ANTICIPATION...
(Secret #8)





   O.K. people. Let's face the facts.
   Final Fantasy 9 is coming. As a matter of fact, it's almost freakin' here.
   Of course the lucky ass Japanesse will have a crack at it first, but us other nationalities are also guaranteed our eventual shot as well.
   Now those who know me, know I am not a complete video game fantatic (i.e. I also happen to be an amazingly sexy college dude who can't get enough of the opposite gender), but when I do sit down to enjoy a little electronic entertainment I often prefer RPG's as my game type of choice. And almost everyone who has ever played a video game in their life (and many who haven't) are at least somewhat familiar with the Final Fantasy series. And let's face it, FF9 is going to be the last, greatest, and most amazing Playstation 1 RPG ever. I will stand by it even if I turn the game on and just get a blank screen.
   But you see, nothing like that is going to happen. I know this because the game has only recently reached a completed enough level for concrete details about it to be known. And if you've been keeping up with all the gaming magazines and internet sites, you might also know them, but then again you might have missed something.
   So without further ado, I will share all the confirmed information I have been able to aquire so far. There will be none of these bullshit rumors that have been going around recently about the game; everything you read here will be completely true and factual....or my initial's aren't J-Double D.

The Bottom Line
-Japaneese release date: July 9th
-American release date: Exact date unknown; expected in November
-Number of CDs: 4
-Game Length: Square reps say "about as long as FF8".

The World of Final Fantasy 9
   The next paragraph is quoted directly from the July 2000 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly:
   "Here's FFIX's story in a spoiler-free nutshell: The game is set on Gaia, a world of four continents. Regent Cid, ruler of peaceful Lindblum, turns a worried eye toward neighboring kingdom Alexandra, where wicked Quenn Brahne has begun attacking nearby towns for no apparent reason. Cid sends a gang of bandits (including main character Zidane) to Alexandria to kidnap the queen's daughter, Princess Garnet, who he hopes may be able to explain her mother's dangerous behavior. Suspecting that an evil being is controlling the Queen, Garnet joins the band willingly, looking for answers, bringing her towering bodyguard Steiner along for the ride. The party, which grows to include the innocent bystander Vivi Ornitier, spends the early part of the game pursued by the queen's army of Black Mages."

   Yes folks, I'm happy to report that what people have been saying is true. FF9 goes all the way back to the days of Final Fantasy 4 and Final Fantasy 5, where deformed mages and crystals ruled supreme. Gone are the quasi sci-fi settings of FF7 and FF8 (not that I didn't enjoy those, by the way) and returned is the medieval world of Knights, Dragoons, funny looking airships that would never work in the real world, and pure unadulturated magic.

Game System:
   You can expect the standard 3-D battle field we've grown accustomed to over the last 2 installments, however we have once again returned to the familiar 4 character party (joy!). This opens up a whole new world of possiblities and bucks the irritating trend of Playstation RPG's to only let you control 3 measily characters at a time. This will undoubted mean some sort of different play balance, be it weaker overall characters, more monsters at a time, or stronger overall monsters to compensate for the extra character you are allowed.
   Also prepare to depart from the cardboard character syndrome that has plauged the last two FF's. Gone are the days where only measly limit breaks define the differences between your various team members. It used to be that who made up your party was merely a matter of cosmetic preference.
   Just like the old days, we return to the style of highly individualized characters, each with their own set of skills. This time around, who you choose for your group will affect how you experience the entire game. Will you include Vivi for his powerful black magic? Will you make sure to slip in Steiner because of his mighty power? But don't forget Freya! She's the Dragoon in the game! Oh, but then again everyone wants a ninja...and Salamander fits that job nicely. And how can we live without a Caller and a Thief? And then there's the staple female White Magic user....ooooh there's just so many choices to make! And we've forgotten all about the poor little Blue Mage!
   Anyway, I'll bet I know what your wondering about now...

The 8 Main Characters
-Zidane Tribal: For the first time in a FF game, the main character isn't a fighter type! Say hello to the Thief of the group, who just happens to be the main dude! He's been described as your standard, chick chasing, teenage stud, who spends the first part of the game trying to get inside the princesses pants (Hmmm...now why do I suddenly feel a kinship with this guy?). He supposedly has a ridiculous special called "What's That?" that makes enemies look the other way and be distracted. Oh yeah, and he's not a jerk at all!
-Princess Garnet Til Alaexandros The 17th: Aside from having a long ass title, she also happens to be the group's White Magic user and specializes in Summoning. She's the daughter of the queen gone bad, and she really is good in her heart, but she doesn't have a lot of real world experience. I expect a touching mother/daughter conflict is in the works...too bad Jerry Springer isn't anywhere to be found.
-Adelbert Steiner: Here comes the gigantic, burly Fighter/Knight guy! He's the captain of "The Knight's of Pluto", Queen Brahne's elite (and exclusively female) army, and supposedly wields swords huge enough to make Squall's Gunblade look like a toothpick. He also just happens to be the one exception in this all girl army, which leaves me with a question. With authority over ALL those ladies, why the hell is this guy so hung up on his job? Anyway, expect him to protect Princess Garnet with his life and be fiercely loyal to Queen Brahne until he finally gets it into his head that she's gone bad.
-Vivi Ornitier: Yaaay! The triumphant return of the classic Black Mage! So what if he's only 9 years old? By the end of the game I'm sure he'll be wielding some of the most destructive forces in the universe! Anyhow, it turns out that Black Mages are a seriously respected and feared force in Gaia, and even a young mage like Vivi still gets enourmous kudos. His joining is a fortunate mistake, for he is the only Black Mage who isn't controlled by evil in Gaia. He can bestow special abilities on Steiner's sword and even use his special Charge command to restore MP in battle in addition to his obvious spell options.
-Freya Crescent: She's marks the return of the legedary Dragoon's, and happens to hail from the troubled Kingdom of Bromecia. An old friend of Zidane's, expect her to wield the infamous Jump command with spectacular results. Oh yeah, did we mention she's a rat-faced humanoid looking for her long lost lover? Just thought you should know.
-Salamander Coral: An gigantic Ninja character, Salamander is at first hired by Queen Brahme to hunt down Zidane and bring back the princess. Don't expect his transition into your group to be easy, for Zidane played a trick on him once long ago that he is still bitter about. Did I mention that this guy is damn ENORMOUS? He will end up wielding the useful Throw command.
-Eiko Carol: Here's another White Magic user/Caller. She's the last of a summoner tribe who is currently stuck living with a colony of Moogles. She also happens to fall in love with Zidane over the course of the adventure. My question is why Square repeated a character class instead of using the slot to introduce something new....oh well, no one's perfect.
-Quina Quen: Ahhh....the Blue Mage. The class I love to see, but I never usually get around to using. Well, just in case, Quen seems to be some sort of mysterious creature that lives in something called Qu's Marsh. Quen also happens to be the "Pat" of FF9. That is, no one really knows what the hell its gender is and I assume everyone's too polite to ask him...err I mean it. Did I mention that "it" longs to be master chef? Expect Quen to cause havoc with its Eat command that will absorb monster abilities like Bad Breath.

   Well, there's much more that I want to share with you, but I'm too lazy at the moment to do it. So I'll just mention a few tidbits that I may elaborate on further in the future:
-Guess what? The Level 5 Death spell has been changed to Level 4 Death.
-No more trigger attacks like Squall's Gunblade in FF8....we're back to the passive battle method. (A mistake in my opinion).
-You might as well go ahead and pop some popcorn. Square reports that the Summoned Monster sequences in FF9 are just as long as ever and there's no way to skip them. You will, however, be able to boost as you could before in 8. Also, there are rumors that Square might change its mind and let you skip them in the American version, but remember that those are JUST RUMORS!
-I didn't even mention it above because I assumed everyone already knew: The whole game revolves around a system where you equip items for extra abilities and stats.
-There WILL be a new card game in Final Fantasy 9 that virtually everyone you meet plays, although it won't be near as important as it was in FF8. I've read up on all the rules and it involves a 5X5 gameboard and cards with arrows all over them. I'll post more detailed info if anyone is really interested in knowing.
-PREPARE YOURSELF!!! There is going to be a CG movie somewhere in the game of a massive battle between Bahamut and Alexander! It's supposed to be one of the most spectacular scenes in the entire game!
-Limit Breaks have been replaced by "Trance attacks", which basically are the same thing with a few changes. We're back to the FF7 method of gaining these specials once you take enough damage (a better method in my opinion), and now instead of just one special attack, you will reportedly gain and entire new set of abilities....hmmm....sounds interesting.
-Apparently, the bad people who are controling Queen Brahme are known as the "Kuja".
-I'm not entirely sure how yet, but you can be sure that crystals will play a vital role in the story.

   Anyway, I hope you learned something. I'll do my best to post further information when I next get off my ass and actually work a little bit. Until then...



The Eighth Key Is: "Video Blade"



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