now I know we'll carry on
I finished Final Fantasy IX yesterday! I only put about 45 hours into it, which is pretty short for a Square Enix game. I know there were side quests I didn't do, and one location I didn't visit, but I don't think that would have added on a lot more time.
I've seen cutscenes from the game at Distant Worlds concert, but those cutscenes didn't really spoil anything. I went into the game knowing some of the characters' names and some location names, but that was it--I knew nothing about the plot. I ended up liking the plot quite a bit. The final boss did remind me a bit of the final boss from Final Fantasy V, especially since they both use the dreaded Grand Cross (which sets random status effects on your party), but they are definitely not the same character.
Speaking of characters, I love Zidane. He has such a good nature, which, giving his background, might not have been the case. I freaking love that the most bad-ass knight in Alexandria is a woman, Beatrix. I think Vivi had the most compelling storyline of the characters. I thought for sure he would die at the end of the game, and was pleased when that wasn't the case. I don't think there was a character I disliked.
Play-wise, it was your typical Final Fantasy game, with an ATB gauge and turn-based gaming. Character growth is done via abilities, which are learned from equipped items and ability points you earn at the end of battle. You can set a certain amount of abilities per character. At the end of the game all my characters had auto-regen, which was a bit ridiculous. It made for easy fights.
In general, I found the game easy to play. I did have trouble with one early boss, but I checked a walkthrough and discovered there was an optional character I had missed, so I picked him up then had no problem with the boss. I did err in not visiting the Chocobo forest. There's a point in the game where you are dropped off some distance from a location where you need to retrieve an item, and the enemies were tough in the area. Riding a chocobo was recommended by the walkthrough, but because I hadn't visited the forest, I couldn't call one, and I was stuck on that continent so couldn't go visit the forest then. So I had to fight my way to the location, which took several attempts. But otherwise, the game was easy.
I would definitely play this game again, though not for some time. I plan on playing FFXII next, then probably FFX since it's been forever since I played that, then probably replay the Kingdom Hearts games.
I'm itching to start FFXII, and read the game manual yesterday. Like FFIX, I don't know much about the game. I know who the characters are (they are introduced in the manual) and I know it takes place in Ivalice which I'm familiar with from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but Ivalice is a big place so I'm not sure the locations are repeated. I've heard that people have put a LOT of time into playing this game, so that sounds good. I like long games.
But before I can start FFXII I really need to read some books. I've had holds on two ebooks for several months, and they finally became available, so I need to read them before they expire. I also have some physical books out from the library which are due back on Tuesday. I don't think I'm going to get to them before then, and haven't decided if I'm just going to bring them back or renew them.
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I've seen cutscenes from the game at Distant Worlds concert, but those cutscenes didn't really spoil anything. I went into the game knowing some of the characters' names and some location names, but that was it--I knew nothing about the plot. I ended up liking the plot quite a bit. The final boss did remind me a bit of the final boss from Final Fantasy V, especially since they both use the dreaded Grand Cross (which sets random status effects on your party), but they are definitely not the same character.
Speaking of characters, I love Zidane. He has such a good nature, which, giving his background, might not have been the case. I freaking love that the most bad-ass knight in Alexandria is a woman, Beatrix. I think Vivi had the most compelling storyline of the characters. I thought for sure he would die at the end of the game, and was pleased when that wasn't the case. I don't think there was a character I disliked.
Play-wise, it was your typical Final Fantasy game, with an ATB gauge and turn-based gaming. Character growth is done via abilities, which are learned from equipped items and ability points you earn at the end of battle. You can set a certain amount of abilities per character. At the end of the game all my characters had auto-regen, which was a bit ridiculous. It made for easy fights.
In general, I found the game easy to play. I did have trouble with one early boss, but I checked a walkthrough and discovered there was an optional character I had missed, so I picked him up then had no problem with the boss. I did err in not visiting the Chocobo forest. There's a point in the game where you are dropped off some distance from a location where you need to retrieve an item, and the enemies were tough in the area. Riding a chocobo was recommended by the walkthrough, but because I hadn't visited the forest, I couldn't call one, and I was stuck on that continent so couldn't go visit the forest then. So I had to fight my way to the location, which took several attempts. But otherwise, the game was easy.
I would definitely play this game again, though not for some time. I plan on playing FFXII next, then probably FFX since it's been forever since I played that, then probably replay the Kingdom Hearts games.
I'm itching to start FFXII, and read the game manual yesterday. Like FFIX, I don't know much about the game. I know who the characters are (they are introduced in the manual) and I know it takes place in Ivalice which I'm familiar with from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but Ivalice is a big place so I'm not sure the locations are repeated. I've heard that people have put a LOT of time into playing this game, so that sounds good. I like long games.
But before I can start FFXII I really need to read some books. I've had holds on two ebooks for several months, and they finally became available, so I need to read them before they expire. I also have some physical books out from the library which are due back on Tuesday. I don't think I'm going to get to them before then, and haven't decided if I'm just going to bring them back or renew them.
This entry was originally posted at http://xnera.dreamwidth.org/759007.html. Please comment there (you can comment using OpenID if you don't have a Dreamwidth account). There's
comments waiting for you to read!