Collection essentials #358: Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

For the third mainline Final Fantasy game of the generation, Squaresoft made Final Fantasy IX as a sort of tribute to the roots of the series. Most obviously, it brings back the “medieval fantasy” setting used in the first five games. There are various references to older games in the series, though this is mostly as a little bonus to fans and none of them are important to the game’s story nor are they necessary to enjoy this game.

The main character of Final Fantasy IX is a teenage boy named Zidane who is a thief. At the beginning of the game, under orders, he kidnaps a princess, but this princess doesn’t mind because she was already planning to run away from home. Her mother, the queen, recently started a war and the princess intends to help stop her. And thus the journey begins, and Zidane meets various quirky friends along the way who join up with him.

The basics of gameplay are similar to what we’ve seen in the past several Final Fantasy games at this point, with the “active time battle” system returning for the sixth entry in a row. One thing I like is that you can have four characters in battle at one time again after the limit was three for VII and VIII. Characters have unique abilities once again and are more distinguished from each other than those of the previous two games. A really cool feature is how equipment in this game usually comes with abilities and power-ups, and after being equipped with a given thing for long enough, a character will permanently gain it. There is a limit to how many of their learned abilities a character can have active at once though, so players need to make decisions regularly about what to use.

Final Fantasy IX seems to be more universally-acclaimed than VIII, which a lot of fans weren’t too happy with. However, while it was a big success, IX sold considerably fewer copies than VII or VIII and seems to be remembered and talked about a little less than its PlayStation brothers. The game probably didn’t attract as much of the casual audience, since the setting is different from the previous two games and everything looks a little less realistic, not to mention the game released at about the same time as the next big PlayStation console with much nicer graphics and that likely took at least some attention away.

As for my experience, naturally I was interested in playing FFIX when I first got the original PlayStation. The copy shown in the photo originally belonged to my friend Dan who sold it to me not long after I had gotten the console. I waited just a few years to play it, and I did so soon after I played FFVIII, in my later teenage years. I remember enjoying FFIX a whole lot and thinking it was one of my favorite games in the series. However, I do have to admit that in hindsight a lot of the game wound up not being super memorable, as I don’t have a lot of stand-out moments in the game that I clearly recall and I struggle to recall details from the story. That doesn’t mean the game’s not great, and I definitely remember the gameplay being highly enjoyable. The game is a prime candidate for a second playthrough at some point, and I’m really curious to see how I feel about it after another go many years later. 

FInal Fantasy IX has been ported to modern platforms. However, there are some issues with these ports and some people prefer the original release. But the PC version does have a fan-made “mod” that improves the game and this may be the best way to experience FFIX in modern times. I probably wouldn’t recommend this to be your first Final Fantasy game, only because you’ll appreciate the references to the series’ roots more if you’re familiar with the older games. But it’s definitely one that you have to try if you like JRPGs. A very worthy collection essential.