#ffix2020

Hey, it’s Final Fantasy IX’s 20th birthday! Some of you may already know this is my favourite Final Fantasy, and one of my top three games ever. I have done fanart of it in the past, and I decided a day like this called for a properly finished piece too!

Final Fantasy IX - 20th Anniversary

Final Fantasy IX is turning 20 on July 7, 2020!

@finalfantasyix would like to celebrate the 20th anniversary of FFIX with all of Tumblr by holding an appreciation week! All fans are encouraged to participate in FFIX Appreciation Week that will start on Wednesday, July 1st, and end on Tuesday, July 7th.

Day 1 (July 01) → Favorite scene/cut-scene Day 2 (July 02) → Favorite location Day 3 (July 03) → Favorite song/theme Day 4 (July 04) → Favorite eidolon/summon/command Day 5 (July 05) → Favorite side-quest/mini game Day 6 (July 06) → Favorite boss/battle Day 7 (July 07) → D-DAY! A free day; anything you wish to create in honor of 20 years with FFIX!

All posts (graphics, gifs, writing, etc) should be tagged with #ffix2020 so all participants can see them. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, and I will respond as soon as I can.

Day 1 - Favourite scene from FFIX

Mikoto - This is where you bury the dead...? What’s the point of this? It isn’t like the dead would appreciate it.

No. 288 - ...Your right, but I don’t think we build cemeteries for the dead. Sure, it may seem pointless to you, but... How can I describe it? It’s so that we can think like this: ‘We’ll never forget you. We’ll remember you every time we stand at your grave. And we don’t fear death, which each of us knows, stop us from living our lives... Because my friends will remember me when I’m here.’

FFIX Appreciation Week - Day Five: Favorite Side-Quest/Mini-Game

“KWEH!!!”

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about two of my favourite things in this game.

Storybook Style

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.

It's just. Good.

Mechanical storytelling

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.

FFIX 20th Anniversary Week

Day 3 - Favorite Song

"Melodies of Life”