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To read our interview with the Final Fantasy IX creators, click here.As with the other games in the series, Final Fantasy IX has the ability to grab your attention from the time you fire it up until the last boss is put down. Previous entries into the game's lineage took a more dramatic, cinematic route to do what a role-playing game does best--tell a story. That style led to some complaints from headstrong fans and role-playing gamers alike. In response to this, while not sacrificing what new technology they've built into the series, SquareSoft has backtracked a bit. To put it simply, they've gone back to their roots while forging ahead.
When we last left the Final Fantasy characters, Princess Garnet was starting to break out of her shell and put to rest the notion that she was a snob. The kidnapping attempt by Zidane, oddly enough, started a few new friendships. Story elements continuously roll on, never leaving you to wonder for too long. Vivi, you may remember, started out as a Black Mage, and the Queen of Alexandria's story was left far from finished as well.
But even players with no experience in this series can pick this up as a new game. Final Fantasy IX's story follows a group trying to stop Brahne, the evil Queen of Alexandria, in her quest to rule the world. Zidane, a skilled thief, teams with a young mage, a royal knight, and a princess, who all soon discover that the queen's threats are fronting an even more sinister plot involving a powerful sorcerer named Kuja. It's your job to control the eight playable characters--each of whom begin the game with one weapon, one piece of armor, and one special power--and to uncover Kuja's motives before he carries out his deadly plan.
The game's opening sequence sets the stage for what's to follow and, as we've come to expect from the CG wizards at SquareSoft, what is an utterly amazing visual scene. Long-time fans should go ga-ga over SquareSoft's decision to return to the disproportional-character look of the past. While the change in the last game was interesting, realistic characters didn't quite work well within the established Final Fantasy universe. With the beloved wizards returned, the entire look is now much more medieval. Did anyone say "Chocobo"?
Like VII and VIII, Final Fantasy IX uses the ATB (Active Time Battle) system. Each character learns the abilities and commands appropriate to his or her job class. There are two major ability types: support and action. Action abilities use Magic Points (MP) and include commands such as Black Magic, Steal, White Magic, and Summon. Characters can go into trances after repeated physical attacks from enemies. When the trance gauge, located below the ATB gauge, reaches maximum capacity, the character goes into a trance, the commands change, and the character's attacks become more powerful. Up to four characters can be in the active party, but players can summon Guardian Forces, called Eidolons, into battle in Final Fantasy IX. Many of the Eidolons from Final Fantasy VIII return in this game, including Carbuncle, Bahamut, Odin, Ifrit, Shiva, and (naturally) Leviathan.
An Active Time Event (ATE) lets you see events that are happening elsewhere. For example, while you are controlling the main character in a town, you can view what the other characters are doing in another part of the same town. This function provides additional information and behind-the-scenes details about the story and the characters. You can only view ATEs when the ATE option appears onscreen, however.
The game's visual splendor touches even the most ordinary scenes, such as shadows in the street alleys and the mazes of cobblestones. Final Fantasy IX's color palette does a remarkable job in creating interest on every single object, location, and person.
SquareSoft claims their intention in Final Fantasy IX, as the last single-digit game in the series, was to assert the idea of progress. Not satisfied with looking back at previous accomplishments, they simply explain that this is just the beginning. But to that end, this will truly be the final Fantasy on the PlayStation as the series heads to greener pastures of the next-generation consoles.
With its awesome graphics, a good story, and random battles that reveal curious bits about each character, Final Fantasy IX is an epic adventure that'll have long-time fans of the acclaimed series beaming with pride and joy. As for everyone else who has yet to experience the Fantasy, now is the time!
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I was not a bit disappointed.
Right from the beginning, Square shows again that FF9 is a product of quality. Even though it has only been one year since the release of FF8, this new installment does not show sign of a rushed production. I could not help but notice and appreciate the amount of effort and passion that were infused into the game. I could say with FF9, Square really strengthens my faith in the FF series, wins my heart, and brings me back to the good old days.
Graphic is one of the first elements that attracted me. The color scheme is very well used to create a nice blend of the whole composition. I did not like the color scheme in Chrono Cross at all because everything is so bright and sticks out like an eye sore. Background, characters, and environment are very well designed in such way that you find unity and harmony. Needless to say, CGs from Square are always top notch, first rated, state of the art quality. The injunctions of CGs are proper, and served to extend the flow of events; nevertheless, they are wonderful eye candies that I cannot get enough of.
Sound, I agree with most critics, still plaques the FF series on the current PSX platform as unsatisfactory. By no measure that the sound is not good, we just think that it could easily be better, given the experience that the composer Nobuo Uematsu possesses, and the quality of music the PSX can perform. I have to say the sound is good enough for me, and I particularly enjoy the polished quality of various sound effects in through out the game.
Do not expect any revolution in the gameplay department. Square just delivers what you would have expected from a FF game. I could not see anything special about the battle system other than it is simple. Yes, people will still complain about the random battles. I did enjoy the employment of materia and junction system in the previous 2 games; therefore I hope Square could have incorporated something special to make the battle system a little more interesting. Mini games and side tasks that are scattered throughout the game are both interesting and fun to play with.
Overall, the game rocks! It has been a long time since I played a good and quality RPG or game on PSX, I greatly enjoy Final Fantasy 9. The story is nothing spectacular but is delivered and presented very well with nice flow of events and timely unfolding of plots. Bottom line, Final Fantasy 9 is great game that I enjoy playing. Graphic, Presentation and Value outweigh minor imperfection of sound and gameplay. Square has successfully perpetuated the legend of the Final Fantasy series.
IX has restored that completely. I wouldn't go so far to say that 9 is the greatest FF game... but it's definitely up there.
Being an AVID fan (I have 15 FF titles on 4 systems and still play them all...), I'm glad to see the guys return to the old school, take their minds off graphic eye-candy and special effects (yup, that's right... less CG... and downright cheezy character graphics! I love it!), and put it back where it belongs in the RPG genre: The interaction, dialogue, and storyline here are all divine. I'd go into more detail but I don't want to ruin the surprise. :)
The character work in IX is so much better than what we've seen in recent games... they are personable, and have real depth. Take Zidane for example: the first FF hero since 6 to be a relatively social character. They also all serve a purpose in the game at some point in time... there are no Yuffies or Gaus here wasting space in your lineup and costing you wasted money for the one time in the game you'll actually use them. Even the most doubtful-seeming characters in FF9 (Quina being the first to come to mind) turns out to be a steady contender with good abilities and genuine usefulness.
All you power gamers out there that loved 6, 7, and 8 because *everyone* could use magic to ridiculous results... you're gonna hate this. Yes, there are wizards again now (all hail FF 1-5) and if you're not a wizard, you're not casting. I don't know about anyone else but this makes ten times more sense to me. It also adds something to the game that the last two were missing completely: a *challenge*. Any hardcore FF'ers will agree with me on this one: 7 and 8 were ridiculously easy. Not to say that 9 is going to kick you around... (I'm on my first replay and am yet to see a "Game Over" screen...) but at least you'll have to stop and think from time to time.
The battle and ability systems are simplified. No more sitting in front of your TV for an hour at a time digging through 50 billion junction abilities. You learn just 2 types of abilities: Battle abilities like spells for your wizards, lance attacks for Freya, thief attacks for Zidane, etc etc... and Indirect abilities that enhance your character in some way, like Auto-Regen or Auto-Potion, different status immunities, and HP/MP extensions. These items are learned by equipping your items, with a system similar to the Esper system in 6 or the Materia in 7. Except everyone can't just learn everything this time... For example: Don't even bother sticking a summon jewel on Zidane to teach him how to call forth Ifrit to burn your enemies... he can't do it :)
The only thing that may be confusing at first until you have the time to get used to it is the Synthesis shops. Basically what you do here is combine 2 items to get a different one, that cannot be bought... only found or synthesized. One tip regarding the Synth shop that I learned my first time through the game: DO NOT SELL ANYTHING, unless you have more than 2 of the same item. Sometimes you'll end up needing something old to synthesize a new item when it becomes available through your travels... if you sell the old stuff, it's sometimes hard to find it again. If you need money, there are 2 great ways to get it besides selling your stuff: Fight monsters, and steal & sell Ether (1000 gil per bottle.)
Now that's as close as I'll get to a spoiler.
My last rant: Yes, it's true... Final Fantasy 9 is a melting pot of all the first 8 FF games, and you *will* see a lot of things you've seen before... and even some references to characters and events from other games. If you can't deal with that, don't buy the game... IX isn't the breakthrough that VII was... but it's also not the disappointment VIII turned out to be. It's simply a creation from the legends at Square to reach a hand out to the new school ... and to win the hearts of the old school, as they prepare to head into yet another new frontier of gaming. Remember, this is the last game of its kind... ever. When 10 is released next year, everything is going to change.
Enjoy it while it lasts. I know I will.
The graphics in general are stellar. The opening sequence, the animation of water, of birds, of fire, and of other things normally challenging to an animation crew are amazing to watch. Gameplay graphics are quite good, although at times the pretty backgrounds can make finding an object or figuring out an exit to a room a bit difficult.
FF IX is a bit restrictive in its characters. Your thief, mage, knight, and "princess healer" each need to pretty much specialize within their class. Each can find special items to help them learn and grow, and choose how to aim their growth. This can be done automatically for new players, or with great attention to detail for the more advanced gamers.
Battle is also nice in this way - beginners can have the game pause while they choose exactly which magic to fire at their enemies, while those wanting a challenge can have the entire battle run in real time, depending on quick reflexes and fast fingers. In addition to the players, there are also 'helpers', or Eidolons, which add to the drama of a battle.
Active Time Events (ATE) will show up occasionally to fill you in on the storyline, showing short movies of things happening elsewhere in the game. These are well done - if you've already seen a particular ATE from a different game, you can simply bypass these. Some ATEs help progress the plot, while others give the player help with new commands.
In all, this is a great game for all playing levels. New and young gamers can set the game up so it gives you time to think during combat, and helps out out with skill setting. Advanced players can tweak all of the details themselves, and immerse themselves in the challenging card games that are part of the plot. There's something in it for everyone!
