I'd strongly disagree. I think that Final Fantasy IX is closer to Final Fantasy and its roots than FFVII and FFVIII were. IX itself was a tribute to the series as a whole with references and a deliberate sense of nostalgia in the way it was presented and in many of bits of back story and environment of the game.

Having recently started replaying FFVIII, I can say that that game seems like much more of a radical departure from Final Fantasy than IX did. I actually think that IX is superior to VIII and depending on my mood, better than VII as well. I'll admit that I got more out of IX second time around (having then played I, IV, V and VI) and so if you're not as experienced in the earlier games, I think it'd be well worth taking a look at them and coming back to IX to see if you appreciate it more. I know I did.