 Lee (Sephiroth): Well if this game is anything like it's predecessors than it's gonna be great, Final Fantasy 7 and 8 blew people away with their cinematic feel but the titles before this were more 'pure' RPG action, which way is Square going to choose? Who knows but either way it will have a great storyline and superb gameplay, guarnteed!
|
 Sean Johnston: Ok, this is going to be long!. The first thing I love about Final Fantasy IX is the fact that Square is sticking there neck out further than they usually do. C'mon, besides the story and charecters, Final Fantasy VIII wasn't all that different from Final Fantasy VII. It was like Capcom with the Street Fighter series, although very good, they have a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantality. The inclusion of a fourth cheracter into your party is very good indeed. Ito said that this will add many new dementions to battling. I totally aggree with that; before it was two attackers on the outside, healer in the inside and that worked very well. Now, with four members, that totally throws the book out of the window. That leads to the next thing, the charecters. In my eyes, Square has screwed up and done very well with the Cherecters at the same time. The artistic side has returned giving more charisma and cherecter to each one. But yet again, Square has gone back to the blond haired blue eyes main cherecter. If I learn that he is an orphan, I'll personally fly out to Square's offices in Japan and punch some sence into them!. I thought Square was making progress with Squall having, gasp, dusty blond hair but I guess I'm wrong. I also thought that Square was going for the realistic cherecters but back to 14-year old midgets I guess I'm wrong on that too. Please don't get me wrong, I love the cherecter design. Vivi is one of the most original cherecters I have seen in a long time. I just find it funny that Square is going back on everything thery said. |
 CajunSamurai's Impressions on FFIX:
So far, the games environments and surroundings look absolutely amazing. Nothing short of breath-taking stuff. But I've come to expect this from Square now; I've rarely ever been let down by them. From the looks of things so far, it sems like the graphics in FFIX will push the ancient Playstation to it's limits, with a modified, enhanced FF8 engine. And with FF8 sporting what is arguably the best graphics on the PS... We're surely in for a treat.
The return of 4 characters in FFIX is great news! At last, some real strategic battles! I mean, just look at FF7 and 8 with their simplistic, overly aesthetic battles. One character is always a healer, and the other two are mainly spell casters and brute force attackers. In FFIX, this becomes much more complex. Remember back in Final Fantasy 4, where it forces you to use certain characers? I thought that was perfect. Each character was useful in their own fields. Cecil had high attack power, a bit of healing magic, and the ability to cover a ally from attacks. Rosa could cast powerful white magic, use arrow attacks from a limited supply, or use the aim ability to get in a 100% shot on an enemy. Palom and Porom were weak on their own, with low attack power and limited spell, but when they were both active, they could team up and use an incredibly powerful attack. THIS is the kind of thing I miss from Final Fantasy... Balanced gameplay. I'm sick of the systems in FF 7 and 8 where your wizards could each do 4,000 points of damage or more with a single attack. I have a strong feeling that FFIX won't be like this. I think that it will become more like my favorite FF, FF4... I sure hope so!
I have mixed feelings about the character design... But mostly I like it. It IS Amano-san's design, after all, and I'm a big fan of his work.
I have a feeling that this will be one of the greatest Final Fantasy games of all time.
|
