Recently rereleased on Playstation 4 (today in fact) - Final Fantasy IX is a definite top five Final Fantasy game.
Depending on my mood I would place it higher or lower on the list, right now I think it would be my fourth favourite.
I remember getting this game and deciding in advance that it was going to be my favourite because I absolutely loved the character design.
The graphical advancement from playing seven, to eight, to nine, was immense and the FMVs were mind blowing to a fourteen/fifteen year old me.
They used this to great effect, slipping between 'pantomimes' and then truly cinematic and wonderful scenes with amazing dragons and airships.
It also had the 'active time event' feature which seemed like witchcraft.
You could use it to see what other characters in the story were up to off screen.
Prior to that you were limited to only seeing who was in your team, and needing to replay with different team members if you ever wanted to mix things up.
In hindsight this feature wasn't all my imagination had decided it would be, as it was more of a time and place thing that was used to expand parts of the story, but it was still a superb little reference tool.
The art style of this game was wonderful. I love Vivi the Mage, and the other Black Waltz bosses throughout the game.
As a kid I used to write so many stories (not much changes eh?) and this game's story of Vivi and the Black Waltz's inspired me to create so many characters that I still hope one day I'll see my favourite ones make it into a tale of my own.
One could fit into War of the Roses in theory, which is an interesting thought that I will work on in the next few weeks.
Final Fantasy Nine saw a return to medieval times, something I believe they stopped using after number 5 came out. 6 was steam punk, 7 and 8 were a little more futuristic. 9 went right back to kings, queens, princesses and castles.
For years now I've wished I could build a collection of Final Fantasy air ships in model form for my geek shelf.
9 has one of the more unusual airships from the Final Fantasy series, and looks a bit outlandish.
In contrast to the medieval feel and the airships that look more like giant boats, this one is kind of a Curvey blue thing that floats around the world.
I'd have preferred maybe a proper wooden ship like the one in Final Fantasy 4, but 'The Invincible' was still very cool and a bit of a throw back to some of the older ships.
You don't get it until late in the game sadly, though there are other air ships to use, and this game has the absolute best use of Chocobo breeding/side quests bar none. It allows for a wide array of bird colours and abilities, and there are lots of side quests to them that give you more chance to explore every nook and cranny hunting for treasure.
Nine also saw a solid return of Moogles. Something seven and eight had neglected after the Mooglefest that 6 turned into at times.
In Nine you were basically running a messenger service for their Moogle Mail.
You'd explore the world handing over their messages in return for rewards, and they'd tell you a little about their journey. It was yet another perfect addition that made you feel excited to explore, and which early in the game rewarded you with some decent items.
I loved nine for its simplicity when it came to battles. All Final Fantasy games around it like 8 and 10 seemed to focus on having a summon or an attack do 999,999 or more damage each go, with beasts holding millions in HP and absurd levels of power that meant you had to be a titan of gaming to beat every boss.
Nine went back to basics. Attacks are limited to 9999 and at least in my experience, my characters never particularly got near that except for the more powerful moves.
This game had much more opportunity for achievements.
In a time where trophies weren't a thing - it seems a shame that the new release has opted to make the trophies silly - skipping a rope 1000 times, beating 1000 beasts.
There were real challenges in this game as it was. Getting to the end in under 12 hours to get Excalibur 2 was one worthy of being Platinum.
Taking your Chocobo to every beach in the world was another.
Beating the ultimate boss of the game (something I don't recall ever doing) is an obvious option.
Beating him again whilst your characters wear beach gear was another.
The card game in this series felt a little tacked on. 8 had the amazing Triple Triad that felt like it was embedded in the game so deep it was impossible to seperate it out. Nine's game felt like an afterthought, and I never really got the hang of it.
I don't recall ever completing the deck, whereas completing the Triple Triad deck felt compulsory in eight, and contributed to so many sub plots because of the way certain cards appeared in the game, or by who held them.
Even if it was a little odd that in the whole world, this game that everyone played only had 'character cards' for the small group of relevant people to the overall plot! That's something I'll never be able to ignore.
The music in nine was fantastic on its own. I've always wanted to go to an orchestral event where they showcase the songs from these games, but the tickets sell out instantly.
With Nine it felt like they truly tapped into the soul of the game. You could have sold that album on its own without the game and the classical 'scene' would've lapped it up as the best thing since Mozart.
Melodies of Life was the theme song that ran through the whole game in various ways. I love hearing that from time to time due to the huge range of ways they were able to play the same song but stir a totally different emotion from me based on the speed, instruments used and the tone.
Not enough recognition is given to the geniuses that make music for this series.
If I was going to make changes to Final Fantasy Nine, I think I would make Zidane slightly different. Being an funny little Monkey Person is a bit odd. I think if he was a cooler hero then this game would bump up the list.
My reason for saying that is this. Compare him to Cloud and Squall.
The Knights of the previous games were awesome too, like Cecil the Dragoon who becomes a Paladin.
The female leads, Tera and Yuna are great leads, even Lightening, heroine of the worst games in the series, is still one of the better characters.
Only Vaan from Twelve is worse in my opinion in terms of 'lead character' status at least.
I loved the comedy of the other characters. The sorrow behind most of the characters gave them an extremely endearing quality. I wish Beatrix had become a member of the team, as she was a properly fleshed out heroine that could've been a great late game addition. Quina Quen was random as hell but meant as a comedy outlet and some what of a side quest.
I'd have also changed the ending. It felt like, to me at least, you fought all game with one or two villains. Only for the game to then introduce an entirely new boss to fight right at the very end.
I believe that this kind of happens in Final Fantasy X too - you go through multiple boss battles and then the final thing you fight is a little bit left field and I've never taken the time to learn why that happens. I remember you can find some books in a library in 9, which will hint at some bits that eventually go on to be about the final boss of the game. But honestly as I walked up the stairs at the end of the game and entered the final battle I was met with the thought of "what the hell is this i'm fighting?!".
The ending was epic for its time, as every video in this game tended to be. I can't fault their dedication and hard work to making a practically perfect Final Fantasy game.
I feel like this game would have aged better than most of the series, it feels like it was ahead of its time in a lot of areas, and has a great warmth to it that creates nostalgia and endearment.
Writing this up I am almost tempted to promote it to a higher place on my preference list.
I feel as though perhaps the games that appeared at the end of their console cycles tended to be their best quality, which stands to reasoning.
Six was pushing the SNES to its limits. Nine pushed the PS1 as far as it can go.
Thirteen only served to push my patience, but fifteen seemed like a genuine winner of a game.
It feels hard to put them in an order because ultimately I've spent over 100 hours in all of the non MMO games from 4-15 and they're all amazing in their own rights.
6, 7 and 8 feel like they have more awesome characters, and more intricate stories, but if you were to measure their strengths and weaknesses I feel like Nine is consistently outstanding.
You should definitely get it for Playstation 4 while it is discounted.