The last of what I'd consider the golden age ff games, which to me begins with 4 and ends at 9.

Possibly the most overrated final fantasy of the ones I enjoy. Entirely carried off of the charm and joy of Vivi, I think 9 doesn't have much to say beyond "life sucks " and "but friends make it better!"
Which, I mean, fair, but I expect more from rpgs, especially one as beloved as 9. Moving a lot of the pathos to Vivi frees Zidane to be a lot more spunky and free spirited, but a lot of said spunk is wasted on being honestly quite pushy towards Garnet.

In 2024 Zidane would make pov tiktoks and be outed for being a pest I'm absolutely certain.

Steiner gets a great innings as enemy turned rival turned confidant, but beyond Steiner and Vivi I find the cast all well below where they should be for the final fantasy brand.
9 has some great fights and some good songs, and the world feels large.im adding a few points of hatred retroactively because 13 reuses some motifs and I am petty.