this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
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I love a lot about IX. However the combat is much slower than the other games. IIRC, an attack has to complete entirely and the character returns before the next character goes. While in VIII, the next queued attacker starts moving before the last one finishes their movements. Additionally, IX has 4 characters in battle. If you're bring strategic, it can be very slow moving. Also, every boss has a valuable steal, but chances of stealing it are low. So if you take the bait, you will spend a lot of time repeatedly trying to steal. Also, your abilities are tied to your equipment unless you grind out enough points to unlock them, meaning you either keep bad equipment, upgrade and abandon abilities, or grind until the abilities are unlocked.
Also, the chibi-style art isn't for everyone. I had more issues with 7's style. But it's a preference.
Style is probably the biggest thing IX has going for it, maybe character writing. The main plot wasn't gripping or novel, you've already touched on some gameplay missteps, and Tetra Master is garbage.
Tetra Master is almost a lot of fun. It just needs to turn down the RNG and not be so mysterious with digit meanings.
I liked the story. Although most of the substance is late-game, which is common for FF games. But I thought it was pretty solid.
Character writing is definitely top-tier. The style is perfect for PS1 too. I think it has aged the best of the PS1 games.
Needs more than that to compare favorably against Triple Triad.
Kuja fell very flat for me. Relation to Zidane is retreading old ground, design is obviously trying to evoke Sephiroth, motivation seemed generically evil. The stuff with the Black Mages and Vivi was great (possibly just because Vivi is a top tier character and his innocence juxtaposed against the tragedy helps it hit). The Genome stuff feels awfully close to the Sephiroth clone stuff, right on down to the lead protagonist full of false memories. The Terra/Gaia angle is kinda cool.
Heartily agree on aging the best, visually. The stylized fantasy aesthetic gives it a pleasant timelessness.
Since you mention it, I do see some similarities with VII. Although I think IX does a lot of it better than VII. Kuja actually has a connection with Zidane and rooted in jealousy. Where Cloud's obsession is the opposite and rooted in revenge (the clone part in particular ending up being a false flag for Cloud).
I think a lot of the similarities are superficial. The actual story is quite different. But it's interesting to see common tropes in Final Fantasy games. Lost memories, for example, is extremely common.