Final Fantasy 16 hides a macabre easter egg dedicated to a beloved FF9 character

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Who the heck strung up Vivi?

Vivi
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16 hides a pretty great/disturbing reference to Final Fantasy 9's most beloved character.

That would be the troubled Black Mage Vivi, of course. It turns out that in the early hours of Final Fantasy 16's main story, you can stumble upon a scarecrow in an open field full of corn, which appears to have a striking resemblance to our old friend Vivi from many moons ago.

Look who I found from r/FFXVI

Vivi is apparently dead. Like, really really dead. You've honestly got to wonder where Final Fantasy 16's in-game characters got the inspiration to put up a scarecrow that looks suspiciously like Vivi from. Does the little Black Mage actually exist in Valisthea? Is he used to scare people, hence his use as a scarecrow?

"Vivi died for our sins" writes one Reddit user that can't help but see the resemblance between Vivi and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. "Made me smile when I found this" adds another user. Strange that a dead fan-favorite would make you smile, but there it is.

A bunch of other users are chiming in with some all-time Vivi quotes, the kind that naturally get our tear glands a little moist. While this could admittedly be a reference to the older Black Mage designs of Final Fantasy games in years past, it's only natural that everyone's associating this imagery with Vivi.

In other Final Fantasy-related news, Final Fantasy 14 players want one of Final Fantasy 16's best features. The Active Time Lore system is drawing a lot of praise for its approachability, and that's leading to players of the long-running MMO asking for a similar feature to be implemented in their game.

Check out our guide to the best abilities in Final Fantasy 16 if you're looking to get a head start on buffing up Clive to his full potential.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.