8Bit/Digi

Judging the Black Mage at a Glance

The year was 2000, a lifetime ago, and I had a friend who had just ‘acquired’ Final Fantasy IX, the new hit title released by SquareSoft, from his job at the local Kmart. As my friend eagerly ripped the plastic off the hot property, he began to build it up, praising the trailer and expressing how much fun we could have with the new epic RPG. He was excited and thought I’d be into it as well, because my friend knew how much time I’d put into two full playthroughs of FF8 (the best game in the series, as far as I’m concerned), but this brand new entry wasn’t doing it for me. Later that evening, we played through the first few hours at his apartment, after eating greasy sandwiches from Schlotzsky’s Deli and watching some forgettable sci-fi movie. I left convinced I was right to skip this one. Still, he talked about it at school for weeks, assuring me I’d love it. Now, 25 years later, I need to figure out how to eat crow on this one. I’m sorry, Chris, I was wrong.

I played FF7 until I got stuck somewhere on disc two and ended up finishing it with Chris one rainy day. That game was fine, but I wasn’t kidding about FF8 earlier. It may not actually be the best in the series (a lot of people hate it), but it is my favorite entry, and certainly the one I got into the most. After those two, I was sold on the idea of the games embracing the strange, near-apocalyptic, futurism with more realistic humans, motorcycles, and gunblades. The older Final Fantasy titles that put emphasis on the high fantasy elements, cute animalistic people, and classic roles for all of the characters, all felt old and antiquated, stuck in the past. I knew what I liked, and in many ways, people like me were the reason Square wanted to bring back many of those traditional elements to the series. They were willing to risk part of their new, more mature audience in an effort to reconnect players with the franchise’s roots.

A Matter of Character

I should have trusted that the more colorful outward aesthetics and adorable doll-like character designs didn’t mean that the story wasn’t still dark, foreboding, and full of existential crisis. By most accounts, FF9 attempts to ask: What is the meaning of life? By contrasting it to death, questioning an afterlife and reincarnation, the illusion of free will, as well as dipping its toe into the idea of who and what has a soul. Our main character, Zidane, was created for a dark purpose and must make a hard choice about what that means for his destiny, while the bigger story is Vivi, someone constructed as the prototype for weapons of war, wrongly accused of crimes that the others of his kind have committed. Along those lines, I couldn’t blame the other Black Mages for signing up with the bad guy after they were told doing so would extend their incredibly shortened lifespans, but Vivi stayed true. It’s hard not to dwell on these ideas. Even the Princess, someone who seemed to be rebelling with all of the right intentions, has to face the truth of her much more frightening past and a new grave responsibility.

Everyone in this game is on a path that is about to be altered in huge ways, and they are forced to deal with daunting questions that no one can prepare for, life choices that will upend everything they’ve known, resulting in drastic changes, ending in varying levels of trauma. Most of them question their positions, loyalties, or at least their purposes, and if what they’re fighting for is right, which gets a little dark at times. This isn’t just the main cast, either, as many of the side characters have messed up, and it takes a moment of clarity to force that realization, causing an almost paradigm shift in their way of thinking.

It’s an aspect that has caused these characters to grow on me. I initially thought of the heroes as annoying and cookie-cutter archetypes given big heads and soft eyes, but now they feel passionate and motivated, less guided by destiny and more confronted by what they’ve seen, answering a call that solidifies them as legendary. I don’t know if they’ll ever surpass some of my favorite characters from the franchise, but they’ve certainly climbed up the ladder and made me view them in a new light. Dagger will never replace my beloved Quistis, no way, though I’m rooting for her now, too.

I find myself being pulled into this world, caring about Gaia. The denizens here want to live; there’s so much love, they are willing to die if it helps them find meaning and move on to something better. Does knowing when we’ll die give our lives more meaning? If Chris had known, would he have–. This shit has some life in it that feels like it’s missing from a lot of other games. FF9 is a celebration of life based on how we grow, focusing on the ways we choose to spend the time and energy we’re given.  

Assemble the Party

Zidane is our main hero, the classic rogue who is a part of an underhanded theater troupe, but less angsty than recent protagonists. This is another scoundrel with a heart of gold who still can’t help himself but get a little handsy with the Princess when she’s climbing up the ladder. His moments of womanizing aside, Zidane is just incredibly helpful, wanting to protect Dagger and be a big brother to Vivi, actively working to improve himself and others. He’s the rising tide that attempts to lift the entire group, and this all makes more sense when we learn more about him in the end, as the bulk of his story is meant for the latter part of the game.

Princess Garnet, who later wishes to be called Dagger as a way to hide her royal standing and a small act of rebellion, is an enjoyable heroine with a purpose, when she isn’t being kidnapped or having spirits ripped out of her. This is a prim and proper lady whose prison was made of soft sheets and beautiful views from the castle windows, so she needs to escape and find out what is really so rotten in the kingdom of Alexandria. Now that she’s out in the world, Dagger is constantly learning, growing, and trying to think of others. She doesn’t want to believe that her own mother is bad, but the veil is soon dropped, and the only way she can ensure her kingdom’s future is by taking control of it and doing better.

Vivi is young, months old even, and isn’t familiar with this world, unsure of where he belongs. He’s hiding a lot of power behind those yellow eyes, and now he sees the looks he gets from everyone who has fallen victim to those who look like him. Finding out he was built for war, to cause harm—that destroys him, and it won’t be the only thing. The little guy just wants to belong, and this Black Mage is so upset when he finally meets others like him and they just won’t respond. Some people see him as the real main character, and I get why. He’s certainly the larger emotional conduit.

Then there is Steiner, and other than being named after one of my favorite WCW wrestlers, I hate him. This overbearing man wants to do good, but he’s blindly loyal, to a fault, and unaware that he could be carrying out someone else’s evil purposes. We watch him get in the way, be untrusting of the other heroes, and do some of the wildest mental gymnastics to keep his precious little dream of righteous knighthood together. Steiner grows, having to admit a lot of hard truths to himself, shedding a few layers of the pigheaded oaf I loathe. There are small bits of that charming personality that have started to shine through, but some of this is just him, the lovable doting idiot who just wants to prove himself and make those he serves happy.

There are other characters at play here that will join the party, a few really good ones, but their stories don’t run through the entire game, or just feel less impactful. That being said, they aren’t boring. There’s a rat-dragoon, a bounty hunter, a powerful little girl, and a non-binary chef who can eat people to gain new spells. Hard to top that. The side characters are also wonderful, with some joining the groups temporarily. I just wanted Beatrix to stay with me. 

Tell Me a Legendary Tale

Like many of these stories, it starts simple enough, and FF9 does a great job of sticking to a brisk pace, with brief introductions and then a kidnapping gone awry. What’s to be done when the kidnapping victim suddenly wants to be taken away, and in the process becomes a part of the play, which is supposed to act as the diversion? She has her own goals, and now her mother is using their forces to conquer the continent (and soon the world), but obviously, there is a dark force behind it all. Before we know it, everything starts breaking open, our main character’s origins are revealed, and everything gets even more out of hand. That’s how these things go, starting small and building fast until all of reality is in danger and a bunch of souls are on the line. That stuff can be cool when it is done well, but I’m still wrapped up in these characters and their interactions. The writing is arguably very clever here, but it may shine best when the people we’ve been watching are just interacting, growing, dealing, and responding to each other in realistic and sometimes flawed ways. I’m just into this experience.

I hear some of the story and design features were heavily inspired by The Dark Crystal, a film I should revisit soon. The art here is colorful, slightly exaggerated, plump, and endearing, creating a dark storybook with some incredible music to seal the concepts behind this fantastical world. Some of the places we visit in the later game are striking and gorgeous, while each major city has its own personality, and vibes are conveyed with just a few simple screens of impressive, curated background art. I may prefer FF8’s character designs, but these models feel perfect for the world that was created here. By this point, the developers had really pushed the PlayStation’s hardware and were crafting some astonishing cutscenes. These animations were bold, expressive, and used the game’s stylistic nature to its advantage, creating several mini cinematic experiences that were almost moving in spots.

You See me Pressing the Button

As far as the actual gameplay, FF9 is pretty solid. We’re back to four characters in our party, still using the ATB system, the roles are neat, and the group compositions are fine, other than the parts where they refuse to let me have a healer. Several things have been simplified here, because as much as I love FF8, I think everyone was okay with it being dumbed back down a little and more emphasis put on abilities and customization. This game made gear way more important, as wearing it gives characters access to certain actions, and gaining enough AP while the piece is on made those traits permanent. Even after that, Synthesis, along with a couple of other mechanics, encouraged players to hold on to their old gear, especially when it seemed like Gil was pretty easy to make.

Most of these characters feel quite strong, and the game overall isn’t too difficult, minus some of the optional bosses, though I will say I made use of a few of the modern release’s enhancements from time to time, just to make things less frustrating. I tried to keep the playthrough somewhat pure, however. I was tempted to power level Steiner in one part, but didn’t let myself go too ham. Zidane’s ability to steal items is probably one of the more important character traits, and I was digging it at first, until I started trying to steal from the bosses, and the numbers weren’t in my favor. I’d often kill an enemy too quickly that I was trying to steal from or eat to learn a spell, which became frustrating. Be persistent. Stealing also extends combat that is already a tad slow, so accept this or use that fast-forward option. I’m not huge on the new Trance mode, which replaced the Limit Breaks, and they are hard to time out for maximum potential, making them more like side effects than useful mechanics. In some ways, I feel like FF9 wants me to practice finesse, and I’m not having it. I’m too used to being a cudgel. 

There is an element of information overload at points. I have so many questions, mostly about how to play Tetra Master, their card game. Triple Triad took me a little time to fully grasp, but FF9’s version seems so random, and I hear the rewards aren’t that great. Also, now that the adventure is really kicking off and people are in trouble, why am I taking time out to dig up everything on my Chocobo, or playing mail carrier for these Moogles, and I am not catching any more frogs. I’m sorry, but this is annoying, beneath me, and I was not built for this swamp!

A Personal Adventure

Some parts of the game feel like they aren’t rewarding enough to stress about, while other aspects seem punishing for first-time players. Some interactions are almost impossible to get right on an initial playthrough without having prior information or enough familiarity with the series to embrace a little trial and error. I attacked a perceived enemy in an earlier area and apparently screwed myself out of the Friendly Monsters side quest before my chat encouraged me to go back to a previous save. There’s a lot to miss, but this does mean that the playthroughs will be different for some, and it encourages replaying the adventure.

FF9 has a lot under the surface, with its story and gameplay. This was in some ways an homage to the earlier games and has a TON of references to previous Final Fantasy titles, as well as channeling bits of the lore. The philosophical meanings are rich as well, and I understand the Japanese version connects in deeper ways with some of the original names and translation. I’m not sure I’m ready to dive in quite that hard, but I do want to know more. I’m intrigued.

As of right now, I’m on the third disc, and I can’t wait to get back to Gaia, to see what happens next, to feel the pain they’re experiencing, and maybe see some of Zidane’s and Dagger’s budding romance. Final Fantasy IX got a bad rap from me initially, and now, here I am, admitting I was wrong and it’s just as good as most other entries in the series. I used to think some people praised it too much, like Chris, but I get it now. I just wish I could tell him. Chris passed away not long ago, and I waited too long to start up FF9. I’m enjoying the game a lot more than I thought I would, but now I also feel like I need to see it through to the end, in part for him, my penance for doubting a good friend.

Go, play Final Fantasy IX, acknowledge its 25th anniversary, and celebrate life. 

Did you play Final Fantasy IX? If so, which versions and which one was your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

8Bit/Digi is an independent news outlet that provides insight into the video game and fandom community of the San Francisco Bay Area.