A Spotlight for Vivi Ornitier

He was recently voted as Eyes on Final Fantasy’s ‘Best Character’ at the 25^th Anniversary Final Fantasy Ciddies. But just what is it about this Black Mage that makes him so beloved to fans?

Vivi has a childlike curiosity and innocence that takes us, as gamers, back to our childhoods in a sense. We relive that feeling of wonderment at everything which is new. We feel excitement! happiness and sometimes even fear with Vivi.

We feel for Vivi as a character, because he is the one who seems to have been thrown in there without reason. Zidane, Garnet and Steiner are all meant to be there, or at least have a legitimate reason for being on that stage! Zidane is trying to kidnap Garnet, Garnet is trying to be kidnapped, and Steiner, is of course, trying to save her. Poor Vivi just got caught up in the action and was in the wrong place, and the wrong time.
Or maybe he was in the right place at the right time.

Final Fantasy IX deals with a lot of issues in the centre of its storyline, and for Vivi; the issues that affect him the most are those of identity and existence. In modern culture, these themes are dealt with so much, but in Final Fantasy IX, placing such a beautifully written character in the heart of them really makes them stand out, and become so much more poignant.

Vivi is not a grown man or woman struggling to find himself in a hectic world, Vivi is a child thrown into a battleground in which he discovers shocking truths about himself and his creation.

You can’t help but feel a little bit captivated by Vivi. He is initially a scared and somewhat helplessly clumsy character who looks completely out of place amongst the party. He is too afraid to cast magic spells to help people; yet he grows into a brave and encouraging member of the team, he is never the leader, and he seems to stand in the shadow of the other characters, but he is never under-appreciated by them.

Vivi is the heart and soul of Final Fantasy IX, and during the Ciddie Ceremony, he was up against very big opponents such as Cloud Strife, and Terra Branford – both of these characters being extremely iconic to the series; yet Vivi beat them all down to take Best Character, how?

Well, maybe it’s because he’s the underdog, he isn’t the ‘main hero’ but he’s certainly a hero, he stands back to allow others to meet their potential!

His appearance – that Black Mage outfit is completely synonymous with Final Fantasy. A Black Mage IS Final Fantasy!

All in all, it was a well-deserved win from Vivi, and he may often question his existence, but he needn’t ever question how much he is loved by Final Fantasy fans, and of course, EoFF!