ChelseyDagger

I feel that like FF6, FF9 has more nuance than all following Final Fantasy games (except 12 if you ignore Vaan).

I suppose the dawn of voice acting added that extra layer of insincerity, a lot of lines are delivered in such a bombastic over-the-top fashion that does the writing no justice. Scenes I imagine in older JRPGs as being heartfelt might come across as pretty naff with a lot of the shonen style voice acting.

I feel 9 has a sort of story book quality, like a lot of good children's fiction it's simple on one level, but also filled with moral dilemmas and existential questions. I never connected with these that much when I was a child (though I did think they were very 'poignant') and I think as an adult I can relate more, not less, though that might change as I approach the conclusion.