I think the battle system was a bit slow and the trance was a bummer but this is my all time favorite game and I forgive.

I agree about the towns being disconnected but I don't have a problem with it. What was Daguerreo there for? Because its a planet and it has different places in it. Is everywhere in Canada connected and linked? No. Why? Because its an entire country and they don't need to be linked. I think the same of the game. This is their entire planet. There are different places. Different people live in these different places. Different people visit these different places. It doesn't center around the heros and their journeys and I actually like that. It's like "Heeeeeeeeeey, there's a place in this mountain here (btw Daguerreo is awesome and I would live there everyday of the week) let's go check it out. Oh this is a neat place. Cool lets get going." It's like if you go on a road trip and stop by in a town to use the bathroom in the McDonalds. The town has no meaning to you but its there. And it means something to someone. These places are the homes of the random NPCs and I like that element of the game. To me it makes it more realistic.

I also like all of the Final Fantasy IX characters. All of them. Vivi being my favorite video game character of all time ever. And do you know who my second favorite FFIX character is? Quina. Yes, Quina. I think s/he is a sweetheart and when I built him up he was useful to me. More so than Eiko and Garnet for example. I got to a point in the game where I barely even needed healing anymore, especially with the use of auto-potion and the rest is just kinda meh. Why do I have two white mages anyways? And yes I didn't love all of the characters but I did like them all, and there aren't many Final Fantasy games I can say that about. Who did I like in VII? Cait Sith and Red XIII. Who did I like in VIII? Squall and Selphie and Zell. Who did I like in X? Kimahri. Who did I like in XII? Balthier and Fran. and so on. I could go on but you get my idea.

I usually like more customizable games (like tactics or Final Fantasy XII. I don't even play those games for the stories, I just want to customize some characters) but despite not being able to really do that with this game, I still enjoyed it. I enjoyed how every character had their own abilities and strengths and weaknesses. This is what I do when I customize my own characters. I don't like the jack of all trades thing. I like them to have clear defined roles.

I really liked the story. I always wanted to see more and see what would happen. I like how they separated the characters so you had to use all of them. I like how a lot of the characters interacted with each other. Like Steiner and Vivi and their friendship. How everyone had respect for the little guy despite him being shy and quiet, because they could tell he was good and they put their faith in him and watched him grow into his own. Freya and Amarant being friends in their own special way. Eiko being assertive towards Amarant despite his tough exterior because she was a little girl who spoke her mind. I could go on but you get the point.

I understand why some people don't like it but it has been my favorite game since the first day I played it (I didn't get much sleep that first week) and it will always have a special place in my heart.