The epitome of Final Fantasy.
The game goes back to its old FF roots involving the crystals, classes and other FF namesakes.
The Story: It's easy enough to follow but it is always keeping you intrigued as Zidane and friends uncover the secrets of his kindgom.
The Characters: FF9 may have the youngest cast, with one of the characters at 5 years of age, the entire cast has there quirks and specific personalities that make them unique to the story.
The Gameplay: Parties consisting of 4 players as opposed to 3 characters in FF7 and 8. The gameplay is very similar to other FF games and you won't feel out of place, but the "Trance" system is akin to "Limit Breaks" of FF7/8 but is much less useful and at times can be annoying as you can keep it & once Trance is full you have to use it.. FF9 introduces Chocobo Hot & Cold which gives a good break from exploration and combat to a fun game involving riding chocobos and digging up valuable treasures, further into the game you can access different areas with all the chocobo variants made accessible. The card game is a dumbed down version of FF8's but adds it's own set of (confusing) rules. It's ok to play now and then but has no lasting appeal due to it's unpredictability.
The Music: The place where FF9 truly excels is its soundtrack, with tracks that inspire heart pumping battles and creativity, not one of its many tracks feels out of place, and all are among classics.
Overall, Final Fantasy IX is one of my favourite games of all time and my favourite Final Fantasy, I recommend this title to everyone!