Final Fantasy IX Appreciation Week Day 7 - Free Space
I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about two of my favourite things in this game.
I love the storybook feel to this game. From the fantastical locations, to the background characters, to the narrative style. It's not a game designed to be rushed through, but explored.
The whole world feels alive, and inconsequential NPCs feel alive. There are so many little details to be found if you veer off-course, from Lowell hiding out in the artist's house, to the Knight of Pluto who walks the tower stairs for exercise, to the moogle in the bell at the beginning trying to be very quiet if you go before you meet Puck, to the dog chasing someone in Treno. You can also see Cloud's buster sword on the wall in the Lindblum weapons shop.
Oh man, the mechanics in this game are inspired. The system for learning abilities from paces the game incredibly well from a mechanical standpoint. Not only that, but you actually find yourself using less-than-optimal gear so you can learn interesting things. I can think of no other game that does something like that.
More than that is how connected it feels. From Zidane's innate 'protect girls' ability, to how Quina learns by eating enemies.
My favourite is the fact that Eiko and Dagger are mechanically very similar so you should choose just one in your party. Not only does this illustrate that they're from the same place, and that Eiko is better at summoning because she grew up in Madain Sari, but also that it ties into the love triangle.
As an aside, I always keep locomotion on Vivi because it prevents Stop, even though you rarely encounter the status effect in the game. That's okay, though. The game allows it. Encourages this sort of engagement with the world.
Final Fantasy IX is my favourite game, and I'm so glad we got to have an appreciation week.