Why Do YOU Think FFIX is One of the Best in the Series?

[WarEnvoy]

(WARNING:Spoilers alert, read as you see fit if you haven't played or still playing in the series!)

Hello FFFans! I've recently want to list up my Top 3's in the FF Series that I played and I'm quite a dilemma choosing if FFIX is worthy for this. So I'm gonna need your opinions on it. Nevertheless, I would definitely say I liked it, I enjoyed it;Satisfied. In all of my FF games I played, the worst in the series is still worthy & enjoyable. However when I think about listing top few its quite challenging. FFIX in my case felt rather "Raw" for me, so I need a hand here.

For me, I felt it just doesn't bring out the complete potential of the game in itself. These are some things I'm gonna list out so you are free to throw in your arguments or theory if you got!

NOTE!!!!!!!!: The list below is OBSOLETE, if you got further input..Feel free refer to some of my arguments below with other FFFans thoughts on the thread!!! However if you wish to state your thoughts and input based & Quoted on this List it is still acceptable!!! OR you may as well jump to the Post Script!


(I'll have to set away "Nostalgia" or "First game in the series I played" because normally it has that inclination experience if you grow up with it so I wanna gather real subjective thoughts and factors especially; *Gameplay mechanics, World map liberty, mini-games, Storyline focus and ending, Character projection and dialogue etc*)


(WARNING Number 2: Many thought-provoking paragraphs below!!)

***Now the story and character is where I find conflict. I find that the some of the main party is relatively too shallow and too less elaborated for me, if you have played most final fantasy, you probably would get my idea what I mean by additional party members meant to cool the story without standing out too much but rather back up the story by foreshadowing.



I'm gonna leave Dagger, Vivi and Quina out for this. Dagger and Vivi are one of my favourite character in the game, so I wouldn't argue much because they had more than enough elaboration over "what is living means?" or what their significant purpose of their character is. With the entire story focus on black mages and his ending, Dagger and her conclusion becoming Queen is well-explained. Quina is relatively straightforward because s/he is just a Gourmet looking to find better food to be a better cook. and overall this is explained at Quan's Dwelling together. Dagger's case her life story was revolved almost everywhere in the game and her moral is stated throughout the story until she got her haircut and through to the ending. so I am still satisfied with them overall.



This is some of my unanswered thoughts through the game that kept me from placing it in my top 3. If you can answer some of them that would be AWESOME!!!


1. Zidane ; initially when the kidnapping dagger began, he started out as a "eye-candy" towards dagger..so when it leads to the romance it was rather..off...the dialogues didn't gradually bring the feel like it his virtue to help for me. To be blunt it felt like "Oh I like dagger so of course I am gonna be with her." it felt like it conflicted the "Virtue" behind his character..Kinda like so "Is Zidane helping Dagger because he has feelings for her or is it his Virtue to do so? or Both?" Furthermore, after Pandemonium Arc, it felt more like He simply ignored the identity he was a Genome and just go on with "His Virtue" to help everybody. It doesn't feel natural or at least challenged towards his character as a Genome. It kinda just felt "Oh so I am a Genome..Okay..but I don't care anymore, lets just help go on and get Kuja" shouldn't He identified with himself as Genome more and how it relates to his character or Virtue??

2. Amarant, very shallow storyline. (is it just because of the gameplay that I excluded him more so I didn't go in depth?) because to me he is additional party member to me through his life as an assassin etc etc. I wanna find more about Zidane power etc etc..I was thinking the same thing as him when they were at the part of Invincible he'll say "I don't know why I'm still sticking around with you" *thinking* "yeah I too don't know why you're still around...maybe you're just repaying a favor?" (This is slightly offensive normally I wouldn't elaborate this way but this is just to get a better idea where I am coming from) I find the friendship wasn't gradual. It felt like a repayment over the small help incident.

3. Freya, storyline is also quite shallow. She is Zidane's friend.. but her romance is very broken..lover has an amnesia. ending; let me just start all-over. Shouldn't there be more depth between Sir Fratley and the party? For instance elaborated more on the story on how the Sir Fratley had that amnesia or acquainted with anyone in the party? Or in any case....find a way to restore his amnesia without making it too cliche?

4. Eiko, slightly better than the previous 2 mentioned at least she was involved more being in the summoner tribe similar to Dagger..but again.. it still lacks JUST a small tiny bit more depth, I don't know....what do you think? Could it have been better if they had explained more on what the 2 talked together when they each went on different shrines..?

5. Steiner, his story was a little way off..just in the beginning..Through the story I thought he was going to be a Knight who likes the Princess but has no acquaintance for a relationship. Least he turns out well with Beatrix.

6. Queen Brahne?? This person was something I couldn't connect the most..she was power-hungry until the end..who repented. shouldn't the game had shown how she raised Dagger instead so I could identity with her passing? I was totally speechless and do not know how to react when she passed..

7. Kuja, Kuja I can identify because he has a sense of revenge or grudge therefore something he wants to prove in his existence. However..what happen in the end? Why isn't he rescued? or why is he identified dead to help Zidane out of Lifa tree? (Theory might be good if you can bring out!)


Okay..Sorry for the long type. I gotta thank you so much for reading! Anyway, yes..this is my unanswered questions and thoughts why I couldn't or shouldn't FFIX be in my top 3 list YET. Overall I thought I enjoyed the gameplay mechanics and overall gaming a lot. Mini-games was enjoyable (although the Chocobo Hot & Cold took me awhile to get used to but it was still fun), there was sufficient liberty in exploring. So it just that I was quite trapped with these thoughts right at the ending specifically Kuja(I believe he is quite underrated as an antagonist "NOTE: I wouldn't want to compare or rate much because ALL antagonist in the FF are MARVELOUS!!") so perhaps with your input you can help this fan make up his mind on FFIX! Many Thanks for your time!

P.S.
I have read and taken New views & Perspectives, Thanks for those who input!
SOO!! Refer to Quoted arguments below OR the post with the list if you wanna give your input!
Quote from various input BELOW & NOT from this obsolete post because Most shared subjects are common & mutual!

Unless..you don't mind reading the full thread...go ahead! Thanks for stopping by and giving your input/reading!

 

[LinnyCockle]

Your first point is one that always stood out to me. Zidane's little epithet in the demo-reel trailer thingy is something like "You don't need a reason to help people." And yet the main reason he helped Dagger is clearly because she's hot, and one of only about 5 attractive human females in the entire game. So whilst he may not have needed a reason, he ended up going with shallowest reason.

 

[WarEnvoy]

Thanks for the read!!
Yup..I do quite agree with you much..I felt that the story should have placed more depth on the characters..
I think my assumption towards Zidane now is basically he has more inclination towards Dagger. (I mean she is the only outstanding-looking female character within the game)
Towards the other FFIX characters, I just currently feel like its mutual friendship or morally right for the main to be the 'Hero who rescues/saves' thus making his epithet which is the core of his character in the gameplay & storyline lacking an impact in comparison to other FF characters.

I'm still doing a lot of reading and comparison so my conclusion isn't up yet..!
Once again thanks for the response! (still working out on thread-writing!)

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

I think when it comes to Final Fantasy IX what is more apparent is how the adventure the party all goes on changes them, rather than each character having a specific plot. If you just look at it from the plot/side story each character goes on, yes some will show as more shallow than others. I mean I think Vivi's story and existential crisis is actually more fascinating than the games main story. So comparing his personal conflict to someone like Freya is a little unfair.

Steiner: I think Steiner goes through one of the biggest transformations within the game. At first he is the ignorant, goofy, pompous leader of the Plato Knights and his intentions are to follow orders of the Queen blindly, but as he proceeds with the adventure with a conflict of intention in returning Garnet to the castle. The experience of seeing war being thought changes him. He begins to question the Queen's action and think for himself.

Amarant: I think Amarant's story is to once again state the games biggest theme of companionship/friendship. He goes through life holding no value in others until he meets Zidane one day in Treno (Prior to the events of FFIX) where Zidane causes mischief for him, but he remains intrigued by him. When they meet one more in Maidan Sari, Zidane's act of forgiveness baffles Amarant, as it goes against everything he has held at value so he tags along to understand Zidane's motives better. Then in Ipens Castle Amarant is weak and stuck in a time of need, He stubbornly refuses Zidanes help at first but then learns to accept and understand the notion of compassion.

As for Freya, her romance is broken, which is sort of the point. She find hope in the spirit of her companions once more after learning of Sir Fately's amnesia. Also the notion of how her home is destroyed also calls motive to her being part of the team, seeking to put an end to the chaos and destruction she has already experienced.

Eiko I cannot defend quite as much as the others, but she had some real pivotal moments, like in summoning Alexander with Garnet. But her ties to being a summoner and to Garnets past do work well within the games plot.

Zidane: I think what is important to Zidane's character is how he values friendship, being born on Terra unknown to his past he is essentially an ophen welcomed into the Tantalus group by being found my Baku at a young age. In growing up in this manner I guess that is why he values it so and in projecting this value through the party and given them hope is what really stands out about Zidane. What's interesting to see is that through out all the trauma Vivi goes through in finding out he's just a puppet for war, he is always so supportive of him. But later when Zidane arrives at Terra and he learns the truth of his creation, he utterly breaks down in fear, but the love and support he formed throughout the adventure came back to support him when he lost all hope which lead him to progress.

Antagonists: What I found most fascinating with IX is that you hardly even see Kuja within the 1st disc. You have Queen Brahne becoming completely corrupt and being manipulated for more power. I think the moment where Brahne & Garnet are on the beach is one of the games most touching one, especially with the naration and the conflict of feelings they have about her fate. I thought Kuja's conflict with Garland was a grand one, where Kuja's greed went beyond even Branhe's and to see him react in despair after the news of his eventual demise was rather scary, so see how unpredictable he was in acting out on this fear.

As for the game itself. I think it's one of Final Fantasy's most well produced games. The pacing of the story is maybe a little slow to begin with, but things are still progressing and interesting. What I love about IX most of all is the spirit of Adventure it has. How you follow the party through Caverns and continents, not always sure on the objective but progressing out of their pure determination and will. My favourite feature within Final Fantasy IX was the 'Active Time Event' system, where you would get access to more story content or just see what the other characters are doing whilst your exploring. It was a brilliant system which always peaked my interest.

 

[WarEnvoy]

Hey there! Thanks for the big sharing.
I personally agree with most of what you shared and because they were following the direction of the storyline.

I'll try narrow down your sharing so I can share my thoughts..!

Steiner: I think Steiner goes through one of the biggest transformations within the game. At first he is the ignorant, goofy, pompous leader of the Plato Knights and his intentions are to follow orders of the Queen blindly, but as he proceeds with the adventure with a conflict of intention in returning Garnet to the castle. The experience of seeing war being thought changes him. He begins to question the Queen's action and think for himself.

Yup! I agree with this statement, because from his epithet "DILEMMA" was his struggle so transformations from him was expected and well-received to me.

Amarant: I think Amarant's story is to once again state the games biggest theme of companionship/friendship. He goes through life holding no value in others until he meets Zidane one day in Treno (Prior to the events of FFIX) where Zidane causes mischief for him, but he remains intrigued by him. When they meet one more in Maidan Sari, Zidane's act of forgiveness baffles Amarant, as it goes against everything he has held at value so he tags along to understand Zidane's motives better. Then in Ipens Castle Amarant is weak and stuck in a time of need, He stubbornly refuses Zidanes help at first but then learns to accept and understand the notion of compassion.

I have to apologize for this one because I did not receive it so Amarant rescue was yes a good between the two characters relations. Yup, they do deliver a certain degree of companionship but I didn't feel it was the strongest. The reason isn't what Zidane acted that brings the "punch" for me as a player. It was the lack opportunities of Amarant as a character that did not deliver beyond the boundaries of "Ok, now I understand your deal so I am going to stick around with ya" so I just feel that Amarant is portrayed as just "I owe you(Zidane) a favor".

Well true there is a certain degree of two-tag-along-playing companion but it was rather one-sided return which Zidane gave to Amarant. There were lack of one on one opportunities to deliver a strong dialogue of Amarant to Zidane help. (Apart from late in the game pandemonium and end game before they all parted when Zidane decided to help Kuja and Amarant predicted Zidane's personality.) which thus leads me to feel that Amarant is clearly a good character but he was not portrayed deep enough for you to go "Wow, that dude is 100% badass dude! Zidane you sure owe Amarant one big of a favor for THAT" kinda deal and that "THAT" was missing for me. If I including his moveset and personality erhaps maybe others will have a different feel as he is quite badass..but for me it was so so because that "THAT" is lacking. Thats why I decided Amarant was still kinda shallow for me. He had potential but brought down due to lack of elaboration of the story in His part.

As for Freya, her romance is broken, which is sort of the point. She find hope in the spirit of her companions once more after learning of Sir Fately's amnesia. Also the notion of how her home is destroyed also calls motive to her being part of the team, seeking to put an end to the chaos and destruction she has already experienced.

Eiko I cannot defend quite as much as the others, but she had some real pivotal moments, like in summoning Alexander with Garnet. But her ties to being a summoner and to Garnets past do work well within the games plot.

Well, for Freya I suppose its just me that doesn't feel like she finds companionship in her romance revival due to her learning from the team. I find that it is more of hope not exactly spirit of companionship.

Maybe having your town destroyed and having hope and companion to start over can be for a better cause..However for a romance it has to be downright painful..What can you hope for a man who has amnesia and the story plot brought forth conclusion that he has amnesia till the end and you have to start your relationship over? That is why it was deeply saddening she was left in a lurch to start over on her romance. So, perhaps for me as a player I would want to empathize with Freya more by receiving dialogues and perspective from Sir Fratley more. Not just fighting together in companionship if not it will feel like a rushed ending for Freya story for me

Eiko..yeah pretty much as you have said and I will give liberty for her because if not the entire stroy plot is downright heavy.

Antagonists: What I found most fascinating with IX is that you hardly even see Kuja within the 1st disc. You have Queen Brahne becoming completely corrupt and being manipulated for more power. I think the moment where Brahne & Garnet are on the beach is one of the games most touching one, especially with the naration and the conflict of feelings they have about her fate. I thought Kuja's conflict with Garland was a grand one, where Kuja's greed went beyond even Branhe's and to see him react in despair after the news of his eventual demise was rather scary, so see how unpredictable he was in acting out on this fear.

Yes, I got this one and I pretty much agree! but..Empathizing with Branhe during her passing is...from what I received..speechless. I can't identify with that..! Maybe for Dagger I feel for her but empathizing with Brahne..is a definitely a challenge for me..

KUJA? 100% Yes..He is such a good antagonist but his ending what happen? Did he gain redemption by the two brothers? Well, I just have to presume that He died saving Zidane out of Lifa Tree that will make me feel better cause he was just left cliff-hanging.

Zidane: I think what is important to Zidane's character is how he values friendship, being born on Terra unknown to his past he is essentially an ophen welcomed into the Tantalus group by being found my Baku at a young age. In growing up in this manner I guess that is why he values it so and in projecting this value through the party and given them hope is what really stands out about Zidane. What's interesting to see is that through out all the trauma Vivi goes through in finding out he's just a puppet for war, he is always so supportive of him. But later when Zidane arrives at Terra and he learns the truth of his creation, he utterly breaks down in fear, but the love and support he formed throughout the adventure came back to support him when he lost all hope which lead him to progress.

Friendship? Definitely! but towards Dagger..uh uh.. I don't quite think so..in my previous post I mentioned it was in a small conflict between "Virtue" and "Romance" You wanna share your thoughts more on that? Well fear from his identity trauma. Yup his group is always supportive of him! Vivi sure can identify with him..However, I just find the mini conclusion at Terra arc has mini holes, because he just move on like that! I mean shouldn't you take time out to share with your team e.g. Vivi or dagger and your conclusion as the identity of a harbringer of death mean? (I think you can look up the scene on Zidane's Depression) you will roughly get what I mean because it dropped the intensity during the whole story quite a little..I just kinda leave it as it is. Kind of like "Ok, I don't care about my identity anymore lets go and get Kuja & Garland" Isn't there more between Zidane and Kuja as seperate identical brothers created for the same purpose to be able to embrace? e.g. embracing as your identity as a destruction maker?
OR maybe the whole entire story plot is just too fast paced for me?


Yeah basically those are my thoughts on each characters.

Final Fantasy IX what is more apparent is how the adventure the party all goes on changes them,

I suppose you meant the characters Learn and Mature as the story gradually continues. If the party characters change frantically it will cause bad story dynamics..Unless the change is intended by the story e.g. betrayal for so and so etc.

rather than each character having a specific plot. If you just look at it from the plot/side story each character goes on, yes some will show as more shallow than others. I mean I think Vivi's story and existential crisis is actually more fascinating than the games main story. So comparing his personal conflict to someone like Freya is a little unfair.

I'm sorry if you mistaken but I wasn't literally comparing characters to characters in because Yup Vivi life story is more significant than others, however what I meant was individual characters has a role and their role has to be "punchy" and this role has to be definite and brought forward to the relationships between the main party. Which is why I find that Freya and Amarant storyline is too brief and light; leaving them almost heavily overshadowed by the main significant story such as Vivi or Dagger...Yup! I loved Vivi and his life was a great part of the main story plot. I just simply felt that some were quite overshadowed meaning their life story delivery wasn't thorough enough to bring the "Punch" therefore render their stories less "impact-able" and unable to match up to Vivi E.g. Steiner was a goofy character but his story was well-received making it a well-finished character in the ending for me. Not a side-line character. It need not be spectacular, but I felt each character has to finish well.

As for the game itself. I think it's one of Final Fantasy's most well produced games. The pacing of the story is maybe a little slow to begin with, but things are still progressing and interesting. What I love about IX most of all is the spirit of Adventure it has. How you follow the party through Caverns and continents, not always sure on the objective but progressing out of their pure determination and will. My favourite feature within Final Fantasy IX was the 'Active Time Event' system, where you would get access to more story content or just see what the other characters are doing whilst your exploring. It was a brilliant system which always peaked my interest.

Definitely agree with ya!! Which is why I am deciding if FFIX should be in my top 3!
Anyway, pardon me if some statements were too straightforward..but thanks so much for your sharing, thoughts and the read! I'm hoping it was not too argumentative..I'm still on the look for new perspectives on FFIX. However at the end of the day. The game is subjective and relatable to different individudals so Thanks again for the sharing!

 

[Sheechiibii]

Hmm, well for me FFIX is definitely one of my favourite, if not my most favourite FF game, it ties with X. I'll adress your issues with it because Some of the things you've mentioned I feel completely differently about.

1. Zidane ; initially when the kidnapping dagger began, he started out as a "eye-candy" towards dagger..so when it leads to the romance it was rather..off...the dialogues didn't gradually bring the feel like it his virtue to help for me. To be blunt it felt like "Oh I like dagger so of course I am gonna be with her." it felt like it conflicted the "Virtue" behind his character..Kinda like so "Is Zidane helping Dagger because he has feelings for her or is it his Virtue to do so? or Both?" Furthermore, after Pandemonium Arc, it felt more like He simply ignored the identity he was a Genome and just go on with "His Virtue" to help everybody. It doesn't feel natural or at least challenged towards his character as a Genome. It kinda just felt "Oh so I am a Genome..Okay..but I don't care anymore, lets just help go on and get Kuja" shouldn't He identified with himself as Genome more and how it relates to his character or Virtue??

Indeed when Zidane first met Dagger he found very very attractive, though early in the game he flits with almost every woman he meets so I don't think he's that picky when it comes to finding girls hot. However I don't think that's why he helped her, I think he helped her because he honestly doesn't need a reason to help people. He helps people all the time throughout the game, regardless of how he feels about them, and he never really has a reason to other than just because that's the sort of person he is.

The Pandemonium part is one of my favourite points in the game because it's the only time Zidane ever really questions himself. He's not indifferent to the fact that he's a genome, he totally freaks out about it and doesn't want anything to do with anyone. It's not until his friends try so hard to convince him of his own worth that he comes back to himself and realises that being a genome doesn't me he's worthless or any different than he's always been. He knows he was fortunate that he ended up an orphan wondering Gaia because if he hadn't he might have ended up like Kuja, so while he had always felt like there was something missing before (like he told Dagger in the Black Mage village) he finally found the answers and after having a minor breakdown over it, he picked himself up and got on with it, like he always had to do living on the streets his whole life.

2. Amarant, very shallow storyline. (is it just because of the gameplay that I excluded him more so I didn't go in depth?) because to me he is additional party member to me through his life as an assassin etc etc. I wanna find more about Zidane power etc etc..I was thinking the same thing as him when they were at the part of Invincible he'll say "I don't know why I'm still sticking around with you" *thinking* "yeah I too don't know why you're still around...maybe you're just repaying a favor?" (This is slightly offensive normally I wouldn't elaborate this way but this is just to get a better idea where I am coming from) I find the friendship wasn't gradual. It felt like a repayment over the small help incident.

I never really felt like Amarant became friends with any of them. To me he was there because he was interested in how Zidane thinks since it's so different to his own way of living and also to repay Zidane for saving his life. Amarant's an interesting character to me because he's not a friend and he's not a good person and he's not very likeable. I used him quite a bit in my last playthrough because I like his abilities, but he doesn't ever really seem to grow to like the cast much at all or care about any of them except Zidane. That's okay for me, in fact I liked it because it was different, usually the cast of characters all come to like each other so it was sort of refreshing to have Amarant there who obviously wasn't a friend.

3. Freya, storyline is also quite shallow. She is Zidane's friend.. but her romance is very broken..lover has an amnesia. ending; let me just start all-over. Shouldn't there be more depth between Sir Fratley and the party? For instance elaborated more on the story on how the Sir Fratley had that amnesia or acquainted with anyone in the party? Or in any case....find a way to restore his amnesia without making it too cliche?

I love Freya, she's possibly my favourite female character of any FF game. I find her story so sad and yet she's so strong. I didn't need more information about how Fratley got amnesia, as for meeting him multiple times I feel like that might have been a good thing, perhaps before reaching Cleyra and finding out who he was. But I liked Freya's character even though we didn't get that. It made sense that she would leave him to come to terms with himself especially since it was so painful for her knowing he had no idea who she was. I didn't find their story cliche either, I liked that he didn't ever regain his memory, because I felt like wanting to start afresh was enough, as sad as it was, and was realistic and inkeeping with the game's rather dark themes.

4. Eiko, slightly better than the previous 2 mentioned at least she was involved more being in the summoner tribe similar to Dagger..but again.. it still lacks JUST a small tiny bit more depth, I don't know....what do you think? Could it have been better if they had explained more on what the 2 talked together when they each went on different shrines..?

I'm not gonna say much here because I really don't like Eiko very much at all so there's not much defence. However she is one of the very few things about the game that I don't like and she's rarely in my party so it doesn't impact my game very much. I wouldn't have wanted more depth between Dagger and Eiko because that would have meant more scenes with her in them to annoy me lol I just find her ridiculously childish and silly and I feel like she tries to be comical but really isn't.

5. Steiner, his story was a little way off..just in the beginning..Through the story I thought he was going to be a Knight who likes the Princess but has no acquaintance for a relationship. Least he turns out well with Beatrix.

I love Steiner, I really do. He makes me laugh so much, I thought that Steiner's development was a lot like Wakka's development in X. He started off very 'classist' and disliked anybody who was of lower class because he had obviously been brought up to see them as threats to nobility and saw their behaviour as improper. He especially disliked Zidane, because he has no sympathy or understanding of how anybody could need to steal to survive, or live on the streets and have very little other options. Throughout the story he comes to like Zidane though and sees the world in a different perspective when the queen, someone he clearly admired and thought the best of, turned out to be not at all as he'd imagined. Kuja too, behaved far more like nobility than the cast Steiner found himself travelling with (other than Dagger) and I loved seeing Steiner's opinion slowly change. I'm a sucker for slow but pretty drastic character development like that.

6. Queen Brahne?? This person was something I couldn't connect the most..she was power-hungry until the end..who repented. shouldn't the game had shown how she raised Dagger instead so I could identity with her passing? I was totally speechless and do not know how to react when she passed..

I feel like we got a lot of information about what she was like before her husband died. Dagger mentions a few times, and Dr Tot I think says about how kind and lovely the queen was and how she and her husband doted on Dagger and loved her. Dagger definitely says a lot about how much she loves her mum and how she can't believe the change that has come over her since her dad's death. It was enough information for me to see that she'd suffered terrible grief after her husband's death and had lost her mind a bit, been encouraged by Kuja and gone totally off the rails.

7. Kuja, Kuja I can identify because he has a sense of revenge or grudge therefore something he wants to prove in his existence. However..what happen in the end? Why isn't he rescued? or why is he identified dead to help Zidane out of Lifa tree? (Theory might be good if you can bring out!)

I love Kuja. I thought he was such an interesting villain and I totally understood his reasoning. My favourite villain of all the FF games. I personally believe he did survive, but of course it's not like he'd be able to show his face after what he'd done. It took quite a lot of time for Zidane to come to Alexandria to be with dagger, what was he doing all that time? I think he was helping Kuja and possibly the other genomes to adapt to their new life. I was happy that the game left the ending ambiguous because it leaves us to make up our own minds about what happened. People who didn't think Kuja deserved to live can imagine he died, and people who think that a better ending would be if he survived to do some good to make up for things, can imagine that instead.

I dunno if you'll agree with much of what I've said but I hope you like seeing things from another perspective

 

[WarEnvoy]

Hmm, well for me FFIX is definitely one of my favourite, if not my most favourite FF game, it ties with X. I'll adress your issues with it because Some of the things you've mentioned I feel completely differently about.



Indeed when Zidane first met Dagger he found very very attractive, though early in the game he flits with almost every woman he meets so I don't think he's that picky when it comes to finding girls hot. However I don't think that's why he helped her, I think he helped her because he honestly doesn't need a reason to help people. He helps people all the time throughout the game, regardless of how he feels about them, and he never really has a reason to other than just because that's the sort of person he is.

The Pandemonium part is one of my favourite points in the game because it's the only time Zidane ever really questions himself. He's not indifferent to the fact that he's a genome, he totally freaks out about it and doesn't want anything to do with anyone. It's not until his friends try so hard to convince him of his own worth that he comes back to himself and realises that being a genome doesn't me he's worthless or any different than he's always been. He knows he was fortunate that he ended up an orphan wondering Gaia because if he hadn't he might have ended up like Kuja, so while he had always felt like there was something missing before (like he told Dagger in the Black Mage village) he finally found the answers and after having a minor breakdown over it, he picked himself up and got on with it, like he always had to do living on the streets his whole life.



I never really felt like Amarant became friends with any of them. To me he was there because he was interested in how Zidane thinks since it's so different to his own way of living and also to repay Zidane for saving his life. Amarant's an interesting character to me because he's not a friend and he's not a good person and he's not very likeable. I used him quite a bit in my last playthrough because I like his abilities, but he doesn't ever really seem to grow to like the cast much at all or care about any of them except Zidane. That's okay for me, in fact I liked it because it was different, usually the cast of characters all come to like each other so it was sort of refreshing to have Amarant there who obviously wasn't a friend.



I love Freya, she's possibly my favourite female character of any FF game. I find her story so sad and yet she's so strong. I didn't need more information about how Fratley got amnesia, as for meeting him multiple times I feel like that might have been a good thing, perhaps before reaching Cleyra and finding out who he was. But I liked Freya's character even though we didn't get that. It made sense that she would leave him to come to terms with himself especially since it was so painful for her knowing he had no idea who she was. I didn't find their story cliche either, I liked that he didn't ever regain his memory, because I felt like wanting to start afresh was enough, as sad as it was, and was realistic and inkeeping with the game's rather dark themes.



I'm not gonna say much here because I really don't like Eiko very much at all so there's not much defence. However she is one of the very few things about the game that I don't like and she's rarely in my party so it doesn't impact my game very much. I wouldn't have wanted more depth between Dagger and Eiko because that would have meant more scenes with her in them to annoy me lol I just find her ridiculously childish and silly and I feel like she tries to be comical but really isn't.



I love Steiner, I really do. He makes me laugh so much, I thought that Steiner's development was a lot like Wakka's development in X. He started off very 'classist' and disliked anybody who was of lower class because he had obviously been brought up to see them as threats to nobility and saw their behaviour as improper. He especially disliked Zidane, because he has no sympathy or understanding of how anybody could need to steal to survive, or live on the streets and have very little other options. Throughout the story he comes to like Zidane though and sees the world in a different perspective when the queen, someone he clearly admired and thought the best of, turned out to be not at all as he'd imagined. Kuja too, behaved far more like nobility than the cast Steiner found himself travelling with (other than Dagger) and I loved seeing Steiner's opinion slowly change. I'm a sucker for slow but pretty drastic character development like that.



I feel like we got a lot of information about what she was like before her husband died. Dagger mentions a few times, and Dr Tot I think says about how kind and lovely the queen was and how she and her husband doted on Dagger and loved her. Dagger definitely says a lot about how much she loves her mum and how she can't believe the change that has come over her since her dad's death. It was enough information for me to see that she'd suffered terrible grief after her husband's death and had lost her mind a bit, been encouraged by Kuja and gone totally off the rails.



I love Kuja. I thought he was such an interesting villain and I totally understood his reasoning. My favourite villain of all the FF games. I personally believe he did survive, but of course it's not like he'd be able to show his face after what he'd done. It took quite a lot of time for Zidane to come to Alexandria to be with dagger, what was he doing all that time? I think he was helping Kuja and possibly the other genomes to adapt to their new life. I was happy that the game left the ending ambiguous because it leaves us to make up our own minds about what happened. People who didn't think Kuja deserved to live can imagine he died, and people who think that a better ending would be if he survived to do some good to make up for things, can imagine that instead.

I dunno if you'll agree with much of what I've said but I hope you like seeing things from another perspective

Thank you for your input!! Definitely serve the purpose that I post this to view characters from a different perspective. Many thanks!
I'm gonna just do a major quote because most of the characters discussed, most players do have mutual & common thoughts on them and I do say so myself!

I guess from your point of view, I just have to accept the fact that I didn't get too much of the 'kick' with regards to Zidane identity, but I liked the way you discussed that Zidane has always been an on-the-look for Ladies around..I thought that you reminded something about his virtue and his relationship with Dagger really wasn't too exaggerated but it was already developing all around.

Amarant, I have to strongly agree with what you said! that he is probably a cast that is meant to draw the focus away from too heavy character content if I do say so myself yup refreshing just might be the right word you said. Thank you very much! Eiko..well pretty much everyone do think she is a character meant to cool the storyline as well.

THANKS for discussing about Queen Brahne! cause I was waiting and very few state deeply about it...I guess I have to accept the fact that I just do not feel anything for her from during her passing...since she was quite the similar antagonist of Emperor Gestahl back in FFVI and probably due to her personality and design too..The type of antagonist which I really wanna just give a "good punch on the face" for being so brutal in their authoritative positions..so comprehending her passing between she and Dagger is somewhat in-between for me. Though I wanna feel bad because of Dagger but I can't feel bad because she did summon Bahamut on her own accord...

Next! Steiner, Yeah! I liked his character development too so I shouldn't have placed him on the list but I ended up posting to be quoted for opinion by accident cause I forgot he had the game-changing point with Queen Brahne when he had to choose to assist Zidane to save Dagger at Alexandria..So remembering that actually reminded me that his character growth especially towards Zidane wasn't too exaggerated. My bad


Follow up..Freya! Alright! Hmm..I actually can visualize and understand your point but it was rather too dark for Sir Fratley because from my receiving end Yes! I liked Freya I can understand her character being strong but I received from Sir Fratley was still too 'rushed' and 'dark' or 'cliff-hanging conclusion to be decided. This is because she had very strong interaction with Sir Fratley. So in my opinion concluding amnesia by starting over was a little too dry for me because if Sir Fratley was part of my main party to be played, then perhaps I will receive more understanding thus identifying his point of view and his interaction with Freya more. Well..I think its just my thoughts, but really many thanks for giving your thoughts! especially if you were to say Freya was your favourite!

Okay! Last one..! KUJA..YES PLEASE he is so underrated as a Antagonist..He needs more love..Though I still love other FF antagonist too..just my opinion that he really is a good character for an antagonist

I personally believe he did survive, but of course it's not like he'd be able to show his face after what he'd done. It took quite a lot of time for Zidane to come to Alexandria to be with dagger, what was he doing all that time? I think he was helping Kuja and possibly the other genomes to adapt to their new life

Wow! I don't know why but I was quite nonchalant(without forcing my feelings too much) cause I almost felt out of place for certain characters especially when Zidane & Kuja's ending took place..but I think it was pretty much revived by your vision of Kuja ending! Maybe he ended up soul-searching/living in Black Mage Village with the other Genomes too..
May I adopt this; your vision of Kuja's ending too? HAHAHA

Thank you very much for your input! I suppose I'll be concluding this thread soon..
Definitely was quite a ride to type all these stories to find different perspectives but I think its worth it. Once again thanks!

 

[WarEnvoy]

Listing here last the search for more opinions on FFIX Characters & Storyline dynamics(Why/What do ya love in FFIX so much that it is one the best for you?)

In case you've skipped the first post. Generally, the sharing here is more about the story, characters and the 'feel' for the game.
FF game mechanics..visual dynamics..moveset..etc..are generally always in the top of the genre. For which I believe that the 'feel' is what makes us love it most. So thats why we are not sharing too much about it but rather discussing the Characters & The Storyline more.


Thus
I'm going to scratch and conclude a few characters out of my first list because most people and I have discussed similarly so it is quite redundant for an argument (furthermore making the thread too wordy to read) if we have mutual feelings receiving from the game with regards to the characters and story

-Zidane's personality vs his epithet (Are they in conflict?) & Identity as a Genome during Pandemonium Arc too surfaced?
-Amarant; Is he secondary-type cast relief?
-Freya/ Sir Fratley; Romance or Ending too rushed or conclusive or was it fine for you?
-Kuja (Dead or Alive?!)
-Feel Free to state other characters but if you've read the whole thread probably most people share the same feelings for them

Other additional Opinions...?

Glad to be here on the receiving end to be reading and listening to other FFFans on their genuine 'Feel' for the game!!
THANKS EVERYBODY! Especially FFFans In FFForums for reading/contributing your input..!


P.S. PERSONAL CONCLUSION DECIDED!!! Thank you everyone from FFForums that have contributed thoughts and feelings for this Thread! Nevertheless, feel free to ask if you're interested..! Apart from that thanks for reading!