So I've been playing the series in a weird order. Started with 10, then 15, then 6, 7, 12 and now I've just beaten 9. I gotta say it's my favorite of the bunch so I thought I'd give it a go reviewing it.




Released in 2000, Final Fantasy was somewhat of a swan song for the franchise, one last final hurrah for the PS1 era of the series, and also the final game of the series to be directed by creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Gone were the more realistic characters, steampunk settings and convoluted ability systems of the previous two entries, the style and mechanics shifting back to closely match the earlier games of the series. It's understandable why some fans would have been put off by this game, especially if they had grown used to how 7 and 8 looked. Characters took on a more chibi-like appearance, the setting seemed to have a much more whimsical and lighter tone and there wasn't a dark clothes-wearing emo in sight. What appears to be a much lighter and carefree videogame turns out to be quite the tearjerker that deals with themes of one's own mortality and sense of being.

Final Fantasy 9 features a turn based battle system similar to the other games, with characters having to wait until a gauge fills before being able to select their moves. Initially I found the system difficult to get used to because I was so used to how it was in Final Fantasy X but it wasn't long before I got to grips with it. My biggest gripe with the game is how slow battles take and oh boy do they really start to drag after a a while. It takes a few seconds for the battle itself to load, before spending even more time while the camera pans around and shows the monster(s). Often times there will be a bit of a dead period in battles when your characters all have their actions qued up and you just kind of sit there watching while nobody does anything. I don't know if it's because of technical limitations or a design choice but the battles in this game can get incredibly tedious because of this, especially if you're someone who wants to spend hours grinding.

While characters level naturally by gaining experience through battle, the way you learn new abilities is interesting because they are gained via equipping and using different pieces of equipment, similar to the Esper system in 6. It's often the best choice to refrain from equipping items that have better stats if the ability they give is less beneficial than the stuff you currently have on. In addition to the usual arsenal of spells such as Cure or Thunder, Final Fantasy 9 allows you to learn and equip passive abilities such as increased health, automatic haste or defense against status ailments. Part of the fun and strategy is choosing what abilities to equip to make your party function as efficiently as possible, trying to keep a good balance of consistent damage and healing depending on the situation.

Alright, yes it's a PS1 game so obviously by today's standards it's probably going to look aged with jagged character models. While that's true, I must admit I really do love the visuals in this game. The FMVs in this game were spectacular, and there was a nice variation in the different environments of the game. You can tell this game really had a lot of love and effort put into it, each character has a satisfying arc (mostly) and the environments and backgrounds are nicely detailed. Final Fantasy 7 almost looks like it was released on an earlier system, by comparison with it's Playmobil looking characters.

It would be a sin not to mention the music, and Nobuo Uematsu once again knocked it out of the park with a soundtrack that succeeds in both getting you excited with some songs while making you feel heartbroken with others.

Some of my favorites


While on the surface this game looks to be filled with cheerful cartoonish looking characters, I actually really, really liked the story and cast of the game. The hero, Zidane, appears to be a stereotypical cheerful JRPG protagonist without much depth but as the story progresses and you learn more about his true origin, his character really begins to unravel until the game drops the hammer in a moment that really got to me, especially with the awesome music. The rest of the cast is also very likable and interesting for the most part, save one or two members who get quite a bit less attention than others.

The villain is... a bit of a mixed bag. While his motivations and goals are understandable and interesting, his appearance is... questionable. He's essentially wearing a thong. I actually prefer him over villains like Sephiroth and Kefka due to his backstory and motives, but his physical appearance leaves a lot to be desired, unless you're into that thing.



I won't go into much detail about the story itself because I'd be here all day, but towards the end point it goes into some pretty deep territory, forcing the characters to face their own fates, cast aside their own troubling pasts and basically face and overcome death itself. Zidane's 'emo' phase feels a lot better handled than Cloud's, and he gets over it with the help of his friends, as you'd expect. What starts off as just a simple plot to kidnap the princess of a kingdom eventually spirals into a heart wrenching tale of identity, self worth and what it means to have friends by your side.

Final Fantasy 7 may be the most popular entry in the franchise but in my opinion, 9 is the game that truly stands out as the game with the best storytelling, music and characters. Released at the end of the Playstation 1's life, even after the PS2 had already been released, it goes to show that they decided to really go out with a bang and end it with something special. If anyone has only played the later games of the series and felt annoyed or irritated with the over designed characters and dumb plots, I'd highly recommend playing 9. Or not, it might just be weebshit after all.



Thanks for reading

I personally think IX is pure trash and it was nothing but a slog for me until I just stopped, but to each his own. I think XII was the second coming of Christ in my opinion so....

What you have to remember about XII is that it's an Ivalice game. Ivalice titles tend to have a story that feels like it's just a chapter in the bigger picture we can't see. XII does this with the war between Rozzaria and Archadia, Tactics did this with only Ramsa's involvement in The Lion War, XIV will also do this in a few months with the liberation of Rabanastre and Dalmasca in Otthard. What enraptured me with XII was not so much the immediate story, but the lore behind everything at that time, since the world of Ivalice drastically changes with each title.

I didn't really find 12's story to be that interesting

These guys don`t know the definition of word 'Final'