Final Fantasy IX hit the PSone 15 years ago today in Japan, on the 7th July 2000. Regarded by many as one of the best Final Fantasy titles ever crafted, it's still remembered and enjoyed today thanks to its great art direction, refined gameplay, and engaging story. Oh, and let's not forget that absolute masterpiece of a soundtrack.
To celebrate, we've put together a quick poll about the game, so be sure to cast your vote. Does Final Fantasy IX remain one of your favourite Final Fantasy games? Do you think that time hasn't been kind to it? Do you own it on your PS Vita? Take part in the birthday celebrations in the comments section below.
How highly do you rate Final Fantasy IX? (42 votes)
- It's the best Final Fantasy game
- It's one of the best Final Fantasy Games
- It's okay
- It's one of the worst 0%
- It's the worst 0%
- Never played it
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Comments 26
This is one of the only single player final fantasies I've never played (4 onwards).
I remember picking up FF9 after school in year 8 on its release date here (Friday 16th February 2001) and playing it through the week long half term break before finishing it on the Saturday 8 days later. I spent Sunday depressed that I'd cleared such a brilliant game! Think I probably started my second run through on that same day. Evil Forest, Lindblum, Treasure Hunting, that soundtrack - I love it all!
It pulled me away from my hardcore Ultima Online addiction, too
I think 7 is the better game but on a personal level 9 is pretty much it's equal, so I can't vote!
Thanks for posting this
Edit: I've got a copy of this as they were selling it in Game at the time of release. Excellent book containing loads of artwork if you're a fan of the game, and Garnet is rocking that white hair! If you can find it cheaper and are a fan do pick it up!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/books/dp/B00OL45JJS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1436270187&sr=8-3&keywords=the+art+of+final+fantasy+9
Maybe a video will suffice!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnARglWLvnM
@kyleforrester87 totally agree. I prefer 7, but 9 was so, so good.
@ztpayne7 Grab a copy and start playing ASAP!
Funnily enough, I nearly started this up again on my Vita at the weekend, now I'm incredibly torn between my renewed effort to play through P4G (which I was just starting to get really into again), and my desire to go back and re-play this!
@kyleforrester87 NICE. My favorite pieces of FF concept art are still all the work done by Amano, particularly the early stuff. If you're at all a fan of his work you owe it to yourself to pick up Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy. I missed out on the original limited run, but I have the slipcase edition sitting in pride of place on top of my piano, and it is fantastic. Dawn is also nice as a smaller collection, but everything in it is in the Sky collection except for a couple of larger foldout pieces.
Still haven't played it. It did come out around the same time I got my PS1 though, so I wish I could've gotten it. I know all the talk is about VII, but this game interests me more.
FF9 is fantastic, it's pretty hard to choose which is the best between 7 and 9. Graphics wise, 9 hits 7 over the head and this is on the same console. Also, I feel the translation is better for FF9, as well as the characters having better defined and more interesting personalities. 9 has the best comedy of all the Final Fantasy games I think. But no other Final Fantasy does iconic and awesome like 7. From the most terrifying villain of Sephiroth who cut his enemies down with ease, to that whole escape scene from Shinra HQ, unforgettable. They're both brilliant, depending on which day of the week of it I'll give best Final Fantasy to either one or the other.
Sorry about the poor grammar, no option to edit.
@SteveButler2210 How easy is it to get hold of? (I'll take a look myself if you don't know!) The Art of FF9 is a real good book. My issue isn't in great condition as I copied a lot of the pictures when I was younger so the front has some pencil marks
@LieutenantFatman FF9's translation was excellent! I think the main problem with the game is it has a few very forgettable sections in the main and forgotten continents where as FF7 has good pacing throughout. That's what drags it down a little for me, fortunately the areas that were interesting were REALLY interesting and the characters were great throughout.
Shame on all of you that haven't played it.
It's an upper mid-tier entry. Far behind IV ,VI ,VII and Tactics
I played the first hour of 9 a few times, it's was some of the best CGI at the time, and Vivi is one of my all time favorites - Riki in Xeno feels like an homage - but I hardly remember anything else about the game. A bumbling knight and a wall of thorns that turns people to stone. That's it.
I wish I had played it before 8. I know 8 gets a lot of grief but I played it right after moving in w/ my fiance, a big fantasy nut, and she watched me play the whole thing. And when it was over we immediately played the whole thing again. It was like our story in a video game. 9 after that was a letdown. Fine game, bad timing.
And then 10 came out, great story and graphics. Then 12 had some great graphics and minster hunter sugar that was better than the main game.
9 just kind of falls thru the cracks for me. Maybe when they remaster it I'll give it another go.I still have my original discs in their original box. Playing it now after Xenoblade Chronicles wouldn't help it's case though.
@kyleforrester87 Dead easy, Amazon and a few other book retailers tend to stock it, and it's dropped in price a little since I bought it (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Sky-Fantasy-Slipcased-Edition/dp/1616551607). How big is the FF9 book? Sky is a massive 3 book collection covering the first 10 games. The book covering 4, 5 and 6 is the largest, and there's not as much in the 7, 8, 9, 10 book as that's when Amano took a bit of a step back from the lead artist role, but for just over £40 it's well worth adding to any collection!
I would like to add some of the more recent art to my collection though, and have been eyeing up the Realm Reborn artbook lately as some of the work on that is great.
An absolute masterpiece of an RPG. My second favorite in the series behind 6.
@LieutenantFatman There is an edit button below your post.
I actually have never played this game. After the bad taste 7 and 8 left in my mouth I never touched a Final Fantasy game again. However after hearing about this one I want to at least check it out. Need to get a copy for PS one.
@Tasuki aye, shows on my phone, didn't on my laptop earlier, maybe just a glitch
@SteveButler2210 Thanks, I'll look to pick this up!
My first Final Fantasy was VI and the only other Final Fantasy I've been able to get into was IX, VII and VIII put me off by being too different to VI and it was too hard to get into the older ones as they seemed to outdated graphically and mechanically compared to VI
Man, I used to watch the intro over and over again.
Years later I watch that same intro on youtube.
Over and over again.
@rjerj - couldn't agree more. As a massive FF fan I have to say that FF9 just didn't do it for me. Mind you, I've achieved everything in it there was to achieve, bar the complete collection of unique cards and the the best sword for Steiner. Came as a dissapointment after 7 and 8, then 10 was great again. Pacing in 9 I remember as being particularly bad. Can see why people love it, though.
@Neolit Good tip, thank you.
I only finished ff9 a few months ago on the vita because I never finished playing it back on the ps1 and it has aged quite well and is definitely one of my favourite final fantasy games
@SteveButler2210 Just had a look into that book set, gunna make a note to pick it up in the next month or so. Thanks for the tip off!
For those who like the soundtrack this is well worth a listen (His FF7 ones and others are great, too)
Spotify:
https://play.spotify.com/album/2FLjfJjeIdxBpbNDTRXO5P?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVJYocffodY
Blimey, I was in Year 5 when I played this, I remember it was my first game to make me stay up all night but not realise it, mum and dad hand family round playing cards I booted it up, next thing I knew my ma was asking why I was up early and what I wanted for breakfast, such an amazing game took me a month to finish it fully, I remember going for the pumice stone and not hearing Kuja say magic doesn't work and I filled my party out with Vivi Zidane Amarant and Garnet, yeah, that took me days to beat that SOB Ark I ended up just throwing most my items at him using Armarant, I personally would love to see this redone either HD or Reboot I'd buy it again in no time, had it for the PSOne PS3 would happily do it again on PS4.
@Rsco6969 lol my other half played FF9 for the first time last month and took a load of magic users into the castle, too.
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