role-playing

Ok, I'll admit it... I thought 8 was alright... but nowhere near the level of excellence that the Final Fantasy series had lived up to in the first 7 games. It made me lose a lot of respect for the series that I've been playing for over 10 years now.

IX has restored that completely. I wouldn't go so far to say that 9 is the greatest FF game... but it's definitely up there.

Being an AVID fan (I have 15 FF titles on 4 systems and still play them all...), I'm glad to see the guys return to the old school, take their minds off graphic eye-candy and special effects (yup, that's right... less CG... and downright cheezy character graphics! I love it!), and put it back where it belongs in the RPG genre: The interaction, dialogue, and storyline here are all divine. I'd go into more detail but I don't want to ruin the surprise. :)

The character work in IX is so much better than what we've seen in recent games... they are personable, and have real depth. Take Zidane for example: the first FF hero since 6 to be a relatively social character. They also all serve a purpose in the game at some point in time... there are no Yuffies or Gaus here wasting space in your lineup and costing you wasted money for the one time in the game you'll actually use them. Even the most doubtful-seeming characters in FF9 (Quina being the first to come to mind) turns out to be a steady contender with good abilities and genuine usefulness.

All you power gamers out there that loved 6, 7, and 8 because *everyone* could use magic to ridiculous results... you're gonna hate this. Yes, there are wizards again now (all hail FF 1-5) and if you're not a wizard, you're not casting. I don't know about anyone else but this makes ten times more sense to me. It also adds something to the game that the last two were missing completely: a *challenge*. Any hardcore FF'ers will agree with me on this one: 7 and 8 were ridiculously easy. Not to say that 9 is going to kick you around... (I'm on my first replay and am yet to see a "Game Over" screen...) but at least you'll have to stop and think from time to time.

The battle and ability systems are simplified. No more sitting in front of your TV for an hour at a time digging through 50 billion junction abilities. You learn just 2 types of abilities: Battle abilities like spells for your wizards, lance attacks for Freya, thief attacks for Zidane, etc etc... and Indirect abilities that enhance your character in some way, like Auto-Regen or Auto-Potion, different status immunities, and HP/MP extensions. These items are learned by equipping your items, with a system similar to the Esper system in 6 or the Materia in 7. Except everyone can't just learn everything this time... For example: Don't even bother sticking a summon jewel on Zidane to teach him how to call forth Ifrit to burn your enemies... he can't do it :)

The only thing that may be confusing at first until you have the time to get used to it is the Synthesis shops. Basically what you do here is combine 2 items to get a different one, that cannot be bought... only found or synthesized. One tip regarding the Synth shop that I learned my first time through the game: DO NOT SELL ANYTHING, unless you have more than 2 of the same item. Sometimes you'll end up needing something old to synthesize a new item when it becomes available through your travels... if you sell the old stuff, it's sometimes hard to find it again. If you need money, there are 2 great ways to get it besides selling your stuff: Fight monsters, and steal & sell Ether (1000 gil per bottle.)

Now that's as close as I'll get to a spoiler.

My last rant: Yes, it's true... Final Fantasy 9 is a melting pot of all the first 8 FF games, and you *will* see a lot of things you've seen before... and even some references to characters and events from other games. If you can't deal with that, don't buy the game... IX isn't the breakthrough that VII was... but it's also not the disappointment VIII turned out to be. It's simply a creation from the legends at Square to reach a hand out to the new school ... and to win the hearts of the old school, as they prepare to head into yet another new frontier of gaming. Remember, this is the last game of its kind... ever. When 10 is released next year, everything is going to change.

Enjoy it while it lasts. I know I will.

im sorry,but the person who put down number 8 is servierly incorrect.i bought this game when it first came out and took it back a couple of days after due to the firm belief that it was indeed aimed at young children.everything about it was,well,crap.the boss battles were comically simple,with the player left baffled with the limited options you have.attack attack repeat until dead.ff8 was a masterpiece,like 7.there was a plot to it,it just took time to understand,it was more complex.......not a simple 'save the princess' story.the characters in this game were terrible.for children.im gonna pick this up again cheap,to give it another chance,it was years since i played it,but i dont think il change my opinion.

Am I the only one on this website who hates FF in general? This is like any other RPG, boring, tedious, overrated, and annoying. Why do people love FF so much? When I tried to play it I got bored because you know why, I had to walk around looking for stuff and teaming up with sorcerers, trolls, and mages. What the hell is a mage? Why so many medieval elements in it? You rarely engage an enemy, and when you do, you take turns fighting, how stupid!! Just do yourself a favor, play Star Wars:Shadows of the Empire or Halo. If you have a PSX, ditch it and get an N64 with Shadows. If you have a PS2, ditch it and get XBOX with Halo and a life.