Alison Prime's Final Fantasy Quest! - Game 11 - Final Fantasy IX (PS) (Im questing again!)

Quest Number 14 - Awwwww its a game of mascots...wait...this is a serious game? As the famous dramatic actor Keanu reeves once said "...woah" AKA Final Fantasy IX

Thought I had abandoned this little bit of Alison Prime? Nope, its back and picking up where it left off! Without further Adieu, lets get into this.

Final Fantasy IX was squares big follow up to Final Fantasy VIII. Originally, it wasn't intended to be a core title, due to square wanting to take the games in a more futuristic direction as with Final Fantasy VII and VIII, but after much thought and consideration, it was given a number, and instead of being a glimpse into the future, for those who grew up with the 8 bit and 16 bit titles, it ended up tugging at our nostalgia strings, and was a fond look at the past.

Final Fantasy IX revolves around a plethora of characters, there is Vivi the Black mage who seems to be dealing with issues of abandonment and morality, due to him being a self aware black mage and that he has a short, limited lifespan. Zidane, a thief and theater performer who has been hired by regent cid to kidnap Garnet. Amarant the big, silent assassin. Freya the stoic dragoon who's honor to her people means more than anything. Garnet the reluctant princess who has the power to summon powerful creatures called eidolons, Eiko, another young summoner, and Steiner, the bumbling guardian of Garnet. All these characters bear looks or references to characters past, with the exception of Zidane. Steiner looks like your typical Warrior/knight class, Eiko looks like a summoner, Freya looks and plays like a Dragoon, Vivi is a dead ringer for a Black mage, heck even Garnet dawns a White mage's robes for her escape.

The game revolves around the fact the gang is trying to save garnet from her mother for the first two discs, but with Final Fantasy tradition, with the exception for six, all the work you put twords stopping what you think is the main enemy, was all for not. It turns out Zidane is a from an artificially created race from another world, brought to earth by the old man named Garland (GASP!) but garland isn't truely evil in my eyes, just a man who wished to give his people a 2nd chance. Garland you think will be the main enemy, giving birth to the persona of Chaos like he did in the first game, correct? wrong, Kuja turns out to be the major atagonist of the game. Manipulating people behind the scenes, and then, with the death of Bhrane, he gains the ability of trance, and he goes to the world's crystal to end everything since he found out he was mortal and was going to die soon.

The game itself plays like all other Final Fantasy RPGs before it with small differences that set it apart. For one the abilities system, when you equip a weapon or armor you can learn certain abilities with fighting with it in battle. after you can unequip the weapon and still retain the ability if you have learned it but only certain amounts of abilities can be active at one time using crystal points. Each char has a specific talent/ability to them, Vivi is a black mage, Zidane can steal, Steiner can use sword arts, Freya can jump etc. The part of this game that really stands out in terms of uniqueness is the card game Triple Triad. Triple Triad was an addiction for most players, playing it over and over and over to get all the cards and the ability to find Zidane's Ultima weapon. Triple Triad was so popular it made it to the Final Fantasy XI game for 1 dollar a month to be able to play against millions of other players.

Finally, the rating. Final Fantasy IX? Does it get a buy it, Rent it, or Glance at it in a bargain bin and laugh to tears? Buy it! This guys, is the game thats my favorite of the core numbers series. I love this game so much I make it a point to be one of my Yearly play agains. Only 7 games are on that list to be played at least once a year, they are as follows.

1. Xenogears
2. Xenosaga
3. Xenosaga II
4. Xenosaga III
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Ephermeal Fantasia
7. Final Fantasy VII

So you can see my views on the rating will definitely be buy it. Now, later today, I will be reviewing Xenosaga, but I will continue this quest with Final Fantasy X then I will try to finish playing X-2 and review it. If im not done by the time I review X I will review XI then go back to X-2 when i finish it. So Stay tuned, and Stay Questing!

- Check Previous Quests here! -

http://screwattack.com/node/16277 - Quest 01 – Final Fantasy (PSP)
http://screwattack.com/node/16364 – Quest 02 – Final Fantasy II (PSP)
http://screwattack.com/node/16426 – Quest 03 – Final Fantasy III (DS)
http://screwattack.com/node/16477 – Quest 04 – Final Fantasy IV (DS)
http://screwattack.com/node/16566 – Quest 05 – Final Fantasy V (GBA)
http://screwattack.com/node/16686 – Quest 06 – Final Fantasy VI (GBA)
http://screwattack.com/node/16712 - Quest 07 - Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP)
http://screwattack.com/node/16979 – Quest 08 – Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (DVD)
http://screwattack.com/node/17306 - Quest 09 - Final Fantasy VII (Ps)
http://screwattack.com/node/17492 - Quest 10 - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (DVD)
http://screwattack.com/node/17990 - Quest 11 - Final Fantasy VII: Last Order (DVD)
http://screwattack.com/node/18147 – Quest 12 – Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2)
http://screwattack.com/node/18366 - Quest 13 - Final Fantasy VIII (Ps)