BY CLIFFORD REEDER: It is safe to say that we all have one thing from our childhood that means the world to us even many years, if not decades, later. Something with imperative emotional value that always holds a place in our hearts no matter how much time has gone by, and in this context, I’m sure many of us consider that special item to be a childhood video game. A video game that we could go to no matter what situation was troubling our lives. A video game that, regardless of where you were or what you were doing, you could pick it up and play it again and again; still enjoying the soundtrack, characters, and gameplay just as much as you had the first time around.
I was born in 1993 and my experience with gaming was varied. My grandfather owned an original NES and would help me play games like Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros., as well as allow me to watch him play his favorite game, Tetris. While experiencing these titles, both first and secondhand, helped ease me into a hobby that would eventually become a cornerstone in my life, it wasn’t until a few years later that I was introduced to a game that would shape me into who I am today. That game, released on July 7th, 2000 for the PlayStation, was Final Fantasy IX.
Square Enix's latest post on X features a quote from Final Fantasy 9, suggesting a Remake announcement could be imminent.
I wonder if it’ll be a Remake or simply a Remaster though. Remake suggests a complete rework and overhaul like with FF7.
Remaster is already out.
Remake will blow my mind!! I didn’t play this for a very long time and day one collector edition. One of the most memorable games from PS1
FF7 is a lot more than just a remake. It's a more like a re-imagining bordering on a reboot/sequel. There are plenty of remakes that are not just remasters that don't go anywhere near that far. Examples include Demon's Souls (2020), Resident Evil (2002), Tony Hawk 1+2, etc.
is 9 really the best in the series? i'm not into FF but i heard a few fans make that claim
Even though it's not my PERSONAL favorite, I would say yes, it's the best game in the series.
7 & 9 for me. It's a lot more simple and charming than many other FF games, but still has layers of complexity. It also have my (and many others) favourite character in any FF, Vivi.
6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 are generally considered the best of the series. That was the golden age for Final Fantasy. They're all quite different from each other though. So it's impossible to really say which one is the "best" in the series. Since their tone, setting, characters, world & gameplay is always changing.
You hit the nail on the head, I think the reason 6-10 are considered the best is because they all excel at something unique and stand out
6 is very much the majora's mask of the FF series, it has a massive cult following and has the best villain
7 is the face of FF and a general entry point into series and the first 3D FF, the materia system is 10/10
8 is the dark horse and the most adult and the junction system is the most complicated out of the series (my personal favourite)
9 is the most charming one and although it has dark moments its generally quite light hearted and feel good
10 critically I would say is the best one with the best single player story to any FF and the graphics leap was insane from PS1 to PS2 and whenever I recommend an JRPG I say FF10
7 for me, most would say 6 or 7, but FF9 was well known for being underrated, even for it's time, I rank FF9 pretty highly, even if it's not my favourite.
Snookies12 pretty much has the right idea, you can't go wrong with the golden era of Final Fantasy.
9 was the last great traditional ff game.ffx was great but it was the beginning of the end.ffx paved the way for what we know as ff today.
An alleged pitch presentation for an animated series based on Square Enix's Final Fantasy IX has emerged on the internet.
I'm not feeling great about this either, but even if this project survives and sees the light of day, I'm not too keen on what SE puts out these days (even if they only co-produce/work on it).
With its existence looking more and more likely, there are several points the Final Fantasy 9 remake should hit to ensure it was worth the wait.
Nah. Ff9 was a better game that many slept on when it released. Ff8 was a good one to, I hated the level scaling though. Still up there in the top 5 though. They sure don't make them like they used to unfortunately
FF9 just represents the best of the series , I really hope it gets like the Link Awakening/Super Mario RPG treatment . FF8 on the other hand would need a complete overhaul from the combat to the story telling (because the story was really silly) , I remember hardly ever using magic as it was basically losing stats every time you used them especially the rarer junctions , the combat was basically attack, limit breaks, summoning and 80% of the time drawing magic . Only thing 8 had better was its card game .
you can't change that much about ff8 without completely demolishing it. Everything was connected, the junctioning, the combat, the gf abilites like turning cards into items and way more, you could do so many cool shit in ff8 and that would be lost if you make too many changes. Junctioning and magic was counterintuitive yeah, but it was all part of the minmaxing you could do. I think a change like when you junction something it takes how many you collected of that magic instead of your current amount (up to 99 ofc), I think that single change would solve a lot of problems already. You would have to draw less, you can use magic a lot more and you can still junction to the max like before.
@Michiel1989 ya probably but it's also the reason why I'd rather just get a FF9 remake , it caters to the fans who've wanted to play a more traditional FF in the 3d realm since like FF10 almost 25 years ago . It has a more colorful and diverse cast of characters and world with a fun battle system with ability/spell progression that's tied to your equipment . FF8 the whole cast aside from their limit breaks and the world aside from Esthar city and the final areas didn't really do it for me , the towns , gardens and ruins all just had the same-y feel to them ( maybe it's just the color pallet) . With 9 I just feel like every character was unique within their role in a party and everywhere you went was a wholly different setting and experience .
Make it an actual remake of the game and not a reboot of the first hours of the game just to release the next hours some years later and nothing of it feels like FF9 actually aside from the same characters and locations used.
I just hope they don't divide into trilogy please...Full game from start to finish? Maybe in 2 parts maximum?
Thank you for your reply! that's awesome news. I wish it was VIII first as I like 8 more than 9...
It will probably be one game but will look like the secret and trails of mana remakes. Probably even one of those teams working on it.
I thought FF8 was the superior game to get a remake treatment ? whoever that shareholder that forced SE to make FF9 Remake he must've spent a lot of budget backing this to happen , pretty strange shift from 7 to 9 but hey .. FF8 was a much deserving to be remade since the story needs expansion between Squall and Laguna and it left on a cliffhanger note
it was only the swanswong of the ff creator, don't think much money was involved with that decision. Also ff7 and 8 have a similar, modern setting compared to ff9. I think ff9 makes much more sense
ff9 is also way more accessible than ff8
ff8 is one of my fav games of all time but the one thing that still bothers me a lot is how they pulled a cheap anime move, that in the last episode when you defeat the villain SURPRISE SURPRISE I was not the real villain but a servant of another bad guy. Not exactly the same as ff8 with Edea and Ultimecia, but same idea but instead of a bad guy she was their nanny
It was Hironobu Sakaguchi's, the father of the franchise, as well as Squaresoft's swansong.
The game had great setting, great characters, and great music from start to finish.
For anyone interested, this is a great AI upscaling mod for the Steam version (also available in a lighter form on Switch, if you have a modded console and are familiar with layeredfs). It looks so nice: https://www.youtube.com/wat...
I think I will always put FF9 at the top of the greatest Final Fantasy list.
This was the one for me too bud. I enjoyed mascott platformers etc but ffix was the first game I played that opened my eyes to what the medium is capable of. Still some of the best world-building and characters in rpg history. Great read and memories, cheers -mike at Green Dragon