Final Fantasy 9 director, Hiroyuki Ito, has stated that one of the game's biggest mechanics was inspired by one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made, despite FF9 being a bit heavier on fantasy than sci-fi. There's been a lot of renewed interest in FF9, its development, its history, and its potential future as the rumor mill churns for a purported remake of the beloved title, despite it not appearing for the game's 25th anniversary.
Speaking to Famitsu (text in Japanese), Ito was asked how the game's Trance limit break mechanic came to be, and Ito references 2001: A Space Odyssey as the inspiration, saying: "In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, when the monolith – the black slab – appears, the apes acquire the ability to use tools" (via GamesRadar+). Ito continued, saying: "I felt that this was not a depiction of the apes being given a new ability, but rather a depiction of an ability they had always possessed being awakened."
Bringing that idea to FF9, the Trance system can be seen as an "evolution" of the abilities characters already possessed. "The [Trance] system was something that was meant to be born," stated Ito....
