Final Fantasy – HereticDerek

About this time last year, I started playing Octopath Traveler, which kicked off a trend of myself playing turn-based JRPGs. Another game from Square Enix, Final Fantasy 9, had me excited. I played this game a little bit in 2000 when I was a kid and found it enchanting. The soundtrack stuck with me all through my years. So, I was happy to finally give it a true playthrough after finding out a remaster was released in 2019. The story is every bit as emotional as I remember, and while it isn’t a perfect game, it is certainly great.

The story of FF9 is a bit convoluted, and honestly witnessing it unfold is the greatest pleasure of the game. I really don’t want to spoil too much, because jumping right in is such a wonderful way to go. Masterful storytelling, that presents mature thought and emotion in a family-friendly palatable manner. Questions about love, home, duty, virtue and so much more are all packed into a tale that is fairly easily understood. Many of the characters are memorable and distinct. Each has their own motivations and desires, but they all work towards the same goal of uncovering the mysteries behind their existence, and saving the world from evil.

This game has a lot of terrific messages. There are a lot of tragic stories, which often find a way to inspire. It is pretty standard epic fantasy, emphatically so, even. FF9 uses a basic tool kit to paint a masterpiece. There were moments that got me pumped for the fight, gave me a big smile, or even brought a tear to my eye. One such moment came when a rusty knight I thought was boring and one dimensional finally had their big moment. Every turn of FF9 seems to be taken with care.

Right away I was charmed by FF9’s art style. Both visual and audio. The old school graphics still look interesting with their fantastical, watercolor-like appearance. You’ll find a very cartoonish, child friendly approach that greets the eyes and ears with a bouquet of treasures. The world has diverse races populating a vibrant, colorful world. The music is often so simple, yet works so well. It conveys the spirit of the game effectively, while setting tone and being extremely catchy. I have been humming tunes from this game to myself for over twenty years.

The combat system is fairly straightforward, with different characters presenting different opportunities on how to build your party. It is important not to leave anybody too low level, but I found there were certain people I clicked more with playing. There is a solid amount of grinding, which I had an alright time with for the most part. The remaster features a set of optional tools to aid your progression, which can be toggled on the fly. Party and damage boosts, playing the game in fast-motion, and toggling random encounters will make the grind much easier if you want the assistance.

If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know I played Final Fantasy 8 before this game. While I liked FF9 far more than the previous iteration, it tragically still suffers from the same heartbreak. The endgame. The fun and enjoyment of these games just comes to a screeching, grating halt during endgame. Awful puzzles, enemies with a bag of tricks that all seem to wipe your party in one turn, and difficulty that just skyrockets. I gave every encounter during the final dungeon a fair shot, but sadly ended up using the cheat menu for most of it. There was zero enjoyment during the final hours. Fortunately, the closure of the story brought it home in a way that I walked away with a smile, in the end.

I strongly encourage you to play with a guide. Just save yourself a lot of sanity and sadness. I hate when games make me use a guide. If I wanted somebody else to play the game for me, I would watch Twitch. I just think it is probably a sad feature of these older games perhaps is that they are less intuitive, or perhaps I am still a total JRPG newbie. Two things can be true, I suppose.

I bought this game on Nintendo Switch on sale for $10. Absolutely worth the price, if even just for the story. I had lots of fun up until endgame. And I still managed to find a way to beat it despite my struggles. For that price it is hard to call any game bad, let alone one that objectively is as nice as FF9. After this, I intend to play Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2, which I received on my Switch as a gift from my mother. I’m looking forward to seeing what impact the move from PlayStation 1 to PS2 made on the series. FF9 is one of the most beloved games in the series, but 10 is highly acclaimed as well.

If you enjoy role playing games, I would say give Final Fantasy 9 a chance. Take every opportunity to grind for experience, and do all the side stuff you can. I struggled with side quests, so I focused almost solely on main quest and grinding. That said, I played just over forty hours. A lot about this game is simply iconic. The black mages, the music, the unforgettable overall experience. While I think it has definitely shown its age, it is easy to see why FF9 has persisted as a favorite among players. I’m eager to get deeper into the series, and the genre itself.

Credit: Final Fantasy 8. Screenshot by me. Picture from an in-game cinematic.

I first played Final Fantasy 8 when it released in 1999. I was only ten years old, and the complex JRPG was too much for my tiny brain to comprehend. Although, I did think it quite cool at the time. So, when I wanted a new turn-based RPG to play, I found the 2019 remaster on sale for $10. And after more than twenty years of gaming between then and now, I can tell you this game is every bit as inaccessible as it was when I was a child. The miraculous story telling does not save this convoluted mess from being just too off the mark to recommend.

The remaster, made in collaboration with Dotemu and Access Games, spruces up the visuals, making the graphics more sleek and prepped for HD. When FF8 came out, originally released by Squaresoft, it was top of the line graphics. The art style is interesting enough to entertain the eye most the time. I did not think the game was ugly, even being more than two decades old. There are a few other changes to the remaster. Quality of life upgrades like a 3x speed option, the ability to turn off random encounters and a mode that buffs you in combat.

Even with these buffs I had no interest in completing the final boss. What should be the pinnacle of the game in story and gameplay is actually a towering monument to this game’s failures. The game uses a combat system that adapts to your level, but these adaptations are extremely inconsistent and unhelpful. And what good is this system, if I still have to grind until there is absolutely nothing left to be gained?

Credit: Final Fantasy 8. Game clip by me. Calling in a guardian to win the fight.

I used guides often, as finding out what to do next in FF8 can be hazy. Often resorting to walking up to every object in the room from every angle and mashing the ‘interact’ button until something happens. My guide showed me the correct way to complete the final boss, only to find that I don’t have the two very specific spells required to make this fight even remotely possible. There are super questionable mechanics throughout this game. The end boss just has features that boggle the mind as to why anybody would think this was fun.

Guides could only do so much without laying out every little detail of what to do, especially in a game designed to be highly open ended. The difficulty is raised so poorly. For almost the entire game, you can coast by on spamming your guardian spirits, something that wasn’t fun from the jump. And through being relegated to cheese tactics we are supposed to somehow gain not only an understanding, but an appreciation for how important it is to stack your characters as much as humanly possible. The game doesn’t make grinding appealing. It all seems like it is for nothing, until that one fight arrives where you can use that one random spell for max effect.

FF8 follows the exploits of a band of mercenaries, raised from youth for combat. Our heroes get hired out to support a rebellion against evil forces that seem faceless at first, but the situation becomes much more complicated and intricate as the tale proceeds. Squaresoft really flexed the story telling elements of their game building here. It is nearly worth playing just for the story. Nearly. There were a handful of fun fights in this whole game. Two of them didn’t come until the very end.

I’m not sure how this game ends. Which is a true tragedy, because I was really loving the story. The final part of this game just sucks all the joy out of the experience to a point where I feel like the closure of the plot could only be further insult. The first half of the game had some incredible plot dealing with issues like fascism. A beautiful love story unfolds as the game progresses. I suppose I will resort to watching a video of the ending of a game I played well over thirty hours, and I cannot think of anything sadder.

Credit; Final Fantasy 8. Screenshot by me. My favorite battle in the game.

I love turn-based RPGs, and I deeply wanted to love FF8. I had such high hopes that I would come back to this game after twenty years and finally appreciate its glory. This just isn’t how it went down. All the way up to the end boss I was in denial. The more I leaned on the remaster enhancements like 3x speed and combat buffs to get me through boring phases, the more I knew I wasn’t really enjoying myself. These upgrades are the only way I could potentially go back and beat the final boss, but even then it would be such a slog it doesn’t seem remotely worthwhile.

I also bought Final Fantasy 9 on sale, which I dabbled with as a kid as well. I’m again hoping for great things, I won’t trash the follow-up just because the predecessor was ugly and weak. That may be a while down the road however, my next turn-based RPG will be something away from the Final Fantasy series just to keep things fresh. I recently bought both South Park: Stick of Truth and Dragon Quest 11 on sale so I will likely give one of those a shot for a time.

It pains me to say I cannot suggest Final Fantasy 8. While if you like masterfully crafted stories you may find some enjoyment, there are so many flaws in this game and they feel relentless. The difficulty curve, the atrocious quick-time events, the sloppy combat system, there is so much chaining FF8 down and keeping it from being special. I think if they ever give it the full remake treatment like they are Final Fantasy 7, it could definitely breath some new life into the corpse. I just think it unlikely. If you’re looking for a top tier turn-based RPG, go into my Archives and check out the Octopath Traveler review.