For the past month or so I've been playing Final Fantasy IX. I've made it my goal to have finished each of the numbered FF games (1-13) by the end of next year. (excluding XI, because it's online. I may replace it with X-2, we'll see how we go) I wanted to finish FFIX before the end of the year, which I've done. And it knocks VIII of its pedestal of 'Best Final Fantasy Game' and then poops all over it from the top.

Okay not quite, VIII is a fantastic game. But IX I think is just better. I heard it say that VIII is the emo teenager of the group, and that's probably true. It's filled with as much teenage angst as a song by My Chemical Romance. But that's good. I think the contrast from VII and VIII to IX makes it as great as it is.

The main character, Zidane, is a happy, out-there, womanizing thief with a monkey tail. Compare this to Squall and Cloud from the previous two games, who are all quiet, reserved 'lone-wolf' types (for the most part, anyway). The previous two are in worlds of 'Fantasy meets Technology', where both magic and science combine to create this unique sort of world. IX is a more traditional medieval fantasy setting. It was the refreshing game the series needed at this time, and it was perfectly placed and produced fantastically.

I think what drives this game most are the characters. You can't help but hopelessly fall in love with them in the very beginning. Zidane the womanizing thief. Garnet the young princess who wanted to be kidnapped. Steiner her up-tight, clumsy knight. Vivi the cute little black mage. Zorn and Thorn, the court jesters who, for some reason, remind me of Shakespeare. Then you get to know them and it's like you were trapped from the very beginning, you can't help but care for them and everything. They were all developed really well and I think it's the game's strongest point.

The storyline is another strong point. It's very deep and winding and everything sort of fits together in the end. And for a light-hearted game, it got quite dark in parts. But it wouldn't have worked as well as it did if it wasn't for those little moments. And it tackles some really deep questions. What is our purpose in life, what is death, etc.

The music, as per normal, is fantastic. It took me a while to really get into it, but there ended up being some great tracks which fit perfectly with certain scenes and certain characters. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Nobuo Uematsu is a genius.

The weakest part was probably just the gameplay, I'd say. And this isn't even a huge complaint. At time the random encounter battles just got plain annoying. You just wanted to get out of the freaking dungeon and get some story knocked over or something. Plus some of the normal battles were really quite hard. I'm used to just mindlessly attacking my way through dungeons, but I actually had to put some thought into these battles. Well done!

So yeah, overall I think it's my favourite Final Fantasy game. Next on the list is VI, unless XIII comes out before I get my hands on it. IX is definitely the game I will be directing Final Fantasy noobs to from now on.



There will be spoilers in this part. You're warned.
Favourite Characters:

1. Vivi
Vivi is quite probably not only the best character in the game, but the best character in the entire series. He is a small cute black mage who gets caught up in the part somehow. When they visit the village of Dali, they find out that black mages are being manufactured as soulless weapons of war. Vivi obviously is very effected by that and receives a lot of grief from townspeople who claim his people destroyed their home. Eventually the party find a village of black mages who escaped, learned how to talk and created a small community. Vivi finds outs that black mages are 'stopping' (dying) as they were only created with a limited lifespan of a year. Vivi has to fight with this knowledge that he won't be around for much longer while trying to discover why he was created. He's easily the most relatable character in the game and often times you just want to hug him and say "I know what it's like, I've been through this too." In the ending cinematic (mega spoiler time) you see everyone else, including Vivi's children, but not Vivi. I'm lead to believe that he stopped, which absolutely breaks my heart while simeltaneously making him the best character in the franchise.


2. Kuja
Kuja is the primary antagonist of the game. At first you think he's just the usual sort of deal, guy has a huge ego problem and thinks he can take over the world. But he's a great villian: he monologues (with some beautiful ones in there), has a God-complex, is smart and has the resources to be able to fulfill his plans. When you go to Terra, a different world, you learn the full story (again, spoilers): Garland was created to look after Terra and in order for Terra to survive it needs to assimilate with another world, in this case Gaia, the one where everyone lives. Kuja was created by Garland so that he could merge the two worlds. So really you end up getting this kinda sympathetic view of Kuja. He's not a psychopath, he's just doing what he was made to do. In the end it turns out he is a bit of a psychopath, though. Garland tells him that Zidane was Kuja's replacement and that Kuja is in fact mortal and will die. Kuja can't accept this and basically says "If I can't live, no one can live. That would be unfair." so he destroys Terra. Then he goes to Gaia to destroy this Crystal which is the beginning and end of everything, it is basically life and death. But again, you get this sympathetic view of him when he realises what life actually is, when he is about to die. He's knocked out of this god-complex he has and sees what life actually is. He teleports the party to safety, keeping them all alive.


3. Beatrix
Beatrix is the a general of the Alexandrian army. She's very strong, a great fighter, known throughout the land, all that cliche stuff. She is loyal to the Queen even when she was being corrupted by Kuja, until Queen Brahne tries to kill Garnet. Beatrix then becomes a mostly non-playable protagonist, helping the party protect the princess. Though despite being such a strong female in the story, you also get to know everything that goes on in her mind. And inside she's very lonely, lost between serving the Queen and doing what is moral, troubled by all these things. All her emotions are very open for the player to see. In a big way she's the character which emphasises that you can be a great person, but in the end you're still human. Something that Kuja just couldn't grasp.
Also, Steiner and Beatrix end up falling in love. An unlikely couple, they used to be rivals, but she is perfect for him. He needs a strong woman to keep him in line. It's so cute. hahaha.



Favourite Songs:

Rose of May



You're Not Alone!


The Dark Messenger


Song from her Memories