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Zidane Tribal

Portrait(s)
Japanese Name	Zidane Tribal
Kana	ジタン・トライバル
Romaji	Jitan Toraibaru
Race	Genome
Age	16^[1]
Birthdate	September, 1783
Home	Lindblum
Job Class(es)	Thief
Skill	Steal, Skill
Trance	Dyne
Weapon(s)	Daggers, Thief Swords
Ultimate Weapon	Ultima Weapon
Final Fantasy IX Character

"Virtue - You don't need a reason to help people."

—Zidane's quote

Zidane Tribal (ziˈdɑːn) is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy IX. He is a thief who works for the Tantalus Theater Troupe set to kidnap the princess of Alexandria, an event that eventually escalates to a quest to protect the planet of Gaia.

Zidane possesses little of the sullenness associated with previous Final Fantasy protagonists Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart; he enjoys making new friends and is always on a lookout to help those in need.

Appearance and PersonalityEdit

"The sly eagle doesn't kill at whim."

—Zidane

Zidane has layered blond hair that frames his face and is tied back into a short ponytail. He has blue eyes and a prehensile monkey-like tail — a trademark of Genomes. He wears a white sleeveless shirt under a short teal vest, topped with brown leather accents at the shoulders and back; in the front, there is a lacy white jabot topped with a light green ribbon tied in a bow. He wears blue jodhpur pants, a tan belt, light green gloves with large blue cuffs, and a pair of light green and white cuffed ankle boots with a low heel. He sports a brown sheath on his left hip for his dagger. In Trance, Zidane's hair turns pink and becomes longer, and his clothing is replaced with pink fur.

Zidane's weaponry is atypical to the traditional thief class in the Final Fantasy series in that he dual-wields daggers or short swords, and a short double-bladed naginata, commonly referred to as a "swallow blade" or "thief sword." This type of weapon bears some resemblance to two short swords merged at the handle, though with the handle being an arm's length. He can combine his two blades into a "swallow blade" as well.

As shown in Dissidia Final Fantasy where Zidane is portrayed in realistic proportions, he is of small height even when compared to those close to his age, but he still maintains his lean yet muscular build.

He is shown to be a bit of a skirt-chaser, constantly flirting with Princess Garnet as well as other females. Despite accusations that all he ever thinks about is girls, Zidane is capable of being serious when the situation calls for it. He gives advice to the party members at multiple times on several aspects of life and is overall laid-back and casual in his actions and speech patterns. Though he is highly confident in his abilities, Zidane harbors some insecurities about his past and concealed loneliness, though he does not often express them. While usually cheerful, Zidane easily gets depressed, feels loneliness, and begins to question why he should exist. Though he values friendship, he tries to keep his problems to himself and tries to fight them alone. Usually, Zidane is laid-back but can lose his cool, as shown when after learning about his past, he becomes enraged and therefore is hostile to his friends, refusing to accept help from his team. Throughout the game, Zidane starts developing feelings for Garnet and acts like an older brother to Vivi. Towards other party members, even Steiner and Amarant who dislike him, Zidane is generally friendly.

StoryEdit

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Birth Under a Blue LightEdit

"Yes, my angel of death. But only until you came of age."

—Garland

Zidane began his life as an "Angel of Death" created by Garland. Long ago, the people of a planet named Terra realized that their world was dying and planned to save their civilization through the assimilation of another planet. Unable to find a newly-born planet to fuse with, they settled on to assimilate the young planet of Gaia. The people of Terra left their physical bodies and locked their souls in Pandemonium to be watched over by Garland until the Fusion's completion. The original Fusion was a disastrous failure, leaving Gaia's surface in ruin and ending up with Terra shifting inside the planet of Gaia.

Garland was given the task of removing the souls of Gaia's "cycle of souls" and replacing them with Terra's. Garland began to synthesize humanoid vessels called Genomes that would receive the Terran souls once they were awakened from their slumber. To expedite the endeavor of draining Gaia of its inhabitants, Garland gave a soul to a new Genome and named him Kuja. Kuja would be Garland's "Angel of Death", sent to Gaia to cause unrest and death, but Garland deemed Kuja a failure.

Although not mentioned in the game, the Final Fantasy IX Ultimania^[2] elaborates that Garland had made the mistake of creating Kuja as an adult, which meant he never got to experience childhood and thus never developed complex emotions, meaning Kuja would never be able to enter a Trance on his own. The dangerous mix of power and undeveloped emotions which allowed Kuja feel no remorse for his actions were too much for Garland's tastes. Secretly, he placed a limit on Kuja's life, and another Genome was created who would eventually replace him. This Genome was Zidane.

Zidane was experimental in that he would live through a full life, growing up as a child before developing into Garland's "Angel of Death". Growth and learning through childhood would allow Zidane to develop capacity for complex emotions which would grant him the power to enter Trance, thus making him superior to Kuja.^[2]

Kuja, infuriated by Garland's decision to create another Genome, deposited Zidane on Gaia and abandoned him there. Young Zidane, unaware of his mission, ended up in Lindblum where he was raised by Baku as a member of the Tantalus Theater Troupe and only remembering one thing of his childhood years: a blue light.

MissionEdit

"Listen, Vivi. You gotta do something next time. You should try-- screaming back or whatever. Like... 'Get off me, you scumbag!'"

—Zidane to Vivi

Twelve years later, Tantalus arrives at Alexandria on a mission appointed by Lindblum's Regent Cid to kidnap Princess Garnet. Although the mission is a success, the theater ship suffers major damage during the escape, and crashes into the Evil Forest. Baku wants to find a way out of the forest, but Zidane insists on finding the missing Garnet first. He beats Baku in a sparring match and sets out to rescue Garnet, bringing Vivi and Steiner along with him.

Saving the princess from the Evil Forest, Zidane and his friends escape with the help of Blank, who becomes petrified along with the rest of the forest, tossing Zidane the map of the Mist Continent seconds before turning completely to stone. The crew decides to travel through the Ice Cavern, where Black Waltz 1 casts a sleeping spell upon the party in the hopes of destroying them and bringing Garnet back to Alexandria. Zidane alone resists and defeats the Black Waltz, reviving the others.

Outside of the cave, he suggests that Garnet abandon the formal speaking habits she grew up with and adopt an alias in order to shield her identity from the villagers of the nearby town of Dali. Garnet agrees, and inspecting Zidane's weapon, decides to use the name "Dagger". Upon discovering that Dali is manufacturing black mage soldiers and delivering them to Alexandria, the group commandeers a cargo ship—with Zidane "accidentally" copping a feel of the princess's behind in the process—and flees to Lindblum.

Arriving in Lindblum, it is revealed to Zidane and his companions that a many concerns have been arising surrounding Alexandria and its queen. Zidane opts to participate in the Festival of the Hunt, reuniting with his old friend Freya while doing so. Before the hunt begins, Zidane follows a singing voice to the castle observatory, finding Garnet among a flock of birds. Garnet reveals she is preoccupied about her mother and her inability to steer her country away from war.

Zidane attempts to cheer her up, promising a date with her if he lands first place in the Festival of the Hunt. The festivities are short-lived, however, as a dying Burmecian soldier alerts Regent Cid to an Alexandrian military force moving against Burmecia. Zidane tries to stop Garnet from returning to Alexandria to speak with her mother, but she sprinkles sleeping weed in the group's cuisine and absconds with Steiner.

Intent on saving Burmecia, Zidane, Freya, and Vivi encounter Quina Quen while traveling through Qu's Marsh and arrive at Gizamaluke's Grotto just as it is lying under siege from the Alexandrian black mages, commanded by Zorn and Thorn. Fighting through the monsters, the group figures that Garnet and Steiner had gone through the South Gate to Alexandria. Arriving at Burmecia, Zidane attempts to help Freya find her king while battling Alexandria's army and evacuating the castle's citizens. They instead discover Queen Brahne, General Beatrix and a mysterious man named Kuja in the royal palace. Upon overhearing that the King has escaped to Cleyra, the four challenge Beatrix. The Alexandrian general bests them easily, and Zidane and his friends are left behind as the villains make haste to Cleyra.

Zidane attempts to help Freya defend Cleyra, but Brahne appears, summoning the eidolon Odin, decimating the settlement. Zidane and company barely escape as they follow Beatrix's army through their own teleport spells.

Reappearing aboard Brahne's ship, the Red Rose, they overhear Beatrix voicing her doubts about her queen. They overhear Brahne's plans to execute Garnet, who now lies captive in Alexandria. Using the teleportation magic, they arrive in Alexandria ahead of Brahne and, with Steiner and Marcus's help, they defeat Zorn and Thorn and find the sleeping Garnet.

As Freya, Steiner, and a reformed Beatrix hold off the guards, Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi escape through the underground tunnels, and reappearing in Pinnacle Rocks, they watch as Brahne invades and destroys Lindblum with Atomos, only relenting when Lindblum surrenders. Sneaking into the city, the group reunites with Cid and discuss their options. Deciding to go after Kuja, the source of Brahne's weapons, they use a tunnel called Fossil Roo to cross to the Outer Continent.

Encountering the Black Mage Village on their travels through the continent they stay for a while for Vivi, while Zidane tells Garnet about what he knows about his past and where he came from. The following day they learn of a possible place where Kuja resides, the Iifa Tree, along the way Zidane and Garnet are involved in a marriage ceremony and they meet Eiko, a summoner girl, who joins the group. Eiko develops a crush on Zidane, and when she realizes he is oblivious to her attempts at romantic overtones, she begins to question him about his relationship with Garnet.

Before setting off to find Kuja, Zidane and Garnet share a moment in a small boat on the shores of Madain Sari. Garnet asks Zidane about his reason for helping her on her journey, upon which he is reminded of a story about an adventurer named Ipsen. In the story, Ipsen had asked his traveling companion the same question Garnet asked of him, and Zidane responds in the same manner: "Because I wanted to".

Arriving at the Iifa Tree, they witness Kuja and Brahne fighting each other, and, while Brahne summons Bahamut, Kuja enslaves the dragon to destroy Brahne's fleet and kills her. Zidane and the rest return to Alexandria where Garnet is to become the new queen.

EmotionEdit

"Go on, Vivi. Don't worry about me. Someday, you'll probably do the same thing for someone who's really important to you. Dagger is more important to me than anything else."

—Zidane

As Garnet is to stay in Alexandria and become the queen, Zidane begins to miss her, though he is unable to express his feelings in front of Garnet. Frustrated and unwilling to accept that Garnet must remain isolated as Alexandria's monarch from then on, Zidane is consoled by Vivi. After hearing Eiko and Doctor Tot planning to head to Treno, he states he wants to participate in a card tournament, probably in an attempt to get his mind off his emotions. Alexandria Castle comes under attack from Kuja, but is warded off when Garnet and Eiko summon Alexander. Kuja attempts to take Alexander, but is stopped when Garland interferes.

Flying in on the Hilda Garde II, Zidane leads the group up onto the castle's apex. As the others prepare the Hilda Garde for departure, Zidane saves Garnet and Eiko as Garland destroys both Alexander and Alexandria. Zidane wakes up later in Lindblum where repairs are still being done, and, as the party discusses their next strategy, they learn Garnet has lost her voice in response to the tragic events. Zidane decides to bring the party to pursue Kuja.

When they arrive at the Desert Palace, the group is captured and imprisoned, and Zidane is blackmailed into helping Kuja retrieve the Gulug Stone from the ancient ruins of Oeilvert on the Forgotten Continent. While there, Zidane and his companions are astonished to find Oeilvert is a haven of lost technological works from a long-gone civilization. Though Zidane does not know it, the artifacts were left by the people of his homeland, the Terrans. Zidane is the only party member who can decipher the various writings on the Terran holograms, though he is unable to conclude what the predictions of Terran downfall truly mean.

The party retrieves the Gulug Stone and return to Kuja, who flees to the Lost Continent. After retrieving Queen Hilda from Mount Gulug, Zidane learns of Kuja's link to Terra and goes to Ipsen's Castle to unlock the portal to the second world. Zidane earns Amarant's respect when he uses teamwork to retrieve the four elemental mirrors from the castle, saving Amarant from his arrogant attempt at the spoils.

Where the Heart IsEdit

"Regrettable... I thought your soul would be perfect for a new angel of death..."
"I AM the new angel of death! Yours!!!"

—Garland and Zidane

"I... am merely a vessel... For what purpose was I given life...? Should I even exist...?"

—Zidane questioning his existence

With the mirrors collected and the Elemental Shrines cleared of guardians, Zidane directs their airship Hilda Garde III to Terra, where Zidane is led to the village of Bran Bal by a girl who eerily resembles him. He is further shocked to find that the town is inhabited solely by humanoids with blond hair and tails just like his; these being the other Genomes Garland created. A perplexed Zidane is given the basic details of his young years in Terra by the girl named Mikoto. With this information, Zidane resolves to meet Garland, his creator, and determine the truth to his life. Within the spires and mazes of Pandemonium, the resting place of Terra's true people, Zidane confronts Garland who explains the extent of his plans for Terra's revival.

Drained by this revelation, Zidane attempts to fight Garland, only to have his soul removed, and wakes up in Pandemonium's depths. With anguish, he falls into despair, believing that everything he knew was a lie and that his true purpose in life is to assist in Gaia's destruction. When his friends come to his aid, Zidane shuns them. Remembering all the times he had helped her to find the strength to carry on, Garnet pleads with him to let his friends believe in him as he believed in them. Zidane realizes he has a purpose in life: protecting everyone he cares for.

While facing Garland for the final time, Kuja reappears and uses the souls within the airship Invincible to ascend to Trance. He kills Garland, but after learning he will die soon, Kuja decides to destroy Terra along with everything in it. Zidane and company commandeer the Invincible just in time to evacuate Terra of the Genomes and reappear in Gaia. Surmising that Kuja would soon destroy Gaia, Zidane resolves to pursue him into the mist of Memoria.

Memoria's fathomless reaches contain memories from every age of Gaia, as well as memories of its people. Zidane and his friends battle through the Chaos Guardians summoned in opposition to the root of all life, the Crystal and enter the Crystal World where they face Trance Kuja. Upon his defeat, Kuja blasts the party with a powerful Ultima spell, and they are transported to the Hill of Despair, where the omniscient harbinger of death, Necron, seeks to prove that all humanity exists merely to die and become consumed by a "zero world." Zidane expresses a hope for the future and a trust in his friends, and together they defeat Necron.

Necron senses the strong will to live in Zidane and his friends and dissipates. A dying Kuja teleports the group out of the Hill of Despair and returns them to the outside of the Iifa Tree. As his friends say their goodbyes and depart on the Hilda Garde III, Zidane stays behind to try to save Kuja. Evading Iifa's crazed roots as the dying tree is writhing, Zidane makes it to the tree's core where he finds Kuja near death, and the tree consumes them both.

With Zidane thought dead, time passes by until the following year, Tantalus returns to Alexandria to perform I Want to Be Your Canary for Queen Garnet. The character Marcus casts off his mysterious black cloak, revealing Zidane, alive and well. Garnet leaps into his arms in tears, and the couple embraces as their friends and the audience cheer on.

Spoilers end here.

In BattleEdit

EquipmentEdit

Main article: List of Final Fantasy IX Weapons#Daggers

Main article: List of Final Fantasy IX Weapons#Thief Swords

Zidane wields daggers and thief swords in battle. He can equip light armor which consist of vests and hats.

AbilitiesEdit

Main article: List of Final Fantasy IX Abilities#Zidane

Zidane, being a melee character, learns all the Killer abilities as well as MP Attack and Counter. The flee and thief abilities are unique to him, as well as the Protect Girls ability.

StealEdit

Main article: Steal#Final Fantasy IX

The Steal ability allows players to steal items from an enemy. Some items can only be obtained by stealing, and sometimes, players only get one shot at stealing it. Steal can be augmented with the abilities Flee Gil, Steal Gil, Master Thief, Mug, and Bandit. Zidane's Thievery skill is directly linked to the number of successful steals performed times half of his speed; with enough steals, the player can power it up to deal 9,999 damage.

SkillEdit

Main article: Skill (Final Fantasy IX)

The Skill command allows Zidane to use skills in battle. When learning a Skill, he also learns a Dyne attack (see further down), which can be used in Trance. If Zidane equips multiple items that teach the same ability, the speed of which the ability is learned is multiplied by the amount of items (e.g. equipping a Dagger and Germinas Boots at the same time, teaches Zidane the ability Flee at twice the speed).

DyneEdit

Main article: Dyne (Command)

When in Trance, Zidane's Skill command changes to Dyne. Dyne raises his physical attack power and offers attacks that can damage single or multiple enemies. Zidane's Dyne and Skill abilities are connected, as he needs to learn a Skill to unlock the corresponding Dyne.

Musical ThemesEdit

{{{image}}}
"Zidane's Theme" from Final Fantasy IX

Trouble with the audio sample?

"Zidane's Theme" plays only once in the entirety of Final Fantasy IX—when the party boards the cargo ship at Dali. It starts out quickly, becomes slower by the middle section, then reverts back to the faster beginning. "Unrequited Love" (also known as "Unfathomable Reminiscence") is a slower, more melancholy variation of the middle section of "Zidane's Theme." "Not Alone" is another notable piece, played when Zidane learns the truth about his existence and refuses his friends' help.

Other AppearancesEdit

Dissidia Final FantasyEdit

Main article: Zidane Tribal/Dissidia

Zidane is one of the warriors summoned by Cosmos to oppose Chaos, and stands as the hero representing Final Fantasy IX, opposing Kuja.

Traveling with Bartz, Zidane turns their quest for the Crystals into a treasure hunt, which ends abruptly when Bartz falls into a trap and is captured. Blaming himself, Zidane meets up with Squall and reunites with Bartz, only to be captured himself. These traps have been set in place by Kuja, who desires to break Zidane's spirit with feelings of hopelessness and loneliness.

His alternate form is a palette swap based on his Yoshitaka Amano artwork.

Dissidia 012 Final FantasyEdit

Zidane returns in the prequel to the first Dissidia along with the other characters from the game. Having been through several cycles of war and recovered all his memories, he is on good terms with Kuja, who seeks to betray Chaos and lead Zidane and his friends to Chaos's throne so they can defeat him together.

Kefka derails Kuja's scheme and summons manikins to attack Zidane, Bartz and Squall. To save face with the warriors of Chaos, so as not to be persecuted for his betrayal, Kuja feigns that he had been deceiving the warriors of Cosmos, and reluctantly defeats the three; however, he does allow them to escape. Zidane is later incapacitated by Kain, who wishes to save him from defeat by the manikins.

Zidane's second alternate outfit is the armor he wore while disguised as a Knight of Pluto. As a bonus fourth outfit available for download, Zidane wears a hooded black cloak, the same he wore to disguise himself in Final Fantasy IX's ending.

Theatrhythm Final FantasyEdit

Zidane is a playable character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

StatsEdit

Level	HP	CP	Strength	Magic	Agility	Luck
1	203	8	15	12	21	15
10	808	14	35	27	47	34
20	1481	20	57	44	76	55
30	2154	26	79	61	106	76
40	2827	33	100	78	135	97
50	3500	38	122	95	165	118
60	4173	44	144	112	194	138
70	4846	50	166	129	223	159
80	5032	50	172	134	232	166
90	5217	50	179	139	240	172
99	5384	50	184	144	248	177

AbilitiesEdit

Ability	Level	CP	Type	Description
Steal (Lv 1)	25	16	Reactive (Probability)	10% chance of stealing an item from downed enemy (only works 1 time per BMS)
Steal (Lv 2)	70	20	Reactive (Probability)	20% chance of stealing an item from downed enemy (only works 1 time per BMS)
Steal (Lv 3)	90	24	Reactive (Probability)	30% chance of stealing an item from downed enemy (only works 1 time per BMS)
Escape (Lv 1)	1	2	Reactive (Probability)	Works 3 times per FMS; If Bad or worse score, 25% chance of avoiding damage and slowdown.
Escape (Lv 2)	35	3	Reactive (Probability)	Works 3 times per FMS; If Bad or worse score, 55% chance of avoiding damage and slowdown.
Escape (Lv 3)	60	4	Reactive (Probability)	Works 3 times per FMS; If Bad or worse score, 85% chance of avoiding damage and slowdown.
Grand Lethal	40	18	Reactive (Limit Break)	Activated in BMS when a boss-class monster appears. Deals damage in direct proportion to Strength and Level.
Luck Up (Lv 1)	20	5	Proactive (Augment)	Luck+50, HP-500
Earth Blues (Lv 1)	1	5	Proactive (Augment)	Agility+20. During BMS, Luck+40
Earth Blues (Lv 2)	10	10	Proactive (Augment)	Agility+30. During BMS, Luck+45
Earth Blues (Lv 3)	65	15	Proactive (Augment)	Agility+40. During BMS, Luck+60
Sinewy Etude (Lv 1)	5	7	Proactive (Song)	For the entire stage, all members receive +15 Strenght
Sinewy Etude (Lv 2)	50	10	Proactive (Song)	For the entire stage, all members receive +20 Strenght
Sinewy Etude (Lv 3)	80	15	Proactive (Song)	For the entire stage, all members receive +25 Strenght
Hero's Rime (Lv 1)	30	18	Proactive (Song)	For the entire stage, all members receive +12 to all stats
Hero's Rime (Lv 2)	55	26	Proactive (Song)	For the entire stage, all members receive +18 to all stats
Hero's Rime (Lv 3)	85	35	Proactive (Song)	For the entire stage, all members receive +24 to all stats
Treasure Hunter (Lv 1)	15	12	Proactive (Special)	Low increase in chance of rare item
Treasure Hunter (Lv 2)	45	16	Proactive (Special)	Medium increase in chance of rare item
Treasure Hunter (Lv 3)	75	20	Proactive (Special)	High increase in chance of rare item

Final Fantasy Airborne BrigadeEdit

Zidane appears as a Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade and can use his Grand Lethal and Shift Break abilities.

Grand Lethal.

Shift Break.

This section of the article about Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade is a stub. You can help Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy All the BravestEdit

"This Tantalus Theatre Troupe member really knows how to touch--er, treat a lady."

—Description

Zidane is an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content, he uses the Thievery ability during battle.

Final Fantasy Trading Card GameEdit

Zidane appears on several cards in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game.

Trading card.

Trading card.

Trading card.

Dissidia trading card.

Non-Final Fantasy AppearancesEdit

Itadaki Street PortableEdit

Zidane has appeared in Itadaki Street Portable as a playable character.

GalleryEdit

Gallery