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Final Fantasy IX

 PlayStation 4
Final Fantasy IX Image
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

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  • Summary: The last Final Fantasy for the PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX returns to the pure fantasy roots that spawned the series. This latest installment features highly detailed characters, vehicles, and environments, and breathtaking cinema-graphics. The addition of brand new features such as theThe last Final Fantasy for the PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX returns to the pure fantasy roots that spawned the series. This latest installment features highly detailed characters, vehicles, and environments, and breathtaking cinema-graphics. The addition of brand new features such as the story-enhancing Active Time Event system and the return of minigames that grant additional gameplay make Final Fantasy IX not only a memorable gaming experience, but also a significant step forward in the series.… Expand

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Final Fantasy IX - TGS 2017 Trailer (Japanese)
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. DualShockers
    Oct 3, 2017
    95
    Final Fantasy IX on PlayStation 4 has rekindled my imagination that for years I thought I had lost, giving me a reason to return to these characters and story that deserve to be experienced by any fan of the genre. Final Fantasy IX on PlayStation 4 is upgraded and re-rendered up to the best possible version for every fan of Final Fantasy, new and old.
  2. Destructoid
    Oct 5, 2017
    90
    This game feels like a home run after almost two decades. The look may be a bit dated, but the gameplay still holds up, and the story still resonates.
  3. Cubed3
    Dec 21, 2017
    90
    It's a bold claim, but Final Fantasy IX is the best PS1 era Final Fantasy, and easily one of the best the series has ever produced. With it being on PS4 and PC, even if you don't want to visit a garage sale or local game shop to grab a PS1, you can now play one of the best RPGs ever created. While it manages to only just fall short of greatness, it does so with a level of grace so memorizing, it's hard to believe sometimes. If you still aren't convinced, just play to the final cutscene. That should convince you just fine.
  4. GamingTrend
    Sep 26, 2017
    85
    Seventeen years after its original release, Final Fantasy IX continues to bring lovable characters full of whimsy. The new boosts ensure that the game can be played in its normal state, or with boosts that are respectful of the player’s time. While the graphical upgrade is a bit of a mixed bag, it’s amazing just how well this PS1 classic holds up. It’s a welcome surprise for the PlayStation 4, and a nod to Square Enix’s continued efforts to bring the best of the Final Fantasy legacy to new generations of players.
  5. Impulsegamer
    Oct 3, 2017
    82
    Final Fantasy IX is an easy recommend for fans of classic JRPGs and should prove to serve as a reminder that, despite the pitfalls the series has navigated through the years, there was a reason why Final Fantasy was once the undisputed king of roleplaying games.
  6. DarkZero
    Oct 9, 2017
    80
    Though Final Fantasy IX’s PS4 port lacks the same love and care that was given to the recently released Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, it is still a solid enough re-release, and more importantly another modern source for players to experience this wonderful RPG classic, whether for the first time or the hundredth time. The timeless charm, characterization and content guarantees that this game will be the place you’ll return to someday, now and forever.
  7. Multiplayer.it
    Sep 29, 2017
    70
    Final Fantasy IX is one of the best Final Fantasies ever made, hence it deserved a better porting than what we got here. We are used to Square Enix's lackluster portings and that's why nowadays it's hard to accept some trivial mistakes.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. 17_jrpg
    Sep 20, 2017
    10
    Square Einx first brought iOS and Android version of this game to Steam and now on the PS4. This new remaster version of Final Fantasy IXSquare Einx first brought iOS and Android version of this game to Steam and now on the PS4. This new remaster version of Final Fantasy IX contains the following: high-definition movies and character models, auto-save functionality, boosters (high speed mode and no encounter mode, master all abilities, maximize character levels, magic stone counts and gil, full ATB/Trance/HP/MP, 9999 damage), PS4 trophy support, share functionality and remote play with the PSV.

    It's nice to see Final Fantasy IX on the PS4, but I was expecting Square Enix to make a remake. I was hoping that they will completely rebuilt Final Fantasy IX from ground up for the PS4 as they do with Final Fantasy VII. I hope Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy VIII will get the same treatment as Final Fantasy VII, that we will soon see in the near future the remake of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy VIII.

    Final Fantasy IX is the best-rated Final Fantasy game and one of the favorites to almost all players around the world, so it deserves remake for the PS4 with improved graphics and corrected minor error (for example Trance system).

    This is my favorite Final Fantasy game. It has a great story that featuring funny, happy, sad, dramatic and tragic moments. Also has great gameplay, interesting mini games like Tetra Master and Chocobo Hot and Cold, and has one of the toughest superbosses of Final Fantasy games. What I like the most in this game is the characters growth systems. Each character have their own class and abilities which allows the player to create his own strategy in the battle by balancing strengths and weaknesses of the characters. I also like ATB system because it is my favorite of all battle systems.

    Conclusion: Final Fantasy IX is one of the best JRPGs and deserves remake!    … Expand
  2. emeraldkat
    Feb 28, 2018
    10
    Although this game is not for everyone, it is by far my favorite FF game. The game does pander quite a bit to FF fans, and is everything a fanAlthough this game is not for everyone, it is by far my favorite FF game. The game does pander quite a bit to FF fans, and is everything a fan loves about the series. If you can get past those facts, the music, storyline, characters and character development are absolutely phenomenal. For someone like myself, it is the best of everything Final Fantasy and none of the downfalls.… Expand
  4. blond_afro
    Jan 3, 2018
    10
    I consider this to be the best FF of all time and overall a perfect JRPG! This Game is perfect in so many ways. It just clicked with me.
  5. SaviorGaming
    Dec 6, 2017
    9
    This game as a kid felt amazing. Like it was an epic quest that could never be matched. Since than I am not sure it has, but I was happy toThis game as a kid felt amazing. Like it was an epic quest that could never be matched. Since than I am not sure it has, but I was happy to see it return. It has stood the test of time for any and all fans of the series, and for those new to role playing games this is a great place to jump in. The story is great, the graphics still hold up nice and the characters are lovable and well done. My only real issue is they used the IOS and Android version, and those huge grey blocks they used for the battle menu get in the way.… Expand
  6. eruciform
    Feb 27, 2018
    6
    ** OVERALL 6.5/10 ** Gameplay 7/10 - Creativity 7/10 - Music 7/10 - Visuals 7/10 - Characters 7/10 - Plotline 6/10 - Emotional Engagement 6/10** OVERALL 6.5/10 ** Gameplay 7/10 - Creativity 7/10 - Music 7/10 - Visuals 7/10 - Characters 7/10 - Plotline 6/10 - Emotional Engagement 6/10 - Replayability 6/10 - Difficulty 7/10

    Not my favorite FF but not terrible either. It has a unique feel and I'm glad I played it, but it gets to be a bit of a grind towards the end with the battle system in particular. And some of the characters are downright annoying.

    Gameplay 7/10

    It's a basic role-playing game. You learn skills by arming a particular armor or weapon that has a skill attached to it. This often means that you need to hold onto an old or bad piece for a long time, before you can extract use out of it. It's not the only game that does it this way - Tales of Berseria has a similar system, though it seemed more annoying here.

    The battle system is tedious. It first appears like timing matters, but it doesn't. It's turn based. But there's almost no point to haste or timing at all, because as you're enacting your turn, the bars all grow on everyone, so everyone's filled out at all times and you can't tell who's next, so there's no point. Also, there's a HUGE delay inbetween turns/characters that gets really grating.

    Creativity 7/10

    It has it's creative moments, but it doesn't really stand out to me, even among other FF's.

    Music 7/10

    Nothing to write home about but nothing really bad, per se.

    Visuals 7/10

    Some cute visuals from time to time, but also nothing particularly special. It doesn't go out of it's way to make beautiful vistas or anything, and the top-down viewpoint really limits scenery.

    Characters 7/10

    While Steiner was annoying at the beginning, I understand the character. And although Vivi is almost crippingly scared of everything, he has his moments and eventually grows as a character. Garnet (don't rename her Dagger, just don't do it, it's stupid) I actually like - her arc is believable and she's a good person and a useful character. Amarant is annoying and jagged in his personality portrayal, and so is Eiko. Freya I feel like they missed a huge opportunity to give her more of a role in the plot and character development, and in the end left her a fawning stereotypical girl. Quina is just plain annoying, all the time. I only kept him/her in the party for purposes of specific abilities at specific times. And finally, the main character, Zidane, I found really annoying. His character development seemed to take precedence over everyone else's, and nothing made sense until a bunch of deus-ex-machina stuff at the end. Not well done.

    Basically, I liked Garnet, even though they made her the "save me I'm a princess" character multiple times.

    Plotline 6/10

    Not bad, but really jagged at times. Hard to understand all the leaps and twists that occur for "because the plot requires it" reasons.

    Emotional Engagement 6/10

    I didn't feel for any characters except Garnet. And once or twice for Eiko.

    Replayability 6/10

    It's not on my high list to replay. I'm not sure how different it'd be the second time.

    Difficulty 7/10

    It was medium-difficulty. Decent curve over the course of the game. I did a bit of grinding and found myself overpowered at the end, but that's my play style.    … Expand
  7. deadlysilentbob
    Sep 23, 2017
    5
    To start this review I would like to say that I probably spent most of the time in my childhood playing this game above all others. I had atTo start this review I would like to say that I probably spent most of the time in my childhood playing this game above all others. I had at least 1000 hours over multiple save files and multiple playthroughs. So believe me when I say that this remaster is very, VERY disappointing.

    The nature of a remaster means that we cannot rate the game based on game content that was part of the previous iteration of the game as that would just be redundant circlejerking (if you want the original reviews they are still on metacritic). Instead we must only rate the new/remastered content and the content that should have received a remaster.

    1st off: Graphics. This has got to be some of the laziest s*** I have ever seen. The backgrounds in towns actually appear to be worse than the ps1 original. The only parts of the overworld that got an actual rework were the character/enemy models (to their credit those were actually well done). The battles are a disjointed mish mash of frame rate drops and awkward 60 fps damage pop ups that are actually quite distracting. The cutscenes are exact pulls from the ps1 version with no smoothing or even upscalling AT ALL. Finally I would like to know why the font is set to "I have the eyesight of a molerat" size for EVERYTHING.

    2nd: Music. The soundtrack received absolutely NO remaster at all. Take this as you will but if im gonna buy a remaster I like to have the soundtrack reworked with an option to switch to the original.

    and 3rd: Gameplay. There are built in cheats for the game that are accessible through the pause menu and the config menu. I understand that this was originally set up as an iOS game and as such cheats to speed progress would be a boon to people who just want a casual time waster while commuting. They do however drain all the fun from the game for people looking for an actual gameplay experience. I urge you to play without the cheats at least once. Other than the cheat menu there are no real changes to the battle system. The analogue movement has been removed which results in clunky overworld movement but that is more of a quality of life thing and not really a hindrance to gameplay. The addition of trophies however was nice and definitely increases replay-ability.

    As a person who wanted this game remastered for so long, I find myself very saddened by the cheap and heartless way this game was reborn. ESPECIALLY in light of how beautifully ff12 was done. If you are new to this game I urge you to play the original ps1 version (available for the psp, psvita and ps3 on the psn for 6 dollars). If you are an old fan then you may get some enjoyment out of it but don't go into it thinking that this is gonna be anywhere near as good as the ff12 or even the ffx/x-2 remakes were.

    Overall I give this game a 5.    … Expand

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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best PS4 Game of 2017

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