Squaresoft
released yet another sequel to their continuing RPG series,
Final Fantasy 9. Is this last Final Fantasy for the Playstation
good as Final Fantasy 7 (FF7)? Was it wise for Squaresoft to
switch back to "old school" Final Fantasy?
GAMEPLAY (9.0)
In FF9, you play a
girl-loving young thief named Zidane. As you progress in the
game, you'll fight in battles, meet unique characters, and go
through an unfolding storyline (as in all usual RPGs). But what
does FF9 offer that separates itself from the other FF's besides
its storyline? Well, let's do a comparison. FF9 has a similar
battle system to FF7. In place of "Limit Break", FF9 has
"Trance" which increases a character's stats and allows him/her
to use special abilities for a short time. Also like FF7, you
must equip certain things and gain AP points to learn skills
such as "Fira."
Though almost similar to
each other, there are some differences between their battle
systems. Instead of having the freedom to have all the
characters learn all the skills that exist in FF7, FF9
characters can only learn skills exclusive to them. For example
Zidane, who is a thief, is unable to learn black magic from
certain armor. Also instead of just learning skills that add
commands to the battle menu, FF9 allows you to learn skills that
support characters during battle. For instance, one of the
support abilities (which is what they are called) Auto-Potion
automatically gives a chararcter, having this ability, a potion
everytime he/she gets hit. Because FF9's battle system is almost
the same as FF7's, I was not surprised that I took a liking to
going into battles unlike in FF8.
As an addition
to FF9's gameplay, Squaresoft added yet another card game called
Tetra Master. Tetra Master is basically the same as Triple Triad
in FF8 in terms of concept; collect cards by challenging people
to a card game all over the world. However, Tetra Master is
simplistic making it more enjoyable than its counter part.
As an on going
trend in the FF series, FF9 has some mini-games. For example,
there's a mini-game where you and a chocobo go roaming around
the world in search of some treasures. Those mini-games are some
what plentiful, which is good, but they can't compare to FF7's. >>>cont... |
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