Remembering the One Thing Final Fantasy 9 Does Perfectly

Greetings, Disciples of the Blood God!

Final Fantasy 9 turned 20 this week. As someone who was out of her teens by the time the game hit store shelves, this momentous milestone makes me think a little too hard about my mortality. Well, it's a good warm-up for when Super Mario's 35th anniversary rolls around this fall. (Oh God.)

Everyone has their favorite Final Fantasy games, and Final Fantasy 9 is one title that comes up often. If you weren't aware, I only got to play Final Fantasy 9 for myself a mere few years ago. (Though I had initially bought it much closer to its release date, my discs turned out to be deeply scratched beyond repair.)

Verdict: Consider me a big Final Fantasy 9 fan. Final Fantasy 6 is still number one in my heart, followed by Final Fantasy 7, and then Final Fantasy 4. Uh, 14 is up there now, too. I've been bitten pretty hard by the Eorzea bug. Final Fantasy 9 slips in comfortably behind 14, though. Not a bad spot on a list with 14 podiums, right?

My one major problem with Final Fantasy 9 is that's slow—and I mean s-l-o-w. The game bleeds everything it possibly can from the poor PlayStation, and the performance suffers for it. Thankfully, I enjoyed 9 via the remaster that came out a few years ago. The fast-forward function is a godsend. I might not have had the patience to finish 9 without it. Extensive load times were fine when I was a kid who was still mystified by the magic of polygons and pre-rendered backgrounds. Now? Not so much.I have places to be, game.

Please don't assume I'm bagging on Final Fantasy 9, because at the end of the day, there's so much the game does right. It revels in the Final Fantasy series' medieval roots, something the games seemed hesitant to do after Final Fantasy 4. Final Fantasy 9 is free and fantastic. Hippo women running one of the town's inns? Sure! Hero with a monkey tail? You betchya. Female rat Dragoon? Hell yes. In fact, entering the kingdom of Burmecia for the first time and finding it rain-soaked and abandoned is still one of the most potent doses of atmosphere an RPG has ever delivered.

There's one thing Final Fantasy 9 does better than every other Final Fantasy game, though: I think it has the best character theme, namely Rose of May. Rose of May accompanies Beatrix, the conflicted general of Alexandria. Beatrix has a lot in common with Final Fantasy 6's Celes in terms of story and personality. Since Final Fantasy 9 pays obvious tribute to past Final Fantasy games, it was likely a conscious choice when the game's team made the character. And even though Rose of May is a simple piano theme, which I love most about it, its melancholy even echoes the sad, conflicted uneasiness in Celes's theme.

Beatrix rules. Final Fantasy 9 rules. And Rose of May is the best Final Fantasy character theme. Suck wind, One Winged Angel.

Happy adventuring, and for God's sake stay safe,

Nadia

This Week on Axe of the Blood God

The original Xbox didn't have that many role-playing game, but it was nevertheless a watershed moment for both console history and the RPG genre. Kat and Nadia look back on Microsoft's entry into the console market and talk about Knights of the Old Republic's breakout success, Fable's broken promises, and much more, Plus: Reacting to the newly-announced Fallout TV show! Does it have any hope of being good? We discuss! [Listen here!