I have been a FF fan for many years, and I played the first one when it came out on the NES. I just recently ordered and started playing FFIX, and it is now my favorite of the franchise. It isolates the magic of the series better than any of the others I have played.

It's an ok game. I don't understand why it's hated by many, of course, I don't see why VII is idolized so severly by many either. I love all the FFs I've played except XII really. I also think it's incredibly silly to not play a game based on character design. Hello, they used to look a lot more choppy before the psone even and people still played then.

Well, you've heard it before, folks, but here it is again: I. HATE. TRANCE. It is THE worst special attack system in any FF game (I would THINK, since I haven't played all of them). That and it went up very slow and the battles were very slow. Also, I didn't like the pixel-y style of all the characters and effects. I preferred FFVII's purely polygonal battle characters.

Now, with all that aside, I absolutely LOVE this game. I loved that it took a more fantastical approach, while still retaining some of it's steam punk styles (airships). Slightly disappointed that there were no guns, though. I also LOVED the FMV's with there fully orchestrated music. The final FMV with the play was the best moment in the entire game. This game differed a lot from other FF's I've played in that it put much more focus on the characters than defeating the evil badguy. They learn so many important life lessons and they all mature as people. I loved how in the beginning, Zidane's the one telling Garnet to forget about saving Brahne, but in the end, everyone else is telling him not to save Kuja, but by then he's learned from Garnet to love your enemies, no matter what they do to you. And the evolution of character in Vivi is astounding. How at first, it seems so natural to assume he's just a normal human with the black mage occupacy. And then you begin wondering whether he really is one of the normal Black Mage dolls. And then it slowly sinks in that he is one of them. And finally, at Quan's Dwelling, it's revealed that he really is one of them. But despite that, he chooses to rise above his created purpose and find new meaning. He goes from a bumbling kid into a brave-hearted warrior. And Zidane learns to make difficult decisions from watching Vivi. Then there's Garnet, and Freya, and..........I could go on, but suffice it to say they all made memorable changes in their lives. The only characters I didn't like were Amarant and Quina. Quina less so because s/he was supposed to be a silly comical character and s/he filled that role quite well. Amarant was supposed to be this mysterious lone-wolf kinda guy, and supposed to be a really good fighter and all that. He was simply lame. He got tricked by Zidane (okay, big deal, he got tricked. Why is that so important to Amarant?). He got beaten by Zidane in a fight. Doesn't make sense. The only reason he's with the group is because he's confused about Zidane's personality. Amarant is just an all-around.....just...........he's lame. Just purely lame. And then the love story beteween Zidane and Garnet is spell-binding. It starts out as just Zidane thinks she's cute and he's ladies-man so of course he has to pursue her, and she's not interested at all. But then he slowly realizes that he likes her, and at the point where she assumes the throne, he realizes he truly loves her, and is so heart-broken that he can never be with her. He even does the whole thing where he gets tongue-tied in her presence. Classic. And then, by the end of the game, she realizes that he truly does care for her and she cares for him too. Then her little memento to Zidane rolls and she expresses her gratitude to her dead friend who tought her so many things about life. And THEN, with a big finale, well, you know the rest. Whew!! I mean, it weas just epic. Purely epic. And I didn't mind so much that Kuja wasn't a really good main badguy because having him as one mainly served the purpose of giving the group a reason to stick together and thus grow as people as they struggled toward an end goal of defeating him. It's clearly shown by when Necron pops outta nowhere and when Zidane goes back to save Kuja. That, and the very last thing you see in the game is you know who and you know who in each others arms. Obviously indicating that their relationship was more relevant than the main badguy getting done in.

In contrast, FFVII ended with Sephiroths's defeat and the salvation of mankind (or destruction. It's not very clear which one it was). But Zidane and Garnet being in love has nothing to do with defeating Kuja, so you can see that it was more relevant that the characters develop their relationships.

In total, a VERY, VERY good game.

FFIX is the game that I feel wasn't afraid to have more fun, but at the same time wasn't afraid to turn the story into something totally character driven. FVIIs characters are united under a common cause- they're essentially a resistance and the character development while strong, is of course not the major point to its overall message. With FFIX however, the terms are more abstract- the characters are brought together due to thier dreams and traits and are an extremely varied bunch. Garnet plays into the hands of Zidane because she want's adventure (and travel for her kingdoms safety, of course), Vivi because he's confused, alone, and needs friends, and Steiner only because he feels a duty to the princess and actually gets drawn in for many different reasons in the end. The other four have simillar reasons and stories (though Amarant actually ties up with the badduns for my particular animated version. It seemed to make more sense that he'd be the bounty type verging on the side of good.)
The battle system isn't spectacular, but doesn't need to be. It's mainly the story and characters that drag you in, which is obviously going to be a bit slow or book like for some, and probably why FVII is hailed more- FVII is more frantic, with the gameplay coming slightly before an extremely well written story. So it makes sense that more people enjoy it over FFIX, as people seem to enjoy more instant satisfaction and success in general.. Those who do finally get to play FFIX may find that it's an acquired taste, a richly rewarding one for those who hold out for more. It's like a disney film, in that sense, with the fantasy element really being driven home.

i loved FFIX. My first FF game i played was VII and was amazed by it. I remember so well, looking forward to when VIII came out. Then i played it and felt disappointed by dont get me wrong, over time i absolutely loved VIII, i guess it was just the feeling that everything was different in VIII but i soon realised every FF game was going to be different but hey it was good! Then i played IX and thought wow this game is as good as VII. Fantastic characters, music, good storyline and a decent main villain. I didn't want the game to end lol. Sadly for me, in my honest opinion and notice i say "opinion", i feel as though Final Fantasy died after FFIX (i would give X the benefit of the doubt for being ok because it was) but there were just so many changes after IX and i hated XII and not that keen on XIII either. It's a shame but ther you go, my opinion.