Nooj

Nooj is a non-playable character in Final Fantasy X-2. He is the meyvn of the Youth League and an ex-member of the Crusaders and the Crimson Squad, where he was known as the "deathseeker" who joined the squad to seek a warrior's death. His left arm and leg were previously destroyed in a battle with Sin, and are replaced with machina prosthetics. He is Leblanc's love interest (calling him "Noojie-Woojie"), although it is unknown if he returns her feelings.
Nooj was first mentioned in Final Fantasy X: Eternal Calm.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Nooj has long brown hair kept in two loops and a ponytail tied with a red band. He has blue eyes and wears blue glasses. He wears red long johns with multiple red and black belts used to secure his prosthetic arm and leg. Over his right shoulder is a purple sleeve with fur at the top. He wears purple boots and carries a silver cane.
=== Personality ===
Nooj is known as the "deathseeker" because he joined the Crimson Squad to die like a warrior. He finds his continued survival in a world that has faced so much death an ironic twist of fate, and begrudgingly continues to live. After an unexplained event where his body was used against his will, Nooj has worked hard to stay in control of himself. He wants to better understand the strange visions he had seen during the Crimson Squad final exam, and thus organizes a group that seeks ancient movie spheres, called the Youth League. Though now a revered leader able to rouse a crowd to follow his ideals, Nooj remains stoic within closed doors and never talks much about his past.
==Story==
At the time of Operation Mi'ihen, Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai, along with their mission recorder, Paine, entered the Den of Woe as their final test to become members of the Crimson Squad. The operation was overseen by Maester Wen Kinoc to investigate rumors of people seeing visions of a colossal machina within the den.Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Omega p080 While in the cave, Shuyin's spirit that dwelt there took Nooj as a host, using his eagerness to die to control him. After escaping the cave and the Yevon Warrior Monks ordered to kill them to cover up Kinoc's failed operation, the team disbanded at Mi'ihen Highroad. Shuyin forced Nooj to shoot his teammates in the back, but they survived. Nooj dedicated his life to discovering the secrets hidden by Yevon after having seen a vision of Vegnagun in the den, though he was unaware of Shuyin's presence in his body.
A year after the onset of the Eternal Calm, Nooj founded the Youth League who made the Mushroom Rock Road their headquarters, and began rebuilding Kilika Port. After the fall of Yevon Spira was left with a power vacuum and different factions vie to steer Spira to a path they deem right, Youth League among them. One of Youth League's missions is to collect ancient sphere recordings and release them to the public to reveal Spira's true history that Yevon had so long tried to conceal. Unknown to him, Nooj's pursuit of the ancient spheres is fueled by Shuyin's latent spirit within him guiding him to discover the location of Vegnagun.
Two years later, the Gullwings encounter Nooj at the new Kilika Port where he and the Youth League are demanding a certain sphere should be released to the public. Due to the current mission and the ensuing chaos, the Gullwings have no time to meet Nooj face to face. The Gullwings snatch the controversial sphere recording for themselves and after viewing it decide to relinquish it to one of the factions fighting over it. If the Gullwings side with the Youth League they are given an honorable welcome. Paine is now a member of the Gullwings, but pretends to not know Nooj who also avoids bringing up the past, merely discussing the sphere's contents: images of Vegnagun, a massive machina weapon Shuyin has been manipulating Nooj to find. The Gullwings can later meet Nooj outside the Den of Woe, which is now sealed, and he gives Paine a Crimson Sphere.
Thanks to cooperation with Leblanc, Vegnagun's location is revealed to be under Bevelle, and Nooj heads there to find it. Before he can do anything Vegnagun flees to the Farplane, roused by Nooj's hatred. He meets up with Baralai and Gippal in Vegnagun's former lair to discuss the issue, but because of Nooj's "betrayal" two years ago, Baralai threatens to kill him. This in turn triggers Gippal's frustration and he threatens Baralai. The stream of negative emotions fully reawakens Shuyin, who takes Baralai as his new host.
Shuyin, now fully in control of Baralai, jumps into the pit where Vegnagun used to be that leads to the Farplane, and Nooj and Gippal pursue. When Yuna falls into the hole left in the wake of the disappeared fayth after defeating Ixion in Djose Temple, she awakes at Farplane Glen. Nooj and Gippal find her and hand her spheres for Paine before heading deeper into the abyss, asking Yuna to "take care of things topside." Yuna escapes the Farplane and quells the rising tension in Spira risen due to the disappearance of the faction leaders—Nooj, Baralai and Gippal—by hosting a concert on the Thunder Plains. Afterward YRP ventures into the Farplane to stop Shuyin from controlling Vegnagun, and catch up with Nooj and Gippal.
Nooj hatches a plan to injure Baralai so Shuyin will abandon him and take him over instead, and then kill himself. Yuna rejects this plan and they work together to dismantle Vegnagun and free Baralai. Vegnagun is deactivated and Shuyin's spirit abandons Baralai, manifesting a corporeal body, but he is defeated by YRP. After Shuyin's spirit returns in peace to the Farplane, Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai settle their differences and decide to lead Spira toward a brighter future together. They host a conference at the Luca stadium to address the populace, but Yuna and her friends cannot attend as they are heading home to Besaid.
==Gameplay==
===Party member===
Nooj can be recruited as a party member in Final Fantasy X-2 International and the HD Remaster versions through the Creature Creator system. To recruit Nooj, the player must defeat him in the Den of Woe and must set up a Special Monster Pod in Mushroom Rock. Skipping the cutscenes in the Den will prevent the player from obtaining him. In addition, completing the Den of Woe will prevent the player from recruiting Elma or Yaibal. He retains many of his moves from his boss battle and can use any of the common dresspheres. Like all monster allies, Nooj is controlled by the game's AI.
Rippling Chroma and Greedy Aura are similar moves. The main difference is that Greedy Aura damages both HP and MP whereas Rippling Chroma deals a hefty amount of damage to HP. Lightfall can be learned by getting hit by Nooj's Lightfall, which deals exactly 5,000 damage regardless of Defense or Magic Defense while playing as Nooj, and surviving it. The player must be at a high enough level. Lightfall can also be learned by surviving any other powerful attack (e.g. Ultima from an enemy like Black Elemental or Trema).
;Abilities
*Attack
*Rippling Chroma
*Greedy Aura
*Lightfall
===Boss===
In Chapter 5, if the player obtains all the Crimson Spheres and heads to the Den of Woe they can enter a series of battles. A pyrefly illusion of Nooj is the last and the strongest boss encountered in the den. Nooj uses a gun in battle and has two special gun skills and a special attack.
The first skill creates a glyph under the player and explodes, causing damage. The second skill is named Greedy Aura, and it creates the same glyph under all allies, but causes less damage and also MP loss. His most powerful attack is Lightfall, where (when low on HP) he levitates into the air and creates a giant ball of light and hurls it down upon all allies, always causing 5,000 points of HP damage.
Nooj can also be fought in the Fiend Arena in the International and HD Remaster versions.
==Voice==
Nooj is voiced by Nobutoshi Canna in the Japanese version and George Newbern in the English version. He shares the same English voice actor as Sephiroth. It was Newbern's performance as Nooj that got him the role of Sephiroth after positive reactions from fans.
==Other appearances==
===Pictlogica Final Fantasy===
PFF Nooj Illust.png|Portrait.
PFF Nooj.png|Sprite.
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Nooj appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Ice-elemental forward cards.
2-026u Nooj TCG.png|Nooj [2-026U] Chapter series card.
Nooj TCG.png|Nooj [8-022U] Chapter series card.
Nooj 1-051R from FFTCG Opus.jpg|Nooj [1-051R] Opus series card.
==Gallery==
GippalNoojBaralai.jpg|Nooj with Gippal and Baralai.
Nooj in FFx-2.jpg|Nooj met in Kilika for the first time.
Nooj-FFX-2-HD.JPG|Nooj in the HD Remaster.
Youth_League_Kilika_-_HD_Remaster.png|Nooj and the Youth League members in Kilika.
Nooj_Youth_League_Headquarter.jpg|Nooj on the balcony of the Youth League Headquarters.
Nooj_baralai_gippal_shoot_-_HD_Remaster.png|Nooj threatens Gippal and Baralai.
Nooj_Gippal_Baralai_speech_-_HD_Remaster.png|Nooj with Gippal and Baralai in the ending.
Nooj_Statue.png|The statue of Nooj inside Leblanc's room.
==Citations==
de:Nooj
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy X-2