The year was 2000, and the RPG's golden age was in its twilight years. Classics were being released left and right, even if there were some, shall we say, hiccups (like Time Stalkers for the Dreamcast). The genre was at its most diverse: some games could push for a more futuristic, Sci-Fi feel, like Final Fantasy 8 and Xenogears, while other titles tried for a more whimsical look and tone, like Legend of Mana. Some titles went for deep and convoluted stories, like Chrono Cross, while others still tried telling simpler, easy to follow tales, like Grandia. The Fifth Generation of video games was ending, and in its place would arise the Sixth Generation, the one where gaming would truly become far more diverse and profitable. And on this year, Squaresoft released the game that would celebrate their best selling franchise: Final Fantasy 9.
You are not alone, just under appreciated
You are not alone, just under appreciated
Like Final Fantasy 7, I am going to skip explaining the plot because it is much too long. Instead, I'm going to offer a look at what Final Fantasy 9 is about.
Final Fantasy 9 is an epic story about death, about a plucky young hero who was made to kill, about a princess who has lost everything she ever believed in, about a young boy with barely a year left to live. It's a story about how a skirt chasing ladies man learns to love one woman, about a little orphan girl who doesn't want to be alone anymore, about a woman who lost her love and her country, about a knight forced between his conscience and his duty.
Final Fantasy 9 is a return to the series' roots, by providing the gamer what has been for years the standard RPG fare: knights, princesses, dragons, castles, demons, wizards, and so forth. This alone should have crucified the game, right? After all, there is nothing new being brought to the table! But the thing is that it's not what's being offered, it's how it's being presented.
The story of Final Fantasy 9 is rather straightforward, a welcome departure from Final Fantasy 8's more convoluted subtlety and Final Fantasy 7's needless symbolism. However, that does not mean it's a simple story, far from it; it wouldn't be an epic if it were simple. There is none of the moral ambiguity of Final Fantasy 7 here: the good guys are good from the get go, and the bad guys are truly evil and irredeemable.
The game stars Zidane Tribal, a skirt chasing, flirtatious burglar, theater actor, pick pocket, and all around ladies man. Zidane is a happy go lucky kind of guy, always ready with a smile and a joke, always willing to listen, always taking his comrade's feelings in consideration. Raised by the band of thieves/actors known as Tantalus, Zidane grew up wondering where he came from, where his home is. Zidane's life changes forever when he is tasked with kidnapping Princess Garnet of Alexandria, who pretty much lets herself get kidnapped anyway. In their journey, they meet a kid named Vivi, more on him later though, and together with the knight Adelbert Steiner, they go through some wild adventures. During their travels, Zidane grows to love Garnet, look out for Vivi like an older brother, and even form a friendly rivarly with Steiner. He also meets up an old friend, Freya, who accompanies him on his journey. When Garnet is to take over her mother's spot as Queen of Alexandria, Zidane is depressed, because he thinks that a man of his social stature never stood a chance with a Princess, much less a queen. And yet, when Alexandria was attacked by Kuja and his forces, it was Zidane who risked life and limb for Garnet, saving her in a daring rescue. Aiming to stop the evil Kuja once and for all, Zidane follows the man to the ends of the planet Gaia, where Kuja unlocks the power to open a portal to the world of Terra, where Zidane learns the awful truth: he's a Genome, an artificial being made to destroy Gaia and make it habitable for Terrans. However, with the help of his friends, Zidane overcomes his doubts and fears, and helps save the world from Kuja's machinations.
Princess Garnet til Alexandros is a young girl, aged 16, who has doubts about her mother's warring intentions. Knowing she alone could do nothing, she opted to instead enlist the aid of the Regent of Lindblum, Cid Fabool, to help her help her mother. To this end, she allows Tantalus to kidnap her and take her to Lindblum. After she realizes Lindblum's hands are tied, she sneaks out of the castle, and together with her knight, Steiner, goes back towards Alexandria to make her mother see reason. However, the Queen instead takes Garnet and has her Eidolons, magical spirits that have always communicated with Garnet, extracted from her, in a painful ceremony that nearly kills her. Together with Zidane, she manages to escape from Alexandria, determined to stop her mother at all costs. Finding that a man named Kuja is helping her mother conquer the Mist Continent, Garnet decides to stop both Kuja and her mother, in the name of peace. Her travels lead her to the Outer Continent, a land of dwarfs and Summoners. It is here that Garnet learns of her origins: she is originally a summoner, who was adopted by Queen Brahne and her husband. When Kuja double crossed Brahne, Garnet tried to save her mother, to no avail. The night of her coronation as Queen, Kuja destroys Alexandria with the Eidolon, Bahamut, and nearly kills Garnet. After a period of self doubt, Garnet, thanks to Zidane, regains the confidence in herself she needs, and together with Zidane and their crew, put a stop to Kuja once and for all. At the end of the game, she takes her place as Queen and begins a romantic relationship with Zidane.
Vivi Ornitier is a young Black Mage, a race of magic wielding Golems. Vivi manages to get himself into the adventure when, on the day Garnet was to be kidnapped, he found himself right in the middle of the Tantalus ship. While there, he earns Steiner's respect thanks to his magical prowess. During the trip, he discovers his origin: he's nothing more than an artificial magic being, like a robot. Unwilling to accept this truth, Vivi accompanies Zidane and his crew on a journey to find out more about himself. He discovers that his race, the Black Mages, are used as instruments of war by Queen Brahne, and they've destroyed the kingdom of Burmecia. He also discovers that a man named Kuja is the one creating the Mages. Vivi's journey takes him to the Black Mage Village, located in the Outer Continent, where he learns the painful truth: Black Mages don't live very long, and Vivi himself is particularly long lived for a Black Mage, having lived longer than any Mage thus far. He's eight years old. Vivi, understanding that his life will be unfairly short, decides to spend what he has left helping Zidane stop Kuja and the creation of more Black Mages. At the end of the game, Vivi's dead.
Adelbert Steiner is a man who is loyal to his Queen above all else, believing she could do no wrong. Upon seeing his Princess, Garnet, be kidnapped by Zidane, and refusing to believe this is what she wants, Steiner attacks Tantalus, trying to reclaim the Princess. Suspicious of everyone, except Vivi, Steiner conspires with derailing Garnet's journey in order to return her to Alexandria. However, when Garnet chooses to return by her own volition, he happily escorts her back home. His unyielding faith in Queen and Country, however, are crushed upon witnessing his Queen order her cohorts to forcefully extract Garnet's Eidolons from her, and then throwing him in jail to keep him from interfering. Steiner, however, busts himself out of jail and aids in rescuing the princess. With his world view shattered, Steiner swears an oath to the people he can trust: his Princess, her lover Zidane, and the young wizard Vivi. At the end of the game, Steiner happily serves his new Queen.
Freya Crescent is a Burmecian woman looking for her lover, Sir Fratley. An old friend of Zidane's, Freya joins him once she hears he's heading to her home kingdom. There, they find Burmecia completely destroyed, thanks to Brahne and Kuja. Knowing that the kingdom of Cleyra would be next, Freya and Zidane head there to warn them of the impending attack. While there, they find Fratley, but he's been stricken by amnesia and can't remember anything, even Freya. Brahne attacks Cleyra and destroys it, leaving Freya with the knowledge that she could do nothing for her country, her sister country of Cleyra, and that her lover had forgotten her. Freya spends the rest of the game as a side character, helping Zidane defeat Kuja once and for all. At the end of the game, Frattley's memory has not returned, but he falls in love with Freya again anyway.
A six year old Summoner from Madain Sari, the last one left alive aside from Garnet, Eiko Carol spends her days struggling to survive. Eiko falls in love with Zidane upon meeting him, and initially joins him in hopes of getting his attention. However, upon seeing his love for Dagger, she turns her efforts into getting them together instead. Eiko is a spunky girl, much smarter and wiser than someone her age has an business being. At the end of the game, she is adopted by Cid Fabool of Lindblum.
An arrogant man, Amarant Coral initially joins Zidane to understand why the young man spared his life in a duel they had. Cold, distant, and a bit of a brute, Amarant is nevertheless an honorable man with a strict code of honor. Aside from getting a lesson in the value of teamwork and friendship, however, he doesn't get much focus on the story. He's still cool, though.
A gluttonous Qu, Quina Quen joins Zidane solely because she (Quina's genderless, but I'm using the female pronoun just because) wants to see the world and the foods it has to offer. Although friendly and loyal, Quina has the habit of doing whatever she wants, when she wants. Still, she proves an invaluable ally, who becomes more wordly as the game progresses.
The main villain of the game, Kuja is a man who manipulates those around him in order to get what he wants. He manipulates Brahne solely so he could learn about the power of Eidolons, secretly plotting against her the whole time. He gives her the power of the Black Mages just so he can get closer to Garnet's Eidolons. Why does he want the Eidolons? So he can have power, power to change his destiny as a slave to Garland (no, probably not the same Garland from FF1), and become the true ruler of Gaia and Terra. Kuja betrays Brahne, steals her Eidolon Bahamut, and aims to use the Eidolon to destroy Garland. However, Garland himself goes on the offensive, and tells Kuja that he will die soon. Angered, Kuja decides that, if he is to die, the world will die with him. However, Zidane and his friends put a stop to his plans, bringing the Genome closer to death. In a moment of pity, Zidane stays with Kuja during his final moments.
Once a beloved queen and dedicated mother, Brahne had turned into a warmonger following the death of her dear husband. Selfish and cruel, Brahne is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, including her own soldiers, and almost her own daughter. Brahne completely destroyed civilization in the continent of Mist, obliterated the nations of Burmecia and Cleyra, made orphans out of thousands of children, and displaced thousands of people. However, in her dying moment, she was still held by her loving daughter, who cried for her. Brahne, however, crossed the line, and was not worthy of any sympathy, not from the players, not from anyone. Even Vivi, the most innocent of Zidane's allies, felt nothing but hate for her.
The savior of the planet Terra, Garland made the genome, Zidane, to destroy all life on Gaia so that the Terrans could colonize and inhabit the planet for themselves. A man dedicated to his mission, Garland designed Kuja to be the original destroyer, but he deemed the Genome a failure, instead focusing his energies on Zidane. An emotionless man, Garland cares only of his mission to the Terrans. Even in death, his only regret is his failure to complete his mission.
Final Fantasy 9 is a fantastic game, but it's still the second least successful of the four 32 Bit era Final Fantasies, selling only 5 million copies, half as many as Final Fantasy 7. Why? I believe there are two main factors.
First off, there's the fact that the Playstation 2 was being released during this time period. Furthermore, the Sega Dreamcast had already been released, so on a technological level, Final Fantasy 9 was actually behind the pack, especially compared to how Final Fantasy 7 and 8 were considered technological wonders. With 128 bit gaming already available, the average consumer was put into the position of choosing either the latest game, or the latest system.
Furthermore, there's the fact that Final Fantasy 9 was, aesthetically, drastically different from the entries that made Final Fantasy a household name. The graphics were cutesy and cartoony, when Final Fantasy 7 and 8 were dark, grim, and in 8's case, very realistic. This aesthetic is a point of contention for many gamers, including some big name online critics, such as Spoony.
And yet, I think that the graphics are not only superb, but they are among the best in the Playstation 1's library. I love the character designs, including Quina's and Eiko's. Backgrounds are breath taking, especially the Iifa Tree and Burmecia.
Final Fantasy 9 is an epic story about death, about a plucky young hero who was made to kill, about a princess who has lost everything she ever believed in, about a young boy with barely a year left to live. It's a story about how a skirt chasing ladies man learns to love one woman, about a little orphan girl who doesn't want to be alone anymore, about a woman who lost her love and her country, about a knight forced between his conscience and his duty.
Final Fantasy 9 is a return to the series' roots, by providing the gamer what has been for years the standard RPG fare: knights, princesses, dragons, castles, demons, wizards, and so forth. This alone should have crucified the game, right? After all, there is nothing new being brought to the table! But the thing is that it's not what's being offered, it's how it's being presented.
The story of Final Fantasy 9 is rather straightforward, a welcome departure from Final Fantasy 8's more convoluted subtlety and Final Fantasy 7's needless symbolism. However, that does not mean it's a simple story, far from it; it wouldn't be an epic if it were simple. There is none of the moral ambiguity of Final Fantasy 7 here: the good guys are good from the get go, and the bad guys are truly evil and irredeemable.
The game stars Zidane Tribal, a skirt chasing, flirtatious burglar, theater actor, pick pocket, and all around ladies man. Zidane is a happy go lucky kind of guy, always ready with a smile and a joke, always willing to listen, always taking his comrade's feelings in consideration. Raised by the band of thieves/actors known as Tantalus, Zidane grew up wondering where he came from, where his home is. Zidane's life changes forever when he is tasked with kidnapping Princess Garnet of Alexandria, who pretty much lets herself get kidnapped anyway. In their journey, they meet a kid named Vivi, more on him later though, and together with the knight Adelbert Steiner, they go through some wild adventures. During their travels, Zidane grows to love Garnet, look out for Vivi like an older brother, and even form a friendly rivarly with Steiner. He also meets up an old friend, Freya, who accompanies him on his journey. When Garnet is to take over her mother's spot as Queen of Alexandria, Zidane is depressed, because he thinks that a man of his social stature never stood a chance with a Princess, much less a queen. And yet, when Alexandria was attacked by Kuja and his forces, it was Zidane who risked life and limb for Garnet, saving her in a daring rescue. Aiming to stop the evil Kuja once and for all, Zidane follows the man to the ends of the planet Gaia, where Kuja unlocks the power to open a portal to the world of Terra, where Zidane learns the awful truth: he's a Genome, an artificial being made to destroy Gaia and make it habitable for Terrans. However, with the help of his friends, Zidane overcomes his doubts and fears, and helps save the world from Kuja's machinations. Princess Garnet til Alexandros is a young girl, aged 16, who has doubts about her mother's warring intentions. Knowing she alone could do nothing, she opted to instead enlist the aid of the Regent of Lindblum, Cid Fabool, to help her help her mother. To this end, she allows Tantalus to kidnap her and take her to Lindblum. After she realizes Lindblum's hands are tied, she sneaks out of the castle, and together with her knight, Steiner, goes back towards Alexandria to make her mother see reason. However, the Queen instead takes Garnet and has her Eidolons, magical spirits that have always communicated with Garnet, extracted from her, in a painful ceremony that nearly kills her. Together with Zidane, she manages to escape from Alexandria, determined to stop her mother at all costs. Finding that a man named Kuja is helping her mother conquer the Mist Continent, Garnet decides to stop both Kuja and her mother, in the name of peace. Her travels lead her to the Outer Continent, a land of dwarfs and Summoners. It is here that Garnet learns of her origins: she is originally a summoner, who was adopted by Queen Brahne and her husband. When Kuja double crossed Brahne, Garnet tried to save her mother, to no avail. The night of her coronation as Queen, Kuja destroys Alexandria with the Eidolon, Bahamut, and nearly kills Garnet. After a period of self doubt, Garnet, thanks to Zidane, regains the confidence in herself she needs, and together with Zidane and their crew, put a stop to Kuja once and for all. At the end of the game, she takes her place as Queen and begins a romantic relationship with Zidane. Vivi Ornitier is a young Black Mage, a race of magic wielding Golems. Vivi manages to get himself into the adventure when, on the day Garnet was to be kidnapped, he found himself right in the middle of the Tantalus ship. While there, he earns Steiner's respect thanks to his magical prowess. During the trip, he discovers his origin: he's nothing more than an artificial magic being, like a robot. Unwilling to accept this truth, Vivi accompanies Zidane and his crew on a journey to find out more about himself. He discovers that his race, the Black Mages, are used as instruments of war by Queen Brahne, and they've destroyed the kingdom of Burmecia. He also discovers that a man named Kuja is the one creating the Mages. Vivi's journey takes him to the Black Mage Village, located in the Outer Continent, where he learns the painful truth: Black Mages don't live very long, and Vivi himself is particularly long lived for a Black Mage, having lived longer than any Mage thus far. He's eight years old. Vivi, understanding that his life will be unfairly short, decides to spend what he has left helping Zidane stop Kuja and the creation of more Black Mages. At the end of the game, Vivi's dead. Adelbert Steiner is a man who is loyal to his Queen above all else, believing she could do no wrong. Upon seeing his Princess, Garnet, be kidnapped by Zidane, and refusing to believe this is what she wants, Steiner attacks Tantalus, trying to reclaim the Princess. Suspicious of everyone, except Vivi, Steiner conspires with derailing Garnet's journey in order to return her to Alexandria. However, when Garnet chooses to return by her own volition, he happily escorts her back home. His unyielding faith in Queen and Country, however, are crushed upon witnessing his Queen order her cohorts to forcefully extract Garnet's Eidolons from her, and then throwing him in jail to keep him from interfering. Steiner, however, busts himself out of jail and aids in rescuing the princess. With his world view shattered, Steiner swears an oath to the people he can trust: his Princess, her lover Zidane, and the young wizard Vivi. At the end of the game, Steiner happily serves his new Queen. Freya Crescent is a Burmecian woman looking for her lover, Sir Fratley. An old friend of Zidane's, Freya joins him once she hears he's heading to her home kingdom. There, they find Burmecia completely destroyed, thanks to Brahne and Kuja. Knowing that the kingdom of Cleyra would be next, Freya and Zidane head there to warn them of the impending attack. While there, they find Fratley, but he's been stricken by amnesia and can't remember anything, even Freya. Brahne attacks Cleyra and destroys it, leaving Freya with the knowledge that she could do nothing for her country, her sister country of Cleyra, and that her lover had forgotten her. Freya spends the rest of the game as a side character, helping Zidane defeat Kuja once and for all. At the end of the game, Frattley's memory has not returned, but he falls in love with Freya again anyway. A six year old Summoner from Madain Sari, the last one left alive aside from Garnet, Eiko Carol spends her days struggling to survive. Eiko falls in love with Zidane upon meeting him, and initially joins him in hopes of getting his attention. However, upon seeing his love for Dagger, she turns her efforts into getting them together instead. Eiko is a spunky girl, much smarter and wiser than someone her age has an business being. At the end of the game, she is adopted by Cid Fabool of Lindblum. An arrogant man, Amarant Coral initially joins Zidane to understand why the young man spared his life in a duel they had. Cold, distant, and a bit of a brute, Amarant is nevertheless an honorable man with a strict code of honor. Aside from getting a lesson in the value of teamwork and friendship, however, he doesn't get much focus on the story. He's still cool, though. A gluttonous Qu, Quina Quen joins Zidane solely because she (Quina's genderless, but I'm using the female pronoun just because) wants to see the world and the foods it has to offer. Although friendly and loyal, Quina has the habit of doing whatever she wants, when she wants. Still, she proves an invaluable ally, who becomes more wordly as the game progresses. Once a beloved queen and dedicated mother, Brahne had turned into a warmonger following the death of her dear husband. Selfish and cruel, Brahne is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, including her own soldiers, and almost her own daughter. Brahne completely destroyed civilization in the continent of Mist, obliterated the nations of Burmecia and Cleyra, made orphans out of thousands of children, and displaced thousands of people. However, in her dying moment, she was still held by her loving daughter, who cried for her. Brahne, however, crossed the line, and was not worthy of any sympathy, not from the players, not from anyone. Even Vivi, the most innocent of Zidane's allies, felt nothing but hate for her. The savior of the planet Terra, Garland made the genome, Zidane, to destroy all life on Gaia so that the Terrans could colonize and inhabit the planet for themselves. A man dedicated to his mission, Garland designed Kuja to be the original destroyer, but he deemed the Genome a failure, instead focusing his energies on Zidane. An emotionless man, Garland cares only of his mission to the Terrans. Even in death, his only regret is his failure to complete his mission.Final Fantasy 9 is a fantastic game, but it's still the second least successful of the four 32 Bit era Final Fantasies, selling only 5 million copies, half as many as Final Fantasy 7. Why? I believe there are two main factors.
First off, there's the fact that the Playstation 2 was being released during this time period. Furthermore, the Sega Dreamcast had already been released, so on a technological level, Final Fantasy 9 was actually behind the pack, especially compared to how Final Fantasy 7 and 8 were considered technological wonders. With 128 bit gaming already available, the average consumer was put into the position of choosing either the latest game, or the latest system.
Furthermore, there's the fact that Final Fantasy 9 was, aesthetically, drastically different from the entries that made Final Fantasy a household name. The graphics were cutesy and cartoony, when Final Fantasy 7 and 8 were dark, grim, and in 8's case, very realistic. This aesthetic is a point of contention for many gamers, including some big name online critics, such as Spoony.
And yet, I think that the graphics are not only superb, but they are among the best in the Playstation 1's library. I love the character designs, including Quina's and Eiko's. Backgrounds are breath taking, especially the Iifa Tree and Burmecia.
Pictured Above: The land of Burmecia.
However, as cute as the game's graphics are, and as humorous as the story can be at times, this doesn't stop Final Fantasy 9 from being, arguably, the most somber installment in the franchise. There is a lot of death in this game, and you always see it. You SEE the destruction of Cleyra, for example, and it hits you in the gut specifically because you've been spending at least one hour of gaming here, getting to know the town, enjoying the scenery, talking to the people, and helping them escape Alexandria's forces. It is also especially hard hitting for veteran Final Fantasy fans, who have to watch Odin, a summon they have known since Final Fantasy 4, destroy the town.
The main theme of the game is death, and how to handle it. Kuja does not accept his mortality, and decides to destroy the world in what can only be called a childish tantrum. He manipulates the Black Mages into doing his bidding by way of a false promise to extend their life. Zidane rejects his role as the bringer of Death as soon as he learns about it, choosing to protect life instead. Vivi also accepts his mortality and chooses to dedicate what's left of it to helping Zidane save the world from Kuja.
Another theme to the game is life. The game tells us that what you are born as doesn't matter, it's what you do with yourself that matters most. This is perfectly represented by how Zidane lives his life, one day at a time. Zidane is all about having fun, smiling, and just living in the moment. Garnet herself chooses to dedicate herself to her people, and do what's best for them, as their Princess, and then as their Queen. Steiner is, at first, facing the dilemma of lifelong servitude due to swearing fealty, but eventually decides that giving loyalty to someone who deserves it makes it worthwhile. Quina herself dedicates her life to what she wants: food. But Kuja allows himself to be defined by his origins, and ultimately, it is his thirst for power that leads to his death.
Ultimately, Final Fantasy 9 is more than a great RPG; it's a summation of what made Final Fantasy so good. It told an epic story with a cast of well rounded characters. It also contained several shout outs to previous Final Fantasies, therefore cementing its position as a homage to the franchise. More than that, though, it just happens to be my favorite Final Fantasy!
A lot of people complain that Final Fantasy 9 brought zero innovation into the series. Let's list the way the series evolved:
FF1- Started the series
FF2- First story driven Final Fantasy.
FF3- Longer story, deeper villain
FF4- Better defined characters
FF5- Balanced game play
FF6- Cast rotation controlled by the player, darker themes
FF7- Graphical updates allow for a more cinematic game
FF8- Character driven story.
FF9- Nothing but shout outs to previous games
Up until Final Fantasy 9, the series kept evolving, building on what the previous entry made. Final Fantasy 9, then, could be seen as the sum of everything Final Fantasy up until that moment.
Nobuo Uematsu, the main composer for the series, considers this game's soundtrack to be his masterpiece. To wit, this is the guy who made several classic video game musical pieces, including the legendary track, One Winged Angel. This is a guy whose concerts sell out in Japan like Britney Spears does in America. And THIS is his masterpiece? Well, here's a few choice tracks, decide for yourself:
Final Fantasy 9, to me, feels like more than the sum of everything that made Final Fantasy so great, it was, in many ways, like a Grand Finale for the series. In fact, I am of the opinion that, had the series ended here, Final Fantasy would have ended on the highest note possible. It would have been seen as the series that changed the RPG genre for the better, brought it to the mainstream, and really changed the way people looked at video games. Thanks to games like Final Fantasy, the video game could be seen as a medium for telling stories, in some cases far better than a movie could ever hope to. It would have been great for the series to end here, but...
Squaresoft was getting hubristic. The Golden Age of the RPG was nearly over, and gaming was slowly becoming more and more sophisticated. The slow paced gameplay of the classic J-RPG, popularized by both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, would soon be seen as old hat in the coming decade. However, Squaresoft had three planned projects that they thought would put them on the map. One of these projects was a film named Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which would prove to be disastrous to the company, and Hironobu Sakaguchi. The other two projects were two new Final Fantasies, including the next entry in the series, Final Fantasy 10. Next entry, we explore how the series began to flounder...
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