Qu

The Qu (ク族, Ku-zoku) are a genderless race of people from the world of Final Fantasy IX. Quina, Quale and Quan are some Qus which the player encounters during the story. This rare species has a sort of training about discovering and eating new foods called the "Way of the Gourmand". Quina sees this as his/her mission. Qus also speak in a crude form of broken English. For example, when Quina sees a frog, s/he thinks, "I eat Frog?" However, in the Spanish version Qu speak perfect Spanish. In the German translation, most of the Qus' s-sounds come out as a mushy "sh" and their way of speaking is described by others to sound as though they are speaking with their mouths full. The Qus' Spanish and German sentences also end on the exclamation "ñam" and "mampf" respectively, translating to "munch" or "chomp". Similarily, the Qus' French sentences often end with the word "miam", which translates to "yum". When the player first gains control of Steiner, you can find a Qu working in the kitchen as the head chef.

This odd-looking species is harmless and permanently let their long tongues hang from their mouths and often dress like chefs.

The playable character Quina Quen is a Qu. Quina has the ability to use a form of Blue Magic with which s/he can consume enemies if their HP is more than three-quarters removed. Doing this completely destroys the enemy, and Quina has the opportunity to learn a Blue Magic spell from them. It's not known if this is a common ability among the Qu.

The majority of the Qu race lives in swamp areas called Qu's Marshes. There are several of these across the map, and the player can visit them. In every Qu's Marsh, Quina can take part in a minigame, in which s/he must catch as many frogs as possible, which in turn may yield items as rewards in addition to powering up Quina's Frog Drop ability.

Q