I just got my copy of the U.S. version two days ago because I was so excited I couldn’t wait for the game’s release on the 14th. I remember having to go through a lot of people, a lot of pain, lose a lot of money, and all that hassle, just so I could get this. Now I’m wondering if I was that desperate for this Y2000 FF5-FF6 remake.

Truly, nothing came more shocking to me than the sight of pixelated SD characters. I mean, I did see in Japanese previews that they would be in cutesy mode. But all I saw were the CG screen shots. I didn’t realize that their cutesy regular mode would be more pixelated than FF7’s cutesy modes. Before playing FF9, I replayed FF7, and the comparison was disturbing. I mean, FF7 is a three-year old game! And yet Cloud had smoother polygonal skin, while Zidane looks like a pixelated chimp from an FF6 sequel. I mean, I love FF6, and it’s actually my favorite FF in terms of plot, but we are in the 21st century! I think we all must move on graphics-wise. What holds me back from giving FF9 a ”2” on graphics is the fact that they have a lot of good FMVs.

Nobuo Uematsu is one of the best. However, I just can’t shake the fact that the intro of the battle theme sounds exactly like FF6’s battle theme intro. Again, as I stress on the fact that I love FF6, I guess I also need to stress on the importance of originality. Besides that little gripe, I’d say FF9 has one of the best soundtracks in PSX gaming history.

My request is just simple: I want my limit breaks back. At first I thought, ”Wow, they returned FF7’s limit breaks!” Then when I realized I couldn’t control when I want to use the limit break, which was especially frustrating during the 12-minute beast hunt in Disc 1, I struggled on the idea of whether I should sell the discs or just finish it for Final Fantasy’s sake. The gameplay as a whole is fine, but I saw all of it back in FF6, and in almost the same look, too. What’s more frustrating is the fact that most their special abilities, like Summons or Swd Atks, aren’t even useable during the first parts when you need them most. Add that to the fact that Zidane’s abilities are pretty useless. Thank heaven there’s still Freya’s Jump ability!

At least this might be FF9’s saving grace yet. The good thing about FF9 is that, unlike FF8’s haughty lead character, who’s bankability is obviously just based on his looks, FF9’s Zidane has been blessed with a pretty hilarious character who can keep you laughing for hours. The plot is also as exciting as FF6’s, which is something that I found missing in FF7 and FF8. I meant ”exciting” in the sense that, I can feel every character as the story progressed from disc to disc. They’re more human than FF7’s characters, and definitely more real than FF8. However, I would minus two points for lack of originality. As I said, this game, including the plot, is too much similar to FF6.

I loved FF6, but I never played it again after beating it. Since this game is 70% identical to FF6, I don’t think I’ll play it again either. The reason for this is that, first, it’s too simple — like Chrono Cross being played for the third time around. Second, it doesn’t have the same gameplay quality that the last two Final Fantasies had. Third, I don’t want to go back to that ”pauper phase” in disc 1, when I couldn’t sell any equipment due to the fact that I can’t upgrade as long as I’m learning the abilities I want to learn. Fourth, the challenge I’m looking for is not present. I don’t have the urge to perfect the game as I did with FF7 and FF8. Fifth, did I mention that the storyline is also nearly identical to that of Legend of Legaia? Terra? Mists? Hello? I know Legend of Legaia was such a tedious game, but this is ridiculous! Sixth, there just isn’t enough reason to make me play this game all over again.

Should you buy or should you just rent this game? Well, I suggest you borrow it from someone. That would be free. Or if you feel you’re sinister enough, you can probably have relatives from neighboring countries send you a pirated pre-release copy of this game.

One last thing, don’t take a 3-day leave off your work just to play this game, like I did. You’ll be losing more money that way. Frankly, the reason why I finished this game is because it’s a Final Fantasy game. That’s the same exact reason I used when I finished FF5.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy - Moderate
Completion Time: ?? hours
Highest Level Achieved: 60+
Ratings: Gameplay 8; Battle 8; Story 9; Visuals 10; Characters 10; Sounds 10; Replay Value 5

This entry was posted on Monday, November 13th, 2000 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Final Fantasy IX, Games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.