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Square's throwback to the classic Final Fantasies is possibly one of the best

Final Fantasy IX was the last FF game to be released on the Playstation, but more than just that, it was the last FF game that adheres to its roots. After the more new age and sci-fi-driven games we know as Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, Square decided to go back to its roots and deliver a game that felt more in line with Final Fantasy IV and VI. The crystals are back, and the sci-fi, new age stuff is gone. But there's a lot more to it than just that. FF9 was released in 2000, and was overlooked at the time because the Playstation 2 was about to be released. The game stretches across four discs; I was expecting two or three, but four! However, within those four discs, we find an amazing game that lines up with what has always made Final Fantasy great.

The story goes like this: the gang of thieves known as Tantalus kidnap Princess Garnet of Alexandria during one of their plays (they perform plays and steal). The funny thing is, Garnet wants to be kidnapped, being tired of doing nothing at the castle, so she willingly goes with her captor, a young thief named Zidane (who has a monkey tail). Before they can escape, though, the captain of the knights of Pluto--named Steiner--manages to jump on the airship. A black mage named Vivi also joins Tantalus simply out of curiosity. The airship crashes in a dark forest and the four have to work together. From there we slowly learn that Queen Brahne (Garnet's mother) is behind some kind of destructive plan, using black mages as her weapons. But the real villain is Kuja, a young man with immense magical power.

The story is great. I wanted to keep playing to see what would happen. There are eight characters in all, plus two temporary characters you can use a few times throughout the game, but the real stand-outs are Zidane, Dagger (Garnet changes her name to this), Steiner, and Vivi. The dialogue between these characters is very good and extremely humorous at times. For the entire first disc, Steiner cannot cope with the fact that he's helping Zidane, who is a thief; his loyalty to Dagger is like a dog's loyalty to its owner, and Zidane constantly picks on him, calling him "Rusty." Dagger struggles with the evil decisions of her mother and what she should do about it. Vivi has his own personal struggles, especially after discovering that black mages were made in a factory and will eventually stop working altogether.

Quina is easily the worst character in the game. You're not sure if "it" is a "he" or "she," being a strange creature with a huge tongue. Her motivation for joining you is so she can find different kinds of food to eat (she's a chef). She disappears shortly after you get her when another character is introduced, and you won't be able to use her for awhile--as if they knew you wouldn't want to use her. However, all of the other characters are good, although the best are the four I mentioned earlier.

Battles in FF9 are turn-based, just as in all FF games. The Active Time Battle system is also utilized, a FF staple. What sets FF9 apart from FF7 and FF8 in the battles is the fact that we get to use four characters in battle! FF7 and 8 only allowed for three, and FF10 and on has also only allowed for three, but here we can use four, just as classic FF games did! In order to do this, they had to scale down the character models, being shorter than those of FF7 and 8, but it didn't bother me one bit.

Each character has unique abilities in battle depending on their class. Zidane is a thief, so he can steal; Vivi is a black mage; Dagger is a white mage and can also summon eidolons; Steiner can perform special sword attacks; Freya is a dragoon, able to jump and use dragoon-specific attacks, etc. Some attacks can even be combined, such as Vivi and Steiner's abilities, allowing Steiner to use magical sword attacks such as Fire Sword or Bio Sword. Once again, Quina's special ability in battle is useless, being "Eat." But in order to eat an enemy, they have to be very low in HP, which is difficult to know.

FF9's most unique feature in battle is Trance, a temporary ultra-powerful state which each character will experience every now and then. Just below the ATB bar is a Trance bar which slowly fills up; once it does, that character will change appearance and begin to glow. Their attacks will increase in strength and for some characters, they will have new attacks. For example, when Zidane transforms, he will have a new ability called "Dyne," which gives him several powerful attacks. Trance is awesome, but since it happens randomly, it's often wasted in an easy battle. My guys never hit Trance during a tough boss battle, when I actually needed it.

After battles, you'll receive experience points and GP (which is FF currency). However, boss battles will not give you any experience points! Why? This makes boss battles seem pointless other than to continue the story. Characters will also occasionally receive new abilities, which you can equip on them. These abilities are similar to relics in FF6, except these ones you can equip way more than just two. These include things such as Clear-Headed (impervious to confuse), Jelly (impervious to petrify), Auto-potion (use a potion automatically after being hurt), and many others.

The graphics look great, and the cutscenes look even better, easily being the best-looking cutscenes of all the PS1 FF games. In fact, they hold up quite well today. Towns and dungeons are brimming with detail. Many towns in the game are very expansive, with several places to go and people to talk to.

       The Airship Escape cutscene is one of my favorites in FF9

FF9 also has a feature called Quick Time Events, which pop up every now and then, allowing you to see what's happening with another character at that exact moment. For example, you'll walk into a town and the party will all go separate ways. You'll control Zidane, of course, but when you walk to the next screen, Quick Time Events will flash at the botton corner of the screen; press select and you can choose which one to see. One may be for Vivi and another for Dagger, showing you what they're doing. It's a neat feature which is used throughout the game effectively.

There can be long stretches of story at times, which is fine because the story is good and the dialogue is fun to read. When you start disc 3, there'll be nothing but story for an hour or more before you finally move on to go to a dungeon. Story should be expanded on since discs allow for such things, and FF9 doesn't have any shortage of it.

Dungeons in the game are not long or difficult for the most part. There is one dungeon where you have to light certain candles to make statues disappear and doorways appear, which was a big pain, but "that one dungeon" is to be expected in a FF game. Some boss battles may happen unexpectedly, but for the most part, they're not difficult. In fact, I died more in normal battles than boss battles. Some enemies are huge and very powerful.

Amidst the story and dungeons, FF9 offers some variety. One main side thing is the card game Tetra, which you can play with people throughout the game by going up to them and pressing the square button to enage them in a card battle. The game involves cards' positions and numbers, which can be tricky and confusing at times. I avoided the card game altogether, but one section of the game forces you to win in a Tetra tournament. I got lucky, thankfully, but they shouldn't force you to do something which should strictly be an optional part of the game. Some gamers may really like the card game, but others, like me, will not be interested in it.

Besides the card game, FF9 will also surprise you every now and then with little mini-game-type sections. One part has you running from a giant monster; if he catches you, you have to fight him. Another part has King Cid (who is in the form of a frog) trying to sneak over to a key, but he must remain motionless when a caged monster looks his way. This can be tricky, but was a nice change of pace.

As always, the soundtrack for FF9 is exceptional, being composed by the masterful Nobuo Uematsu. Not every song is a winner, but many stand out and are memorable. Instrumentation is used very well with a huge variety of instruments being used. Many of the themes are very exotic and unique. The main theme for the game, Melodies of Life, is especially amazing. Uematsu never disappoints when it comes to main themes. Check out some of the music I've posted below if you enjoy FF themes.

Final Verdict--4 Stars: Recommended

FF9 is a great RPG. It has everything that is essential in a good RPG: good story, great characters, enjoyable battle system, solid layout of towns and dungeons, exceptional music, and even graphics which hold up pretty well to this day. If you enjoy FF4 or FF6, you will enjoy this one as well. I think Square knew that they were going to take the series in a different direction with FF10, so they decided to make FF9 their swansong. It's the last of the "classic" Final Fantasy games. It may not be as good as FF4 or 6, but it's still a game that deserves our attention and respect.

Join me every Saturday as we take a look back at all kinds of retro games, good and bad.