If you don't want me to make assumptions, perhaps you'd like give a more detailed initial post which explains why you hold the belief you're asking us to discuss.
Since you've played some of the earlier titles in the series, I cannot understand your reasoning. My first Final Fantasy was FFVIII. Then I got my hands on FFVII (which I had watched my friend play before I even bought FFVIII). I have since played (although not completed) every numbered entry in the series. I have thus been able to overcome my original (and perhaps distorted) perception of the series as a whole and recognize what it originally meant to be a Final Fantasy title. FFVI, FFVII, and FFVIII, together, exhibit an extreme departure from many of the original qualities of the series. Failing to recognize that these redefined Final Fantasy and then criticizing FFIX for going back to the series' roots, I believe, shows a significant amount of willful ignorance.
Also, a more light-hearted narrative combined with nonconventional character animations and a significantly more fantastical setting doesn't mean that FFIX is in any way childish. I'd say the subjects its narrative encompasses are far more mature than any themes FFVII or FFVIII attempt to deal with, and FFIX is generally more successful while addressing such themes anyway.




Reply With Quote