#burmecia

[yinza]

I can finally share my piece for the @ff9zine!

I've always wished we could visit Burmecia while it was thriving, so I chose to depict a post-game Burmecia getting back on its feet and welcoming visitors from all over.

[Image Description: A digital illustration of a street in Burmecia. In the foreground, Freya is speaking to a man selling produce beneath a tarp, while a black mage and Genome woman contemplate another stand on the opposite side of the street. Farther back, Quina stands tilting their head back to taste the rain, with one Cleyran dancer joining them and another holding a hand out from beneath her umbrella. On the roofs above, a Burmecian woman is repairing rooftiles while a man holds an umbrella for her, and Zidane and Mikoto sit chatting. A Burmecian family is visible passing beneath an arch deeper into the city, and the palace rises in the distance. /end ID]

[grrnele]

Freya enjoying that girl dinner

[janetkwallace]

Here's some screenshots of Burmecia because why not, it's one of my favorite locations in the game

[rpgxyz]

Defeated

[sir-fratley-irontail]

Final Fantasy IX Trivia Time!

Have you noticed how Cleyran eiderdowns look similar to Scotland's flag? Well, I sure did not.

The word "Burmecia" comes from "burmese", a variety of rats. And I thought it was related to Burma/Myanmar because, you know, rain and amazing architecture. Maybe it is, but I haven't read anything about it on the internet, not even an interview with someone at Square talking about Burmecia.

In fact, Burmecia's architecture was largely inspired by Antonio Gaudi's organic mosaic constructions. Beautiful, isn't it?

Also, did you know Sir Fratley (in this case, me) was named after Michael Flatley, a professional dancer who appeared on Riverdance?

And, speaking of Riverdance...

Coincidence? I don't think so.

[kittercyat]

Downtime [AF]

ArtFight piece done for @JanetKWallace of their cool burmecian OCs 🐁

Posted using PostyBirb

[79zz]

Freya

Who doesn't love a dragoon that happens to be a mouse? Freya is awesome!

[goatofgehenna]

Roses of May- A Final Fantasy IX Vignette

This is a piece of writing by Chris (Co-Author/Blank) and posted on the same account the script for the audiobook is on. Prose expressing the pre-game combat surrounding Beatrix, Fratley and the Burmecian knights. Beatrix and Fratley, two of the most revered warriors of rival kingdoms, engage in combat in this eloquently written excerpt! To take place before the events of the main story in Final Fantasy IX, as played in game.

It should be noted: We have verified with the English and Japanese additions of the Ultimania as well as all other officially released texts related to Final Fantasy IX that there is no information explicitly stating what happened to Beatrix's eye and everything posed, therefore, is a theory or suggestion.

[buppypark]

LIVE! More Final Fantasy 9. Our crew is split up so we are heading to Burmecia!

[magicmalcolm]

Malcolm Plays Final Fantasy IX

I Got The Burmecia Blues

(previous parts here)

Okay, so there's a few things to do before hitting up Burmecia.

First, a small optional area to the right of the exit from Gizamaluke's Grotto. The North Gate has a nice little scene between Freya and Quina, where the former envies the carefree nature of the latter. There's also a couple of Chests to loot. Yay!

Second, we track down a Nymph enemy for Quina to learn another Blue Magic Skill: Night. Night induces the Sleep Status on EVERYTHING in the current battle, friend and foe alike. Can combo quite well if everyone on your side has the Insomniac ability equipped (which we can get from the Coral Ring Freya won at the Festival Of The Hunt).

Third, we can dig up one more Chocograph location in this area of the map. Taking a detour past the left of the sand-tornado takes us to a secluded beach, where a set of Chocobo tracks lay. The treasure location is also on this beach and…

IT'S A TRAP!!!

Or…not?

Choco has acquired the Reef Ability! So this doesn't give Choco the ability to walk on all water yet, this one allows him to traverse the shallow light-blue waters. This will come in handy to nab a few more Chocograph Treasures back on the other side of Gizamaluke's Grotto, but we'll get them later. Burmecia awaits!

And what is the first thing that happens to us in Burmecia?

Welp.

Another enemy can be eaten here in Burmecia for Blue Magic, eating a Magic Vice enemy will earn Quina the Magic Hammer skill. which removes a random amount (based on their current HP) of the enemies' remaining MP. Could be useful to help neuter some bosses down the road.

Also some of the chests in Burmecia are actually Mimics. Mimics can sometimes summon the aforementioned Magic Vices, so battling them isn't all bad.

Sadly, Burmecia is already in Ruins by the time we get there. Soldiers and civilians alike fallen at the hands of Brahne's Black Mage Army. Still, they were nice enough to leave a Lightning Staff and this Mythril Spear untouched for us to acquire.

We also bump into Stiltzkin again, who sells us a pretty sweet bundle of goodies for a barganimous price. And we also get another Kupo Nut and oh oh this another game spanning quest isn't it?

Welp. Burmecia's already wrecked, might as well head back and get sidetracked. Play the Backtrack Song!

So first we go back to Gizmaluke's Grotto and give Moguta the Kupo Nut we just got.

He's Kupo For Kupo Nuts.

Then we head back to Qu's Marsh to check on the Frog Spawn.

This goes immediately onto Vivi. Ability Up is going to be really useful for him soon.

And since Choco obtained the Reef Ability earlier, we can grab two more Chocograph Treasures! The Magician's Robe is nice, but the Oak Staff from Chocograph #11 is the real prize right now. Bio, Stop and Drain? For Best Boy Vivi? Yay!

After that it's heading back to prep for facing Beatrix. Everyone gets moved to the back row, Zidane gets the Coral Ring and then it's pretty much down to the whims of fate.

He's doing his best.

Kuja's so sassy.

My strategy for the Beatrix fight is pretty simple, Zidane Steals and hopes for a miracle to at least get that Chain Plate, Freya casts Reis' Wind to open and heals with Potions when not defending, Quina casts Vanish on Zidane and recasts as necessary, and Vivi tries to land a Slow spell on Beatrix. Getting the Mythril Sword is about as mythical as it gets during this hopeless boss battle. If Beatrix KOs Zidane before you can Steal the Chain Plate (let alone the Sword), you might as well reset. The remakes are nice enough to Autosave right before the Beatrix Battle, at least.

OMG I actually got it what in the actual…

The real kicker is that it's not even a unique weapon...you can literally buy this in Treno in like five minutes from now...and it's almost immediately made obsolete in Treno too.

Unfortunately that's where the good luck ends. Beatrix activates her trap card: Hopeless Boss Battle. Fortunately it's still Disc One of Four so we're allowed to live for some reason.

And yet you do nothing. Aah, blessed be to Overconfident Villains.

[mezzopurrloin]

The city of Burmecia is besieged by an army of black mages. The dragon knight Freya and her allies are here to provide aid, but all they find is devastation. Is there even a kingdom left to save?

[grrnele]

A more classic Freya depiction this time... Commissioned by and sent to an anonymous supporter! Thank you very much for giving her a new forever home 🐀🏠

[janetkwallace]

On the consequences of the Burmecian Genocide

You don't have to agree with what I'm about to say.

As a matter of fact, you can disagree as much as you want, I'm not saying that what I say is the right thing or that my view is better than yours. Everyone hold different views on the things they like and they don't, and today I'm writing about something I both like and dislike about one of my favorite games. The thing is, I don't like to do this sort of analysis where I comment on the negatives of my favorite stuff, even if I were to do it with a bit of humor.

Well, do not expect any humor.

I was kinda hesitant to write about it, but then I found myself writing it on a whim, so here we go... There is no turning back.

I've written about my thoughts on Final Fantasy IX before, its goods and its flaws. I've said what I had to say about the second visit to Alexandria during Disc 2, aka the point in the game where my enjoyment for the story has significantly decreased, it did not ran out as the game is still good after that point, but for me things were no longer the same as they did during the first hours of gameplay.

If you read the title, you know what I'll be commenting on today. So, genocide... It happens across most of the Final Fantasy games, it's shown to be very graphic when it happens, and IX was no different. Disc 1 ends with the party visiting Gizamaluke's Grotto, and later Burmecia, places filled with dead soldiers and NPCs lying down on the streets. The bleak atmosphere combined with haunting music adds a lot to these scenes. When the party fights against the Black Mages at Cleyra, each fight doesn't end with a victory pose... Because there's no victory when lots of innocents are annihilated by a powerful attack all at once. Later, when you revisit Lindblum, a giant monster is swallowing everything in its dark void, from knights to people to Black Mages themselves, it doesn't matter who gets sucked in or whose corpses fall in midair.

Pretty graphic, don't you think? The scenes do not include any blood or gore, it's just these little gruesome details that the player clearly sees with their eyes, this nightmarish stuff that happens and you can't do jack about it. One of my praises for Final Fantasy IX is for doing these sorts of things and not being afraid of doing it so. Sometimes it's whimsical fantasy, and other times a bleak, chaotic mess that belongs to dark fantasy, all of it happens in one game that most people – and I still can't believe it – think it's for children or that because it's geared towards children it has to dumb down a lot of themes they can’t grasp by themselves.

It doesn't. From the beginning, it’s clear that people do die, and it doesn't matter if your party members are well-trained or skilled, people in the world still die. I believe this is one of the core themes present in the games Sakaguchi worked with, that death is inevitable and out of the player's control. The original Final Fantasy VII had a lot of scenes revolved around said theme, such as when Barret meets his old friend Dyne or the main antagonist revealed to be a walking corpse who and whose mother – also a corpse – refuses to die in contrast with a party member whose sacrifices gives everyone else a chance to live.

I'm not here to talk about VII, maybe someday, but returning to the main point... The Burmecian genocide that occurs in Final Fantasy IX is shocking due everything I've said before, but the consequences of it are not fully explored. It's something that not only happens in this game, but a problem with the Final Fantasy series as a whole where the act of genocide is shown to be a horrifying event that leads to many casualties, and yet, very little is told or shown in the aftermath. Sure, there is an attempt to show the Burmecians leading their lives after the invasion, a few NPCs in Lindblum and some Cleyrans who managed to flee their settlement that are spread across the entire world, but it's not enough.

Genocide not only kills people, but their culture. How does the Burmecian culture look like after the genocide? Do people want to go home or do they want to build a new home elsewhere? The destruction of symbols can be demoralizing, so do any of the Burmecians feel sad or guilty or depressed after witnessing the collapse of their birthplace? Do other NPCs consider Burmecians as victims or do they see the mass murder as a justified act, given the few times conflicts between Burmecia and Alexandria were mentioned? What about the Cleyrans, what do they have to say about the giant crater that lies where Cleyra used to be? Are there any attempts from the citizens of Burmecia to restore their homeland to its full glory or is that something impossible to be achieved?

We see Lindblum in ruins and during its reconstruction, but nothing happens in Burmecia, it's abandoned the way it is since Disc 1. You could say that's a result of disc limitation at the time, and yes, while the limits of what can fit inside a 700mb disc plays a factor, it isn't the sole reason why a lot of things about Final Fantasy IX and other games from the series feel rushed or underdeveloped.

I'd say it's not only a lack of digital space, or budget constraints , but I do see it as a lack of care too, which's weird to think about since a lot of effort was put on the game, its story, characters, graphics, the backgrounds that we see for just a second and then never again, all of that done with such intricate and pure detail, and then you have stuff that isn't very well executed or explored. Disc 4 is there to show this dissonance of "let's put lots of details in these background elements" combined with "the story goes crazy and we will offer cryptic explanations as to why this happens and the characters in the party barely react to the information".

In the end, nothing that I wish for will be true. This game is called "Final Fantasy IX", not "Burmecian Fantasy IX", after all. They were never meant to be given any focus, but that doesn't mean they're irrelevant or any less important than anything else that takes place in the game.

[rpgxyz]

Received Cancer

[lovelessactv]

trying not to get my hopes up about the ff9 remake but gosh i would looooooooove some more story stuff for freya in the latter half of the game...

[sezja]

"Why isn't [specific FFIX thing] on the 'things I want in Dawntrail' bingo card?"

Well you see,

Hope that helps <3