this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
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FF9 was better than 7.
I know, you guys hate me now.
Every Final Fantasy I have beaten has been better than 7.
I like 4,5, 9, and 12 all more than 7 as an adult.
But 7 was a cultural phenomenon, and it devoured my teenage imagination when it came out.
When I was a kid, I didn't really get into RPGs until after 7 was already out. I got into Arc the Lad, Jade Cocoon, and FF8 on the PS1. When I tried to go back and play FF7, it looked so ugly, I had a hard time connecting with it.
As an adult, the story and mini-games were frustrating. The obsession with the game is annoying as well. Although it's undeniable the impact it has had on gaming.
For the record, I've beaten 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 13-2, 15, 16, Crisis Core, Dissidia, Dissidia 012, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Yeah that's basically my story, but you've beaten more than I have.
Have you not beaten 7?
Wow, I didn't realize what I said was actually a paradox. lol, I'll reword.
FF7 is the worst Final Fantasy that I've beaten.
Well now I need to know if you've beaten 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15. Because how can any of those be better than 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1?
(God damn there are too many of these games 😬)
Copied from another comment of mine, I have beaten 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 13-2, 15, 16, Crisis Core, Dissidia, Dissidia 012, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line.
My top 3 are X, VIII, and XII in that order.
I hadn’t played that one yet.
I'm here to add my opinion that FF9 is superior to FF7.
In general, I prefer when your characters have set classes. It feels like it lets the characters have more fleshed-out personalities.
Without spoiling anything, it allows you to tell story through the medium. Have a character who spent his whole life in one class, relying on specific skills, and he maybe goes through a huge fight to signify that he's changed for the better? Congrats. You have a class change! Now you're a level nothing!
Maybe someone traumatizes a caster, and now they can't concentrate, giving them a chance to fail their spells!
If you can, I would like to recommend that you do.
I don’t.
You have no future in politics.
Thank fuck for that
Comrade! There are DOZENS of us!
9 is one of the two I haven’t played yet.
Any reasons why? Seriously asking because I had a hell of a time getting into FF9 for some reason, to the point where I actually never finished it.
I'm leagues older now and, hey, maybe I can go back and appreciate it differently...who knows.
I love a lot about IX. However the combat is much slower than the other games. IIRC, an attack has to complete entirely and the character returns before the next character goes. While in VIII, the next queued attacker starts moving before the last one finishes their movements. Additionally, IX has 4 characters in battle. If you're bring strategic, it can be very slow moving. Also, every boss has a valuable steal, but chances of stealing it are low. So if you take the bait, you will spend a lot of time repeatedly trying to steal. Also, your abilities are tied to your equipment unless you grind out enough points to unlock them, meaning you either keep bad equipment, upgrade and abandon abilities, or grind until the abilities are unlocked.
Also, the chibi-style art isn't for everyone. I had more issues with 7's style. But it's a preference.
Style is probably the biggest thing IX has going for it, maybe character writing. The main plot wasn't gripping or novel, you've already touched on some gameplay missteps, and Tetra Master is garbage.
Tetra Master is almost a lot of fun. It just needs to turn down the RNG and not be so mysterious with digit meanings.
I liked the story. Although most of the substance is late-game, which is common for FF games. But I thought it was pretty solid.
Character writing is definitely top-tier. The style is perfect for PS1 too. I think it has aged the best of the PS1 games.
Needs more than that to compare favorably against Triple Triad.
Kuja fell very flat for me. Relation to Zidane is retreading old ground, design is obviously trying to evoke Sephiroth, motivation seemed generically evil. The stuff with the Black Mages and Vivi was great (possibly just because Vivi is a top tier character and his innocence juxtaposed against the tragedy helps it hit). The Genome stuff feels awfully close to the Sephiroth clone stuff, right on down to the lead protagonist full of false memories. The Terra/Gaia angle is kinda cool.
Heartily agree on aging the best, visually. The stylized fantasy aesthetic gives it a pleasant timelessness.
Since you mention it, I do see some similarities with VII. Although I think IX does a lot of it better than VII. Kuja actually has a connection with Zidane and rooted in jealousy. Where Cloud's obsession is the opposite and rooted in revenge (the clone part in particular ending up being a false flag for Cloud).
I think a lot of the similarities are superficial. The actual story is quite different. But it's interesting to see common tropes in Final Fantasy games. Lost memories, for example, is extremely common.
I played it a very long time ago, so I don’t remember specifics, but I generally just liked the story and characters better.