Yeah, that's why I can't give it the title. Nothing about it stands out so much as VII, X etc. it's just a really great and consistent game. VI is that but a massive step up at the time and really epic.
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Is Final Fantasy IX the most universally beloved Final Fantasy within the fanbase?
- Thread starter JohnF
- Start date
Not my favorite, but it's a very, VERY GOOD Final Fantasy game! Probably my third favorite (after FFVI and FFVII).
There was some by the post-FFVII FF fanbase. Literally, FFVII is now remembered fondly by most, if not all FF fans in general, but right after FFVII was released and through the release of FFVIII, there was a group of post-FFVII fanboys that were INSUFFERABLE. They basically acted as if the series should just stick to sci-fi Nomura-worlds and that Medieval FF should be left in the past. Seeing FFIX being different peeved them off. Funny thing, the series has bounced between settings, and sure, medievalism has been mainly reserved for the MMORPG games, it hasn't been abandoned as a setting. I think a lot of those old fanboys have generally come to terms with that.
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It's certainly a very good game but I'd say that is not on my top 5 numbered FFs.
I didn't like the MC, actually I dislike half the party. The majority of character design also doesn't appeal to me very much. Trance and progression through equipment were also meh.
Some characters are amazing however and backgrounds and music are excellent (melodies of life sucks though).
I didn't like the MC, actually I dislike half the party. The majority of character design also doesn't appeal to me very much. Trance and progression through equipment were also meh.
Some characters are amazing however and backgrounds and music are excellent (melodies of life sucks though).
Last numbers we had were that it was around 5.5m. That's like half the sales compared to the popular games, (VII, VIII, X, and XV.)
I mean, I hear it constantly critizised for it's slow battles. It kind of blows my mind they waste so much of your time waiting for that damn intro to finish.
I agree with this as well. I've seen the arguments that say it wasn't all that safe but to me it felt like a return to the well, especially considering there were far more sword and sorcery RPGs at the time than anything else. I don't like VIII at all personally but it was a lot more bold in terms of actual unique setting and qualities.
I had all kinds of issues with it, and by the time I was in the final dungeon, I just was ready for it to be done.
Replaying the mobile remaster changed my opinion on it, as did the additional twenty years of gaming experiences. But it's still not in my top 5 for the series.
Replaying the mobile remaster changed my opinion on it, as did the additional twenty years of gaming experiences. But it's still not in my top 5 for the series.
It's one of my least liked entries in the franchise.
The game should be good, but technically it's lacking to the detriment of my enjoyment. Insanely long loading times, 15 fps world map, high input lag, and the fast forward function in the modern ports is woefully lacking.
The game should be good, but technically it's lacking to the detriment of my enjoyment. Insanely long loading times, 15 fps world map, high input lag, and the fast forward function in the modern ports is woefully lacking.
I liked it when I first played it but I tried a re-play a little while ago and found it overly twee for my tastes-- I much prefer the weirdness of 7 and 8 these days.
I played it for the first time (PS4 version) just prior to FF7R's release, with my wife who adored the game when it originally came out but had never revisited.
First offense is it's insanely ugly. I know I can't get too mad at the game itself, I more than understand the limitations of PS1 pre-rendered backgrounds. However there are apparently PS4 exclusive problems with the quality that I didn't know about until playing it. Identifying what things are supposed to be in these backgrounds is a chore. By comparison the FF8 remaster which we just started, is a lot easier on the eyes. I don't know how they thought this was okay.
But even ignoring the visual problems, it's got a lot of things working against it. The gameplay is excruciatingly slow. Transitioning into battles and the battles themselves take ages without fast forward (bless them for including this), but leaving that on makes traversal and properly engaging battles harder. So even that became an annoying back and forth task. The battles themselves just aren't anything to rave about, and don't get me started on stealing the good stuff from bosses.
I couldn't tell you what's good about the story, it's overly cutesy and generic. The character designs are all annoying to look at except for Vivi. She couldn't believe how poorly it aged from her memory and I was just ready for it to be over.
I honestly don't know why we didn't just quit, I wish we had.
First offense is it's insanely ugly. I know I can't get too mad at the game itself, I more than understand the limitations of PS1 pre-rendered backgrounds. However there are apparently PS4 exclusive problems with the quality that I didn't know about until playing it. Identifying what things are supposed to be in these backgrounds is a chore. By comparison the FF8 remaster which we just started, is a lot easier on the eyes. I don't know how they thought this was okay.
But even ignoring the visual problems, it's got a lot of things working against it. The gameplay is excruciatingly slow. Transitioning into battles and the battles themselves take ages without fast forward (bless them for including this), but leaving that on makes traversal and properly engaging battles harder. So even that became an annoying back and forth task. The battles themselves just aren't anything to rave about, and don't get me started on stealing the good stuff from bosses.
I couldn't tell you what's good about the story, it's overly cutesy and generic. The character designs are all annoying to look at except for Vivi. She couldn't believe how poorly it aged from her memory and I was just ready for it to be over.
I honestly don't know why we didn't just quit, I wish we had.
There are moments of cuteness with it's whimsical theater-like moments of interpersonal interactions, but I don't think the story is "cutesy". It starts off as a story of a large-scale war that includes two summon-based genocides (Cleyra being destroyed by Odin, Lindblum being devastated by Atomos) and an attempted third (Bahamut nuking Alexandria). The queen is using an army of soon-to-be sentient beings as her front line troops, who have been created with an intentionally short shelf life so they die shortly after learning they are real. The same queen is also attempting to recapture the princess so they can perform a ritual sacrifice to extract more weapons of mass destruction.
This is all just stuff off of the top of my head. There are definitely some bleak moments in the game.
No.
Lots of people don't like FF9. It's one of my least favorites, and probably the only one other than III and XIII that I only finished once. The game is super slow and tedious and I absolutely hate the deformed style character design. Just ugly IMO. Atmosphere didn't capture me at all, either. glad others like it, though. With FF there seems to be something for everyone.
But yeah I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't like 6 or 14: Stormbringers. My all time faves too.
Lots of people don't like FF9. It's one of my least favorites, and probably the only one other than III and XIII that I only finished once. The game is super slow and tedious and I absolutely hate the deformed style character design. Just ugly IMO. Atmosphere didn't capture me at all, either. glad others like it, though. With FF there seems to be something for everyone.
But yeah I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't like 6 or 14: Stormbringers. My all time faves too.
Ah yes, the classic "planet attempts to consume another planet" storyline. I've lost count of how many times I've seen that tired trope.
It's typically less likely to be badmouthed, but I'd say that has more to do with less people paying attention to it than being anywhere close to being "the most universally beloved".
For me, the excessively slow combat overloaded with negative status effects you can be inflicted with (and Trance plain sucking, by and large) drags everything else down.
For me, the excessively slow combat overloaded with negative status effects you can be inflicted with (and Trance plain sucking, by and large) drags everything else down.
I don't think there is ONE universally beloved FF game. People are constantly bickering over their favorite entry on this site and every entry has it's fair share of detractors.
Nostalgia is also a thing. I grew up with NES and SNES games and I tend to love them more than the later entries for instance.
If spinoff counts though I would say Tactics seems to be liked. Outside of the solo boss that can scrap your save it's kind of difficult to find any popular flaws with it.
The more games you play the more you realize most entries in the series didn't age that well and were heavily flawed too. In particular IX had pretty poor performance, a worse cardgame than VIII , slow battles with an opening camera pan and slow ATB gauge and boring minigames.
Nostalgia is also a thing. I grew up with NES and SNES games and I tend to love them more than the later entries for instance.
If spinoff counts though I would say Tactics seems to be liked. Outside of the solo boss that can scrap your save it's kind of difficult to find any popular flaws with it.
The more games you play the more you realize most entries in the series didn't age that well and were heavily flawed too. In particular IX had pretty poor performance, a worse cardgame than VIII , slow battles with an opening camera pan and slow ATB gauge and boring minigames.
No standout? Safe? Vivi's story is argueably the most thought provoking thing in the entire series lol.
Best Soundtrack. Best Characters. Best World.
Battles..... are ok. Slow but ok. This can be fixed with boosters on newer releases though. I actually love character progression through equipment (also why I love FFTA) but there are very few abilities really ever worth using outside of magic so it's a bit of a waste.
Also got some amazing side-quests. Mognet and chocographs are so unique and fun. Made Save Points and the Overworld Map have more depth to them than any other game... maybe ever? (not to be hyperbolic but most games have almost nothing on either of those so to have something fairly involved is quite unique)
Battles..... are ok. Slow but ok. This can be fixed with boosters on newer releases though. I actually love character progression through equipment (also why I love FFTA) but there are very few abilities really ever worth using outside of magic so it's a bit of a waste.
Also got some amazing side-quests. Mognet and chocographs are so unique and fun. Made Save Points and the Overworld Map have more depth to them than any other game... maybe ever? (not to be hyperbolic but most games have almost nothing on either of those so to have something fairly involved is quite unique)
It's like watching The Muppets and then suddenly everyone's home blows up and all I've got for them is "...that escalated quickly.gif"
Oh no the planet is in danger, I'm confident I've leveled up enough to stop this thankfully.
Trance seems like something that would come before Limit Breaks, not 2 games after. Never understood how they got it so right first and then so wrong after.
It's very true that most FFs make significant effort to differentiate their battle systems, but FF8 is probably the most obtuse out of all of them. 9 isn't just traditional in its setting, but also its battle system. There's nothing in it with as much of a learning curve as the Junction/Draw systems. In FF9, you just learn new skills by equipping gear and keeping it on until a bar fills up. That's about it, very similar to 6's Espers.
nah, i imagine it's 6 or 7, or idk even one of the newer ones at this point
9 is a very specific subset of fans that aren't the majority i think
9 is a very specific subset of fans that aren't the majority i think
8 is the biggest outlier, system-wise in the series up until X-2 or XII. IX by comparison to VIII is like an old comfy shoe. Which might have something to do with why people enjoy it despite how bland it is.
I didn't say PSX, I said PSN. Your numbers are from its original PlayStation release, which reflect only the game's reception during its original run. But Sony released monthly rankings for PSN's top ten sellers for years, and FFIX was on that last every month from its release until just before Sony stopped publishing them. FFVII was higher for the most part, but FFIX was right up there, and FFVIII appeared on the list far less. The game has found a lot more popularity in the 20 years since its original release.
No, but what? Are you going to tell me a game that was one of the top ten downloaded games on PS3 for about three years running didn't sell and no one played it? Come on.
Has already been said by almost everyone in this thread but it bares repeating.
The most universally beloved Final Fantasy game is FFVI. Has almost nothing bad said about it. It's almost universally accepted as the best FF game with no real pushback.
BUT I fucking love FFIX. I used to have to defend it frequently. People in my friend groups were tough on it due to it's exaggerated characters and fantasy setting. I think American audiences had a different impression of Final Fantasy after 7&8.
Thankfully FF9 had a Wind Waker-ish Renaissance. People are much kinder to it and that makes me very happy.
Steiner and Vivi were my bois
The most universally beloved Final Fantasy game is FFVI. Has almost nothing bad said about it. It's almost universally accepted as the best FF game with no real pushback.
BUT I fucking love FFIX. I used to have to defend it frequently. People in my friend groups were tough on it due to it's exaggerated characters and fantasy setting. I think American audiences had a different impression of Final Fantasy after 7&8.
Thankfully FF9 had a Wind Waker-ish Renaissance. People are much kinder to it and that makes me very happy.
Steiner and Vivi were my bois