marty1982's Full Review: Final Fantasy IX for PlayStation 1
Final Fantasy VIII was arguably the most disliked game in the Final Fantasy series. While Squaresoft certainly made a noble attempt at altering the tried-and-true FF-formula with a revamped battle system, new shop system, more realistic and character-centered plot, complex "Junction" system, and new magic system; it was these "enhancements" that were ultimately where the game fell flat on its face. Squaresoft simply tried to do too many things at once, and the result was an overly ambitious game that would've benefited greatly had the company simply cut back a little on the invention and focused more on good, solid gameplay. Within weeks after FF8's release, Square was talking about how Final Fantasy IX would be a "return to the series' roots" with the classic medieval environments and traditional Final Fantasy battle system making a triumphant return. Expectations were high, and when the game was finally released, it received a generally positive response. And rightfully so as, while not perfect, Final Fantasy IX is a more than worthy addition to the Final Fantasy franchise, and one no fan should be without.
Perhaps the weakest thing about Final Fantasy IX is its story. The main plot centers around Zidane, a young thief who is initially sent to kidnap princess Garnet (from here on out refered to by her admittedly stupid nickname, Dagger) during a play, but somehow winds up saving the kingdom and the world from a brainwashed queen and evil Sephiroth/Kefka hybrid. In other words, most of the storyline is basic Final Fantasy, and being a supposed "return to roots," there's very little novel about it save for some of the humor which, mark my words, will make you laugh at some points. Likewise, the characters are just missing that depth the characters in games like Final Fantasy VI and VII had. The only ones I ever really grew attached to were Vivi and Dagger, and that's only because they and the surprisingly underdeveloped Zidane get the most playtime of any character in the game. Steiner is little more than a comic relief, and the remaining characters are really just filler.
Fortunately, Final Fantasy IX's gameplay is good enough that it's one of the few RPGs that can easily get away with a slightly derivative plot. After the unnecessarily complex battle system in 8, FF9's system is very easy to understand. Each character has certain abilities he/she can learn, depending on his/her equipment. Through the game's menu system, you can set your character to learn a certain number of different abilities and once learned, they are permenantly remembered. I like this system because it gives each character his/her own unique attributes as opposed to the previous two games, whose individual character attributes were limited to the weapons they could equip. The MP system of magic has thankfully returned after the previous game's horrible "draw" system. And the new Limit breaks, called "Trances," are a welcome return to FF7's style after FF8's rather awkward modification. Not all is perfect with the gameplay, though. Final Fantasy IX's random encounter rate seems a bit higher than in other Final Fantasies, which means you'll be spending even more of your time running from random battles while trying to solve that last puzzle in Dungeon-X than in previous games. This is a fairly minor quibble, but is frustrating nonetheless.
Final Fantasy IX's graphics are little more than 8's with superdeformed characters and slightly better modeling. The prerendered backgrounds and spells are gorgeous and enough incentive to keep playing even when you get bored, but the characters themselves still look a bit rough (though not as bad as Rinoa's model in FF8!). The FMV scenes are tiny bit blurry, but entertaining nonetheless.
Aurally speaking, in "returning to roots," the music forgoes the teen drama-like tunes of Final Fantasy VIII in favor of the classic industrial-twinged symphonic orchestrations of the first seven Final Fantasies. While good, the soundtrack ultimately pales in comparison with the amazing compositions in games like Final Fantasy VI. Is it my imagination, or does the boss battle music sound a bit like the theme music for the show Dexter's Laboratory? The sound effects are your typical slashes and spells. Nothing really special.
I know it sounds like I'm being fairly harsh with this review, but in all fairness, Final Fantasy IX is a great RPG. It's obvious Squaresoft wanted the last Final Fantasy game on the PSX to be something special, hence the whole "return to roots" deal. And although not without its flaws, Final Fantasy IX is an excellent RPG and fine farewell to the PS1.
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