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[Werewolf Jones]

The game had some pretty great commercials too. It is Final Fantasy.

 

[Ruff]

My memory is pretty hazy on the game but i think my biggest gripe was a lack of No-Encounter or Half-Encounter abilities in the game making exploring a chore.


Or i'm thinking of another game...

either way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsFFlyC4i64 makes me want a coke!

 

[brandonh83]

If they re-released this game with a more fluid battle system I would shit my pants.

 

[AgeEighty]

The game had some pretty great commercials too. It is Final Fantasy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9I-kPH_OKk

The Japanese Coke ads are the best. A bit weirdly brand-shill-ish, but love that animation.

EDIT: Beaten.

 

[Acrylic7]

FF9 is the worst mainline FF. Yes, worse than FF13.

Boring dashing rogue chases and saves princess plot (except for twist). Absolutely horrible character designs. Barely decent music. Clashing graphics (3d models vs pre-rendered backgrounds is even more jarring than in FF7 and FF8, it could have used some serious anti-aliasing as the "jaggies" were insane). Simple and slow battle system. Equipment skill system was subpar compared to the more complex materia or junction system before it. Hell, Esper system even before that. Cliched ending.

The only thing I enjoyed about the game was the plot twist near the end

Spoiler

with the 2 worlds. Which was interesting all for an hour or two, then back to boring.

Oh, and Vivi was kind of awesome.

Man FF9 is the best FF game. Not my favorite (FF7) but its the best mainline FF game that we got.
Your points are nitpicking and similar things of equal relevance can be said about every game Square ever made.

 

[Lothar]

it's clearly far from the best just because of the slowness of the battles. Most other FFs don't have an obvious flaw that gigantic.

 

[stargateheaven]

That's nostalgia talking. I've replayed all three in the last two years. The speed differences are negligible. VII had a big sweeping pre-fight camera pan just like IX. Play the battle music in your mind and you'll remember that you didn't get to the menu until after the two bars of the musical intro had played. IX takes longer by maybe two seconds.

Loading was slightly slower in IX, but playing the digital version mitigates that.

Its pretty much everyones number 1 problem with the game. Its just too slow.
Yes 7 has the sweeping camera but its not enough to bug me.
I guess i need to make a comparison video side by side.. i play 7 alot and 9 sometimes. Not nostalgia. Ffx hd had the fastest system. I love it.

 

[AgeEighty]

Its pretty much everyones number 1 problem with the game. Its just too slow.

For all I know, most of them played on PAL, too.

And yes, of course an HD remake of a newer game designed for a more recent system had faster battles.

 

[terrene]

I miss Final Fantasies with towns to wander around in and a diverse cast of playable characters of different warrior classes/species. It just plain sucks how all we get now are spiky haired J-bros.

vs

 

[terrene]

I do wish that FF9 had stuck more to the original character designs by Amano, tho:

 

[AgeEighty]

Amano's designs are always in a class by themselves.

EDIT: Can't see Garnet as a blonde, though.

 

[Rawket Lawnchair]

Barely decent music.

You tried, but you failed.

 

[manzoman96]

I'm playing through this game for the first time now. It's a fantastic game. Characters and story are great so far. Again like your all said my only complaint is the battle speed. At least it has an awesome battle theme.

 

[Lothar]

I'm playing through this game for the first time now. It's a fantastic game. Characters and story are great so far. Again like your all said my only complaint is the battle speed. At least it has an awesome battle theme.

If only it really did. The battle theme was so annoying, I put it on mute a lot of the time. It's the same awful drum sound repeating over and over.

 

[AgeEighty]

If only it really did. The battle theme was so annoying, I put it on mute a lot of the time. It's the same awful drum sound repeating over and over.

The battle theme is good. It's also got one of the best boss battle themes in the series imo.

 

[Sciz]

The battle theme is good. It's also got one of the best boss battle themes in the series imo.

I'll give you the final boss theme as being pretty awesome, at least.

 

[AgeEighty]

I'll give you the final boss theme as being pretty awesome, at least.

Yes, that and the regular boss theme are both excellent.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I do wish that FF9 had stuck more to the original character designs by Amano, tho:

These are all great except for Eiko and that horrifying thing that I'm assuming is Quina. If the game looked more like this I think it would be for its benefit. Not that I haven't since grown to like the SD-style for what it is, but this would have been really cool.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

EDIT: Can't see Garnet as a blonde, though.

How about chestnut:

 

[Clear]

For anyone playing through the game for the first time, or at least after a long lay-off, I'd suggest they finish the game before making a final judgement.

It starts great, but quality drops off very steeply the further you get in.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I think the battle theme is decent, but the boss theme? Easily the best in the series.

Anyways, 9 is my favorite Final Fantasy for the original PlayStation. It is so good. Likable characters with great designs, great music and locations, etc <3

*vomits*

 

[aravuus]

For anyone playing through the game for the first time, or at least after a long lay-off, I'd suggest they finish the game before making a final judgement.

It starts great, but quality drops off very steeply the further you get in.

Steeply? At what point?

 

[AgeEighty]

For anyone playing through the game for the first time, or at least after a long lay-off, I'd suggest they finish the game before making a final judgement.

It starts great, but quality drops off very steeply the further you get in.

I don't know whether you mean gameplay-wise or story-wise, but either way I don't agree with that statement at all.

In terms of gameplay I'd say the dungeons get more interesting and more beautiful as the game goes along, and progression stays fairly linear without much need for any grinding, though if you want to, you can spend a bit of extra time leveling and make some of the characters extremely powerful.

In terms of story, the characters follow a consistent and rewarding arc right through to the end, and the final scenes are very satisfying.

 

[Laconic]

I do wish that FF9 had stuck more to the original character designs by Amano, tho:

I had no idea.

I love that picture so much, I both quoted it and downloaded to my drive.

...wish they had gone with his designs.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I think the Amano designs are too over the top, plus blonde Garnet would have been terrible.

I like the designs we got.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

For anyone playing through the game for the first time, or at least after a long lay-off, I'd suggest they finish the game before making a final judgement.

It starts great, but quality drops off very steeply the further you get in.

I don't really agree. Some of the final areas and events are my favorite bits of the game. There is also a lot of cool stuff to find as the game open. Finding the last chocobo hot and cold rewards were incredible.

 

[prophecy0]

With FFT best FF ever.

I agree with this statement without reservation. The overall "feel" of IX is just fantastic, and the opening couple of hours make up my favorite RPG opening of all time.

 

[ApharmdX]

It was all right. Around mid tier as FFs go.

Pros:
- Charming setting and plot
- Old school vibe
- Some music pieces were nice

Cons:
- Horrible character designs
- Pretty annoying cast except for few (like Vivi)
- Super slow combat
- Customization system was too simple
- Dumb end boss

This is pretty fair, although I liked some of the character designs (Vivi, Amarant, and Beatrice) and the cast wasn't that annoying for a Final Fantasy game.

I got it day one and played straight through it. To me the game was a mixed bag. It was better than VIII. I have never been as disappointed in a game release as I was in FFVIII. And it was better than XIII, which had some very obvious design flaws and ultra annoying characters. But IX didn't really live up to its promise. It could have been a very awesome throwback JRPG with modern (for the time) technology. The battle system and character progression were just not up to the standard of other RPGs that came out in that generation. Square's own Chrono Cross and Parasite Eve beat the brakes off of IX in those areas.

 

[ubiblu]

Greatest RPG of all-time.

 

[APZonerunner]

I do wish that FF9 had stuck more to the original character designs by Amano, tho:

They're nice, but there's nothing original about them -- as with FF7 on, the Amano designs are just his take on the original, commissioned for tradition's sake. These were on the discs in Europe.

They are lovely, though... But I love FF9's style, large continued in Crystal Chronicles, as it is.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

They're nice, but there's nothing original about them -- as with FF7 on, the Amano designs are just his take on the original, commissioned for tradition's sake.

They are lovely, though... But I love FF9'S style, large continued in Crystal Chronicles, as it is.

I believe Amano was the original character designer for FFIX, actually. Toshiyuki Itahana SD-ified them similar to how Nomura SD-ified Amano's designs for FFVI.

 

[Clear]

Steeply? At what point?

Each disc I enjoyed less than the one preceding it. As a whole I think it starts great but ends very weakly. Its funny really. Most games I either like or dislike generally, and if I enjoyed every disc of FFIX as much as the first, I'd be praising it with you guys. However, at some point it just loses me and my parting memory of the game is that I really don't think much of it at all.

That flip-flop reaction is unusual for me, and why I posted what I did.

 

[APZonerunner]

I believe Amano was the original character designer for FFIX, actually. Toshiyuki Itahana SD-ified them similar to how Nomura SD-ified Amano's designs for FFVI.

Amano hasn't provided designs directly, apart from logos, since FF6. In FF9 his credit is for 'Image Illustration', as on the other 3D games. This basically means the drawings he did which were used for concept help and in marketing and stuff, and some minor consultation on the actual designs. The character designers were Itahana, Murase, and Nagasawa. Minaba also contributed designs for minor characters.

FF9 is also the only main line FF Amano didn't do the logo for. It's arguably the least Amano FF as a result!

 

[Metroidvania]

Eh....late into Disc 3 into 4, there's a decent drop-off as the plot veers high off into the high brow sci-fi instead of keeping to the traditional fantasy, and the last boss does kind of come out of nowhere.

Barring that, though, imo, it's pretty well maintained up til that point.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

It's my favorite Final Fantasy. :')

 

[Finalow]

With FFT best FF ever.

came here to post this. I have to play it again, I remember the ending giving me some feels.

and who the hell is Zidane. it always felt like an awul/weird name to me, Gidan sounds much better coming from &#12472;&#12479;&#12531;. (Jitan)

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Amano hasn't provided designs directly, apart from logos, since FF6. In FF9 his credit is for 'Image Illustration', as on the other 3D games. This basically means the drawings he did which were used for concept help and in marketing and stuff, and some minor consultation on the actual designs. The character designers were Itahana, Murase, and Nagasawa. Minaba also contributed designs for minor characters.

FF9 is also the only main line FF Amano didn't do the logo for. It's arguably the least Amano FF as a result!

Are you sure? Here are the sources that someone once gave me to convince me that Amano was the original designer:

from FF9 pre-production (translation in description):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ydPk0BfB7o
Hironobu Sakaguchi: "To develop FF9, I hope to start with Mr Amano's drawings first. We actually already custom to do so."

http://rpgfan.com/reviews/finalfantasy9-psn/index.html
"Toshiyuki Itahana brought Yoshitaka Amano's character designs to life."

and most importantly, from Amano himself:
"GS: How were you involved with the development of Final Fantasy IX?

YA: I did the concept illustrations for the characters and the environments. The creation of my work and the production of the game happened simultaneously. "

"GS: What were your inspirations in creating the lead character in FFIX, Zidane? He certainly has a unique look.

YA: Of course, something that is not a human being - he has a tail. There was no reason to limit the character's appearance to a normal person's look."
from http://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-final-fantasy-concept-artist-yoshitaka-amano/1100-2662315/

 

[Ezalc]

came here to post this. I have to play it again, I remember the ending giving me some feels.

and who the hell is Zidane. it always felt like an awul/weird name to me, Gidan sounds much better coming from &#12472;&#12479;&#12531;. (Jitan)

Not at all, Zidane is an actual name. And he's totally the better Zidane than that douche football player.

 

[War Peaceman]

I do wish that FF9 had stuck more to the original character designs by Amano, tho:

I love Amano's artwork, his art of Final Fantasy book is beautiful and has pride of place on my bookshelf, but these designs would not translate well to the tech and display available at the time.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

FFIX has the best writing of any game I've ever played. It's brilliant.

I agree with this.

The English end song made my ears bleed. It's so inferior to the Japanese version. I really enjoyed the rest of the game, though. Very few complaints since I like more traditional JRPGs.

I don't understand this mentality I see so much from geeks that if it's not in Japanese, then it's shit. You are aware that the both the English version and Japanese version are sung by the same artist right? How is comparatively different in sound when you have the same artist projecting the same tunes, tones, and keys as she does in the Japanese version?

 

[DiipuSurotu]

came here to post this. I have to play it again, I remember the ending giving me some feels.

and who the hell is Zidane. it always felt like an awul/weird name to me, Gidan sounds much better coming from &#12472;&#12479;&#12531;. (Jitan)

Interestingly, in Sakaguchi's very first video game, "The Death Trap", there was also a character called &#12472;&#12479;&#12531; but his name was romanized as Gitanes:

 

[Finalow]

Not at all, Zidane is an actual name. And he's totally the better Zidane than that douche football player.

who cares if it's an actual (french?) name, it doesn't make it sound less weird or less ''wrong''.

 

[APZonerunner]

Are you sure? Here are the sources that someone once gave me to convince me that Amano was the original designer:

Huh, this is interesting -- I spoke to Itahana and Kawazu a few years ago - can't retrieve the link atm as I'm posting from mobile - but they indicated it was the other way around! The FF9 art book indicates this too from back at the time indicates this too... but translations then were hugely unreliable. Hmm! Wonder if anybody here has the JP ultimania? Bet that has some words on this. I know Amano did the Lifa tree, for instance... That is wholly his.

 

[aravuus]

Eh....late into Disc 3 into 4, there's a decent drop-off as the plot veers high off into the high brow sci-fi instead of keeping to the traditional fantasy, and the last boss does kind of come out of nowhere.

Barring that, though, imo, it's pretty well maintained up til that point.

I understand if someone doesn't like the direction the story takes, but the actual quality of it never drops. Even if you wanted to argue there are single parts and moments where the quality does drop, like the final boss, it's never something that comes even close to a steep one.

 

[GSG Flash]

FF9 is the worst mainline FF. Yes, worse than FF13.

Boring dashing rogue chases and saves princess plot (except for twist). Absolutely horrible character designs. Barely decent music. Clashing graphics (3d models vs pre-rendered backgrounds is even more jarring than in FF7 and FF8, it could have used some serious anti-aliasing as the "jaggies" were insane). Simple and slow battle system. Equipment skill system was subpar compared to the more complex materia or junction system before it. Hell, Esper system even before that. Cliched ending.

The only thing I enjoyed about the game was the plot twist near the end

Spoiler

with the 2 worlds. Which was interesting all for an hour or two, then back to boring.

Oh, and Vivi was kind of awesome.

And here I thought only your hockey opinions sucked.

FF9 is the last great FF game, sad that it's been almost 15 years since a great FF game has come out(FF12 was good but not as good).

 

[xk0sm0sx]

I do not mind the slow start of battle because the opening of the battle music gets me super pumped, every single time.
I also like that they gave each character a class, it makes them more unique. For the same reason, I didn't like the extensive customization in FF8.

Back then I took those settings for granted, believing we will forever have games like that being made. Man...

 

[Werewolf Jones]

and who the hell is Zidane. it always felt like an awul/weird name to me, Gidan sounds much better coming from &#12472;&#12479;&#12531;. (Jitan)

The game still gives you the option to name characters so if you want Jitan, you can have Jitan. Along with Bibi, Salamander & Freyja.

 

[Ezalc]

who cares if it's an actual (french?) name, it doesn't make it sound less weird or less ''wrong''.

What. Hasn't it been officially confirmed that it's supposed to be Zidane anyway? Like isn't that what they were going for? Anyway, don't see how it sounds "wrong", sounds just like an actual name for a person. Better Zidane than something like Edge Maverick.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Huh, this is interesting -- I spoke to Itahana and Kawazu a few years ago - can't retrieve the link atm as I'm posting from mobile - but they indicated it was the other way around! The FF9 art book indicates this too from back at the time indicates this too... but translations then were hugely unreliable. Hmm! Wonder if anybody here has the JP ultimania? Bet that has some words on this. I know Amano did the Lifa tree, for instance... That is wholly his.

Yeah it's pretty confusing. Maybe somehow even the people involved aren't quite sure who created what, since it was such a collaborative effort :/ Concerning the Iifa tree, I was under the impression it was designed by Christian Lorenz Scheurer, but I guess it's possible he painted the final background art without creating the design itself:

http://www.christianlorenzscheurer....asyIX/conceptart1/CONCEPT_ART_1_ifatree1.html
"EARLY IFA TREE"

http://www.christianlorenzscheurer....fantasyIX/conceptart1/CONCEPT_ART_1_ifa3.html
"I wanted to give the tree a brain-like appearance. The final model ended up as a combination of two of my production paintings."

 

[Halabane]

I love ix. The OP and others compliants are to me minor (and somewhat personal preference) and some of it is the technology of the day and trying to do maybe too much graphically (the panning).

SE gets beat up a lot. I think its like when people complain about their local sports team. Its more like tough love. Someone earlier in the thread said that they thought after playing this game all games in the future would be like that. I think all of us just really want SE to wake up and rediscover that old mojo.