Peak

Pros
- Engaging Story – Emotionally driven without being overbearing. It’s not overly convoluted, yet still manages to build intrigue.
- Well-Developed Characters – Each character has distinct personalities, skill sets, and personal story arcs to explore in both the main storyline and side missions.
- Strong Art Style – Despite its age, the game has aged well due to its unique design. Nothing feels visually unappealing.
- Amazing Music – A fantastic soundtrack that enhances the experience.
- Solid Leveling & Battle Mechanics – The spells and abilities system is intuitive and rewarding. Battle mechanics are satisfying, traditional, and distinct.

Cons
- Slow Battle System – Animations and transitions take longer than necessary, making combat feel sluggish.
- ATE Overload – While it’s occasionally fun to check in on distant characters, Active Time Events (ATEs) occur too frequently. Many of them feel dull or inconsequential to the story, making them more of a distraction than an enhancement.
- Pacing Issues – The story slows down considerably at times. The game is broken into four "discs," and I found most of Act 1, half of Act 2, and parts of Act 3 to drag on too long, disrupting the story’s natural flow.
- Frustrating Mini-Games & Side Quests – While many Final Fantasy games include questionable mini-games, some in FF9 feel overly frustrating or time-consuming. The Chocobo treasure hunting system, for example, takes an absurd amount of time to complete and is poorly designed.

Despite its flaws, I still think Final Fantasy IX is a fantastic classic. I strongly recommend using the Memoria mod manager to smooth out some quality-of-life issues, improve frame rates, and enhance visuals. While I’d be more inclined to revisit VII (including Remake Intergrade/Rebirth), VI, X, or VIII, I still consider IX a strong entry and an easy recommendation.

I'm very conflicted on this one. People shout masterpiece left and right on it. I won't give it a thumbs down but my personal enjoyment was a rollercoaster. Preface by saying I have played so many JRPGs and every FF to date except this one because honestly I don't know why I never got around to it. Overrated? Maybe just a bit.

- The battles were a slog. Slow, uninteresting and boring with no real depth.
- The pacing is horrible. The first half of the game is great but then it slowly goes down hill with enormous amounts of missable side content. The later half definitely felt like a chore to play through, sadly.

The characters are great, everyone is fleshed out and given meaningful interesting stories. The OST without a doubt combined with the settings are 10/10.

Great opening and fantastic ending but I personally was not feeling the middle. I am not a fan of this animal/creature like dark fantasy theme they were going for.