Gaia and Terra [spoilers]

[Zifnab]

Last warning, there're big spoilers.

When I first beat FFIX I was under the impression that Terra actually assimilated Gaia. But looking around I find that others don't seem to come to that conclusion, but infact believe Kuja destroyed all of Terra when he went into Trance.
Anyway, my evidence -

How could Kuja destroy a planet? From what I saw all he destroyed was Bran Bal and some of the mushroom shaped structures.
Before the battle with him in Trance inside the Crystal world he says: "Gaia's already doomed. Its assimilation by Terra has begun, and the Iifa Tree will incite a cataclysmic destruction of Gaia." Note that he says this after the so called destruction of Terra.
After the battle with Necron Zidane goes to save Kuja from the Iifa Tree after it goes crazy. Why would the Iifa Tree do that? Seems it's still aiding the assimilation, to me.
At the very end, before the words "The End" appear, we see a red sphere and a blue sphere (obviously Terra and Gaia) colliding into each other to form the crystal and the words "Final Fantasy IX".
So, what do others think?

[Flare_Star]

i agree, kuja cant destroy a planet. he was destroyed by a bunch of nobodys!

i think at the end gaia isnt actually destroyed but the Iifa tree is starting its reaction and the world will soon be assimilated.

basicly, i agree with most that you said.

[Cz]

The planets alligning at the end could have been symbolic of Zidane and Dagger's union, but it probably does mean that the assimilation has begun, as you say. Kind of a sad note to end the game on though, don't you think?

[Ouch!]

But Kuja did destroy Bran Bal and everyone in it at least. Therefore all the other genomes are gone and therefore the spirits of those who lived on Terra have nowhere to go to, 'cept Zidane and the girl, Monoko or whatever. *shrugs*

[Cz]

Don't forget the other genomes in the Black Mage Village.

[Flare_Star]

who cares? they are all going to die! MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!

on a serious note, if Kuja (supposedly) destroyed all the genomes, and all of bran bal, which might be the only populated town on terra, gaia and terra will join, and because there is no Garland to take the helm, they will probably smash into each other and everyone will die. unless Zidane takes over and does something miraculous which somehow saves the planet/s.

but it is a sad note to finish the game on, seing as everyone is going to be obliterated and taken over by a non-populated world.
wheres the "happy ending" people!!!???

[eternalshiva]

Zidane and Garnet make out at the end... there's a happy ending? *blech monkey boy eww* I thought that the "other world* was in another dimension and that the two worlds "colliding" was just to show that the people of both worlds lived on one cause it was destroyed right? and now the genomes live in Garnet's world so *ponders* I have no clue to what it means, I never really put any thought into it cause generally, FF endings are confusing ;p :love:

[Sakamura]

I believe that the assimilation was stopped after the battles in Memoria......even if Kua had destroyed only Bran bal...or all of Terra....it wouldn't matter.....if you remember Garland mentions that the assimilation had already begun.....because he said that the mist was created as a by-product of Gaia's stagnating souls.....because the Iifa tree rerouted the Terran souls to replace Gaian souls......so when the group defeats Necron in Memoria.....(remember the FMV...Garnet and Zidane have to say goodbye to each other.....because he goes and save Kuja...his brother from the Iifa tree....and i believe that when the Iifa tree "freaked" out like it did.....it destroyed itself and stopped its mission which was never restored......Garland also mentions that the only way for Terra to fully assimilate Gaia is for all the Gaians to be destroyed because of war (hence Kuja and Zidane...his angels of death....chaos bringers).......Gaia still had plenty of living people still on it after the whole thing was said and done.....so i believe it was stopped.

[MagicKnight Locke]

I think all the Terrans had already migrated to Gaia a long time ago,so i think the land was lost but not the people(Example:The faces at Oeilvert)

[Cloudane]

I think the same I do for every FF ending: It's open, you're intended to think what you wish.

(Well that's changed now that Square have started to do follow-ups, which is a shame in a way, but that's another story)

Maybe there was a negative explanation... maybe there was a positive one... maybe Vivi is dead, maybe he isn't.... maybe Rinoa... maybe Aeris.... blah blah...

I used to think they left the endings so open as a means to get you to think about the ending and consequently remember the game for a long time and build up a big fan base like this. Nowadays you can't help thinking they made the endings so open in order to make a sequel later on :p

[KaiMcCloud]

I think that the assymalation did not take place because as someone said b4 the people of Gaia hads to be killed by war.Only that didnt go to plan cos when Garland replaced kuja with Ziddane the fighting slowed down.And when Queen Brahn dies the fighting stops and kuja turns his attention to Ziddane coz he wants revenge.And at the end there is no fighting and the war stops all together.Maybe what we're shone at the end is almost the asymalation of Gaia. I'ts hard to believe that Square would end the game showing the thing you were trying to stop from the begining.

[Aphelion]

You know that Terra can be translated to Earth, right? Here in Brazil, our planet is called Terra. Useless culture...

[Thaliel]

Originally posted by Dark Dragon Knight
You know that Terra can be translated to Earth, right? Here in Brazil, our planet is called Terra. Useless culture...
1st, this has nothing to do with the topic.
2nd, Gaia is also Nother word for "Earth" (or the goddess representing it.

[Big D]

The assimilation process was more than just one planet whacking into another. It already began, ages ago - hence why Gaia appears to have two moons, one red and one blue. A scholar in Dagguero mentions this, and the fact that the moonlight doesn't seem to be reflected from Gaia, contrary to theory. The blue moon is Gaia's, the red moon is Terra's. The planets are merging on a metaphysical level, kind of fading into one. The Terran relicts, like those at Oelivert and Ipsen's castle, hint at the millennia-old process's history.

Kuja did destroy Bran Bal, and Garland, which probably interrupted the process somewhat. The idea was for the planets to merge, so that the Terrans ' souls could occupy the Genomes and live again, until they managed to wreck yet another planet. (Funny, we're never told how many planets have been assimilated throughout history, how big and deadly the Terrans have been.)

The IIfa Tree had a very violent reaction because the connection to Terra was severed. All of Gaia's souls could no longer be recycled into Mist, or siphoned off to Terra. The Tree responded by trying to kill what was threatening it. Kuja mentions this just before the battle with Deathguise.

At the end, we see the two moons merging. Perhaps they did, perhaps it's just symbolic of Terra and Gaia 'merging' in Zidane and Garnet, as others have suggested. However, I doubt the worlds themselves merged, and even if they did, the result would probably just be a bigger planet with additional landscape features, kind of like when the two halves of the world re-merge after the Void is unleashed.

[Godzilla3001]

I don't actually know if I'm repeating what you said but.....I reckon that the two moons merging is the symbol of Zidane(Terra) and Dagger(Gaia).




Gaia is also a Greek and Roman god or goddess! I know all....

[playaGAW]

Maybe the void is in FF9 too just not explained in game.