July 7 marked the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy IX, and to celebrate, Kevin Wanner (Brick Ninja) recreates the game’s opening in Alexandria out of LEGO. After the sci-fi-infused Final Fantasies VII and VIII, the ninth installment returns to the franchise’s medieval roots and classic character designs, like the black mage Vivi, who Kevin adapts with ease into minifig form. It’s such a charming, immersive scene that feels like it’s lifted straight from a video game, with barely a stud in sight. There’s so much to love, from the dense wolverine-claw grass, to the oval tiled walls, to the curved wall slats on the rightmost building.

Of course, Kevin is no stranger to Final Fantasy-inspired builds. We’ve featured several of his FF7 tributes in the past, but there have been enough recent builds that we’ve missed, that this is the perfect time to play catch up, starting with this spot-on recreation of the expanded cast as minifigures.

In one of Kevin’s most impressive Final Fantasy builds, he recreates the hangar of Reactor 5 where the Airbuster mech boss awaits deployment. Mini mechs Sweeper and Cutter stand guard along with Shinra goons.

To appreciate how much Kevin’s grown as a builder, here’s the same mech from 2020 (albeit based on the PS1 era design rather than the remake):

When the Shinra hits the fan, it’s time to “get to the choppa!” Wrong franchise, but it fits here with Cloud’s “Hardy Daytona” motorcycle.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Avalanche crew have to make do with escaping by pickup.

As a Halloween build, Kevin creates a spooky little immersive scene where Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa face off against a trio of “Dorky Faces” in Shinra Manor. Great technique on those doors with a pattern built from the backside of jumper tiles.

Of course it wouldn’t be Final Fantasy VII without Sephiroth, seen here in all his cut-scene glory.

The Malboro is a vile boss monster found across many iterations of Final Fantasy, including FFVII Remake as an optional VR simulation boss. Inspired by FFX, Kevin recreates the boss at minifig scale.

And to face the Malboro, here’s Kevin’s minifig version of Yuna, featuring Rei’s torso and an excellent staff design:

Chris lists many of his vehicles and creature instructions on Rebrickable for a modest price, but you can get instructions to his adorable chocobo model for free .