5/5 ★ – dark1905's review of Final Fantasy IX.

I'll now review Final Fantasy VII and IX together since I played them both back-to-back, I know, late to the party. That's why the review for both of them is the same. I still remember when I bought Final Fantasy IX for the PlayStation 1 from a local supermarket at around the age of 7. When I started the game, I was more than disappointed because the gameplay didn't look anything like the cutscene images on the back cover. I did play it for a while, but back then, it felt like Pokémon with way too much text. Yes, I know it's a silly comparison, but I was 7. I never continued playing Final Fantasy IX and perhaps due to that experience, I never really developed an interest in the JRPG genre. However, I recently discovered JRPGs through the Persona series. Another contributing factor was the Switch, as I rediscovered the joy of handheld gaming. So, I thought to myself, I see Final Fantasy mentioned in almost every video I watch about video games in general, and I couldn't believe I had never played it. That's when I started with Final Fantasy IX, as I needed to break the curse. And I was blown away. The combat system is challenging but not overwhelming, and the modifications made in the Switch remakes helped speed up the game, allowing me to focus on the story. Because the story deeply touched me. I know it's a bit cheesy and not the deepest story, especially when compared to, let's say, VII. But I grew attached to every single character, and I thoroughly enjoyed each personal character arc. The heart behind this story left a profound impression on me. Now, let's compare it to VII. If I had played VII first, I might have seen IX as a cuter imitation. The combat system is the same. The structure is the same, but I believe that's typical for every Final Fantasy installment. I like Cloud, and Barret and Tifa are characters with fascinating backgrounds and compelling development, but they didn't quite capture my heart. Unfortunately, the other characters didn't do much for me. The story is more mature and deeper, and in those aspects, it surpasses IX. However, I found IX to be more cohesive, whereas the different continents and locations in VII felt disjointed and somewhat randomly put together. The mini-games in VII were relatively uninteresting, but this may be because they don't quite hold up in today's gaming landscape. On the other hand, I loved the card game in IX. All in all, IX is a masterpiece for me, and VII remains an almost flawless JRPG. If I had played VII first and then IX, my perspective might have been different. Or perhaps if I had played more Final Fantasy games. The latter will be remedied in the future as I plan to explore more of the Final Fantasy series.