Final Fantasy IX

Ite

Ite

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Ite
Happy 20th Anniversary, Final Fantasy IX!

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Torrie

Torrie

astray ay-ay-ay
FF9 was my first FF game, funny as it might seem, just because it started with an RPG guide book I bought back in 2003. The reason I did was that I was crazy about everything fantasy and I simply liked the girls on the book cover :D Much later they turned out to be Rose from Legend of Dragoon and the blonde sorceress from the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance artwork. Anyway, I was fascinated by all those walkthroughs and ended up rereading the FF9 section a few times. I probably kept talking to my family about this game, so a few months later my parents gave it to me on my birthday. I was the happiest girl in the world. I remember not being able to start the game because I was just sitting and listening to the intro music on repeat with tears in my eyes. Those were the days!

I still love everything about FF9. The setting, the music, the characters, the story, the wisdom. I associate this game with my happy childhood and a strong feeling of home. Not sure though if I would feel fine replaying it now, but who knows? I might give it another go someday.
 
Fade

Fade

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Torrie said:
I still love everything about FF9. The setting, the music, the characters, the story, the wisdom. I associate this game with my happy childhood and a strong feeling of home. Not sure though if I would feel fine replaying it now, but who knows? I might give it another go someday.
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I didn't love IX when it came out (I do now), but the game is cosy as heck. It's something to do with the fairy tale world and the level of detail injected into it, from the environmental interactions to the ATEs to the quirky NPC names. And then there's that soundtrack, of course...

It's like someone took a look at Balamb Garden and said "Do that, but for the entire world." Also, Lindblum gives Midgar a run for its money as the coolest Final Fantasy city.
 
HylianMogget

HylianMogget

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It took me a while to get into FFIX, but it ended up being my favorite FF. FFVII was my first FF and FFIX was the one I played after it and I was put off by how different it seemed in setting and tone. Actually, when I played FFVII I was a bit miffed by how it didn't feel very "fantasy" despite the title (I didn't know much of anything about the series at that point), but then when I played FFIX I was like, "hmm, this isn't anything like FFVII, what's the deal with this really 'fantasy' fantasy setting" :lol:. So I didn't get very far in it my first time, but then a couple of years later I gave it another try and absolutely loved it.

It has such a charming, cosy atmosphere and a great soundtrack. I think people tended to write it off because of the art style (non-realistically proportioned characters and non-human characters) and the more whimsical feel it had. The story has real emotional weight to it in parts, though. Like, Nier Automata gets praised (rightfully, IMO) for its writing, and thematically it reminds me a lot of FFIX in some ways.

(Not sure if this has been posted before, but I get emotional every time I see it):
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1149093017090961408

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Torrie

Torrie

astray ay-ay-ay
There's one tiny little thing that has always bothered me though. A scene I thought I never understood because of poor retranslation, but the original English lines are way too confusing for me as well. What's going on in there?

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I guess the RU localization team had no idea either, so they used a sound which represents something metallic and heavy, the sound that a bunch of keys or a chain armor would produce. I'm lost :wacky:
 
Torrie

Torrie

astray ay-ay-ay
Fade said:
They're having a wee together. Classic male bonding, dontcha know?
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This is super weird! I mean... I didn't expect the mages to have the same body parts and physiology as human beings. And if the game pushes me to assume they do, I'm not sure I want to believe :huh:
 
Fade

Fade

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Torrie said:
This is super weird! I mean... I didn't expect the mages to have the same body parts and physiology as human beings. And if the game pushes me to assume they do, I'm not sure I want to believe :huh:
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Funnily enough, I said a few posts ago that my controversial FFIX opinion is that Black Mages are anatomically human under that get-up and that scene, sadly, is one of the stronger bits of proof! I think people take the
Mist golem stuff a bit too literally thanks to their design. After all, the genomes are "dolls", too, but are...er, full-featured. There are other little indicators here and there, too, and also a few meta considerations I'd personally cite as indicative.
 
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CrashOuch

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Sara
I would be well curious to see exactly what the Black Mages are made up of. If they were cloth dolls with human functionality that doesn't seem especially hygienic.
 
Torrie

Torrie

astray ay-ay-ay
Fade said:
Funnily enough, I said a few posts ago that my controversial FFIX opinion is that Black Mages are anatomically human under that get-up and that scene, sadly, is one of the stronger bits of proof!
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I must have overlooked that. Makes sense though. My headcanon was that the food they consume is turned directly into energy and slightly increases their vitality.

CrashOuch said:
I would be well curious to see exactly what the Black Mages are made up of.
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If "Black lives matter" was a thing in the world of FF9, it would definitely be about them.
 
Makoeyes987

Makoeyes987

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Smooth Criminal
The Black Mages are extremely mysterious. They might have some sort of biological, organic functions given that scene with Vivi...

But let's not forget what we saw in the village of Dali. They're manufactured. They're stored in crates. They are literally folded up, until infused with Mist where they seemingly spring to life.

I have no idea how a small farming village that only recently turned to Black Mage manufacturing would possess the capabilities of automatically constructing biological life forms. Let alone doing so in mass and so quickly.

Genomes in Terra are shown to be grown in vats requiring fluid, biological monitoring and other medical oversight. Black Mages do not. It's weird.
 
Fade

Fade

SHR
It's my belief that Vivi just straight up looks like a little boy under the outfit -- I wouldn't even be surprised if he's blond like the genomes. As we've covered, there are quite a few things to suggest that IX's Black Mages aren't anatomically strange, so there's no real reason to think they look any weirder unveiled than they do in any game that gives BMs shadow-faces. And for anyone who's played enough FF in general, the idea of creating an entire, solid human out of a magical substance isn't even a new one. I mean, if (non-IX spoilers ahoy)
Auron or the Remnants happened to look like classic BMs, fans would probably have made the same assumptions about them!
 
Fade

Fade

SHR
Makoeyes987 said:
I don't think Vivi's outfit is obstructing his appearance. He really just looks like that. :monster:

Either it's an effect of being born of Mist or a function of their dark magic, but I don't think it's an obscuring of shadow from their hats. Vivi's seen in direct light. Shining on his face. Yet he still looks like that.
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I mean, it could just be magic shadow. That's the only explanation for classic black mages, after all, given that the look in general pre-dates Vivi.

Edit: Should probably add that by "the outfit", I meant both his clothes and all that shadowy crap.
 
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