we all know that the whole ff series is original and based on own ideas, but there are some things that they gank.....in a friendly way.....

i was watching this old real footage war film from ww2, and one of the Russian bases was called BAKU.....and a huge sign said, "KUPO!!!" this is really weird.....anyone else ever find any things like this????

kwehhhh?

how extremely abnormal...

personally i like the 'biggs and wedge, a tribute to star wars' thang.

also, are chocobo's full of chocolate on the inside? just an thought... choco-bo...... choco-late......... hmmmmmm..........

thats wierd.

If you examine close enough, you'll come to realise that a lot of names are taken from mythological writings or real life situations. Sephiroth's name is the name of an Arch-Angel of some sort, and Auron happens to be the name of a Helmed Horror that my mate was telling me about in D&D tonight. Heck, Zidane's name must be in tribute to the French football player. (I can never get that image out of my head...)

Originally posted by Selphie Tilmitt
also, are chocobo's full of chocolate on the inside? just an thought... choco-bo...... choco-late......... hmmmmmm..........

Well, when people found out what my screen name was *points* they thought it was crazy chocolate boy mispelled...

Chocobo's full of chocolate....hmmmmmm....now I'm hungry. haha.

I've seen Baku a lot of times, and the name Zidane is used a lot in France, cuz I heard it a lot when I went last summer. I'm pretty sure Lindblum is a German city, Alexandria is a city too. There's a lot of things you could probably find that are the same things in the game. I really don't look all that much, so I haven't noticed anything but that.

I always wondered what that Kupo word is....did it say in that show? lol

Hillary

Chocobo's full of chocolate....hmmmmmm....now I'm hungry. haha.

I've seen Baku a lot of times, and the name Zidane is used a lot in France, cuz I heard it a lot when I went last summer. I'm pretty sure Lindblum is a German city, Alexandria is a city too. There's a lot of things you could probably find that are the same things in the game. I really don't look all that much, so I haven't noticed anything but that.

I always wondered what that Kupo word is....did it say in that show? lol

Hillary

Originally posted by Bahamut ZERO
If you examine close enough, you'll come to realise that a lot of names are taken from mythological writings or real life situations. Sephiroth's name is the name of an Arch-Angel of some sort, and Auron happens to be the name of a Helmed Horror that my mate was telling me about in D&D tonight. Heck, Zidane's name must be in tribute to the French football player. (I can never get that image out of my head...) ahh nice a soccer fan well football were your from....tidus means sun..... and wedge and biggs def was taken from star wars...ipsen from ipsens castle is some kinda thing i saw in my history book.... :D

ohhh im pretty hungry too...... i dont like the way Chocobo is said.....i think it should have been pronounced, Cocobo. but hey i didnt make the game, and they thought of it not me lol....

Originally posted by zidane tribal
ahh nice a soccer fan well football were your from....tidus means sun..... and wedge and biggs def was taken from star wars...ipsen from ipsens castle is some kinda thing i saw in my history book.... :D

ohhh im pretty hungry too...... i dont like the way Chocobo is said.....i think it should have been pronounced, Cocobo. but hey i didnt make the game, and they thought of it not me lol....

I always pronoucned Chocobo, as Cho (rhyming with whoa)- Co (Abreviation for Company, co)- bo (like in bow and arrow).

Cho-Co-Bo

^_^

Anyway, I do believe that there're people who speak like Thorn...o.o;

yea me too...i was a bit dissapointed to here it being said the real way in ffx.......it just sounds better..... but another thing i found was gaia and terra...those two places were used in a million other rpgs....the most recent would be Dark Cloud..... oh well lol...:D

Actually, 'Baku' is a creature from Japanese mythology and is meant to be a little fat troll like being that eats children's bad dreams. 'Chocobo' apparently IS derived from a brand of Japanese chocolate bar. It's actually amazing to find out just how much seemingly trival words and things in FF are inspired by real-world items and mythology. The characters' names likewise all have a similar origin.

Quote:

Garnet: "How did you survive?"
Zidane: "I didn't have a choice. I had to live.
I wanted to come home to you.
So,... I sang your song."
Garnet: "Our song."

yea i totally agree.....in taking things out of origin, they kinda made them seem original....square is great in that....

As far as character names go, most have some real-world or historical equivelant. To name a few:

Zidane: obviously refers to the surname of a famous French soccer player.

Garnet: A type of red gem, normally that's been cut and shaped.

Vivi: I heard that 'vivi' is Latin for "I must live', definetly in keeping with his desire to find out the reason for his own existence.

Steiner: German in origin, a 'stein' is a large beer jug, and I've heard 'steiner' used in a similar context.

Freya: There are two figures from Norse mythology that have names similar to this, and both are associated with fertility. The first is 'Freyr', the son of the sea god Njord and the mountain goddess Skadi and he carried a magic sword that made him unbeatable in battle.The second was Freyr's sister 'Freyja'. She helped crops grow, provided good catches for fishermen and even assisted women in childbirth. Both may have provided the basis for Freya's name.

Eiko: A common Japanese name, interestingly, it seems this may be also the first name of FF creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's daughter(If you watch the end credits of the FF movie, in the 'Special Thanks' section, it mentions 'Aya Sakaguchi' and 'Eiko Sakaguchi'; - the name Aya also appears as the herorine in Square's spin-off game 'Parasite Eve' and it's sequel.

Amarant: Although in the original Japanese version, Amarant's was called 'Salamander' which is a type of lizard once rumoured to inhabit fires; Amarant is a type of flowering plant with reddish petals. It could also be derived from 'amaranth', a type of poisonous dye used in some kinds of red food colouring. Obviously, all these names are a reference to his flamming red hair.

Quina: This is probably the only FFIX character that doesn't have a real world basis as far as I know. It's probably derived from the the sound of the letter 'Q', which is also the name of his tribe.

Kuja: Apparently Kuja's name is either Hindu or Arabic on origin, and is the name of a type of demon, perfectly in keeping with his somewhat demonic nature.

Garland: A wreath of flowers worn on the head, a character bearing his name also appeared as a villian in FFI.

Carbuncle: Similar to Garnet and Ruby, it's a reddish semi-precious stone. A carbuncle is also a medical term used to describe a badly infected sore on the skin, like a boil.

Cid: The only re-occuring character throughout the FF series, Cid may have been based on a figure from Spanish history, as is now well known, the legendary rebel leader known as 'EL Cid', but the figure is mainly steeped in folklore.

Hilda Garde: Surprisingly, Hilda Garde is also a real historical figure. A cleric who who lived around 1000 years ago, she later started painting and composing music. A character called 'Princess Hilda' also appeared as the leader of the rebel army in FFIIJ.

That's all I can think of right now. If I can think of anything more I'll add to this list.

Today's classic FF quote:

"I'm going to create a monument to non-existence!!!" Kefka, demonstrating just how insane he really is, FFVI.

gaia also appears in a computer game called age of empires, animals are associated with it so gaia could have something to do with animals.

Waha, i've seen Gaia in:

Legend of Legaia (Planets name)

Illusion of Gaia (Completely different game from Legend of legaia, it's the name of a creature, both good and evil o.o; )

Battle Arena Toshinden (Main boss's Name)

::Shrugs:: Just a little tid-bit

In regards to the 'Gaia'/'Terra' thing, allow me to explain. 'Gaia' (alternaltive spelling 'gaea'), is from Greek mythology, and is the Earth/Mother Goddess. Everything - gods and other divine beings included - were born from her, so naturally, things associated with an 'earth spirit' are immedeiately associated with Gaia. Terra, on the other hand, is latin for 'earth' or 'land' (my home country of Australia was originally called 'Terra Australis Incognita', or 'Great South Land' by early European explorers), and, in a lot of science-fiction stories, Terra is often used instead of Earth when referring to humanity's birthplace.

Today's Classic FF quote:

"Starkle, starkle, little twink. Now it's time that you guys sink!!!" Gilgamesh, trying to taunt your party with a twisted revision of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', FFV.

In regards to the 'Gaia'/'Terra' thing, allow me to explain. 'Gaia' (alternaltive spelling 'gaea'), is from Greek mythology, and is the Earth/Mother Goddess. Everything - gods and other divine beings included - were born from her, so naturally, things associated with an 'earth spirit' are immedeiately associated with Gaia. Terra, on the other hand, is latin for 'earth' or 'land' (my home country of Australia was originally called 'Terra Australis Incognita', or 'Great South Land' by early European explorers), and, in a lot of science-fiction stories, Terra is often used instead of Earth when referring to humanity's birthplace.

Just wanna ask... Where from hell do you manage to find these things??????

I, too, can connect Zidane to soccer player and Eiko to Hironobu Sagagushi's family member but those others... How in heck?...


***********Just wanna know***************

You're my idol, you know? Can I get your autograph???

Endikoh> Heehee... wow, I think you're right on the ball with some of those. Mind if I expand on a few? :)

Here goes...

----

EIKO: Eiko is Sakaguchi-san's wife, Aya is his daughter. :)

ZIDANE: The name in Japanese is "Jitan Toraibaru," written in katakana, which means it's not a Japanese name, of course. The name could have also come from the French word "jitan," which means "wander" or "traveller." Which makes his name, Zidane Tribal, kind of sound like "Wandering Family." Fits in with him. Honestly, I thought it was one of the better names that Square gave to a leading character. :D

BAHAMUT: He was a giant fish in Hindu myth. A huge bull rode on his back, and on the bull's back was a mountain made of some sort of gemstone. Ironically, the name of the mountain.... is KUJARA.

IFRIT: A demon in Arabic myth. Instead of blood, fire runs through the veins of this beast. Wounded Ifrits will spurt flames from their wounds.

TIAMAT (the chaos guardian): An mythologic dragon whose eyes were said to have become the source of the Tigris and Euphrates river.

---

There's more, I know... will post more later. :)

Originally posted by Angel Aeris
In regards to the 'Gaia'/'Terra' thing, allow me to explain. 'Gaia' (alternaltive spelling 'gaea'), is from Greek mythology, and is the Earth/Mother Goddess. Everything - gods and other divine beings included - were born from her, so naturally, things associated with an 'earth spirit' are immedeiately associated with Gaia. Terra, on the other hand, is latin for 'earth' or 'land' (my home country of Australia was originally called 'Terra Australis Incognita', or 'Great South Land' by early European explorers), and, in a lot of science-fiction stories, Terra is often used instead of Earth when referring to humanity's birthplace.

Just wanna ask... Where from hell do you manage to find these things??????

I, too, can connect Zidane to soccer player and Eiko to Hironobu Sagagushi's family member but those others... How in heck?...


***********Just wanna know***************

You're my idol, you know? Can I get your autograph??? you just got to do your homework...;) ....its just simple finding out things, just like any other.....:D

To Kurohime: Oops! Thanks for clarifying the Aya/Eiko mixup. I just guessed about exactly who Aya and Eiko Sakaguchi were, so thanks again for filling me in!

Oh, and you're right about those other things as well. Although I have also heard of Bahamut refered to in Chinese mythology as one of their many 'dragon kings', but your suggestion rings true also.

To Zidane Tribal: That's right. I'm interested in mythology, especially Norse and Eastern mythology, so I've naturally uncovered a lot of interesting things. (I go to my local library a lot)

To Angel Aeris: <blushes> Gee, I don't know what to say. Are you serious? If you want it really, I guess you could have it, but it's not much of an autograph. Just a scribble really. I'm much more of an artist than a writer. <smile>

Today's Classic FF Quote:

"The theatre ship should arrive any minute. It's been so long. I can't wait to see everyone again. But,... it'll never be the same. I have to let go of the past. I have to move on, just like he taught me." Garnet, deciding that she has to put her heart to rest in order to get on with her life, unaware that she will soon get a very happy and unexpected surprise, FFIX.

yea, mythology is great....im fascinated with the whole thing....:D .......its great having things like this being tied in with eachother...

Kurohime, elaborating futher on Bahamut's origins; you were right. Bahamut is from early Islamic mythology and is meant to be a giant fish that supports a giant bull, called 'Kujata' on it's back. On top of Kujata, stands a large ruby, which supports an angel who, much like Atlas in Greek myth, supports the earth. Incedently, you may remember 'Kujata' appeared as a rather boring and pointless summon spell in FFVII. I think Kuja's name is also derived from Kujata, as I've heard the name 'Kuja' mentioned in relation to certain demonic beings from either Indian or Arabic myths.

As for place names, several are actually based on real place names:

Alexandria - In ancient times, Alexandria was settled by Macadonia's famous general, Alexander the Great, who made it his capital. Later, when the Romans conquered Greece and Egypt, Alexandria was made the capital of Eqypt, as it was, and still is, a very important port city on the Mediterranian. One of the legendary Seven Wonders of the World was sited here - the Pharos, which was a giant lighthouse lit by a fire that kept alight. Alexandria was also home to a library that was unsurpassed anywhere in the ancient world.

Treno - Most probably derived from the well known American city of Reno which, like Treno, is a favourite haunt of the rich, and those who want to be rich.

Dali - Probably derived from the surname of the famous surrealist painter, Salvador Dali.

Lindblum - This is one of the several places in FFIX which has no known real world deriative. Although some people on this thread pointed out that it may be Germanic in origin.

Other than that, most of the other place names seem to be completely invented. However, I think 'Ipsen's Castle' and, the character Ipsen himself, may be based on a real Norwegian playwright named 'Ibsen' (I can't remember his first name, but he wrote a famous play based partly in Norwegian folklore called 'Pyer Gynt').

Does anyone else know?

Today's Classic FF Quote:

"What an old fuddy-duddy!" Relm, upset that Strago, her grandfather, refuses her to go with him and your party to the Esper meeting place, FFVI.

one question

why is a super cute little bluey greeny coloured thing with a ruby on its forhead that casts reflect on the whole party named after some type of gross looking shellfish?

i am confused, lol

Yes, Alexandria is also a city in Virginia...


and did you know that Gilgamesh and Enkidoh were two legends from 3000 BC Sumeria. I think Gilgamesh was the king of Urak, I think.

and by the way, Dali is the name of a great artist. I saw his collection when I went to St.Petersburg, Florida... a town 20 miles south of my current location.

Well, I did think FF9 was very original cos it was different from the other FF games and all ^_^.

Incubus, you're right about Gilgamesh. He was actually a real historical figure, but a whole series of stories soon grew around him, becoming the world's first 'novel', called the 'Epic of Gilgamesh'.

My nick "Enkidoh', appears in the story, as a wild man who was sent by the gods to challenge Gilgamesh who had become nothing more than a tyrant. Even though Gilgamesh was two-thirds divine, both came out equal, where they became like brothers. Eventually Enkidoh dies, killed by a bull that was sent to kill Gilgamesh instead, which shatters Gil, who then goes on a journey to find the secret of immortallity, which he finds, only to lose it to a snake. This is about all that I can remember about the story, but there are probably a few details incorrect. If anyone can clarify, please, by all means.

As everybody probably knows now, Gilgamesh appears in FFV, FFVIII and IX. Enkidoh appeared as a boss in FFV, if you took too long fighting Gilgamesh in a certain battle.


Incedently, I just realised that 'Daguerreo', sounds similar to 'daguerreotype', an early kind of photography (named after it's French inventor, who I can't remember his exact name. Fancy that?

Today's Classic FF Quote:

"Heh, the red carpet has teeth!" Auron, seeing Bevelle's little 'welcoming present' from the airship, FFX.

hahahaha....yeah... You think it could be the same Gilgamesh...that would cool...

For more information on the sources of names in FFIX, go to the Final Fantasy Compendium at www.ffcompendium.com Anything else I add here will be surpflorous compared to what's shown on this site! (and not just about FFIX either, but all the FF series!)

Actually Arwen FFIX was never intended to be really original except in story line. The entire point of the game was to link FF back to its roots.