A Final Fantasy Brimming With Identity, Heart And Passion
Disclaimer: I used Memoria/Moguri mod to play at 60fps with various tweaks to make the experience smoother
Final Fantasy IX is an excellent RPG that stands the test of time with its visually appealing art style and pre-rendered background; deep and thematic story about life, death, and friendship; likable and charming cast of characters; and a unique and memorable OST by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu. It is a love-letter to the series as a whole and a swan song of the series' creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi.
While I have high praise for IX, it comes with a few downsides. With the help of the Moguri mod, I wasn't able to experience the slow combat and uncontrollable nature of the Trance system but be warned that it does exist in the base, unmodded version. Some mini-games are more tedious than fun to go through especially if you're going for 100% achievement like I did. Lastly, I do think some parts like the final boss, the world-building, Amarant, etc could be expanded further, though I didn't mind as much with the context of the theme and message of the game.
Personally, I'm so happy I gave my first Final Fantasy a second playthrough in 2023 when I'm going through a period of difficulties in life. Its theme of finding your place in life and overcoming its difficulties via friendship and determination will forever be instilled in me as a person moving forward. Thank you Sakaguchi for creating a masterpiece!
111 hours and 100% Achievement later, I give my very first Final Fantasy an extremely biased... 5/5
Disclaimer: I used Memoria/Moguri mod to play at 60fps with various tweaks to make the experience smoother
Final Fantasy IX is an excellent RPG that stands the test of time with its visually appealing art style and pre-rendered background; deep and thematic story about life, death, and friendship; likable and charming cast of characters; and a unique and memorable OST by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu. It is a love-letter to the series as a whole and a swan song of the series' creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi.
While I have high praise for IX, it comes with a few downsides. With the help of the Moguri mod, I wasn't able to experience the slow combat and uncontrollable nature of the Trance system but be warned that it does exist in the base, unmodded version. Some mini-games are more tedious than fun to go through especially if you're going for 100% achievement like I did. Lastly, I do think some parts like the final boss, the world-building, Amarant, etc could be expanded further, though I didn't mind as much with the context of the theme and message of the game.
Personally, I'm so happy I gave my first Final Fantasy a second playthrough in 2023 when I'm going through a period of difficulties in life. Its theme of finding your place in life and overcoming its difficulties via friendship and determination will forever be instilled in me as a person moving forward. Thank you Sakaguchi for creating a masterpiece!
111 hours and 100% Achievement later, I give my very first Final Fantasy an extremely biased... 5/5