Final Fantasy IX

The Good
The graphics in the final fantasy serie have always (at least on the psx) been wonderful. the 9th episode is no exception : The gorgeous painted backgrounds, the animation of the characters, the modeling of characters and monsters in battle, and the amazing (!!!) pre-rendered cut-scenes are all spectacular
The sound effects are good too, and the music is just one of the best one produced for a video game
The gameplay is as good as in other final fantasy games. Almost the same as in other episodes, which means it's great fun for those RPG fans.
Also, the optional side quests and secrets are better balanced. It is actually possible to discover the vast majority of them without a strategy guide (it ain't easy, but at least, it's not as impossible as chocobo raising in FF VII).
The story is involving and most of the characters you play are really likeable
It's got great longevity : expect between 30 and 60 hours of gameplay before you complete it, depending on how much you care for side-quests and world exploration.
The replay value is not great but at least, there is one, cos you may want to replay the game with a strategy guide to discover all the secrets you missed in the first run.

The Bad
The Graphics, while gorgeous, didn't really improve technically since FFVIII. Granted, maybe FFVIII already pushed the psx to its limits, but at least you could still be amazed by FFVIII if you had played FFIX. Only a very minor complain though
The story is very complex at times, especially in the end : chances are you'll beat the game without knowing exactly what good you have accomplished and how your actions did save the world. And where the hell does the final boss come from ?
The story is also nothing new. It's very similar to other FFs : characters have identity crisis, fall in love with each other, etc. Maybe Square should start thinking about new kinds of plot twists.

The game play is also very similar to previous FFs. I know, I know, there are changes, like the fact that your abilities lie in your equipment, but in the end, those changes are very minor.

The Bottom Line
This is truly a great RPG, with many major good things and many minor flaws (mainly the fact that it's just too plain similar to previous episodes). Anyway, It'll probably delight fans of the serie, and many other people as well.

The Good
FF9 was my first traditional, console RPG and the start of my interest in story-driven games. I remember when my cousin had borrowed it to me one day a few years back and I was a little reluctant to give it play. When I started to play, I couldn’t put it down. It was unlike anything I had ever played before.

Graphics: First you thing you’ll notice when you start this gem up is the beauty of the FMVs. Characters are cartoon-styled (not that I’m complaining, they still look neat) but the environments are quite believable. Same goes for the in-game graphics. I guarantee that FF9 is one of the most visually impressive games on the console available. There is detail that is well implemented in both characters and areas. The way the graphics are is full-polygonal characters in pre-rendered environments, which I may add are truly works of art.

Gameplay: The game involves exploring environments, interacting with NPCs, creating weapons/equipment, building up your characters (by combat), and engaging in turn-based combat for leisure or to advance the story. Plus there are some mini-games here and there that give you items. Some of them are optional while others like combat are used to advance the story. Did I mention you get to fly airships in the overworld map? It’s truly fun and offers a change of pace from traveling on foot instead. You really get that sense of soaring through the skies!

Story: This was the game’s strongest point. It was what hooked me into it the first place. Both the story and its memorable cast of characters was what made the game magical. The dialogue between them was enjoyable and well-written. The story goes at a solid pace and there’s constantly something unexpected happening. That’s another great thing about this epic story…the unexpected twists and turns. A lot of mysteries to encounter here folks! But don’t worry, questions are answered and this epic tale comes to a powerful close which will leave you satisfied. Plus there’s a bit of philosophy implemented into the story’s themes and characters. Some people may think they were just put in to make the game seem intelligent, but to be honest it does just that. The themes are well implemented and complement the story and its characters well. The themes include powerful ones like courage, love, existence, and corruption.

Music: Ahhhh…the music! Its’ so well done that you’d probably wouldn’t mind owning the soundtrack. There is a huge variety of musical themes that fit well with the scenes. The tracks range from ones that are comical, emotional, dramatic, action-packed, or just plain evil sounding.


The Bad
Alright that’s enough praising this gem and time for the negatives. Actually to be more specific, I only found two negatives with this game. First is the battle system. It was enjoyable but you don’t really get to control your attacks on the enemy. It would’ve been neat if they had put in attack options instead like Chrono Cross. Second are the random encounters, they tend to get annoying at times but that’s something I overlooked.

The Bottom Line
If you’re looking to get into the console RPG genre then give this gem a rent! If you’re the cautious type then rent to see if it’s to your liking. Above all if you’re looking for a game with an engaging epic story/characters, beautiful visuals/audio, plenty of places to explore, and long length, then this is a dream come true for you.

The Good
I haven't played many FF games but I was kind of amazed at how you could have 4 people in your party. I found it quite interesting. What I also found interesting are the stories they tell. (Gaia, Eidolons etc.) They are truly fascinating. This game is also humorous. I haven't seen much humor in FF games in a long time. The characters are amazing and they have some pretty cool background stories. They all look very neat and clean and they all have interesting names I just kept saying in my head over and over and over. One enemy in particular is very interesting. He seems very nice and all of the sudden he blows up a city or 2. That took me by surprise.

The Bad
While the characters do look neat and stuff, they all look like little children. Garnet is supposedly 16 but she looks more like a 12 year old. When I first put in this game, I said "Oh my gosh...they're all little kids!" I would've stayed with that too until they said Garnet was 16 so then I assumed they had to be teenagers. Now to some of my other problems with this game. This game is fun and all but it doesn't have a realistic touch like the other ones. In fact, this one is like those old cartoons where one person runs right pass another person and the person who was just ran by spins around in circles. That happens a lot in this game.

The Bottom Line
This is a very fun game to play. Go out and try to get the game.