Review
Release Date: 11.15.2000
Platform:
PlayStationDeveloper:
Square Co., Ltd.Publisher:
Square Electronic ArtsReviewed by
Wade Monnig on 4.26.2003
| Review Rating: 9/10 | User Rating: 8.38/10 |
Square billed Final Fantasy IX as a the return of the gems, a return to its roots, and the return of the super deformed look that has been lost since the SNES days of the Final Fantasy series. I would just like to refer to it as Square’s triumphant return to all the things I missed about the “old school” FF series with a intermingling of everything I loved about the recent FF offerings.
Entering hand in hand with the “cuter” super deformed look is a story line that is a little more lighthearted than the previous Playstation Final Fantasy efforts. If the other Final Fantasy titles were “Interactive Movies” then FF IX is an “Interactive Action/Comedy.” Sidekicks, romance, and thrilling sub-plots are constantly upstaging one another in this exhilarating and entertaining adventure. In the classic style of all of the FF titles, I was immediately hooked by the story and it simply never let go.
The modern side of FF shines though with the inclusion of a remarkable amount of CG intermissions and a whole set of mini-games, including an all-new card battle game that is played throughout the FF world. This card battle mini-game is deeper than the one found in FFVIII but also seems to be more dependent on luck. Luckily, it’s not an essential part of the adventure because I bored of it rather quickly.
The combat system that is a more of a combination of the best of the past, instead of a complete re-invention. It is a return of the “When men were men and Magic-users didn’t get their hands dirty with melee weapons” system. This character class system is somewhat restricting since you can’t really determine what direction each character will take but instead fulfill the pre-determined role of each character. But, with characters like ViVi, I didn’t really mind. Like many of the previous Final Fantasy games, some of the characters lack any special appeal to me and thus drop by the low-level wayside. Amarant and Quina both fell into this group during my trip through the game.
The positive, bright characters are a departure from the brooding heroes of Final Fantasy VII and VIII but the up-beat, straight ahead hero is what MADE Final Fantasy in the early days. With its redux feel, Final Fantasy IX provides players with all of the familiar nuances that scream “This is Final Fantasy!”
