FFIX: Love it or Hate it?

[Zelpa]

I loved it, great storyline and weapons and characters. There's just so much to like about this game and the replay value is very high.

 

[MadCatLynx]

For me this game will be most memorable of all FF games since its the first one ive ever played..

lol i got a lil bit out of order in playin them all, but this game was good of all aspects, graphics, sound, gameplay, battles and story!

Its right when ppl say they either hate it, or either love it. however i cant figure out the reasons for why hate it... its very appealing, old school final fantasy game.

Love it!

 

[cornpops]

i loved this game but one thing that i dislliked was the final bosses seemed too easy to me. The characters and the storyline were amazing! definitely one of my favorite games.

 

[Cyberwoman IX]

Its my favorite FF game!

I just love almost everything about it, the fantastic story line, the styleish graphics, the charming and intresting charaters, the way it fells more like a fantasy game then VII & VIII and the fantasticly done cut sceans

:vivi:

 

[Aselia]

I went into the game after playing FFVIII, and FFXII which in my opinion are the two best games ever, and i didn't have high expectations for it, but as I played more i've found that I quite love FFIX.

 

[Mirage]

In terms of quality it´s the best release in ps1 of a final fantasy. I think it´s a

bit less adult unlike vii and viii, but it´s really enjoyable and the characters

make you love them long time. It was my real first ff and I played it

uncountable hours. Last and best in ps1, love it

 

[Lightleonheart]

Well, I picked "It's alright". The game was good but the characters were a bit too cartoony for my tastes, at least after playing the more serious FFVII, FVIII and FFX. Graphic-wise it's the best-looking game for the PS1 and the story was ok, though IMO it was a bit weird from time to time.

 

[Bun]

I absolutely detest this game. *dodges incoming boot* From what I can remember, and what I tortured myself long enough to sit through, the characters were uninteresting, and the plot was lackluster. Basically it just did not manage to catch my attention like the other Final Fantasy's I've played.

 

[vermillion]

Final Fantasy IX is easily my favorite Final Fantasy game. I think that the gameplay, storyline & characters were simply amazing. It had all of the elements that make a great game. I also think that the soundtrack to the game is unbeatable. I can listen to it all day and never get bored or feel like it's monotonous.

I don't think there's anything about this game that I don't like.

 

[TheSamMan]

I love this game, the characters have fantastic personalities. The environments and back grounds are well thought about. Great leveling up system, and I like how everybody has a set class and the characters look amazing. The story is quite good too, full of twists and the secrets are fun and challenging to get.

 

[Vince]

At first, I didn't really LOVE the game because the storyline doesn't appeal me that much. Later on I figured this game really is alright, I still don't love it though.

 

[FaithStarLight]

I love this game. Definitely one of the best games I'll ever play! The story, characters, graphics, music, mini games and battle systems were excellent.

I think people are put off, possibly, by the different graphics; pointless boss fight at the beginning, though that didn't bother me; and because it had two other games of the series on the same console, therefore it wasn't looked at as much.

But I enjoyed it and will play it again and again!

 

[Bambi]

I voted it's alright a while back D:

I have now decided Ilove it, I'm playing it again atm, and Iwell wasn't optimistic about changing my feelings on it. I still hate the fact that it can be completed so quick, but it's still a top notch little game with a brilliant story and one of the best side games like evarrrrr. Chocobo hot and cold is so annoyingly addictive

If you hate this game you are quite clearly insane

 

[Archideas]

I voted it's alright a while back D:

I have now decided Ilove it, I'm playing it again atm, and Iwell wasn't optimistic about changing my feelings on it. I still hate the fact that it can be completed so quick, but it's still a top notch little game with a brilliant story and one of the best side games like evarrrrr. Chocobo hot and cold is so annoyingly addictive

If you hate this game you are quite clearly insane

You literally took the words out of my mouth. If this game isn't lovable, you don't exist, as simple as that. It's against the psychical laws to have played this game and hate it.

Sadly, it is as you said, way too easy to beat, I wish they had put in at least 3 or 4 more extra bosses with nice rewards and maybe a little longer scenario with Brahne. Maybe she could've tried to sit her fat ass on Cid's throne but failed due to resistant and another war would've broken out or so.

 

[RioDragon]

I don't see why people hate it so much... It's a 3D tribute to old-school classic FF's. What's wrong with that? <3

 

[Nor-El]

I love this one but I do love other ones more, but it was an awesome game.

Besides not knowing if Quina was a guy or a girl kind of made it histrical, but the story line to the whole game was the best.

For some reason unknown to me I love the music in the forest going to the Black Mage Village.

It did make me said whenever one of them died, and it did make me feel sorry for Garnet when Brahne was killed but became good before she died.

 

[Alpega]

The reason why pople would hate this game might be becouse the previious games were 7 and 8 and both had a real aspect to the design, and charthers. Well in the 9 there were more for the childish design even tho i think the story is one of the more adult story lines (if that makes any sense)

 

[Square Soft]

Love it. I brought this game like 3 times cuz some of my DISC didn't work.

 

[LuchoD]

Necron was actually present through the entire game. One of the major themes in FF9 was death and how short life really is. Through out the game, most of the characters feared death in some way, specifically Zidane, Vivi and Kuja. In their own way they were fighting against death.


Necron was death personified. In the end, they realize that they can never truly defeat death but there was no reason not to keep fighting. (Basically, to live for as long as you can)

At first Necron is a bit random, but if you understand his purpose and the story of FF9, it actually makes sense that he would appear at the end.

In reference to Necron, I felt much the same way on my first play-through. However since then I've discovered that he *is* mentioned, if not somewhat ambiguously, by Garland in particular. (All credit for the following goes to Squall_of_SeeD over at gamefaqs.com for such a comprehensive explanation.)

"I believe Necron, the final opponent fought in Final Fantasy IX, is the central function of the Iifa Tree, the mechanism that interfered with the Cycle of Souls. To put it another way, Necron is the true form of the Iifa Tree, that aspect of it that lies beyond the material plane and interferes with the cycle of Gaia's souls on the spiritual plane. For evidence of this, we must first look to Garland's observations and

conclusions concerning life:

(In Pandemonium)

"But think for a moment... Isn't life death itself? It must kill other

life-forms to survive..."

"Sometimes it even kills those with whom is shares blood..."

"To live is to give life meaning, yet one must take others' lives to

survive..."

"A mature civilization becomes aware of this paradox..."

"Terra's souls will sleep until they forget such nonsense. They will begin a

new life in a new dimension."

"It's a world in which life and death become one..."

"That is the dimension in which we are meant to live, as beings that

transcend life and death!"

We find very similar conclusions stated by Necron:

(Above the Hill of Despair.)

"All life bears death from birth."

"Life fears death, but lives only to die."

"It starts with anxiety."

"Anxiety becomes fear."

"Fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate... hate leads to suffering..."

"The only cure for this fear is total destruction."

"...Now, the theory is undeniable."

"Kuja's action proves it. All things live to perish."

"At last, life has uncovered this truth. Now, it is time to end this world."

...

"I exist for one purpose..."

"To return everything back to the zero world, where there is no life and no

crystal to give life."

"In a world of nothing, fear does not exist. This is the world that all life

desires."

With this in mind, recall that Garland created the Iifa Tree. That it would be aware of Garland's (him being its maker and having assigned it its function) beliefs and could have sought to analyze them as a result -- with the actions of another of Garland's creations, Kuja, as the basis of the analyzation -- is something to be considered.

Something else to consider is that Garland states that the Iifa Tree's true form was not the Tree itself, that being only its material form:

Garland

"ALL YOU SAW WAS THE BACK OF THE TREE..."

"Even now, the Iifa Tree blocks the flow of Gaia's souls, while it lets

those of Terra flow freely."

...

Zidane

"What are you talking about? And what is this weird light?"

Garland

"That is the center of the planet. The end and the beginning of the cycle of

souls."

"The light remains Gaia's, for now, but when the blue changes to crimson,

all will belong to Terra, and its restoration will be complete."

"THAT IS WHY I WRAPPED UP THE LIGHT IN THE IIFA TREE, TO PREVENT THE CYCLE

OF THE JUDGEMENT OF SOULS ON GAIA FROM INSIDE THE PLANET."

"SUCH IS THE IIFA TREE'S TRUE PURPOSE, ITS TRUE FORM. ALL YOU SAW WAS ITS

MATERIAL FORM."

"The flow of Gaia's souls cannot be changed simply by stopping the disposal

of Mist."

This would mean that the mechanism which interrupts the Cycle of Souls was something not on the physical plane. With this in mind, recall that when Kuja is defeated, he says that he if he is going to die, he isn't going alone, meaning he intended to kill Zidane and the others with his final attack. He then proceeds to blast them with an Ultima Spell. ...Now keep in mind further that after the screen fades out, when it fades back in, we find Zidane and the others laying in an area that ISN'T the area where Kuja was fought, and which is called the "Hill of Despair" according to the Menu Screen. In addition to this, the moans of tormented souls can be heard in the background.

In other words, the implication is that when Zidane and the others were hit by Kuja's Spell, they were KILLED, and then came face-to-face with the Iifa Tree's true form on the spirtual plane, it attempting to dismiss them from Gaia as it had done to all the souls up to this point, as was the purpose Garland said the Tree had been given.

Also consider that after the defeat of Necron, the gateway to Memoria explodes and the Iifa Tree goes into a spasm, flailing its vines and roots about, then dying soon after. We can be certain that the Tree died, as Mikoto can be seen briefly during the ending walking across a vine of the Tree, it no longer violent and thrashing. For that matter, had the Tree not been undone, we would be left to wonder why Gaia's assimilation by Terra was never completed, seeing as how Kuja said that the assimilation was nigh at hand before the final battle with him.

Necron being the core mechanism of the Tree would account for the Tree's demise, whereas Necron not being so would leave us to question why the Tree died for seemingly no reason."

Hmm.. Maybe I should have warned about the length... Oh well. There's a lot more to the FAQ, which I'd recommend reading as well, so feel free to check out gamefaqs for the rest (it's titled "Plot Analysis" under the FFIX FAQs page.)

 

[ignition]

I always thought ff7 was my favourite, but after re-starting this one I have to say it is amazing. Probably my favourite game of all time - maybe joint with 7