Hi! This is my little JRPG corner UwU

I wanted to share my review of Final Fantasy IX:

I have recently finished my FFIX playthrough and I wanna share my thoughts on it here: First, I want to start by explaining my relationship with (or lack of) the game. As with other PS1 games, I didn’t grow with FFIX because I was too young to play it, my first Playstation console was the PS2. But I wasn’t completely unaware of the game though, my only link to it being Vivi. I knew Vivi was a character from the game, but I didn’t knew anything about him since my only contact with him growing up was in KH2. I also knew what most people say about FFIX: It’s a love letter to the games that came before it, more like a farewell letter in my opinion though. Taking this into account, while I did go through the game’s story with an open mind I tried to pick up on any references to old games, and I was especially excited to see Vivi’s character develop, I’ve heard multiple times that his was especially good. And I can finally say without a doubt that I loved it.

Even from the start of the game, FFIX mixes the familiar with the unexpected, toying with the player expectations, taking advantage of the trust that “love letter” feel gives him. Your starting party is composed of the first 4 classes in the original Final Fantasy: A Kinght, Thief, White Mage, and Black Mage. These characters though, in opposition to their forefathers are complete opposites to what some might expect. The Black Mage, who has control over offensive magic, and one might think has vast knowledge about the world around him is represented by a young Vivi, who has a childlike view of the world, is often shy and clumsy and isn’t fully aware of his potential. Garnet, the princess representing the White Mage archetype (quite literally in her debut, wearing that white and red robe) Is more forward and inclined to action. While Steiner does feel like an actual Knight, his servitude to the princess, a stoic character, I feel that what he lacks is that he is not the main character this time. Rather, he is relegated to a sort of comedic partner or butt of the joke to the real main character, having some of the attributes exaggerated, like how stern he is or how hard it is form him to change his views. The actual main character is Zidane, the thief, who would’ve been almost always second while the Knight was 1st in the lineup. For the player who notices this, the world of FFIX is slowly showing that it’s much deeper than one might acknowledge at first glance. It rewards keen eye players who take the time to investigate it with more than a simple glance. And this isn’t only found in the story or the characters. Even the mechanics reward players that choose to take their time learning about how the world functions. My preferred way to play JRPG’s for a while has been with a guide that doesn’t spoil the story for me but allows me to keep up with all the secondary quests and objectives, and let me tell you, by the 2nd disc I already had auto-potion on most of my characters. Yes, FFIX isn’t probably the first game to reward their players for spending time doing everything the game has to offer before continuing with the story (its predecessor, FFVIII, is a good example of another game where it’s highly beneficial to use its mechanics very early)

But for my first experience it left me very satisfied.

Favorite Characters.

Freya: Oh my god Freya, where do I start? Her Job is described as a Dragoon, but while other characters of the series are purely physical, I thoroughly enjoyed that Freya also had access to abilities akin to magic. It would’ve probably made her feel a little too simple in comparison with anybody else in the party.

Her story withing the game feels very rewarding, we get to see her both her highs and her lows during the discs. Starting as a mere acquaintance of Zidane, visiting her home town and seeing it fall to the hands of the Burmecian Empire is a very strong blow, but making it so that she finds her lost mentor and he doesn’t remember anything about her is devastating. I was already very fond of Freya before these events as I thought she was a cool looking character, but after these events I was INVESTED in her and her story, and I was rooting for her to get a happy ending. While in the end her mentor doesn’t remember her, the fact the he falls in love with her again was an excellent finishing touch. Love isn’t something that appears out of nowhere, it’s grown with time. They had the opportunity to fall in love again with eachother again, which is something that not everybody gets to experience, making their relationship even more special.

Quina: Hooo boy, Quina. I have many many thoughts on Quina, I’ll try to organize them and make some sense while talking about them.

Before saying anything, FF9 was released in 98’, and I can’t talk about what I like/dislike about Quina’s character without considering the time that the character was created. There’s a certain awkwardness around them that I felt throughout the whole game. It’s never really explained what exactly Quina is, if I recall correctly (it’s been a couple months since I finished the game, so my lore is a but flakey) which isn’t a bad thing. In my humble opinion it adds to the fantastical feeling of the world of FF9, of Gaia. The hyper connectivity that we have nowadays is not present, so it’s reasonable that not many members of the species have contacted with the rest of the world.

The game just tells you Quina is something strange, and all the other characters corroborate this in almost every interaction that they have with them. Most of the time the party doesn’t even know what pronouns to use for them. But there’s something that doesn’t fully click with this idea that the game is portraying, Quina isn’t really a weird, not even quirky character. Yes, they are very food motivated, and yes social situations aren’t their forte, but all those things can be explained by cultural differences between the species. And I somewhat understand what Quina must feel in the situations that they’re put throughout the game. Why do they act cold around me?, why aren’t I as cared for as the rest of them. This doesn’t mean the gang doesn’t end up appreciating Quina for who they are, but it does take them more effort than with Vivi for example.

Through my eyes, Quina is very much a queer coded character. As much as a 1998 character can be queer coded unintentionally. Quina is the other, the strange, the unknown and the over the top. But for them, they’re only living their life as they feel they should. Reacting to the world the way the feel they have to. And is in this limbo of you are weird/you’re not weird that I found that I really liked Quina. Her design is visually appealing, blue mages are one of my favorite class so I enjoyed having her as the utility of the team, and I developed a fondness of to them that I wasn’t expecting honestly. Viva Quina!

Finally… Vivi.

Vivi really is something. After so many years of wondering about him, what could make him so special? His story so meaningful? I finally understood why. Vivi isn’t a nice reference to the black mages of old anymore for me. Vivi is so much more. Maybe I’m being dramatic, or, honestly, maybe I’m not being dramatic enough. I feel a myriad of emotions anytime I think about Vivi. Those moments so carefully crafted where the game lets him be alone with his thoughts. The way you can pinpoint the exact moments where Vivi stops being so childish and innocent. What he suffers throughout the game… I can proudly say that FF9 is now one of my favorite game of all times!