Had I been asked this even a year ago, I'd have picked X over IX by a mile. However, after attempting to play X again, I realize the odd predicament I am placed into, as it turns out, after all the badmouthing, I'd much rather be playing FF IX.
As much as I dislike the main cast of IX, Steiner and Freya excepted, I'd rather spend two hours alone in a room with that cast than five minutes with Yuna or Tidus or Wakka. The situation is the same with combat and dungeons as well, as I somehow never noticed how tedious it all was in X until I was replaying it, where I was never bothered either element, barring that stupid Trance system, in IX. I prefer the traditional leveling system to the sphere grid, I prefer the cities in IX, I appreciate having a traversable world map and blue mage that matters, I prefer having limits that aren't mini-games, I liked weapon synthesis more than the attribute slapping X offered, I like summons that just do their business attacking instead of replacing my party when they end up so vastly inferior, I liked learning skills from gear and assigning them; I like everything more about IX than X.
EXCEPT
for Blitzball. Blitzball kicks the trout out of Tetra Master.
AND
X's 'postgame'. Playing X again I realized that all the fun I had previously was in collecting materials to make great weapons and improving my stats in the sphere grid to fight arena monsters. That's it. That's ALL I DID THAT I ENJOYED IN THE ENTIRE GAME. And I actually really enjoyed it, even when replaying the game, but, realistically, that isn't enough to edge it over FF IX, even if I don't like IX all that much.
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