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[Walter Matthau]

FF8 was successful in part because it was riding on FF7's coattails. FF8 wasn't quite as well regarded so had less of a carryover effect to FF9. Also I think some of the hype/novelty that FF7 originally brought to the table was starting to die down a little bit because FMV, world building, and cinematic structure was slowly becoming more common by then. FF9 wasn't released in the same world that FF7 or even FF8 were released in despite them only being released a few years apart.

Couple that with some less mature looking character designs that probably made a few people cautious to buy it early and it being a very late gen release and lesser sales was the result.

 

[TGO]

By Sakaguchi's own admission, FF9 cost $40 million, while FF10 cost around $35 million. So no, FF9 is not "a small game for investors" (Which investors go to fund $40 millions a JRPG on PS1 in 1999-2000?).
Knowing that FF11 must have also cost more since we are talking about Squaresoft's first MMO.
Finally, FF9 was directed by Hiroyuki Ito, the co-director of FF6 (and game designer of FFTactics / FF4), it's not "a small name with a small team".

I can't see "small game" or "small team" in my post
And FFX was quoted at "More Then" $35mil Vs "Nearly" $40mil for IX.
It was a mainline game so I don't know why you thought that's what I meant.
But FFX was the bigger project

Many thing hurting sales of Final Fantasy IX.
First thing is the Art Direction "Cartoon", people hating the chibi effect and thinking "this is a FF for Kids" after FF8. Yet, this is the "natural" choice with FF7 semi-cartoon/chibi/anime.
Then, Square annoucing FF9 on Square Millenium in 2000, with FF10 and FF11... (Yes, at this GOLD era, Squaresoft announcing 3 fking mainline Final Fantasy).

Everyone looking the "Next-Gen Final Fantasy" aka FF10 and FF11 Online for PS2 instead FF9 wich it's just "another FF PS1".

Finally, the game was release on the big marketing launch of the PlayStation 2, the war with Dreamcast/PS2 and some "solid" JRPG at the same period. (Pokémon Gold/Silver when the world was on Pokémania, Dragon Quest VII on PS1 in Japan wich is VERY big in this country). Even at the end of the PS1 Era, another titles JRPG of Squaresoft sales poorly because of this and releasing at the same time of FF9. (Vagrant Story, Thread of Fate).

Sony was busy with their first party games but especially with the PlayStation 2. So they didn't distribute Final Fantasy 9 (but did for FF10) in PAL territories. While they had done for FF7 and FF8.

To top it all off, Squaresoft released some Screenshots of Final Fantasy X on PlayStation 2 when FF9 was even not released (they do the same thing with FF12 and FF13). And the PS1 emulation coming quite quickly

This I agree with

 

[CoreyFlawless]

Ff8 hype was cause of ff7, but ff8 was just a good/great game. Not as amazing as ff7. Then by the time ff9 was coming out. Two things hurt it. Ff8 and the kiddie characters design.

 

[jimmypython]

because FF9 was a better game in many ways. don't get me wrong, FF8 definitely had its strengths and moments, but it has many undercooked ideas. FF8 would be hugely benefited if given another year of polish.

 

[Eliciel]

To me FF VIII is the best of all parts. Then comes IX.

 

[tylrdiablos]

For me, FF9 just had a better theme, art style and more likeable characters.
FF8 seemed like a graphical masterpiece at the time but players were quickly divided over Squall (very unlikeable character for the first 2 discs) and the junction/draw system (once you got your head around it, it was alright but a big step away from the way magic worked in previous FF games).

Both had great music though.

 

[IFireflyl]

FFX > FFVIII > FFIX > FFVII

Final Fantasy VIII's junction system combined with Triple Triad is awesome. Sure, you can't use your magic without it impacting stats. But who cares when the game lets you power level, get extremely high-level magic (which translates to extremely high-level stats), and get every ultimate weapon in the game (other than Irvine's) on the first disc of the game? Final Fantasy IX is great, but the two games are polar opposites. One is not inherently better than the other. There are aspects to both games that different people will reach different conclusions about. Final Fantasy VIII, especially in the time it was released, was awesome.

Always found 8 to be a turd of a game, lame characters, lame locations, lame story. Let's leave our bland flying school to have a fun fantasy romp in some sewers!

 

[Luc2010]

I never went to 9 as it felt inferior in the graphics department. I will play 9 when it is remade with VA.

 

[Wintereq]

FF8 was so much better than FF9. It's my 2nd best in the series right after FF7. FF9 looks too childish to me. Didn't like it that much.

 

[Wintereq]

I forgot to mention one thing about FF8. When I played it in '99 it had GREAT atmosphere.

 

[TGO]

Also if note, FFIX release when the PS2 launched.
Now I'm not to sure about the prices of games in other countries but PS1 games had dropped to £29.99 during that period but FFIX released at £49.99
It also came around the same time as Tomb Raider Chronicles.
Another game that felt like a "filler" title to have something out for that year while the Nextgen project was being made.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

I actually loved the battle system in 8 but God the story is awful. IX is my favorite of the PS titles though.

 

[Alexios]

Because 8 was a radical departure from 7 in all respects and people expected FF7-2. The odd Junction system also took some time to learn and disrupted a lot of teens’ power fantasies by discouraging mindless grinding.

Er, it was easier and faster to get broken characters by drawing spells, it even seemed encouraged by the game as it was much less hassle to find one enemy to repeatedly draw from (and there was 0 reason to not reach max draw once you start) vs grind a gazillion battles, as tedious as both are.

 

[sendit]

I hate FF9. Bad character design, disney like story. Worse Final Fantasy in existence. I'd rather watch the FF15 dudes have an orgasmic four some with each other.

 

[Ozzie666]

8 is so under rated now, better overall characters, iconic weapon, Squall stands out. 9 was a return to tradtional enviroment and the story was more polished. But the main characters outside of Vivi, are pretty forgetabble. Zidane sucks. Steiner was funny. 8 deserves the rebirth treatment, 9 does not

Middle child syndrome now, difficult to follow 7. I personally don't see 9 in a better light at all. Not sure who does?

I think people were over the sci-fi mix to be honest so 9 was 'a return to form'. I can't recall when news about 10 on PS2 started to trickle out. Not many FF games took you to space, if I recall.

 

[Bernardougf]

Loved FFVIII ... dont know why the hate.. maybe because I never played VII and went straight to it .... didnt like the esthetic of IX and also skipped to X lol .. now Im playing from 6 to 10 all again in order.

 

[Bernardougf]

. 8 deserves the rebirth treatmen

Oh god please no ... no game deserves this.

 

[Clear]

I hate FF9. Bad character design, disney like story. Worse Final Fantasy in existence. I'd rather watch the FF15 dudes have an orgasmic four some with each other.

Agreed. Combat managed to be simultaneously dull and irritating too.

The objective truth is that whether you like it or not FF8 at least tried to evolve the formula, whereas IX trades almost exclusively on nostalgia for SNES-era FF.

 

[badblue]

The odd Junction system also took some time to learn and disrupted a lot of teens’ power fantasies by discouraging mindless grinding.

Didn't work. I remember grinding on the beach/grassland area for hours drawing spells just to abuse the junction system to become OP before fighting Ifrit.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

VIII is a mess for several reasons. One of them being the junction system (which I personally love) that many people did not enjoy. Even though I am a fan of the Junction system, admittedly it is completely and absolutely broken. Even if Secondarily, the plot itself has some major issues, particularly when you arrive at the point in which

Spoiler

the characters all reveal that they are in fact from the same orphanage and know each other,

etc etc nonsense. To me it caused a tragic decline in the value of the story that was otherwise solid and enjoyable. Though the same thing could be said of XVI IMO, though for different reasons (it fell apart toward the end or even midway in XVI case).

That said I really enjoy VIII. I consider all of the Playstation entries to be flawed masterpieces, and in the case of FF VII, a masterp ece.

 

[K' Dash]

FFVI was peak FF, nothing will ever come close to it.

 

[UnrealEck]

Maybe I've got nostalgia glasses as I've not played it since it came out but from memory, IX is my favourite in the series.

 

[Synless]

FF8 is fantastic. One of my favorites, probably top 3, maybe top two.

 

[lestar]

FF9 suffered from to be close to PS2 launch, also it had a more classic/medieval FF style with chibi characters, far from the more adult and futuristic style that FFVII-VIII had

 

[Astray]

the characters all reveal that they are in fact from the same orphanage and know each other,

I remember playing through it as my 1st FF and just being baffled at this twist.. Had near-zero set-up too.

The Junction system was also very tedious to play and poorly explained too.

 

[CrustyBritches]

Everybody was too busy playing Chrono Cross.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Everybody was too busy playing Chrono Cross.

Cross came out closer to IX release, a year after VIII ish. But yeah, I loved CC too!

 

[CrustyBritches]

Cross came out closer to IX release, a year after VIII ish. But yeah, I loved CC too!

I read my numerals wrong

 

[Hestar69]

ff8 > 9 (love them both though)

Hopefully the 9 remake is true and then we get 8 next (or 6)

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

ff8 > 9 (love them both though)

Hopefully the 9 remake is true and then we get 8 next (or 6)

And hopefully it is a remake this time as opposed to a reimagining/fanfic.

 

[xenosys]

FFXV sold more than Remake and Rebirth. Why are the latter two seen in a better light?

Sales != Quality.

Truth be told, VIII sold more than IX because casuals thought VIII was a sequel to VII and when they realised it was an anthology series, they were disappointed. IX was also released right at the end of the PS1's lifecycle and a few months after the PS2 launched.

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

I love IX so much. I think it didn't sell as much because the PS2 was already out or soon to be and VIII left a sour taste in the mouth after the massive success of VII

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I love IX so much. I think it didn't sell as much because the PS2 was already out or soon to be and VIII left a sour taste in the mouth after the massive success of VII

Also to be considered was the shift in tone. Final Fantasy VII launching both on the PSX and with a different style (I'd say) than the previous six titles had an impact. Primarily in terms of the new audience drawn into the series. Though VIII mostly carried that tone forward in some ways, IX was a return to the past. This was further offputting to some in comparison to VII and VIII.

 

[adamsapple]

By Sakaguchi's own admission, FF9 cost $40 million, while FF10 cost around $35 million. So no, FF9 is not "a small game for investors" (Which investors go to fund $40 millions a JRPG on PS1 in 1999-2000?).
Knowing that FF11 must have also cost more since we are talking about Squaresoft's first MMO.
Finally, FF9 was directed by Hiroyuki Ito, the co-director of FF6 (and game designer of FFTactics / FF4), it's not "a small name with a small team".

Is there a source verifying this? I can't find anything on quick google searches.

I find it hard to believe that IX had a bigger budget than X, with its voice acting etc.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Is there a source verifying this? I can't find anything on quick google searches.

I find it hard to believe that IX had a bigger budget than X, with its voice acting etc.

Here is the 40 million figure for IX.

http://squarehaven.com/news/2000/07/29/NTV-Tokyo-Interviews-Hironobu-Sakaguchi/


Here is the figure (low 30s) for FF X.

Financial Fantasy X

 

[adamsapple]

Here is the 40 million figure for IX.

http://squarehaven.com/news/2000/07/29/NTV-Tokyo-Interviews-Hironobu-Sakaguchi/


Here is the figure (low 30s) for FF X.

Financial Fantasy X

That's just bizarre then.

I can't imagine how the a PS1 game budget blew over the first PS2 game.

Probably more in outsourcing with more of Square's internal staff working on X at the same time, if I were to take a guess.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

That's just bizarre then.

I can't imagine how the a PS1 game budget blew over the first PS2 game.

Probably more in outsourcing with more of Square's internal staff working on X at the same time, if I were to take a guess.

Maybe - remember this is around the time of the Spirits Within and the Hawaii studio, so it could be related (overextension of internal resources, whatever it may be).

 

[adamsapple]

Maybe - remember this is around the time of the Spirits Within and the Hawaii studio, so it could be related (overextension of internal resources, whatever it may be).

I'm gonna assume part of that FFIX budget also includes that failed Play Online venture/website that launched with FFIX.

I have a very fond recollection of the pretty good FFIX guide that was on there.

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

Also to be considered was the shift in tone. Final Fantasy VII launching both on the PSX and with a different style (I'd say) than the previous six titles had an impact. Primarily in terms of the new audience drawn into the series. Though VIII mostly carried that tone forward in some ways, IX was a return to the past. This was further offputting to some in comparison to VII and VIII.

Very true and while both tones can definitely coexist, IX definitely resonated more with me at the time.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Er, it was easier and faster to get broken characters by drawing spells, it even seemed encouraged by the game as it was much less hassle to find one enemy to repeatedly draw from (and there was 0 reason to not reach max draw once you start) vs grind a gazillion battles, as tedious as both are.

Didn't work. I remember grinding on the beach/grassland area for hours drawing spells just to abuse the junction system to become OP before fighting Ifrit.

Sure, if one understood how the system worked, one could exploit it spectacularly.

And yet you had a bazillion “jeez this game sucks only way to deal some decent damage is to summon GFs and mash Square to power them up” comments on the internet. I admit it took me a while to understand how to properly junction, so I did my fair share of Square mashing.

 

[Exede]

I played them back when they got released on PS1 and i like 8 always more than 9.
I would buy an 8 remake but not a 9RE

 

[cireza]

“jeez this game sucks only way to deal some decent damage is to summon GFs and mash Square to power them up”

This is funny really.

I completed the remaster yesterday, had a blast playing FF VIII during the last couple weeks. I spent the entire game Attacking and... that's it. All you have to do is Draw spells, junction your G-Forces to have the most abilities to which you can associate spells and you are good. Never use Magic, never use G-Force. I used my first G-Force on one of the twelve bosses in Edea's castle lol. Played a ton of the game using Mad Rush. Genki -> Mad Rush -> wait to win.

Also only Squall was level 100. Others were level 50~60ish. This is a RPG where you can do very little combat. No awful grinding. This is a very rare case for a RPG.

Such a great game and system. But you definitely needed the time investment at first. And the game is SUPER annoying at constantly switching your characters, and in some instances, it simply removes your junctions lol. At some point you can play Edea, and when the team changes, Edea is not available to switch your setup as well. So many miss-steps, but still a super fun experience overall !

 

[Salmon Snake]

The only thing that FF8 crushes FF9 is the soundtrack. I never was a big fan of 9's ost for the most part.

And it's crazy how much the graphics evolved from FF7 ro FF9.

 

[Seetzer]

I just love VII, VIII and IX. All of them with MGS are maybe the best memories than I have from videogames.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

 

[SkylineRKR]

Somehow I never really had the desire to replay IX. It was a bit slower overall.

VIII was weird. It took some time for me to appreciate it. I couldn't even beat it at first, mostly lucked out in fights and eventually did too little damage to advance. Turned out, I ignored the entire junction system like many others did. If you play it like you'd play FFVII, you'll get burned. You don't really draw, you just level up thinking it will make you more powerful, you cast junctioned magic etc. You will actually play hard mode without realizing it.

I like the game for being different. On the plus side, you can break it as soon as you get to the world map. Knowledge comes over time and FFVIII to me is a lot of fun if you go out and min max. If you play cards, you refine magic and items, and spread out your GF so every stat is available you can be unbeatable. Its the easiest FF game by far this way. As soon as Deling City you can walk around with like 5k health, 100+ STR and Lionheart. I like having options like these, the game doesn't really gate much but you need to know what to do. I ended up rinsing the Remaster and had a ton of fun doing so.

 

[Spiral1407]

Because sales don't directly correlate to quality. Look at EA-FC/Fifa for example

 

[PeteBull]

I think we all can agree that ff5 to ff10 was final fantasy series in its prime, not saying earlier or later parts are bad(altho ff13 was godawful in everything but graphics/animation, such a waste and huge dmg done to the whole IP ;/).

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

This is funny really.

I completed the remaster yesterday, had a blast playing FF VIII during the last couple weeks. I spent the entire game Attacking and... that's it. All you have to do is Draw spells, junction your G-Forces to have the most abilities to which you can associate spells and you are good. Never use Magic, never use G-Force. I used my first G-Force on one of the twelve bosses in Edea's castle lol. Played a ton of the game using Mad Rush. Genki -> Mad Rush -> wait to win.

Also only Squall was level 100. Others were level 50~60ish. This is a RPG where you can do very little combat. No awful grinding. This is a very rare case for a RPG.

Such a great game and system. But you definitely needed the time investment at first. And the game is SUPER annoying at constantly switching your characters, and in some instances, it simply removes your junctions lol. At some point you can play Edea, and when the team changes, Edea is not available to switch your setup as well. So many miss-steps, but still a super fun experience overall !

It IS a great system and it's enjoyable in concept, but the problem for me is just that it is so easily broken. It is hard to not.. break it when playing immediately. Limits, etc.. I would really love Junction to be revisited and better balanced overall. One of my favorite system setups in the FF universe.

 

[hinch7]

I think we all can agree that ff5 to ff10 was final fantasy series in its prime, not saying earlier or later parts are bad(altho ff13 was godawful in everything but graphics/animation, such a waste and huge dmg done to the whole IP ;/).

It all went downhill since Hironobu Sakaguchi left Square. His vision was indenspensible to the brand.

They can still make great ones, but none as legendary.