Tobias Hayes rates this game: 4/5Personally This is the Final Fantasy that I enjoyed the most on the Playstation 1. You might ask why and argue that it doesnt hold a candle to the Likes of 7 or 8, and I can understand why you would say that. Nevertheless, It is only a opinion. Alright, down to the good stuff!
Story: 4/5
The only reason this one gets a 4/5 is because it contained many Cliché's from earlier RPG's. But to some who got the point of this game it was some of the best things about it. The story puts you in the shoes of Zidane Tribal on an Epic adventure through the world ofFinal Fantasy 9. I particularly like this story as it is not overly dramatic as in Final Fantasy 8.
Graphics 5/5
Truly Gorgeous visuals considering the system. Though certainly not the best the playstation has to offer. It still has a fresh feel in art and visual style. Characters are uhm.. well.. unique to say the least and very original. Only miner problem is in certain parts of the game, like the battle scenario's and the world map, It almost feels as the FPS drops a bit. But as I said, only a minor issue.
Sound 4.5/5
The sounds and music, while criticized by some as being bland and boring, I would disagree and say the game has an amazing score. The music is really calming and sounds awesome! a very good job from Nobuo Uematsu. The veteran composer for the FF series.
Gameplay 3.5/5
Ditching the draw system from 8(Probably FF 8's gamebraker). The battle system resembles that of FF 7 with the "Trance" system which is remotely the same as the "limit break" from 7. You learn abilities by equipping Item and armour. Once you have mastered the skill. The ability becomes permanent. But lets be honest here. The battle system isn’t really the best the game has to offer. when switching to the battle sequences, there is a slight pause for loading which can become irritating later on for some reason and Finally, the "Trance" system is a bit flawed and rarely is of use to you. But in myOpinion still better than that irritating "draw" system of FF 8.
Overall 4/5
I know many will say it deserves a 5/5 but then again, many more people actually really dislike this game being used to the previous two offerings from Square. But I really recommend this game to the RPG fan. It pays tribute to theFinal Fantasy series a whole. There is also a reason why it's the creator of the Final Fantasy series’ favourite, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Give it a try man, I Guarantee that you wont be disappointed!
yevi rates this game: 5/5This is another great title from squaresoft, the artwork is great and the story is epic, use of magic stones for character abilities is simple but very practical though it isn't as flexible as 7 & 8's respective materia and junction systems. Interesting thing is that it isn't strictly 1 player due to the fact that player 2 can be assigned to certain characters in battle, which is unique within itself becuase none of the games predecessors had that feature. I rate thumbs up!