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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - How does FF9 hold up today?

Jumpin said:
morenoingrato said:

I am ashamed to say I've never played the game. I enjoy RPGs and I was thinking of getting it. Technically, how does the game hold up? Is it grindy or does it get tedious at some point?

I know I'd be in for some top-tier storyline, great characters and amazing music. I just want to know how it plays.

Edit: I'm also reluctant to check reviews because of spoilers.

IMO, it starts off quite nicely. But then the game falls apart after around the 15-20 hour mark, and never really recovers. There are some nice cities in the early part, but most of the later game is desolate. So if you don't plan to finish the game, it is a good one to pick up.

It doesn't quite feel as grand an experience as a real Final Fantasy game. It's highly conservative, it feels a bit like a genericization of earlier FF themes, which I personally was not a fan of. The characters are kind of bland in that there isn't really much to build on, they don't have internal conflicts, aside from one who struggles with some existential issues... which, are of the Pinocchio/Replicant sorts - and already done dozens of times before, and FAR better.

The story was a little on the bland side, lacking much originality in plot mechanics. It is not on the level of other Final Fantasy games, and is probably more comparable to games in the Breath of Fire series.

To be a bit positive, the game is very solidly built.
Solidly built, but also incredibly reserved. While other entries in the series tend to add a lot of mechanics and are bravely creative with plot and character arcs, FF9 comes off as very ordinary and reserved, not trying anything new. 

It's solid, but craven. It's not a leader, but a follower. It's well crafted, but not a work of art.

I think it's still a good game, but (excluding NES FF2, which we shall never speak of again) it is the only FF game released prior to FF11 that I didn't fall in love with.

 

Pros:
* Solid gameplay and battle system
* Pleasant art, although a bit cartoony

Cons:
* On the bland side
* Horrendous pacing in the second and third acts
* Characters lack internal conflict (except Vivi, and even that feels a little contrived)
* It's uninspired/wooden/generic

Man sorry to disagree with you, but the chars all have internal conflict and self discovery. Perhaps you didn't pay much attention to the story or have forgotten some of it.



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think-man said:
You should be ashamed!! It's not only one of the best games ever made, it's the best FF game of all time :D

Nahh, FFVII and FFVIII both blow it out of the water. FFIX doesn't suck you into its world the way that, say, FFVII does. I hate to sound cliche, but FFVII had that quote at the back of its box for a reason...."it's, truly....quite possibly the greatest game ever made." And, if Square can do what Capcom brilliantly does and translate the game PERFECTLY from PS1 to PS4, then it could truly be the greatest thing ever conceived. But, I mean....to do this it would truly have to surpass the original and it's easier to do so with a MUCH shorter game like RE2 due to much less of a storyline.

I really enjoyed FFIX for what it was. A good game. But what FFVII and FFVIII did at that time just blew me out of the water...playing FFIX just felt like a step back for me somehow. It just didn't have that same grand, "epic" feel for me. I just didn't care for Zidane the way I did Cloud or Squall. I wish I could say it is a better game than the previous two, but...I don't know. It's not just about gameplay mechanics for me. The whole atmosphere, the "feels" have to be there.

It's the same reason why I think Shadow of the Colossus for ME is the greatest game created. I can't explain why something just feels so grand and just so right. That's the beauty of it. For whatever reason, SotC just speaks to me. I just care about that world and everything about it THAT much. 

Last edited by StreaK - on 14 February 2019

How well is the game ported? I assume the 4:3 aspect ratio is maintained, but I'm hoping they have some sort of "pixel-perfect" mode. I much prefer that over stretching the image or adding extra post-processing effects to try and smooth the image. Same with in-game text. Square seems to like changing all of the game's text to run at a different resolution on top of the game, if you know what I mean by this. It's hard to describe, but I'd want it to look exactly as it did on the PS1.



Does this have the same quirks as the Steam and PS4 versions, like the weird menus and cheats? Also, can you quicksave? That's important for portable play with a game this big.



I played it a few months back and it's still very good. I highly recommend it



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Its a good, solid jrpg. My advice is to ignore people who say its the greatest game ever, that kind of hype can leave you very disappointed if you get off to a bad start. Just play it naturally the first time. You will miss loads but it won't prevent you from progressing. Its pretty straight forward, nothing complex so I doubt you'll struggle.



RaptorChrist said:
How well is the game ported? I assume the 4:3 aspect ratio is maintained, but I'm hoping they have some sort of "pixel-perfect" mode. I much prefer that over stretching the image or adding extra post-processing effects to try and smooth the image. Same with in-game text. Square seems to like changing all of the game's text to run at a different resolution on top of the game, if you know what I mean by this. It's hard to describe, but I'd want it to look exactly as it did on the PS1.

Compared to the PS1 version, in my opinion, it looks terrible. The pre rendered areas suffer a lot and what was once beautiful is now a muddy mess. The polygonal stuff fares better with redone textures but they look off to me. Like some odd emulator filter. The old PS1 wobbly polygons have been fixed but I swear the game is skipping frames of animation occasionally. The battle menu has been redone and I don't like it as much but it's not a big deal.

Aside from visuals, there is still the music reset bug and there is no analog control. The analog stick just gives the 8 way movement of the d-pad and in FFIX that means those 8 directions aren't consistent from screen to screen. I find it awkward and although the game is still playable, it's a sorry effort when the PS1 original had nailed the analog control. There are other small changes but overall its still FFIX so it's still good. I just think it's absurd that Square gives us this mobile port instead of something better. It could have been worse though, they have other ports of classic games in worse shape than this.



IMO most of the pre-ps2 3D FF games don't hold up very well. Even a remaster of these probably wouldn't look very good. They would need full remakes, like the one FF7 is getting.

Though FF is on of my favorite game franchises, contrary to many other FF fans, FFIX is one of my least favorite. Still an ok game though.

Last edited by dharh - on 14 February 2019

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NobleTeam360 said:
I want to get it but 20.99 for this game seems overpriced. I'll wait for a sale.

Agreed, that being said as soon its on sale below $20 I will probably buy it. 



Landale_Star said:
RaptorChrist said:
How well is the game ported? I assume the 4:3 aspect ratio is maintained, but I'm hoping they have some sort of "pixel-perfect" mode. I much prefer that over stretching the image or adding extra post-processing effects to try and smooth the image. Same with in-game text. Square seems to like changing all of the game's text to run at a different resolution on top of the game, if you know what I mean by this. It's hard to describe, but I'd want it to look exactly as it did on the PS1.

Compared to the PS1 version, in my opinion, it looks terrible. The pre rendered areas suffer a lot and what was once beautiful is now a muddy mess. The polygonal stuff fares better with redone textures but they look off to me. Like some odd emulator filter. The old PS1 wobbly polygons have been fixed but I swear the game is skipping frames of animation occasionally. The battle menu has been redone and I don't like it as much but it's not a big deal.

Aside from visuals, there is still the music reset bug and there is no analog control. The analog stick just gives the 8 way movement of the d-pad and in FFIX that means those 8 directions aren't consistent from screen to screen. I find it awkward and although the game is still playable, it's a sorry effort when the PS1 original had nailed the analog control. There are other small changes but overall its still FFIX so it's still good. I just think it's absurd that Square gives us this mobile port instead of something better. It could have been worse though, they have other ports of classic games in worse shape than this.

Sounds like the same music reset bug that happened with the FFX remaster. I never actually finished FF9 (I think I got part-way through Disk 2 as a kid), but I may look for another method of playing through this one.