Summary: Some final thoughts on Final Fantasy IX. [Note:
some of the images were really difficult to source through Google image
search, so if something was messed up or you see something that should
be attributed to someone else, please let me know!]
Protagonists
Zidane: One of the best protagonists in the series. I see myself much more in Squall than Zidane, but like Zidane so much more. (I’m sure there’s some crappy self-hatred there, but c’est la vie.) He’s empathetic, articulate in his empathy, friendly, upbeat. He supports his friends.
He’s also a fully-rounded character! He’s got a goofy sense of humor, more than a little bit of naivete and teenage braggadocio.
Garnet and Zidane art by ナツキ.
Dagger: Tied with Vivi for favorite character in the game. She wasn’t THE protagonist (hoping we get another female main character soon, since Terra was the only one in the series so far), but may as well have been. Her arc was incredible.
Btw, get used to “x’s arc was incredible,” because I’ll probably reuse that. So many great arcs.
Her constant tug between the trappings of royalty and actually becoming a great queen! Living in the shadow of two lost mothers – one to death and sacrifice, the other to corruption and greed and death – and coming out of it intact.
The romance with Zidane felt natural, and made both characters better. It didn’t destroy Dagger’s arc or make her arc subservient to Zidane’s. It enhanced it.
Vivi: To quote a certain snow bunny, “MY CHIIIILD!!” So adorable, with his big ol’ hat and I just wanna hug him.
The game could’ve left him there. That could’ve been the only trait he possessed, being the “cute lost kid,” and it would’ve been sort of okayish. But holy shit did FFIX do more with him. His existential crisis, his grappling with the meaning of his very shortened life. And the empathy he displayed for his fellow black mages going through the same without his privileges as the prototype. GOD HE’S SO GREAT
Oh and he’s dead btw apparently so here I am dead of feels right now.
Vivi and Steiner art by awrysquare.
Steiner: A surprise here. I remember seeing him for the first time, thinking he’d be a villain. I had assumed he’d be the primary foil for our team, leading Brahne’s forces throughout the game like a goofier version of Golbez.
lolNOPE! Instead, got an intricate story of loyalty and duty, and the limits therein. His loyalty to Garnet and Alexandria was so pure. Even his loyalty to Brahne was pure. To the extent it was corrupted, the corruption didn’t come from him.
I also enjoyed the internal antagonism he brought to the party, and his well-founded tension with Zidane until he learned to trust him. The romance with Beatrix! THE FRIENDSHIP WITH MASTER VIVI!!
In hindsight, I’m glad we didn’t see more epilogue. I don’t know if I could’ve handled seeing a cinematic of Steiner in the Black Mage Village’s graveyard, mourning Master Vivi. jesus I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about what that must’ve been like.
Quina: I’ll start with gender: this is the first non-binary character we’ve gotten in an FF game. That’s phenomenal! MORE PLEASE. I’m not in any position to judge the quality of the representation, and won’t try to act like I am.
I was afraid at first that Quina would be pure comic relief. Even more afraid that they’d be the butt of fatphobic jokes once I found out their power comes from eating, their weapon was a fork, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise.
I was most surprised to learn that the game actually took their quest seriously.
I personally believe that there’s no storyline that can’t be well-done. A question often comes up on MMO sites: “Would you play x kind of game?” Would you play a game about dancing pirates? Would you play a game that focused on raising chickens? Etc etc. My answer is always “HELL YES, as long as it’s well done.”
Quina art by C-R-O-F-T.
Quina’s story about being a race of chefs who treat eating and cooking as almost a martial art should never have worked. It’s ridiculous. But because the game takes the story seriously. It builds heart and a philosophical core of exploration into their character. Quina incorporates their people’s art into their personality: Quina is curious, positive, outgoing, wants to try new things and explore and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!
An unfortunate negative is that Quina got the least relational development of the group. They were friends with everyone, but didn’t seem to build any particularly special friendship or enmity with any of the characters.
[immediate note: this is taking WAAAY longer than I had expected to write. Going to try to restrain myself, so just shorter notes/thoughts from here on out or I’ll be here all night.]
Eiko: Adorable, and a totally different personality from Vivi. Smart and direct and takes as little shit as a six year old can take. Her whole story was crushing in Madain Sari, living with moogles (HOW CUTE WERE THOSE DOMESTIC MOOGLE SCENES??) because her whole city was destroyed.
Almost her whole city. The relationship that developed with Dagger was a beautiful thing. She wasn’t alone. Even found a more stable family with Cid and Hilda.
Amarant: The shortest character arc because of how late he came in. Reminded me more than a little bit of Squall, seeing him progress from a self—centered worldview where everyone is out for themselves and dickitude is the rule towards something more communal.
---
A Few Side Characters
Beatrix: So badass. Loved that she starts out as an antagonist – not because she’s cruel (though she is fairly merciless) but because she’s loyal. That loyalty helped turn her towards us with some persuasion from Dagger. Romance with Steiner was SO ADORABLE.
Was unable to find the source for this Beatrix art. Frigging pinterest google searches…
Protagonists
Zidane: One of the best protagonists in the series. I see myself much more in Squall than Zidane, but like Zidane so much more. (I’m sure there’s some crappy self-hatred there, but c’est la vie.) He’s empathetic, articulate in his empathy, friendly, upbeat. He supports his friends.
He’s also a fully-rounded character! He’s got a goofy sense of humor, more than a little bit of naivete and teenage braggadocio.
Garnet and Zidane art by ナツキ.
Dagger: Tied with Vivi for favorite character in the game. She wasn’t THE protagonist (hoping we get another female main character soon, since Terra was the only one in the series so far), but may as well have been. Her arc was incredible.
Btw, get used to “x’s arc was incredible,” because I’ll probably reuse that. So many great arcs.
Her constant tug between the trappings of royalty and actually becoming a great queen! Living in the shadow of two lost mothers – one to death and sacrifice, the other to corruption and greed and death – and coming out of it intact.
The romance with Zidane felt natural, and made both characters better. It didn’t destroy Dagger’s arc or make her arc subservient to Zidane’s. It enhanced it.
Vivi: To quote a certain snow bunny, “MY CHIIIILD!!” So adorable, with his big ol’ hat and I just wanna hug him.
The game could’ve left him there. That could’ve been the only trait he possessed, being the “cute lost kid,” and it would’ve been sort of okayish. But holy shit did FFIX do more with him. His existential crisis, his grappling with the meaning of his very shortened life. And the empathy he displayed for his fellow black mages going through the same without his privileges as the prototype. GOD HE’S SO GREAT
Oh and he’s dead btw apparently so here I am dead of feels right now.
Vivi and Steiner art by awrysquare.
Steiner: A surprise here. I remember seeing him for the first time, thinking he’d be a villain. I had assumed he’d be the primary foil for our team, leading Brahne’s forces throughout the game like a goofier version of Golbez.
lolNOPE! Instead, got an intricate story of loyalty and duty, and the limits therein. His loyalty to Garnet and Alexandria was so pure. Even his loyalty to Brahne was pure. To the extent it was corrupted, the corruption didn’t come from him.
I also enjoyed the internal antagonism he brought to the party, and his well-founded tension with Zidane until he learned to trust him. The romance with Beatrix! THE FRIENDSHIP WITH MASTER VIVI!!
In hindsight, I’m glad we didn’t see more epilogue. I don’t know if I could’ve handled seeing a cinematic of Steiner in the Black Mage Village’s graveyard, mourning Master Vivi. jesus I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about what that must’ve been like.
Quina: I’ll start with gender: this is the first non-binary character we’ve gotten in an FF game. That’s phenomenal! MORE PLEASE. I’m not in any position to judge the quality of the representation, and won’t try to act like I am.
I was afraid at first that Quina would be pure comic relief. Even more afraid that they’d be the butt of fatphobic jokes once I found out their power comes from eating, their weapon was a fork, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise.
I was most surprised to learn that the game actually took their quest seriously.
I personally believe that there’s no storyline that can’t be well-done. A question often comes up on MMO sites: “Would you play x kind of game?” Would you play a game about dancing pirates? Would you play a game that focused on raising chickens? Etc etc. My answer is always “HELL YES, as long as it’s well done.”
Quina art by C-R-O-F-T.
Quina’s story about being a race of chefs who treat eating and cooking as almost a martial art should never have worked. It’s ridiculous. But because the game takes the story seriously. It builds heart and a philosophical core of exploration into their character. Quina incorporates their people’s art into their personality: Quina is curious, positive, outgoing, wants to try new things and explore and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!
An unfortunate negative is that Quina got the least relational development of the group. They were friends with everyone, but didn’t seem to build any particularly special friendship or enmity with any of the characters.
[immediate note: this is taking WAAAY longer than I had expected to write. Going to try to restrain myself, so just shorter notes/thoughts from here on out or I’ll be here all night.]
Eiko: Adorable, and a totally different personality from Vivi. Smart and direct and takes as little shit as a six year old can take. Her whole story was crushing in Madain Sari, living with moogles (HOW CUTE WERE THOSE DOMESTIC MOOGLE SCENES??) because her whole city was destroyed.
Almost her whole city. The relationship that developed with Dagger was a beautiful thing. She wasn’t alone. Even found a more stable family with Cid and Hilda.
Amarant: The shortest character arc because of how late he came in. Reminded me more than a little bit of Squall, seeing him progress from a self—centered worldview where everyone is out for themselves and dickitude is the rule towards something more communal.
---
A Few Side Characters
Beatrix: So badass. Loved that she starts out as an antagonist – not because she’s cruel (though she is fairly merciless) but because she’s loyal. That loyalty helped turn her towards us with some persuasion from Dagger. Romance with Steiner was SO ADORABLE.
Was unable to find the source for this Beatrix art. Frigging pinterest google searches…
Tantalus: A fun bunch of goofballs. Ultimately good-natured and
supportive of the good guys – no matter how much they might tell
themselves that they’re rogues out for themselves. Blank is a personal
favorite. I want to see a play in Ruby’s theater.
Cid & Hilda: Hilda’s complete calm made her so hilarious to me in her few appearances. Steiner played the engineer king well. Solid comic relief in the game.
Knights of Pluto: GRADE A GOOFBALLS. I’d totally watch a Super Troopers-esque comedy about the Knights of Pluto, with Steiner as the gruff sergeant who tries to keep their shenanigans in line.
---
Antagonists
Queen Brahne: Horrific mass murderer. I really appreciated the moment of grace near the end, and how all the horrors she committed are helped out with
The Waltzes: Creepy af. A bit disappointed that we didn’t see them past the early game.
Chibi Zorn and Thorn, by Capsicum.
Zorn & Thorn: Wacky sidekick with more sadism than Gilgamesh ever showed. I was afraid they’d play the Kefka role – the clowns that start subservient and plot to take over. It’s strange, but I’m actually happy that their story was limited to being ridiculous secondary villains. Didn’t need to be more than that.
Garland: Wish we had gotten more of him. Or not. I dunno – he served his purpose, as the real introduction to Terra, existing mostly an example of pure Terran will and lifecycle, and existing to be usurped by Kuja.
Kuja: The true big bad. (I count Necron as an extension of Kuja’s self-destruction.) Simply put, Kuja was awesome. He was mischievous, theatrical, sadistic, power-hungry.
Trance Kuja by boobledeeboo.
FFIX accomplished the challenging trick of making him empathetic without forgetting the evil he committed, the havoc he wreaked. (Something it accomplished with Brahne too, and to a lesser extent with Garland.) He wanted to be his own person, to not just play the role he was born into.
And what a will to live he possessed. Too bad it manifested into a world-destroying rage when he learned he wouldn’t live forever. Grace only came later.
So yes, he was a corrupter, and an evil murderous asshole. Still appreciated him.
Also, credit where credit’s due: the man had style. Theatricality and flair up the wazoo, in a way that didn’t annoy me the way I might have thought given my experience with the much less effective Genesis.
Cid & Hilda: Hilda’s complete calm made her so hilarious to me in her few appearances. Steiner played the engineer king well. Solid comic relief in the game.
Knights of Pluto: GRADE A GOOFBALLS. I’d totally watch a Super Troopers-esque comedy about the Knights of Pluto, with Steiner as the gruff sergeant who tries to keep their shenanigans in line.
---
Antagonists
Queen Brahne: Horrific mass murderer. I really appreciated the moment of grace near the end, and how all the horrors she committed are helped out with
The Waltzes: Creepy af. A bit disappointed that we didn’t see them past the early game.
Chibi Zorn and Thorn, by Capsicum.
Zorn & Thorn: Wacky sidekick with more sadism than Gilgamesh ever showed. I was afraid they’d play the Kefka role – the clowns that start subservient and plot to take over. It’s strange, but I’m actually happy that their story was limited to being ridiculous secondary villains. Didn’t need to be more than that.
Garland: Wish we had gotten more of him. Or not. I dunno – he served his purpose, as the real introduction to Terra, existing mostly an example of pure Terran will and lifecycle, and existing to be usurped by Kuja.
Kuja: The true big bad. (I count Necron as an extension of Kuja’s self-destruction.) Simply put, Kuja was awesome. He was mischievous, theatrical, sadistic, power-hungry.
Trance Kuja by boobledeeboo.
FFIX accomplished the challenging trick of making him empathetic without forgetting the evil he committed, the havoc he wreaked. (Something it accomplished with Brahne too, and to a lesser extent with Garland.) He wanted to be his own person, to not just play the role he was born into.
And what a will to live he possessed. Too bad it manifested into a world-destroying rage when he learned he wouldn’t live forever. Grace only came later.
So yes, he was a corrupter, and an evil murderous asshole. Still appreciated him.
Also, credit where credit’s due: the man had style. Theatricality and flair up the wazoo, in a way that didn’t annoy me the way I might have thought given my experience with the much less effective Genesis.
---
Story/Themes
I want to introduce a theme that I’ll repeat in the gameplay section: FFIX succeeded largely due to its simplicity. The story continued a trend I enjoyed in FFVIII, with a fairly direct story. It’s hard to say why exactly this was, since there were parallel worlds and uncovered identities all, but while the full puzzle didn’t come together until the end, I rarely felt my experience was inhibited by confusion.
The story progression in FFIX just seems to flow smoothly and naturally. Characters came in as appropriate, villains were revealed at appropriate times without feeling rushed or out of place. Motivations made sense along the way. Heroes, side characters, and villains all.
I liked that the game pretty much stayed in one world the whole time. Terra was more like a dungeon than another world. This made me care so much more about the map and whole world of Gaia.
The game’s core themes spoke to me. Finding connection (family or friendship) in strange places, finding your place in the world, finding your place relative to your past and heritage. So many themes around death, centered on Kuja and Vivi.
Loyalty too. Personal, familial, national, professional.
What a rich experience.
---
Gameplay
Equipment/Skills/Abilities: Love love love this. The core mechanic. Made each new piece of equipment feel exciting to get, and way more than a raw “stat stick.” Characters had a more linear set of development options, but I see that as a positive.
It makes the characters’ stories and roleplay feel stronger. I like that Vivi could develop as a mage only. I like that Zidane is a thief only, not a magic user (outside of trance), that he can only use certain weapons, that his stealing enhanced his Thievery damage (despite only learning this after the fact).
In MMO terms, this was World of Warcraft more than Rift.
I’d love to see this as the core ability system going forward. It was simple, easy to understand, and open enough compared to FFIV’s pure linearity to bring serious flavor and choice. Vast improvement over the draw and junction system of FFVIII.
I’ll be shocked if this exact system carries forward to future games, but really hope the series learns the lesson that high complexity does not necessarily equal fun.
Level Parity: A strength. Part of this is my preparation – I regretted how FFVII and FFVIII went where I only built up one main party, so I really made a point to use all my characters and build them to an equal level for more fun.
Trance: Saved the worst for last. This is the only area I see as a major step back from FFVII and FFVIII. Hardly ever used this. It felt like every time Trance triggered on a character, the fight ended two seconds later before they could use it. Much preferred the FFVII limit break system.
I enjoyed trance when it worked, or when it happened early in a boss fight, but so seldom got to fully use it.
Story/Themes
I want to introduce a theme that I’ll repeat in the gameplay section: FFIX succeeded largely due to its simplicity. The story continued a trend I enjoyed in FFVIII, with a fairly direct story. It’s hard to say why exactly this was, since there were parallel worlds and uncovered identities all, but while the full puzzle didn’t come together until the end, I rarely felt my experience was inhibited by confusion.
The story progression in FFIX just seems to flow smoothly and naturally. Characters came in as appropriate, villains were revealed at appropriate times without feeling rushed or out of place. Motivations made sense along the way. Heroes, side characters, and villains all.
I liked that the game pretty much stayed in one world the whole time. Terra was more like a dungeon than another world. This made me care so much more about the map and whole world of Gaia.
The game’s core themes spoke to me. Finding connection (family or friendship) in strange places, finding your place in the world, finding your place relative to your past and heritage. So many themes around death, centered on Kuja and Vivi.
Loyalty too. Personal, familial, national, professional.
What a rich experience.
---
Gameplay
Equipment/Skills/Abilities: Love love love this. The core mechanic. Made each new piece of equipment feel exciting to get, and way more than a raw “stat stick.” Characters had a more linear set of development options, but I see that as a positive.
It makes the characters’ stories and roleplay feel stronger. I like that Vivi could develop as a mage only. I like that Zidane is a thief only, not a magic user (outside of trance), that he can only use certain weapons, that his stealing enhanced his Thievery damage (despite only learning this after the fact).
In MMO terms, this was World of Warcraft more than Rift.
I’d love to see this as the core ability system going forward. It was simple, easy to understand, and open enough compared to FFIV’s pure linearity to bring serious flavor and choice. Vast improvement over the draw and junction system of FFVIII.
I’ll be shocked if this exact system carries forward to future games, but really hope the series learns the lesson that high complexity does not necessarily equal fun.
Level Parity: A strength. Part of this is my preparation – I regretted how FFVII and FFVIII went where I only built up one main party, so I really made a point to use all my characters and build them to an equal level for more fun.
Trance: Saved the worst for last. This is the only area I see as a major step back from FFVII and FFVIII. Hardly ever used this. It felt like every time Trance triggered on a character, the fight ended two seconds later before they could use it. Much preferred the FFVII limit break system.
I enjoyed trance when it worked, or when it happened early in a boss fight, but so seldom got to fully use it.
---
Side Games
Tetra Master: Surprisingly addictive. I enjoyed it even more than Triple Triad, because as confusing as the rules were I got the gist. The biggest improvement over Triple Triad is that the rules made it so that I felt cheated way less often. (Not that I was ACTUALLY cheated in Triple Triad, but good lord did some of those rules feel terrible to lose to when your whole board got flipped on a combo.)
The card art was awesome, and the array of cards (including old favorites like the FFIV Airship and FFIV Namingway) were delightful.
Choco: RIDICULOUSLY ADDICTIVE!! The treasure exploration had me engage with the world and environment more than any prior FF, and rewarded me well for it. Hot & Cold was more fun than it had any right to be for something that sounds monotonous and hooked me like nobody’s business.
Chocobo game, found on quirkyiceheart.tumblr.com.
Tying all this together with a full story around Choco, Choco and Mene’s relationship, Choco’s quest to go home, and the Chocobo’s Paradise at the end of the road was a stroke of brilliance.
---
Music
The series delivers again. Too many favorites to list all of them, so some immediate tracks I’ve been putting on repeat the last few days:
-“Vamo’ Alla Flamenco” – Could listen to this happily for hours. And much like the Triple Triad music from FFVIII, being able to listen to it for hours is key to its success.
-“Crossing Those Hills” – Best overworld theme in the series, tied perhaps with “Searching for Friends.”
-“Freya’s Theme”
-“KUJA’S THEEEEEEME HELL YESSSSS” (I’m pretty sure that’s it’s official name)
-“Eternal Harvest”
-“Eiko’s Theme” – pleasant and relaxing; gives me a similar feeling to when I listen to Yuffie’s theme, “Descendant of Shinobi”
-“Master of Time”
-“YOU’RE NOT ALONE” - CLEAR WINNER FOR ME, TOP OF THE PILE
-“The Dark Messenger” - Although the music before and after it didn’t stick out to me as much, unlike the full final boss medleys in FFVI and FFVIII, this one part of it really kicks ass.
I’m definitely leaving some great tracks out and haven’t had the chance to fully process it, so forgive me if I leave out a particularly awesome one!
---
Art/Graphics
Beautiful and rich, with creativity in design rivaling FFVIII. Very subjective as with most art, and each FF installment seems to occupy its own unique genre. FFVII was dark and industrial, FFVIII was brightly surreal (thinking of the Garden designs and the parade dancers for Edea in Galbadia as examples of its brand of surreal).
Side Games
Tetra Master: Surprisingly addictive. I enjoyed it even more than Triple Triad, because as confusing as the rules were I got the gist. The biggest improvement over Triple Triad is that the rules made it so that I felt cheated way less often. (Not that I was ACTUALLY cheated in Triple Triad, but good lord did some of those rules feel terrible to lose to when your whole board got flipped on a combo.)
The card art was awesome, and the array of cards (including old favorites like the FFIV Airship and FFIV Namingway) were delightful.
Choco: RIDICULOUSLY ADDICTIVE!! The treasure exploration had me engage with the world and environment more than any prior FF, and rewarded me well for it. Hot & Cold was more fun than it had any right to be for something that sounds monotonous and hooked me like nobody’s business.
Chocobo game, found on quirkyiceheart.tumblr.com.
Tying all this together with a full story around Choco, Choco and Mene’s relationship, Choco’s quest to go home, and the Chocobo’s Paradise at the end of the road was a stroke of brilliance.
---
Music
The series delivers again. Too many favorites to list all of them, so some immediate tracks I’ve been putting on repeat the last few days:
-“Vamo’ Alla Flamenco” – Could listen to this happily for hours. And much like the Triple Triad music from FFVIII, being able to listen to it for hours is key to its success.
-“Crossing Those Hills” – Best overworld theme in the series, tied perhaps with “Searching for Friends.”
-“Freya’s Theme”
-“KUJA’S THEEEEEEME HELL YESSSSS” (I’m pretty sure that’s it’s official name)
-“Eternal Harvest”
-“Eiko’s Theme” – pleasant and relaxing; gives me a similar feeling to when I listen to Yuffie’s theme, “Descendant of Shinobi”
-“Master of Time”
-“YOU’RE NOT ALONE” - CLEAR WINNER FOR ME, TOP OF THE PILE
-“The Dark Messenger” - Although the music before and after it didn’t stick out to me as much, unlike the full final boss medleys in FFVI and FFVIII, this one part of it really kicks ass.
I’m definitely leaving some great tracks out and haven’t had the chance to fully process it, so forgive me if I leave out a particularly awesome one!
---
Art/Graphics
Beautiful and rich, with creativity in design rivaling FFVIII. Very subjective as with most art, and each FF installment seems to occupy its own unique genre. FFVII was dark and industrial, FFVIII was brightly surreal (thinking of the Garden designs and the parade dancers for Edea in Galbadia as examples of its brand of surreal).
FFIX may be my favorite of all. I like pure high fantasy, and FFIX
trended much closer to that. The art style reminded me of a fairy tale,
and just makes me SO HAPPY.
FFIX group art by CatusSnake.
Some immediate favorites that jump out at me are Alexandria, the Vivi, Quina, all the different outfits for Dagger, STEINER’S ETERNALLY GRUMPY FAAAACE, Kuja’s entire look (including body language, like that thing where he puts his finger in his mouth), the weird mushroomy blue Terra, Darth Garland, and here I am going on forever again.
Oh and it also was frigging terrifying when it wanted to be. Never gonna get over Atomos inhaling the Lindblum Industrial District.
---
References & Callbacks
I see three categories here:
1)Normal recurrences. Bahamut, Malboros, Behemoths, GILGAMESHHHH (that was my favorite).
2)Minor Easter eggs. FFIX added a lot here, way more than any prior game. Little nuggets like Rufus’ parade music, casual mentions of “clouds and squall,” Unne/Doga in artifact names, even Garland himself. These were nice in the context of this game. Made me so happy to have played through prior games in order. At the same time, I hope that future games pull back on it, lest the callbacks wear out their welcome through overuse.
Pandemonium, art found on pinkromantic tumblr.
3)Deeper thematic callbacks. These had the biggest impact. For example, my experience with Kefka and Gestahl made the similarities and contrasts in Kuja’s relationship with Garland more poignant and impactful. Pandemonium hearkened back to the Emperor’s ultimate castle in FFII, giving me an immediate sense of the extent of Garland’s aims.
---
Length
Clocked in around 83 hours. That sounds ridiculously long when I write it like that, but it did not feel long at all. The time FLEW by. Length was perfect.
FFIX group art by CatusSnake.
Some immediate favorites that jump out at me are Alexandria, the Vivi, Quina, all the different outfits for Dagger, STEINER’S ETERNALLY GRUMPY FAAAACE, Kuja’s entire look (including body language, like that thing where he puts his finger in his mouth), the weird mushroomy blue Terra, Darth Garland, and here I am going on forever again.
Oh and it also was frigging terrifying when it wanted to be. Never gonna get over Atomos inhaling the Lindblum Industrial District.
---
References & Callbacks
I see three categories here:
1)Normal recurrences. Bahamut, Malboros, Behemoths, GILGAMESHHHH (that was my favorite).
2)Minor Easter eggs. FFIX added a lot here, way more than any prior game. Little nuggets like Rufus’ parade music, casual mentions of “clouds and squall,” Unne/Doga in artifact names, even Garland himself. These were nice in the context of this game. Made me so happy to have played through prior games in order. At the same time, I hope that future games pull back on it, lest the callbacks wear out their welcome through overuse.
Pandemonium, art found on pinkromantic tumblr.
3)Deeper thematic callbacks. These had the biggest impact. For example, my experience with Kefka and Gestahl made the similarities and contrasts in Kuja’s relationship with Garland more poignant and impactful. Pandemonium hearkened back to the Emperor’s ultimate castle in FFII, giving me an immediate sense of the extent of Garland’s aims.
---
Length
Clocked in around 83 hours. That sounds ridiculously long when I write it like that, but it did not feel long at all. The time FLEW by. Length was perfect.
---
Replayability
Always hard to say. FFV jumped out as having high replayability to me because there were so many job combinations that I could use to experience the game. FFIX was more linear, but its gameplay was just so much flat-out FUN, and the characters to joyful to be around. For those two reasons more than anything I think it’s high.
Plus, there are quests I missed. Ozma, Mognet, and more. Still feel like I found more of the game’s secrets than usual with my S-Rank Treasure Hunting.
---
A Brief Ranking of the Main FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
1. FFIX – Very close to FFVI in terms of my love for its story and characters, and its gameplay pushes FFIX over the top. A new champion!
2. FFVI
3. Chrono Trigger
4. FFVIII
5. FFV
6. [TIE] FFVII and FFIV. I like the FFIV story more and FFVII gameplay more.
8. FFIII
9. FFII
10. FFI
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Final Thoughts
Just… not sure what to even say here. These final thoughts were a struggle to write because there was so much in FFIX that brought me joy, and it’s difficult to convey that.
What a bright game! What a rich game! Like some of the best fairy tales and folklore, it never shied away from some of the brutal implications of its characters’ actions while feeling at the same time like the kind of joyful journey I want to experience again. The combat and abilities were pristine, the themes were heartbreaking and touching, the characters were people that I feel lucky to have spent 80+ hours with, the art and music were a treat…
I remember hearing somewhere that a great movie is a movie that has three great scenes and no bad ones. FFIX had many more great moments than three, but it also stuck out to me by having no real weaknesses. (The trance system I kind of discount because it ended up easily ignored.)
One of the best in the series.
One final thought: thank you again everyone for reading, commenting, and all your support. Double thank you for that support being non-spoilery. I am watching an FFVIII blind LP right now, and the comments are littered with things like, “No spoilers, but jsyk you should DEFINITELY check the door in the next room!” and “Omg, I can’t wait until you see this person turn against you.”
Vivi and Eiko art by Hotame.
Y’all are the best.
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Next time: FINAL FANTASY X!!! Starting next week, Aug 14 or 15.
I’ll likely go at a slower pace than I did with FFIX. I haven’t started FFX yet, and it’s nothing against FFX; it’s more that I’ll be a bit busier than I was when I played FFIX. Aiming for 4-5 posts per week.
NEW FF SO EXCITED YEEEEESSS
Replayability
Always hard to say. FFV jumped out as having high replayability to me because there were so many job combinations that I could use to experience the game. FFIX was more linear, but its gameplay was just so much flat-out FUN, and the characters to joyful to be around. For those two reasons more than anything I think it’s high.
Plus, there are quests I missed. Ozma, Mognet, and more. Still feel like I found more of the game’s secrets than usual with my S-Rank Treasure Hunting.
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A Brief Ranking of the Main FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
1. FFIX – Very close to FFVI in terms of my love for its story and characters, and its gameplay pushes FFIX over the top. A new champion!
2. FFVI
3. Chrono Trigger
4. FFVIII
5. FFV
6. [TIE] FFVII and FFIV. I like the FFIV story more and FFVII gameplay more.
8. FFIII
9. FFII
10. FFI
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Final Thoughts
Just… not sure what to even say here. These final thoughts were a struggle to write because there was so much in FFIX that brought me joy, and it’s difficult to convey that.
What a bright game! What a rich game! Like some of the best fairy tales and folklore, it never shied away from some of the brutal implications of its characters’ actions while feeling at the same time like the kind of joyful journey I want to experience again. The combat and abilities were pristine, the themes were heartbreaking and touching, the characters were people that I feel lucky to have spent 80+ hours with, the art and music were a treat…
I remember hearing somewhere that a great movie is a movie that has three great scenes and no bad ones. FFIX had many more great moments than three, but it also stuck out to me by having no real weaknesses. (The trance system I kind of discount because it ended up easily ignored.)
One of the best in the series.
One final thought: thank you again everyone for reading, commenting, and all your support. Double thank you for that support being non-spoilery. I am watching an FFVIII blind LP right now, and the comments are littered with things like, “No spoilers, but jsyk you should DEFINITELY check the door in the next room!” and “Omg, I can’t wait until you see this person turn against you.”
Vivi and Eiko art by Hotame.
Y’all are the best.
---
Next time: FINAL FANTASY X!!! Starting next week, Aug 14 or 15.
I’ll likely go at a slower pace than I did with FFIX. I haven’t started FFX yet, and it’s nothing against FFX; it’s more that I’ll be a bit busier than I was when I played FFIX. Aiming for 4-5 posts per week.
NEW FF SO EXCITED YEEEEESSS
