FFIX fails to get back to the series' roots

[Elpizo]

I realized IX does not stackup as a standalone FF, but is a tribute to the series - for no reason but the sake of being a tribute.

Which it fails at. The game is loaded with references to older FF's for no reason other than to reference them.

That statement is incorrect, be it for the very fact that I have a friend who hasn't played any FF but IX and fell in love with it so much that he played it all night after I lend him the game.

Even one of my parents played IX without playing any of the other FF's and loved it.

People too often accuse IX of being unable to stand on its own legs because it has references to the past FF's. Which is incredibly incorrect. It stands tall amongst all the others of the series as a stand-alone game. The references are just a nice bonus, but not required to enjoy the game for what it is: the 9th entry in a series of great RPG games.

And yes, for me IX will always be the best. Better than VI yes, for that game's second half was... let me put it as 'bad'. And I played IX before I played a lot of other FF games. So I didn't get most of the references either. Until I recently replayed it and loved it even more.

[Vivisteiner]

To back up what Elpizo said, FFIX is my first FF and is my favourite.
Anyone who says FFIX cant stand on its own is talking crap.

I havnt even played FFI - VI, but FFIX feels the most complete game to me out of VII - XII. As Emipzo said, the references are just added bonuses.

[Bolivar]

I realized IX does not stackup as a standalone FF, but is a tribute to the series - for no reason but the sake of being a tribute.

Which it fails at. The game is loaded with references to older FF's for no reason other than to reference them.

That statement is incorrect, be it for the very fact that I have a friend who hasn't played any FF but IX and fell in love with it so much that he played it all night after I lend him the game.

Even one of my parents played IX without playing any of the other FF's and loved it.

People too often accuse IX of being unable to stand on its own legs because it has references to the past FF's. Which is incredibly incorrect. It stands tall amongst all the others of the series as a stand-alone game. The references are just a nice bonus, but not required to enjoy the game for what it is: the 9th entry in a series of great RPG games.

And yes, for me IX will always be the best. Better than VI yes, for that game's second half was... let me put it as 'bad'. And I played IX before I played a lot of other FF games. So I didn't get most of the references either. Until I recently replayed it and loved it even more.

that's not what i meant when i said it's not as much of a stand-alone game. What I mean is that the last time I played it, I felt more like it was a mix of every other FF than it's own, distinct mark on the series. It was probably the first FF that didn't bring anything new to the table. But of course, that's just my opinion.

[daggertrepe]

FFIX is special to me because it was the 2nd one I really got into. The first was VII, but I just adore IX.

[NeoCracker]

Wait, FF IX the Biggest Money Milking Game From Square? Need I Bring up the FF VII Compilation?

Not saying its bad, I actually enjoy it, but come on.

[bipper]

I just say it is what happens when you try way too hard to be something you are.

[Vivisteiner]

For me, FFIX was the most epic Final Fantasy. Had the best cast, the best story and was hilarious.

One thing I dislike about a lot of Final Fantasys is their lack of humour. To me, even if it wasnt necessarily completely original, it is what defines a perfect FF game.

[Sneakas]

IX was an amazing game. The story was amazingly charming and philisophical. The gameplay was spot on and I really enjoyed the character specialization, rather than just open ended job creating. Don't get me wrong I love being able to customize my character's jobs, but sometimes it can get too messy and detract from the story (I was not a fan of the Sphere Grid or XII's thing.) I'm not saying that the other Final Fantasys were bad, but IX just stands out in my mind as the most memorable and overal enjoyable.

[Yukki-Chan]

Final Fantasy IX was the last of it's kind, the last PS1 Final Fantasy, the last Final Fantasy with thinking deeper than "OMGEZ MY OLD MAN IS THE BOSS CHARACTER WTF I DON'T REALLY EXIST 0_o" It was the first Final Fantasy I played, (and I own all the others bar FFIII and FFXI) IX will always be my favourite as it was a lot more cheerful and colourful the characters were fun and weird and although I never thought any of them were cool or bishie I loved the characters despite that.

[Bolivar]

Final Fantasy IX was the last of it's kind, the last PS1 Final Fantasy, the last Final Fantasy with thinking deeper than "OMGEZ MY OLD MAN IS THE BOSS CHARACTER WTF I DON'T REALLY EXIST 0_o" It was the first Final Fantasy I played, (and I own all the others bar FFIII and FFXI) IX will always be my favourite as it was a lot more cheerful and colourful the characters were fun and weird and although I never thought any of them were cool or bishie I loved the characters despite that.

that's a horrible summation of X's plot.

Matter of fact, it's ironic, because techincally "OMGEZ MY OLD MAN IS THE BOSS CHARACTER WTF I DON'T REALLY EXIST 0_o" is really the plot of IX, except the father dies and he has to fight his brother.

[Sneakas]

Well you can't really simplify either game's plot like that because theres so much more to each game. I will say I think the Active Time Event system did the best of expanding the characters and themes. Thats why I enjoyed IX as much as I did.

[Vivisteiner]

Yeah. I agree, ATE's were amazing.

I hope they reintroduce them in later games.

[Yukki-Chan]

that's a horrible summation of X's plot.

Matter of fact, it's ironic, because techincally "OMGEZ MY OLD MAN IS THE BOSS CHARACTER WTF I DON'T REALLY EXIST 0_o" is really the plot of IX, except the father dies and he has to fight his brother.

hehe I was trying to point out that the plot and thought behind the storyline in IX is more well thought out and explored than X. I agree the storylines have similarities but their presented differently and I believe it was better done by in IX
Also loved the ATE's!

[DarkLadyNyara]

:twocents: FFIX returns to the roots of the series in that the two previous games were a huge deviation from I-VI. IX puts the Fantasy back in Final Fantasy.

And as far as absurd appearances goes... *coughKefkacough*

[Zora]

I think FFIX was more of a "step back." As in Square decided they didn't want to continue with the high-tech universe (well FFXIII looks like it is going back to the high-tech universe but roll with me here) so decided to add more of a fantasy and FF1-6 style to it. A good example are the characters. I don't see a Gunblade user or a arm-cannon gunner or a moogle-riding cat here do I? No, all of the characters were based off jobs/characters from past games (Zidane is a theif, Steiner is a Warrior, Vivi is a Black Mage naturally, Garnet is based off the young Rydia, etc.).

The other is that it has more of a fantasy feel than FFVI-VIII. I mean you easily go through that game without seeing much technology except those found in FFI-V anyways (IE Airship). Yes it does have a cartonny style to it. But also because of the graphics in the FFI-VI era creativity was technologically limited, and in the era of FFIX that wasn't the case.

Am I saying that FFIX accomplished going to the series roots again? No. I am saying though it has gotten back to the roots out of all the games in the Sony era.

Oh, and let us not forget about the crystals...