The internet; where if something has enough of a fanbase even videos criticising it has top comments that support it. Sickening. The Sage is on the same team as Spoony, were you guys really expecting that he'd LIKE it? Yet another top comments section is yet another excellent argument against democracy.
Despite the cartoonish characters I think this is one of the best installments in the series. It had a great story, good gameplay, and just like sage said you really get to know the characters and that is what makes a good rpg. Sorry ffvii fans...This game is excellent and no I'm not including an omage to ffviii is wasn't as good of a game...period.
It's a nice change of pace from previous ff games and it took things from the first ff games and made it fun:)
U know what though ppl who use to bash 9 that I know praise it now after the totally downfall of final fantasy that was 13 square needs to return to Gaia and terra in future installments get back to roots and make a better final fantasy
Personally I found Kuja to be creepy as hell, mainly due to is appearance, but also the fact that he spoke like he was in a Shakespeare play, and his wonderfully eerie theme music.
Even if this game is considered the black sheep of Final Fantasy, the memories I have of it as a kid will always stick with me.
I played both FF7 ans FF9 and I never understood why FF7 got spin ofs anime movies ect while FF9 goot nothing but deserves the same thing, I kind of love Kuja, he is very good vilian insecure and tried to destroy the source of life because he didn't want to die alone.
I don't care what anyone says, the old school turn based style is what made FF. The new ones are ok, but they're more focused on graphics than story and gameplay. Ever since FF 10 the series kind of took a dive. I guess I'm just old fashioned, but I'd rather have a good story and gameplay over just good graphics any day.
the characters in ff9 made the story by far the best. ff9 is and always will be my favorite. the new ff's will never be as good as the older ones. there all about visuals and less story. ff13...what a waste of my money.
I agree with most of this, out of the reviews I've watched there has been more talk on graphics than plot, characters, or theme. Point out the fact that FF9 makes such a great story because it has a perfect balance of comedy and seriousness, ALL characters are interesting, and the relationship conflicts among them. I wanted Zidane to be with Garnet/Dagger the entire time, and when they hugged at the end, it was great.
@Epicgob he was worse than quina, and that's saying alot..I personally didn't like amarant, and they could have spent more time fleshing out necron instead. but oh well...still one of my favourite games lol
kuja had that feminine feel to him at first, but, he also had that sarcastic cold as ice, manipulative, sly feel, that makes some people preeeety dangerous if they want...he rocked his role.
garland took the part of the badass leader and got thrown out by the supposed to look like "gay" character,Kuja.
kuja was he emo bad guy of final fantasy. he wanted an identity and a family which he could have.but hey! SEPHIROTH wanted his mom,so he wanted to destroy the world, and the hair? looks gay too!
twas pretty good tho i preferred ff7 , ff7 is still unmatched by any rpg ever in my opinion, final fantasy 7,8,9,10 are all great games the spin offs and newer games are never as good as these though crisis core was pretty cool :)
kuja, harmless? the guy flys around on a huge dragon and drove a whole world into war, and destroyed a whole other world. he may look feminin but he's not a harmless guy.
@neoarcadezr Im not trying to say he wasnt a good villain. I found the way he used people very appealing. But I just think that square could of created a slightly more menacing charater design for him. However once in trance it did see improvment. But on a basic level if you ran into a man in a clown custom or leather jacket with a big sword that would be abit more scary than some guy wearing a purple/white cod piece.
@Epicgob he was angelic feminine evil character square did a good job on his design his look is suppose to make him look feeble and weak but in reality hes mega boss thats the whole point of his design i rather look at him than sephy or a clown any day
only FF"s i haven't beaten are 9, X-2, and 12. so far my favorite final fantasy is 8, people said the story was convoluted but i understood it perfectly and enjoyed it immensly. i'd have to say 7 is my second fav. i just got 9, can't wait to play it... just beat FF13 and that was enjoyable, but not as good as the older games.
I liked it alot. I think it was because I felt that I could get sucked into the FF9 world better than 7 and 8. 7 because the world was admitedly depressing, won't be taking my vacations there. And 8's world wasn't very exciting.
I've never played FF9(but i plan to) but i didn't know Kuja( AKA the Drag Queen) was a guy until i played Dissidia Final Fantasy. I don't care what any of you say, if you play it long enough, you'll find that it is an awesome game with a plot that keeps you guessing. Plus, you get to know the all the heros and villains from the first 10 games! I personally love Terra, the Heroine of FF6 because she was the protagonist of the first FF game i ever played. But anyway, KUJA LOOKS LIKE A WOMAN.
I would be the first to agree that the series was heading the wrong direction starting with VII but VII is still one of the best game of all time, unarguably.
The reason FF was going down hill was because they tried to get all the negative aspects of VII and impliment it into the rest of the series.
Please change the title of this video, the 'i' in 'Final' is capitalized, making it look like the word 'Anal' with a block-letter 'A.' I'm not trying to speak for anyone else, but I don't think many would want to watch a retrospective of 'Anal Fantasy 9'...
Kuja was one of the greatest FF villains of all time. He's a Victorian villain with unique theater style dialogue and garments. His entire story resembles a tragic Shakespearean play and is carried out in excellent detail. He was the first antagonist to personally change during his reign of evil which is an important quality in any story telling. The player doesn't necessarily play to defeat him but to understand him. Kuja is by far one of the most underrated ff villains of all time.
this title is the best of the whole ff series appeared in psone.... most of the gamers didn't even know the ff series until ff VII showed up. ff VII was just a complete mess... i would choose espers over materia any day.... the pepole who complains about ff IX does no know what the series has been. it was great that it went back into it's... quite disapointed with ff X to XII hope the square will once again go back where they made this title the greates series of all time
This game was breath of fresh air over the stink bomb of FF8 before the series took a nosedive with FF10 and up.Although I'm going to agree with Noah of The Spoony Experiment about the art style and I hate anime furies too, I still like this game I got it again on PSN. Bennett I think you should send this Retrospective to Spoony and help do a sub review of this for his FF10 review.Also I hated
Melodies Of Life just like I hated Eyes on me I my comment on that is the same as Spoony.
@soulmman I thought the highest rated FF on the PlayStation was VII, since it pretty much is one of the highest rated games of all time. Maybe I'm wrong, VII got a lot of hate too..
When I first got it, I didn't like it much. Now, however, it's my 2nd favorite of the series. Instead of thinking of it as a throwback and comparing it to earlier games, I think it should be judged on its own merits.
FF IX is an amazing game! I love the story line, I really got involved and emotionally attached to all my characters, especially Vivi. And I know a lot of you might disagree with me, but Kuja has got to be the 2nd most evilest villain in the FF series, right under Kefka. Think about it people, Kuja manages to manipulate one country to destroy three others, then attacks that same country. basically wiping out an entire continent. Sorry Sephiroth fans, but Kuja beats him out, despite looks.
never played this one (one of the 2 I havent) but if the battle system leans more toward IV's system this looks like it could easily be my favorite in the series
Either FFIX or FFX is the best in the series. The stories are excellent and gameplay is great. The only thing that makes them different as far as gameplay (other than graphics) is that FFIX is more open-world and FFX has excellent voice acting. I can't decide which I love better.
no other final fantasy ending has tugged my heartstrings like FF9 did, and I have played them all.., black sheep? i dont think so.. i would call it the Ugly Duckling, laughed at by its siblings but looked at with envy when it turned into the beautiful swan..
you know what i love about the new ps3 slim and psp? you can dowload these games and play them on the GO!! its so awesome. sometimes its hard to sit in front of a tv for hours trying to beat omega weapon in ff VIII, but if your like on the road or in an airport or something and you have hours to kill its to most entertaining, time passing activity ever!! FFIX is soon to be released on the psn too!
I'm so glad I gave this a chance. I had only played FFVII (which I found overrated (don't get me wrong, it's still good)) and I thought that was the only FF game worth playing. Boy was I wrong. I gave FFVI a chance at random, looking for an old classic to play. I loved it, but it still wasn't a home run for me.
Then... FFIX, and holy shit did I love it. It's one of the most inspired and inspiring game I've ever played and easily made its place among my top five favourite games of all time.
i don't think this was a black sheep at all... don't think that was most reception it got either... take a second look at most peoples' comments. It is my 2nd fav. next to 6.
The best FF in my eyes, i played this game over and over again:), though i liked 12 almost just as much. These games have like "open" worlds to explore, not so much linear stuff like 10 and what else. But the atmosphere is great in 9!
"hated by more?" I pity the fool who doesn't like FFIX!! IX was the best game I have ever played. I'd give my left foot and some toes to play a Final Fantasy IX remake, with good voice acting, of course. Then again, that would hurt...
Actually, Final Fantasy IX was the first Final Fantasy I've ever picked played, and it's my favorite. I've played all the final fantasies, but this one always struck me the best. The cast was engaging and everyone grew and learned. While a lot of things in this game were simple on the surface, they were deeper meanings behind them, just like in life. It's too bad that so many people underrate this game, I think it's Square's true masterpiece.
haha, when I first played the game I hated it because I couldn't read English and I didn't know what was going on, I got stuck in that part where the ship crashes and the girl is being attacked by that plant.
I am surprised noone actually mentioned how deeply this game took interest in each character's individual story! FF IX was by far my favorite, possibly, because of characters like Vivi and Kuja!
If Kuja didn't seem evil then it's quite possibly simply because he wasn't meant to be "Evil" as such - People that played the game knows what I mean when I say he had a certain role to play!
Oh, and then there was the fact that this game had Beatrix .. Not in any game have a found a cooler character!
no... it was upsetting that aerith died in ff7 because the story was so good, not because of how much you used her in battle. The stories are just out right gay from 10 on, o my fucking god i just got 13 and what the fuck kind of dog shit is this. anyway back to 9 story great with the cartoonish like drawing but zidane was just horrible looking. i really didnt care about him because of how stupid he looked. i would stick with the cartoon look of course but god he just looked so gay so fukn gay
In my opinion, Squall and Cloud were great FF characters along with Zidane and Freya as well as others, But some of the other games were overhyped. Take FF7 for instance, I liked the game, but I got bored with it very quickly and I absolutely hated Sephiroth. That hatred is mainly due to the fact that the bastard killed my healer and I never got another character to fill her place and the story was a bit dry. FF8 and 9 were my faves though. 8 was good but the draw system was frustrating at times
Yeah, 8 was very much a physical attack-oriented installment in the series. Once the characters had 100 of each spell there was essentially no need to ever cast a spell (aside from meltdown). I loved the junction system though! 8 was my first FF experience and is my fav because of it. It's hard to dislike any FF game if you're a true fan. I can say that though because I haven't played any past 10 :)
What i like about this than the more newer final fantasy games, is that it looks like the story takes place in a time that could look like the middle age with an industrial twist (the airships, you know). And of course the real black mages with yellow eyes.
Those would've been fun to see in a new final fantasy game.
What do I care what a small group of nose bleeders think? All I know is that Final Fantasy 9 was fantastic, a refreshing, change of pace from 7 and 8, the last great final fantasy!
Besides the rather short boss battles (few lasted more than a few minutes due to the comparably low HP) it was a perfect little yarn... and Zidane was clearly a much better character than either cloud or Squ- the big emos!
Why do people have to bash Kuja because of his thong? He's a damned better villain than Sephiroth, and Kefka's a freaking clown with..what? a feathered cap and lipstick? I'd definitely place him as one of the better villains in the FF series.
@KissMeImPunk I agree, Sephiroth was massively overrated and as was Final Fantasy VII, it just wasn't a very enjoyable game and strayed away from what everything games like IV stood for.
ya kefka's a clown....a clown who poisons people......... kuja is a man who's prettier than most girls i ff9....................and he wears a thong that really says a lot
well i guess so cant say he was a bad villain but still kefka is my fave and i dont really care about sephiroth love the game but really sephiroth wasnt the baddest villain.............ps i hope i dont get thumbs down for that last comment its only my opinion
People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Don't bash Kefka for being hydrogenous when you're trying to defend Kuja of all people. I don't see Kefka with a belly shirt, Kefka actually has some character, and I don't see Kuja turning into a 6 winged purple god, destroying the world.
At least Kuja doesn't take it upon himself to dress like a fucking clown. Have you seen the tights that are on that man? He makes that workout nutcase look straight. Kuja wasn't some rip-off of Sephiroth, not even close. I don't see Kefka utterly annhilating an entire planet or trying to terraform said planet with another planet.
best ff ever! the battle system is great and the charakters look pretty good, but the most fantastic things in this game was it's music and it's brilliant story :)
1:02 so unlike the main characters of the previous two final fantasies, in other words, Zidanes a total bad ass and has skills with the ladies. Zidanes my favorite FFcharacter and IX is my favorite rpg of all time. why people hate this game is beyond my understanding. it had lovable, memorable characters, excellent dialog and story telling and was a well needed break from the more emo themed final fantasies. just got it in the mail recently, found my old ps1, and have neglected my 360 completely
thank you for the great review. eveyone else that puts a game review trys to be funny and thats not whatim looking for im looking for a review on the game and the storyline not some kids that try and get laughs. anyways i found this very informational. i have never played final fantasy 7 8 9 and im currently working on it and i was just looking for an review on 9 and you did a great job. again thank you for not being a childish idiot.
My friend, FFIX is not the black sheep of the series...that would be FFVIII, FFXI and FFXII. Final Fantasy IX is the first RPG I liked, it is one my favourite games ever and it was a GODSEND after the nonsensical, emo abonimation that is FFVIII.
nothing against emos that are written well like Cloud. But Squall is so stereotypically emo and annoying that it makes want to shoot and chop him with MY gunblade (which I bought from the internet and NO it is not from FFVIII. It is a custom made gunblade that makes sense called 'Bowie').
Yeah your right he was stereotypically emo and he was ment to be reason why I think it was so good was that he becomes less emo as he establishes a relationship with Renoa as you get though er into the game... he even smiles by the end of the game!! something not even cloud did :P
There are TWO good Final Fantasy games: This one and the First one, just because it wasn't stale back then. Seriously, other than Sonic, this is the most overrated series ever.
I think 9 was too ahead of it's time. The story and comical undertones were great and the ATE system added a sense of depth into exploring the field map. The only 2 things that I could think of were a turn-off could be the difficulty of learning Blue Magic (eating enemies rather than getting hit by the skill) and the fact that enemies that steal (which you can never get back) always seemed to steal the most rare items from you. I've had one of my ultimate weapons stolen from be a few times.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Those ridiculous characters made it impossible to take anything in the game seriously. Just look at that monkey guy or the fat blue thing with a wiking-helmet.
it was intended that way. i got this game when i was idk 9 or 10 so i enjoyed the comical aspect of it and thought the more serious parts were badass. my interest in final fantasy kind of waned overtime cuz none of the others (minus 6) were as memorable as this.
7 is my favorite for one reason- storyline! But it has the downfall of being futuristic. FF is meant to be a medeival style game, and they need MORE of the newer one to be medeival, not set in 26 1/2th century.
9 was great but Kuja did suck ass. Plus the plot really unravelled toward the end with Garland and stuff - plus I was PISSED you only got to go to 1 elemental shrine instead of acting out all 4, and they were pretty piddly as far as dungeons go. Zidane and Queen Brahne as a protagonist & villian could have been a bit better designed.
7 was no doubt a good game, but im sick of everyone choosing it as their favorite. the newer installments for 7 were horrible( movie and crisis core). 9 slaughters 7 hands down,fuck all those stupid nerds that hate it for being classic.
Wonderful retrospective review. FFIX will always be my favourite of the Final Fantasy series simply because it put back the "Fantasy" in Final Fantasy. FFVII and VIII were great games and I love them but it was great that the last Final Fantasy of the PS1 genre went back to its roots before branching out to new heights with FFX
people are throwing off ff ix ?! how dare they thats cruel ix was my favourite one or is rather i love the ff series though cept xiii, xi (cause its only online wtf were they thinking?) & xii. i agree xii is over rated but i still like it ^^ god i gotta play ix again ^^
Its nice to see someone talk positively about what I'd say is my personal favorite of the series, though I think four and six are higher quality. Good Review.
ff ix is my favorite game of all time, i'm glad you made this video. A lot of people don't give this game the respect it deserves
TotaledThunder 1 week ago
3:28 serweeze lol
13attman 3 weeks ago
IX is my favorite game because it was the first I beat.
keenyanIsTheBest 1 month ago
I loved Final Fantasy 9 it was and still is one of my favorite games of all time
ejohnsonff 1 month ago
Definitely my favorite of the entire series
thedeadhalo 3 months ago in playlist More videos from BennettTheSage
The internet; where if something has enough of a fanbase even videos criticising it has top comments that support it. Sickening. The Sage is on the same team as Spoony, were you guys really expecting that he'd LIKE it? Yet another top comments section is yet another excellent argument against democracy.
SiorafasNaCillini 4 months ago
@SiorafasNaCillini
You...somehow drew "I dislike this" from this review? And you think Spoony seriously hates all of Final Fantasy? Wow.
ElFreakinCid 1 month ago
@SiorafasNaCillini
Did you actually watch the review before saying that? It's pretty clear that that he did like it.
TheGravitationist 1 month ago
@leowarrior14 12 was a great game...don't mock 12 X( I can understand if u didn't like vaan but don't knock the rest of the game for that flaw!
jarockstar27 6 months ago
Despite the cartoonish characters I think this is one of the best installments in the series. It had a great story, good gameplay, and just like sage said you really get to know the characters and that is what makes a good rpg. Sorry ffvii fans...This game is excellent and no I'm not including an omage to ffviii is wasn't as good of a game...period.
It's a nice change of pace from previous ff games and it took things from the first ff games and made it fun:)
jarockstar27 6 months ago
U know what though ppl who use to bash 9 that I know praise it now after the totally downfall of final fantasy that was 13 square needs to return to Gaia and terra in future installments get back to roots and make a better final fantasy
anthony555100 6 months ago
8 was bad... 9 was one of the best final fantasy. Then X came out. you can see what happened later.
noodleguy100 6 months ago
This game was always my favorite, partially because Zidane's personality. It was also my very first FF game as a kid.
Arekya 7 months ago
my favourite final fantasy game...nothing will top it...
tarkeke 8 months ago
Personally I found Kuja to be creepy as hell, mainly due to is appearance, but also the fact that he spoke like he was in a Shakespeare play, and his wonderfully eerie theme music.
Even if this game is considered the black sheep of Final Fantasy, the memories I have of it as a kid will always stick with me.
Gnauma 10 months ago
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
arbrawlchamp 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Personal favorite. Even like it better than 7
ScienceFictionHairdo 11 months ago
I played both FF7 ans FF9 and I never understood why FF7 got spin ofs anime movies ect while FF9 goot nothing but deserves the same thing, I kind of love Kuja, he is very good vilian insecure and tried to destroy the source of life because he didn't want to die alone.
Kellox17 11 months ago
I don't care what anyone says, the old school turn based style is what made FF. The new ones are ok, but they're more focused on graphics than story and gameplay. Ever since FF 10 the series kind of took a dive. I guess I'm just old fashioned, but I'd rather have a good story and gameplay over just good graphics any day.
jblf8199 1 year ago
the characters in ff9 made the story by far the best. ff9 is and always will be my favorite. the new ff's will never be as good as the older ones. there all about visuals and less story. ff13...what a waste of my money.
89leviathan 1 year ago
by far the best game ive ever played.
illestnrealest 1 year ago
Wow this game just turned 10 but mere days ago.
PTp1ranha 1 year ago
I agree with most of this, out of the reviews I've watched there has been more talk on graphics than plot, characters, or theme. Point out the fact that FF9 makes such a great story because it has a perfect balance of comedy and seriousness, ALL characters are interesting, and the relationship conflicts among them. I wanted Zidane to be with Garnet/Dagger the entire time, and when they hugged at the end, it was great.
nemi12 1 year ago
@nemi12 Totaly agree mate on all but one point Amarant was not intressting. Not outright bad just the weakest character.
Epicgob 1 year ago
@Epicgob he was worse than quina, and that's saying alot..I personally didn't like amarant, and they could have spent more time fleshing out necron instead. but oh well...still one of my favourite games lol
tarkeke 8 months ago
kuja had that feminine feel to him at first, but, he also had that sarcastic cold as ice, manipulative, sly feel, that makes some people preeeety dangerous if they want...he rocked his role.
garland took the part of the badass leader and got thrown out by the supposed to look like "gay" character,Kuja.
kuja was he emo bad guy of final fantasy. he wanted an identity and a family which he could have.but hey! SEPHIROTH wanted his mom,so he wanted to destroy the world, and the hair? looks gay too!
EruRouraito 1 year ago 2
twas pretty good tho i preferred ff7 , ff7 is still unmatched by any rpg ever in my opinion, final fantasy 7,8,9,10 are all great games the spin offs and newer games are never as good as these though crisis core was pretty cool :)
TheThorguitar 1 year ago
kuja, harmless? the guy flys around on a huge dragon and drove a whole world into war, and destroyed a whole other world. he may look feminin but he's not a harmless guy.
SkankinDevil89 1 year ago
@SkankinDevil89 It's that he LOOKS and SOUNDS harmless, not that he isn't actually harmless.
reinforcedpenisstem 1 year ago
i can't believe you said kuja was laughable he was by far most threatening cunning he manipulated everybody and wiped terra clean with his ultima
neoarcadezr 1 year ago
@neoarcadezr but he did wear a cod piece.
Epicgob 1 year ago
@Epicgob yea he did whats your point kuja was flamboyant character he was unique from his predecessors cod piece was style back in medieval times
neoarcadezr 1 year ago
@neoarcadezr Im not trying to say he wasnt a good villain. I found the way he used people very appealing. But I just think that square could of created a slightly more menacing charater design for him. However once in trance it did see improvment. But on a basic level if you ran into a man in a clown custom or leather jacket with a big sword that would be abit more scary than some guy wearing a purple/white cod piece.
Epicgob 1 year ago
@Epicgob he was angelic feminine evil character square did a good job on his design his look is suppose to make him look feeble and weak but in reality hes mega boss thats the whole point of his design i rather look at him than sephy or a clown any day
neoarcadezr 1 year ago
best ff
neoarcadezr 1 year ago
The best game i've ever played. nuff'said
MisterSilentFart 1 year ago
Nice review. Greatest FF behing VII.
rdor011 1 year ago
If it means anything, this is the first final fantasy I sat down and played, it is my favorite by far.
TheAtcyJAC 1 year ago
only FF"s i haven't beaten are 9, X-2, and 12. so far my favorite final fantasy is 8, people said the story was convoluted but i understood it perfectly and enjoyed it immensly. i'd have to say 7 is my second fav. i just got 9, can't wait to play it... just beat FF13 and that was enjoyable, but not as good as the older games.
mtbx 1 year ago
On the note of unimpressive villains....
Yeah cuz' long haired, leather garbed pretty boy Sephiroth seemed TOTALLY impressive. =P
That and he was freaking momma's boy.
No seriously...how many villains have you seen that can in any way, shape or form be related to "bad ass" who have mother complexes?
Anyways...I plan on getting this game for my PSP..
Now I just need a better memory stick x'D (The game is something like 1.32 GB and my memory stick is only 1GB) FFXI was the first FF game I ever saw
IzzySarru 1 year ago
I liked it alot. I think it was because I felt that I could get sucked into the FF9 world better than 7 and 8. 7 because the world was admitedly depressing, won't be taking my vacations there. And 8's world wasn't very exciting.
FreakPower70 1 year ago
FF IX was the best!
MizzFujin 1 year ago
I've never played FF9(but i plan to) but i didn't know Kuja( AKA the Drag Queen) was a guy until i played Dissidia Final Fantasy. I don't care what any of you say, if you play it long enough, you'll find that it is an awesome game with a plot that keeps you guessing. Plus, you get to know the all the heros and villains from the first 10 games! I personally love Terra, the Heroine of FF6 because she was the protagonist of the first FF game i ever played. But anyway, KUJA LOOKS LIKE A WOMAN.
chiyochan3173 1 year ago
I would be the first to agree that the series was heading the wrong direction starting with VII but VII is still one of the best game of all time, unarguably.
The reason FF was going down hill was because they tried to get all the negative aspects of VII and impliment it into the rest of the series.
But don't forget, Cloud once smiled.
vfmc77 1 year ago
My favourite Final Fantasy game...
etguitar18 1 year ago
FF IX has always been my favorite Final Fantasy game I don't care what anyone says
Nobe616 1 year ago
Please change the title of this video, the 'i' in 'Final' is capitalized, making it look like the word 'Anal' with a block-letter 'A.' I'm not trying to speak for anyone else, but I don't think many would want to watch a retrospective of 'Anal Fantasy 9'...
ScubaS7eve 1 year ago
thnx for the ffvii spoiler
mankindkn 1 year ago
Kuja was one of the greatest FF villains of all time. He's a Victorian villain with unique theater style dialogue and garments. His entire story resembles a tragic Shakespearean play and is carried out in excellent detail. He was the first antagonist to personally change during his reign of evil which is an important quality in any story telling. The player doesn't necessarily play to defeat him but to understand him. Kuja is by far one of the most underrated ff villains of all time.
ElectroParty87 1 year ago 2
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ElectroParty87 1 year ago
this title is the best of the whole ff series appeared in psone.... most of the gamers didn't even know the ff series until ff VII showed up. ff VII was just a complete mess... i would choose espers over materia any day.... the pepole who complains about ff IX does no know what the series has been. it was great that it went back into it's... quite disapointed with ff X to XII hope the square will once again go back where they made this title the greates series of all time
ivchavz 1 year ago
This game was breath of fresh air over the stink bomb of FF8 before the series took a nosedive with FF10 and up.Although I'm going to agree with Noah of The Spoony Experiment about the art style and I hate anime furies too, I still like this game I got it again on PSN. Bennett I think you should send this Retrospective to Spoony and help do a sub review of this for his FF10 review.Also I hated
Melodies Of Life just like I hated Eyes on me I my comment on that is the same as Spoony.
loomp 1 year ago
9 wasnt a black sheep. 12 was. and so was 13.
LeoWarrior14 1 year ago 6
@LeoWarrior14
Well they are now, what a decline in game quality, so sad.
80smusicfanNO1 1 year ago
It's funny that he says mixed reaction.. It was the highest rated Final Fantasy game on the playstation.
soulmman 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@soulmman no Final Fantasy 7 was
kyleeishot2 1 year ago
@soulmman I thought the highest rated FF on the PlayStation was VII, since it pretty much is one of the highest rated games of all time. Maybe I'm wrong, VII got a lot of hate too..
Lusciousfuga 1 year ago
@Lusciousfuga Nope :) check Metacritic for FFIX. Higher than all other FF's so far.
soulmman 1 year ago
When I first got it, I didn't like it much. Now, however, it's my 2nd favorite of the series. Instead of thinking of it as a throwback and comparing it to earlier games, I think it should be judged on its own merits.
MasterPharaoh90 1 year ago
I just bought it today for $1. :)
Ldon1234 1 year ago
FF IX is an amazing game! I love the story line, I really got involved and emotionally attached to all my characters, especially Vivi. And I know a lot of you might disagree with me, but Kuja has got to be the 2nd most evilest villain in the FF series, right under Kefka. Think about it people, Kuja manages to manipulate one country to destroy three others, then attacks that same country. basically wiping out an entire continent. Sorry Sephiroth fans, but Kuja beats him out, despite looks.
tifalockheart23 1 year ago
never played this one (one of the 2 I havent) but if the battle system leans more toward IV's system this looks like it could easily be my favorite in the series
tmark66 1 year ago
Comment removed
relentlessfish 1 year ago
The best Final Fantasy of them all...hands down!
Henysheadonwall 1 year ago
The game just hit PlayStationNetwork just yesterday. Talk about timing!
TransformersFanCo217 1 year ago
@TransformersFanCo217 I just bought it off of PSN...downloading it now!
Henysheadonwall 1 year ago
Either FFIX or FFX is the best in the series. The stories are excellent and gameplay is great. The only thing that makes them different as far as gameplay (other than graphics) is that FFIX is more open-world and FFX has excellent voice acting. I can't decide which I love better.
Laxanii 1 year ago
This is definitely the best of the PS1 FF games. fuck FFVII and super-fuck FFVIII.
arbitor365 1 year ago
LOL the I in 'Final' makes it look like "Anal Fantasy"
ScubaS7eve 1 year ago
FFX had the best 'enemies'. Sin, Seymour and Jecht were all badass.
38GencFenerli 1 year ago
no other final fantasy ending has tugged my heartstrings like FF9 did, and I have played them all.., black sheep? i dont think so.. i would call it the Ugly Duckling, laughed at by its siblings but looked at with envy when it turned into the beautiful swan..
chadrixnognog 1 year ago
you know what i love about the new ps3 slim and psp? you can dowload these games and play them on the GO!! its so awesome. sometimes its hard to sit in front of a tv for hours trying to beat omega weapon in ff VIII, but if your like on the road or in an airport or something and you have hours to kill its to most entertaining, time passing activity ever!! FFIX is soon to be released on the psn too!
kakarot1234567890 1 year ago
FF9 is my Favorite!! It was the first final fantasy i played it will always be my faveorite game of all time!
kakarot1234567890 1 year ago
I don't understand how ANYBODY can hate FF9. 9 and 7 are the two absolute best entries in the franchise.
StarManReviews 1 year ago
I'm so glad I gave this a chance. I had only played FFVII (which I found overrated (don't get me wrong, it's still good)) and I thought that was the only FF game worth playing. Boy was I wrong. I gave FFVI a chance at random, looking for an old classic to play. I loved it, but it still wasn't a home run for me.
Then... FFIX, and holy shit did I love it. It's one of the most inspired and inspiring game I've ever played and easily made its place among my top five favourite games of all time.
hahahahva 1 year ago
i don't think this was a black sheep at all... don't think that was most reception it got either... take a second look at most peoples' comments. It is my 2nd fav. next to 6.
tacomonday2 1 year ago
The best FF in my eyes, i played this game over and over again:), though i liked 12 almost just as much. These games have like "open" worlds to explore, not so much linear stuff like 10 and what else. But the atmosphere is great in 9!
Jelleakayells 1 year ago
@fadingdream-
the tales games blow.
mutantmuffin 1 year ago
3rd best Final Fantasy. So far (out of what I have played), this is the order:
1. Final Fantasy X
2. Final Fantasy XIII
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Final Fantasy XII
6. Final Fantasy III
I've yet to finish any besides X and XIII, but IX may end up being the best in the end...
I also would like to curse Tales of the Abyss for being the greatest game ever created (IMO) and causing me to quit FFIX in excitement...
FadingDream97 1 year ago
"hated by more?" I pity the fool who doesn't like FFIX!! IX was the best game I have ever played. I'd give my left foot and some toes to play a Final Fantasy IX remake, with good voice acting, of course. Then again, that would hurt...
apapalonglong 1 year ago
9 is my favourite in the series
gargh 1 year ago
A great review of a classic game. Awesome =)
ErickXEnigma 1 year ago
Actually, Final Fantasy IX was the first Final Fantasy I've ever picked played, and it's my favorite. I've played all the final fantasies, but this one always struck me the best. The cast was engaging and everyone grew and learned. While a lot of things in this game were simple on the surface, they were deeper meanings behind them, just like in life. It's too bad that so many people underrate this game, I think it's Square's true masterpiece.
Makilore 1 year ago
haha, when I first played the game I hated it because I couldn't read English and I didn't know what was going on, I got stuck in that part where the ship crashes and the girl is being attacked by that plant.
rubikcubebeater 1 year ago
I am surprised noone actually mentioned how deeply this game took interest in each character's individual story! FF IX was by far my favorite, possibly, because of characters like Vivi and Kuja!
If Kuja didn't seem evil then it's quite possibly simply because he wasn't meant to be "Evil" as such - People that played the game knows what I mean when I say he had a certain role to play!
Oh, and then there was the fact that this game had Beatrix .. Not in any game have a found a cooler character!
alex2217 1 year ago
no... it was upsetting that aerith died in ff7 because the story was so good, not because of how much you used her in battle. The stories are just out right gay from 10 on, o my fucking god i just got 13 and what the fuck kind of dog shit is this. anyway back to 9 story great with the cartoonish like drawing but zidane was just horrible looking. i really didnt care about him because of how stupid he looked. i would stick with the cartoon look of course but god he just looked so gay so fukn gay
mikematij2 1 year ago
In my opinion, Squall and Cloud were great FF characters along with Zidane and Freya as well as others, But some of the other games were overhyped. Take FF7 for instance, I liked the game, but I got bored with it very quickly and I absolutely hated Sephiroth. That hatred is mainly due to the fact that the bastard killed my healer and I never got another character to fill her place and the story was a bit dry. FF8 and 9 were my faves though. 8 was good but the draw system was frustrating at times
BrentCheek55 1 year ago
@BrentCheek55
Yeah, 8 was very much a physical attack-oriented installment in the series. Once the characters had 100 of each spell there was essentially no need to ever cast a spell (aside from meltdown). I loved the junction system though! 8 was my first FF experience and is my fav because of it. It's hard to dislike any FF game if you're a true fan. I can say that though because I haven't played any past 10 :)
tremolo34 1 year ago
What i like about this than the more newer final fantasy games, is that it looks like the story takes place in a time that could look like the middle age with an industrial twist (the airships, you know). And of course the real black mages with yellow eyes.
Those would've been fun to see in a new final fantasy game.
Petebindestrek92 2 years ago
What does exuberent and extravert mean?
E123Ultima 2 years ago
My favourite Final Fantasy. Nice retrospective :)
uberd0gAlpha 2 years ago
I Thought Kuja was awesome.
DiagnosedWithDeath 2 years ago 12
Well said...
jonnyl9410 2 years ago
What do I care what a small group of nose bleeders think? All I know is that Final Fantasy 9 was fantastic, a refreshing, change of pace from 7 and 8, the last great final fantasy!
Besides the rather short boss battles (few lasted more than a few minutes due to the comparably low HP) it was a perfect little yarn... and Zidane was clearly a much better character than either cloud or Squ- the big emos!
BazukaT 2 years ago 26
Poor Final Fantasy IX. We hardly knew you.
Stephengameworm88 2 years ago 2
Comment removed
Stephengameworm88 2 years ago
Why do people have to bash Kuja because of his thong? He's a damned better villain than Sephiroth, and Kefka's a freaking clown with..what? a feathered cap and lipstick? I'd definitely place him as one of the better villains in the FF series.
KissMeImPunk 2 years ago
@KissMeImPunk I agree, Sephiroth was massively overrated and as was Final Fantasy VII, it just wasn't a very enjoyable game and strayed away from what everything games like IV stood for.
kilikman 2 years ago
ya kefka's a clown....a clown who poisons people......... kuja is a man who's prettier than most girls i ff9....................and he wears a thong that really says a lot
fsexyyeah 2 years ago
Kuja's a fucking crossdresser who's psychopathic who could control any Eidolon and could've destroyed EXISTENCE.
KissMeImPunk 2 years ago
well i guess so cant say he was a bad villain but still kefka is my fave and i dont really care about sephiroth love the game but really sephiroth wasnt the baddest villain.............ps i hope i dont get thumbs down for that last comment its only my opinion
fsexyyeah 2 years ago
People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Don't bash Kefka for being hydrogenous when you're trying to defend Kuja of all people. I don't see Kefka with a belly shirt, Kefka actually has some character, and I don't see Kuja turning into a 6 winged purple god, destroying the world.
tnpan 2 years ago
At least Kuja doesn't take it upon himself to dress like a fucking clown. Have you seen the tights that are on that man? He makes that workout nutcase look straight. Kuja wasn't some rip-off of Sephiroth, not even close. I don't see Kefka utterly annhilating an entire planet or trying to terraform said planet with another planet.
KissMeImPunk 2 years ago
best ff ever! the battle system is great and the charakters look pretty good, but the most fantastic things in this game was it's music and it's brilliant story :)
GodlikeStrike 2 years ago
i liked this game alot
diddykongfu 2 years ago
This is one of my all time FF favourites. I first played it as a teen.. now in my mid 20's I still take it out now and again to play.
illumi83 2 years ago
Agreee 9999%... x_x
FFManiac17 2 years ago
is this game only on ps2?
dudutube7432 2 years ago
ps1* X_X
ImDarkie 2 years ago
this is a playstation 1 game
illumi83 2 years ago
ps1
zidanedart 2 years ago
1:02 so unlike the main characters of the previous two final fantasies, in other words, Zidanes a total bad ass and has skills with the ladies. Zidanes my favorite FFcharacter and IX is my favorite rpg of all time. why people hate this game is beyond my understanding. it had lovable, memorable characters, excellent dialog and story telling and was a well needed break from the more emo themed final fantasies. just got it in the mail recently, found my old ps1, and have neglected my 360 completely
SkankinDevil89 2 years ago
oh yeah this game also had awesome music, im at conde petie in the game and that theme just stayed in my head all day at work
SkankinDevil89 2 years ago
I agree. The story is completely awesome, and Kuja is one of the greatest villains of all time :)
Although both 7 and 8 were great :)
TwilightVivi 2 years ago
thank you for the great review. eveyone else that puts a game review trys to be funny and thats not whatim looking for im looking for a review on the game and the storyline not some kids that try and get laughs. anyways i found this very informational. i have never played final fantasy 7 8 9 and im currently working on it and i was just looking for an review on 9 and you did a great job. again thank you for not being a childish idiot.
tonyxt 2 years ago
That's because most of those people review bad games that are pretty much universally hated.
Cerberus664 2 years ago
I really can't see that it has this 'back sheep' reputation as you describe. Not from a UK-centric view at least.
I hear nothing but fond memories of it from friends and other journalists, and look back to see a 94/100 on metacritic.
It's a great game - possibly even my favourite of the modern era (7-12).
odds87 2 years ago
My friend, FFIX is not the black sheep of the series...that would be FFVIII, FFXI and FFXII. Final Fantasy IX is the first RPG I liked, it is one my favourite games ever and it was a GODSEND after the nonsensical, emo abonimation that is FFVIII.
E123Ultima 2 years ago 2
now what have you got agenst the emos huh? :P
lonergana 2 years ago
nothing against emos that are written well like Cloud. But Squall is so stereotypically emo and annoying that it makes want to shoot and chop him with MY gunblade (which I bought from the internet and NO it is not from FFVIII. It is a custom made gunblade that makes sense called 'Bowie').
E123Ultima 2 years ago
Yeah your right he was stereotypically emo and he was ment to be reason why I think it was so good was that he becomes less emo as he establishes a relationship with Renoa as you get though er into the game... he even smiles by the end of the game!! something not even cloud did :P
But yeah thats just the way I see it I guess XD
lonergana 2 years ago
There are TWO good Final Fantasy games: This one and the First one, just because it wasn't stale back then. Seriously, other than Sonic, this is the most overrated series ever.
KAPTAINmORGANnWo4eva 2 years ago
My fav
BlowBackBenny 2 years ago
i disagree with Kuja not being a good villain he looked like a bitch and was one he was one of the best villains ever put into a game
ThePrinceOfTragedy 2 years ago
I think 9 was too ahead of it's time. The story and comical undertones were great and the ATE system added a sense of depth into exploring the field map. The only 2 things that I could think of were a turn-off could be the difficulty of learning Blue Magic (eating enemies rather than getting hit by the skill) and the fact that enemies that steal (which you can never get back) always seemed to steal the most rare items from you. I've had one of my ultimate weapons stolen from be a few times.
solblackguy 2 years ago
Okay at 3:32 , I dare someone to tell me that the character doesn't look like a softer and younger Yuna from FFX
D0ug16 3 years ago
dude not even she looks more like a younger rinoa not yuna
ThePrinceOfTragedy 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Those ridiculous characters made it impossible to take anything in the game seriously. Just look at that monkey guy or the fat blue thing with a wiking-helmet.
jamsy00 3 years ago
it was intended that way. i got this game when i was idk 9 or 10 so i enjoyed the comical aspect of it and thought the more serious parts were badass. my interest in final fantasy kind of waned overtime cuz none of the others (minus 6) were as memorable as this.
FireScythe1992 2 years ago
Why take it seriously? I look at it as an amazing fairy-tale.
SwobyJ 2 years ago 2
I liked FFIX the most of them all
BazOneSixxTeen 3 years ago
I love Final Fantasy IX.
KajiCarson 3 years ago
9 is much better than 10, in my opinion.
tehgreybob 3 years ago 2
10 was ok at first but got really fucking annoying. mainly because of the lack of characterization, boring battle system ,and godawful voiceacting
FireScythe1992 2 years ago
FF4, 6, 9 and 10 are the BEST FF games. so sad those type of games are gone now :-(
adolfobaez 3 years ago
7 is my favorite for one reason- storyline! But it has the downfall of being futuristic. FF is meant to be a medeival style game, and they need MORE of the newer one to be medeival, not set in 26 1/2th century.
redneckpride4ever 3 years ago
9 was great but Kuja did suck ass. Plus the plot really unravelled toward the end with Garland and stuff - plus I was PISSED you only got to go to 1 elemental shrine instead of acting out all 4, and they were pretty piddly as far as dungeons go. Zidane and Queen Brahne as a protagonist & villian could have been a bit better designed.
StewNWT 3 years ago
Couldn't agree more, stick Tactics in there, although it's so different.
4 I can solely credit with getting me into RPGs. If only I knew what I was starting lol
StewNWT 3 years ago
im so glad i bought this off ebay!
DragonLordReviews 3 years ago
hmm mine is FF Tactics, or the current
War of the Lions
RoyalKnightVI 3 years ago
This is one of the best games ive ever played! The characters where great and the graphics where pure eye candy!
benzo8686 3 years ago 2
7 was no doubt a good game, but im sick of everyone choosing it as their favorite. the newer installments for 7 were horrible( movie and crisis core). 9 slaughters 7 hands down,fuck all those stupid nerds that hate it for being classic.
AdvanceNintendo69 3 years ago
Wonderful retrospective review. FFIX will always be my favourite of the Final Fantasy series simply because it put back the "Fantasy" in Final Fantasy. FFVII and VIII were great games and I love them but it was great that the last Final Fantasy of the PS1 genre went back to its roots before branching out to new heights with FFX
zidanejace 3 years ago
9 is my 2nd favorite FF game (just after 7). People should definitely play it.
Poki3 3 years ago
IX is easily my favorite in the series. Good to see other people appreciate it.
LordQuadros 3 years ago
I thought ff8 and ff12 were the black sheeps of ff games.
DamuEmran 3 years ago
I loved the hell out of this game its easily as good as 8 or 10.
Jackpwnsn00bz 3 years ago
This game grabbed my heart, especially in the scene where Zidane rescues Garnet in Alexandria.
BlowBackBenny 3 years ago
people are throwing off ff ix ?! how dare they thats cruel ix was my favourite one or is rather i love the ff series though cept xiii, xi (cause its only online wtf were they thinking?) & xii. i agree xii is over rated but i still like it ^^ god i gotta play ix again ^^
xemnas448 3 years ago
this game is actually the best in the series!!! ff7 is over-rated. i hope cloud dies. lol
yoyohihi940 3 years ago
Its nice to see someone talk positively about what I'd say is my personal favorite of the series, though I think four and six are higher quality. Good Review.
krayzie1337 3 years ago
Final Fantasy IX FTW. This is one of my favorite PlayStation games, and my second favorite of the franchise.
ThePS2God 3 years ago
did u just reveal the ending scene of the game at the end of your video? i sure hope not cause im going to play it now.
bloomerist 3 years ago
6 and 9 are the only ones i liked:p
PhyrePhenix 3 years ago
This game always brings fond memories back, thanks for recognizing it.
Lunitariw 3 years ago
I actually think FFIX is the best in the series. At least, it's my favourite of them.
carannilion 3 years ago
Excellent! Some very well-made points. It's really a shame that this game isn't more liked....
RobinLSL 3 years ago 3
Why thank you good sir.
BennettTheSage 3 years ago
I like how you did an older game u rock!!
stasi04 3 years ago