Hello everyone! I'm here to rant about my favorite game, Final Fantasy IX, for the PS1.
Now, let's start a little about me, because simply saying that I like this game is a bit unfair. It IS my favorite game of all time. I know this play count isn't all that impressive, but I've played it a total of 4 times, fully. The rest of the times were me goofing around with the mini-games.
Also to clarify, this ISN'T my first Final Fantasy. My first was 7, annnnnnd, I kinda played it when I was too young (I think I first played it when I was 4, but actually played it when I was 8-9... either way, too young).
Now, why did I like this game? Let's pretend to analyse it completely, I'm not that qualified to review crap, but I will analyse it in my manner anyways.
--
Gameplay:
You explore "nice" areas, filled with nice colors and being wide in general. Using the left analog stick works, movement is fluid not block-y.
... yeah, you can tell I'm not supposed to be reviewing a thing. To be fair, it's a rant?
As for battle, it follows the classic Final Fantasy formula of turn-based battle. Enemy attacks you, your turn, so on and so forth.
As for your characters in battle, you still follow your classic Final Fantasy formula, where different people have different classes, such as "Thief, Knight, Black Mage, White Mage, etc.". This offers the characters have unique skills and varying stats, for example, your mage has a higher magic stat, and lower defense and attack, whereas your knight has a greater attack and defense. This makes different strategies that can be formed, which is pretty good in turn-based combat.
Later in the game as well (not too late, so don't be scared for spoilers), Steiner and Vivi have a joint attack, which is rather interesting gameplay-wise. Also, neither character is under-powered without the other, so they can still be used without the other, but it's a nice strategy offer.
Furthermore, I'm not completely sure this should go in this section, but the fact that you can choose the character names in it just makes you more involved.
Graphics:
For it's time (which happens to be 2000), I would say they are pretty nice. Obviously, they are not HD quality, as we didn't acquire that technology yet, but they are not overly blurry, and that's a plus. They also run smoothly, meaning the characters don't look awkward when they move, as though they are disjointing their bodies when they move.
As for in-game cinematic, they look absolutely gorgeous. The characters remain true to their in-game graphics, the environment looks... beautiful as well. When the game wants it to be, it will be vibrant, when it wants to be dark, it will be dark. Nothing is out of place. And I say they still look fluid, similar to the in-game graphics.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm somewhat biased that I'm saying this, but it does looks better than some of the games released today.
Music:
Praise. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!!!!!!!!!!
Nah, I'm just kidding.
I like the music for the most part, that is true. Music for the environment fits, music for the sad/happy scenes fit... but some of them are not the BEST things that I've heard. For one, I'm on the side that the battle music isn't one of my favorite in the series. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, I love it, A LOT. But, sadly it could have been better. I'm nit-picking at this point, but I find that the battle themes in each game had to do with the game itself (as it always should), and frankly, for the playfulness the game has in IX, we don't see that too reflected in the battle themes in that game.
Final boss music is still fun though, just... anyways, I'm trailing off. For the most part, it's great. But the battle themes... not my cup of tea.
If you don't mind, check some out. I'll indicate a spoiler alert attached to it if it contains too many spoilers attached to it.
Rose of May - One of my Favorites (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT)
Terra - One of my Favorites (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT)
Not Alone - FREAKING ACE (Definitely spoiler-filled, for the brave)
Festival of the Hunt - Also awesome
Battle Theme
Story:
It's pretty good. I mostly play games for it's story, so yeah. One of the main reasons why this game is one the Final Fantasy's I prefer, is because it is properly placed in a fantasy setup. Now, to be fair, NONE of the Final Fantasy's could happen in real life, and I haven't gotten to play all of the ones on the PS1 yet, but I found it had a nice fantasy aspect to it. The characters have... character in them.
Now, let me explain.
You know how there are characters these days that just seem like a cardboard cut-out? Well, I feel as though the characters in this game are not. Thankfully, we don't have overly sexualized characters (I like 'em, even though I'm a girl, but in story-focused games, they do not belong unless they are actually prostitutes) or overly-feminist characters (you know, the female that can do everything a man can, I'm not saying they can't, but I don't want a she-male).
The thief is a proper thief, the kids act like proper kids and the princess acts like a princess. They do not act out of character at any time (at least in my opinion), and they evolve during the game. No, not like Pokemon, but personality-wise. Character development. NICE.
I also like the little comedy tid-bits. It adds, the playfulness that the characters looks like they should have.
And you get mini-choices in the games in the dialog too. They don't affect the story line in a major way, but to be fair, it doesn't even happen during serious scenes, so it's not a crime that it doesn't affect it. I liked it.
There's a reason for everything in this game, and not "I'm just doing it for the ride".
Except... no. I'll let you discover that. It'd be unfair to let out a spoiler now.
Difficulty:
Sadly, I must say it's not the hardest in the franchise. As a child, I beat the game at level ~80, but nowadays, I can beat it at level ~55, without obtaining all the special items for my characters or getting all their skills.
Furthermore, there are ways to beat the game in ~12 hours, or at least reach a far area in the final dungeon in that time, as there is a reward for doing so. Also, there are playthroughs that show you that you can beat the game with ALL your characters at level one. It does require skill, but it still seems... sad.
However, there is an amount of difficulty, which is nice. After all, it's not a walk in the park. So, it's still fun.
Little Extras:
This above picture depicts one of the mini-games in the game, "Chocobo Hot and Cold". It's like a treasure-hunt minigame.
It's rather fun, and it's an opportunity to get good items for your characters if you get "deep" in the minigame, but there are downsides. At times, it is too sensitive. You will be THIS close to the object, but unless you specifically touch that pixel, you won't find it.
This is another minigame in the game, Tetra Master. It's an in-game card game that is rather addicting in my opinion.
You have cards with differing stats and they "attack" other cards in the direction of the arrows they have. The point of the game is to get the majority of the cards to become your color cards.
Problems with this minigame? Hmm... the only fault I can see is that they don't explain stats, but humans learn, so it's not that bad?
And this part, GOLD. If you wait on the menu screen for "so long", you get this little thing. It shows the main characters in the game with little quote that sort of describe them. I do not care, I love it. It's in the book/manual though. OH WELL.
Overall:
So we have on our hands, a game with great visuals, great storyline, great gameplay, for the most part great music, good difficulty and good extras. My rating of it?
9/10
It just... It's a good game. This is what a great Final Fantasy is like.
Alice
No comments:
Post a Comment