From reading my first post you’ll notice I mentioned the Final Fantasy series and as such I have decided my first review will be from that series. This one in particular happens to be my all time favourite.
So Final Fantasy IX or FF9 for short is one of the most critically acclaimed RPG’S on the PlayStation 1 to ever hit the shelves around the world. The story, the soundtrack, the characters, everything is just in a league of its own. Arguably Final Fantasy 7 is the better game but to personal preference Final fantasy 9 does it for me.
So what is this amazing game about you ask? You play as Zidane, a thief/ theatre performer for the band Tantalus who are heading to the kingdom of Alexandria to perform the play ‘I want to be your canary’ for royalty and the nobles. What the people of Alexandria don’t know though is that Tantalus are also there to perform a kidnapping…a royal kidnapping.
The target of the kidnapping is Princess Garnet. I find her an interesting character because as the story evolves she becomes more and more interesting and you genuinely start to give a damn to her situation. Without giving too much away for those of you whom haven’t played this yet. We will just mention she is caught in a storm of a evil controlling queen, wields the ancient power of summoning and is your base healer for combat in the game.
So back to Zidane as the story unfolds, his own backstory steadily becomes more complex as he cares more and more for Garnet and realises the series of events that unfold after kidnapping her are much bigger than anything he could have anticipated.
Other memorable characters in the game include Vivi the black mage. Alone in the world you meet Vivi as he enters Alexandria with a wish to watch the play Zidane’s troupe of performers are putting on later that day. Through a quick series of events at the beginning of the game Vivi becomes entangled in the story with Zidane and Garnet and does in my opinion become one of the most crucial party members for combat in the game. His story is also one of the most heartfelt through out from start to finish.
Gameplay consists of the older Final Fantasy turn by turn based combat and travelling between places on a pretty detailed world map where no two locations feel the same. Whether that’s the bustling streets of Treno with its dark sky ever present or the mysterious Lifa Tree which I wont say anymore about due to risking spoilers. Each place has unique things to do so later in the game when you are able to travel between places easier.
Even endgame there is stuff to do if you want 100% completion which for a game that was released almost 20 years ago is brilliant.
In conclusion, if you want to try an older RPG that brought many joy at the turn of the millenium, I recommend this so much. Having invested so many playthroughs to this including the 12 hour speed run for Steiner’s Excalibur weapon is still one of my favourite achievement’s in a video game to date. You will not be disappointed. The story, music, combat and world of Final Fantasy 9 for me is second to none and if you haven’t played it yet, pick it up today on Ps1, Ps3, Ps4, PC, Switch and mobile.
Take the Game in Vain 