What in the smurf is Final Fantasy IX fans problem?

[Nethuzad]

I've been wondering for a while why do Final Fantasy 9 fans seem to hate Final Fantasy 7 so goddamn much? Final Fantasy 7 was the first one I've ever played and it's still to this day one of my favorite games of all time. Personally I think Final Fantasy 9 is an excellent game and should be treated with as much respect as 7 6:10 and 4. whenever I'm reading on forums people discussing which one they think is the best Final Fantasy how is notice Final Fantasy 9 fans seem to have a tremendous amount of hate for Final Fantasy 7. I don't understand why they can't just discuss why they dislike the game without insulting both it and the people who consider it their favorite. Can somebody please explain to me why they have so much dislike for 7? Because as much as they may not like it ,there's no denying that it's the best selling Final Fantasy and the most popular. Thank you to all replies and once again I would like to state that I have no problem with Final Fantasy 9 while I do not think it's as good as seven mainly because I feel the weapon system is a little funky and it doesn't seem to give you a lot of chances to train I still consider it to be one of the best final fantasies ever made. Thanks to all who reply!

[Midgar Zolom]

Hi Nethuzad,

Interestingly, I've never come across anyone who likes FF9 and dislikes FF7, obviously they exist and there isn't a lot we can do about it as frustrating as that is. Personally I don't care about all the people hating it because I'm too busy loving it. FF7 and FF9 are my two favourite FF games by the way.

MZ

[Fynn]

That’s a bit of a generalization

[Freya]

I don't hate 7? Please.

I hate 8. Entirely different.

[Nethuzad]

Ive I've just been going through a lot of forms and stuff lately and I've noticed it seems like there's a lot of hate for seven going on. And I've noticed that the people who seem to hate 7 the most always speak of the greatness of 9. I'm not saying nine isn't a great game but it seems like they really hate 7 like seriously there's been like a lot of Internet Hate I've noticed for Final Fantasy 7.

[Nethuzad]

I don't mean to rant and rave I was just reading an article on Kotaku. Net about the Final Fantasy ultimania guides coming by Dark Horse and in it Kotaku mentions that the three part volume for seven eight nine is coming out but he mentioned he referred to it as 7 8 and the best one. I guess it just stirred up resentment from back in the day I remember around 2010 through 13.it seems like everybody was hating on Final Fantasy 7 like it went from being the most loved Final Fantasy to the most hated LOL

[Black Magic Shopkeeper]

Funny, coz it seems more often to me that it's FF7 fans that have the problem with FF9 and its fans. As for myself, my opinion of FF7 is my own and nobody else's. I went in expecting it to live up to the hype after having played 8 and 9, and then being told on various occasions that it's better than "both of them combined". I came out disappointed (even insulted), and the spinoffs and 7 fans creating drama/going out of their way to make 9/8/everything-else-fans feel bad only made it worse. And I had to put up with it alone for several years before I finally came out of my shell and reached out for a like-minded community. So... Yes on my part it's resentment. I don't hate the game at all. I treat it just like any other game-- but its fan community ruined it for me outright. Perhaps if it weren't for them, I'd have a better opinion of it overall.

And there you have it-- I think most of the 'hate' you see coming from FF9 fans is created from being literally harassed and scoffed at by FF7 fans invading their conversations about 9 and throwing shade for years, ever since 9 was first released 18 years ago now(and it still happens to this day, surprisingly). As with anything else in the world, that behavior has garnered a backlash from those that prefer 9 most of all. Of course I've also seen 6 and 4 fans throw shade at 7 and its fans as well, probably moreso. It would be nice for everyone to get along and not be jerks at each other over something as petty and non-existent as "best final fantasy", but this will never happen because people are stubborn. And we as a species unfortunately thrive in part off hate.

[Nethuzad]

Funny, coz it seems more often to me that it's FF7 fans that have the problem with FF9 and its fans. As for myself, my opinion of FF7 is my own and nobody else's. I went in expecting it to live up to the hype after having played 8 and 9, and then being told on various occasions that it's better than "both of them combined". I came out disappointed (even insulted), and the spinoffs and 7 fans creating drama/going out of their way to make 9/8/everything-else-fans feel bad only made it worse. And I had to put up with it alone for several years before I finally came out of my shell and reached out for a like-minded community. So... Yes on my part it's resentment. I don't hate the game at all. I treat it just like any other game-- but its fan community ruined it for me outright. Perhaps if it weren't for them, I'd have a better opinion of it overall.

And there you have it-- I think most of the 'hate' you see coming from FF9 fans is created from being literally harassed and scoffed at by FF7 fans invading their conversations about 9 and throwing shade for years, ever since 9 was first released 18 years ago now(and it still happens to this day, surprisingly). As with anything else in the world, that behavior has garnered a backlash from those that prefer 9 most of all. Of course I've also seen 6 and 4 fans throw shade at 7 and its fans as well, probably moreso. It would be nice for everyone to get along and not be jerks at each other over something as petty and non-existent as "best final fantasy", but this will never happen because people are stubborn. And we as a species unfortunately thrive in part off hate.

I can understand what you're saying about that. Has the saying that some of the hardcore Fanboys can ruin the experience for people. Well I do think it's the best I've personally I've never had a problem with 9. So I will say I've always felt the battle system and 7 was much more smooth. My problem with 9 was always it felt like I never had time to properly train my characters. Even though I made sure to always fight every enemy that I had a random encounter with I always seem to be underleveled

[Rez09]

I have encountered this enough, or at least a variant of it, often with people who drift to the more elitist side of things who enjoy telling me the only reason I don't think FF9 is one of the best entries in the series is because I jumped on the ship with FF7 and have absolutely no appreciation for / awareness of the classic series. Sad to say this has fueled some serious subconscious bias against the title for me over the years.

That said, the majority of people I know who absolutely adore the game seem to have grown up with it, generally being one of the first titles in the series they played, and they tend to be pretty live and let live about things, though I can't imagine them not being annoyed by other titles being tossed out whenever they try to share what they like about IX, as Shopkeeper mentioned.

Also, I've noticed it is oddly hip to bash on FF7 in particular, with only 2 really catching flak to a somewhat comparable degree, and I suspect that's what you are seeing in that Kotaku article, so I wouldn't think of that as FF9 fans so much as pandering.

[maybee]

I love FF9, but I don't hate FF7. That's more FF13.

[Psychotic]

Final Fantasy games mean a lot to its fans and they put a little bit of their identity in their favourite game. When you undermine a title in the series, you are also undermining its fans sense of self-worth.

Final Fantasy VII is the most popular and acclaimed title, and fans of Final Fantasy IX feel rejection and a lack of validation in the shadow of FFVII. The FFIX fans thus lash out at it, incorrectly perceiving it as the source of all of their woes rather than taking a look in the mirror and noticing perhaps there's other reasons for their beloved's lack of fanfare. FFVII is, to them, the proverbial popular kid who gets all the cute boys/girl it wants while they're sitting at home with no prom invite.

Final Fantasy VII fans are fully aware of their game's generally perceived superiority and when this is challenged they feel fear at losing their place at the top of the pyramid. They quickly belittle other titles to try to neutralise the threat to their place in the social hierarchy and so their own ego. If I am not #1, then who am I? The braggadocio is to mask their own insecurities.

By the way, I am talking absolute nonsense that I just made up. Hope you enjoyed another post by Psychotic.

[Fynn]

Psy is biased because he’s a VII fan.

Personally, my experience is that FFVII is kind of a scared cow of the franchise, despite being immensely flawed. I still like it, but I still like to point out the issues it has because I simply feel VII sometimes dominates, being the de facto face of the franchise. But of course, there are extreme fans everywhere.

[Psychotic]

Psy is biased because he’s a VII fan.

Psychotyczność nie jest stronnicza, ponieważ jego post był ironiczną dekonstrukcją fałszywej analizy psychologicznej. Nie bierz tego dosłownie, mój drogi przyjacielu!

[Fynn]

Stop appropriating my culture, uncultured swine!

[Black Magic Shopkeeper]

Final Fantasy games mean a lot to its fans and they put a little bit of their identity in their favourite game. When you undermine a title in the series, you are also undermining its fans sense of self-worth.

Final Fantasy VII is the most popular and acclaimed title, and fans of Final Fantasy IX feel rejection and a lack of validation in the shadow of FFVII. The FFIX fans thus lash out at it, incorrectly perceiving it as the source of all of their woes rather than taking a look in the mirror and noticing perhaps there's other reasons for their beloved's lack of fanfare. FFVII is, to them, the proverbial popular kid who gets all the cute boys/girl it wants while they're sitting at home with no prom invite.

Final Fantasy VII fans are fully aware of their game's generally perceived superiority and when this is challenged they feel fear at losing their place at the top of the pyramid. They quickly belittle other titles to try to neutralise the threat to their place in the social hierarchy and so their own ego. If I am not #1, then who am I? The braggadocio is to mask their own insecurities.

....is.... Is this true art that I'm seeing? Good lord, I think it is. This is like....all the most notable behavior I had to put up with over the years, except wrapped in the neat little rose-scented package that is parody.

I don't think i have anything else to say in here now...

[EDIT]
Except that, thinking over rez09's post, I realize I'm still the only person i know that would stand by FF2 despite everything it did horribly wrong
FF7 isn't even one fifteenth as broken as 2---nothing is, and still I hold my salute.