FF9 was a love letter to the ORIGINAL fan base.
I started with FF1 on the NES, went to FF2(4) and then FF3(6) and then CT (not a FF game, but jrpg by square-soft).
FF7, to this day, is nothing but a mediocre JRPG.
But, when I was younger, I felt almost 'betrayed' because FF7 was such a LETDOWN.
-Mostly crummy cast, boring battle system, no epic 'World of Ruin' moment, no tugs at the heart strings 'on that cliff' moments (the white mage dying didn't really 'get' to me), and a mediocre OST.
After that you had FF8, which I have a weird love/hate relationship with, that skipped most of the 'fantasy' aspects and tried to hard to be 'modern'.
But then FF9...happened.
Out of nowhere Square made a JRPG that FELT like the older games.
It was presented as lighthearted, fantasy world, with graphics designed to not be realistic, but 'fun'.
The story was fairly well paced, and did its damnedest to hit every major event with gusto.
-
The characters, while basically tropes, were enjoyable (minus the CatSith wanna be 'whatever its name is').
-
The main, and even some of the side, cast grew into more likeable/hated as the story progressed.
-
The battle system was made with grind in mind, and each character was actually unique beyond just their 'limit breaks'.
-
The OST was just, fantastic, and nostalgia driven...even though I do prefer more of FF8's OST.
-
About the only things 'wrong' with the game was the HORRID card game and the retarded final boss.
-Also: I kind of wish 'you know who' had STAYED dead, I think it would have had more of an impact.
I started with FF1 on the NES, went to FF2(4) and then FF3(6) and then CT (not a FF game, but jrpg by square-soft).
FF7, to this day, is nothing but a mediocre JRPG.
But, when I was younger, I felt almost 'betrayed' because FF7 was such a LETDOWN.
-Mostly crummy cast, boring battle system, no epic 'World of Ruin' moment, no tugs at the heart strings 'on that cliff' moments (the white mage dying didn't really 'get' to me), and a mediocre OST.
After that you had FF8, which I have a weird love/hate relationship with, that skipped most of the 'fantasy' aspects and tried to hard to be 'modern'.
But then FF9...happened.
Out of nowhere Square made a JRPG that FELT like the older games.
It was presented as lighthearted, fantasy world, with graphics designed to not be realistic, but 'fun'.
The story was fairly well paced, and did its damnedest to hit every major event with gusto.
-
The characters, while basically tropes, were enjoyable (minus the CatSith wanna be 'whatever its name is').
-
The main, and even some of the side, cast grew into more likeable/hated as the story progressed.
-
The battle system was made with grind in mind, and each character was actually unique beyond just their 'limit breaks'.
-
The OST was just, fantastic, and nostalgia driven...even though I do prefer more of FF8's OST.
-
About the only things 'wrong' with the game was the HORRID card game and the retarded final boss.
-Also: I kind of wish 'you know who' had STAYED dead, I think it would have had more of an impact.