Who finds this game kind of overrated?

[Iwrestledabearonce]

I mean, battle is extremely slow, despite setting its speed to the fastest possible. The dialogue is kind of corny and cliche in many parts, and the characters are odd (the only one I like and can actually stand is Garnet... I can't stand Zidane). Anyone else agree or disagree?

[Clo]

And it begins.

[Hambone]

I mean, battle is extremely slow, despite setting its speed to the fastest possible. The dialogue is kind of corny and cliche in many parts, and the characters are odd (the only one I like and can actually stand is Garnet... I can't stand Zidane). Anyone else agree or disagree?

Agreed. This game really doesn't do anything for me personally. That being said, I still did EVERYTHING in it...except beat Ozma. :(


And it begins.

Also agreed.

[Mirage]

Battle speed is horrible, loading times are worse when loaded from my PS3 HDD than FF8 is when loaded from the CDs on the PS1.

[Shin Gouken]

I played it so many years ago and wasn't very impressed at all.

I'm currently playing through again now and i'm enjoying the experience much more. The cutscenes really are the best in the series. They create tension, spark emotion and add a level of exitement more so than any other FF imo. Ive sort of connected with the game in that, where before the characters simply annoyed me, now i kind of feel attached.

So am enjoying so far, but i remember the plot wasn't anything special and kuja was a poor villain who ties with ultimecia as the most forgettable. And as other people have mentioned, the loading times and slow pace of battles really kills this game

[Iwrestledabearonce]

The battle speed isnt that bad once you get everyone with auto-haste, but its still just horrible. Compared to other, at least, like VIII was wonderful in terms of speed.

[Vivisteiner]

Final Fantasy IX is easily the deepest and most brilliantly realised game I have played in my entire life. The plot is expertly woven together, the dialogue is genuine, entertaining and engaging and the characters are extremely rounded, fresh and interesting. Supporting these three facets is a magnificent score which makes playing the game an absolute pleasure. Alone, all these aspects make this game truly great - and that's without even mentioning the gameplay, which is also excellent.

Sakaguchi-san knew what he was talking about when he said that it is the closest to his view on what an ideal Final Fantasy should be. Final Fantasy IX is a work of genius and a game which should never be overlooked.

[asukaevaunit02]

Overrated is not a word I would associate with IX, save that for another Final Fantasy *cough* VII *cough* ;)

Though I would have to agree battle pace is quite slow, especially after playing XII and XIII. But that isn't enough of a reason to say its overrated.

[Freya]

I don't think it's overrated. I think it's a great FF but it's often looked over for more overrated games of the series. It's just popular on these forums lol.

[rubah]

I used to, but I have seen The Light™

[Ouch!]

I don't really think FFIX is quite popular enough to be overrated. It has a small but vocal fanbase who love it fiercely, but I wouldn't say enough people herald it as the greatest thing to ever happen to Final Fantasy (it is, by the way), for it to be considered, by any stretch, overrated.

That said, I'll grant that the battle system can be slow (although the I'm such a fan of the mechanics behind the character growth and the static job system that I find this easily forgivable). I'll also admit that the dialogue can be campy at times, but I find that's a large portion of Final Fantasy IX's charm.

I'm going to flat out disagree about any nay-saying about the cast; as far as I see, Final Fantasy IX has the most fully realized casts in the series and is one of the few games where I feel that there's significant character development for a vast majority of the primary cast and a large portion of the supporting cast (Amarant feels at times unfortunately neglected and as the comic relief, Quina doesn't get the time s/he deserves for any real development). It's also a love story done right. The relationship between Zidane and Garnet progresses naturally with wonderful pacing and development (something I can't quite say about many other romance narratives in the series, especially FFVIII).

Final Fantasy IX is whimsical and humorous. I wouldn't go so far as to say its exactly a work of great fiction, but beneath its lighthearted exterior there's a level of maturity that's pervasive throughout. That kind of thing is hard to achieve and deserves appreciation.

On a final note, I do not understand how anyone could possibly regard Kuja as even remotely forgettable. He is one of the few (the only) villain in the series whose plight deserves sympathy and receives the same level of attention and detail as the rest of the cast. Most titles spend little to no effort giving their villains motivations (Kefka is just crazy--a charm in its own right--, Ultimecia is pissed offed for god knows what reason, and a number other villains such as Exdeath and Chaos just are) or perhaps piss poor one (I'm looking at you, Mama's boy!), Kuja just doesn't want to die. The emotions that drive him are human, so human that even the hero takes pity on him in the end. Kuja is easily the best villain the series will ever see.

[Lamia]

I loved this game. I do not think it's overrated because this game is criticized a lot for being not like VII and VIII. I remember fans moaning about the character designs, and the superdeformed style of the sprites.

That being said, I don't think it is the best in the series, or even close. The game has the best pacing of any Final Fantasy game and arguably the most creative towns/cities and dungeons.

However, the games battle system is completely weak sauce. Character customization is almost non-existent with the exception of toggling passive abilities learned off weapons. All of the characters have assigned skills, roles, and weapons and armor and abilities are learned from weapons and armor. Character development is just a matter of learning all the abilities off of all their weapons and armor. The only dynamic this system brings is an increased importance of collecting certain weapons and armor and the case were you would not immediately unequip a weapon or piece of armor for a superior version until you have learned the ability. Other flaws were wasted trances and slow battle speed.

Although I just completely ripped on the battle system and character customization system, I still love this game and it is in my top 5 Final Fantasies simply for it's amazing, fantastical setting, excellent plot pacing, and adorable quirky characters.

[Kenshin IV]

This is amazing to me, because Final Fantasy IX got NO love for yeeeeeeeears. People forgot it even existed (which was largely due to it coming out only one year after Eight, and only one year before Ten -- it's easy to see how it could get overshadowed when everyone was excited for the first installment on a new system).

It's great that this game -- really, one of the best in the entire franchise -- has finally been realized enough for people to now see it as "overrated." That be Final Fantasy VII territory.

[Jessweeee♪]

It's a good game. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece though. I think the fans and haters balance out well enough that I wouldn't call it overrated. I don't think it's all that overlooked either. Maybe it was at the time of it's release, but since I've been interested in the series I've heard nothing but how awesome FFIX is. I enjoyed the game, but I was kind of disappointed that it didn't live up to the expectations that I gathered from everyone. Quina is overrated. Not a terrible character, but I'm sick of his/her face.

One day FFXIII will be the new FFIX.

[Vyk]

Its definitely a niche game. It also has a lot of outspoken fans, as stated. I don't really believe it has quite the numbers as most "overrated" games though. On this forum, maybe. But I don't typically see it mentioned much off-site. Let alone heralded, as it is on this site

I think its just the mixture of loud adoring fans, mixed with the fact that there's not a lot of people who utterly hate it. So it balances out funny. Unlike 7 and 6 who have TONS of fans. And in 7's case, tons of haters, who are just as loud about the game, which still brings attention to it. While with 6, most people that don't like it, don't hate it, they're just generally sick of hearing about it from elitist fans. Which are probably the same sentiment of half the haters of 7. In this aspect, 9 doesn't get treated that way. Not from what I've experienced anyway

[AntagonistGB]

Ouch! and Vivisteiner, two members that I greatly respect, pretty much hit the nail on the head. I'll just throw in my two cents and reinforce that Kuja was probably the best villain from an analyst point of view (Kefka wins on sheer fun value, of course.)

As far as the battle, it's probably the most refined and polished that the ATB system ever got before becoming a clusterfuck. Load times don't really bother me in the slightest.

I still remember when I first started lurking these forums many years ago, this was THE black sheep of the series. I love that it's gotten more attention. My prediction is that either the FFII or FFIII fandoms are gonna spike next, then people will call those games overrated. Vicious cycle. Well, no matter what others think, this will probably always be my favorite FF for fun, silliness, amazing visuals (pre-rendered backgrounds, R.I.P.) and a really salient, touching plot.

[kupopo!]

Overrated is not a word I would associate with IX, save that for another Final Fantasy *cough* VII *cough* ;)

Though I would have to agree battle pace is quite slow, especially after playing XII and XIII. But that isn't enough of a reason to say its overrated.

I agree.

I feel the hype around FF7 is extreme.
whereas you hear so many people who did not even bother with FFIX.
Ive played both, thoroughly, about 5 times each and I can say that though they have some similarities FFIX is far better. I feel more attached to the characters and the side quests are more interesting to me. the moogles, choco hot and cold, all that is more fun. The only downfall is Zidane. He is a weak main character in my opinion. (weak personality and whatnot, not physically) and They could have had someone more bad ass like cloud.

[Bolivar]

However, the games battle system is completely weak sauce. Character customization is almost non-existent with the exception of toggling passive abilities learned off weapons. All of the characters have assigned skills, roles, and weapons and armor and abilities are learned from weapons and armor. Character development is just a matter of learning all the abilities off of all their weapons and armor. The only dynamic this system brings is an increased importance of collecting certain weapons and armor and the case were you would not immediately unequip a weapon or piece of armor for a superior version until you have learned the ability. Other flaws were wasted trances and slow battle speed.

Gotta disagree on this part. The beauty of FFIX's customization is that your characters only have a limited amount of resources to activate abilities. You can build a super-warrior with Zidane or a specialist kind of thief. It actually is more engaging, to me, than systems where your characters just get progressively better with more and more options. You have to actually think and use your resources wisely as to which kind of character you're going to build, within the limits of their job class(es). For much of the game, you also get equipment at a fast enough rate where you have to actually decide whether to learn the abilities with one or move on to a more powerful item, or just re-equip an older one with a useful ability for the area you're in. Game Director Hiroyuki Ito had a name for this system, swap and trade or something, and it was brilliant to me.

When I first beat FFIX I thought it was the best game I've ever played. I don't necessarily think it's the best in the series after having played through all of them, and the later ones a few more times, but it's still an extraordinary experience and a very personal game for me.

[Jiro]

This thread is having a nap now :) Feel free to make another one if you want do discuss this further!