Within the first few hours I spent playing Final Fantasy IX, I predicted
that opinions over it would be sharply contrasting. Much of today's following
of the Final Fantasy series consists of people who were brought on board with
Final Fantasy VII, which is often credited with single-handedly bringing RPGs
into the mainstream. So, we have a lot of FF fans out there who never
experienced the first two thirds of the series, and never bothered to get the
previous games because of a stigma against anything on outdated
consoles.
Now we have Final Fantasy IX, a game which is basically a
response to long-time series fans' complaints about the direction the series
has been taking. I was definitely one of these complainants. While I loved
FFVII, FFVIII had serious problems with both its plot and gameplay. What these
two games had in common is that they almost completely lost touch with the
fantasy elements of their predecessors, becoming entirely sci-fi outings
instead of the blend of genres that has made Final Fantasy so
interesting.
I think almost everyone who is a long-time fan of the series
and enjoyed the feel of the first six installments is going love Final Fantasy
IX. As for the people who are new to the series, FFIX will be different from
what they've experienced up to this point. Some may be quick to embrace it,
while it will probably turn many people off.
So how much of Final
Fantasy IX is a retro experience? To begin with, FFIX's plot shows the effort
to return to the style of pre-PSX Final Fantasies. The world of FFIX is vastly
medieval, with technology playing a limited role. It's still a world of mixed
genres, but when you spend the game walking through castles and cobblestone
paths instead of concrete roads and neon skyscrapers, you can tell the
difference.
The party is back up to four, a welcome correction after two
games with the decidedly underwhelming party of three. This four-person party
is very important, because like early FFs, the emphasis in FFIX is on having a
well-balanced party instead of highly customizable individual characters. In
FFVII and VIII, the characters were basically blank slates that you could build
up any way you wanted, with very few individual characteristics (basically the
limit breaks). In FFIX, characters each have classes once again-- not every
character can do every technique or spell. There are fighters who will never be
able to cast magic and mages who will be extremely weak fighters but powerful
magic users. You also have characters who are mostly healers, and the return of
FF classes like Dragoon and Blue Mage. The idea of course is to create a
balanced party using these classes.
The characters not only play
different, but look and act differently too. Zidane, the main character of
FFIX, is a hero that harkens back to early installments of the series. The
heroes of VII and VIII often lacked the kind of heart that Zidane has-- while
they fought because they were ''doing their jobs,'' Zidane fights for what he
believes is right. FFIX also has all the characters you've come to expect-- a
humorous character (the asexual chef named Quina), a loner (the visually unique
Amarant), and the naive princess (Garnet).
This leads to a complaint
some have about FFIX, and that is its predictability. While I admit that many
of the elements of the game are borrowed from previous FFs, I was still
surprised by the plot twists and taken in by the world of the game, as any good
RPG will do. FFIX takes the best elements of the previous games, puts them
together, combines them with new material and presents us with an overall great
package and a salute to the series in its last installment on the
PSX.
Graphics: 10
Of course, Square produces the most
beautiful games that exist today, so much that people have almost become numb
to it. I had to actually stop and realize how beautiful these backgrounds were
that I was running through before I took the time to observe just how majestic
each rendered background is. The FMV is also top-notch, with a great deal of it
being spread out through the game. Battle scenes feature the great effects and
visuals you've come to expect. A welcome change in this department is the
toning down of summon spells, both in length and in importantce to
battle.
Sound: 7
Unfortunately, the score for the last
two FFs just has not done as much for me as earlier installments. I don't know
if Uematsu is running out of innovations or what, but the soundtrack of FFIX,
like that of FFVIII, lacks the spirit and epic grandeur of earlier Final
Fantasies. It's not bad by any means, and there are definitely enjoyable
tracks, but few stand out as truly excellent like they have in the past. The
theme song, Melodies of Life, however, is a true
treasure.
Gameplay: 10
Well, you either like it or you
don't. I personally like having a variety of types of characters with
individual abilities, rather than characters that are carbon copies of each
other. But if customization is your thing, there is still something for you in
FFIX. You learn abilities from weapons and armor in this game, and have a
limited number of points to spend assigning abilities. The FFVIII weapon
modification system is back in the form of synthesis, which allows you to
combine old weapons and armor into new and improved
ones.
Challenge: 8
I found this game much more
challenging that the mind-numbingly easy VIII. Not only is a lot of
level-building required, but you can't rely on that completely to help you beat
bosses, either. You have to get the right abilities by finding and purchasing
the right weapons and armor. This challenge is fun rather than frustrating.
It's a bad thing when the challenge of a game is just figuring out how it
works, as in VIII's ill-conceived junction system. This isn't supposed to be as
complicated as brain surgery. When the challenge is in actually accomplishing
things, it's a video game.
Replay Value: 10
In an RPG,
the best sign of replay value is how many things there are to do aside from
actually beating the game. After being missing in VIII, IX brings back a
plethora of mini-games that can be addicting and rewarding. You can catch frogs
with Quina, jump rope with Vivi, and-- yes, it's back-- train a chocobo!
Chocobo training has a new system and is really quite fun, involving treasure
hunting across the entire world. There a number of hidden side quests and
secret character exposition scenes that you can seek out, not to mention quests
to get best weapons, and two hidden optional bosses, Ozma and Hades. So there's
plenty to do once the game is complete.
Overall, I'd say FFIX is the
second best in the PSX series, and third overall, behind VII and VI. If you're
a fan of old RPGs and fantasy environments, you're going to love it.
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