Final Fantasy 9 originally released for the PlayStation 1 in 2000 and it quickly went on to become a fan-favorite, as well as receiving critical acclaim and becoming the highest-rated Final Fantasy title on Metacritic. The game was a refreshing change of pace for fans as it returned to form with a more classic fantasy setting, as well as conveying the crystal theme of early Final Fantasy titles, both of which had been lost in its recent predecessors.
Additionally, the game went back to basics when it came to the idea of how roles looked, initially showing Dagger in the white and red robes of the typical White Mage, as well as using classic Black Mage appearances. The Black Mages feature heavily throughout the story, but there's bound to be a thing or two you didn't realize about these guys. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead.
10 The Only Time Black Mage is a Race
Final Fantasy 9 is the only title where Black Mages appear as an individual race, rather than just a job/class. This is because in the game the Black Mages are artificially manufactured dolls who can wield magic, created specifically for Queen Brahne of Alexandria, with Kuja's help, to use as weapons. These Black Mages are soulless creations, but some "awaken" like Vivi and become self-aware.
Usually in the Final Fantasy franchise, Black Mage is a job that characters have or it is the term given to characters that can use black magic. The Black Mages of Final Fantasy 9 are visually similar to the classic style of Black Mages in early Final Fantasy titles, presented with a dark aura over their face, yellow eyes, and wearing a steepled hat.
9 There Are 3 Generic Types of Mass-Made Black Mages
Excluding Vivi, who players learn is actually a prototype Black Mage, there are three different types of Black Mage that are mass-produced in the game. Type A with the high-waisted trousers is found in Gizamaluke's Grotto and the Burmecia suburbs, Type B with the golden belt is found in Cleyra, and lastly, Type C with the armored legs is found in Alexandria Castle.
Each type of Black Mage has slightly different abilities, as well as varying stats and drops. When these types are "awakened" and friendly NPC characters they name themselves with numbers: Type A is numbered between 1 and 99, Type B between 100 and 199, and Type C between 200 and 299.
8 Custom-Made Black Mages
There is another type of Black Mage - the boss enemies known as the Black Waltzes. These variants appear to be custom-made as each one is slightly different. They are unlike the mass-made Black Mages in a few ways; firstly, they are more powerful, but more importantly, they are already "awake" in that they possess intelligence.
They are already capable of speech and apparently have some level of self-awareness to govern themselves while on their set missions, which they will tirelessly attempt to complete until they are successful. The name "Waltz" leads fans to believe that only three of these variations were ever made.
7 The Black Mage Village
Many items within and surrounding the Black Mage are modeled after the appearance of the Black Mage's themselves, most likely due to the Black Mages not knowing how else it is supposed to look. Even the signpost leading to the village looks like a Black Mage face, as well as scarecrows and of course, the buildings themselves.
The interesting thing is that the Black Mages give their buildings expressions, noticeably a smile, which they are unable to do themselves. Is this a way of them showing their emotion at their newfound freedom?
6 What's My Name Again?
There appears to be a strange phenomenon in one part of the game, most likely a glitch, where a friendly NPC Black Mage inexplicably has their name changed. While playing on disc three, if the player enters the Black Mage village before journeying to Ipsen's Castle they can see the glitch first hand.
If the player enters the weapon shop and speaks to Black Mage No. 78, his name will change to Black Mage No. 55 during his second line of dialogue. Perhaps this particular Black Mage is experiencing even more of an existential crisis than Vivi in that he can't even decide who he is.
5 Early Concept Ideas
Early art concepts for the Black Mages of Final Fantasy 9 portrayed a different looking creation than what was released in the final version of the game. In one piece we can see a much more elaborate and exotic-looking design, with the Black Mage looking like some strange, towering nobleman.
In other images, the Black Mages are shown as having more expressive faces with large grins and pointed teeth. Additionally, one of the early art designs is captioned with "Black Robbers are Approaching" and show the mischievous looking mages apprehending some humanoid characters.
4 More Than One Way to Make Black Mages
During the events of the game, it is discovered that Black Mages are made using Mist, the residual element made up of souls that are unable to return to the crystal, which can become monsters instead. Mist is distributed by the lifa tree's roots, the magical tree that originated on Terra that Garland planted on Gaia as part of his overall plan. He uses this to stop the Gaian's souls from being reborn in an effort to make it so only souls from Terra could soul cycle.
However, by the end of the game, the Mist is gone, disabling the creation of more Black Mages, or so you would believe. However, at the very end, we see "Vivi's sons" and so there must be a way to create more Black Mages, or possibly a way for them to procreate.
3 Stop Right There
Though Dagger does not have Insomniac by the time you fight Black Waltz 2, if the player uses a hack or mod to obtain this, they can stall the boss in his tracks and make him stop performing actions entirely. This is because Black Waltz 2 will never attack Dagger (as he is tasked with bringing her back alive), but he will attack all of the other companions.
In a normal playthrough, once Dagger's companions are all incapacitated, Black Waltz 2 will put Dagger to sleep and it'll be game over. However, with Insomniac that makes this situation impossible and with no other viable targets, Black Waltz 2 will stop attacking completely leaving you to whittle away at his health with Dagger.
2 Do Black Mages Dream of Electric Moogles?
There is a noticeable parallel between Final Fantasy 9 and Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? that was later adapted into the film Blade Runner. Both the game and the book explore the humanity found within artificially created organisms, encompassing the Black Mages and the re-created genomes.
In both we see the artificial beings exploring their emotions and struggling with various concepts. Arguably, we see also see in both the game and the book that it is the "true humans" that lack the most humanity, with the artificial creations acting as a reflection of what humanity has become.
1 Least Expression, Most Emotion
The Black Mages are the least expressive in the game as they are unable to convey emotions due to their lack of facial expressions. Regardless of this, these characters are the most emotive in the game, not only struggling with their own understanding of the world and their own emotions but also causing the most emotional responses from the players with their deeply sad storyline.
Even though the Black Mages don't understand the concept of death, their sadness and confusion are still palpable. They also show the ability to love and care for other creatures, such as the chocobo chick Bobby Corwen, as well as when they take in the genomes who they attempt to teach their limited world lessons to. When Bobby Corwen hatches the Black Mages feel and express joy, and this in turn causes Vivi to realize that they aren't mere puppets if they can feel such emotions.