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FFIX
May 9, 2007 10:35:29 GMT
Post by piedflycatcher on May 9, 2007 10:35:29 GMT
Discuss the ninth Final Fantasy here. This game is so unappreciated. I really love it: the storyline, the characters... just the whole feel of it. But for some reason it seems to be the least popular of recent FFs. Why? I defy anyone not to like Vivi. And there are plenty of other cool characters too - Freya rocks, and I really like Zidane because he made such a refreshing change from Squall and Cloud. Steiner is also great. The whole game is really amusing and sweet and... why don't people like this game? *hopes there are some fellow IX fans here*
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 8:25:25 GMT
Post by f8f4mfl on May 12, 2007 8:25:25 GMT
-Raises a hand.- I adore this game. It's up there with FFVI as one of my two series favorites. At first, I was reluctant to play it. The character designs threw me for a loop when I started seeing the kiddie-faces popping up in ads, but I knew better than to judge based on looks. I fell in love with this game really quickly.
I think the reason that I like it so much is likely the reason many FF fans dislike it. It reminds me of the old games--FFIV, FFV, FFVI; my first tastes of the series--in the way the story is written and the world the characters live in. It's hard for me to put my finger on it, but after games like 7 and 8 that are set in very industrial, nearly modern, places, 9 came along and put technology back into the steam age. Unlike 7 and 8, the summons had a backstory--a reason that they existed. Summoners and magic-wielders weren't a dime a dozen. The equipment and skills system is probably my favorite out of all the games. It's simple, self-explainatory, and it works really well.
I love all the sidequesting, too. IX has excellent replay value. (Chocographs! They were so much fun to go hunt.) And the characters... I love all the characters, even Eiko, who annoyed the crap out of me. (I realized, too; of the cast of main characters, isn't Steiner the only human? This intrigued me, honestly.) No one is capable of disliking Vivi. Zidane reminded me much of Locke, and was a breath of fresh air after the angst-ridden protagonists from the two previous games. Garnet and Freya were both refreshingly strong female characters, which always earns points in my book. Steiner was... hilarious. Overall, my favorite point about the characters was DEVELOPMENT. The game took all 8 of them at one point in their lives, and as the game goes on, you watch them learn and grow. Zidane faces his past; Garnet becomes more than a figurehead princess; Steiner learns what loyalty really means; Vivi learns about friendship; Freya is forced to overcome her past... I could go on.
Whew. XD I hope that's enough for you to wrap your mind around for now!
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 10:39:23 GMT
Post by piedflycatcher on May 12, 2007 10:39:23 GMT
YES.
FFIX is also one of my favourites - probably my second favourite, actually, after FFVII. Before IX, I'd only played FFVII and FFVIII, but I still fell in love with the more medieval feel. It definitely seems more fantasy-like than the previous two.
The looks of the characters didn't bother me at all. I thought they were adorable. And the characters weren't all impossibly pretty humans either; I liked the variety. And yep, they were all nicely developed as the game went on. I think the only main character I wasn't keen on was Amarant. He seemed a bit pointless; I think the game could have done without him.
Oh, and Kuja has to be one of my favourite villains as well. His personality is just great. And he can get away with the ridiculous clothes he wears, which I doubt many other villains could.
It's funny, because when I was playing FFXII, it struck me as most similar to FFIX in feel. Maybe it's because of the Mist, or maybe the variety of non-human characters, and the abundance of airships. It also reminded me of FFVI to some extent... I think that would be the evil empire aspect.
Also, the cool thing about FFIX is all those little references to previous games. I didn't get them all, but I did chuckle at the line, "No cloud, no squall shall hinder me."
And finally, FFIX is the only FF game I own which has a two player option. In battles, you can share control of the characters. I bet not many people bothered with this, but I liked it and I wish they'd included it in later FFs. My sister and I played through the game together, which was a lot of fun.
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 17:18:42 GMT
Post by f8f4mfl on May 12, 2007 17:18:42 GMT
Amarant, I liked, but I wish they would have done more background with him. His character wasn't explored as in-depth as the rest. Though, I would have rather gotten Lani in my party than Amarant. (I like her axe. ^^; )
Kuja is wonderful.
It is really similar to XII or VI; well, I think all 3 share similarities. (My jaw dropped when they used the word "Esper" in XII, but that's another story.)
The Cloud & Squall line made me giggle. Among the other references, I liked the guy in the weapon shop, looking at swords, that said: "I remember a spikey-haired guy that had a sword like this." And, one of the world map areas was called "King Ed Plains". That made me happy.
Oh, Moogles and Mognet, too, were fun.
Ah, FFVI has that two-player option, too. I had fun with it when I was younger, playing battles with my brothers, but I definately prefer FF as a single player game. It's a cool idea though. ^_^
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 18:27:24 GMT
Post by piedflycatcher on May 12, 2007 18:27:24 GMT
Amarant, I liked, but I wish they would have done more background with him. His character wasn't explored as in-depth as the rest. Though, I would have rather gotten Lani in my party than Amarant. (I like her axe. ^^; ) Yeah, I agree. Lani is much cooler than Amarant. I would have liked to have seen her character explored more. But if I had to pick a character I would really want in my party, it would be Beatrix. Beatrix is awesome. She's so much better than Steiner for much of the game, plus she can cast white magic as well. Oh yeah, I forgot. That was the other thing that reminded me of VI. That, plus the magicite. And I'd forgotten that VI also has the two player option... I've only beaten the game once, so I didn't really use it. Yeah, I loved Mognet! The moogles were so cute. The moogles in FFXII are cute, but nowhere near as adorable as the ones in FFIX. To me, FFIX's moogles are the Final Fantasy moogles. I liked them so much I wrote a short story with Stiltzkin as the main character. ;D
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 20:27:51 GMT
Post by f8f4mfl on May 12, 2007 20:27:51 GMT
A Stiltzkin story, that's awesome! ^_^ Yes, I love the moogle designs from IX the best; they're much like the original 2-D moogles from the old games. The look in XII is cute, but I agree, it's just not the same.
I love Beatrix, too. One of my best friends cosplays her, and it's always fun to see how many people at conventions will run up to her all excited. (IX is so underrepresented in the cosplay community, too.) She's a drafter for a cabinet company, and has been drafting plans to make Save the Queen. :3 It makes me geekily happy.
Yesss, magicite too, only the magicite in XII appears to be useless. x.x
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 20:44:26 GMT
Post by piedflycatcher on May 12, 2007 20:44:26 GMT
Yay for moogles. I really liked how you had to talk to moogles to save your game, and they'd pull out this huge old book from nowhere, as though they were recording your travels. These cute little original touches really added to the whole delight of the game for me. Also, just random conversations between NPCs. I don't know why, but I always found the conversation between the tall guard and the short guard at South Gate to be really amusing. Things like that really made you feel as though you had an insight into many characters' lives; it made the whole world seem lively. I haven't posted the Stiltzkin story on ff.net yet though... I'm waiting for my beta to get back to me. Oh, cosplaying Beatrix sounds cool. If you have any pictures, you could post them on the cosplay thread.
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FFIX
May 12, 2007 23:46:16 GMT
Post by LastCetra on May 12, 2007 23:46:16 GMT
Do you remember in IX that if you kept calling the moogles and sending them away without saving, they would say different things? The best was after seven times, and he would say: "I'm sharpening my knife, kupo." That was the absolute BEST line ever! Who'd have thought there would be such things as murderous moogles??
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FFIX
May 13, 2007 2:48:23 GMT
Post by doc on May 13, 2007 2:48:23 GMT
i love this game--one of my favorites. i'm actually replaying it right now; i'm on disc three, where you enter kuja's palace. i loved the characters (not too fond of amarant, though--he just rubbed me the wrong way, perhaps because he wasn't explained properly). i liked how the black mage village sort of foreshadowed what was to come with zidane and his people (how he finds out what he is, and what he was supposed to be). i loved how the black mages didn't realize how human they actually were (their fear of death, their want to know why they exist, etc.). i loved zidane--as you both said, he's absolutely refreshing. ahh... i could go on and on.... i'm disappointed that a lot of people just don't appreciate this wonderful game. Do you remember in IX that if you kept calling the moogles and sending them away without saving, they would say different things? The best was after seven times, and he would say: "I'm sharpening my knife, kupo." That was the absolute BEST line ever! Who'd have thought there would be such things as murderous moogles?? hahahaha. i'm definitely going to try that now.
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FFIX
May 21, 2007 20:36:08 GMT
Post by pyrrol on May 21, 2007 20:36:08 GMT
There's a baby chocobo in the black mage village that they name. i can never remember it., Maybe it's Bobby Something? Like bobby henderson or something,. it's a human name. Does anybody know where that name comes from? I bet there was a contest somewhere and a boy named Bobby Henderson won.
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FFIX
May 21, 2007 21:26:50 GMT
Post by piedflycatcher on May 21, 2007 21:26:50 GMT
It's Bobby Corwen. And I have absolutely no idea where that name came from, but it's adorable. It was so cute the way the black mages were all protective over the chocobo egg when Quina wanted to eat it.
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cloti
Slum Dweller
Posts: 20
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FFIX
Jun 17, 2007 13:59:35 GMT
Post by cloti on Jun 17, 2007 13:59:35 GMT
I agree, this game is so underrated but I loved it to bits! I loved the whole castle and princess concept and the old-fashionedness. In fact I think it's my second favourite FF game. =] I actually liked Quina and Amarant who people didn't seem to enjoy. At least they were different and I liked Quina's tongue very much . ;D
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FFIX
Jun 17, 2007 14:19:00 GMT
Post by piedflycatcher on Jun 17, 2007 14:19:00 GMT
In fact I think it's my second favourite FF game. Yep, same here. ;D I didn't like Amarant, but Quina was kinda funny in his/her unique way. The game is neutral on Quina's gender, but I consider her to be female.
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Erissa
SOLDIER Third Class
Pretty boys are FTW.
Posts: 630
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FFIX
Jul 5, 2007 8:16:37 GMT
Post by Erissa on Jul 5, 2007 8:16:37 GMT
I didn't play FF 9, but I adore the moogles. So I showed my friend their pictures in the hope that she'll go, "Aww, so cute!", but she was kinda freaked out by it. She thought they look like deformed rodents or pigs or some kind of demon. My other friend who's a FF fan also hate moogles.
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FFIX
Jul 7, 2007 11:08:47 GMT
Post by leafonthebreeze on Jul 7, 2007 11:08:47 GMT
I like them, but I didn't like what they did to them in XII. They look kinda weird and rodenty there.
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