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Final Fantasy IX celebrates its 19th anniversary today!

In my opinion, it's the greatest Final Fantasy of all time or at the very least it deserves to be among the top three best in the mainline series. It features a gripping story set in a beautiful medieval fantasy world with a very memorable cast of characters. Of course Vivi is a favorite among many, including myself, but the banter between Zidane and Steiner was also entertaining. I know people will say the combat is slower than previous Final Fantasy entries since the ATB bar takes longer to fill but this never really bothered me. Trance mode was also really cool, seeing a party member change their appearance and unleash more powerful attacks. One of my favorite things about the game is when you arrive to a new town and get to buy new weapons and equipment because you not only upgrade your basic stats like attack and defense and whatnot but you can gain new abilities through certain equipment which was a great way to incentivize continuously battling enemies. I really liked the Tetra Master card minigame too (although Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII was a little better). I wish newer Final Fantasy games continued introducing minigames like this where you collect cards in the game world to use during your downtime from saving the world.

The overworld theme is super nostalgic for me. I remember when I first heard it and saw the land covered in mist, it's kind of hard to put into words but playing Final Fantasy IX for the first time as a kid, the music did a really good job of conveying how there was this great world to explore. I think that's really important for any role-playing game.

 
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Also, I didn't see this video until now:



Make sure to click the CC button in the video to read the English subtitles.

I really like the story about the middle schooler who wrote in saying how the game changed his life.
 
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Shifty

Member
Ahh, the first Final Fantasy game I ever played :messenger_grinning_smiling:

For whatever reason I got to the start of disc 2 and dropped off when I had it as a kid, but I fully intend to take another swing and finish it one of these days.

Oddly enough I remember less of it than 8, which I only saw rather than played back in the day. I recall traveling through a long tunnel with a boss fight, Quina dying except not really, and getting Freya (who I thought was rad), but not much else outside of getting spoiled on the Alexander reveal and Vivi's true nature.

All the more to enjoy when I actually get around to it, no doubt.
 

mejin

Member
Psone was really blessed with jrpgs from Square. I always loved how different they went with VII, VIII and IX. Best time of the series.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I never thought IX was that great, but I did enjoy it. I'm more a fan of the pseudo-futuristic Final Fantasy games. The piano collections album for IX was great, though.

I should go back and play it again. Haven't done so since... 2006, I think.
 
I never played it to be honest...because of Dreamcast. In fact it is the sole game between Final Fantasy I - XII I have not played. But it always looked appealing though. I more a fan of the characters in a game like this, than the ones with "realistic proportions" like in VIII, X, or XII.
 
I think everything of it that you do, and more, OP. I played it as a kid and was mesmerized. It showed me a beauty of creativity I didn't knew existed and I cried at the end of it.

I don't have anything bad to say about it; I view it as a magical piece of art. It is by far my favorite game of all time
 
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Third Final Fantasy I played and my second favourite out of all of them!

That final boss can be bullshit though as well as finding those Ultimate Weapons.



Found this a few months back and love it.
 
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Ahh, the first Final Fantasy game I ever played :messenger_grinning_smiling:

For whatever reason I got to the start of disc 2 and dropped off when I had it as a kid, but I fully intend to take another swing and finish it one of these days.

Oddly enough I remember less of it than 8, which I only saw rather than played back in the day. I recall traveling through a long tunnel with a boss fight, Quina dying except not really, and getting Freya (who I thought was rad), but not much else outside of getting spoiled on the Alexander reveal and Vivi's true nature.

All the more to enjoy when I actually get around to it, no doubt.
Every time I replayed the game and switched to the next disc was like starting a new season to your favorite show. Like the first time you fight Beatrix and then lose to her and then you see this incredible cinematic of Kuja flying off on his dragon. The battle of Alexandria is one of the best parts of the game, yeah, but it sucks that you were spoiled on the reveal. It's such a well paced story too. There's so much depth to the characters and I like how the mist is a recurring theme.
 
Geat game with a great cast, was a little disappointed in the downsizing of towns and the worldmap though.

On another note this piece of shit can rot in hell.

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S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
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I wish FF9 would get a remake. Game had a soul unlike FF7/8/10/12/13/15/16/17/18.
 

ExpandKong

Banned
I've never used a Bradygames strategy guide. Are they notoriously bad or something?

Their FF9 guide was. Had most of the info you’d buy a strategy guide for tied to their website (“Want to see what items this boss has to steal? Go to www.whatever.com”) at a time when the Internet was still not exactly widely available.
 

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
My personal favorite game and a fantastic entry in the JRPG genre. Definitely worth a play for anyone who wants a fun time, great characters, one of the best Uematsu scores of all time, and an interesting look at one's own mortality.
 
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I wish FF9 would get a remake. Game had a soul unlike FF7/8/10/12/13/15/16/17/18.
Honestly, I'm perfectly fine with the game not being remade. So long as they continue to make it available on newer platforms. Looking at Final Fantasy VII Remake, it's obvious they would only change things.
 
I've never used a Bradygames strategy guide. Are they notoriously bad or something?
Their FF9 guide was. Had most of the info you’d buy a strategy guide for tied to their website (“Want to see what items this boss has to steal? Go to www.whatever.com”) at a time when the Internet was still not exactly widely available.

It was worse than that lol, say you were looking up something specific like a endgame weapon for Zidane. Well the guide had these codes that you were supposed to use online to get the rest of the info so it was like enter code "X67Gzy492". Then it would bring up that specific info. (when it worked)

Now imagine doing this for every single important piece of information about the game.

It was basically like DRM for strategy guides lol.
 
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Rodolink

Member
Amazing game, I love it. I could never finish it when it came out thanks for the crappy copies they were selling at my old place. Then I played it on Vita and what a delight it was. I think it's one of the best balanced entries in the series.
 

Myths

Member
One of the best. I think Feel My Blade should have been the default battle theme tbh but I can see why it is exactly as it was.
 

TheContact

Member
As a kid, when the game first came out, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did 6, 7, or 8. Playing it today, I have a deeper appreciation for just how polished the game is. The music is great, the graphics are great (especially the remastered version), and the battle system is fine. My one gripe is that the ATB recharge is way too slow and encounter rates are too high in some areas. I really enjoy watching this game get speedran though.
 

Fushitsusha

Banned
Not just the best Final Fantasy, but one of the best games ever made.

Finished it probably 10+ times back in the day, and when the PSP was rumored/announced, all I could think of was the to play FFIX on the go.
 
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