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Square Enix shared an official interview with Final Fantasy XIV Character Designer Toshiyuki Itahana to discuss Sphene, who debuted in FFXIV Dawntrail, and go over her FFIX outfits inspired by Garnet (Dagger). According to Itahana, both her first and second ones were based based on the other heroine’s two looks in the older JRPG. Concept art for both designs also appeared.
While Itahana first described the theme for the original Sphene outfit in FFXIV Dawntrail as “artificial ghost,” he went on to explain how both costumes were based on Garnet at different moments of FFIX. Here’s the full quote discussing the inspirations for each look:
“In some respects, the first design is based on Garnet’s outfit from Final Fantasy IX, such as the decorations on her chest, stomach, and back, but the second design is also based on the white-hooded outfit Garnet wore in the scene at the beginning of Final Fantasy IX when she asks Zidane to kidnap her. Garnet wore this outfit when for the first time she made her own decision to ask for help from others, and I designed this second outfit because I thought that the actions of the Sphene wearing it might be similar to the hooded Garnet’s state of mind.”
The official concept art for both of the FFXIV Sphene outfits can be seen below:
At the end of the interview, Toshiyuki Itahana mentioned the designs came without knowing anything about the story behind her and her FFXIV Dawntrail appearance. Itahana noted, “Although I designed Sphene, I didn’t know the finished story. As such, as an FFXIV player myself, I was very excited to see how the story would turn out after the release. I was so engrossed in the story that whenever I ran into Sphene in town, I would always ask her questions in my head like ‘Are you feeling okay today?’ and ‘Are you eating well?’”
Final Fantasy XIV and Dawntrail are available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
