This is a really odd standout when considering what came before and after it. Even right next to Final Fantasy VIII, the polarizing entry, Final Fantasy IX feels even less like its closest peers. In terms of style and theming, FFX actually feels more like a natural followup to the one-two punch of FFVII and FFVIII. Playing through this almost feels like peering into a different timeline where Final Fantasy skipped right over VII and continued from the first six games uninterrupted. Which tracks knowing the man spearheading this whole thing is none other than series creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Who stayed true to the aesthetics of the classic titles while willing to embrace the fresh changes pushed by the more modern games of the time. Creating something that would be just a nostalgic throwback to the more “simpler” times of the franchise when it was more traditional and “simpler”. And also is the closest embodiment to Sakaguchi’s ideal Final Fantasy representing everything that it meant to him of what it can be.

Already from Disc 1, Final Fantasy IX leaves a strong impression for its casual journeying pace, its cartoonishly charming world, and colorful cast of characters loaded with personality. The presentation creates the nifty illusion of being this cute and wholesome game when in reality it’s super existentialist and depressing like its PS1 contemporaries. But it balances it enough to never sacrifice its identity to what made playing through this genuinely fun and rewarding. It peaks very hard during Disc 2 where the party gets split up and ventures off into their own little journeys all over the map. This might be my favorite stretch of the game because of how simple and low-stakes it could get, still never fearing to get a little dramatic at parts, and just vibe with itself.

Disc 3 is when the game loses its initial charm and where the problems sank in. The game already did a great job introducing you to these delightful characters who form your party, making you think these guys have to go somewhere, right? Well, I think it speaks for itself in conversations about the game that the two party members really brought up the most are Vivi and maybe Steiner. Vivi especially is a great character with easily the best arc because he’s the only one who actually has an arc! The rest awkwardly stumble into beats resembling character arcs but either it never feels developed enough or the game just forgets about it. Steiner is funny and had some interesting character beats, like from his shortsighted pragmatism, his personal duty to who he should really serve, and his relationship with Beatrice but it hardly goes anywhere. Freya was introduced to have some weighty plot relevance and interesting personal history which never gets explored into a conclusion until the game suddenly remembered what her deal was at the end. Amarant might be the most nothing party member in a Final Fantasy game because I can’t imagine who is stanning this guy for how pointless he is story-wise and gameplay-wise. Eiko and Dagger’s shared history as summoners seemed to imply something deeper but it gets forgotten when the stakes escalate. There's an estranged lack of overall character development or heavy moments for many characters to tie themselves personally into this journey they’re taking. The only ones who get active focus and development, putting aside Zidane, are Dagger and Vivi. It feels very uneven from this point on and the last stretch all the way into Disc 4 is where I struggle to weigh where I stand with the game. There’s still very good character moments, especially that one moment with Zidane and his party, but how it gets paid off in the final confrontation with Kuja feels underwhelming. The twist revelation with Zidane just feels like needlessly trying to tie him into the larger conflict when part of the appeal of his character for me was how he was just an unimportant scrounger who wanted to do what’s right by his friends against overwhelming odds. I understand the thematic significance of his relationship with Kuja, weird as it is, and think it's still effective. Especially with the ending sequences which hit super hard seeing how Zidane has affected every one to realize the value of just living free.

What knocked my experience down hard enough is the combat, however. This is hands down the worst implementation of the ATB system. I never got the criticism against the system in games like FFVII but this is the only time where I understood the frustration. Every battle is way too slow (ironic considering you play as a thief who is canonically supposed to be the quickest one in fights) and often I just don’t understand the advantage of adopting the ATB system over a traditional turn-based system like they did in FFX. The same could be said about FFVII for example but I feel it’s helped with how the battle animations are more responsive, cinematic, and snappy. Besides the secondary systems, like Materia and limit breaks, saving the combat to feel more in depth and engaging. FFIX doesn’t quite have that going for many battles which makes waiting for your turn a slog more often than not. The Trance system is also kinda, uh, pretty bad? You have no control over when it activates or gets used by a party member. It’s hard to gauge how the meter fills up so you can make preparations in combat against tougher enemies. You end up either unintentionally wasting it or forced to use it no matter what.

The music unfortunately didn’t do much for me despite how “fine” it just is. They were shooting for a more SNES medieval sound with a lot of the songs which I can’t bring myself to care for because of how I've been spoiled by FFVIII’s soundtrack recently (including FFVII/X’s). Still, it’s impossible for Uematsu to deliver hard mid music so there’s like a few tracks that are worth listening to like the boss theme.

Finishing the game, I can understand how this didn’t set the world on fire in critical acclaim as either FFVII, FFX, or even FFVIII to a degree did. It was facing some really tough competition and felt like the odd one out from the modern direction Final Fantasy was taking. It wasn’t pushing any new boundaries for presentation, story, or gameplay really and was sorta more of the same old. Trying to look back on it in isolation helped clarify its own set of strengths but also its inherent weakness for its lack of personal ambition which holds it back a bit in being even a greater Final Fantasy game.