25 Years of Final Fantasy IX - What Makes It The GOAT
I sit here, trembling with nervous excitement, here, as this article goes live, it is the 7th of July, 2025, the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy IX. The rest of the world is still a few hours behind us here in Australia, and so major celebrations are still to come, but the nervous excitement stems from years of rumours swirling around Final Fantasy IX getting a remake. While I have a few torturous hours ahead of me to digest the outcome of this milestone day, I also have the amazing platform here at Player2 to discuss what made the original July 7, 2000 release son special to me.
July 7th marks the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy IX in Japan, the game wouldn’t then release in North America until November 14th, and then Europe and other PAL regions like us here in Australia would have to wait until February 16th of 2001 to finally own a copy of the game. As an 11year old at the time of Final Fantasy IX’s release in North America, I wasn’t overly fussed about copyright and piracy laws, no, I was pretty happy, the moment someone entered my orbit with the ability to buy a pirated version of the release, and get started as soon as I possibly could. Apologies to Sony for the chipped PS1, and *then* Squaresoft, now Square-Enix for illegal act, but I was young and dumb.
Upon booting Disc 1 of 4 for the first time I was greeted by something stunning, an opening melody that struck at my pre-teen heart. The soothing sounds of “The Place I’ll Return To Someday” showcased a tenderness of the game while the menu’s opening cinematic highlights intense stakes, destruction, chaos, and young group of heroes trying to put an end to it all. I was a Final Fantasy fan already. My first experience was with the SNES version of Final Fantasy VI when I was just 6 years old, and I’d experience a lot of what Squaresoft was capable of with Secret Of Mana, Secret Of Evermore, Chrono Trigger, and of course Final Fantasy’s VII, and VIII, but IX, stepping backward to a more fantasy, and less sci-fi, inspired world, something immediately apparent through this menu cutscene pierced through me, striking at a side that Final Fantasy titles had been repressing. And then I started playing it.
As Zidane, Vivi, Garnet, and Steiner, as well as Queen Brahne, the band of Tantalus thieves, and eventually the likes of Kuja and Garland all begin to take the spotlight, the themes of identity and belonging really began to emerge above all others. These struck 11-12 year old Paul as I continued to play, why? Because developing your own identity and finding a sense of belonging is one of the great challenges of any child of that age. The world of high school was nearly upon me, I was a little bit nerdy through my love of video games, but also quite sporty, yet, the two sides of me meant that I never 100% fit in with the groups that were wholeheartedly committed to either of these two endeavours. Vivi, in particular, was a massive mirror being held up to my face as I played. What the beloved black mage faced, through of course, a very fantastical lens, was something that I connected very strongly with. I never quite fit in, I’d have moments, like Vivi in the village of Dali, where I’d look out over the world, be fascinated by it, but then ponder deeply where I fit within it, and whether I at all mattered. Thankfully in the fullness of time, and with a little more maturity, I’d get my head around this, and build out my sense of individuality. At the time though, I connected with Vivi on a million levels, and with every replay of the game, I am taken back to 2000-2004, where I must have played the game in full yearly at least, and continued to be overwhelmed by how much the game spoke to me. If we ever get that dream (but also heavily rumoured) remake, I can’t wait to see how this storyline matures, and how I can connect with it as a father, and husband in 2025 and beyond.
Then there’s the gameplay. I mentioned early that I had been up to that point brought up on some legendary JRPGs, from Final Fantasy VI to VIII and then Chrono Trigger, but you can toss Earthbound, Illusion Of Gaia/Time, Lufia, Suikoden 1-2, and more. I was quite familiar with turn-based combat, especially through the eyes of Squaresoft, and was instantly at home with Final Fantasy IX’s ATB. Of course, it’s often the systems that are behind the scenes that help make the gamplay experience of a Final Fantasy game shine, and what IX’s Abilities system did was something that I still adore today. Each weapon or piece of armour would also contain an embedded ability, and with enough AP (Ability Points) accumulated from random and boss encounters, you could permanently unlock that ability for a character, allowing you to switch the item over to another party member for them to do the same. Of course some abilities were unique to the character, but others like “Beast Killer” which allow you to do aditional damage to beasts, were not, and so you’d want to share that gear around so that everyone could unlock the skill. Once unlocked, you would then only have a certain number of magic stones per character available to equip a certain number of skills to ensure you didn’t become too overpowered. Players would need to read the room a bit to determine what abilities would be the most valuable in a particular area or leading into a certain boss encounter. Final Fantasy IX was so deceptive because its combat possessed so much depth that could easily be overlooked by players.
Beyond the combat, there was then the criminally overlooked Tetra Master, Chocobo Riding, and resource hunting, the auction house, hunts, and many other side- activities that would steal countless numbers of hours with each playthrough of the game. These aspects to this day, have never grown old.
Then there’s the presentation, and while 2000 was near the final days of the PS1, and Final Fantasy IX would be quickly succeeded by Final Fantasy X on the PS2 which was technically far superior, IX’s classic style, fantasy-inspired environments and characters, and it’s art design ensured that the game still looked gorgeous for its time. Now it of course looks extremely old, and pretty rough around the edges unless you’re playing the more recent remaster, that cannot be changed, and its a victim of the limitations of the PS1 technology, but the artistry behind it all leaves me salivating at the idea of the game being reborn in the modern day and age. Final Fantasy IX’s soundtrack is still best in class as well, with iconic tracks like the aforementioned “The Place I’ll Return To Someday”, as well as “Festival Of The Hunt”, “Vivi’s Theme” and numerous others still echoing in my mind today, while “Roses Of May” is a song that I’ve already connected deeply to my own daughter. I played it when she was a baby and it soothed her as she went to sleep, and now I can’t help but think of her whenever I hear the song. Even decades on and Final Fantasy IX continues to have a lasting influence on my life in new ways.
As you finish reading this we’re all now likely another 5-10 minutes closer to some sort of short-term closure on the Final Fantasy IX Remake situation. I don’t know what will happen, but my fingers are crossed as tightly as possible that years of leaks and rumours don’t result in naught. Final Fantasy IX is still, without any hint of doubt, the best game that I’ve ever played, and it has connected with me on such a deep, emotional level, that I cannot see a game ever besting it, unless of course, its a modern-day remake – so we watch and we wait. Square-Enix, please give me what I’m craving so desperately.
It’s “The Place I’ll Return To Someday”, please make that sooner, rather than later.
