What a game. Its script gets a bit messy by the end with all the ideas being juggled, but it's an exceptionally strong game with some of the most potent and poignant moments in the history of Final Fantasy. Its pacing is fantastic, constantly switching up what you're doing and who you're doing it with. The music is among the best in the franchise. The battles, while certainly slow, are enjoyable and some of the throughline boss fights stride the perfect line between challenging strategy and simple wins. There's so much to love here.
The side content is generally pretty annoying though. The worst of the worst of PSX era nonsense, completely RNG based tedious minigames and slow combing of a large map for nigh-invisible pixels. Don't bother with all that and you'll have a much better time. As a start to finish journey with minimal mucking about, FFIX is hard to argue with. A stone cold RPG classic and one of the mandatory FF games for anyone trying to worm their way through the series.
The side content is generally pretty annoying though. The worst of the worst of PSX era nonsense, completely RNG based tedious minigames and slow combing of a large map for nigh-invisible pixels. Don't bother with all that and you'll have a much better time. As a start to finish journey with minimal mucking about, FFIX is hard to argue with. A stone cold RPG classic and one of the mandatory FF games for anyone trying to worm their way through the series.
how did he survive that though
Positives [+] and Negatives [-]
+ A roller coaster Final Fantasy story.
+ One of the best Final Fantasy casts other than Quina and Amarant (Don't care much about them).
+ Final Fantasy OST never disappoints.
+ Easier card game or at least a less complex card game.
+ Disc 2 and 4 is peak.
- Half of Disc 3 was uninteresting to me.
- Stopped using Active Time Event. Felt unnecessary and boring side dialogue.
After so many years as a Final Fantasy fan, I finally played this. I was skeptical coming into this game because my impressions of Zidane from the Dissidia games was that he seemed a boring character. After playing and finishing this game, I understand why people like Final Fantasy IX. After the controversial Final Fantasy VIII, Square Enix went back to their roots and gave us an amazing game. Peak JRPG.
+ A roller coaster Final Fantasy story.
+ One of the best Final Fantasy casts other than Quina and Amarant (Don't care much about them).
+ Final Fantasy OST never disappoints.
+ Easier card game or at least a less complex card game.
+ Disc 2 and 4 is peak.
- Half of Disc 3 was uninteresting to me.
- Stopped using Active Time Event. Felt unnecessary and boring side dialogue.
After so many years as a Final Fantasy fan, I finally played this. I was skeptical coming into this game because my impressions of Zidane from the Dissidia games was that he seemed a boring character. After playing and finishing this game, I understand why people like Final Fantasy IX. After the controversial Final Fantasy VIII, Square Enix went back to their roots and gave us an amazing game. Peak JRPG.
A certified "Man..." type game.
Better with cheats, but still mediocre
not as good as everyone says
Greatest of all time.
This is it, my most replayed and my favorite entry in the Final Fantasy series. I love everything about it: The fleshed-out and goofy characters, the combat system, Tetra Master (well, except how random it is), the sidequests and minigames, the soundtrack,... Playing this game is a joy every single time.
Not my FF
Probably the best 4 people in a row game ever. Solid build customization for your team. Kuja's theme was a banger.
é difícil não escrever um texto reacionário sobre esse jogo. grande parte das pessoas que o engrandecem e regozijam em sua "volta às origens" são pessoas que não entenderam Final Fantasy 7 e 8. por incrivel que pareça, Final Fantasy 9 tem a mesma mensagem dos outros dois jogos: o ato de viver, por si só, requer um esforço imensurável; amar é uma das maiores qualidades do ser humano; seu tempo e legado no mundo são mais importantes do que você imagina
pouco importa se agora os bonecos tem proporção de desenho animado e se o mundo é """""medieval""""" (onde existem taxis aéreos). alias essa pataquada de Final Fantasy medieval nunca sequer foi verdade e FF9 tem uma ligação mais forte ainda com os outros de PSX, mais do que com os antigos de SNES, por sua fixação pelo espaço e pela criação do universo e da vida.
mas eu quero falar um pouco do jogo por si só. o timing dos balões de fala é excepcional nele. a Square havia, literalmente, aperfeiçoado sua técnica. é um jogo onde se pode ouvi-lo sem haver vozes de fato. tal sensibilidade energiza muito a personalidade de cada personagem, do mais tímido pro mais arrogante. é um jogo vivo e lindo, que não nos cansa de mostrar que há esperança depois do desastre.
ele ousa fazer a pergunta mais difícil do mundo e ousa mais ainda não dar resposta alguma. o ultimo chefe do jogo é literalmente uma conclusão errônea sobre a vida e talvez uma que esteja mais presente no nosso dia a dia do que imaginamos. "porque que o mundo ainda vai continuar sem mim?" não é uma frustração tão alienígena quanto parece. é assustador e frio e o conceito de legado serve pra nos lembrar que o mundo tem todo direito de existir depois de nós.
FF9 é mais complicado ainda de se enxergar sozinho porque o jogo é uma grande celebração dos que vieram antes. musicas, histórias e referencias aos outros jogos da série estão por toda parte de Gaia. é como se fosse, de verdade, o ~Final~ Fantasy (9). mas é um amor gentil, ele não precisa disso pra viver, mas ele quer mostrar que lembra do que veio antes. não é a toa que esse é o tema do jogo.
eu chorei muito no final então esse jogo ganha 5/5
pouco importa se agora os bonecos tem proporção de desenho animado e se o mundo é """""medieval""""" (onde existem taxis aéreos). alias essa pataquada de Final Fantasy medieval nunca sequer foi verdade e FF9 tem uma ligação mais forte ainda com os outros de PSX, mais do que com os antigos de SNES, por sua fixação pelo espaço e pela criação do universo e da vida.
mas eu quero falar um pouco do jogo por si só. o timing dos balões de fala é excepcional nele. a Square havia, literalmente, aperfeiçoado sua técnica. é um jogo onde se pode ouvi-lo sem haver vozes de fato. tal sensibilidade energiza muito a personalidade de cada personagem, do mais tímido pro mais arrogante. é um jogo vivo e lindo, que não nos cansa de mostrar que há esperança depois do desastre.
ele ousa fazer a pergunta mais difícil do mundo e ousa mais ainda não dar resposta alguma. o ultimo chefe do jogo é literalmente uma conclusão errônea sobre a vida e talvez uma que esteja mais presente no nosso dia a dia do que imaginamos. "porque que o mundo ainda vai continuar sem mim?" não é uma frustração tão alienígena quanto parece. é assustador e frio e o conceito de legado serve pra nos lembrar que o mundo tem todo direito de existir depois de nós.
FF9 é mais complicado ainda de se enxergar sozinho porque o jogo é uma grande celebração dos que vieram antes. musicas, histórias e referencias aos outros jogos da série estão por toda parte de Gaia. é como se fosse, de verdade, o ~Final~ Fantasy (9). mas é um amor gentil, ele não precisa disso pra viver, mas ele quer mostrar que lembra do que veio antes. não é a toa que esse é o tema do jogo.
eu chorei muito no final então esse jogo ganha 5/5
O primeiro final fantasy que eu zerei, gostei de tudo que esse jogo fez, principalmente a história e o estilo de arte, o vivi mora no meu coração.
Vivi is so goated
Based on my first playthrough back in 2020 I'll say that I had some issues with this game's writing (if you even followed me on twitter this is a charitable way of phrasing this) in the second half just kind of falling apart and the combat being pretty slow at times but also I did cry at the end so it did something right with having some good characters
Not my favorite PS1 FF (currently) but a great FF still
I intend on revisiting it sometime soon cause I really wouldn't be surprised if I ended up liking it more now as someone who has at least in some ways changed (as a person and video game enjoyer) since that first playthrough
Not my favorite PS1 FF (currently) but a great FF still
I intend on revisiting it sometime soon cause I really wouldn't be surprised if I ended up liking it more now as someone who has at least in some ways changed (as a person and video game enjoyer) since that first playthrough
fully dedicated to its charm, sense of whimsy, and fantastical elements, final fantasy ix is one of the better games of the final fantasys. it almost reads like a lighter-hearted shakespearean play, and if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, i highly recommend this game. i don't believe the story is all that memorable, but the characters and world are. vivi is one of my favorite characters ever and i love his storyline.
also, this particular version of the game has several quality of life improvements, and i recommend it if you don't want to waste your time on random encounters or the like.
also, this particular version of the game has several quality of life improvements, and i recommend it if you don't want to waste your time on random encounters or the like.
not much to say probably the best final fantasy storyline up until XII
Let me get this of my chests because there is truly one barrier to this game, its slow. Like seriously boss battles, long battles where you have w/o worry about how long it takes for animations to go , and that being affected by the ATB because actions always have a pause and mis-timing? Eesh. I feel that because I had to liberally use speed to grind and the other mods time to time because of the pacing or the need to grind, it would be insincere just to start waxing poetic. That being said, this is a marvel. Sentimental and consistently effective sweeping you away in just the fairytale tone of it all.
The timing in the ATB is unclear time to time but that often increases the tension of battles. The way that you develop abilities through weapons but have to decide which abilities because some are overpowered, its simple but was even effectively used to allude to personalities of the character beyond just the jobs they ideally represent. Zidane protecting girls ability because he is a flirty sleaze when you meet him. Steiner with cover because of how seriously takes his job. It added such an elegant touch to the growth system. The ways in which certain items allow you to play and change your strategy because you can’t have them all equipped? IO found myself on certain bosses making adjustments.
The cast is truly remarkable. Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, Vivi is the cannon party for how I played but even Freya and Eiko really deliver the story home. Even someone like Quina has sweet moments. Zidane and Daggers romantic subplot just truly warms you as they find a great way to weave the will they wont they into storybeats. Steiner love for job becomes challenged learning about corruption and that duty comes into conflict with another great side character. I think what I really want to emphasize with this game is that the storybeats aren’t accessories but really integrate into gameplay effectively. It feels weird to say that , it should be obvious but the way FF9 does so? WOO
We talking about everything in Burmecia and Cleyra . Freya gets so much character but the way battles happen in towns and how that affects your relationship to the people in towns and that certain things develop because of small choices or just building attachment to the city because of how they integrate tragedy in these places. The cities are not window dressing, events happen there, and that really creates an impact. Or story moments for example the fact that Dagger can’t cast magic because of a major storybeat. Or when Zidane has to reunite and how they have him staggering into battles to reconnect. It is so much about how turnbased battles allow you fudge the immediate environment in order to enhance the storytelling experience.
We also talking about just some of the most beautiful looking locales. Everything Terra related and disc 4 is just stunning. Everything in Oielvert. Like it bears repeating traversing these places and dungeons with some puzzles without a traditional set up in terms of theming is just a breath of fresh air.
FF9 is charming. It’s simple. It’s elegant. It’s heartwarming. The game closes its final act really reflecting on memories and who they belong to and if it matters where they start. Its through connection to others we tap in and learn other memories and through that we can begin to get back to the beginning. This game is heralded as a throwback to how FF started in tone, and its also the finale of Sakaguchi involvement with the series. The throwback to the beginning was an ending. We are left with a memory of what was but also of what is, and that is FF9 is special.
The timing in the ATB is unclear time to time but that often increases the tension of battles. The way that you develop abilities through weapons but have to decide which abilities because some are overpowered, its simple but was even effectively used to allude to personalities of the character beyond just the jobs they ideally represent. Zidane protecting girls ability because he is a flirty sleaze when you meet him. Steiner with cover because of how seriously takes his job. It added such an elegant touch to the growth system. The ways in which certain items allow you to play and change your strategy because you can’t have them all equipped? IO found myself on certain bosses making adjustments.
The cast is truly remarkable. Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, Vivi is the cannon party for how I played but even Freya and Eiko really deliver the story home. Even someone like Quina has sweet moments. Zidane and Daggers romantic subplot just truly warms you as they find a great way to weave the will they wont they into storybeats. Steiner love for job becomes challenged learning about corruption and that duty comes into conflict with another great side character. I think what I really want to emphasize with this game is that the storybeats aren’t accessories but really integrate into gameplay effectively. It feels weird to say that , it should be obvious but the way FF9 does so? WOO
We talking about everything in Burmecia and Cleyra . Freya gets so much character but the way battles happen in towns and how that affects your relationship to the people in towns and that certain things develop because of small choices or just building attachment to the city because of how they integrate tragedy in these places. The cities are not window dressing, events happen there, and that really creates an impact. Or story moments for example the fact that Dagger can’t cast magic because of a major storybeat. Or when Zidane has to reunite and how they have him staggering into battles to reconnect. It is so much about how turnbased battles allow you fudge the immediate environment in order to enhance the storytelling experience.
We also talking about just some of the most beautiful looking locales. Everything Terra related and disc 4 is just stunning. Everything in Oielvert. Like it bears repeating traversing these places and dungeons with some puzzles without a traditional set up in terms of theming is just a breath of fresh air.
FF9 is charming. It’s simple. It’s elegant. It’s heartwarming. The game closes its final act really reflecting on memories and who they belong to and if it matters where they start. Its through connection to others we tap in and learn other memories and through that we can begin to get back to the beginning. This game is heralded as a throwback to how FF started in tone, and its also the finale of Sakaguchi involvement with the series. The throwback to the beginning was an ending. We are left with a memory of what was but also of what is, and that is FF9 is special.
I never played this when it came out, as FFVIII was my childhood Final Fantasy, but after finishing 9, I really wish I had played this back then as well.
I think the characters are easily the strongest element of this entry of the neverending series. Zidane and the crew are very memorable and the fantastic writing brings these unique personalities to the forefront.
The battle system is the classic ATB-style, so there's not much to write home about. The ability system is pretty cut-and-dry, but works well. It's nothing as fun or broken as the Materia system from 7 or the Junction system from 8, but it does what it needs to.
The story is really well-written as well and gets REALLY good around disk 3 & 4. I don't wanna talk about the story here, but yeah, I just finished it and I cried per usual. It really hits home with its themes of belonging, friendship, purpose, and meaning. So damn good.
If you enjoy the Final Fantasy series and never played this one like me, please play this. I promise it'll be in your top entries.
I think the characters are easily the strongest element of this entry of the neverending series. Zidane and the crew are very memorable and the fantastic writing brings these unique personalities to the forefront.
The battle system is the classic ATB-style, so there's not much to write home about. The ability system is pretty cut-and-dry, but works well. It's nothing as fun or broken as the Materia system from 7 or the Junction system from 8, but it does what it needs to.
The story is really well-written as well and gets REALLY good around disk 3 & 4. I don't wanna talk about the story here, but yeah, I just finished it and I cried per usual. It really hits home with its themes of belonging, friendship, purpose, and meaning. So damn good.
If you enjoy the Final Fantasy series and never played this one like me, please play this. I promise it'll be in your top entries.
A pesar do proposta interessentatisima da volta aos classicos que é este final fanrtasy que eu n tive contato, o jogo peca nisso e muito na visao do Sakguchi, eles tentavam evitar o maximo pra evitar furos narrativos e na reta final o jogo vira o livro da malafia, pra que vcs colocam aquele negocio de evento que vc ve detalhes da historia pra no final vc falar aquela proposta maluca?
O jogo é lento, combate da vontade de bater na testa com um prego, apesar de que tem as trapacas continua problematico e lentinho e a ordem de turnos é muito confuso e ruim
O jogo é lento, combate da vontade de bater na testa com um prego, apesar de que tem as trapacas continua problematico e lentinho e a ordem de turnos é muito confuso e ruim
It can be pretty slow sometimes, but this game has heart. I'm guessing this is the type that I will appreciate more upon replay.
My 3rd favorite Final Fantasy, only behind VII and Tactics. Replaying it on PS4 confirms that fact. Such an amazing game.
See my original PS1 review of FFIX for my full thoughts.
See my original PS1 review of FFIX for my full thoughts.
This review contains spoilers
Following up on the more scifi and daring FF7 and 8, Final Fantasy IX takes a very different direction with its traditional FF, arguably Ghibli-inspired fantasy style. It’s not particularly subtle in its homages to the pre-PS1 era Final Fantasy games—heck, it even has an antagonist called Garland and a dungeon that’s basically a reimagining of FF1’s Mt Gulg. The world is wonderful and whimsical, reminiscence of FF5 imo, and the cast tick a lot of traditional fantasy archetype boxes and overall are a bit of a motley crew. It also tells a fairly focused story with evocative and consistent themes, contrasting the more ambitious storytelling in FF7 and especially FF8, which is a welcome change of pace after how out of hand the latter got for me.
Basically it’s a pretty great game that knows what it wants to be and does it very well, and thankfully stands on its own with its unique identity rather than feeling like an attempt to copycat the classic FF for nostalgia’s sake. The gameplay is also fairly traditional, reigning things in significantly from FF8’s both wonderful and awful mishmash of disparate mechanics, and instead opting to take notes from FF4/6. Each character has a clearly defined role, with their own specific uses, for the most part being pretty immutable compared to the job systems and their adjacents present in other games in the series.
To dig deeper into that, I actually found this FF to be one of the best in giving each character value without being overly situational (as FF6 tended to be). There’s few of them enough to not be overwhelming, while still being a good amount to allow for a good bit of party customisation later into the game. The ability system is also pretty good, giving more use to the equipment in the game by tying specific skills to learn on them, and for the most part offering the same ones to every party member. It manages to allow just enough customisation while also not being overwhelming and dominating all other systems (e.g. FF8’s junctioning).
Sadly, the Trance mechanic is a pretty big blunder. While in theory it’s fun and reminiscent of limit breaks, further enhancing each party member’s role, it’s too situational and out of the player’s control to feel valuable. At least it’s not intrusive—something I can’t say for the poor battle pacing this game suffers from. I was fortunate to be able to avoid most of these problems thanks to the remaster’s battle speed up option (which granted are pretty tedious to trigger), but the battles are painfully slow, with unnecessarily long animations and frustratingly lengthy load times in and out of battle screens. Sure, the battles look pretty for a PS1 game, but I don’t think this was worth the massive hit in QoL and clunkiness we end up having to deal with.
To finish up this gameplay section, I really appreciated how challenging this game was! It reminded me a lot of FF5, with how each boss presents different gimmicks that force you to deeply consider your battle strategy and keep you on your toes, while also having glaring weaknesses that reward players for experimenting. Bosses also don’t have all that much HP compared to other FF games, which makes the slow battles more bearable.
As for the cast, well they’re simply great. Each one has a clearly defined arc and purpose, and for the most part, these are executed well and integrated into the story. They also have pretty good chemistry with each other, and you get a solid idea of their dynamics early on. Vivi was unsurprisingly an easy favourite for me, his arc digging deep into what it means to live and die, exist and perish, with no cop-outs to be seen. He’s also adorable! Zidane is a good competent protagonist who holds the party together without overshadowing them, teaching them life lessons while also having his own struggles that the party help him through—the fabled Not Alone segment did not disappoint.
Garnet is not a heroine I held much interest in before playing, as she seemed like your typically plot-important princess learning life lessons through travelling with the common rabble… which is exactly what she is. The thing is though, they also execute this amazingly and she ended up being my second favourite behind Vivi. It’s hard not to get invested in her struggle to gain more control over her life, deal with the loss of family (through both death and turning rotten), forgive herself for her failures, overwhelmed by responsibility at a young age, and mourn the life that was taken from her to make her a replacement for another (I was not prepared for that horn mutilation revelation).
Steiner and Beatrix share fairly similar arcs surrounding duty and suppressing one’s own will to serve, which both take different angles and end up being quite good. The similarity might be why Beatrix isn’t a playable character, but I’m really sad she isn’t, she would fit in perfectly with the gang. Quina is funny comic relief while getting some nice stuff, such as his surprisingly connection to Vivi. Eiko is very sweet and you can’t help but feel bad for all she’s had to endure in her teeny tiny six years of life, and I quite liked her sister relationship with Garnet—though I can’t say I cared for her crush on Zidane.
Unfortunately I do think Freya and Amarant get the short end of the stick. Freya gets a pretty interesting and tragic arc with her kingdom being destroyed and her beloved losing his memories, but for the rest of the game she kinda drops off, until it’s all suddenly resolved in the ending credits. Amarant joins a little too late to provide much value, and his rebellious lone-wolf attitude feels a bit undercooked and out of place for so late in the game, even if I appreciate character development occurring lategame in theory.
The story itself can be summed up as your usual fantasy JRPG narrative done pretty cleanly. Kuja is a good villain and ends up working pretty well as a mirror of Zidane, while also staying the villain throughout the entire story. When I realised he was simply a child given much too powerful toys to play with and not given the support he needed in life, he grew on me more than I expected. Garland himself fulfills his role well, though I would’ve appreciated spending more time with him. The pacing isn’t perfect, with the middle dragging a fair bit and the finale feeling a bit rushed, but I think it has the best of the PS1 games, which all felt like they were fighting against their limitations. I also liked the strong relevance of summons in the story, though I would have appreciated the concept introduced in a lategame sidequest of summons being born from legends getting further exploration in the main story.
This leads onto I guess a common issue people have with the finale, Necron. Firstly, I think it was a mistake to not preserve his Japanese name ‘Darkness of Eternity’, as 'Necron' makes him seem more like an actual character rather than the Cloud of Darkness-adjacent thematic final boss he is. I get the feeling that he was maybe supposed to be a summon born from Kuja’s strong will, but if that truly was the case, it was conveyed pretty poorly. All in all, I don’t have particularly strong opinions on Necron, he’s a decent but somewhat botched thematic final boss that doesn’t change my view on much of anything.
Garnet’s mother is a little weirdly handled, I got the impression that her sudden greed was a result of external influence, but in the end it seemed like she just became that way naturally and Kuja took advantage of that? Perhaps it would have been beneficial to explore this further, like having Garnet say how her father’s death affected her rather than just “she suddenly changed”. The twin jesters were also weird, I’m not sure what they were and why they flip-flopped their allegiances at the drop of a hat.
As for the ending, well that really made my day. It resolves things quite nicely for all the characters, even ones who felt forgotten for most of the story, and finally seeing the context for Behind the Door was really rewarding for me, I actually cried. Garnet and Zidane’s romance was very sweet.
I think that sums everything up for me. FF9 might not be the most daring game ever, but it has a lot of soul to it and tells a pretty great narrative with excellent theming, while tying said themes to the cast with finesse. It’s the best looking of the PS1 games, the chibi-style characters having aged pretty well and giving the game a cohesive style, and as always, Uematsu does not disappoint with his brilliant soundtrack. It might not be my favourite FF ever, but it’s high up there and I can see why this game gives so many such happiness—it sure did for me!
Pros
+ Well-crafted gameplay system mixed with challenging gameplay
+ Evocative themes tied heavily into the story and characters
+ Focused and well-executed character arcs
+ Art style that has aged surprisingly well
+ Uematsu does it again
+ Vivi, Garnet and Zidane are very strong characters
+ Really good cast chemistry with nice romances
+ Kuja is a great villain
+ Charming world inspired by classic FF games without making nostalgia its identity
Cons
- Freya and Amarant get the short end of the stick
- Battles are painfully slow
- Final act could use more fleshing out
- A lot of minor antagonists are undercooked
- Trance system is poorly executed
- Beatrix really should've been playable
Basically it’s a pretty great game that knows what it wants to be and does it very well, and thankfully stands on its own with its unique identity rather than feeling like an attempt to copycat the classic FF for nostalgia’s sake. The gameplay is also fairly traditional, reigning things in significantly from FF8’s both wonderful and awful mishmash of disparate mechanics, and instead opting to take notes from FF4/6. Each character has a clearly defined role, with their own specific uses, for the most part being pretty immutable compared to the job systems and their adjacents present in other games in the series.
To dig deeper into that, I actually found this FF to be one of the best in giving each character value without being overly situational (as FF6 tended to be). There’s few of them enough to not be overwhelming, while still being a good amount to allow for a good bit of party customisation later into the game. The ability system is also pretty good, giving more use to the equipment in the game by tying specific skills to learn on them, and for the most part offering the same ones to every party member. It manages to allow just enough customisation while also not being overwhelming and dominating all other systems (e.g. FF8’s junctioning).
Sadly, the Trance mechanic is a pretty big blunder. While in theory it’s fun and reminiscent of limit breaks, further enhancing each party member’s role, it’s too situational and out of the player’s control to feel valuable. At least it’s not intrusive—something I can’t say for the poor battle pacing this game suffers from. I was fortunate to be able to avoid most of these problems thanks to the remaster’s battle speed up option (which granted are pretty tedious to trigger), but the battles are painfully slow, with unnecessarily long animations and frustratingly lengthy load times in and out of battle screens. Sure, the battles look pretty for a PS1 game, but I don’t think this was worth the massive hit in QoL and clunkiness we end up having to deal with.
To finish up this gameplay section, I really appreciated how challenging this game was! It reminded me a lot of FF5, with how each boss presents different gimmicks that force you to deeply consider your battle strategy and keep you on your toes, while also having glaring weaknesses that reward players for experimenting. Bosses also don’t have all that much HP compared to other FF games, which makes the slow battles more bearable.
As for the cast, well they’re simply great. Each one has a clearly defined arc and purpose, and for the most part, these are executed well and integrated into the story. They also have pretty good chemistry with each other, and you get a solid idea of their dynamics early on. Vivi was unsurprisingly an easy favourite for me, his arc digging deep into what it means to live and die, exist and perish, with no cop-outs to be seen. He’s also adorable! Zidane is a good competent protagonist who holds the party together without overshadowing them, teaching them life lessons while also having his own struggles that the party help him through—the fabled Not Alone segment did not disappoint.
Garnet is not a heroine I held much interest in before playing, as she seemed like your typically plot-important princess learning life lessons through travelling with the common rabble… which is exactly what she is. The thing is though, they also execute this amazingly and she ended up being my second favourite behind Vivi. It’s hard not to get invested in her struggle to gain more control over her life, deal with the loss of family (through both death and turning rotten), forgive herself for her failures, overwhelmed by responsibility at a young age, and mourn the life that was taken from her to make her a replacement for another (I was not prepared for that horn mutilation revelation).
Steiner and Beatrix share fairly similar arcs surrounding duty and suppressing one’s own will to serve, which both take different angles and end up being quite good. The similarity might be why Beatrix isn’t a playable character, but I’m really sad she isn’t, she would fit in perfectly with the gang. Quina is funny comic relief while getting some nice stuff, such as his surprisingly connection to Vivi. Eiko is very sweet and you can’t help but feel bad for all she’s had to endure in her teeny tiny six years of life, and I quite liked her sister relationship with Garnet—though I can’t say I cared for her crush on Zidane.
Unfortunately I do think Freya and Amarant get the short end of the stick. Freya gets a pretty interesting and tragic arc with her kingdom being destroyed and her beloved losing his memories, but for the rest of the game she kinda drops off, until it’s all suddenly resolved in the ending credits. Amarant joins a little too late to provide much value, and his rebellious lone-wolf attitude feels a bit undercooked and out of place for so late in the game, even if I appreciate character development occurring lategame in theory.
The story itself can be summed up as your usual fantasy JRPG narrative done pretty cleanly. Kuja is a good villain and ends up working pretty well as a mirror of Zidane, while also staying the villain throughout the entire story. When I realised he was simply a child given much too powerful toys to play with and not given the support he needed in life, he grew on me more than I expected. Garland himself fulfills his role well, though I would’ve appreciated spending more time with him. The pacing isn’t perfect, with the middle dragging a fair bit and the finale feeling a bit rushed, but I think it has the best of the PS1 games, which all felt like they were fighting against their limitations. I also liked the strong relevance of summons in the story, though I would have appreciated the concept introduced in a lategame sidequest of summons being born from legends getting further exploration in the main story.
This leads onto I guess a common issue people have with the finale, Necron. Firstly, I think it was a mistake to not preserve his Japanese name ‘Darkness of Eternity’, as 'Necron' makes him seem more like an actual character rather than the Cloud of Darkness-adjacent thematic final boss he is. I get the feeling that he was maybe supposed to be a summon born from Kuja’s strong will, but if that truly was the case, it was conveyed pretty poorly. All in all, I don’t have particularly strong opinions on Necron, he’s a decent but somewhat botched thematic final boss that doesn’t change my view on much of anything.
Garnet’s mother is a little weirdly handled, I got the impression that her sudden greed was a result of external influence, but in the end it seemed like she just became that way naturally and Kuja took advantage of that? Perhaps it would have been beneficial to explore this further, like having Garnet say how her father’s death affected her rather than just “she suddenly changed”. The twin jesters were also weird, I’m not sure what they were and why they flip-flopped their allegiances at the drop of a hat.
As for the ending, well that really made my day. It resolves things quite nicely for all the characters, even ones who felt forgotten for most of the story, and finally seeing the context for Behind the Door was really rewarding for me, I actually cried. Garnet and Zidane’s romance was very sweet.
I think that sums everything up for me. FF9 might not be the most daring game ever, but it has a lot of soul to it and tells a pretty great narrative with excellent theming, while tying said themes to the cast with finesse. It’s the best looking of the PS1 games, the chibi-style characters having aged pretty well and giving the game a cohesive style, and as always, Uematsu does not disappoint with his brilliant soundtrack. It might not be my favourite FF ever, but it’s high up there and I can see why this game gives so many such happiness—it sure did for me!
Pros
+ Well-crafted gameplay system mixed with challenging gameplay
+ Evocative themes tied heavily into the story and characters
+ Focused and well-executed character arcs
+ Art style that has aged surprisingly well
+ Uematsu does it again
+ Vivi, Garnet and Zidane are very strong characters
+ Really good cast chemistry with nice romances
+ Kuja is a great villain
+ Charming world inspired by classic FF games without making nostalgia its identity
Cons
- Freya and Amarant get the short end of the stick
- Battles are painfully slow
- Final act could use more fleshing out
- A lot of minor antagonists are undercooked
- Trance system is poorly executed
- Beatrix really should've been playable
I think this game is very good. The characters are great and the setting is super unique, but I think the overall RPG gameplay is still a bit confusing and could be better.
I am praying to the almighty that this game continues to be as good as it has been so far.
Vivi is baby boy
Final Fantasy IX is the culmination of JRPGs, plain and simple.
Developed by the last of the old guard at Squaresoft in 2000, Final Fantasy IX stood as a love letter to every single game that came before it. Seeing as how it was a bit of a watershed moment for Squaresoft mainstays like Hironobu Sakaguchi, who was planning to leave to engage in other ventures during the development of this game, it is truly the Final Fantasy game of Final Fantasy. It's most potently-FF game imaginable.
You have high fantasy, lovable characters, and cartoonish delight that make this game the most lovingly characterized video game of the 1990s. Few video games hold a candle to FFIX's truly unique identity. And as you can imagine, that identity not only extends from its legendary... uh, legacy, but also to the experience of playing it.
I had a bit of trouble following IX once I got to the third disc. Like with VIII, the first and second discs are AMAZING. AMAAAZING!!!! It reminded me almost of the extremely well-designed pacing of The Witcher 3, which is in my opinion the greatest RPG experience available. But FFIX's genius focus on cities/locations to create memorable story moments out of them allowed for an intriguing story to unfold almost flawlessly. It wasn't until the third disc, or rather, when the party arrived at Conde Petie that the pacing started to take... well, a nosedive.
One of FFIX's greatest strengths was its worldly plight. To me, the firstly-developed antagonist was much, MUCH better than the bait and switch typical of FF storytelling that is given to players around the 2/3s mark of the story. This is unfortunate, as the gameplay experience for me, especially as someone who had played EIGHT of the series' games up until this point, made playing the game exhausting.
It wasn't until the very end of FFIX where I felt it had came all together. Something about its ending made it feel like a closing-of-the-book to the old era of FF, and into its middle period. For someone like me who has now fully finished the NES, SNES, and PS1 era of FF, that felt like an amazing release of the ATB system, into new and rockier territory. As a player of these games, I truly do appreciate left turns artistically and mechanically.
But considering the previous entry, VIII, and its incredibly deviating junction/GF system, something about IX's simplicity was appreciated. The most complex the gameplay gets is with item-abilities, which at first seem interesting, but get very annoying to deal with as crucial spells like float, protect, shell, and thundaga are locked behind items that you don't know even hold them when purchasing them from vendors. I did not like this feature. It led to me choosing to use this version's special features to make every battle a cakewalk.
Still, had the game literally done one thing and showed item descriptions in vendor screens, literally all of this would go away. I just hate the hassle of going into your cluttery item screen only to realize the hat you just bought has a completely useless ability for your playstyle.
And whats more -- FFIX has the slowest combat ever in the series. I am not joking about that. Even I-III were quicker considering its turn based combat systems. The ATB bar fills soooooo slowly in FFIX that it might as well be considered a complete design misstep. Had the porting devs changed up this stuff, and somehow optimized FFIX's offensively slow pre-battle load times, we would have one of the best FF combat systems imaginable. No joke! Literally all it would take for me to love this game's combat are:
1.) Show item abilities on purchase screen
2.) Speed up ATB bar filling even past the max battle speed option
3.) OPTIMIZE LOADING TIMES!!!
But other than these undeniably harsh gripes, I have to be honest. FFIX's story was second to none in the entire series. It may not have a Kefka-quality villain, and its mid-story switchup may be undesirable, but what this game has to say about life, what it means to live, and love, is simply some of the best storytelling in video game history.
I will not go into detail about it, but just know -- the characters of Steiner, Garnet, Eiko, Freya, (definitely not Amarant), Brahne, Beatrix, ViVi, and of course, ZIDANE!, are now my favorites in the series. Not in JRPGs, because DQXI still takes that cake... but for what its worth, this game's story is the most heartfelt in the entire series up until this point. And for that, I have to give it chops. Had the game's combat system been tweaked, and its story quality improved upon its second half, we would truly have an all-timer contender when it comes to deciding the best RPG.
But for now, I have to give it its rating.
FFIX gets...
a 95/100
Developed by the last of the old guard at Squaresoft in 2000, Final Fantasy IX stood as a love letter to every single game that came before it. Seeing as how it was a bit of a watershed moment for Squaresoft mainstays like Hironobu Sakaguchi, who was planning to leave to engage in other ventures during the development of this game, it is truly the Final Fantasy game of Final Fantasy. It's most potently-FF game imaginable.
You have high fantasy, lovable characters, and cartoonish delight that make this game the most lovingly characterized video game of the 1990s. Few video games hold a candle to FFIX's truly unique identity. And as you can imagine, that identity not only extends from its legendary... uh, legacy, but also to the experience of playing it.
I had a bit of trouble following IX once I got to the third disc. Like with VIII, the first and second discs are AMAZING. AMAAAZING!!!! It reminded me almost of the extremely well-designed pacing of The Witcher 3, which is in my opinion the greatest RPG experience available. But FFIX's genius focus on cities/locations to create memorable story moments out of them allowed for an intriguing story to unfold almost flawlessly. It wasn't until the third disc, or rather, when the party arrived at Conde Petie that the pacing started to take... well, a nosedive.
One of FFIX's greatest strengths was its worldly plight. To me, the firstly-developed antagonist was much, MUCH better than the bait and switch typical of FF storytelling that is given to players around the 2/3s mark of the story. This is unfortunate, as the gameplay experience for me, especially as someone who had played EIGHT of the series' games up until this point, made playing the game exhausting.
It wasn't until the very end of FFIX where I felt it had came all together. Something about its ending made it feel like a closing-of-the-book to the old era of FF, and into its middle period. For someone like me who has now fully finished the NES, SNES, and PS1 era of FF, that felt like an amazing release of the ATB system, into new and rockier territory. As a player of these games, I truly do appreciate left turns artistically and mechanically.
But considering the previous entry, VIII, and its incredibly deviating junction/GF system, something about IX's simplicity was appreciated. The most complex the gameplay gets is with item-abilities, which at first seem interesting, but get very annoying to deal with as crucial spells like float, protect, shell, and thundaga are locked behind items that you don't know even hold them when purchasing them from vendors. I did not like this feature. It led to me choosing to use this version's special features to make every battle a cakewalk.
Still, had the game literally done one thing and showed item descriptions in vendor screens, literally all of this would go away. I just hate the hassle of going into your cluttery item screen only to realize the hat you just bought has a completely useless ability for your playstyle.
And whats more -- FFIX has the slowest combat ever in the series. I am not joking about that. Even I-III were quicker considering its turn based combat systems. The ATB bar fills soooooo slowly in FFIX that it might as well be considered a complete design misstep. Had the porting devs changed up this stuff, and somehow optimized FFIX's offensively slow pre-battle load times, we would have one of the best FF combat systems imaginable. No joke! Literally all it would take for me to love this game's combat are:
1.) Show item abilities on purchase screen
2.) Speed up ATB bar filling even past the max battle speed option
3.) OPTIMIZE LOADING TIMES!!!
But other than these undeniably harsh gripes, I have to be honest. FFIX's story was second to none in the entire series. It may not have a Kefka-quality villain, and its mid-story switchup may be undesirable, but what this game has to say about life, what it means to live, and love, is simply some of the best storytelling in video game history.
I will not go into detail about it, but just know -- the characters of Steiner, Garnet, Eiko, Freya, (definitely not Amarant), Brahne, Beatrix, ViVi, and of course, ZIDANE!, are now my favorites in the series. Not in JRPGs, because DQXI still takes that cake... but for what its worth, this game's story is the most heartfelt in the entire series up until this point. And for that, I have to give it chops. Had the game's combat system been tweaked, and its story quality improved upon its second half, we would truly have an all-timer contender when it comes to deciding the best RPG.
But for now, I have to give it its rating.
FFIX gets...
a 95/100
One of the most charming and solid JRPGs I've ever played. FFIX has a fantastic story with great themes and tone, all reminiscent of a Shakespearean play. The music is amazing and the graphics hold up surprisingly well, mostly because of its art style, specially the cutscenes that look straight out of a 90s computer animated movie. The gameplay is pretty solid, it doesn't bring anything new to the table but everything here is pretty good (except for the speed of battles and that freaking card game, but hey they're pretty minor things). But the real meat and bones of this game are the characters. Zidane is a pretty charming and fun main character, Garnet and Steiner have compelling character arcs, Eiko is really cute and Kuja is a pretty complex main villain. One with missed potential is Freya, whose development completely stops after the first half of the game, and there are some that straight up suck like Amarant and Quina (even if they have some cool designs), but all is forgiven by the inclusion of Vivi. Everyone has sung their praises for this character, so I'll just say that he's a ray of sunshine and he has got one of the best character arcs in gaming history. So yeah, FFIX may not be my favorite Final Fantasy game, but I believe it is the best one to start and that it encapsulates everything that made this saga so great.
I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say that this is probably the most charming game ever made. It's not perfect, mostly due to the fact that it's absolutely infuriating to play at times because everything is just so slow, but it's so magical in so many different ways. It suffers from many issues that plague some other Final Fantasy games (like the second half not being as good as the first, some characters getting the shit end of the stick, etc.) but man...the charm of it all.
Good
- Soundtrack is amazing!
- Battle system is a great comeback for ATB Turn Based.
- Equipment and skill AP makes it fun.
- QOL upgrade of a quicker battle makes grind less boring.
- Storyline has a really good pacing, enough for you to be invested in the characters as well.
- Did I mention the soundtrack?
- Vivi is bae.
Meh
- Final boss is way too tough (cheated my way through just to watch the ending).
Bad
- Still don't like Quina or whatever his/her name is.
- Soundtrack is amazing!
- Battle system is a great comeback for ATB Turn Based.
- Equipment and skill AP makes it fun.
- QOL upgrade of a quicker battle makes grind less boring.
- Storyline has a really good pacing, enough for you to be invested in the characters as well.
- Did I mention the soundtrack?
- Vivi is bae.
Meh
- Final boss is way too tough (cheated my way through just to watch the ending).
Bad
- Still don't like Quina or whatever his/her name is.
yes i have beaten this game two times