Why don't people like Final Fantasy IX?

After some Christmas boredom and standard internet browsing I came across a particular article on 1UP that got me thinking about some of my favourite older RPG’s. In particular it got be thinking about Final Fantasy and the ninth instalment in the series.

While Final Fantasy IX didn’t generate the same amount of hype as VII, VIII or X, it did have a following of hardcore fans. It came at a time when myself in particularly had no idea when I could take the leap onto the next generation console, in this case the PlayStation 2 which had only just been released. As such I trusted in my grey friend again to provide me with some enjoyable gaming activities and boy did he deliver.

At this point Square were pushing out Final Fantasy games at an almost yearly rate and each was a single approach to the standard formula, there was no need for sequels or immensely rubbish spin-offs. Ok the graphics didn’t compare to Final Fantasy X, which had already been announced for the next gen, but the game pushed the original Playstation as far as it could go.

Final Fantasy IX is, in my opinion, the sweetest and most sincere take on the Final Fantasy brand ever and one that gripped you straight from the play at Alexandria to the inevitable final battle.

Of course, when you lift off those rose-tinted glasses, the few faults of the game are easy to spot and the game should have really be pushed over to the next gen console to fully realise it’s potential. Along with Vagrant Story the game really excelled at what it did even with the limitations of the console itself. Getting sucked into a Random Battle produced a good few seconds of blank screen, and what seemed to be intentional build-up music, before the monsters and characters were released on screen. Other issues arose in areas where the game didn’t have the memory or the time to give some of the core plot characters enough personality. Eiko, Amarant and Quina just didn’t get the time they deserved and Freya’s back story needed far more development.

What the game did get right though was the pacing and the development of the characters once they were on your journey, in particular towns certain short character interchanges were available to flesh out emotion and the Chocobo digging side missions could have been a game in itself. Once particular piece of magic was the use of a single spell in battle to topple the disk changing boss, Soul Tree (and for the life of me I want to say disc two but it might have been disk three). It was in these moments that the game sucked you in for more and the graphical prowess of the cut-scenes made for dramatic viewing – Alexander vs Bahamut springs instantly to mind.

The core story of friendship, love, and loss still makes for one of the strongest in Final Fantasy history, mostly because it's just so damned straightforward and humanistic. I couldn’t tell you what happened in the more recent games as their stories become so contrived that I actually lose interest. In a fantasy world we all need some grounding from reality to keep us invested in the characters plight (actually Catherine is a great example of this – completely abnormal gameplay but with a core story based in the real world).

Although some of the characters get short changes – see above – you still knew exactly what their nuances where and how their personalities would affect the situation. The Final Fantasy games have become more about their ‘Sexy Teen’ style cast as the years go on and IX is a complete contradiction to that rule. There’s a ‘there’s a homeless piñata’ a ‘Buzz Lightyear style knight’ and a ‘moomin dressed in housewife clothes’. The only one feasibly humanlike in creation and nature is Garnet – who has a ridiculously childlike face and could never become a real object of your desires. The whole cast are a travelling freakshow.

It’s these extreme character traits and their subsequent changes that make the game so memorable: Steiner (the Buzz Lightyear) goes from stuffy antagonist to a warmer hero, Vivi copes with knowing he is just a puppet, and even the main character Zidane has to deal with some heavy plot points towards the end that contradict his childish antics.

Many people think that Final Fantasy IX is a cheap throwback to the original games, and although there are a few quotes here and there, this is really a game that has been created with character of its own. It has the same monsters as most games and pulls back to some of the battle systems of yesteryear but it’s a great instalment to what has unfortunately  become (since the release of X) a tarnished franchise.

I’m not sure if this still has a mediocre reputation, maybe I’d know for sure if people ever mentioned it (which is part of the reason for writing this). I’m guessing the characters are nearly as marketable as those from new instalments but if you’ve never played it then now is the time. Go out and find those legendary weapons, take some time to explore the cracks and crevices of Treno which hold a mountain of quests. In fact I am going to play this through again…. And I’d love to have some dialogue with people who see the magic of this severely overlooked game.