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93-458: Since its inception, the series has been supervised by Akitoshi Kawazu , known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and SaGa series. Recurring staff include composer Kumi Tanioka , who created the series's distinctive medieval-influenced music; Toshiyuki Itahana, who worked on the art design and directed The Crystal Bearers ; and Yasuhisa Izumisawa, lead artist for Echoes of Time and

186-564: A shell company of Square's Product Development Division 2 dubbed "The Game Designers Studio" so production could go ahead without interfering with other projects for Sony platforms. The shell company was co-owned by Square and Akitoshi Kawazu , creator of the SaGa series. Due to the strong reception of Crystal Chronicles , Square Enix continued it as its own series, beginning work on Ring of Fates and The Crystal Bearers in early 2006. The two games were announced that year. Due to his commitment to

279-440: A top-down perspective . Players can freely navigate around the world map unless restricted by obstacles such as bodies of water or mountain ranges. To traverse these impediments, players can ride chocobos , sail on a boat, or pilot airships . Like previous Final Fantasy games, players enter battles caused by random encounters with enemies while traveling across the world map or hostile field screens. Final Fantasy IX offers

372-490: A " gaiden " (side story) to the main series. By late 1999, however, Square had confirmed that the game would indeed be titled Final Fantasy IX , and by early 2000, they had almost finished the game. The developers made several adjustments to the game, such as changing the ending seven times. Director Hiroyuki Ito had designed the battle system. The game's developers sought to make the game's environment more "fantasy-oriented" than its PlayStation predecessors by reintroducing

465-668: A "level up", which permanently increases combat attributes. Equipment worn by a character may also amplify their attributes. Certain weapons and armor also bestow special abilities, which the character may use when equipped. When the character earns enough ability points, it becomes usable without the item equipped. There are two types of abilities: action and support. Action abilities require magic points to use and include magical spells and special moves used in battle. Support abilities provide functions that remain in effect passively, such as increasing power against certain types of enemies. The maximum number of effects characters can equip at once

558-446: A "reflection" on the older games of the series. Leading up to its release, Sakaguchi called Final Fantasy IX his favorite Final Fantasy game as "it's closest to [his] ideal view of what Final Fantasy should be". This shift was also a response to demands from fans and other developers. Additionally, the team wanted to create a coherent story with deep character development; this led to the creation of Active Time Events which showcase

651-521: A King and Crystal Chronicles . The Crystal Bearers takes place 1000 years after the time of Crystal Chronicles , with the Yukes having vanished during a great war with the Lilties and crystal-based magic being a rarity. The gameplay of Crystal Chronicles has tended to focus either on multiplayer, or the concept of groups working towards a common goal. A notable exception is The Crystal Bearers , which follows

744-421: A King and My Life as a Darklord , the characters were designed by Yasuhisa Izumisawa. The majority of series music has been composed by Kumi Tanioka , who had previously worked on the music of Final Fantasy XI . She returned to work on Ring of Fates , My Life as a King , then simultaneously on Echoes of Time and My Life as a Darklord . Because of the latter commitment, Tanioka was not greatly involved in

837-412: A King focuses on city-building and construction, with the protagonist sending adventurers out on quests to gather materials and spread influence. My Life as a Darklord again focuses on a group, but this time within the tower defense genre and subverting narrative and stylistic tropes within the series. The Crystal Bearers broke away from many of the series' established gameplay mechanics; in addition to

930-432: A battle screen. The player issues commands to characters from an on-screen menu on the battle screen, including physically attacking, using items from the inventory, and unique character-specific abilities that define their role in battle. For example, the thief Zidane can steal items, Eiko and Garnet can summon "eidolons" to aid the party, and Vivi can use black magic to damage the opposition. The speed and order in which

1023-482: A focus on action-adventure and physics-based combat, there were also numerous minigames. The first Crystal Chronicles title originated when Final Fantasy developer Square —who had previously parted on bad terms with Nintendo when they developed Final Fantasy VII for Sony 's PlayStation console—were in a poor condition following the box office failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within . They decided to make video games for Nintendo consoles again, founding

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1116-447: A life simulator for mobile devices which ran from 2009 to the close of Square Enix's old mobile services in 2018. He currently works as general producer for the SaGa series, serving in an executive role on projects including the mobile spin-offs Imperial SaGa (2015) and Romancing SaGa Re:Universe (2018). Kawazu is noted in his game design for using mechanics seen as unconventional in

1209-635: A liking for sword and sorcery settings in his scenarios. A characteristic of his games is a non-linear design for storylines and exploration, and systems that are not actively explained to players. He also has a deep involvement in each project beyond his credited roles, and tries something new with each game he develops. Kawazu was born on November 5, 1962, in Oguni , a town in Aso District , Kumamoto Prefecture . Talking about his early life in Oguni, Kawazu said that he

1302-468: A medieval setting. In the game world, steam technology is just beginning to become widely available. The population relies on hydropower or wind power for energy sources but sometimes harness Mist or steam to drive more advanced engines. Norse and Northern European mythology also inspired the game's setting. According to Ito, "[the development team is] attracted to European history and mythology because of its depth and its drama". The game's art director

1395-563: A near-extinct race of horned humanoid summoners who conjure powerful magical beings called eidolons. Also on the Outer Continent is the Iifa Tree, which disperses the Mist to other continents through its roots. This Mist stimulates the fighting instinct in humanoids and contributes to Gaia's bloody history. The Lost and Forgotten continents are littered mostly with ancient ruins. Scattered throughout

1488-408: A new approach to town exploration with Active Time Events (ATE). These allow the player to view events unfolding at different locations, providing character development, unique items, and prompts for story-altering decisions. ATEs are occasionally used to simultaneously control two teams when the party divides to solve puzzles and navigate mazes. When the player encounters an enemy, the map changes to

1581-414: A ploy by the neighboring nation of Lindblum. He joins Garnet and a growing cast of characters on a quest to take down her mother, Queen Brahne of Alexandria, who started the war. Game development occurred in parallel with Final Fantasy VIII . Envisioned by developers as a retrospective for the series, it departed from the futuristic settings of Final Fantasy VI , VII , and VIII by returning to

1674-401: A show; Vivi has implicitly died as Black Mages only live for a year, but he has left behind several identical "sons," as well as grown to understand the meaning of life; Freya and Fratley are rebuilding Burmecia; Cid has adopted Eiko; Quina works in the castle's kitchen; Amarant and Lani are travelling together; and Garnet presides as queen of Alexandria, with Steiner and Beatrix as her guards. In

1767-517: A single protagonist. A common aim across all titles is creating games that can be enjoyed by a wide audience. The original Crystal Chronicles notably made use of multiplayer relying on the GameCube linking with the Game Boy Advance (GBA) link cable . Both Ring of Fates and Echoes of Time revolve around dungeon exploration and loot collection, comparable to the gameplay of Diablo . My Life as

1860-589: A top-seller in Japan and America, Final Fantasy IX did not sell as many copies as VII or VIII in either Japan or the United States. In 2001, the game received a "Gold" certification from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The original PlayStation version sold over 5.5 million copies by March 2016. Final Fantasy IX

1953-674: A young girl living in Madain Sari who is one of the last summoners; and Amarant Coral , a bounty hunter hired to return Garnet to Alexandria. Other important characters include Cid Fabool, the charismatic Regent of Lindblum; Brahne , Garnet's adoptive mother and the power-hungry Queen of Alexandria; Beatrix , the general of Alexandria's all-female army; Garland, an elderly Terran male tasked with saving his world; and antagonist Kuja, an arms dealer and pawn of Garland who questions his own existence. In Alexandria, Zidane and Tantalus kidnap Princess Garnet by order of Cid. Garnet does not resist, for she

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2046-452: Is Treno, a cultural nexus under perpetual starlight that is home to many aristocrats and paupers alike. The technologically advanced Lindblum, a hub of airship travel, is nestled on a plateau to the southwest. Both countries feature a mix of humans, humanoids, and anthropomorphic animals. Burmecia, a kingdom showered by endless rain, is in the northwest. Cleyra, a neighboring settlement that seceded from Burmecia due to its appreciation for war,

2139-484: Is determined by level. Final Fantasy IX takes place primarily in a world named Gaia. Most of Gaia's population lives on the Mist Continent, named after the thick Mist that blankets the lowlands. Large mountain ranges act as natural borders that separate its four nations: Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia, and Cleyra. Alexandria is a warmongering monarchy that controls the eastern half of the continent. One of its cities

2232-540: Is set thousands of years in the past when the four tribes lived together in harmony. At some point during this period, the events of Echoes of Time take place. My Life as a King is set after the clearing of the Miasma at the end of Crystal Chronicles , with the main character King Leo setting out to rebuild his kingdom. My Life as a Darklord takes place in the aftermath, with surviving monsters struggling to survive and ending up fighting against characters from both My Life as

2325-510: Is situated in a giant tree in the desert, protected by a sandstorm. Both are inhabited by anthropomorphic rats with a fondness for dance and spear fighting. Players eventually explore the Outer, Lost, and Forgotten Continents as well. Civilizations on the Outer Continent include Conde Petie, home of the dwarves; Black Mage Village, a secret settlement of sentient magician drones; and Madain Sari, once home to

2418-466: The Dungeons & Dragons franchise, the video game Wizardry , and the products of Avalon Hill . Unlimited Saga was his most literal expression of this, with mechanics and presentation directly emulating tabletop games. Its divisive reception caused Kawazu to create more conventional titles in the future, though they continued to use his gameplay philosophies. Throughout his career, regardless of

2511-682: The SaGa series. Interested in games since his high school days, his first project at Square was a graphic designer for Rad Racer ; he then acted as battle designer for Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II . He has since worked on nearly every SaGa title, in addition to creating the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles subseries, smaller projects including The Last Remnant , and serving in an executive role on multiple Square Enix projects. Kawazu has drawn much of his design inspiration from Western role-playing titles such as Dungeons & Dragons and Wizardry , admitting

2604-553: The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences honored Final Fantasy IX with the " Console Role-Playing ", " Art Direction " and " Animation " awards, as well as received nominations for " Game of the Year ", "Console Game of the Year", " Original Musical Composition ", and " Character or Story Development ". Final Fantasy IX was voted the 4th best Final Fantasy game in a poll by Japan's national broadcasting organization NHK. IGN named it

2697-530: The Crystal Chronicles series alongside Kawazu's other work as examples of his experimental approach to game design. Akitoshi Kawazu Akitoshi Kawazu ( 河津 秋敏 , Kawazu Akitoshi , born November 5, 1962) is a Japanese game designer , director, producer and writer. After joining Square (later Square Enix ) in 1985, he went on to become a central developer for the first two Final Fantasy titles, then acted as creator and lead developer for

2790-476: The Crystal Chronicles series among other projects, Kawazu did not continue work on the SaGa franchise. From the original Crystal Chronicles to The Crystal Bearers , the series remained exclusive to Nintendo consoles. Kawazu explained this as being an act of loyalty to Nintendo, who had first requested a game for their consoles. The remastered version of Crystal Chronicles was spearheaded by later staff member Ryoma Araki, who had joined Square Enix after playing

2883-664: The recorder , the crumhorn and the lute . Her work on Echoes of Time was described by her as the most challenging project she had worked on at the time. Iwasaki and Yamazaki originally wanted to emulate Tanioka's style with their work on The Crystal Bearers , but Kawazu and Itahana persuaded them to change into an acoustic style inspired by American music. The original Crystal Chronicles reached high positions in sales charts upon release, going on to sell 1.3 million units worldwide. Ring of Fates sold nearly 700,000 units worldwide, while Echoes of Time sold 570,000. The Crystal Bearers met with low sales in Japan and North America, and

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2976-406: The sword and sorcery subgenre of fantasy, which he greatly enjoyed in his youth. The SaGa series has consciously moved away from the typical storylines of other series such as Final Fantasy . When working on games, Kawazu often has duties and input beyond his credited role; an instance of this was SaGa Frontier II , where he was credited as producer and co-writer but ended up writing almost all

3069-412: The 14th best game on the original PlayStation, calling it an "incredible" way to close out the Final Fantasy series's first nine games and complimented its reverence for those titles. Rock Paper Shotgun named the title their 4th best Final Fantasy game available on PC , praising the cast and its eclectic group of heroes. Though overshadowed during its initial release by other Final Fantasy titles,

3162-568: The English manual to Canadian stores several days later. Square heavily promoted the game both before and after its release. Starting on March 6, 2000, the game's characters appeared in a line of computer-generated Coca-Cola commercials. Figurines of several characters were also used as prizes in Coca-Cola's marketing campaign. That same year, IGN awarded Final Fantasy dolls and figurines for prizes in several of their contests. Final Fantasy IX

3255-590: The Iifa Tree. At the Iifa Tree, the party enters Memoria and reaches the origin of the universe: the Crystal World. They defeat Kuja, preventing him from destroying the original crystal of life and thus the universe. After defeating Necron, a force of death, the Tree collapses; the party flees, while Zidane stays behind to rescue Kuja. One year later, the game reveals the cast's fate: Tantalus arrives in Alexandria to put on

3348-457: The Princess of Alexandria who runs away with Zidane; Vivi Ornitier , a young, timid, and kind black mage with an unknown origin; Adelbert Steiner , a brash Alexandrian knight captain and loyal servant of Princess Garnet; Freya Crescent , a Burmecian dragoon searching for her lost love; Quina Quen , a Qu whose master wants them to travel the world so that they will learn about cuisine; Eiko Carol ,

3441-617: The RPG genre, such as usage-based ability leveling, non-linear storytelling, and open worlds or similar freely-explorable environments. Speaking specifically about the SaGa series, Kawazu described his philosophy for it as always trying something new with each entry and pushing at the perceived limitations of RPGs. His games are also noted for obscured mechanics and higher-than-average difficulty, something Kawazu ascribes to his love of challenging gameplay. Many of his design sensibilities and game tastes were drawn from Western video games, particularly

3534-511: The basic systems of the first game. Following the success of Tetris for the Game Boy , Square president Masafumi Miyamoto wanted to make their own version of it for the console, but the staff instead designed an RPG, the first for the platform; Kawazu acted as director and designer. The game was Makai Toushi SaGa , released in the West as The Final Fantasy Legend . It proved hugely popular and

3627-504: The black mages, Zidane and Vivi join Freya to investigate. Garnet and Steiner secretly return to Alexandria to reason with Brahne. Zidane's team finds that the Alexandrian forces, headed by Beatrix, conquered Burmecia with help from Kuja and the refugees have fled to Cleyra. Brahne imprisons Garnet, extracts her eidolons, and uses the eidolon, Odin to destroy Cleyra while Zidane's group defends

3720-435: The character's individual exploration away from the protagonist. Sakaguchi wrote the scenario for the game, with further contributions from Kazuhiko Aoki and Nobuaki Komoto. In the game's conceptual stage, the developers made it clear that the title would not necessarily be Final Fantasy IX , as its break from the realism of VII and VIII may have alienated audiences. This idea led fans to speculate that it would be

3813-448: The character's strength and allows the player to select more powerful attack commands. For example, Vivi's "Black Magic" command changes into "Double Black", allowing him to cast two magic spells at once. Winning battles awards money, items, " experience points ", and "ability points". Experience points determine a character's combat attributes like agility, strength, and magical power. Accumulating sufficient experience points results in

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3906-534: The characters amusing and full of humor. IGN also noted that even the Active Time Event system helps expand the player's understanding of the characters' personalities as they grapple with many ideas and emotions. RPGFan enjoyed the detailed animation and design of the semi-deformed graphical style. They also praised the pre-rendered backgrounds, noting the careful attention given to the artwork, movement in animations, and character interactivity. They commended

3999-659: The characters and enemies take their turn varies according to their agility , an implementation of the Active Time Battle system first featured in Final Fantasy IV . Character-specific commands change when the character goes into " Trance mode", which is activated for a short duration when the character sustains a specified amount of damage similar to the Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII . Trance mode amplifies

4092-407: The city. The party escapes on Brahne's airship, rendezvous with Steiner, and rescues Garnet. Meanwhile, Brahne cripples Lindblum with another eidolon, Atomos. Cid explains that Kuja supplies Brahne with black mages and the knowledge to use eidolons. The party befriends Quina and tracks Kuja to the Outer Continent. Brahne hires bounty hunters Lani and Amarant to capture Garnet. On the Outer Continent,

4185-559: The climax of Tantalus's performance, the lead actor reveals himself as Zidane in disguise and reunites with Queen Garnet. Early planning for Final Fantasy IX began in July 1998 before Square had finished development on Final Fantasy VIII . The game was developed in Hawaii as a compromise to developers living in the United States. As the series' last game on the PlayStation, Sakaguchi envisioned

4278-443: The cutscenes for being emotionally compelling and highlighted the seamless transition between cutscenes and in-game graphics. The music also received praise, with Electronic Gaming Monthly listing it the best soundtrack on their list of top five original soundtracks, while GamePro praised the audio for evoking "emotions throughout the story, from battles to heartbreak to comedy". Critics acknowledged that Square primarily built

4371-412: The eidolon as a means to kill his master, Garland, but the latter arrives and destroys it. The party chases Kuja through a portal to Terra, where the antagonists' goals become clear. The Terrans created Garland to merge their dying world with Gaia; Garland, in turn, created self-aware, soulless vessels called Genomes. For millennia, Garland has been using the Iifa Tree to replace deceased Gaian souls with

4464-407: The fantasy roots", with newer elements. To accomplish this and satisfy fans who had become used to the realistic designs of Final Fantasy VIII , the designers stressed creating characters with whom the player could easily relate. The characters had "comic-like looks" as a result. In addition, The Dark Crystal was used as inspiration for the design of the world and characters. Ito suggested that

4557-478: The first game and executive producer for subsequent entries. For the fifth entry The Crystal Bearers , he acted as a producer and writer. In 2005 he took over as executive producer of Final Fantasy XII after Yasumi Matsuno withdrew. He played a key creative role in The Last Remnant , a standalone RPG designed by veterans of the SaGa series. He also acted as concept creator for It's New Frontier ,

4650-764: The game and wanted to revive it for a modern gaming audience. The remaster was done with Kawazu's input, and featured enough changes that half of the game had to be remade. Many of the series staff were veterans of Final Fantasy IX , and the core team remained through the series' run. Kawazu had a creative role in each entry, mainly filling the role of executive producer. Kawazu also wrote the scenario for The Crystal Bearers . Both Ring of Fates and Echoes of Time were directed by Mitsuru Kamiyama and designed by Hiroyuki Saegusa. Crystal Chronicles and Ring of Fates had character designs by Toshiyuki Itahana, who had previously worked on Final Fantasy IX ; he would go on to direct The Crystal Bearers . For Echoes of Time , My Life as

4743-509: The game as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box Japanese package in December 2012. A remastered version was released for Android and iOS in February 2016. The remaster features HD movies and character models, an auto-save feature, seven different game boosters (cheats), including high speed and no encounter modes, and achievements. A port for Windows was released on April 14

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4836-471: The game has been recognized for its mature themes, including mortality and handling death and is considered a JRPG masterpiece. The music has also been called one of Uematsu's greatest scores. The game has inspired a number of mods such as Moguri Mod , which is an unofficial remaster project developed by fans which saw its initial release in 2018. In 2015, OverClocked ReMix released a four-disc collection called "Worlds Apart" with 120 songs to celebrate

4929-507: The game itself, such as the overworld theme and a lullaby that Garnet sings. Emiko Shiratori performed this piece in both the Japanese and English versions with arrangement by Shirō Hamaguchi . Final Fantasy IX ' s release was delayed to avoid a simultaneous release with then-rival Enix 's Dragon Quest VII . On October 7, 2000, a demo day for the North American version of IX

5022-460: The game. During writing sessions, Square gave him a travel break in Europe for inspiration, where he spent time admiring ancient architecture in places like Germany. Uematsu cited medieval music as a significant influence on the score of IX . He aimed for a "simple" and "warm" atmosphere and incorporated uncommon instruments like the kazoo and dulcimer . Unlike the stark realism of its predecessors,

5115-617: The hibernating Terran souls, turning the former into Mist in the process; this will allow the Terrans to be reborn into the Genomes after the planetary merge. Kuja and Zidane are Genomes created to accelerate this process by bringing war and chaos to Gaia. Kuja had betrayed Garland to avoid becoming occupied by a Terran soul. Kuja defeats Garland, who reveals before dying that the former has a limited lifespan anyhow: Garland designed Zidane to be his replacement. Enraged, Kuja destroys Terra and escapes to

5208-402: The high fantasy undertones of IX allowed for a broader spectrum of musical styles and moods. Uematsu composed with a piano and used two contrasting methods: "I create music that fits the events in the game, but sometimes, the [developers] will adjust a game event to fit the music I've already written". Uematsu incorporated several motifs from older Final Fantasy games into the score, such as

5301-483: The information instead of providing it within the actual guide. The book's given links are no longer accessible on the PlayOnline website. The minigame "Tetra Master" was seen by GameSpot as inferior and confusing compared to Final Fantasy VIII ' s minigame "Triple Triad" as the rules are vaguely explained and offered few rewards despite its expansive nature. During the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ,

5394-471: The lead character's head, indicating a point of interest. Players speak with Moogles to record their progress , recover their energy, and purchase items. An extensive optional quest involves sending and receiving letters from Moogles and other non-playable characters via Mognet, an in-game postal service. Players journey between field screen locations on the world map , a three-dimensional representation of Final Fantasy IX ' s world presented from

5487-512: The lengthy combat pace and the repeated battles, describing it as "aggravating". RPGFan felt the Trance system was ineffective because the meter buildup is slow and unpredictable, with characters Trancing just before the enemy dies. The characters and graphics also received positive reviews. Although IGN felt that the characters were similar to those in other Final Fantasy games, the characters were still engaging and sympathetic. GameSpot found

5580-464: The marshes of Gaia are the Qu: large, frog-eating, and seemingly androgynous humanoids who are considered great gourmands . Late in the game, players briefly travel to the parallel world of Terra and the dream realm of Memoria. The main playable characters are: Zidane Tribal , a member of a group of bandits called Tantalus who are masquerading as a theater troupe; Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (alias Dagger),

5673-433: The medieval style of the earlier games. Consequently, it draws heavy influence from the original Final Fantasy and features allusions to the rest of the series. The game introduced new features to the series despite this approach, such as "Active Time Event" cutscenes, "Mognet", and skill systems. Final Fantasy IX was the last game in the main series whose music was composed solely by Nobuo Uematsu . Final Fantasy IX

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5766-474: The moogles foil them. Amarant then challenges Zidane to a duel and loses. He joins the party and Garnet learns of her heritage as a summoner who was adopted by Brahne as a child. At the Tree, Brahne attempts to kill Kuja with an eidolon so she can rule unopposed, but he takes control of it and destroys her and her army. After Garnet's coronation, Kuja attacks Alexandria Castle. Garnet and Eiko summon an extremely powerful eidolon in defense; Kuja attempts to steal

5859-418: The music of The Crystal Bearers , which was instead composed by Hidenori Iwasaki and Ryo Yamazaki. Tanioka returned for the Crystal Chronicles remaster alongside Iwasaki to both remix the original music and compose new tracks. The music of the series is distinct from other Final Fantasy entries, making extensive use of medieval and Renaissance musical instruments . Those used for the first game include

5952-441: The music was "uninspired and dull" compared to previous Final Fantasy titles and criticized composer Uematsu for reusing some tracks from past iterations of the series. Still, reviewers have concluded that this and many other elements are part of the overall effort to create a nostalgic game for fans of the older Final Fantasy games. The strategy guide also received criticism; it urged buyers to log onto an online site to gain

6045-624: The next several years. After the troubled production of Legend of Mana , where he took on a supervisory role in keeping the project from cancellation, Kawazu decided that his main talent lay as a producer overseeing projects. Following SaGa Frontier 2 in 1999, Kawazu's team were originally employed on a numbered Final Fantasy project. When production was halted due to internal issues surrounding PlayOnline , Kawazu's team switched to supporting production for The Bouncer and developing multiple WonderSwan Color titles including original titles and ports. The 2002 SaGa title Unlimited Saga

6138-546: The original battle music intro, a reworked Volcano Theme from Final Fantasy and the Pandemonium theme in Final Fantasy II . Tantalus' band plays "Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony" from Final Fantasy VII near the beginning of the game. Uematsu has stated on several occasions that Final Fantasy IX is his favorite score. "Melodies of Life" is the theme song of IX and shares its main melody with pieces frequently used in

6231-479: The party defeats Lani and meets Eiko, a summoner who lives with a group of moogles in the village of Madain Sari. Eiko leads Zidane and the others to the Iifa Tree. Inside, they learn that Kuja uses Mist to create the black mages and that Vivi was a prototype. The party defeats the monster that generates the Mist within the Tree, which clears it from the Mist Continent. While waiting for Kuja's reprisal at Madain Sari, Lani and Amarant attempt to kidnap Eiko but Zidane and

6324-469: The print guide had access to "keywords" that they could search for on PlayOnline's site for extra tips and information. This design caused anger among buyers of the guide who felt cheated by the expensive print version's omissions. The blunder made GameSpy' s "Top 5 Dumbest Moments in Gaming" list, and Square dropped the idea for Final Fantasy X , which was under development at the time. Square Enix re-released

6417-428: The protagonist Zidane should be flirtatious towards women. Regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu wrote the music of Final Fantasy IX . In early discussions about the game, Ito asked him to compose themes for the eight main characters along with "an exciting battle track, a gloomy, danger-evoking piece, and around ten other tracks". Uematsu spent a year composing and producing "around 160" pieces, with 140 appearing in

6510-468: The reception, Kawazu has striven for originality in his game design, drawing from unconventional sources compared to other video games. He played with Western tabletop games in his youth, and also manually translated them as they were frequently in English rather than Japanese. His favourite video game is Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar . For the visual and narrative style of his games, he drew influence from

6603-562: The same year. In September 2017, the Windows port was released on PlayStation 4 . It was also released on the Nintendo Switch , Xbox One, and Windows 10 in North America on February 13, 2019, and in other regions a day later. Final Fantasy IX sold over 2.65 million copies in Japan by the end of 2000, making it the second-highest selling game of the year in the region. Although it was

6696-594: The scenarios himself, but he ensures staff were given proper credit. Final Fantasy IX Final Fantasy IX is a 2000 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the ninth game in the main Final Fantasy series. The plot focuses on a war between nations in a medieval fantasy world called Gaia. Players follow a thief named Zidane Tribal who kidnaps princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII as part of

6789-478: The series had lost some of its identity as it went on and aimed itself at mainstream gaming audiences. In a 2007 retrospective video series on the Final Fantasy franchise, GameTrailers noted that Crystal Chronicles stood out from the likes of SaGa and Mana , being a branch of the series while retaining a unique identity as opposed to spinning off into its own separate universe. In the preface to an interview with Kawazu, Imran Khan of Game Informer grouped

6882-403: The storyline upon elements found in previous Final Fantasy installments, such as evil empires and enigmatic villains. The main villain, although considered by GameSpot to be the least threatening in the series, was seen by IGN as an impeccable combination of " Kefka 's cackling villainy" and "plenty of the bishonenosity that made Sephiroth such a hit with the ladies". RPGFan felt that

6975-486: The time, Kawazu had no idea how popular the title would become; his role was designing the battle system. He returned as battle designer for its sequel Final Fantasy II . As part of a drive to create something different from the original, he created a notorious system of use-based statistic gains. In the wake of internal discussions and a lack of outside understanding of Kawazu's systems for Final Fantasy II , future titles beginning with Final Fantasy III went back to

7068-503: The title's gameplay and combat system. GameSpot approved of the simple learning curve and that the ability system is not as complex as in VII or VIII . Each character possesses unique abilities, which prevents one character from overpowering the others. GameSpot describes the battle system as having a tactical nature and notes that the expanded party allows for more interaction between players and between enemies. Nevertheless, IGN disliked

7161-478: The two titles released through the WiiWare service. Reception of the series as a whole has been positive, with many noting its experimental nature and the first game's unconventional multiplayer mechanics. While distinct in terms of gameplay and narrative, all titles share the same world inhabited by four tribes; the human-like Clavats, stocky Lilties, magic-wielding Yukes and nomadic Selkies. Two recurring themes within

7254-421: The video games industry. While he had never heard of the company Square , he became interested in working for them upon seeing an advertisement for Suishō no Dragon , featuring artwork by the game's illustrator Gen Sato. Despite his lack of video game development experience, he applied for a job there. Originally he was told the deadline for applicants had passed, but he was asked in for an interview anyway. He

7347-596: The world of Crystal Chronicles is objects generated from memories; and the importance of family. Crystals, a recurring concept within the Final Fantasy franchise, play key roles in multiple entries. There are also recurring Final Fantasy races such as the Chocobo and Moogle, and monsters like the Malborro and Bomb. Rather than arbitrary inclusions, these recurring elements are placed based on their in-game relevance and suitability. The timeline begins with Ring of Fates , which

7440-459: Was Hideo Minaba, while the characters were designed by Shūkō Murase and Toshiyuki Itahana. Recurring artist Yoshitaka Amano created promotional concept art of the characters and world, and designed the logo. The main Final Fantasy IX website says the development of the game's world serves as a culmination of the series by blending the "successful elements of the past, such as a return to

7533-567: Was Square's first title to sell a million copies. Kawazu subsequently worked on Final Fantasy Legend II , then upon request from Nintendo started production on Romancing SaGa for the Super Famicom ; another production team in Osaka designed a third Game Boy title without his involvement. He would continue working on SaGa titles for the Super Famicom, and multiple PlayStation titles for

7626-582: Was a "rowdy" type who wanted to be in the limelight and did not hesitate to voice his opinion to adults. He studied and graduated from Kumamoto Prefectural High School, then later studied at the Science School of the Tokyo Institute of Technology . During high school and college, he was deeply interested in games; he first became a dedicated player of Space Invaders , then later developed a love of tabletop role-playing and tabletop strategy games. He

7719-429: Was already planning to flee and warn Cid of Queen Brahne's increasingly erratic behavior. Vivi and Steiner join the party during the escape. En route to Lindblum, the group discovers that Brahne is manufacturing soulless black mage soldiers that look similar to Vivi. In Lindblum, Cid confirms that he hired the group to protect Garnet from Brahne's newfound aggression. After learning that Alexandria has invaded Burmecia with

7812-407: Was announced in 2021. In Final Fantasy IX , the player navigates a character through the game world, exploring areas and interacting with non-player characters . Most of the game occurs on "field screens" consisting of pre-rendered backgrounds representing towns and dungeons. To aid exploration on the field screen, Final Fantasy IX introduces the "field icon", an exclamation mark appearing over

7905-509: Was designed based solely around Kawazu's tastes, using his position within the company to get his way. The title was divisive, and was the last original SaGa title until the release of SaGa: Scarlet Grace in 2016. He also created the concept for the anime series Final Fantasy: Unlimited during this period, which originally had a narrative link to Unlimited Saga . From 2004 to 2007, Kawazu served as one of Square Enix's board of directors alongside Yoichi Wada and Yosuke Matsuda. He

7998-566: Was held at the Metreon in San Francisco, California. The first American release of the game was also at the Metreon; limited-edition merchandise was included with the game and fans cosplayed as Final Fantasy characters in celebration of the release. In Canada, a production error left copies of Final Fantasy IX without an English version of the instruction manual, prompting Square to ship copies of

8091-456: Was interviewed first by Hiromichi Tanaka , then by Hironobu Sakaguchi , and Kawazu was taken on as a part-time employee in 1985. Kawazu's first job at Square (later Square Enix ) was as a graphic designer for Rad Racer . Following that, he was asked by Sakaguchi to work on the company's new role-playing game (RPG) project Final Fantasy , begun by Sakaguchi after the genre was proven as commercial viable by Enix 's Dragon Quest . At

8184-474: Was not mentioned in Square Enix's fiscal report for the year ending in 2010. In a Final Fantasy series retrospective, Digital Spy noted it as one of the more successful spin-offs within the Final Fantasy franchise alongside Final Fantasy Tactics . Eurogamer ' s Rob Haines, in a retrospective on the first game, noted its unique multiplayer mechanics despite them not ageing well. He also felt that

8277-433: Was originally scheduled to enter a job with Sony from the Science School, but due to unspecified circumstances in his private life he was forced to drop out. His first game-related job was as a part-time journalist for Beep , a general gaming magazine published by SoftBank , at the invitation of a school friend. He started out writing product reviews, and during his time with the magazine he gained exposure to games and

8370-431: Was released on Sony's Greatest Hits on June 30, 2003. Final Fantasy IX was also the benchmark of Square's interactive PlayOnline service. PlayOnline was initially developed to interface with Final Fantasy X but became a strategy site for IX when those plans fell through. Square designed the website to complement BradyGames' and Piggyback Interactive's official strategy guides for the game, where players who bought

8463-589: Was released to critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than 5.5 million copies on PlayStation by March 2016. It was re-released in 2010 as a PS1 Classic on the PlayStation Store —this version was compatible with PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable ; PlayStation Vita support arrived in 2012. In 2016 Square Enix released an enhanced port featuring minor gameplay and graphical enhancements, which would be released on several platforms. An animated series adaptation by Square Enix and Cyber Group Studios

8556-449: Was released to critical acclaim both in Japan and abroad. It achieved a 94/100 on the review aggregator Metacritic making it their highest-scoring Final Fantasy game. The game was voted the 24th-best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu . Francesca Reyes of Next Generation called it "an imaginative return to the roots of the Final Fantasy series that hits the RPG mark dead-on". Critics generally praised

8649-476: Was the only game developer among them, and returned to development following his resignation from the board. During this time, Kawazu acted as executive producer for both the Ivalice Alliance , a series of titles set within the fictional world of Ivalice ; and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles , a subseries he created through the partially-owned shell company The Game Developer Studio, acting as producer for

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