text: Concept and creation Zidane, along with other characters, was designed after the creation of Final Fantasy IXs plot, unlike its predecessors, VII and VIII, which had its protagonists created before the story. He was one of the original three characters revealed, along with Vivi and Steiner. He was conceived and written by Hironobu Sakaguchi, while his appearance was designed by Yoshitaka Amano and re-interpreted by Toshiyuki Itahana. Both Zidane and Vivi's size and age were less than that of the characters from VII and VIII. Zidane's womanizing aspect was designed by Hiroyuki Ito. Sakaguchi described him as a person who "likes girls and doesn't care for much", lacking any real objective and being carefree, but a key character nonetheless. Kazuhiko Aoki regrets not developing how Zidane is afflicted by the difference in social status between him and Garnet. Illustrating the breakdown of relations with the nobles in Treno due to their disapproval of Zidane and Garnet's relationship, Zidane butting up against the social confines he faces and the incredible power Garnet holds as royalty, and how Zidane gets back up on his feet despite all of that. Aoki believes he should have helped the team more to properly develop Zidane's characterization.
  Zidane has shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a prehensile monkey-like tail, as witnessed in game when Zidane hangs from his tail to evade Steiner. He can either use two daggers or a single swallow-blade as weapons. In trance form, Zidane's hair becomes longer, and his clothing is replaced with pink fur. Zidane is identified as a thief, and has the unique ability to steal items from enemies. As he is considered the main character of Final Fantasy IX, the stealing mechanic was made more important than in previous games, which means that players have ample opportunity to acquire a lot of valuable items earlier than normal through stealing them from enemies.