Final Fantasy IX follows the exploits of Zidane, a member of a traveling theater group. He could almost be called the "Anti-Cloud" or the "Anti-Squall" in that he is the exact opposite of the protagonists of the previous two games in the series. Zidane is very open-minded and outgoing, as opposed to the antisocial personalities of Cloud and Squall.

The plot, as well as most of the gameplay, tries to be true to its Final Fantasy roots, as well as its heritage as an RPG in general, and it works incredibly well. As the story opens, Zidane and his cohorts have been hired to capture Garnet, the princess of Alexandria. Through a series of twists and turns, they meet up with some interesting characters and ultimately end up on a quest that is larger than all of them. The story gets a little philosophical at times, but never to the point of nausea. The game’s creators have made quite an effort to make sure that the game never becomes too full of itself.

Graphically, FF9 is a feast for the eyes. The game feels like an interactive anime series, and an extremely detailed one at that. In sharp contrast to the realistically proportioned cast of Final Fantasy VIII, the characters are "super-deformed," in that they tend to be short with large heads and almost bulging eyes.

For the most part, the graphics resemble those of the previous two Final Fantasy games, except seriously upgraded. When walking around in town, characters are displayed as polygonal models over pre-rendered screens that are extremely detailed. Battles are completely 3-D and they look great without too much pixelation. Once again, SquareSoft shows just how far good programming can go.

The CG movies, which are shown at key points in the story, are also incredible. They bring the characters to life and add new dimension to the characters.

The musical score is the one major disappointment in FF9. Don’t misunderstand, the game has a great soundtrack. The centerpiece of the soundtrack, a vocal song titled "Melodies of Life," is the highlight, and it’s pretty good. Unfortunately, almost every other track is based around its theme. It’s a great song, but it’s everywhere! Additionally, none of the songs are really memorable. On the plus side, several classic themes have returned with new variations, including the prelude and a new version of the chocobo theme.

Of course, in any game, gameplay is king. And FF9 hit it straight on the head. Battles are random encounters, just like in previous games. This time around though, the party is comprised of four members, which allows for more of a strategic approach rather than the "beat the enemy into a bloody pulp before he kills you" style of play. Also, the new ability system is much more straightforward than in the previous two games, which is always a plus. It’s simple enough for new players to jump right in, but it’s deep enough to keep veteran players engrossed.

Mini-games have also returned in full force in FF9. The big attraction is the "Chocobo Hot & Cold" game. You ride around on a big yellow bird called a chocobo and have him dig for treasure. It’s amazingly simple, and for some reason, it’s incredibly addicting, particularly when you start finding stuff.

There’s also a card game that you can play with people that you meet, titled "Tetra Master." There’s not much of a point to it, but it can be a decent enough diversion. There is a slew of other games too, including a jump rope game and a racing game, enough to keep most players busy for hours.

One of the best parts of FF9 is that it pays homage to its roots in the previous eight games. Some of the references are obvious, such as the black mages, while others are much more subtle.