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I'm not a big gamer or anything, nor am I a huge fantasy fan, but I do love Final Fantasy. I played FF IX for the first time ever, and here are my thoughts in random order:
I really enjoyed the gameplay! It was fun hunting for some new weapons and seeing what kinds of abilities could be learned from them. Vivi is so sweet! I can see why people love him so much. I really enjoyed Steiner - he was so frantic and silly, and he made me laugh! I didn't expect to like Zidane as much as I did, but in the end, I adored him. He was so impulsive, and loyal, and the way they concluded his story was fantastic. I loved the Tantalus crew. You just just FEEL the loyalty from their dynamic. Loved, loved, LOVED the dynamic between Zidane and Dagger. I'm a sucker for romance, so it was fun to see their relationship develop. I have two favorite Zidane/Dagger moments. The first one is the boat scene ("Because I wanted to go with you"). The second is when Dagger asked Zidane what he does when he feels like crying, and Zidane crouches and goes, "I get really clingy when I'm sad!" It was so cute! And wow... Mog? The moment she said, "Thank you for everything, Eiko," I started SOBBING. My SO was laughing at me because I couldn't click for the next line for a good two minutes. That scene really wrecked me. Overall, I thought the story of the game was very well-executed! My favorite FF is VIII, and though I love it, I always wished it was executed better. IX did exactly just that. It was, in my humble opinion, well-paced, well-executed, and it really pulls on your heartstrings.Cheers to you, FF IX fans! You picked a good one!
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Fun thing I remember not liking Steiner when I was really young during my first time playing. And now that I’m closer to his age than Zidane’s, I relate to him so much haha
ID: htglr76ID: hth52ljSteiner goes from being (intentionally) annoying, to clear comic relief, to an actual enjoyable character. His arc was one of the best, IMO.
ID: htgzoexWhen I was a kid, on my first two playthroughs, I named him FATSO, just like that.
When I replayed as an adult, I realized that he’s an amazing character and I love him.
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My favorite FF! I often listen to Beatrix's song. Rose of May
ID: hthge7pWe used Rose of May for when our bridesmaids were walking down the aisle at our wedding! It's such a gorgeous song!
ID: htgey9cBanger
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I feel like that boat scene is often forgotten among the swaths of other amazing moments in the story (everyone talks about Vivi's letter or You're Not Alone), but seriously, it's such a great moment.
Honestly, this game might be my favourite RPG lol.
ID: htgmro3Exactly what you said - there were many amazing moments in the story, so certain scenes could easily get lost. But hey! There's a reason for more playthroughs!
ID: hth8dc9Oh the story of Ipsen & Colin <3
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Zidane is a good example of a well written smartass. He isn't perfect, and often does it to cover up his own insecurities, but pulls off being such a fun lead for the story.
The "Active Time Events" where also one of the best features in any Final Fantasy and I am surprised we didn't see a return of it.
ID: htgnh98Fun is definitely a good word to describe him! His playboy comments (and Dagger's reaction to them) made me laugh. But what I especially love about Zidane is that while he likes to goof off, it never fails to show that he's a good guy just from the way he interacts with all the other characters.
ID: hth2r26ATEs are super underappreciated. What a genius idea for fleshing out the world and characters. I'm surprised it's never been used again.
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I would pay an embarrassing amount of money to play a FF IX Remake.
ID: htg4j04If you can play on PC, I suggest looking up the Moguri mod.
ID: htgno8xYeah, I feel ya... Many of us feel that way about our favorites.
ID: htgzv51It’s getting a show and was listed on the nvida leak as getting a remake
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FF 9 is Sakaguchi's favourite Final Fantasy, so we can't be wrong here.
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FFIX FTW!!
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The one thing I didn't like about the game was that final boss. It just came out of nowhere.
ID: htgm8h4This!!! I would've been great without Necron.
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I played it when I was much younger but even now I'll listen to the soundtrack at work because it's just so good!
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Absolute favorite for me ever since. Wasnt my first FF but I immediately fell in love with it when I plaeyed it. I loved Zidane and his dynamic with everyone. I loved seeing him mature throughout the story. People may argue because they cant get over the oooo soft part of the game. Yeah, hes a charming villain in the beginning get over it. But he gets better and learns so much and matures to become the right man for Garnet. That's development.
ID: htgl5jfI adored Zidane! People can say whatever they want, but I felt like he was my buddy all throughout the game and was rooting for him. I loved how charming, adorable, and loyal he is.
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When I'm feeling down, sometimes I watch clips of streamers finishing a first playthrough of the game. Most of the time, they're in happy tears by the end. and it feels good to see someone love a thing you love.
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This is my fav game of all time - love seeing this! <3
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Glad to hear! Final Fantasy IX was for the longest time my favorite FF of the post-SNES era until FF7 Remake came out. FFIX is such a magical love letter to the series before it and I still think about the game to this day. It's got an incredible score, the characters are vibrant, the story is moving. Ugh just a low-key masterpiece.
I also agree it's an emotional game. I think it was the first FF game where my eyes welted. Actually funny story, for a couple of years I thought it was Zidane or Garnett who was speaking throughout the ending before the play, but when my friends revealed to me it was actually Vivi because he had passed away, I was like "What?!" with a literal tear coming out my eye. I seldom still get clowned about it lol.
I love Vivi and Garnett and at times I wish they would've been the co-main leads as I felt those 2 had the most compelling journeys, while Zidane could've been the primary supporting character a la Han Solo, but I recognize that he's integral to Kuja's journey. I think actually that's my only nag about the game is that Zidane was not incredibly interesting to me like Terra, Cloud and Squall before him. Regardless its a minor nag in the grand scheme of the game.
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IX was one of the best
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Glad you enjoyed it! That's my personal favorite of the lot. Even got me a Vivi tattoo haha
ID: htfc8b2Ha, I love it! If you don't mind me asking, how do people react to your Vivi tattoo?
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Congrats! Vivi is the best 🙂
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Recently played and beat it for the first time myself, it’s my 2nd favorite behind FFVII currently, I’m early into X now. Been having a blast diving into the series.
ID: htgl8fqI'm glad for you! Enjoy!
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i played the original on my Vita i loved the music and characters so much i missed some of my homework for online class cause of this game lol
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For bonus points nick name Steiner "Rusty".
I did this because of his armor when I first played the game. It took me a while to realize Zidane was making fun of him.
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Sadly vivi never got to See Zidane again 🙁
ID: htgo2xaMan... Why did you remind me... I'm literally crying right now.
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You appreciated all the right parts of the game (in my opinion). Love the boat scene, especially when the music picks up...
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IX was very good. It was one the first times I can remember being annoyed at "new fans," though because they would call every black mage Vivi. Despite its success a lot of people ignore IX comparatively, but I find that most people who played it say it's their favorite game in the series. It's just a charming game.
It tried hard to steer FF away from the pretty boy anime makeover, but unfortunately Advent Children happened and made certain we were staying there.
ID: htgkrqmYeah, I have to admit that the art style was partly the reason why I took a while to play it. (Confession: I'm part of the pretty boy target audience. I love me some pretty boys.) But here's what I'll say about IX: the art atyle was very much its own, and even if one dislikes it, it does not take away from the story and execution whatsoever. Solid game!
ID: hth518jZidane is the main character and he is as much a pretty boy as anybody. FFIX didn't try to steer the series as a whole from anything it just went with a different artstyle for it's own sake and it is the outlier in that regard. It wasn't intended as main title at first and the game came out after FFVIII already pushed the PSX to the technical limits at the time so they did something different.
FFX came out right after and Tidus was considered by most another "pretty boy" main character. Did Advent Children come before FFX?
Advent Children had nothing to do with anything at that point. It wasn't some new direction for character designs it was following what had been established for like ever at that point. Last that I checked Cid, Barret, Red XIII, and Cait Sith are not "pretty boys" either. Basch and Balthier are big important characters in FFXII which came after Advent Children. Are they pretty boys too?
The reality is Final Fantasy had been about a large cast of mostly pretty or cute characters with a couple older characters then throw in an occasional oddball who is either not human or a magic child. There is a typical Final Fantasy party.
The formula became obvious with FFIV with Cecil who himself is a pretty boy much like WoL art from the very first game. Historically you can classify all the main characters in the FF series as "pretty" and as are most of the party members aside from the oddballs. The biggest reason you personally did not notice in the early games was because of technical limitations that do not exist in more modern titles anymore. Or maybe you have been in denial. lol
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Yeah, it is amazing, I cried at the end. Everything about this game is perfect.
ID: htgka9vI agree, it's a pretty solid game!
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I feel like IX was the last Final Fantasy that got everything right. The setting, the characters, the story, it all felt like what a Final Fantasy game was supposed to be.
ID: htgnh45Idk. IX is defined my personal favorite but if feel X did an awesome job as well.
ID: htgm4iaYa know what, I see what you mean. I always hear that VII, VIII, and IX was its own trinity of Final Fantasy games, and I could see why. The last game i played prior to IX was the VII remake, which seems to appeal more to modern gamers, so it was both refreshing and nostalgic to play IX.
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It’s my favourite.
It’s the best world they’ve built. I just really love diving back into it.
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I finally got around to playing this for the first time last year and I agree with all your points. I'd also like to add that it has such an incredible soundtrack. It's a game that just bleeds charm. I absolutely loved every minute of it. It shot up my list to 3rd for me. FF6, FFX still beat it out for me but I'll admit that nostalgia plays a heavy hand in that ranking.
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Nice! FFIX is a very good Final Fantasy, almost like a homage to what has come before. I remember this game being very impactful as a younger person. I just replayed through Final Fantasy 7 and 8 and I am starting 9 up next. Glad to see you enjoyed your experience for what a lot of people consider one of the best Final Fantasy games.
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FF9 is my 4th favorite Final Fantasy Game!
My favorite character was Freya Crescent.
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Necron was a bit rando though. Still my favourite game.
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Hell yeah, my dude! Cheers; it’s my favorite game of all time.
No other game has written character growth as well (with the glaring exception of Amarant), and with such charm as well.
9 manages to hit every emotion tastefully, and with good enough pacing that the lightheartedness that follows moments as dark as genocide doesn’t feel out of place.
I could give an hour long monologue about the virtues of this game. It’s a masterclass in good writing.
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This is my absolute favourite FF game. I can’t think of a thing about it I don’t love.
Blank, Marcus and the rest of the Tantalus crew are such brilliant characters who don’t get enough love.
I loved Kuja as a villain and his character progression (regression?) throughout the story.
What team did you tend to use?
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Yes, the Tantalus crew was awesome! I usually don't like it when there are too many characters in a story, but I think Blank, Marcus, and Baku enriched Zidane's background. You see what kind of environment he grew up in and can feel a sense of loyalty among them.
What do you mean by team?
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I just finished the game last weekend and honestly it feels like I played a different game than everyone else. For the most part I found it predictable and boring and had a hard time connecting to the characters. I’ll say I did start to have more fun in disc 3 when you’re given more freedom and the plot picks up, but it takes a while to get there. Not to rag on the game, but I’m just disappointed that I didn’t have the same reaction that people like you did to it.
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Sometimes it's just not the right time for a game. I've played a few over the years where I'd go "Hm. =/" and put them aside. And when I'd come back - months or even years later on rare occasion, I loved them and wondered why I didn't before.
Alternatively, the language you play in can make a big difference. Final Fantasy as a whole is one of franchises where you're not just playing a different translation of the same game, but have character lines be that different that it really sometimes feels like you are not playing the same game.
I was so shocked when I one day many years ago looked up the ending to FF9 in English because I needed the exact English version of a piece of dialogue for a quote - and that portion of the scene played out completely different; no sign of the line I loved so much and with the mood of the entire scene not even remotely the same. That was my first encounter with drastically different localisation before I actively started looking into that and comparing.
So it's entirely possible you have not played the same game as others.
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Yeah... Not for everyone I guess.
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Mog was with eiko the whole time
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I didn't enjoy the sci fi turn the story takes in disk 3. But what are you gonna do.
I feel the Zidane Garnet romance was much better executed than whatever they did with Rinoa end Squall in 8. Which is a shame considering the theme of 8 was supposed to be love. Heck, Laguna and Raine had way more chemistry than the main pair.
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I agree with you, and this is something that I, as an FFVIII fan, will forever lament. It's like Square learned from their mistakes in VIII and applied the lessons to IX and X.
I know it's unlikely that they'll ever do a remake for VIII (or any other FF aside from VII for that matter), but if they do, I want them to fix the chemistry buildup (among other things). Right now, the only way to get that build up in VIII is if you play through a few times and experiment with different combinations of parties.
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I couldn't stand Steiner at first but he started to come around for me when he showed his respect for Vivi right away. I will always love the line that he gets on Zidane when Zidane comments that Steiner fell in love with a hell of a woman and he responds "You're one to talk".