Lost Classics: Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

Out of all the Playstation 1 Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy IX is perhaps my least favorite, although for old school fans, it’s perhaps the most memorable. While VII and VIII took the series in new directions with more futuristic settings and new gameplay mechanics, FF IX put an old school spin to the series modern look. While the game’s plotline seems more slapstick and cartoonish than the previous FF titles (and this is the main gripe I had with it), it’s still a good dedication to FF fans who may have felt alienated by the more recent entries in the series. With FF XIII hitting stores this past week, what better time to flashback to this blast from the past.

The main lead of FF XI is Zidane, a young thief. He and his allies become involved in a battle against the evil Queen Brahne. In classic RPG fashion however, you find out that Brahne is just an unwitting puppet for an even bigger villain, Kuja. The game contains many staples of early FF titles; the four crystals, characters classified by various classes (knight, thief, lancer, mage, etc), black mages with blue robes and yellow hats, and random encounters. Even the battle music, while it’s an original track, takes you back to the old days. That’s not to say that FF IX doesn’t have any new tricks. An active event system allows players to switch between different events when something else is going on, allowing you to see things from different viewpoints. The mognet subquest has you delivering mail to the moggles, and the card game from FFVIII has returned, although it’s simpler to play than last time. The plot is much more lighthearted in fare, to a fault almost. It may not be in epic in scale as VII and VIII, but RPG fans will nonetheless enjoy it.

FFXI represented the end of an era. FFX and XI were setting to once again take the franchise new directions, and FFXI was the last numbered Final Fantasy game for the PS1. Square’s effort closed out an already epic year for the company, and it bought back everything fans loved about the 16-bit franchise titles while still keeping things fresh.