Template:Sideicon Template:See Also Nova Dragon is a boss in Final Fantasy IX fought when the party is entering Memoria. In the Japanese version, its name is Shinryu, the name of the recurring superboss in the series.
Stats
Battle
The Nova Dragon has several attacks: Twister and Aerial Slash that inflict heavy Wind-elemental damage to the party; Shockwave, which damages the whole party; and Tidal Wave, which inflicts heavy Water-elemental damage to the party. Nova Dragon counterattacks when struck with a physical attack. Nova Dragon is vulnerable to Sleep.
Strategy
Equipping Ribbons will make quick work of all four of its special attacks, but if the party lacks the Ribbons, Coronet or Robe of Lords can also be used to resist the Wind damage, and Glass Armlet or Protect Ring to halve the Water damage. Nova Dragon's Shockwave cannot be nullified. The player can reduce the boss's damage output further via Shell.
If Quina is in the party, the player can equip everyone with the Insomniac ability and use Night. If the player inputs the attack commands and Night before Nova Dragon wakes up again, it will be put back to sleep before it can act. Another way to inflict Sleep would be to use Zidane's Soul Blade while wielding the Ultima Weapon.
Steiner's Shock or Eiko's Holy are powerful attacks that can deplete the boss's HP rapidly. Casting Blizzaga on it can also deal a good amount of damage. If Steiner hasn't yet acquired the Grand Armor, it would be a fair idea to equip the Master Thief and Bandit skills on Zidane, so as not to waste too many of Zidane's attacks stealing.
Tetra Master
Template:FFIX Tetra Master
Other appearances
Final Fantasy Record Keeper
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Gallery
Etymology
Shinryu is the Japanese on'yomi name for Shénlóng, literally "god/divine dragon", an important ancient dragon in Chinese mythology. It is said to preside over storms and rain, and can bring disastrous drought, thunderstorms and general bad weather if it feels neglected and/or angered.
Though Shinryu's name is taken from the East Asian dragon which normally is depicted with four claws and no wings, it does not greatly resemble the mythological Shénlóng, as it originally had five claws on each hand as opposed to four as a way to show higher-rank (as well as sharing the same azure color as another mythological dragon, the Qīnglóng/Seiryu).
The Final Fantasy depiction of Shinryu's most iconic recurring design more closely resembles the European wyvern, a dragon-like serpent with two claws and two wings.
Nova means "new" in Latin. A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion caused by the accretion of hydrogen onto the surface of a white dwarf star. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. During the 16th century, astronomer Tycho Brahe observed the supernova SN 1572 in the constellation Cassiopeia, describing it in his book De stella nova (Latin for "concerning the new star"), giving rise to the name nova.
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, which is featured in the myths of many cultures.
Trivia
- Since Final Fantasy IX heavily references other titles of the franchise, Nova Dragon being fought before entering the game's final dungeon is likely a allusion to Final Fantasy V, whose version of Shinryu is fought within the Interdimensional Rift.