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We hear all the time how great FFVII is and all that good stuff, but I think FFIX is better, yet it gets nowhere near the recognition or praise VII gets.

So which of these PS1-era FF games do you think is better? I didn't list FFVIII as an option, because no matter how much you may like VIII, it just doesn't compare to the other two. Sorry.

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I have to agree with you. In my opinion, it's the second best game in ther series. It's probably the most cinematic of the games, and it's got a lot of humor and personality. VII had that too, but it was mainly based out of two characters: Aeris and Barret. The plot is not as strong as VI's, but it is a very well done game.

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Praise Be To Helix!

well, i liked viii a lot more than most of the other ff games, you cant rule out someones opinion just because you disagree with them. that being said, i liked ix a more than the other ps 1 era games, it just felt right, and has some of the saddest scenes in any game ive played.

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Aujourdhui a commence avec toi.

Quote (dont chocobos rule? @ 27th October 2010 19:02)

well, i liked viii a lot more than most of the other ff games, you cant rule out someones opinion just because you disagree with them. that being said, i liked ix a more than the other ps 1 era games, it just felt right, and has some of the saddest scenes in any game ive played.

I agree, and I do believe that VIII should be considered in the conversation. #1, it's a FF game, and #2, many people actually like it. It's as unfair as for me saying that FFVI doesn't matter, like I've sadly done for a long time.

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Praise Be To Helix!

I was only half-joking when I said VIII doesn't matter. You all can still include it. I just chose not to in my post.

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My Final Fantasy Forum

^ Help me get started on my forum!

Quote (Fatal @ 27th October 2010 20:01)

I was only half-joking when I said VIII doesn't matter. You all can still include it. I just chose not to in my post.

I figured, that's why I didn't say anything initially. But ultimately, I agree with you on just about evertything. I think FFIX is better than FFVII, though I think it's close, because VII did many great things. For one, the way they handled the Aeris storyline was magificient, and I loved the slum setting during the beginning.

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Praise Be To Helix!

IX hands down. Music, characters, gameplay:

This game did everything Final Fantasy VII did, just forty times better.

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"When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some!" - Claire Farron

I'm gonna have to go with IX. I'm doing another replay again, I've never actually finished the game but I've started over like3 times because I'll get really far not play it for a long time and then have no idea what is going on or where I'm supposed to go next.

Anyway, my favorite FF character of all time is Vivi. He's just so adorable!!!! I love it when he trips!!!!

Ok back off fan girl....anway, i really like the music score as well my favorite selection being Fraya's theme. It's also a pretty easy going gaming experience. It's probably about the only game that it hasn't irritated me to have had to start over so many times. It's just enjoyable to play and watch the story unfold. I can't wait til I can complete it and learn what the rest of the story is.

This post has been edited by Chewbekah on 28th October 2010 04:03

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Chewbekah ^_^

Currently Playing: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR, Attack of the Firday Monsters, Animal Crossing: A New Leaf, Lego City Undercover, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix

Recently Finished: Fire Emblem: Awakening

Favorite Game: Suikoden III

Final Fantasy 7 hands down. Although if FF4 were in it, it would win.

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A creature born from eternal darkness and heavenly light. One single entity, birthed of two opposites. They somehow coexist, to create I, the Lunarian Prince...

I have yet to play any of the games in the series seriously past 7 because I spent the last 11 years on Everquest. But Im working my way back up again through the entire ps1 era (Already did 1, 2, 5, and am on 4 now) Once I get them done, Ill post a vote.

I believe they are too different to compare.

To me:

FFVII is a Sci-Fi movie.

FFIX is like Roald Dahl book.

They are just too different.

This post has been edited by PendragonKuro on 28th October 2010 06:47

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The meaning of life is life itself.

We were put on this earth to follow our dreams unabated.

IX. No contest. Even if didn't judge them on characters/story - in which IX is miles ahead - it still has better pacing and smoother gameplay mechanics. It's just more fun.

The only knock I can give it is that card game, but really that's FFVIII's fault.

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

Quote (Narratorway @ 27th October 2010 22:49)

IX. No contest. Even if didn't judge them on characters/story - in which IX is miles ahead - it still has better pacing and smoother gameplay mechanics. It's just more fun.

The only knock I can give it is that card game, but really that's FFVIII's fault.

Again, too difficult to judge them without digging too deep.


As for the card game, well, you got me there.

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The meaning of life is life itself.

We were put on this earth to follow our dreams unabated.

Quote (Narratorway @ 28th October 2010 02:49)

IX.  No contest.  Even if didn't judge them on characters/story - in which IX is miles ahead - it still has better pacing and smoother gameplay mechanics.  It's just more fun.

The only knock I can give it is that card game, but really that's FFVIII's fault.

And I wouldn't call that too much of a knock, since it's the most optional part of the game.

And I do think it's more fun, personally, because I honestly feel they had more control of it. Everything's seamless. The writing is great. The interplay between Steiner and Zidane is fantastic.

Quote (PendragonKuro)

Again, too difficult to judge them without digging too deep.

Then why not dig deeply? That's what this forum is about afterall.

This post has been edited by BlitzSage on 28th October 2010 07:37

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Praise Be To Helix!

ff7 is massively overrated.

The characters weren't all that great in ff7 and its story had some interesting ideas but it was't very well focused.

FF9 was like a kid's cartoon.

I liked some of the characters but i didn't care for zidane or eiko,too childish for me.

I'd put ff9's character development on par with suikoden 1 and 2.

And trust me,that is a good thing because i really like suikoden 2.

In terms of depth,i think that kuja was overall a better villain and better developed than sephiroth.

He was mean he was arrogant narcissistic jerk.

Steiner was better as a hero than cloud or barret any day.

Steiner at least makes me feel some emotion other than disgust.

Seriously,cloud is extremely unlikeable and acts like a jerk,i don't know why people fall at his feet and love him so much.

He simply isn't that great of a character.

The story part other than the amnesia is pretty good.

I think sephiroth is way more interesting than cloud.

A victim of society and a war hero.

A monster created.

On the other hand,even when his story is interesting,he as a character simply isn't interesting.

He is totally bland from lack of appearance sake.

In music,my points go towards ff9 anyways.

FF9 music is beautiful.

The airship theme is great
Vamo alla flamenco is catchy
And what about village of the black mages?

The big downside to the villain is:kuja looks like a girl.
I don't know the japanese fetish with girly guys,but seriously,it detracts from the character a little.

As far as gameplay goes:I think that the whole armor system was pretty original actually.

Before ff9,we depended on magic rocks to get our spells.

In ff9,we get another new system.

I also admit that i prefer mid evil setting over ff7 and ff8's modern system.

I also think not having mystical creatures and such detracts from the game anyways because it doesn't feel like a mystical world.

message to blitzsage:

ff7 has some interesting settings and got a few things right,but i think that it has too many problems to be on level with either ff6 or ff9,but this is of course my opinon.

I still think that they didn't do a very good job at making the characters seem 3 dimensional.

They came out very bland.


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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

To all you people who hate on VII 'cause it's overrated: This is not enough basis to dislike a game. Not actually a spoiler but I don't want to get modded

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

Oh no, sex is overrated I'm afraid it sucks now

The game gets a lot of praise because ,well, it's a good game. It has a solid story, good characters who act in a reasonably lifelike manner, good villain, the materia system is made out of pure distilled win and the music is still the best in the series I think. However the out of battle characters look deformed (though this could be because it was squares first large scale 3d Final Fantasy), Cait Sith should have been shot, the Golden Saucer should have had a quieter theme and Sapphire Weapon should have been battleable (is that a word?)

On the other hand IX also has it's good points: The medieval setting brings back some nostalgia and fuses what they did right in the old games with what they did right with the newer ones, the ability system is one of my favorites and Zidane is the best protagonist (until Balthier), Kuja has an epic theme and I rate Darkness of Eternity to be equal to One Winged Angel. But now for the problems: The art style threw plenty people off, Quina should have been shot, dancing dragoons are terrible, Kuja wears a MAN-THONG, the 4th disk sucks, Necron is the worst end-boss ever and Quina should be shot (again for good measure)

This rant was originally a lot longer but I started straying from the point.

Moderator Edit

Yeah, because mods NEVER read spoilers. -R51

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 28th October 2010 18:01

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Picking between the two is an impossibly hard decision for me. I realize that FFVII has come to be regarded as the 'overrated' Final Fantasy and, due to the sheer volume of additional titles, spin offs and marketing, has alienated some of the game's own fan base. That said, I still love the game more than most I've ever played. Maybe the story seemed to stretch itself a bit thin at times, but hey, at least they weren't all orphans who accidentally all coincidentally forgot. The materia system is still my favorite skills/abilities system in any game to date and, while some see it as a negative, I think that the fact that there was so much potential to expand on the story through sequels and prequels (more so than most of the other Final Fantasies!) only adds to the depth of the story being told.

Likewise, with IX, because it was also SUCH a good game. The characters alone were some of the most interesting out of the entire franchise, and FFIX hands down has one of the best soundtracks to any RPG. I just wish they had either never made the last disc or ended it with a bit more power, because the whole "look, a castle! Let's...uh, kill what's inside it!" seemed a bit weak after the great story-telling involved up to that point. That, and it reminded me of the end of FFVIII and that's never a good thing.

For all intents and purposes, the games are tied in my books. And, I would've left it that way too, if it weren't for that glorious quick-time event at the start of the game between Zidane and Blank, during their performance.

Ok, so FFIX comes out just slighty ahead.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

Quote (Fatal @ 27th October 2010 22:19)

We hear all the time how great FFVII is and all that good stuff, but I think FFIX is better, yet it gets nowhere near the recognition or praise VII gets.

I love you so much right now ! Though I don't think that FF VII is getting much love as it used to. It seems like the cool thing at the moment is to not like FF VII. Though I'm not saying that VII is a terrible game, because it's not. Just that I agree alot that it's alot better than VII though it doesn't get as much attention as FF VII does.

If we look at leads. Sorry Cloud fans, I don't mean to insult his character. But he's crumbly, fickle, unpredictable, and unreliable. Also you can't trust him, because of his schizophrenic like fits you don't know when he's actually going to pull the leadership job successfully or end up hitting one of your teammates. While Zidane, he cares about his people and friends. Even if the enemy has made a mockery of him, Zidane will know what's best and the right decision to take. Also he's a better role model, and better to look up to than Cloud. It may sound biased, but that's why I love Zidane so much. He's a excellent friend and leader.

Also If we look at Villains. Most of the dirty work is either done by Hojo or Jenova. Sephiroth gets too much credit. While Kuja, despite his feminine appearance. He's a excellent schemer, like a chess player. He works out everything from behind and Queen Brahne, Garnet, Garland and Zidane were just pieces on his chessboard.

Also heroines. Garnet is a strong and independent girl and she doesn't need to learn karate or boxing to prove to people that she's tough.

Music too. FF IX has really wonderful music like "You're not alone. " " Dark Messager " and " Jester's of the moon ". And FF VII just has "OWA ".

FF IX really does seem like a much better game than FF VII.

Quote

To all you people who hate on VII 'cause it's overrated: This is not enough basis to dislike a game. Not actually a spoiler but I don't want to get modded

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

Oh no, sex is overrated I'm afraid it sucks now

I agree alot. Alot of Final Fantasy fans seem to think that since FF VII is really poplaur it's now cool and awesome to actually put the game down. I love FF IX alot, but FF VII has a majestic, complexed and creative storyline. I love Hojo as a villian and the game's wild and whacky sense of humor. It was loved and adored back in '97 for a reason.

This post has been edited by ZidaneTribal on 29th October 2010 05:35

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Currently playing Chrono Trigger !!
Currently looking forward to Don't Know.

FFVII is a lot better than FFIX

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Quote (by: Cloud)

All right, everyone, lets mosey

I absolutely agree, FF9 was much better than FF7, even though FF7 was really good as well.
More people need to play FF9, surely.

My two cents:

Strory: IX. Mostly for Vivi's story arc.

Music: Both have lots of great tracks in my opinion, for example I'm quite fond of Freya's theme and Beatrix's theme in IX and all of the battle themes in VII. I'm going to give this one a tie.

Gameplay: VII by miles. IX has a painfully slow atb gauge, fixed job classes (to be clear, I don't hate job classes, I hate when characters are locked into one job class for the whole game) and mini-games which I found to be boring, frustrating, or a combination of both. VII's materia system offers a lot more freedom in how to set up your characters and I found the mini games enjoyable for the most part (off hand, I only remember disliking the CPR event/mini game).

I think that they're both great games, but I personally have more fun playing VII so I'll give it the win.


VIII is still my favourite though.

This post has been edited by ILoveMoombas! on 8th November 2010 16:28

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FF games completed: I (psp), II (psp), III (DS), IV (psp), V (GBA), VI (GBA), VII, VIII, IX, X, XI: Nations-Rhapsodies of Vana'diel, XII, XIII, XIV, XV.
Spin-offs: FFIV: Interlude & The After Years, Crisis Core: FFVII, X-2, XIII-2, Lightning Returns, Type-0 HD, Dissidia, Dissidia 012, and Tactics (original & WotL).
Enjoyed them all.

I also prefer IX, one of my favourites in the series actually, behind IV and VI (and Tactics, for what it's worth). Great story, gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds, possibly the pinnacle of the technique, very well-done villains (Garland especially, wish he got more screentime), my favourite FF soundtrack...etc etc. It's fairly poorly paced, but so is VII, so I can't hold it against either of them. That said, both games rip off Blade Runner, which as I see it is a GOOD thing, one of the best plot devices in video games. I'm an oldschool Final Fantasy player, and while IX may be pandering to my market, they sure did it right.

That said, hope this thread doesn't turn into a bunch of VII hate, there's been a bit of that recently.

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"If art doesn't risk upsetting expectations and challenging its audience, it can only stagnate."

ff7 story is good and all but its characters are very bland and uninteresting.

The problem with ff7 is the focus,i keep saying it again and again:

The game does not give enough focus to the other characters and sephiroth does not appear enough to really give you a sense of a villain,and what squeenix says contradicts the game as sephiroth originally plays as a victim and not having planned it out all a long.

That is why it does not fit.

The characters could have been a lot better and more interesting and the story could have been more coherent

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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

I wish I could voice a proper opinion on this topic. I kind of feel like my experience with FF9 was colored by everything else I had going on at that time - I didn't get to play it in one real cohesive run-through, as I didn't have much time for games at the time. I also didn't get to play it until it had been out for over a year, because I couldn't afford new games at the time. I also played it during the time that we were developing CoN5, so that was sucking up a lot of my attention even as I played.

All those things kind of add up to me thinking that I didn't get the experience that a lot of people did with that game, because I'm not really as in love with it as many people are, even though I still really enjoyed it.

That being said, I'd probably have to lean toward FF7 right now, but this thread kind of makes me think that I need to have another go at FF9 in the future.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN? Or perhaps buying a really good looking shirt?

I'd go for IX overall but not by much. VII is much better in its set pieces and events. I really love some of the effects and ideas that go into the scenes, for example the Lifestream, the flashbacks and the final battle. IX is more complete and consistent. I imagine one of the reasons for VII to be lauded more is that it's better at sucking players into the story and getting them emotionally involved. I'd say it's more memorable than IX.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (Rangers51 @ 11th November 2010 13:41)

All those things kind of add up to me thinking that I didn't get the experience that a lot of people did with that game, because I'm not really as in love with it as many people are, even though I still really enjoyed it.

That being said, I'd probably have to lean toward FF7 right now, but this thread kind of makes me think that I need to have another go at FF9 in the future.

Everybody experiences games differently right?

I discovered chrono trigger like 5 years ago maybe and i was instantly charmed.

So i am not entirely sure about the whole nostalgia and clinging on to the past thought.

I was thinking if i had been harsh with ff7 all these years and was wondering if i was wrong.

Don't answer the last part.



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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Quote (sweetdude @ 11th November 2010 14:03)

I'd go for IX overall but not by much. VII is much better in its set pieces and events. I really love some of the effects and ideas that go into the scenes, for example the Lifestream, the flashbacks and the final battle. IX is more complete and consistent. I imagine one of the reasons for VII to be lauded more is that it's better at sucking players into the story and getting them emotionally involved. I'd say it's more memorable than IX.

I think there's something to that. VII definitely has a lot of iconic imagery. I think IX, as you say, is a more complete game, but I guess some may think it a bit bland because of that, nothing that makes it stand out the way VII does. Yet I feel that there are some minor flaws in VII that place IX just ahead of it for me. It's probably the most cinematic game in the series, not just because of FMVs; the story's style is structured a lot like a movie, with the opening heist and the banter (which I love to death) between Zidane and Steiner. While Cloud is a better hero, the main character's personalities as a whole make me love playing it just a bit more, though they're both solidly in my top three.

I prefer VI's plotline over them, but in terms of personality and imagery, they're the top of the list. Oh, another thing I love about IX: VII has iconic imagery, but IX's set pieces are simply beautiful. I literally just walked around for hours looking at the artwork and statues. In that way, it's a lot like VI, in that it's world, despite the cartoonish tonality, feels realistic, as if it actually exists.

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Praise Be To Helix!