Moogle - Final Fantasy
Moogles are a recurring race of beings that appear in the Final Fantasy series, which is produced by Square Enix. They made their first debut in Final Fantasy III and have since appeared in a number of spin-off and derivative games like Kingdom Hearts. Along with the chocobos and cactuars they can be considered one of the most well known mascots of the Final Fantasy franchise, due to their long history and number of appearances in nearly all the Final Fantasy games. Moogles have inspired a wide range of merchandise, like a variety of different kinds of Moogle plushes. They are also commonly made into figures.
Moogles have a variety of different functions in Final Fantasy games and can be found helping the player save their progress, acting as a way to access stores in-game, and giving assistance in battles. In Kingdom Hearts, Moogles often appear as shopkeepers or other vendors that sell consumable items, weapons, and armor. In this series, they also let players access item synthesis, which allows players to fuse items dropped by enemies into incredibly powerful weapons. Moogles are considered to be very cute creatures and have garnered a great following, some fans even dress up as Moogles in cosplay.
Appearance and Description
The term “Moogle” (“Moguri” in Japanese) is derived from two Japanese words: mogura (mole) and komori (bat). Moogles usually end their sentences with the phrase "kupo". Moogles have a variety of different appearances and their design has evolved over the years. They generally have small wings and a fur coat that is usually white or pink. They have pom-poms on their heads, which are often red or yellow fur balls that rest on wire-like antennas protruding from their heads. The pom-pom is a particularly sensitive part of their bodies. Their wings have a sort of bat-like appearance, which gives a Gothic style to their design that contrasts with their otherwise cute bodies. They are usually much smaller than humans, ranging from less than one foot to around three feet in size. In Final Fantasy XII, their originally simple, chibi-like design was changed drastically. In this game, the fur and pom-pom colors have a bit more variety. Their fur can come in many different shades of brown and white while their pom-poms can range from a more traditional red and yellow, to blue and orange. Moogles in Final Fantasy XII are also fully clothed, something their original counterparts. Another unique characteristic of these Moogles is that they have incredibly long ears, making them seem almost rabbit-like in appearance. Moogles are known to have a mild temper and their diet is known to consist of vines and Kupo nuts.
Moogles first appeared in Final Fantasy III as the bodyguards of the master wizard known as Doga. In these early games, Moogles only spoke using their trademark phrase “kupo”, but in later releases, they became rather fluent and can now be seen speaking with other characters. Their first appearance outside of the Final Fantasy series was in a game called the Secret of Mana in 1993. Moogles use different methods to fly, in some cases like in Dissidia Final Fantasy, they inhale a lot of air and float like balloons to fly. Often, Moogle names incorporate the word Mog. They are often very intelligent and hard-working creatures, but often hesitate to come into contact with human beings. Moogles specialize in a number of tasks including gadgetry, tinkering, and engineering. They are capable of communicating across very long distances, a fact usually attributed to their “Mognet” mail service that they specialize in. In some games like Final Fantasy XII and the Crystal Chronicles series, Moogles also deliver mail to players as well. Many players admire Moogles because of their cute appearance and nature, which is often cited as a reason for their incredible popularity within the Final Fantasy franchise.
Trivia
As Toshiyuki Itahana replaced Tetsuya Nomura as the character designer, Itahana tried to design the characters to match their previous designs. However, Itahana ended up designing a Moogle that was radically different. Its body proportions completely different and had a balloon-shaped head and a koala shaped nose. It is said that Moogles originated from the planet Terra, since one is seen living in Bran Bal and had never heard of the land of Gaia. In Final Fantasy IX, the player is able to contact a Moogle that goes by the name of Moguo from the World Map. If the player continuously calls Moguo and exit the call without choosing an option, Moguo will become increasingly irritated with the player. The first time this happens, he will simply say “Don’t call me if you don’t need me, kupo.” He will get continuously angrier until he is called for the seventeenth time, where he says “STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! KU-PHEH!”