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Caves of Narshe Forums > Final Fantasy IX > beauty of ff9


Posted by: final_fantasy_freak_uk 26th July 2005 22:08
does anyone realise how good ff9 really is. most people i know think its the worst one it has really good charecters an amazing story line great limits well trance i cant find a single fault in it bar it is relativly easy chocobo hot and cold was great too biggrin.gif:D:D

Posted by: Suik_O_Den_Genso 26th July 2005 22:10
Yeah its cool I liked the graphics the most and the characters and the storyline it just really REALLY sucks you don't get any spoils like ruby/emerald. sad.gif

Woohoo! 100 post oh yeah!

Posted by: Silverlance 26th July 2005 22:25
FF9 had its strong points, but it also had its bad points...

Personally, I was disappointed by their little "slogan," "The crystals come back!!" They made a big fuss of how FF was going back to its roots what with crystals and airships. Instead of having a pre-PSX FF, we had one where airships were flat-out spammed all over the place and crystals made an appearance for roughly 5 minutes at the very end of the game.

The character developement was decent, considerably better than some other FFs. I had a hard time associating with some of the characters, however, particularly Quina (what the hell?), Amarant ("Huh. I guess friends are important after all! Now let's all sing a song about friendship!"), and Steiner (he was comical at first, but grew annoying and pathetic later on.) I rather liked Vivi maturing, Garnet/Dagger's toughening up (though the whole mute part felt like a ridiculous Disney deus ex machina), and Eiko's little brat attitude.

The story was a little... wishy-washy. Brahne was an ok character, but Square had already played out the whole
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
bad guy is really a pawn of even worse bad guy and wakes up shortly before being taken out of the story
angle quite a bit and it felt like rehashed material. The story built up pretty well until the end of Disc 3, IMHO, but seemed to flatten out and degrate near the end, until the unevitably ridiculous
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
suddent unexpected introduction of "the crystal" (which definitely was a bad deus ex machina) and even more suddent unexpected introduction of Necron.)


It was enjoyable, though. Square really came up with some nice material for this. Definitely not the best FF, but far from being the worse. Had they cut back on the humor instead of rehashing the same jokes over and over ("Oooooh! Princess! I'll save you!!! *crash*" "Haha, let's all laugh at Steiner and make a cool comment to blow him off and show how uptight he is compared to us all.") it would've been one heck of a badass game. smile.gif

Posted by: SilverFork 26th July 2005 23:46
Well, "The Crystal (singular) Comes Back" wasn't technically misleading as it did at least point out that there wouldn't be multiple crystal fetch quests. But yeah, everyone was expecting a theme similar to the first five games (except 2) and instead got an old-school wannabe that's biggest claim to fame are the past-game references. Hey, at least the airships looked like boats, á la FF's 1-5.

That's not saying I didn't like it 'cause I actually like it quite a bit. Its story's heavily clichéd, no doubt, but the characters are really the interesting part. On second thought, they're clichéd too, but it's not like FF's characters in general are all that original anymore. Some of those personalities never get old no matter how many times they're reused. And the minigames! Normally I'm not a big fan of taking a break from the quest at hand to play tedious or pointless little games, but most of the ones in FFIX are just irresistable. I even like Tetra Master, for crying out loud!

So no, it's not my favorite FF, but it's high up there.

Quote (Suik_O_Den_Genso)
Yeah its cool I liked the graphics the most and the characters and the storyline it just really REALLY sucks you don't get any spoils like ruby/emerald.


You mean super bosses? Like most of the games, FF9 has its share as well: Ozma and Hades, respectively.

Posted by: Elena99 27th July 2005 01:16
The crystal was there the whole time, though. Around Garnet's neck. There were a few minor plot points about it, but it's what proves that she's Princess Garnet when she ends up at Cid's, isn't it? And then there's that scene where it's glowing, and her and Eiko are floating in the air.
http://www.midnite-angel.net/ffdg/ff9/ff9i/ff9fmv404.jpg
http://www.midnite-angel.net/ffdg/ff9/ff9i/ff9fmv405.jpg
http://www.midnite-angel.net/ffdg/ff9/ff9i/ff9fmv403.jpg

Don't mind me. I'm just tired of people saying "but the crystal wasn't there! *whine whine whine*" just because you don't spend the whole game fetching crystals.

Posted by: Cloud_Strife510 27th July 2005 01:41
I would have liked the game better if zidane didn't have such a femine physique

his hips bothered me(when i first saw a picture of him i thought the main character was going to be a girl)
although during cinemas it appeared that they were trying to make it look like he had full pockets

if they were to take that out (and some of the other goofy graphics) a lot more people would like the game a lot better

Posted by: laszlow 27th July 2005 03:28
FF IX's a classic that I thought was loads better than FF VIII, for one reason in particular: the customization system. Gone was the ugly mess that was the Junction system with a beautiful, shiny, old-school equipment-learning system. There were a ton of shared passive abilities, learned differently by most characters, but also a great deal of unique abilities. Back is the old-school equipment system, with more than a single item (or nothing at all, in FF VIII's case) for armor. In fact, the exceptionally well-designed equipment-management system does an able job of replacing FF VII's solid materia system and FF VIII's deplorable Junction system. I'm also a huge fan of the return of the four-person party and of the more traditional character types; it makes choosing your team a little more important than in other FF games.

Oh right, there's a plot and characters too.... The characters are extremely wacky. Everyone likes Vivi, Steiner's often quite hilarious, Freya and Amarant are a bit stoic, but ok. Eiko's in the annoying little girl mold, Garnet's an adequate heroine, and Zidane is basically Tidus with a little more sarcasm and brashness. It's a pretty well-done Cid, as well. et's not talk about Quina. Oh, and the villain, Kuja, he does a good job of convincing you he's a nutcase, but he also... wears a thong.... LNot the deepest character list, but they have a certain charm. The story... it gets weird. One real telling moment where you'll wonder what the hell is happening is the classic
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
Burmecian Riverdancing rodents scene. If you've seen it, you'll understand.
Yeah, the plot gets weird, but not FF VIII weird. The dungeons are kinda funky, but very well-designed and fun; however, the minigames and sidequests are where the real fun's at. Chocobo Hot and Cold, Mognet, the Stellazzio, better than anything in FF VIII and most of the stuff in VII and X.

So yeah, FF IX is probably my second favorite FF, after VI, but IV, VII, and X also contend for that spot. It's a very good game, and definitely worth a purchase.

Posted by: SilverFork 27th July 2005 04:04
Quote (Elena99)
Don't mind me. I'm just tired of people saying "but the crystal wasn't there! *whine whine whine*" just because you don't spend the whole game fetching crystals.


No one's whining about the crystal not being there ('cause it clearly is, especially the one in Memoria), at least no one in this topic. We're just whining about how, prior to the game's release, there was an impression from the hype that Square was taking it in the direction of most of the older games - sorta nostalgic return to the oldies - but were disappointed when that turned out not to be the case. smile.gif

And for the record, Cloud_Strife, I honestly doubt Zidane's hips have a thing to do with peoples' negative opinions of the game.

Posted by: Shotgunnova 27th July 2005 04:29
My question is how did the game not return to the veins of first five or six games? The world reverted back to one without abundant technology, magic isn't something people can just find lying around and use, and the characters all embody a certain virtue, kind of like the olden games.

Plus, the game is chock full of references to past installments, a homage to all of the predecessors. I find it hard to believe people finger this game as the odd man out when it's clearly a step back into normality and the medieval-type setting.


Posted by: SilverFork 27th July 2005 09:27
Right. FF9's world isn't full of technological prowess, much like the 2D games ('cept FF6, where technology was rather advanced and played a part in the plot); its magic isn't available to everyone (although in all the old-school games, not counting FF4, magic actually WAS available to most everyone); it contains crystals, despite them not being involved in the same role as 1-5's (FF2's are only featured visually and are never mentioned during the course of the game, and of course FF6 doesn't have any at all like most of the PSX games and on); the characters are somewhat virtuous, even if several of the characters in the oldies weren't any more than the new-school games', from what I've noticed; and heck, they even brought back the dwarves, who've been on hiatus since FF4!

But if ya ask me, those're only minor qualities (except the crystal and possibly medieval ones) that help maintain an old-school look, but don't quite make it feel the same - and it has nothing to do with it being in 3D either, as I don't even consider FF6 much of an old-school game seeing as it has very little in common with the whole five games before it other than being 2D. One of the biggest themes of the first five games was fetching elemental crystals harbored in shrines or kingdoms; despite the existance of a few crystals in FF9's world, there's no major quest like that taking up a third, a half or more of the game (that short mirror quest kinda referenced all that, though). There's a lot more that certainly woulda enhanced the attempt at returning to their roots, but I'm half-asleep and really can't explain it at the moment. As it is, FF9 only contains a few pieces of the entire package.

Or perhaps it's just peoples' way of looking at it. To some it's the epitome 3D incarnate of old-school goodness, and to others it's not quite.

Posted by: angel_of_death 27th July 2005 12:58
i thought it was a great game myself , i liked the ability learning system where you learn the abilitys off weapons, and the graphics were great for a ps1 game, overall a brilliant game.

Posted by: Shinjutsei 27th July 2005 19:59
FFIX is the best of them all. It's my favorite main FF, and had the best characters, world, and growth system. 'Sides, it had a great feel to it.

Might I also mention that Ipsen's Castle=best RPG dungeon ever?

Posted by: Teta 28th July 2005 07:29
I personally liked 9, but I can't say it was the best. I wouldn't say it's the worst either as I reserve that spot for FF10. sleep.gif Some of the characters were a little odd and hard to...well...relate to. Mainly Quina and Amarant, they seemed more like "filler" characters more than anything else. Their overall character designs were kind of strange also but likeable. One of the other bad points for me was the trance thing...Especially Zidane.

He just didn't look..right. pinch.gif Other than that I enjoyed it. Since I haven't played the older FF's (ff1-6) I wasn't sure what they meant by the crystal and I wasn't disappointed with it rolleyes.gif I did play a few spots of ff5 and ff6 but not enough to know the full story. I did like how the moogles were placed in the game and some of the sidequest. I enjoyed the chocobo games, and overall it had a nice story. smile.gif

Posted by: FabulousFreebird 28th July 2005 12:18
I thought it was a cool game. Kuja was my favorite aspect of FF9, 'cuz he's a main villain like nobody before him. Seymour in FFX, I think, was based off of Kuja from his personality and script. Other than that, it is a really great game that I would recommend to any FF fan. A modern spin on the first games in the series with fun side-quests and memorable characters (Vivi anyone?) deserves a top spot, I'd say!

Posted by: GamblingCat 28th July 2005 20:58
Im with Shinjutsei, FFIX is the best of the FF's, not to mention the game had the best chocobo system, the only fault to me was the card game (i'll take Triple Triad over this) but that flaw is sooo minor to me, FFIx to me is the best in the series, and had the coolest cast.

Posted by: BiZZaRo 28th July 2005 21:30
FF9 was the best one outta the ps1 games with its great story and good characters, it really caught my eye and i still play it all the time.

Posted by: final_fantasy_freak_uk 30th July 2005 00:21
im gald that some people really understand hwo well the gme was made and how well it plays biggrin.gif

Posted by: Nekki 30th July 2005 01:54
Quote (Cloud_Strife510 @ 26th July 2005 20:41)
I would have liked the game better if zidane didn't have such a femine physique

In general I didn't like how the characters looked all chibi with their gigantic disproportionate heads. It made the game look much "cuter" like it was made to appeal to children... not that I can imagine them being proportionate now either though tongue.gif

Posted by: karasuman 30th July 2005 04:43
It's completely a matter of opinion. I didn't like most of the characters at all; I thought the story was vapid and cartoonish; and I generally felt like the entire game had been all frosting and no cake.

Posted by: eternalsphere 30th July 2005 19:15
It was ok... but it didn't have that old-school feel. Out of the FFs for the PS, it is my second favorite.

When I picked up FF9 I was expecting, like many others, a game that would play like the oldies. What I got, though, was a game that tried to be an oldie but failed somewhere along the way. I have no idea what it was, but there was just something missing, despite that fact that there were medieval kingdoms, dwarves, the old equipment system, the old-school level and magic system, etc.

Something I noticed while playing through FF9 is that there are no original ideas. At all. Every idea, thing, personailty, etc. is recycled from a previous FF.

So to make it short, it wasn't bad, it had some hillarious and memorable scenes, and some characters like Vivi were just plain awesome, but that something was missing that could have made it great.

Posted by: Moglv99 30th July 2005 21:29
I think it is a beautiful game, I liked the graphics , the characters, almost everything. It was the second FF that I played ( first was FFI nes), and I liked a lot the referencial material, which this game sure got a lot from other FF series. What I don't like on this game, the slow ATB that battles got ( even in Haste is too slow...), and secondly the Battles. The bosses were too easy, I remember my fight with Lich , the Earth Fiend, which cast Thundaga...and only its 46 damage points!!!, C' mon its a Thundaga!!! why , oh why didn't make this game harder... (not to mention you can EAT this "boss"..) the damage you can make is also very poor ( i.e Freiya Lv99 equipped with Dragon's Hair its around 4000 dmg per normal strike...). But the plot of the game, and the graphics and the love story, are great. Have you noticed how "I want to be your Canary" play is important on the game... laugh.gif

Posted by: Luna 13th August 2005 14:12
IX is my favourite FF as well as VI. Of course is wasn't faultless but honestly, can anyone name ONE game that is? The storyline was cute, the music was great and the characters were likeable. It had great minigames and a lot of replay value. I've played it through about 7 times, and not once did I get bored. Also, Esto Gaza was the coolest game location EVER. But, as some people have already mentioned, the battles were too slow and the storyline could get a little cliched in places. But it was good, and I give it my own personal thumbs-up! thumbup.gif

Posted by: yunakitty 14th August 2005 15:01
Chocobo Hot and Cold. Best minigame EVER!

I was always like "Just...one... more...time!" At that time, we had the Playstation in the bedroom, so I'd be playing when my husband be trying to sleep, and he'd finally be like "What IS that? Are you learning to Flamenco dance? Enough!"

I ought to replay the game soon, just for that.

Posted by: The Goddess Terra 14th August 2005 23:28
wub.gif Yes I love Final Fantasy 9 it is by far my favorite game! I love the charcter designs the whole theme. The music that you hear and say (ahhh) and the the art you look through and ahhh! I love it is truely a masterpeice! biggrin.gif

Also did anyone notice if you have a certain Item in your event item selection....
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
I'm not sure which one though, "Mirror" that the record player would shine and the music from black mage village song would then change into another Final Fantasy song!


I know it sounds familar but I can't remember where I heard it from. sleep.gif

Posted by: Cloud_Strife510 23rd August 2005 05:51
I enjoyed the gameplay of FFIX bringing back more uniqueness to the characters
like in FFIV
Trance also was a nice new form of desperationattacks/limit
I liked the ability learning system (auto-regen and auto potion at the same time i wanted that since tactics) also chocobo hot and cold was pretty entertaining

Storyline wise I felt it was combining certain features of all the previous FF's
Which i liked especially
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
Kuja's first plan of gethering eideloins, which I thought was very kefka-esque, then he changed his plan to a little more sephiroth-esque
also the fact that kuja was a man who felt comfortable walking around in a male thong in any weather
brought back memories of Seinfeld "there was shrinkage", made me laugh on the inside

so overall

i would give it
Gameplay 9/10
Storyline 8.3/10
Graphics 5/10 (too goofy)
music 9/10

overall 7.8/10



Edit
just so you know, i am very stict as to how i rate games very few have made it above 8

Posted by: Narratorway 24th August 2005 18:39
Seems most people's dislike of the game is purely on a superficial level. If you can drop the homophobia for a minute, you'll realize Zidane's a pretty fun character and the best 'hero' in a FF since...hell, Cecil! Don't believe me? Check it:

IV: Cecil. Tragic guy really. Getting screwed by his country (resist...urge...to make...political...statement...), losing his best friend to brain washing. Finding out his worst enemy is his brother and having all to two seconds to reconcile before saying goodbye. Ouch.

V: Butz. Seriously...Butz?

VI: Non exsistant. Argue all you want, there was no main hero. tongue.gif

VII: Cloud. Whiney pissant with a bad haircut. His story was interesting, but he wasn't.

VIII: Squall. Whiney pissant with a good hair cut. I don't see how anyone can justify liking this guy.

IX: Zidane. Finally, someone with a sense of humor and a positive outlook on life. He's gay...and I love him for it. tongue.gif

I think that's what most people have with the whole game in general. It is, in fact, gay. The light atmosphere was a breath of fresh air after the doom/gloom of VII/VIII, but it's just too much for masculine insecurity. But maybe I'm getting too Fruedian.

Aside from the light tone, the gameplay itself is a throwback to the classics in that it was smooth. It's not clunky like VIII, or underdeveloped like VII. It's that third bowl of porriage...just right. The crystal slots (hey guess what, THEY DID PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE GAME) were easy to understand and work with. The game was so well balanced and thought out that I was able to keep up with the new abilities as they came along with little to no hassle. The fighting was something I actually enjoyed. It was even better than VI.

Fact is, this was...and still is...the best of the post SNES FF games. It may lack the character depth of PS1 and PS2 games, but since Square bungled up those characters actual personalities so badly, I consider it a moot point. They still can't beat the character depth and personality of Vivi anyway.

Posted by: Galsic 24th August 2005 19:35
Quote (Narratorway @ 24th August 2005 13:39)
VI: Non exsistant. Argue all you want, there was no main hero. tongue.gif

IX: Zidane. Finally, someone with a sense of humor and a positive outlook on life. He's gay...and I love him for it. tongue.gif

I think that's what most people have with the whole game in general. It is, in fact, gay. The light atmosphere was a breath of fresh air after the doom/gloom of VII/VIII, but it's just too much for masculine insecurity. But maybe I'm getting too Fruedian.

Aside from the light tone, the gameplay itself is a throwback to the classics in that it was smooth. It's not clunky like VIII, or underdeveloped like VII. It's that third bowl of porriage...just right. The crystal slots (hey guess what, THEY DID PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE GAME) were easy to understand and work with. The game was so well balanced and thought out that I was able to keep up with the new abilities as they came along with little to no hassle. The fighting was something I actually enjoyed. It was even better than VI.

First off, I think FFVI did a fair job of emphasizing Terra as the main hero during the WOB, although, I must admit, that emphasis more or less stopped by the WOR.

IX: Now what definition of the word "gay" are ye using here? Gay as in happy and full of joy or gay as in the popular definition cuz last I saw, everyone Zidane hit on had boobs.

I would also like to add that I actually liked the graphics/artwork of this game. Yeah, maybe their heads WERE too big for their bodies but I thought that the more cartoonish look further added to the general fantasy feel of the game. I certainly didn't care for the direction Square seemed to be taking with the more realistic graphics in FFVIII. And, in terms of FF soundtracks I've heard (only up to IX), I rank FFIX 3rd behind FFVI(2nd) and FFT(1st).

Posted by: Moglv99 24th August 2005 19:56
Quote ("Narratorway@24th August 2005 13:39)
I think that's what most people have with the whole game in general. It is, in fact, gay. The light atmosphere was a breath of fresh air after the doom/gloom of VII/VIII, but it's just too much for masculine insecurity. But maybe I'm getting too Fruedian.

Zidane is gay?, he's just a good-looking boy...after all all he says he got in his mind is women...( he talks about it with Vivi, in your first visit to Dali..), then he also tries to have a date with Erin...(in Lindblum). I do agree, with the light atmosphere in FFIX, which is a beauty and have a wise and intrincate storyline, I liked how Vivi and Zidane were similar...how he acts when he discover the purpose of his existence, and how everybody was influenced by him. The love story were more realistic than FFVIII, ( but I liked FFVIII as well, to be honest until Trabia Garden..when they discover they already knew each other....then nobody cares about GF (losing they memories), well until CD2, I'll say, after that I don't like it...its like playing other game...you know Time compression, Ultimecia/Artemisa...(sigh).
FFIX is a fun game, if not looking for chocographs...I'm looking for treasures wink.gif

Posted by: Cloud_Strife510 25th August 2005 00:02
Quote
I think that's what most people have with the whole game in general. It is, in fact, gay. The light atmosphere was a breath of fresh air after the doom/gloom of VII/VIII, but it's just too much for masculine insecurity. But maybe I'm getting too Fruedian.


I said Zidane's hips gave him a feminine physique

but i don't believe anybody here has mentioned anything about Zidane being gay
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
I mean come on he is as horny as i am, well i might be hornier but who cares, he hit on garnet throughout the whole thing
the aspect that i liked most about zidane was that they brought back the aspect of a cocky main character, yes cloud was cocky, Zidane's cocky. and i don't remember VII really having that much of a doom/gloom theme, that was VIII

but still they're is no way Zidane is gay the only questionable thing he does is act onstage with tantalus

Posted by: Mimic 26th August 2005 17:00
FF9 is a game I've tried to play through time and time again, but it just can't hold my interest much past disc 1, which is a shame, really. The characters are pretty endearing if alittle one-dimensional or bland, I love the industrial revolution setting, the skill system is easy to use but allows access to a whole host of skills and attacks... all the same, I just don't seem to enjoy playing it too much, and I can't for the life of me fathom out why. I'll probably pick it up again sometime soon anyway.

Posted by: Zeromus_X 10th October 2005 05:39
i think it was a good game, actually. it is, after all, a throw back to the classics.

and to comment about disproportionate bodies:

the only game to not have super deformed bodies before X, was 8, so i just dont see why its a complaint. after all, isnt that a signature thing in ffs, the super deformed bodies?

also, the tune is from ff3(although i never heard it myself, but its on gamefaqs)
i believe you have to but dorga's artifact and unne's mirror to play it. IMO, ff3 has the best music of all the ff games. even the ps ones. no joke. especially dorgas theme. (its such a cool song.)

but anyway... i also didnt have a problem with necron, as id rather have a final boss thats a legendary figure than a human one. thats why i couldnt believe kuja was the final boss...until i beat the game of course.

and also, i think ff9 really takes advantage of the ps1's hardware. square's done that with their past" final ff for this system" of course. the fmvs are gorgous, and the music and etc. , every other compliment you mayve heard tongue.gif

i also really enjoyed amano returning, even if only for that game, as the designer. (nomura can't hold a candle to him, i dare you to disagree. ) even if he made garnet have blond hair...come to think of it, i think he makes all his females blond...huh...

but yeah, ff9 is a very good game smile.gif

Posted by: strikerbolt 10th October 2005 06:03
I thought it was pretty good. My biggest issue with video games these days is the plot/storyline. It had an interesting one.
Music was so-so, execpt i really liked the chocobo digging music (vallo a flamancio) and the tournament music (can't remember its name).
I liked the synthesis stuff, and how zidane had 2 types of weapons he could use, and how steiner can use teh magicsword ability if vivi is in the pt, so pt combos all around.
I always love and hate at the same time the ability-learning system thru weapons and armor.
Decent gameplay, and you can play with a friend! (a very patient friend)
The only game I can't bear to look at is morrowwind for the xbox. graphics don't rank very high on my chart.

Overall: Definitely worth your while

Posted by: Kane 10th October 2005 16:42
Personally, I like the whole "back to basics" feel of the game, but unlike earlier FFs, I was unable to attach myself to even a single character in FFIX. I didn't really like the Chocobo Hot or Cold or the Card game. But, overall I'd say it's pretty good

Posted by: dont chocobos rule? 10th October 2005 23:14
i kinda like the fact that its basicly all the FFs combined..........yea

Posted by: SaintWeapon 11th October 2005 00:29
What's odd is nobody picks on FFVII for chibi-ness. They have boxes for hands! But when FFIX rolled around, it's all "ew, they're super-deformed! it's a kiddie game!" Chibi, yes, but they're the best detailed chibis around.

Zidane is 16. Not 21, not 18. He's 16. Those of you older than that, think what were you doing at 16. Those of you 16 and younger, same thing. Of course Zidane is going to be lighthearted, because he's still a kid; he literally hasn't matured.

The game is easy, but 9999 is never deliberately breached, so all enemies are based within the 4 digit parameters. When you come from a Ruby/Omega Weapon world, of course you're going to find single four digit hits as weak. Then again, FFI through V were the same way. Today I just witnessed my level 78 Freya hit 9999 noncritical, perhaps her Dragon's Hair is based on how many dragons she's personally slain. Only four characters hit 9999 guaranteed, and they're not the reasons most folks decide to not use them.

If you pay attention, you'll learn Gaea is equivalent to our world's early 1700s, when the steam engine was patented and used. This is hardly the old-school game setting. Zidane is a throwback to Oliver Twist, the boy who's scraping by in the industrial age slums.

Interestingly, there really is nothing original in FFIX. Even the whole Terra scheme is based on FFIV,and the whole genome scheme based on FFVII. No matter what you extract, it's been done before. Even the music in Esto Gaza is a rehash of an early FF cave music. Infact, the battle theme is a composite of FFIV and FFVI battle themes.

Tetra Master is actually fun, but useless, whereas Triple Triad wasn't fun but useful. Apparently nobody can understand Tetra Master mechanics (just numbers), dubbing it too random when Triple Triad is loaded with impossible rules (woe to you with Esthar rules).

I'll defend FFVII in saying that GFs are why the characters are apsychological to some of you; they tamper with memories, the same things responsible for rational learned behavior. Squall is relied on too much when he really doesn't give a damn, the same situation our depressed youth face. "Oh they're not normal!" Well, that's because they're NOT supposed to be normal, they're SeeD, dummy!

I found FFIX excellent because of one central idea: it is COMPLETE. No plot holes, no director's cuts, no missing scripts, no rushed deadlines, nothing left out. To this day I have yet to see a Gameshark unlock something not usual to theregular FFIX gameplay, yet how much spam floats around about Aeris? Spam about Czar Dragon?

Posted by: malboro 11th October 2005 05:20
Granted FInal fantasy 9 was fun , but nothing from it really stuck with me the way things in the other games did .... it was kind of mediocre in comparison to the entire series , you know ?

Posted by: Smackthedog 14th October 2005 03:14
At first, the only reason i wanted to play i was because i wanted to see the "thong" Kuja was said to wear, then i got more into the story when looking for pics of Kuja, then when i finally bought it, i was like, WoW! this game is awesome! i'm still playin it, but... school...study...homework...blehhh... pinch.gif

and, IMO, zidane doesn't look like a girl... and the chibi thing, come on, it didn't look THAT bad,

I'm arguing with myself trying to find out if ff6 was better than ff9 is so far.

Posted by: puchiko 14th October 2005 13:48
I love FF9! It's one of my favorites! I think people get more enjoyment out of the game if they started on the classic FF games for NES and SNES. Since so many people jumped on the bandwagon with 7, perhaps even 8... and the whole futuristicness of it, many were probably taken aback by the medieval "technology-not-playing-a-major-part" theme of the game.

My theory on the chibiness... Since they were trying to go back to the classic feel but using the full advantage of the system it seems logical that Square would try to "Sprite-afy" the characters. This is the way it was with all the FF's prior to 7. Amano doing gorgeous character designs, but having to use little "chibi" sprites based upon that work to represent the character. I guess to form some sense of continuity, instead of going back and forth between chibi and realisim, they just stuck with chibi in the game. I really don't mind it too much. But Zidane's face annoys me. I *LOVE* his character, he has the most personality of the PSX generation FF games (as much as I'm a Squall fangirl... sorry Squally). Plus he's a theif... and Locke is a theif, and Locke is just awesome. XP Plus... Zidane's "big hips" are an advantage to me since I'm making his costume right now. Yeah I'm one of *those* people. LMAO

Anyway... Interesting thoery about Necron can be found here:

http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/final_fantasy_ix_plot.txt

Very lengthy, but worth a read if you need some good answers. =)

Posted by: NeoEx-Death 23rd November 2005 00:43
It was quite an interesting game, really. Final Fantasy IX was my first Final Fantasy game that I have played. I wanted to get into the series so I could understand why my bud on AIM likes FFVII so much, yeah, FFVII, but I didn't see it at the stores, so I bought IX. =P

The gameplay is actually quite good! The ability system rocked, but you couldn't have abilities that protects you from mini, zombie, etc.. The return of four characters per party really gave it a step backwards from the modern FF games.

The battle system is the only thing I didn't liike the most about gameplay, because I really don't like ATB gauges that don't freeze (Because it's annoying) like FFVI and some of FFVII's, for example.

That's just my opinion about the bs, because it's kind of cheating if you turn on the "Wait" for the ATB Gauges while an enemy's atb gauge is STILL filling up and you select spells or items right when a character or more in your party attacks the enemies. Because all gauges continue filling up during attacks, spell casts, item usage, defend, etc.

The plot was somewhat "combined" with the older ff's. It reminded me of FFIV like when the Alexandrian Empire goes around the world to snatch the four pendants so Queen Brahne can have more "power." It's just like King of Baron going around the world snatching crystals from Mysidia, Fabul, Troia, etc.

And later on, it brings back the feel of FFV when you first go to Ipsen's Castle, bring the four mirrors to each shrine (just like the meteor re-juvenation in FFV), go to Terra (the result of the four mirrors just like making a warp field to Galuf's world), then Garland talks to you about the world of Terra and Gaia that Terra needs to combine with Gaia to survive (Like Ex-Death trying to put the two world back together, except it was a different reason), and then in the final part at the Crystal World, Necron introduces himself as the ender of the world (Like NeoEx-Death wanting to erase all dimensions and memories).. Pretty cool stuff..

The graphics weren't that bad, it's just that they were badly animated. And when I bring them upclose on the screen to see their face (like in Treno, for example), I see the character's eyes, mouth, and nose, and they look weird O.O

The music was awesome, they gave me the old school feeling and that was great. The prelude, imo is so SWEET! It would sound even better if the piano was replaced with orchestral harps. Necron's theme is AMAZING once you start fighting him. I also loved other tracks, too.

Characters weren't amazing nor were they horrid. [JOKE] Zidane was well-developed just because he slapped Dagger on the buttcheek [/JOKE] But really, they were alright.

Overall, FFIX is my THIRD favorite, tying with FFVI. SO FFIIIj would be my second favorite, which is just below FFV.

Posted by: dont chocobos rule? 24th November 2005 03:56
I hate how everyone here is taking potshots at FF VIII....IT WAS REALLY AWESOME! How cool was Ragnarok? How unbelievably cool was the Limits? How awesome was Griever? How amazing was the musical score? thats right....VERY!


any back on topic....Vivi is the coolest little kid I've ever seen in my entire life.....the scene on the cargo ship just adds sympathy vote for him...and hes just so darn cute! Zidane, let me just say, is awesome: his trances are incredible.....*sigh* Quina. wierd, useless, good for some laughs....Steiner....useless in the begining...but oh when he learns shock...good god hes awesome.....Garnet/Dagger....shes just perfect....summoner, healer....thats all i need
Eiko....she annoys me.....a lot....Freya was pretty kool...yea


overall great!

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