Some games never grow old. The Final Fantasy series is definitely one of them. After the 9th addition the series went away from the PSX to focus more on the PS2 and now the PS3. But sometimes it’s really fun to re-live the classics. With Sony offering the older games on the PlayStation store maybe this is the time to get back to the roots and remind yourself why final fantasy is so great. But is part 9 worth playing all over again this year?
Story
Final fantasy 9 is the story about Zidane and Garnet (later named dagger). Zidane is a thief with the task to kidnap princess Garnet of Alexandria. It works but surprisingly Garnet wanted to escape the kingdom herself. Together they run away from queen Brahne. The queen meanwhile is building an army of mages using mist machines. As Zidane and Garnet continue their journey it turns out that queen Brahne wants her daughter back for the wrong reasons. And with her new army Garnet’s return seems inevitable.
The story is very good and definitely keeps you interested the whole way through. I soon adored the characters and the romance and tension between them. It makes you want to read the dialogues and follow the story like there’s no tomorrow. The style of graphics and story telling might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Like I mentioned earlier the story is controlled by dialogues and cut scenes. There’s no voice acting in the cutscenes or the dialogues, so you’ll be doing a lot of reading. And some may find it awkward that the cut scenes look so much better than the actual game, but it’s a trade off you make by playing this 2001 final fantasy title.
Gameplay
Like all final fantasy games before 2007 this game uses the turn based battle system. Basically you can tell a character what to do once its waiting time is over. Then after it attacked you need to wait some more before you can execute your next move. It works really well and the system allows a great deal of control without losing sight of your character’s moves. But you could argue that the lack of manual character movements leaves some level of tactics unused. And yes apart from two positions (front and back) your fighters will remain on the same position but I think the turn based system gives you enough control to thoroughly enjoy every battle.
Besides the battles you will be busy getting from town to town in order to complete the story. You can move freely most of the time but there’s little exciting to do apart from the main storyline. So your freedom will be limited to leveling and buying stuff, which is a missed opportunity.
Presentation
Final fantasy is known for great graphics and an even better soundtrack. Final fantasy 9 is no exception. First of all the graphics are about as good as it gets for a PS1 title. The characters are very well modeled and their interaction leaves little to be desired. The backgrounds aren’t animated like today’s games so you’re basically walking on a still image. It’s not really noticeable because the images fit perfectly and look great, but it leaves an obvious contrast between characters (animated) and the background (still).
About the soundtrack, it’s fantastic. The songs really fit. it completes the experience and sets the mood for every village or continent you go to. In fact the music is so good that buying the official CD is recommended for those who really enjoyed the story.
Conclusion
Final fantasy 9 is one of the greatest in the series. The story is good and the gameplay is as good as it gets for a PS1 game. But the lack of side-quests can be frustrating for some. Also worth noting is that the still backgrounds could be visually unappealing for some. Still with little vaults and a great story, final fantasy 9 is one of those games that are actually worth replaying in 2010.
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