Zidane Tribal - Concept and Creation

Concept and Creation

Zidane, along with other characters, was designed after the creation of Final Fantasy IX's plot, unlike its predecessors, Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, which had its protagonists created before the story. Both Zidane and Vivi's size and age were less than that of the characters from the above-mentioned other titles. He was one of the original three characters revealed, along with Vivi and Steiner. His appearance was designed by Hideo Minaba. His womanizing personality was designed by Hiroyuki Ito. Series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi described him as a person who "likes girls and doesn't care for much", lacking any objective and being carefree, but a key character nonetheless. Zidane has shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a prehensile monkey-like tail, as witnessed in game when Zidane hangs from his tail to evade Steiner. He can either use two daggers or a single swallow-blade as weapons. In trance form Zidane's hair becomes longer, and his clothing is replaced with pink fur. Zidane is identified as a thief and has the unique ability to steal items from enemies. He was redesigned by Tetsuya Nomura in the video game Dissidia Final Fantasy. He is voiced by Romi Park and Bryce Papenbrook in the Japanese and English versions of Dissidia respectively.