New Memoria Project Footage Reveals Final Fantasy IX’s Charming Introduction
Final Fantasy IX Memoria Project is a loving, inaccessible recreation of Square Enix’s 2000-era RPG. Work on the tribute is progressing quickly. The Final Fantasy IX’s redesign team is now ready to share the opening moments, including your introduction to the game’s darling Black Mage, Vivi.
Final Fantasy can often take you into drama, intrigue, or conflict. But FFIX’s simple greeting is something that’s extra charming and timeless. Vivi, the most beloved character in the game, is the one who begins the adventure. He bonds you with a party member that slowly reveals himself to be a troubled soul during an existential crisis. You will be surprised at his wide-eyed wonderment when he enters Alexandria. He also enjoys the excitement of seeing a theatre performance and a spontaneous ‘heist’ that he does with Puck. This is a great juxtaposition to your return.
This is all to say that there’s an atmosphere there that’s difficult to capture. However, this Memoria Project video captures it. The team behind this love letter shows that they pay attention to every detail in less than one minute. Hidden in the letter is a chest. It’s one of those horrible children who invite you to jump rope and cobblestone roads. NPCs are familiar, as well as the precious boy, Vivi.
Alex Moukala is a professional musician and Final Fantasy fan who often breaks down the series’ themes for others. The teaser also includes a small excerpt of his work on Vivi’s Theme, written initially by Nobuo Uematsu more than two decades ago. The team has been rapidly augmented by Project Lead Dan Eder and industry veterans at an impressive pace that seems to be steadily improving. Eder stated on Twitter that he shared an early image of the #FinalFantasyIX fan project with the world and that our team has grown from 2 to 28 people. “And now, I am excited to share the first teaser trailer. Welcome to the #MemoriaProject world!
In June, Memoria Project updated their website to note that they are a 15-person team. They have almost doubled in size since then. The new roles include animators, 3D artists and voice talent. Perhaps future videos will feature Vivi’s crushing metaphysical monologues.
FFIX is one of my favourite series. Although I was a long-time member of the team “Don’t Touch FFIX with a Remake, it’s Perfect”, I have since changed my tune to reflect on what a group of fans can do when creating a tribute for something so dear. It’s fun to see the world through a modern lens that is still true to its fairytale-like setting, even though it’s not playable.
The Memoria Project website states that they don’t make any money and never infringe Square Enix’s copyright. Let these people go and let them do what they want. It’s fantastic, and I cannot wait to see Ruby’s take on the game.
