Why a lot of fans don't like this game *SPOILERS*

[Vivisteiner]

@Empower: You're a fool who should be shot with a very, very sharp gun.

The characters were completely overly cartoonish and often juvenile. The humanity and emotion of great games like FFVII and VIII were completely absent. Hell it was even humorless!

Juvenile characters eh? Lets look at Rinoa and Squall - juvenile as hell with their fake love and silly dancing 'Oooh you're the prettiest guy!'. Compare them to all the other characters in FFIX (bar Quina) and they are blown away. Vivi is among the deepest of all time, as is Steiner (although it probably didnt get through to you). Amarant is well developed too, if you examine his analogies in detail. Instead you probably ignored them and thought 'this involves brain power - screw that.' Zidane's evolution throughout the game is also intriguing to behold. Garnet and Freya also channged undeniably. I think you're confusing design with personality. Maybe its time you learnt the difference.

Compared to FFXII (and most other FF titles), IX:

1. Is shorter, by a LOT.
2. Is more cartoonish / abstract
3. Lacks characters with ANY depth
4. Lacks innovation or new concepts
5. Is too lighthearted for the most part. Good guys and bad guys alike seem completely un-frightening or powerful.

It's not shorter. At least not by much when I play through it.
You probably rushed it. Notice how it has four discs - that's a lot.

You say its cartoonish - how shallow are you! That's like saying that Vaan is the worst main character solely because he's not wearing a t-shirt.

The characters have the greatest depth ever. Their developement probably just didnt get through your thick skull.

Innovation is one point Ill agree on, but it does deal with some topics such as life in a way that no RPGs have done before. It also perfects what an RPG is supposed to be. Go listen to gurus such as Sakaguchi and Uematsu - they'll tell you its the best game ever. Believe it or not, they know what they're talking about when they make statements like that!

The light hearted nature of it makes it more real. It adds contrast and provides a more balanced view on the world. The story is still serious, deep and interesting though. For those who can look deeper than the simple plot points of course. It deals with issues such as life and death, control and manipulation, fear and bravery and even the meaning of life - hardly light hearted topics.

IX lacks a strong hero figure and a dark enough or cool enough villain.

Talk about cliches. Oooh lets add a badass villain - how original! Then add a strong, angsty main character to the mix - what a revolutionary combination. /sarcasm

There's a reason it was outsold by both VII and VIII.

There's a reason why over half the people in America cant even locate Iraq on a map.

Seriously though, look at the reviews for a fair analysis. Sales figures ride off the success of previous sales and other complex factors such as it being the last release on the Playstation. Its not a fair analysis. Not to mention the fact that there are loads of inane fanboys who'll fall for badass villains, angsty teenagers and soppy love scenes.

FFIX got the highest reviews ever for any Final Fantasy game if you go and look on Metacritic. That score (94/100) is composed of 22 objective reviews from leading gaming sites. It also sold over 5 million copies.

Final Fantasy IX (psx: 2000): Reviews

The game is also utterly without reward in side quests which is HUGE in Square RPG's all the way back from Chrono Trigger and early FF's. The ultimate weapon side quests are over complicated in execution and redundant to some. Otherwise there are a couple optional bosses with mediocre difficulty and little reward.

Thats rubbish. The rewards in FFIX are better than in FFXII. At least give a concrete example. The only weak sidequest in FFIX is perhaps the mognet central one.

Anyway, Im fed up of your baseless crap. Not to mention I find your last post hilariously ironic. You say that Vivi22 made a lot say so little, well the rest of your post says absolutely nothing of any worth and contains no examples to give your points any credence.

Well then good day to you. And when gold slaps you in the face next time, try looking in the right direction.