Final Fantasy 9 doesn't stand out from the others - it just broke the more "futuristic trend of FF7, FF8, FF10, etc., and returned to the more medieval, magic-based worlds of the older Final Fantasies, like FF5.
Square did this on purpose, because FF9 was supposed to be a "tribute" of sorts to the entire FF series since it was FF's swansong on the original PSX before the series moved to the PS2. Therefore, the game's medieval settings and job classes returned to the series' roots (like the 4 character party), and a lot of references to the earlier games (character names, like Garland, oblique references, like Zidane talking about a "spiky haired guy" when he finds Cloud's sword at a weapon shop). So its not "more" Fantasy, so much as its a conglamoration of everything Final Fantasy.
And its much too underappreciated, IMHO. Great game. :)