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Vivi Ornitier is a Black Mage
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Black Wizard
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Magical
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Offensive magic
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The is a ''character class'' (or ''job'') in
Square Enix 's ''
Final Fantasy '' series of
Computer Role-playing Game s. It is occasionally referred to as the ''Wizard'' or ''Black Wizard'', although this is sometimes a separate upgrade of the class. They are usually depicted wearing distinctive costumes consisting of a blue or black
Robe and a large conical, wide-brimmed
Hat which obscures their face, with two yellow eyes shining from within the shadow. Some Black Mages also wear pants with vertical stripes.
In contrast to a
White Mage , a Black Mage has the ability to cast offensive
Magic spells. Often
Elemental -based, these spells may also cause status changing ailments to the enemy. Spells range from ''Fire'', ''Ice'', and ''Thunder'', to more destructive spells such as ''Meteor'' or ''Flare'', to darker spells such as ''Death'' and ''Doom''.
The Black Mage has appeared in the following games in the Final Fantasy series:
The Black Mage appears in the first title of the ''Final Fantasy'' series as one of six selectable classes at the start of the game. During the adventure, the player purchases increasingly powerful spells for the Black Mage, which can then be used in combat. The Black Mage's list of learned abilities is organized into eight numerical spell levels. Four spells are contained in each level, but only three of these can be learned by the Black Mage at any one time. Thus, an important part of strategy in ''Final Fantasy'' involves customizing the Black Mage by choosing certain spells over others in order to achieve maximum potential from the character. The player has the option of upgrading the Black Mage to a Black Wizard at a certain point in the adventure by completing a short
Quest from
Bahamut , the King of Dragons.
In the original NES game, the Black Wizard lacked both the hat and obscured face that would become the defining features of the Black Mage. An interesting point is that it did prove that Black Mages are human. (There is some controversy since Black Mages never take off their hat.) This was changed in the Wonderswan remakes and
Final Fantasy Origins so that he still looks like a 'proper' Black Mage after becoming a Black Wizard.
In these three games, Black Mages exist as inhabitants of a city of magic-users. In ''Final Fantasy II'', the village of
Mysidia is home to Black Mages exclusively, and is pivotal in the player's quest to receive the
Ultima Tome . In ''Final Fantasy IV'',
Mysidia is the name of the city from which
Palom and
Porom originate, although this incarnation is occupied by both Black Mages and White Mages.
In ''Final Fantasy IX'', the
Black Mage Village is a forested hamlet where many mass-produced Black Mages have somehow become self-aware, and work to carve out an existence for themselves beyond the reach of their makers. ''Final Fantasy IX'' is also notable for its high focus on the "classic" Black Mage, as depicted in previous installments of ''Final Fantasy''. Both a playable character (Vivi Ornitier) and a series of
Bosses (the Black Waltzes) are clothed in the traditional garb of Black Mages and are able to utilize black magic in battle.
The character Lulu is clearly based on the traditional Black Mage, at least in ability. However, she dresses in an exaggerated
Gothic style, and has no ties to traditional Black Mage garb.
In ''X-2'', any character can use the
Dressphere system to transform into a Black Mage, typified by the character donning an oversized Black Mage hat.
In the
MMORPG incarnation of the series, the Black Mage follows Final Fantasy tradition, being a mage class that specializes in damage-dealing through "nukes," or powerful offensive magic. Because of the new battle system used in ''Final Fantasy XI'' and other similar
Massively Multiplayer Online Games , in which the monster will direct its attack towards the player that it perceives as the largest threat, it is not practical for the Black Mage to nuke without caution as they have in previous installations in the series. Despite these restrictions, they remain one of the biggest damage dealers in the game. Black Mages equip staves and clubs almost exclusively,they are also able to equip a certain class of swords called bilbos; unlike their
White Mage brethren, they are unable to equip most shields.
In ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', the Black Mage is an unlockable job rather than a class - every character can theoretically become a Black Mage and Black Magic, once learned, can be used by characters with other jobs. Spells are not bought with money but rather with Job Points, which are awarded for successful actions. The Black Mage is one of the more expensive classes to master.
Unlike in the traditional ''Final Fantasy'' games, in ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' the Black Mage has to charge up a spell before it becomes effective. During this time the Black Mage cannot perform any actions besides moving without interrupting the spell, which makes charging Black Mages an important target, as they are relatively defenseless. Also, since most spells affect an area it's possible to use magic against the caster by standing close to him or his allies when the spell goes off. (Note that charging and area effects are common in ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' and by no means limited to Black Magic.)
The concept of malicious
Sorcerers responsible for all sorts of mischief is near-universal in human culture. This stereotype is projected on anything from the
Shamans of rival tribes to the priests of foreign
Religions to the
Satanists of today.
However, the term black mage or is found only in western society, as similar roles in other cultures are usually known by names without the color association. It is often supposed that the term 'black magic' originated as a corruption of the latin "necromantia" (
Necromancy ) to "nigromantia" (black art or magic). The color black does connote
Evil and
Death in other societies, as evidenced by the Nordic
Svartalfr (black elves) known to bring nightmares, but its application to magic and its practitioners is unique.
'Black' and 'White' shamans appear in the
Siberian shamanic tradition, and the white ones deal with the powers of the upper world, while black ones work with the lower world, but their roles in society do not seem to reflect western concepts of black and
White magic.
Despite the stereotypes of western cultures, the Black Mages of ''Final Fantasy'' are no more predisposed towards evil than their white counterparts.
Black Mages have also been referenced in various mediums;
- In the online Sprite Comic '' 8-Bit Theater '' (which is loosely based on '' Final Fantasy ''), Black Mage is the name of a single man of that class, known mostly for his amusingly sadistic and controlling personality. He is known to kill old men for petty revenge and orphans for sport. He likes to get ‘stabbity’ with his comrade-in-arms, Fighter, and ironically seems to have developed a crush on White Mage, the one woman in the world he is ''least'' like. The Black Mage of 8-bit Theater also helped the idea that Black Mages are naturally evil, however Black Mage was kicked out of the Black Wizardry camp for his evil actions. Recently, when the group received "Class Changes" Bahamut the Dragon King, Black Mage did not receive a class change. This was soon alleviated by one of the prime evil's, who changed his class to that of a Blue Mage, along with a "dorky" outfit.
- Most of the Heartless in the '' Kingdom Hearts '' series appear to be modeled after Black Mages, with shadowy faces and huge shining yellow eyes.
- Many older fans note the traditional Black Mage has an uncanny resemblance to the '' He-man '' character Orko , who wears a similar, face-obscuring outfit.
- The Mage (Innocent Devil) in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness almost looks identical to black mages (Vivi).
