Reflection
For those that aren't aware of this game Final Fantasy IX is the ninth installment of the JRPG franchise created by company Square (now Square-Enix) and Hironobu Sakaguchi. It was the last game Sakaguchi worked on as a writer and is his personal favorite.
I played Final Fantasy IX for the first time when I was ten or eleven years old. My little brother's father had bought a set of games out of the trunk of someone's car which included Breath of Fire III, Threads of Fate, NBA Live 2001, and the mentioned Final Fantasy IX. While I had some enjoyment with the others, Final Fantasy IX was the game that pulled me in and kept me there. Upon the opening FMV, I knew I was about to play something special. When I had beat the game it had become an obsession of mine. I wrote the outline and design of a sequel and then decided that I wanted to make video games like it for a living.
Final Fantasy IX was the game that would ultimately result in the path I took in life and the one I'm currently striding to this day. My decision to make video games for a living became more specific. I wanted to run my own video game studio and publishing company. I hope that the games I produce will inspire others to do great things whether it is to make video games too, become a musician, or just to be a better person. Final Fantasy IX means a lot to me and as it became my favorite game, I always made sure to play it at least twice a year, but there a pit stop with my replays somewhere from 2010 to 2012. I recall all four of my copies of Final Fantasy IX having at least one disc scratched and I think my replays stopped because I was unable to continue my playthrough because of multiple scratched discs. The game was on PSN, but I didn't have money for quite a while and when I finally managed to get some I decided to use it to save up for a vehicle and to buy things I would need when I moved away to a four year university.
While I was at the university I had little time to play video games and when I did they were in short bursts or prearranged with friends. As Final Fantasy IX is a forty hour rpg, it was too time consuming for me to play while in school and I had other distractions as well. After I graduated I finally had the time to play it, but I had some worries as I knew some of my discs were scratched. I decided to pursue it through emulation with PSX, but I could never figure out how to get the emulator working even with online help. I called a friend for help, but he said he couldn't remember how he got it working and suggested I just play my physical copies. I told him that I know at least 1 disc is scratched of each copy I own and I even couldn't find all four copies, but he insisted I did it anyway.
This was the first time I played the game in years and all the emotions I had 15 years ago came rushing back. Even with my few year absence I still remembered the location of about every hidden item and gil in the game. Unfortunately, at disc 4 is when my playthrough came to a halt. I couldn't get past the first AMV on disc 4 and it looked like my playthrough came to an end. Not long after, a friend lent me the money to purchase the PSN version so I could beat the game. I did and it was a wonderful feeling. Playing this game is a perfect anecdote for sadness or anger.
Critique
Now even though Final Fantasy IX is my favorite game and a major inspiration to me it is not without its faults. Final Fantasy IX has a great story, characters, world, and music, but the few faults it has reside in its gameplay.
The battle system in IX is fairly standard in the series. It uses the ATB system that's been a staple in the series since IV which is fine, but the game's battles can be a bit slow which is major complaint by some fans out there. I never had an issue with it however, probably because I am a very patient gamer, which is probably also why I don't have an issue with the loading times in the PS1 version of Chrono Trigger either.
The game also has a trance mechanic in the game which basically gives a temporary stat boost to a character and may give them new moves or different properties to their move list. Trance's usefulness per character varies, but it's the way that trance is triggered is a concern. Sometimes it's triggered during specific battles, but most of the time it's triggered by a meter that gets filled up when a character takes damage. When the bar fills it activates immediately which can seem to be a waste if it activates against a weak random enemy. The game also has a few abilities that are useless in the game. Almost all of Steiner's sword art is useless and Thunder Slash is literally useless. Due to a glitch, the attack will always do 0 damage.
There's also the game of Tetra Master. While I do like the concept of being able to play cards with almost any NPC in the world and enjoy the card art, the rules of the game aren't explained well. That's it as far as flaws go and none of those are that major in the grand scheme of things.
The sidequests in this game are fulfilling and quite enjoyable. They either add exploration or backstory to the characters. Chocobo Hot & Cold is still my favorite mini game out of the whole series.
I have to point out how great Final Fantasy IX's soundtrack is. The soundtrack does a wonderful job in creating atmosphere and emotion. You have melancholic pieces like Crossing Those Hills, intense pieces like Breaking Through the South Gate Border and Run, you have uplifting music like Zidane's theme, and everything in between. Nobuo Uematsu has even said that this is his best work.
Story Analysis
Final Fantasy IX's strongest point to me is within its writing. This is one of the best written games out there and the best story told in a video game. Final Fantasy IX has you in the reins of Zidane Tribal, a thief/actor from the Lindblum group Tantalus. Tantalus is performing a play at Alexandria on Princess Garnet's birthday and their mission is to kidnap the princess. From this attempt, a world phenomenon unfolds.
Joy, turmoil, and rage are present throughout this journey, but the theme of this story centers around life. There are spoilers from this point on.
Kuja, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy IX, was given life for the purpose to end it. He used the dregs of souls to create a new form of life with the purpose to end it like himself. Kuja ended up finding out that his life had a limit much like the black mages he created. Zidane was also created for a similar purpose, but decided that he would rather preserve the life of others. Garnet's life was altered by Garland and Kuja. Garland destroyed her home and killed her mother which lead to her ending up in Alexandria and being raised as a princess. She had lived two separate lives and the first she forgot about until she returned to Madain Sari. Kuja pushed Garnet's new mother and supplied her with weapons, which ultimately lead to war and her mother's death. She was a soul that struggled with controlling her own life. She thought that she was the only one who could stop the war her mother created, she blamed her own actions for her mother's death, and she blamed herself for not being able to protect her country. Vivi found out that he was created with the intent to end lives just like Kuja and that his own life had a limit. He questioned his own mortality, but ended up realizing that there is a point to life regardless of the fact that it will have to end. During the course of the game Steiner came to terms with how he wanted to live his life. He was previously naive just like Garnet and was blindly devoted to Queen Brahne until he saw that Garnet's life was in danger, this goes true for Beatrix as well, though she started to show signs a little earlier than Steiner. When she found out that Brahne did not appreciate her retrieving the stone from Cleyra her loyalty started to sway. Freya represents the despair in life. Her love left one day to travel the world and she never heard from him again until he springs up on the day of Cleyra's destruction and discovers that he doesn't remember her. She also witnesses the destruction of her home and her race almost being wiped out. Quina is representative of the joy in life. Quina never gets sad or truly angry and always makes way by the simplest things in life. She is never bothered by the troubles of the world. Eiko is also someone who had a lot taken away from her and she makes a very important realization early about making life choices for yourself and not for what other people want. Amarant's case is a little funny to me. He ties into seeing the importance of company and accepting help. He is the only one of the main cast that seems to break away thematically.
All in all Final Fantasy IX is a heavily layered game when it comes to storytelling and is one of the prime examples of video games as art. Happy fifteenth anniversary Final Fantasy IX. Here's to more replays.
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