Ozma

Ozma is an optional boss from Final Fantasy IX. A very unusual looking monster, he appears as a sphere patterned with bright, swirling colors (the top half being the colors of Terra, the bottom half being colors of Gaia). He can be found hidden in the Chocobo's Air Garden and is the hardest battle the party will have to face, much more so than even the final bosses Kuja and Necron. Ozma can quickly destroy the party with a variety of heavy attacks, some of which are Curse, Doomsday, Comet, Holy, and Meteor, and will often restore himself to full health. When defeated, Ozma will leave behind a full Pumice, which Garnet can use to learn how to summon the Eidolon, Ark. It should be noted that unless the player undergoes a sidequest, Ozma is impossible to hit with physical attacks, and will absorb Shadow, and thus heal from Doomsday. If the player completes the sidequest, however, then Ozma will become vulnerable to Shadow, and close enough to hit physically.

Speculation
A commonly asked question in Final Fantasy IX is "What is Ozma?" Surprisingly, the answer can be found in what we know about Eidolons from the Eidolon Wall in Madain Sari.

The Summoners of Madain Sari initially believed the legends of the Eidolons arose from the Eidolons themselves. It was only later they came to realise it was the reverse. They were also aware that other civilisations knew of (or had their own) Eidolons - specifically Mount Gulug, with its mysteriously sealed extraction room and Garland, who was known to have feared them.

When the area in Chocobo's Air Garden is examined, Zidane says it looks like an Eidolon grave and Mene mentions how he can feel a very powerful force that he has never felt before. The evidence tells us that Ozma at some time was once an Eidolon.

Where Alexander was a powerful Light Eidolon from Madain Sari, Ozma in contrast was a legendary Dark force from another, unspecified, place. As Eidolons are born from legends, it logically follows that Ozma died along with the culture that revered him, hence being found at an Eidolon Grave. Given we know that the civilisation of Mount Gulug had their own Eidolons - and that civilisation is now extinct - it may be a fair assumption that Ozma came from this place.

Whether Ozma always looked like this or if it has changed remains another mystery. All we now know is that for Ozma to attack the party without being summoned suggests that the death of the legend has caused Ozma to change - and not for the better.

Tetra Master

 * Card 055
 * Location: Memoria

Yadis