Which is why a remake seems so appropriate. As Zidane and Tantalus-a medieval version of VII’s AVALANCHE (one man’s eco-terrorist is another man’s theater troupe)-begin the game trying to kidnap Princess Garnet from the city of Alexandria, this classically set medieval drama ends up wandering no small distance away from its starting point. Almost every principal character has a deep, winding story arch unique to them, further fleshed out by the introduction of Active Time Events, which allow exploration of side characters and their stories apart from their intersections with Zidane. Almost.įinal Fantasy IX’s story is more complex than many of those forebears. Perhaps it is only fitting then that the hero, Zidane Tribal, is human, save for that he has a tail. Plot, setting, character development, battle systems, and even graphics, all became strange hybrid creatures comprised of metaphorical limbs left behind by the game’s forebears. The convergence of the old and the new left a game that had no loyalties, willing to pull from any era without prejudice. That friction might be what makes IX the great game that it is. IX was already an historical artifact at the moment of its release, an uncommon pause in an industry so often focused on rushing towards the next-best thing. Final Fantasy IX was like the latest, greatest horse-and-buggy model the only problem was that the Model T lot had just opened up next door. The game was given a stronger, cartoonish art style and was released on PlayStation after the debut of the PlayStation 2. The orphan mentality went far beyond the setting though. Even from the developmental stages, IX was a little bit of an orphan.
Hard to imagine now more than 20 years on, but a time existed when IX was potentially seen as a side release. The medieval setting was a concern during development given the stark contrast to the then-current direction of the series. After the success of VII and VIII-games set in what one might consider depictions of a not-too-distant, slightly dystopian, future ( VII rooted in exploitative industry, VIII in some variation of college academia)- IX is firmly medieval. What is strange about Final Fantasy IX is that if you view it from a distance, it comfortably fits in the series’ 35-year timeline, but if you zoom in, it feels out of place. RELATED: New Look at 'Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade' Reveals Yuffie & Sonon's Synergy To date, IX has only received a standard remaster, which almost every game in the world gets at some point.
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Square Enix recently announced the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster that provides the series’ first six games with 2D remasters Final Fantasy VII has the remake, and Final Fantasy VIII got a full reskin back in 2019.
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The volume of games in the Final Fantasy series leaves plenty of remake options, but looking through it game by game, Final Fantasy IX does seem to have been ignored a little more than its siblings. Thankful, devoted, but nonetheless greedy fans like myself now have running lists of every game they wish to see announced for a trip through the reimagination machine. Square Enix had to have known the sort of Pandora’s Box they were opening with Final Fantasy VII: Remake.