Final Fantasy IX Game Review

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The Final Fantasy series is becoming increasingly popular. Beginning with the original Final Fantasy which was first released sometime in the mid 1980’s, through Final Fantasy X which was just released last month in Japan and is awaiting an American release, Final Fantasy has captured the hearts of many. Final Fantasy IX, being the last Final Fantasy before the series goes double digit, takes the game back to the root of the series, as seen in the early NES and SNES games. From the moment I watched with awe at the opening full motion video (FMV) until the last name rolled off the screen at the ending credits, I was immensely enjoying myself. After Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII took the series into a futuristic, retro and high tech environment, so the idea behind Final Fantasy IX was to take it back to where the series began. The idea was simple, yet the task was much more difficult. Squaresoft decided to mix the best characteristics of the old NES and SNES Final Fantasy games with the best characteristics of the Playstation Final Fantasy games. This means kings and kingdoms, mages and wizards, knights and castles, instead of megalopolises and cars, as found in VII and VIII. This also means that the characters in it will no longer be entirely humans, like in VIII. IX has mages with big pointy hats, old-fashioned knights with clanky armor, princesses with white magic, summoners, and old-fashioned looking “people”. Squaresoft took a huge risk in doing this, because there was a possibility of aggravating the Final Fantasy fans that started the series at VII. However, the importance of making the tribute took priority, and Final Fantasy IX takes place in a medieval setting.

Final Fantasy IX is definitely worth your time to play. The true evil in the game is not discovered by your party until about a quarter of the way through it, until then the game runs smoothly leading you from one location to another, to defend, protect, or destroy certain people. The main character in this epic adventure is a boy named Zidane, about sixteen years of age. Zidane does not know his background and is a carefree thief with a good heart out to help people. Zidane’s world turns upside down when an order to capture princess Garnet of Alexandria ends up sending him on a quest to save the planet from its enemies, and leads him to discover his true heritage. Although it’s only a video game, this title does a great job of expressing many human emotions. The love between Zidane and Garnet is central to the story. The pity Garnet shows for her evil adoptive mother after a tragic event is truly heartwarming. The theme of existence is pondered well by the little black mage Vivi, who is trying to find his purpose in life. Squaresoft did a magnificent job of giving personality to these little polygons.

Final Fantasy IX boasts old-fashioned looking characters with Playstation graphics. Other than crooked edges when you view a character closely, there is not much to complain about graphics-wise. Sure, players that started the series at VII might be bothered by the old school characters, but in my opinion, that only adds to the enjoyment of the game. With beautiful backgrounds, fully animated summon spells, wonderful full motion videos, and smooth transitions, IX definitely has its share of awe-inspiring views. Like its predecessors, the music in IX is one of its key qualities. With many catchy and very appropriate tunes, IX has some excellent music going for it. I was impressed with the sound effects as well.

The battle and ability system undergo a change from VIII to IX as they do in all Final Fantasies. The most noticeable adjustment is that four characters are allowed in a traveling party in IX, as opposed to three characters in VII and VIII. Also, there are no special items (such as espers, materia, or Guardian Forces) that teach you abilities and magic in IX. All command and magic abilities are learned straight from your armor and weapons, which is convenient because you don’t have to keep up with another category of supplies. The system of learning abilities in this game is my favorite one since espers (Final Fantasy VI, released as Final Fantasy III US). This simple, yet innovative way of doing things, is a huge advantage in IX. Your weapons and armor have abilities that come with them. When you equip this armor or weapon you can use special commands or attacks. If you unequip it, you can’t use the abilities. However, if you master the ability by gaining enough ability points (amounts vary depending on the character and command/attack) to master it, you can unequip the item and still have/use the command/attack. This allows you to upgrade armor and weapons. This provides an easy, yet effective way of gaining additional commands/attacks. The battle system varies little from earlier releases. Every character has four choices in battle. Those choices consist of attack, item, and two special abilities. If you choose attack, you attack the enemy with your chosen weapon. Item allows you to use an item for healing or attack purposes in battle. Different characters have different special skills to use in battle. White Magic, Black Magic, Steal, and Sword Techniques are just a few of the unique talents. Most characters have their prime usefulness in their special attacks. This game replaces limit break, a useful system in VII and VIII with trance, a system where a character becomes more powerful in a special way for three turns. Trances are useful, probably less so than limit breaks, but they definitely don’t hurt IX a bit.

This game shines in many areas, the story always keeps you guessing, and saves a few surprises for the end. Characters are not totally dependant on their Guardian Forces/Materia like in VII and VIII and this is a huge advantage. Final Fantasy IX is a game that truly excels in all areas: graphics, sound, music, story, plot, and replay factor. This game is a certain classic and is worthy of the Final Fantasy name.

Pro: Good character development, witty main character, good graphics, great plot, magnificent ability system, well composed music and FFIX takes the series back to its roots.

Con: Might be too old fashioned for players who started at VII, certain scenes and characters become annoying at times, although I don’t consider this a huge problem.

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