Final Fantasy IX Review

Well, there are many things to be said about Final Fantasy IX. Surely, many people have already played it, and just as surely, many more people will play it, as well. In any case, opinions are bound to be divided. You may find that you absolutely LOVE the game and wholly enjoy it for many years to come. Or, you may be of the opinion that Final Fantasy IX is the worst game in the entire series—nay—the entire gaming industry! Well, I am completely split down the middle.

This game is, quite frankly, geeky and childish in more than a few ways. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it. It’s just that, compared to the titles I enjoy (FFVII, Final Fantasy X, etc.), I first figured that this game was far too cutesy for me to enjoy. How I was wrong! I mean, the characters didn’t lose their cartoonish looks or mannerisms, but even so, I played on and thoroughly enjoyed the plot and mini-games! I even began to grow fond of these little creatures! By the end, I barely noticed what so irked me in the beginning.

Final Fantasy IX has a certain charm that wins you over like that. Whether you enjoy the dialogue, (There are quite a few silly arguments that’ll have you in stitches), the gameplay, the music, or even the graphics. For a game with characters that are so limited to cartoon appearances, you would normally think the graphics would be neglected, right? You obviously haven’t played a Squaresoft/Square Enix game before, have ya? I’ll later delve deeper into the different aspects of the game, but first, a brief synopsis:

So, you start the game as Zidane—a member of the acting troupe Tantalus. Tantalus makes quite a fair living off of scams and farces. Their latest scam is to put on a play for the kingdom of Alexandria in order to distract everyone while they kidnap the princess. Little did they know that the princess herself was about to run away anyhow! Well, before making your escape, you pick up a little black mage and the knight entrusted with protecting the princess. This rag-tag bunch sets off on an adventure to uncover the kingdom’s many dark secrets and possibly an even larger secret that concerns all of the world of Gaia.

On the surface, this sounds goofy and dorky, but it really keeps you enthralled ‘til the end! …Honest!

Well, let’s get into the characters now. Zidane is a thieving little punk, but he’s also quite fun. The princess starts out kind of similar to the stereotype of the sheltered teenage girl, but really becomes something else altogether! Vivi, the black mage is as cute as he is talented! Plus, his storyline pulls quite a few heartstrings! Steiner is an oaf, but he adds to the dialogue with some funny banter. (He really HATES Zidane!) Those are the main characters, but there are a few others. I’ll let you get a peg on their personalities when you play it!

The music of this game wasn’t quite anything. I mean, I really appreciate the fact that I never actually felt ATTACKED by music like some other games, (Final Fantasy VII – Junon Town), but I still wish the music had a slightly stronger presence—if only to provide more essence, that is.

Now, the graphics of FFIX. Well, what can I say? This game beats all previous playstation Final Fantasy games! Of course, this is to be expected, but nevertheless, it’s still quite a feat. I’m constantly impressed with it all. As I said before, it’s really quite amazing that a game with such cartoon-like environments and characters could really be as visually stunning as something you would find on the later-to-come PS2!

Well, let’s move onto the scores.

Storyline and Plot will receive a nine out of ten. I completely enjoyed it!

Characters will receive an eight out of ten because they’re so funny and loveable!

Music will get a six and a half out of ten. I hate to give that low of a score, but it truly needed to grasp me a bit more to merit something higher!

Gameplay, of course, cannot be ignored. There wasn’t really much different from the earlier Final Fantasy titles, but the things that they did change were actually fairly difficult to understand. The whole Dyne system (that’s the limit break system for FFIX laypeople), seems a bit unfinished and unexplained to me. I found myself gaining abilities and using them completely unknowingly. I only figured out what to use on bosses…on the second to last boss! Other than that, though, the game plays pretty well. Just like a classic Final Fantasy game with the turn-based RPG system and the monsters ready to be summoned, (they’re called Eidolons here). Therefore, gameplay receives an eight out of ten.

Overall, that gives us a final score of thirty-one and a half out of forty, or, to simplify it a bit, 15.75 out of 20

That’s actually not too bad a score. I know it may seem to be, as it does not quite reach the bar of potential, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable video game and I feel it finally deserves its day in the sun. Have fun!