Final Fantasy IX was
released in the Summer of 2000 and localized to North America in
November. It was the last game in the main number titles to be
released for the Sony PlayStation and saw a return to the
franchise's roots. We said goodbye to the steampunk and more
modernized technology, and hello to the medieval fantasy of
yesterday. So grab your pointy hat and blue coat and let's dive into
Final Fantasy IX!
The game stars Zidane
Tribal, a loveable thief with a monkey tail under employment of the
Tantalus Theater Troupe. AKA one big airship of thieves disguised as
entertainers on stage. Unlike Cloud and Squall, Zidane is
actually... fun. No disrespect meant, but Zidane is the guy who'd
you want to invite to your house party while the folks are away.
Maybe not the guy you'd want to leave alone with your sister, but
are any of them guys you'd want to leave alone with your sister?
Zidane and the rest of the thieves are tasked with capturing the
princess of Alexandria, Princess Garnet. Little do they know that
Princess Garnet is already planning to sneak aboard their ship to
escape the castle.
After the group discuss
their plan to kidnap the princess we're taken to the second star of
our show: Vivi!
How does
someone with a pitch black face have so many facial expressions!?
Vivi is an
adorable little Black Mage and if you don't love him then you're an
awful person. I kid, I kid. He is adorable, though. Vivi goes
through a lot of self-discovery during the game and manages to find
a way to overcome his fear to find out what he is. He's featured in
some of the more beautiful and sad parts of the game and you just
want to hug him.
Next we have
Steiner, captain of the Knights of Pluto of Alexandria and sworn to
protect Princess Garnet with his life. He's a loveable doofus that
sees a lot of growth during the course of the game. Steiner brings
in a lot of the earlier comic relief with his antics and back and
forth banter with Zidane. He's motivated by his duty and possesses
an unquestionable loyalty to his queen until events in the game
forces him to question these things for the first time in his life.
While at times he does act like an idiot, he isn't completely
stupid. The idea to combine Vivi's black magic with his sword when
they first meet was a pretty good idea.
Steiner
photobomb!
Then we have
the beautiful princess herself, Princess Garnet. The resident White
Mage/Summoner who can't fight worth shit but you miss her ability to
cure when she's gone. Garnet is the only daughter of Queen Brahne
and heir to the throne of Alexandria. Sensing something amiss with
her mother, Garnet decides to take action and sneaks out of
Alexandria to get help. And that's the first four main characters
you start out with. A lot of her development in the game is
influenced by her relationship with Zidane and you get to see her
mature while on the road. That's it for the first four people you're
acquainted with at the beginning of the game. Since the other
characters don't arrive until later (some as far as disc 2) I don't
want to spoil anything by mentioning them.
The game
does a lot of jumping around between characters at the beginning.
Only it's not as jarring as it is in XII or XIII. The game stays on
a chosen character just long enough to get the gist of what's going
on then moves on to the next before bringing them all together. Not
to mention the fact they're all just as interesting as the next. The
whole beginning segment is really well put together and builds up to
the game's logo perfectly.
Look out
behind you!
There's
no materia or junction system this time around. Just a simple battle
system with the slowest ATB load time out of the Final Fantasy games
I've reviewed yet. If it was any slower it'd be a Slow Bro. You'll
notice that instead of three fighters on the battlefield we have
four. This was how it was done back in the classic Final Fantasy
games and it was brought back here in honor of them. I kind of wish
they would have kept this format since I never understood why they
shrunk it down to three anyway. It's not like the technology isn't
there.
The Limit
Break system is known as “Trance” and is triggered when a
character is experiencing strong emotions (story wise), meaning that
there are three instances where a character will enter Trance
automatically. The rest of the time you have to fill up the Limit
Break meter. The meter builds up with the more damage a character
takes in battle. While in Trance, the character abilities are
increased and can unlock powers the character doesn't possess
otherwise. This differentiate the Limit Break feature from previous
Final Fantasy games as it can be used for a couple of turns before
running out. If you happen to be killed during Trance it will not
remain when the character is brought back with a Phoenix Down or
when the battle ends.
Final
Fantasy IX doesn't come with the same kind of customization as we see
in VII and VIII. Zidane is a thief and only a thief can steal, Vivi
is the only one who can use black magic, Garnet has her summons,
Steiner has sword skills, etc. Equipment raises your characters'
stats while certain equipment possess character abilities if they
match that character's class. Once you rack up enough ability points
you can use that ability without the equipment. The higher up your
level, the more abilities you can equip for each character.
How cute!
These
cuddly creatures are called Moogles. Moogles are a reoccurring
creature in Final Fantasy since their debut in Final Fantasy III.
This time around Moogles are used to save your game by recording it
in the book he has in his hand, to sleep in a tent to recover health,
and to exchange messages with one another. There's a sidequest
dedicated to delivering messages from one Moogle to the next that
follow the travels of Stiltzkin. The addition of the moogles
serve as a nice welcome change to the question mark and symbol that
came before it.
Final Fantasy IX has a
very well crafted story and it's easy to see why a lot of people have
selected this entry as their favorite. Things grow tense the first
time the party get split up and you're left wondering if they're
ever be reunited. It reminds me of Game of Thrones to a small
extent. Entering a town like Lindblum and the events to follow is a
good example of how much atmosphere can be built up in such a small
time frame. Characters sub-plots like Vivi's are heartbreaking with
all they're forced to go through and the relationship between Zidane
and Garnet and how its develops feel so real it's easy to get
behind. There are a couple of real tear jerking moments in Final
Fantasy IX and I'm not a person who gets emotional while playing
games easily. The references to earlier Final Fantasy games serve as
the icing on the cake.
Cons: Please
don't kill me, but I feel the Limit Break system in this game could
have been better utilized. A character will enter Trance at the most
inconvenient of times. You can hit Trance and the enemy will die
before you even had the chance to use it. If it built up in a
similar fashion to Final Fantasy VII Limit Break it would have been
awesome. Speaking of random battles, what's with all the random
battles!?
I
know, I know, it's a JRPG. That's the whole point. But does it have
to be so frequent? Some times I can't even take more than two or
three steps without triggering another random battle. It takes from
the exploration to have them so close together. A feature to set how
frequent these battles can be would have been nice.
While
I'm on the subject of the random battles, I have to say the fight
themselves are pretty slow. In addition to the ATB meter loading up
at a snail's pace, it takes a little bit before a character will
attack after punching in the command. I don't know if this is
supposed to be a throwback to the earlier battle systems or not, but
coming out of VII and VIII it just feels like a step backwards as
far as the overall battle mechanics are concerned.
Conclusion:
Final Fantasy IX is a whimsical
fantasy tale that takes everything that is great about the series
and mixes them together to make one very tasty stew. Yes, I just
compared the game to food. You have problem? If you're a longtime
fan of the series, or a lover of classic fantasy RPGs, Final Fantasy
IX is definitely worth a pickup.
Final
Score: 7/10
I agree with your cons. The ATB is stupidly slow and the Trance is really not very good at all. The random encounter rate is a commonly known problem that a lot of veteran players will sidestep by opening the menu every few seconds.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it is my favorite game of all time and I love it to pieces. The character development for Zidane, Vivi, and Steiner on disc 3 is magnificent and it has an incredibly strong cast of characters, a memorable world, and a wonderful story.
Sidestep by opening the menu every few seconds. I'm going to have to remember that one.
Delete