The Discussion Thread: The Greatest Games Event 2017 - FINISH YOUR LISTS

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#20 Final Fantasy IX

 

Why did it make the list?

Final Fantasy IX just does everything right.  There are several games on my list (including Final Fantasy games) which are so awesome in one way, that you overlook their other flaws.  Like FFX has an awesome story and characters, but the world is fairly linear.  And FFXII has a huge world to explore, but the story is kinda meh.  FFIX is probably not the best game at any one thing, but it just does everything right: characters, story, combat, exploration, music, graphics, etc....  I even love the minigames like Chocobo Hot and Cold.  FFIX only has one minor flaw which is its card game.  But that is kind of like the mole on Marilyn Monroe's face.  It is a tiny blemish on any otherwise perfect game.

 

Original experience:

This game was an amazing experience when it first came out.  To compare it with FFVII, I was totally blown away by the graphics of FFVII when it first came out, and yet FFIX has graphics that are so much better.  It almost looks like these games are from 2 different consoles, because FFIX looks so much better.  Also FFVII had an impressive 3 discs included while FFIX had 4 discs!  This game is massive.  But more importantly than the graphics was that this was simply a very charming orthodox fantasy RPG crafted to perfection.  After VI, VII, and VIII it seemed like Final Fantasy was going to a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid.  But FFIX brought the franchise back to its roots and made an awesome pure fantasy game.  

 

How does it hold up today?

It still holds up amazingly well.  I replay this game every 5 - 10 years, and I love it every time I play through it.  Usually, one of my pet peeves with PS1/N64 era games is that their graphics look incredibly dated.  This is not true of FFIX.  It still looks decent even today.  Also this game has a level of charm to it that is just hard to describe.  My daughter sometimes wants to play retro games that are before her time, and the game she most wants us to play together is FFIX.  I believe she really loves the Vivi character without even having played the game.  I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a well crafted, turn based, pure fantasy RPG.