My Favorite Game of All Time

SPOILER ALERT!

Final Fantasy IX. No, really. Not Legend of Zelda, not Final Fantasy X, not any of the pretty next-gen games, not even the horror titles I love so much. My favorite game in existence is Final Fantasy IX and I don't see that changing any time soon.

The atmosphere is amazing. You aren't in this world that's so oppressive as to be unrealistic, nor is it so open and light-hearted as to be so either.

The music is superb, and definitely one of my favorite video game OSTs (No one OST holds the top spot; it's shared by FFIX, FFX, Silent Hill, Xenosaga, and others). You're Not Alone is particularly well-done, especially when coupled with the scene it plays during. Absolutely amazing.

The graphics. Now, I've seen a common criticism of FFIX being it's cartoonish graphics, especially compared to its predecessor FFVIII. The creators had a reason for that. FFIX went back to the roots of Final Fantasy, back into the days of bit graphics and chibified characters. The graphics are perfect for the style of the game. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have loved the game as much if it HAD more realistic graphics. There is something so inherently beautiful about the style that I wouldn't change a thing.

The story. Oh, don't even get me started. Just look at the character progression of Zidane. He is a happy-go-lucky character, and that's always a part of his character. He genuinely cares about people. Then look at the You're Not Alone scene. Hell, go play the damn game! It was one of the most well-written stories in a Final Fantasy game, in my opinion. You actually feel for Kuja, the villain, by the end of the game. He's not some evil that is and always was evil. He's not even evil, really. Just a sad man driven insane and refusing to accept the fate thrust onto him by his creator.

The ending. Now, FFIX has an open ending. Whether or not Vivi 'stops' is left up in the air, you see the resolution of most of the character arcs, even though not all are completely happy (Fratley never regains his memories of Freya, for instance). But people go on living, and miracles happen. Zidane returns to Alexandria, though why it took so long is never explained, unless you assume he needed quite a long time (long enough for Garnet's hair to grow out again) to heal his injuries in the final battle.

Now, onto the only real criticism I have: Necron. If you pay attention to the game, there are theories and hints about him, depending on your point of view. However, he did come a bit out of left-field to most people who played the game. Would the game have been better if it ended with Kuja's Ultima? No, because if you look, that blast killed the entire party. Killed them. They fall in the field of battle and legitimately die. The entire fight with Necron was in purgatory, hell, the afterlife, what have you. By fighting Death itself and showing their will to live, they were allowed to do so, and Necron let them survive. Sure, it could have been done differently and I'm sure people would have preferred the game to have ended with the Kuja battle, but I agree with what the creators did with Necron. They could have handled it better, but the battle and ending in and of itself was just.

All in all, great game and if you haven't played it yet PLAY IT DAMMIT WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING IT NOW PLAY EEEEEEET!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings:
Scarlet