Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX is a role-playing videogame released in 2000. It is the ninth installment of the Final Fantasy series and the last to debut on the original PlayStation. Story-wise, Final Fantasy IX is focused on the consequences of the war between nations in the fantasy world of Gaia.

Gameplay

Players in Final Fantasy IX play a character in a game world where they explore various areas and interact with non-playing characters. Most games occur in “field screens” consisting of pre-rendered backgrounds. These backgrounds represent dungeons and towns to be explored. For easier exploration, the game has a “field icon”, it is an exclamation mark that appears over the character’s head and signals an item or a sign that there is a nearby item. Players use moogles to record their progress. Upon encountering an enemy, the map changes to the battle screen then enemies appear on the opposite side of the players’ characters.

Story

Princess Garnet, the heir of Alexandria has been kidnapped by Zidane and Tantalus Theater Troupe. But unbeknown to them, the Princess herself wants to escape from the castle as well. As the events play, Princess Garnet and her personal guard Steiner both fall in love with Zidane and then set out on a journey. While traveling, they will meet various other characters and learn about themselves as well. They will then eventually meet a force that is threatening to destroy the world.

Final Fantasy IX sold over five million copies since it was released in 2000 and that number continues to increase every week. According to many critics and fans, this entry is one of the best Final Fantasy games in the series. In fact, it holds the highest Metacritic score among all the other Final Fantasy titles.