Games, Final Fantasy IX
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After several Final Fantasy installments that featured an increasing sci-fi slant, Final Fantasy IX was intended to return the series, at least temporarily, to its more fantasy-oriented roots. The characters, who had been depicted in an increasingly realistic fashion in previous Final Fantasy games, were deliberately rendered in a more cartoonish fashion to reflect this return to tradition. Among the most notable in the influences of previous Final Fantasy games is the presence of Black Mages, represented foremost by the playable party member Vivi; other Black Mages appeared as a crucial element of the storyline.
Final Fantasy IX was announced and developed in tandem with Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI. This three-pronged marketing effort was intended to provide gamers with the promise of three upcoming games of varied style and gameplay: an intentionally retro RPG in Final Fantasy IX, a smoother evolution in style and design in Final Fantasy X, and an online experience in Final Fantasy XI. Many people thought Final Fantasy IX would be the last game in the series, because of all the references to the other Final Fantasy titles.
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Gameplay
Levels and Abilities
Final Fantasy IX retains experience points and levels, but new abilities are learned by equipping an item that can teach an ability and gaining enough ability points to learn it permanently, reminiscent of the Esper system in Final Fantasy VI. However, in this case abilities can still be used even when they have not been learned permanently. A little known feature is that abilities can be learned faster by equipping multiple pieces of equipment that all teach the same ability; e.g. Zidane will learn Long Reach twice as fast if he equips both Thief Hat and Protect Ring at the same time. The effect is boosted further by using the Ability Up ability.There are two types of abilities in Final Fantasy IX: "Action" and "Support". Action abilities include techniques like Magic, weapon skills and calling Eidolons. Support abilities have beneficial passive effects such as resistance against status effects and increased damage to certain enemy types. A limited amount of support abilities can be equipped at one time, governed by "Magic Stones". Each support ability requires a certain number of Magic Stones, and more stones can be gained by leveling up. Many abilities can be learned by most of the cast, but some are exclusive to certain characters.
Field
In the field, the player typically controls the main character, Zidane. However, unlike the previous 3D games, the environment is much more interactive. When Zidane passes a point of interest, a ! or ? bubble appears above his head, and the player can press
to interact with this object. As the game progresses, different methods of traveling across the world become available. As with previous incarnations, characters can travel by chocobo, boat and airship. These methods of travel, especially the boat and airships, are important to the story. Battles
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In Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, the player was restricted to three-person parties. In Final Fantasy IX, this is changed to the classic four-person party. Also, the game allows for two players to control members chosen by the player in the battle.
Trance
- Main article: Trance (Final Fantasy IX)
Character ClassesEdit
This is yet another return to tradition from Final Fantasy IX's recent predecessors, in which characters were largely blank slates to be heavily customized by the player. Here, the emphasis is on building an effective team of characters whose strengths and weaknesses balance one another to form an effective fighting force.
Active Time Events
- Main article: Active Time Event
Mognet
- Main article: Mognet (Final Fantasy IX)
Later on in the game, it is revealed that the Moogles are only requesting that the player deliver letters because Mognet Central, where Moogle letters are usually sorted, is having mechanical problems, and as a result, letter deliveries have become sporadic. It is later revealed that the malfunctions are caused by the letter carrier Artemicion, who decorated his coat with the oil used to lubricate Mognet's machines, causing them to break down. There are several letters about Artemicion being sent between Moogles worrying about his constant use of the item, which is called "Super Slick". Nevertheless, many do admire Artemicion's shiny coat. The player may optionally help the Moogles restore Mognet Central's functionality as a sidequest.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)
Setting
- Main article: List of Final Fantasy IX Locations
- Mist Continent, the first playable area and the most heavily settled.
- Forgotten Continent, a large land in the west where the sun sets.
- Lost Continent, to the northwest, almost entirely covered in ice.
- Outer Continent, an arid desert wasteland to the North.
Characters
- Main article: List of Final Fantasy IX Characters
- Zidane Tribal: The main protagonist. A Thief, member of the Tantalus group, and an inveterate womanizer.
- Garnet til Alexandros XVII: The female protagonist, and princess of Alexandria. A Summoner with more emphasis on summons than White Magic.
- Vivi Orunitia: A young Black Mage, but very pure of heart.
- Adelbert Steiner: A noble Knight of Alexandria, and the Captain of the Knights of Pluto.
- Freya Crescent: A Burmecian Dragon Knight who searches for her lost love, Sir Fratley.
- Quina Quen: A Qu Blue Mage who joins the adventure to experience cuisine from around the world.
- Eiko Carol: A young Summoner with more proficiency in White Magic than summoning, one of the last of her tribe.
- Amarant Coral: A Monk and wanted bandit, who holds a grudge against Zidane.
StoryEdit
Zidane decides to assist the princess to Lindblum on foot, and is dismissed by the leader of Tantalus, Baku, who dissents with his opinion. Vivi and Steiner join Zidane in rescuing Garnet from Evil Forest's carnivorous botany and eventually escape the woods, leaving Tantalus behind. The foursome venture through the Ice Cavern, where Zidane defeats Black Waltz No. 1, a lackey of Brahne's. Arriving in the village of Dali, Garnet adopts the alias of "Dagger" to blend in with the peasantry. The villagers kidnap Vivi and the rest of the party is soon shocked when they rescue him and find out that the villagers are manufacturing Black Mages from the Mist, for export to Alexandria. Garnet begins to ponder the possibility of returning to Alexandria and questioning her mother about the Black Mage business, a notion which Steiner approves of. After besting Black Waltz No. 2, they board a Cargo Ship piloted by soulless Black Mages, but soon come under fire from Black Waltz No. 3. Vivi, Zidane, and Steiner confront the golem and leave the journey's destination in Garnet's hands. The princess hesitates, but ultimately decides to go to Lindblum, resulting in an erratic flight through the South Gate.
Meanwhile, Garnet and Steiner rest in Treno, and with the aid of Doctor Tot, take the Gargan Roo pathway to Alexandria. Once there, Garnet meets with her mother, who turns on the princess and orders the extraction of Garnet's Eidolons, magical creatures with great powers, for use in future invasions. One of these summons, Odin, is then used to obliterate Cleyra, but not before Beatrix takes a jewel from the city's harp and Zidane's crew hitches a hide on the Red Rose back to Alexandria. The protagonists join forces with Steiner and free Garnet from Brahne's clutches, with the assistance of the enlightened Beatrix. Zidane, Vivi, and Garnet attempt to use the Gargant system to flee back to Treno, but their ride is spooked by a monster and ends up crashing in Pinnacle Rocks. After passing Ramuh's trial, allowing Garnet to summon Ramuh, the three witness the sacking of Lindblum by another Eidolon of Alexandria, Atomos. Sneaking into the city, Zidane and Garnet meet secretly with a now powerless Regent Cid, who suggests they travel to the Outer Continent to discover the motives behind Brahne's belligerence. Quina proves useful when trying to find the entrance to the Outer Continent, Fossil Roo, due to his/her constant search for frogs.
It is soon speculated that Brahne's sudden shift in attitude is being manipulated by Kuja, who has his own plans for world domination. On the Outer Continent, Zidane and his allies encounter Eiko Carol, a young girl and last of the Summoner Tribe, at her home of Madain Sari. She leads them to the Iifa Tree, where Kuja was reported to have been seen. The group descends into the very core of the tree, until they finally reach a shimmering and seemingly endless green pool at its base and the monster SoulCage, self-proclaimed creator of the Mist. Upon the entity's defeat, the Mist on the Mist Continent dries up, and the heroes return to Madain Sari. After repelling the thief Lani and recruiting the sarcastic and brooding Amarant Coral, they return to the Iifa Tree per new sightings of Kuja. There, they find Queen Brahne and her navy just off Iifa's coast, and Kuja with his Silver Dragon opposing her. Brahne summons Bahamut in an attempt to rid herself of Kuja and take sole domination of her territory, but in a twist of fate Kuja calls the heavily settled airship known as the Invincible and claims control of Bahamut, who then proceeds to wipe out Brahne and her soldiers with a devastating Mega Flare.
On the beach, Brahne finally regains her former self and apologizes to Garnet, but dies, leaving the princess devastated. She must now become the Queen of Alexandria. The ceremonies of her coronation are short-lived, as Kuja promptly appears in the city and summons Bahamut to wreak havoc. The other party members fly in from Treno with Regent Cid, and Eiko aids Garnet in summoning Alexander, the holy Eidolon guardian of Alexandria. Alexander vanquishes Bahamut, only for a mysterious elderly man to appear with the Invincible and destroy Alexander and a majority of the city. Garnet is so shocked by the devastation to her city that she is rendered mute, and she, Zidane and their friends take refuge in Lindblum, where Cid constructs the Blue Narciss ship and gives it to the party. They then follow Kuja to his Desert Palace, but are discovered and locked in cells. Kuja forces Zidane and three of his friends to fly to the Forgotten Continent and retrieve the Gulug Stone from Oeilvert. The ruins contain many illusions and artifacts from the ambiguous Terran civilization, including an ancient Eidolon, Ark, which is defeated in order to obtain the Stone.
Meanwhile, Regent Cid and the remaining four party members manage to free themselves from their prisons and shut down the Palace security system, Valia Pira. Kuja still manages to trick Zidane into giving him the Gulug Stone and absconds with an abducted Eiko to Mount Gulug. The heroes pass through Esto Gaza to track him down, and witness Zorn and Thorn attempt to extract Eiko's Eidolons. Mog, Eiko's pet Moogle, reveals her true Eidolon form through Trance, and with her help the court jesters are finally destroyed. Deprived of further Eidolons, Kuja formulates a new plan: to assimilate enough souls in order to enter a form of permanent Trance. He flees and Zidane's party find Queen Hilda, Cid's wife, and escort her back to Lindblum. She restores Cid to his proper human form, and the Lindblum leader puts the finishing touches on his new airship, the Hilda Garde III. Garnet returns to Alexandria, where she is expected to remain as Queen. When Zidane follows her, she recovers from her silence, once more takes his dagger, and cuts off her ponytail in a promise to continue to fight for her people and her adoptive mother.
The Hilda Garde III drops off the heroes on Terra, and a mysterious girl leads the party to the Genome village of Bran Bal. She is Mikoto, and reveals the truth behind Kuja's inferior relationship to Zidane: they were both crafted to become Angels of Death. Garland, the mastermind of this plot, captures Zidane and intends to use him for his true purpose as the harbinger of Gaia's doom. Zidane's friends free him from his prison at Pandemonium and confront Garland, who first orders a Silver Dragon to act as a shield before falling to the party himself. Though the party intends only to interrogate the old sorcerer, Kuja chooses the moment to enter triumphantly on the Invincible. He gleefully showcases his new mastery of Trance, achieved by draining the Invincible of all the souls trapped within. Kuja promptly dispatches the party with an Ultima spell and announces his new motivation: To rule the world. Garland, clairvoyant to the end, warns Kuja that his power is meaningless; the Genome responds by kicking his old master off the precipice of Pandemonium to his death.
Zidane and his friends descend the translucent pillars of crystal and face Kuja in battle, where Kuja seemingly destroys everyone with Ultima. After surviving the fight, Kuja destroys the Crystal, which prompts the appearance of Necron, a deity-like being that wishes for all existence to be wiped out and "returned to nothing". When Necron is defeated and returned to whence it came, Kuja teleports the eight heroes out of Memoria onto the banks of the Iifa Tree. The majority of the party returns to Alexandria on the Hilda Garde, while Zidane stays behind to find Kuja. He locates his brother deep within Iifa, and as Kuja accounts for his sins, Iifa's roots converge on them both. The others believe Zidane dead, and Garnet, now the reigning queen of Alexandria, slides into depression. In the game's closing moments, the Tantalus Troupe appears once more to perform I Want to Be Your Canary for Garnet's birthday. During the play, a shrouded form masquerading as Marcus casts off his cloak to reveal a returning Zidane. The city of Alexandria celebrates, old friends cheer from the stands, and the queen runs through the crowd of people and leaps into Zidane's arms.
Music
- Main article: Final Fantasy IX: Original Soundtrack
Much of the music in the game revolve around the themes of the J-pop ballad, "Melodies of Life", which was composed by Uematsu and performed by Emiko Shiratori. The song itself was sung in Japanese for the Japanese release of the game, and in English for the game's North American and European releases.
Allusions
- Main article: Final Fantasy IX/Allusions
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