So I finally got around to finishing (well restarting) a play through of Final Fantasy IX. I originally played the game when it came out, I got it as a Christmas Present and was so excited about it. Then as I started playing it my opinion of the game was "This is utter bullshit" and I stopped on the 4th disk. I had managed to play through the entirety of the game at level 36. I hit the last disk and I couldn't keep playing. I don't really remember what set me off but I really hated the game. I think it was a combination of the games system, speed, difficulty and the art direction. Add those up and to a 12 year old the game was pretty bleh.
I played it directly after finishing Final Fantasy 8 too. So the sudden shift in worlds was a bit jarring. To go from high tech environments to a medievalish setting with steampunk elements and I kind of lost interest. However, having played through it fully (on the psp no less) I find it to be one of my favorite Final Fantasy games without question. I almost put it higher than Final Fantasy IV, almost. I'm not sure why my opinion of the game is so different now than it was 12 years ago, but I guess my age as an adult made me understand it more. I connected with the characters this time around, and found a lot of references that made me go "that was pretty clever" or "I see what you did there" and laughed a great deal. The little nods to the past Final Fantasy games were really cleaver too. I have to say that the localization team for this game, did an astounding job, I have to say it's probably the best story wise of the more recent Final Fantasy titles.
The plot was easier to understand now that I'm older, the life and death aspect the shortness of life, the fact that living in itself is the true adventure. That it doesn't matter how short it can seem, it's what you make out of it that matters. That really hits me and is understandable now. Having experienced my fair share of death and everything (especially in the past 12 years, I've had at least 3 or 5 family members I've had to go to funerals over) it finally sets in what this game is about. I still don't like the art style, but I can get over that when everything else makes up for it in abundance. However, I will fucking stab a man in the jaw with a knife if I have to catch another fucking frog, or dig up another chocograph. Mark my words on that one.
