Didn't know what to think of this game (spoilers)

I only completed this game last week, and after playing the newer games such as the Lightning trilogy and X/X-2 HD, it was a bit weird going back to PSX. The game seemed a bit more cliche as a Final Fantasy game, even going as far as making Kuja explicitly say "Mwahahaha". But I did enjoy a lot of it, I thought the banter between the characters was quite funny and laid back a lot of the time, and I thought some of the character relationships (or lack of) were cute, like Eiko's little crush on Zidane (seeing her dialogue "Zidane, I love you!" was satisfying because she finally said what she was trying to say all along).

The only reason I put it off for so long was because it wasn't long after playing VIII that I played X and I didn't want to go backwards, plus in ignorance I found the design a little childish, mainly because of Steiner looking so out of proportion compared to everyone else on the front cover. I feel satisfied I finally did play it though. I enjoyed the plot, even though some of it was a bit too familiar, like Memoria.

I don't know about everyone else, but I find it's a lot easier to enjoy FFIX if you go into it with the outlook that it is a bag of everything that made games what they were at the time. Tropes and cliches and all. A lot of people loved that about it. That it referenced everything and represented everything they loved even though it wasn't doing much on its own. That's how it is "the love letter to fans" and whatnot

I've played a lot of games with cliches and tropes, and when done well they don't really bother me. Sadly FFIX was not one of those games. I've explained it to the best of my ability in other threads. There's just something about the pastel colors and low-key music that just made me bored with the whole time. Nothing gripped me about any of the characters or plot or anything

But it's a great game for what it was. I appreciate its existence. It's just not for me

The first time I played it, (meaning I picked it up, got as far as Burmecia, and didn't finish) I absolutely hated it. Over time I came to love it. My main gripe was also the artwork, but eventually I became used to it. And with the atmosphere of the game, now, I can't really imagine any other style of artwork that could go with it.

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Originally Posted by Vyk

I don't know about everyone else, but I find it's a lot easier to enjoy FFIX if you go into it with the outlook that it is a bag of everything that made games what they were at the time. Tropes and cliches and all. A lot of people loved that about it. That it referenced everything and represented everything they loved even though it wasn't doing much on its own. That's how it is "the love letter to fans" and whatnot

I've played a lot of games with cliches and tropes, and when done well they don't really bother me. Sadly FFIX was not one of those games. I've explained it to the best of my ability in other threads. There's just something about the pastel colors and low-key music that just made me bored with the whole time. Nothing gripped me about any of the characters or plot or anything

But it's a great game for what it was. I appreciate its existence. It's just not for me

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Yeah, even if you didn't like it as much, it still has a fitting place among the games. And it's not like we have to play or enjoy all the games, unless we're talking about one of the games with sequels like X-2 or LR: FFXIII, I couldn't finish the latter because Hope annoyed me but at the same time I felt let down because it was a franchise I wanted to see the end of. I can see how the game is a love letter to fans, even Vivi's appearance was indirectly designed years prior to the game.

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Originally Posted by Jinx

The first time I played it, (meaning I picked it up, got as far as Burmecia, and didn't finish) I absolutely hated it. Over time I came to love it. My main gripe was also the artwork, but eventually I became used to it. And with the atmosphere of the game, now, I can't really imagine any other style of artwork that could go with it.

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I was the same with XII. I got to a certain point and got bored, and didn't play it for months, then I picked it back up and almost ended up completing 100% of it because it was that addictive. And yeah, I suppose you kinda have to see it as not trying to be accurate. I read a description of the game on PSN describe it as a picture-book RPG, which kinda made more sense.

I love the game. I have since the first time I played it. It was probably the game that cemented my love for RPG's. It was one of the first I ever played (and the first FF game) and when I did it was just.... wow. I couldn't put it down. I love it so much that I play it at least every second year, and its also my cheer up game when I'm going through stuff and need to get my mind off of life.

I love the characters, I love the story, I couldn't wait to see what happened next, love the locations, love the jobs. One of my favourite things, something I love in games, is the bright atmosphere, bright colours, sense of humour, with a dark and depressing underlying story. Kind of like Majora's Mask or (I've recently found) Tales of Symphonia.

I absolutely adore this game and always will. The only negative is the battles. The battles are slow and Trance is just horrible, but other than that, I love love love it.

Loved it when it came out. It might sound odd now but it really reminded me of all the things I loved about VII - the serious mixed with the light-hearted, non-proportional character models and just overall a more whimsical feel than Final Fantasy VIII. Even the stories had a lot of parallels with a the mist standing in for Mako, a protagonist oblivious to his villainous origins, and following a silver-haired antagonist. Although I didn't have much experience with the older games, I nonetheless appreciated all the references and it inspired me to go back and play all these wonderful games it was building upon. A lot of my friends at the time were not into it - the PS2 just released and we were at that age where you didn't want to look kiddy playing a game with a bunch of children on its cover. When I beat the game and they asked me if it was as good as VII, I told them I honestly felt it was better than VII - they were incredulous to say the least.

The battles are pretty slow, though.

FFIX is the first that I played on the Playstation. I really enjoyed it. The story is really interesting; I always wanted to know what would happen. The characters are really great too. And Kuja is a great antagonist. The only things I don't really like are the battles (too slow) and the trance mode. FFIX is still one of my favorite now.

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Originally Posted by Jdeadevil

The game seemed a bit more cliche as a Final Fantasy game, even going as far as making Kuja explicitly say "Mwahahaha".

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Final Fantasy villains laughing their friggin' butts off is something that has been part of the series since at least Final Fantasy IV's Scarmiglione, I believe. Cagnazzo, too, in the same game. Then Exdeath comes in the next game with his Fwa Ha Ha Ha (first villain who had a laugh animation, for that matter). And uh, Kefka...Kefka laughs at times. Sephiroth isn't exempt either. I clearly recall Sephiroth laughing a lot, and Edea and I think Ultimecia gets one too.

I guess it was a thing for a time.