy has its share of iconic party members, Final Fantasy IX was a revelation in its day for reviving the classic Jobs with individual characters that infused the basic designs with tons of personality. That was all down to character designer Toshiyuki Itahana, who has continued to provide artwork for the series to this day.
Recently, he sketched up a new doodle of the FFIX cast on his iPad, showing them in an unusual setting – playing video games! While the technology of Gaia probably wouldn’t allow for the Switch to exist in their world, it’s a cute look at what could have been, with Vivi and a Chocobo seemingly helping Kuja play with a guide (hopefully not the original dreadful Bradygames book) as Zidane and Garnet play something competitively on the PS4.
iPadで絵仕事してて見つけたチョコダンEverybody!とFF9移植の告知イラストボツ案。ラフすぎてわからないかもだけど左がPS4で遊ぶジタンとダガー、右がクジャにゲームを教えるビビとチョコボ、後ろではサラマンさんがシェイカー振ってラニがホール担当してます。ちょっと趣味絵すぎるの自粛しました pic.twitter.com/ILn7op0GtD
— 板鼻利幸 Toshiyuki Itahana (@ItahanaT) August 10, 2019
You can also see Oglop Cid sulking behind the TV, while Amarant is the one shaking drinks in the background, and, surprisingly, the minor character Lani is the one getting ready to serve.
It’s definitely awesome to see the characters get some new artwork, 20 years later!
Written by Tom Brown
Whether it’s an exciting new entry in a series long established or a weird experiment meant only for the dedicated, Tom is eager to report on it. Rest assured, if Nintendo ever announces Elite Beat Agents 2, he’ll be there.
