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Nova Dragon is a boss in Final Fantasy IX fought when the party is entering Memoria.

In the Japanese version, its name is Shinryu, the name of the recurring superboss in the series. Since Final Fantasy IX heavily references other series's titles, Nova Dragon being fought before entering the game's final dungeon is likely a allusion to Final Fantasy V, whose version of Shinryu is fought within the Interdimensional Rift.

Stats[]

Battle[]

FFIX Tidal Wave

Tidal Wave.

The Nova Dragon has several attacks: Twister and Aerial Slash that inflict heavy Wind-elemental damage to the party; Shockwave, which damages the whole party; and Tidal Wave, which inflicts heavy Water-elemental damage to the party. Nova Dragon counterattacks when struck with a physical attack. Nova Dragon is vulnerable to Sleep, Silence, and Darkness.

Strategy[]

Equipping Ribbons will make quick work of all four of its special attacks, but if the party lacks the Ribbons, Coronet or Robe of Lords can also be used to resist the Wind damage, and Glass Armlet or Protect Ring to halve the Water damage. Nova Dragon's Shockwave cannot be nullified. The player can reduce the boss's damage output further via Shell.

If Quina is in the party, the player can equip everyone with the Insomniac ability and use Night. If the player inputs the attack commands and Night before Nova Dragon wakes up again, it will be put back to sleep before it can act. Another way to inflict Sleep would be to use Zidane's Soul Blade while wielding the Ultima Weapon.

Steiner's Shock or Eiko's Holy are powerful attacks that can deplete the boss's HP rapidly. Casting Blizzaga or Blizzaga Sword can also deal a good amount of damage. If Steiner has yet to acquire the Grand Armor, it would be a fair idea to equip the Master Thief and Bandit skills on Zidane, so as not to waste too many of Zidane's attacks stealing.

AI script[]

Function Nova_Dragon_Init
   set attacklist = [ Twister ; Shockwave ; Tidal Wave ; Psychokinesis ; Aerial Slash ]


Function Nova_Dragon_Loop
   if ( !initflag )
      set initflag = TRUE
      RunBattleCode( Enable ATB )
      while ( GetBattleState != 4 )
         Wait( 1 )
   if ( SV_FunctionEnemy[HP] < 10000 )
      while ( IsAttacking != 0 )
         Wait( 1 )
      RunBattleCode( Disable ATB )
      while ( GetBattleState != 1 )
         Wait( 1 )
      set SV_Target = SV_FunctionEnemy
      RunBattleCode( Run Camera, 9 )
      AttackSpecial( Death )
      while ( IsAttacking != 0 )
         Wait( 1 )
      set SV_FunctionEnemy[DEFEATED_ON] = 1
      RunBattleCode( Increase Slain Dragon Counter )
      RunBattleCode( End Battle, Victory )
   Wait( 1 )
   loop


Function Nova_Dragon_ATB
   if ( SV_FunctionEnemy[HP] - 10000 < ( SV_FunctionEnemy[MAX_HP] - 10000 ) / 2 )
      set twistertarget = SV_FunctionEnemy
   else
      set twistertarget = 0
   if ( #twistertarget && !twisterflag )
      set twistertarget = SV_PlayerTeam
   else
      set twistertarget = 0
   set selectedattack = RandomAttack( attacklist )
   if ( selectedattack == Twister )
         set SV_Target = twistertarget
   elseif ( selectedattack == Shockwave )
      set SV_Target = SV_PlayerTeam
   elseif ( selectedattack == Tidal Wave )
      set SV_Target = SV_PlayerTeam
   elseif ( selectedattack == Psychokinesis )
      set SV_Target = RandomInTeam(SV_PlayerTeam)
   elseif ( selectedattack == Aerial Slash )
      set SV_Target = SV_PlayerTeam
   if ( selectedattack == Twister )
      set twisterflag = TRUE
   Attack( selectedattack )


Function Nova_Dragon_Counter
   if ( GetRandom % 3 )
      return
   if ( GetAttackCommandId != 1 )
      return
   set SV_Target = GetAttacker
   Attack( Counter )


Tetra Master[]

Tetra Master
Nova Dragon
#054
Location: Treno Card Stadium (Straight Shooter Shak, Beast Master Gilbert)
Memoria (Master Phantom in Stairs of time)


Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

FFRK Ultimate+ Nova Dragon FFIX
Baknamy FFTA2This section about an enemy in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.


Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]

Baknamy FFTA2This section about an enemy in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Shinryu is the Japanese on'yomi name for Shénlóng, literally "god/divine dragon", an important ancient dragon in Chinese mythology. It is said to preside over storms and rain, and can bring disastrous drought, thunderstorms and general bad weather if it feels neglected and/or angered.

Though Shinryu's name is taken from the East Asian dragon which normally is depicted with four claws and no wings, it does not greatly resemble the mythological Shénlóng, as it originally had five claws on each hand as opposed to four as a way to show higher-rank (as well as sharing the same azure color as another mythological dragon, the Qīnglóng/Seiryu).

The Final Fantasy depiction of Shinryu's most iconic recurring design more closely resembles the European wyvern, a dragon-like serpent with two claws and two wings.

Nova means "new" in Latin. A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion caused by the accretion of hydrogen onto the surface of a white dwarf star. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. During the 16th century, astronomer Tycho Brahe observed the supernova SN 1572 in the constellation Cassiopeia, describing it in his book De stella nova (Latin for "concerning the new star"), giving rise to the name nova.

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, which is featured in the myths of many cultures.

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