The four fiends of
Final Fantasy I (Marilith, Lich, Kraken, and Tiamat) were directly taken from
Dungeons & Dragons and comprise the four big plot bosses of the NES classic. Like lots of things in FFIX, they could be seen as just an Easter Egg (like the “buster sword” in the Lindblum weapon shop, and the names Garland and Cid) but the fiends are a bit different.
The conceit of their appearance in
Final Fantasy IX is that Kuja pulled them from the Crystal’s memory. So, they are themselves long gone, but the crystal remembers them and so they endure. Because what you see are only manifestations, only the manifestations can be destroyed. They taunt you with this fact when you first encounter them. Kuja set them to guard the four seals of the Shimmering Island, and it’s dumb luck that you split the party to take them all down at once.
Kuja pulls them out again in Memoria, and they ambush you throughout the dungeon. They’re tougher (for some unexplained reason, haven’t you gained 10 levels and are with a party of 4, not 2) Then, when you enter the crystal world, their memories are freely wandering around in crystalline form and make up the random battles.
Yes, it is blatant reuse of assets, but at least they explain it
The concept of “Four Fiends” is used again in
Final Fantasy IV, although they are different fiends (original creations, not D&D monsters) — I would have liked to see Kuja pull those guys out of the crystal as well!
