Final Fantasy IX

I've played this game many times, but the definitive version is the Steam version with Moguri Mod - it is worth replaying just to experience it.

Final Fantasy IX is arguably one of the best games in the series, and my personal favourite. By returning to their roots, Final Fantasy IX feels like the perfect swan song and love letter to its fans. Playing the game now feels like a bittersweet celebration of the golden era of RPGs which is now long before us.

Despite being disregarded on release, it has since had a retrospective renaissance amongst fans of the series. I think one of the reasons for this, is that the game has aged beautifully. The art style is simply stunning to look at (and is even more jaw-dropping with the Moguri Mod). The character models are drop down gorgeous and the pre-rendered graphics are equally captivating. The music is as good as anything that came before it; though it would be hard to call it the best OST because Final Fantasy always had stellar music (it was Uematsu's favourite though, so that must mean something). Being at the end of the PlayStation’s lifecycle meant that Square were able to push the technical boundaries of the system. Where Final Fantasy VII and VIII look like dusty old relics of their time and have aged horribly, Final Fantasy IX still has a mesmerising timelessness to it. Added to that, the characters themselves have so much personality, charm, and life to them, it's hard not to fall in love with the cast, the world and the inhabitants in it.

Of course, as with every Final Fantasy game there are some flaws. There are some issues with the gameplay being a bit slow, both in terms of battles and in relation to the story pacing. I admit the story lacks the urgency of previous titles, but I do personally love the fantasy-style setting and the story is is one of the most heartfelt and deeper stories to come out of the series. Despite being light-hearted in nature, there is a lot of dark tragedy along the way, as it tackles mature themes of the meaning of life, death, identity and coming to terms with our own mortality.

As for the battles. Yes, they are slow. I think that is partially down to the system being pushed beyond its means. Load times are much longer, and the ATB system was probably getting a bit tired by this point. Despite these flaws, I do really like the class-based system that was used in this game. The simplicity of the ability system is welcomed over previous convoluted systems like the materia system in FFVII or the junction system in FFVIII. I’m happy to trade character customisation for more balance. Characters have pre-defined roles which is great because it means every character retains their individual strength and weaknesses right up until the end game. I don't think we've had a game since FFIV whereby every character feels essential and balanced in their own unique way, and this really helps the gameplay because at many points you will be following characters through their own story scenes and you'll have to approach different strategies depending on who your party is. I just wish the battles were harder to capitalise on the different classes.

One of the reasons why this is a firm favourite of mine, is the huge amount of replayability. There are loads of secrets and trophies to collect that are not essential to the overall game, but are very satisfying to collect. Getting the Excalibur II (Steiner's ultimate weapon) requires a speed-run in under 12 hours which is very challenging but satisfying once you've achieved it. Mastering all the little mini-games that show themselves throughout the game can be fiendishly difficult. I spent over 100 hours getting a perfect rank in Tetra Master - it's a mini-game that is widely criticised, but I have to say, the more I played it, the more addictive and fun it became. I just think it’s a shame that the rules were not explained well because I think had more people understood the mechanics more people would have enjoyed it. Getting all these trophies took me 400 hours, which is insane considering a normal playthrough would take you maybe 30-40 hours. Even after those 400 hours I was sad to finish the game, and wanted to do it all over again.

There has always been some strong contention as to what the best Final Fantasy is, but I really do think Final Fantasy IX is the pinnacle of the series and the most representative of the series. Unlike other games in the series, FFIX hasn't aged much at all and I think has so much heart and soul throughout that it stands above all the others.

If this game has a flaw, it is that the story never clicks on an tragic-drama-esque level what-so-ever. Other than that, this is the quintessential JRPG and the best Final Fantasy as of 2018.