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