I can't deny that this game might have had less of an impact on me at different points in my life, but we're not at those points. Final Fantasy IX made me smile ear to ear and bawl ceaselessly both at the same time, not totally happy but not quite sad either.
I won't delve too deep into the story; I want to make a video about this game one day, about its characters, about its themes. The way the game juggles with identity particularly resonated with me and my current circumstances. There was nary a poor character in the bunch, though Amarant certainly didn't pull his weight the same way the others did. I feel as if he should have entered the story earlier, probably around the card tournament, and been a recurring antagonistic force so we could better understand his switch to the heroes' team. Freya, too, needed a little more to do in the late game. Her arc is important when you meet her and then basically irrelevant until the very end. I say this because she's fucking cool, an incredible design on top of being a total badass made her one of my favourites regardless of overall importance. No complaints with the other 6, even Quina was solid and served their purpose well as someone who was just their to enjoy good food.
Final Fantasy IX is quite possibly the most beautiful game I've ever played. I often had to stop and admire the densely crafted environments, of which there are an outstanding amount. Soaking these in with the often ethereal soundtrack was a pleasure which never let up. The areas only grew more fantastical, consistently stunning me with vistas I could not picture being realised as well outside of these pre-rendered dioramas. Each level is fully realised both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay. While these aren't exactly as complex as zelda dungeons, there's a satisfying level of interactivity that turns the world itself into its own character. It's a complete vision of a fantasy setting, one that isn't held back by its roots, but embraces and twists them into something totally unique.
This game doesn't excel in its combat, but in the supplmentary aspects of gameplay. You're rarely stuck with the same party for too long, the first disc doing an especially great job of shuffling everyone around in a way that keeps the basic low level combat interesting while also servicing the story and world. Seeing things from multiple perspectives really lends to how vast everything feels. This is aided by the Active Time Events, which are optional vignettes which let you see what other characters are up to during certain parts of the story. Sometimes they're vital to the plot, but more often than not they just add flavour to the characters through charming interactions. It got me wondering why most RPGs don't have a system like this as it adds so much for comparatively little work.
There's a lot to do on Gaia besides fighting enemies. You can play a card game (which is fun only for the collector aspect), mess around with Chocobos (which is one of the most involved quests in the game) or take on requests from various folk across the world. I must drill in on how full this makes the game feel, with so much effort and heart put into pieces of content that only a small percentage of players will see. Most of the time, rewards relate to equipment which make the characters stronger and while battles were rarely anything special, building everyone up was deeply engaging. The ultimate abilities you could earn were absolutely busted, but made the effort I put into getting them all the more worth it.
And yet, I've left so much unsaid. I can (and plan to!) talk about this game for hours, but much like the game itself, it's best not to get bogged down in the details. Some things are left unclear in the ending, others are barely expanded on, but the feelings it conveys are so enormous that I couldn't possibly be left wanting more. It's rare that I've been left so overwhelmed by the end of a game.
I won't delve too deep into the story; I want to make a video about this game one day, about its characters, about its themes. The way the game juggles with identity particularly resonated with me and my current circumstances. There was nary a poor character in the bunch, though Amarant certainly didn't pull his weight the same way the others did. I feel as if he should have entered the story earlier, probably around the card tournament, and been a recurring antagonistic force so we could better understand his switch to the heroes' team. Freya, too, needed a little more to do in the late game. Her arc is important when you meet her and then basically irrelevant until the very end. I say this because she's fucking cool, an incredible design on top of being a total badass made her one of my favourites regardless of overall importance. No complaints with the other 6, even Quina was solid and served their purpose well as someone who was just their to enjoy good food.
Final Fantasy IX is quite possibly the most beautiful game I've ever played. I often had to stop and admire the densely crafted environments, of which there are an outstanding amount. Soaking these in with the often ethereal soundtrack was a pleasure which never let up. The areas only grew more fantastical, consistently stunning me with vistas I could not picture being realised as well outside of these pre-rendered dioramas. Each level is fully realised both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay. While these aren't exactly as complex as zelda dungeons, there's a satisfying level of interactivity that turns the world itself into its own character. It's a complete vision of a fantasy setting, one that isn't held back by its roots, but embraces and twists them into something totally unique.
This game doesn't excel in its combat, but in the supplmentary aspects of gameplay. You're rarely stuck with the same party for too long, the first disc doing an especially great job of shuffling everyone around in a way that keeps the basic low level combat interesting while also servicing the story and world. Seeing things from multiple perspectives really lends to how vast everything feels. This is aided by the Active Time Events, which are optional vignettes which let you see what other characters are up to during certain parts of the story. Sometimes they're vital to the plot, but more often than not they just add flavour to the characters through charming interactions. It got me wondering why most RPGs don't have a system like this as it adds so much for comparatively little work.
There's a lot to do on Gaia besides fighting enemies. You can play a card game (which is fun only for the collector aspect), mess around with Chocobos (which is one of the most involved quests in the game) or take on requests from various folk across the world. I must drill in on how full this makes the game feel, with so much effort and heart put into pieces of content that only a small percentage of players will see. Most of the time, rewards relate to equipment which make the characters stronger and while battles were rarely anything special, building everyone up was deeply engaging. The ultimate abilities you could earn were absolutely busted, but made the effort I put into getting them all the more worth it.
And yet, I've left so much unsaid. I can (and plan to!) talk about this game for hours, but much like the game itself, it's best not to get bogged down in the details. Some things are left unclear in the ending, others are barely expanded on, but the feelings it conveys are so enormous that I couldn't possibly be left wanting more. It's rare that I've been left so overwhelmed by the end of a game.