Final Fantasy IX Is 20 Years Old Today

Absolutely love the game! Easily the best JRPG there is

still the best in the series for me

I love this game! It holds a special place in my heart. I played it again a couple of years ago on my PS Vita and I didn't feel that I was playing such an old game. It sucked me in it's world like in the past. A true classic....and that music....

A good game but it's kind of forgettable, I don't remember most of it's characters, story, and the settings. I finished it on psone back then and liking it more than ff8.

I can still hear the clanking of Rusty. Belter of a game.

I've been a huge FF fan since the first one came out on the NES, and have played every one that was released as a new games in the US. 9 is easily, easily my least favorite of the bunch. It was just so lame, almost as if it were made for little kids. As a 22 year old at the time, it was a huge disappointment for me, after having loved the previous ones so much. Luckily, they got back on track, and X, X2 and 12 were all wonderful games......before things went off the rails.

I absolutely love this game. It was the first FF I did everything in. The chocobo game is still my fave in the series. So much about this game works. Although I hate the sneaking past that creature in the cage bit.

I used to like it a lot more when I was younger but the grindy steal mechanic and so much content being hidden behind that godforsaken Chocobo minigame do make it a bit grating to pick up sometimes, like many classic RPGs I'd also like if it had just a bit more in the way of customization. At least the modern releases helped with the slow load times and slow battle animations thanks to the faster loading and speed-up feature.

But still it's a classic for a good reason, the music is really good in this one and I find the world fun to explore.

Honestly better than 7 & 8 to me. The old school feel, the fantasy setting... seemed like a natural evolution of the games on the SNES. Amazing game

I need to get this for PS4, Ive only ever played a few hours but it didn't grab me like VII and VIII did back then

Damn. That does make feel old. I remember only finding out this was getting released the day before and scrambling to get some pocket money together to buy it ah good times.

@kyleforrester87 I was dosing off watching TV the night before and here comes the familiar crystal theme and release date. I had to double take, checked the date on the calendar then couldn't sleep for excitement. And this was before I was heavily buying magazines or had internet access. Fun times

Ahhhh Final Fantasy 9. To this day it remains not only my favourite final fantasy, but my favourite game of all time. I made lifelong friendships off the back of this release.

The characters, the story, THAT soundtrack. Just absolutely sublime. I still remember walking into my independent game store on release day and then playing for hours straight. I loved all of it. Chocobo hot and cold, tetra master (which i arguably enjoyed more than triple triad), collecting the 13 Stellazio Coins, Ipsen's castle. Vivi's harrowing tale, mognet. Just incredible.

The jump rope mini game can do one though 😂

Glad this game is being celebrated! I'm scouring the internet for fanfare of this all-timer!

I also managed to release an article just TWO days ago about the game's visual beauty, without realizing it was the game's anniversary today! :s

In case of interest to anyone!:https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-07-05-final-fantasy-9-and-the-picture-book-adventure-of-a-ps1-final-fantasy (p.s. apologies if in bad taste to post to elsewhere! I'm just high on FFIX hype!)

@OHB123 i read that on the weekend and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the excellent article. I had always assumed the ise of continua was an error in translation until i read your article 😅

I'm all for people talking about this wonderful game as much as possible 😃

I love FF9. Easily the best in the series! I know a lot of people say FFX (and it's my second favourite so 100% see why) but honestly I think FF9 was the best.

Pokemon started my love of RPGs but FF9 solidified it. I hate how underestimated this game is and how much preferential treatment FF7 gets (I understand why but I'm just sick of it). FF9 is exactly what the title suggests. A fantasy. It's that moment when you closed your eyes as a kid and thought "what would it like to be a knight".

The game does get dark as the characters get more involved in the war, but I like that it keeps a bit more of a comical side while acknowledging the darkness rather than constantly hammering you over the head about how so many people are dead and how high the stakes are.

Don't get me wrong I'm fully aware that this game has some issues. Like some odd (and you can even argue rushed) character development, the steal mechanic and the amount of times you have to play chocobo hot n cold, but I can think of no better RPG to introduce someone to the genre.

Sadly though you can tell how little thought and care went into the HD version. Controls are awful (especially for the Chocobo Hot n Cold minigame), music keeps restarting, cutscenes are super choppy, map right in your face as opposed to in the corner. It's just a massive disappointing mess. FF9 deserved so much better, especially since none of these were issues in the original game.

My favourite game of all time.

My favourite game of all time and the last true FF before the series committed suicide. Hands down one of the best and most fulfilling stories in a JRPG. They just don't make em like they used to.

My son has been playing this for the past few weeks, about 2 hours a night w/ the rest of the family watching. Last night he saved at the last save point so he's pretty much done.

I played it on release in the US and finished it. Still have my old save on my PS1 same place about the same level and time as he is. (I checked, he's playing the PS1 discs on PS3)

I have to say, it's not as bad as I remember it, but it's still pretty bad. We decided it was put out by the "B team", if Squaresoft had such a thing back then, it's nowhere near as good as 7 or 8. And the card game is downright unfathomable. Which is nuts b/c triple triad in 8 is great.

Funny thing, I don't remember any of it, none of it, after the card game battle in Treno. I honestly thought I stopped playing, maybe I couldn't get past that, or I bought my Dreamcast then so I just gave up on FF8 b/c I disliked it that much. But my 2 save points say otherwise. But I really don't remember any of what I am seeing. Only that the end is almost step for step the end of Xenoblade Chronicles a decade later, so Monolith must have liked it.

The only positive I have ever taken away from this game is Vivi, and he still rocks. It's his story, his game. Zidane is annoying, as is Steiner, the Jar Jar Binks of FF games. Freya and Redd barely exist. Dagger is pretty much useless and easily replaceable w/ Eiko, who is at least funny.

I will say, the first 2 discs were better than I remembered, tight, fast paced, stuff happening, I was beginning to think I misjudged the game. Then disc 3 happened, basically a Keystone Cops movie. Did they get a different director? Disc 4 is just boss rush mode.

I'm glad you all liked it, FF was my favorite series back then, w/ FF10 still being really good and FF12 was at least fun, but FF9, nah.

@Rob_230 Continua is my new favorite word to overuse!

Where does FF9 rank in terms of difficulty?

@kyleforrester87 Funny gif, but I just don't get the game, sorry.

@kyleforrester87 I should have mentioned that I'm playing the HD version on xbox since it's out on game pass. So no bug fixes sadly. Controls are still irritating though whether you use D-Pad or not. If it didn't have all these issues I'd buy it on Switch in a heartbeat.

At least the speed boost is making up (sorta) for the lack of good controls in the mini-game.

Nice now they can release a physical edition.

@kyleforrester87 Atleast we got FF15 instead of these great games like FF7/8/9. 😢

Recently restarted this game. Had been putting it off because I thought the graphics wouldn't hold up but the remastered version looks great.

When it was first released, it instantly became my favorite of the series. I remember intending to just play for a few hours when I got it, but stayed up until sunrise when I was well into the second disc. Since then, others have moved past it. Some from before, some from after. When I tried out the PS4 release, I had forgotten just how slow the battles were. But the first two discs of IX are the smoothest FF ride to this date.

@kyleforrester87 What can I tell ya, there's no accounting for taste. 😎

@kyleforrester87 Would it make you feel any better if I told you my favorite Sonic game was Sonic Adventure and my favorite Starfox game was Starfox Adventure?

Just to give you an idea of what you're dealin' with. 🤷‍♂️

I adore Final Fantasy 9, what a truly wonderful game it is. I've not tried the PS4 version, will have to give it a go.
There's so much to love about this game but the comedy and jokes in it just land so well. And I really felt the emotions of the characters, the writing, music and directing was superb.

Wow the game is almost old as me

@kyleforrester87 True, the autosave is a lifesaver!

@kyleforrester87 So my son finished FF9 last night. And when you finish FF9 you really finish FF9, none of the buttons would work on the game over screen. Which does explain my last save point 20 years ago. So final thoughts.

Kuja final boss fight does have some awesome battle music, sounded like In a Gada Da Vita by Iron Butterfly.

The scene w/ Zidane in the Ifa tree, which my wife remembered, was very cool, like Disney’s Tarzan. And of course the end is very touching. Necron makes no sense as a final boss, might as well have brought in Master Hand from Super Smash Bros.

I think if the game skipped disc 3 I may have enjoyed it a little more, but Quina is no Caith Sith.

And I thought it was the "B" team b/c it came out only a year before X, so I figured it must have taken the A team a few years to make that epic, but apparently only 100 people in a year. Which is insane. Nobody could make a new game like that on brand new next gen hardware in only a year. Nobody. But you are correct.

https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/07/07/looking-back-on-final-fantasy-x-with-producer-yoshinori-kitase

Still don't like it, Rinoa is my woman, but I can understand why other people do.

A fantastic game that had characters that you couldn't help but fall in love with..(vivi).However Final Fantasy VI will always be my fave followed by VII and then either this one or VIII.
I bought this again on Ps4 when it was released,but rage quit on the skipping trophy and haven't gone back lol

Ouch 🧓🏻"back in my day we used to grind grand dragons. You whippersnappers with your 3D graphics and real time combat grumble grumble ouch my lumbago etc".

@kyleforrester87 Sorry for the 2 month old reply but does time even matter in 2020? 🤣

"The ending must be my favourite ending in any video game, it wraps everything up perfectly and about as happily as you could want."

"I do tend to find FF8 fans don’t care much for 9, and vice versa!"

That would explain it, I think FF8 is still my favorite video game ending. Not just the use of the handcam but how the ending ties back to the scene in the game when Rhinoa and Squall dance, which is my favorite scene in any video game. Probably looks like garbage now but it was a WOW moment in 1998.

And here's what's really funny. I would much rather have FF16 look like 9 than 8, much less 15, I am so sick of that boy band trope. Give me some FANTASY in my Final Fantasy games. Kimarhi Ronso from 10 and Fran from 12. Enough w/ the k-pop boys.

Every FF game needs a Vivi. It just does.

@kyleforrester87 "Oh well, maybe they’ll surprise us with 17."

Surprise my grandkids maybe. After half a dozen replies in that other thread I was just thinking - man glad I like those Xenoblade games, I really don't have to care about FF anymore.

I'm just sticking w/ the color from now on.