Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Final Fantasy: The Quickening > Final Fantasy IX > underappreciated.

[Harkus]

It seems that VII gets all the praise and this game gets much less. IMO IX is the best FF game and is undervalued and underappreciated. This should be the most popular of all the FFs.

[Breine]

Final Fantasy VII was revolutionary when it came out, and even though Final Fantasy IX may be one of the most well-rounded and best FFs all-around, it didn't bring anything new to the series. It was basically an homage to the series up until that point.

Maybe that's why? I dunno.

[Elly]

yeah, IX was in and of itself not much more than a tribute, designed to incite reactions of nastalgia in the players, whereas VII was something different and revolutionary at the time of it's release, it had little in common with past FFs (besides the classic FF staples) except maybe VI... i guess if someone hasn't played any of the games before VI it would look and feel like a fresh new experience but to some of us that played the earlier FFs before touching IX it's more like a rehash of the ancient and just your average tribute game, with the most horrible mini-games/side-quests ever... of course there's the jaded old school purists, that really don't like change and hailed it as the greatest FF ever...

[rubah]

It's cuter than ff7, I guess. I prefer 8 over both of them though.

[Karellen]

FFIX is kind of a mixed bag. It's has a great cast, an original artistic style, stunning graphics and a wonderful score but it also has some pretty lousy gameplay and a story that eventually collapses under the weight of its plot holes and contrived melodrama (ie just like FFVII/VIII). I not quite sure where I would rank it compared to the other PSX FF games. It's leagues ahead of FFVIII but if it's better then FFVII, it's not significantly so. Definitely not on the same level as Tactics.

[Rantzien]

Originally Posted by Elly ^

yeah, IX was in and of itself not much more than a tribute, designed to incite reactions of nastalgia in the players, whereas VII was something different and revolutionary at the time of it's release, it had little in common with past FFs (besides the classic FF staples) except maybe VI... i guess if someone hasn't played any of the games before VI it would look and feel like a fresh new experience but to some of us that played the earlier FFs before touching IX it's more like a rehash of the ancient and just your average tribute game, with the most horrible mini-games/side-quests ever... of course there's the jaded old school purists, that really don't like change and hailed it as the greatest FF ever...

And then there are those of us who just love the game for what it is.

[Goldenboko]

Originally Posted by Rantzien ^

Originally Posted by Elly ^

yeah, IX was in and of itself not much more than a tribute, designed to incite reactions of nastalgia in the players, whereas VII was something different and revolutionary at the time of it's release, it had little in common with past FFs (besides the classic FF staples) except maybe VI... i guess if someone hasn't played any of the games before VI it would look and feel like a fresh new experience but to some of us that played the earlier FFs before touching IX it's more like a rehash of the ancient and just your average tribute game, with the most horrible mini-games/side-quests ever... of course there's the jaded old school purists, that really don't like change and hailed it as the greatest FF ever...

And then there are those of us who just love the game for what it is.

QFT

I'm tired of people saying I like FFIX because it was a tribute, considering it was the first Final Fantasy I played and the second I beat. And when I beat it after beating the past games, I still loved it and got to appreciate some tributes, thats all. Besides horrible Mini Games? Chocobo Hot and Cold for the win.

EDIT: On topic, most of the time FFIX is underappreciated, except mainly in EoFF.

[Nog]

Most of the dislike and hostility for FFIX seems to come mostly from fans of VII and VIII, who in my eyes never seem to want to accept Zidane as a main character, mainly due to him not being as serious, or more to the point "emo" as Cloud or Squall. There's also alot of negative opinions on the plot and graphical style of the game compared to the two previous installments (which is understandable for players of VIII, I guess).

I don't think it helped that FFIX was released right at the end of the PSone's life too. From what I remember it had nowhere near as much hype as VII and VIII did, even the Official Playststion Magazine, (which I used to buy at the time) barely mentioned it and were very non-committal on the overall quality of the game. It almost felt like IX was never meant to be part of the regular Final Fantasy series, just something to kill the boredom while the developers worked on X.

Regarding the gameplay, I remember myself being slightly dissapointed with the "cutesy" look it had after getting so used to the more grown up and realistic feel of VIII and it effecting my judgement of the game (for the first few hours at least). It was only after the scenes in the Village of Dali with Vivi, and the fight with Black Walz #2 that I really began to take the game and the characters more seriously. Then after the introdution of Kuja and the fight with Beatrix, followed by the destruction of Cleyra and invasion on Lindblum I was completely hooked on the storyline and gameplay. From that point on it was among the most enjoyable gaming experiences I'd ever had on the PSone console. It was also at that point in the game when most of the characters began searching for themselves and questioning their own existence in some way or another, which I felt was done in a very natural way, and is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated aspects of the game by people who refer to it as "kiddish".

I thought the FMVs were spectacular also, especially the opening one, and Odin destroying Cleyra. The music througout the game is excellent too, very positive for the most part and well suited to the dungeons and cities that you visit. The one problem I did have with the game was the lack of difficulty, I don't remember there being a single boss in the game that recquired any specific strategy to defeat, it was just a matter of hit/heal, although anyone playing a FF for the first time would probably of found a few of them challenging (I remember it took me many attempts to defeat Elvoret on my first play-through of VIII).

I believe if the people who dislike IX so much gave it more of a chance they'd enjoy it alot better than they think they would. Perhaps in a few more years people will begin to become bored of the futuristic approach the series has taken and will come to appreciate IX's gameplay and story much more.