Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX is a video game that consists of 6 releases

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The crystals have made a return in the ninth installment of Final Fantasy, take charge of the tail-bound traveling thief in this large tale.

Overview

Final Fantasy IX was developed and published by Squaresoft (now known as Square-Enix) in 2000 for Sony's PlayStation. It was the third and last numbered game in the series to be released on the console.

Final Fantasy IX was being developed at the same time as Final Fantasy VIII, however, the game took a different path towards returning to the series' roots, offering a more traditional fantasy setting, while making multiple references to older games in the series, it's main influence being the original Final Fantasy. The game introduced many new features, such as the Mognet, Active Time Event (ATE) and a revamped equipment and skill system.

Plot

Setting

Geographical map of Gaia

Final Fantasy IX takes place primarily in the four continents of the fantasy world Gaia. The majority of Gaia's population live in the Mist Continent, named so due to the large layer of mist that covers it, however, a small number of the population also inhabit the other three continents - Outer, Lost and Forgotten - , although these are uncharted territory for people that live in the Mist Continent. The Mist Continent is divided up into four major powers: Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia and Cleyra. They are all separated by large mountain ranges.

The game has a medieval setting, much like the predecessors of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII. In the game, the population relies on hydropower and wind power, however, they also learn to harness the mist that covers the Mist Continent to power more advanced engines, such as ones found on airships. According to Hiroyuki Ito, Gaia is influenced by Norse and Northern European Mythology, as the development team is attracted to the drama and depth presented by them.

Story

The story focuses on the war sparked by Queen Brahne of Alexandria, who is supplied with powerful weapons by a mysterious dealer. The game begins with Zidane, the protagonist, meeting with members of Tantalus, a group of thieves disguised as a theatre troupe, to discuss their plan to kidnap the princess of Alexandria, Garnet Till Alexandros XVII during her sixteenth birthday.

Gameplay

The field icon indicates that the ticket booth can be inspected

Final Fantasy IX plays out like any other game in the series, where you navigate a character throughout the many towns, dungeons, caverns and the like, exploring different areas and interacting with non-playable characters (NPCs). A field icon with a "!" or a "?" indicates that an object can inspected, or that there is either an item, a switch, a chest or something similar nearby. This time around, you can save your game and use tents to recover HP and MP by speaking to Moogles, whereas you used Save Points in previous games. The Moogles may also ask you to deliver messages as a part of Mognet.

As usual, different modes of transport are also available later on in the game, such as Chocobos, boats and Airships. When travelling on foot in the world map, or in places that contain monsters, the player will face random encounters.

The new feature, Active Time Events (ATE), has many purposes. The main purpose is for character development, as it shows events which are occurring simultaneously, although it is also used to provide special items or to control 2 different parties when the group is split up to solve puzzles and navigate dungeons.

Abilities

Final Fantasy IX revives the concept of fixed character classes, where different character are assigned a different class. For example, Zidane is the only character capable of using Thief techniques (stealing, etc), while Freya is the only character capable of using Lancer/Dragoon techniques (Jumping, etc).

To learn new abilites, characters must equip different items which come with special ablities attached. Once equipped, the characters can use these abilities (as long as the ability matches their class), and after each battle, they gain Ability Points (AP). Once the character gains enough AP, the ability becomes useable without the item having to be equipped.

Abilities are separated into action and support categories. Action abilities use up MP, and include magic spells and special actions that can be used during battle to harm foes, heal allies, etc. Support abilities only become available when they are equipped with magical stones, and have the ability to neautralise status effects, increase attack power, etc. The maximum number of stones that can be equipped increases as the characters level up.

Characters

Playable Characters

Zidane Tribal: A blond thieve with monkey tail. He is a member of the Tantatalus, a group of thieves/actors. He is a lighthearted, dagger wilder, chick lover.

Characters (left to right): Quina, Freya, Eiko, Garnet, Zidane, Steiner, Vivi and Amarant

Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (alias Dagger): The Princess of Alexandria, a beautiful black hair girl. She is a white mage and a summoner who can wield Eidolons.Vivi Orunitia: A Black Mage who is trying to find where is he from, he is a quiet and gentle young boy, with a very powerful use of magic. Adelbert Steiner: He’s Captain of the Knights of Pluto, who serve in Alexandria. He’s a protector of princess Garnet and a man with a high sense of justice. He’s also very stubborn and sometimes very square minded. Swords are his weapons of choice.Amarant Coral: He’s a bounty Hunter and a wanted man. He and Zidane got a past together. He’s quiet and nobody really knows the reasons or thoughts behind he’s actions. His main weapons are claws.Freya Crescent: A female Dragon Knight from the city of Burmecia, who is in search of her lost love. Her main weapons are spears.Quina Quen: A very strange looking guy (or girl), he is part of the Qu race. He is send by he’s “master” to join Zidane and the rest of the party to help and learn about food around the world, to become a great cook. He’s weapon of choice: kitchen forks and spoons.Eiko Carol: A six-year-old girl living in Madain Sari, the lost village of the Eidolon summoners. She is one of the two remaining summoners in Gaia (the other being Garnet). She also has a big crush on Zidane.

Advertising

Final Fantasy IX was delayed, and in the months leading up to the release, Square signed a deal with Coca Cola. They ran a series of Coca Cola commercials on TV featuring the characters and environments of the final Fantasy IX world.

Zidane sure wants that bottle cap.

General Information Edit

Game Name	Final Fantasy IX
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Publisher(s)	Square Enix Infogrames Entertainment SA Square Co., Ltd.
Developer(s)	Square Co., Ltd.
Genres	Add a new genre Card Game Role-Playing (RPG)
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy Steampunk
Original US Release	Nov. 14, 2000 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	FF9 FFIX