Summary
A wonderful tale full of nostalgia
The Good
Final Fantasy IX" is a complete antipode to the previous Final Fantasy game. While "Final Fantasy VIII" stunned the player by revolutionizing style and gameplay, "Final Fantasy IX" returns back to the roots of the series. Like no other post-NES Final Fantasy, it is deeply nostalgic and draws its inspiration from earlier titles.
That said, it is by no means dry and scholastic, as one might expect from a conservative game. In fact, the greatness of "Final Fantasy IX" lies in its ability to recycle typical situations, gameplay mechanics, and story-telling technique of earlier Final Fantasy titles in such a way that they don't seem stale or outdated. "Final Fantasy IX" is fresh and original, it has its own style and it never feels like a mere mixture of old concepts ideas. In this sense, "Final Fantasy IX" is superior to both of its older "sisters": it proves a game can be great without being innovative, and it doesn't need visual and gameplay-related effects in order to impress and to immerse.
"Final Fantasy IX" returns to classic medieval setting, abruptly stopping the ever-growing tendency of the series towards sci-fi. Despite being totally traditional, the world of "Final Fantasy IX" is pictured and presented with great care and taste. It is not another medieval world without personality and style. In "Final Fantasy IX", the necessary attributes of a medieval society appear as part of the game's story and influence the relationships between its characters. For instance, the fact Zidane is a mere thief and hence is "unworthy" of such lady as princess Garnet plays an important role in the game, but this situation would have been impossible if the game were not set in a medieval environment. Princess Garnet is torn between the boring existence in the palace and the adventurous life Zidane offers to her. Steiner's behavior and his entire system of values would have been out of place in a modern or futuristic world. Most characters have a distinct style of speech: the thieves talk in a "low" jargon, while Steiner's and Beatrix' speech is "cultivated" and haughty. Such fine characterization and attention to details are typical for the whole game. "Final Fantasy IX" presents a more convincing picture of society than any other Final Fantasy before or after.
The character cast of "Final Fantasy IX" is one of the game's strongest points. The seemingly "childish" characters follow the series' great tradition of presenting
types - not necessarily realistic figures, but rather incarnations of certain principles, bearers of moral problems and conflicts. Quite deliberately, all the descriptions of the game's main characters in the manual are formed as questions. Each character has a task, a problem to solve, a goal to achieve. By making all the main characters so clearly different, in appearance as well as in personality, Squaresoft managed to create one of the most colorful and memorable character casts ever.
Take for example princess Garnet, who is my most favorite video game female character of all times. A girl who spent all her life in a palace, daughter of an arrogant and cruel queen, she maintains in her heart something charming and naive, perhaps a vague ideal, a longing to run away, to experience a totally new life, to meet people who come from an entirely different world. It is to be noticed that Garnet is never careless and light-hearted - she is rather quiet and thoughtful, trying to understand the meaning of her existence. One of the most wonderful scenes shows her cutting her hair with a dagger - a symbolic action that is typical for her impulsive, yet profound nature.
Another thing to notice is the
positive energy that emanates from most of the game's characters. Zidane forms a sharp contrast to the "problematic" heroes of the previous two games, Cloud and Squall. The way he deals with the tragedy of his past (which is by the way much more serious than the imaginary suffering of the other two) can serve as an example for truly heroic behavior. He is decidedly one of the most appealing characters of the series, and his wonderful optimism and inner tranquility can be traced to Locke from
Final Fantasy VI. Vivi's touching naivete and Freia's faith and constancy also really make the player want to have them in the party. "Final Fantasy IX" has, together with the sixth game, the most lovable and attractive character cast.
New in "Final Fantasy IX" is its tendency towards humor. The series was hardly known for its sense of humor before, but "Final Fantasy IX" proves humor can be integrated into an epic RPG if handled properly. There are many amusing scenes connected to the thieves or to uncle Cid, and throughout the whole game comic relief is provided by Steiner, who is definitely one of the most entertaining and original characters Squaresoft ever created.
The game's story involves once again world domination, life of the planet, conflict between family members, and other Final Fantasy clichés - but all those things appear as an obligatory attribute of the style, and are met with joy by any true fan of the series. More important is the approach towards the story, the way it is woven together with the destinies of the game's characters. The main plot is much less important that the characters' personal involvment in it. Similar to "Final Fantasy VI" and contrary to both Playstation Final Fantasies, the side-stories of the characters form the core of the game, while the general plotline only serves to tie them together.
The most conservative aspect of "Final Fantasy IX" is its gameplay. The tendency of having a fully customizable party with no firmly set class assignments to the characters, that was first introduced in
Final Fantasy V and found its most consequent manifestation in "Final Fantasy VIII", is abandoned here. For the first time since
Final Fantasy IV the classes of characters cannot be changed, and the player has to deal with strengths and weaknesses of each class without being able to change anything. Typical old-fashioned Final Fantasy classes like dragoon or blue mage make their appearance in "Final Fantasy IX". Heavy armor management returns, after being reduced or eliminated in the two previous games. But despite being old-fashioned, the gameplay of "Final Fantasy IX" is well-balanced and fun. Various spells and abilities can only be learned from equipment, and monster encounters bring not only experience, but also ability points. After reaching the amount of points needed to learn an ability, you can remove the equipment you have learned it from, and equip your character with a stronger or more suitable armor or accessory. Spells and abilities can be equipped on characters in a special menu with limited slots. This simple system is in fact as interesting as an entertaining as materia development in "Final Fantasy VII" or junction in "Final Fantasy VIII".
Graphically, "Final Fantasy IX" doesn't show anything new compared to the two previous games, but its pre-rendered backgrounds and wonderful video sequences contain enough eye candy to satisfy any Playstation user. And needless to say the music is fantastic. There is so much style and atmosphere already in the opening melody of "Final Fantasy IX", with its modal harmony and unusual orchestration, that finely reflect the medieval setting of the game. The song "Melodies of Life" is my personal favorite among the three vocal pieces written for Final Fantasy games (the other two are "Eyes On You" from "Final Fantasy VIII" and "Suteki Da Ne" from "Final Fantasy X").
"Final Fantasy IX" can almost serve as an encyclopaedia for the series. It contains references to all previous Final Fantasies, and is rich on names any fan would immediately recognize (for example, Garland, the first boss enemy in the history of the series, is a key character in this game).
The Bad
When compared to
Final Fantasy VII and
Final Fantasy VIII, this game looks almost too modest. It is as if its creators tried to avoid effects at any cost, making the graphics less noticeable, and the setting more traditional. The characters' conflicts are decidedly milder, and the plot less complex. What it lost in brilliance, it gained in depth, but sometimes I wondered whether it was possible to have both.
The game wasn't and will probably never be released for PC, unlike the two previous ones. Well, at least we needn't see another mediocre PC conversion of a great Playstation game, as it was the case with "Final Fantasy VIII".
The Bottom Line
"Final Fantasy IX" is a bit like Brahms' music. It is neither revolutionary nor influential, it lacks grandeur and brilliance, but its sheer depth and beauty are enough to place it firmly among the finest console RPGs of all times. Just like by Brahms, its pure content is perfectly proportional to its aesthetics and its formal structure (i.e. the gameplay). Everything the series have accumulated during years of development can be found in this game, which seems to be the most transparent and pure incarnation of Final Fantasy spirit ever.
