History YMMV / FinalFantasyIX

* SpecialEffectFailure: The game was ported to Steam/Android/[=iOS=]/[[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]] ports updated all the character models with higher resolution textures that make everyone look smooth and crisp. However, these improvements also work against themselves: the port uses slightly upscaled versions of the low-resolution [=PS1=] backgrounds instead of the high-resolution originals, which are believed to have been lost due to the decentralized production and a fire in Square's offices. You can see the worst of it as Vivi enters Alexandria, where his updated model walks across a low-resolution, prerendered FullMotionVideo background featuring hardcoded [=NPCs=], and he sticks out like a sore thumb.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The game might appear to be cutesy and sometimes silly with the colorful cast of characters with their quirky designs and personalities, but underneath it all is a much darker game, being one of the best examples of "Don't judge a book by its cover" in Video games; the game will not hold back showing scenes of murder, war, genocide, existential crisis among certain characters, and similar mature themes. The game is rated T for teen, but it's not unheard of for parents to have bought the game for their children thinking it was another cute game. Despite all this, this is one of the very few post-Nintendo mainline ''Final Fantasy'' games to get a CERO A (all ages; equivalent to an E rating or a lighter E10+ rating) rating in Japan instead of a B (12+; equivalent to a harsher E10+ rating or a lighter T rating) rating or higher, apparently some [[ValuesDissonance cultural differences]] kicked in and CERO didn't mind the darker elements as much as western rating associations, which instead gave it a T or equivalent. Overall giving this game a rather weird mix of being perceived as WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids in the west and WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids in Japan.[[note]]The only other one to get an A rating was ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', which was eventually rerated B once a previously-censored scene showing Penelo BoundAndGagged was restored for the ''[[UpdatedRerelease International Zodiac Job System]]'' and ''[[{{Remaster}} The Zodiac Age]]'' versions. Earlier releases of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' have also been re-rated to CERO B due to a scene showing Celes getting tortured while BoundAndGagged, though this scene would be censored in later releases starting with the [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Advance]] [[UpdatedRerelease version and all later releases]], netting the game a CERO A rating.[[/note]]

** Vivi. You spend the first half of the game visiting places the Black Mages have been to, causing townspeople to demonize the poor boy while he just shakes, cowers, and protests he has nothing to do with them and doesn't understand the situation. This comes to a head [[spoiler: when he finds out that he's the prototype to a more controllable make of ArtificialHuman, and that he will probably stop moving one day just like them. The ending heavily suggests that he had less than a year from when he found out.]] There's even an optional, easily-missable cutscene that makes it even worse: his adoptive "grandfather" Quan [[spoiler:actually wanted to [[EatTheDog fatten up the boy into something more edible,]] but innocent young Vivi completely missed this subtext.]] Granted, it's implied that Quan [[spoiler: changed his mind along the line and instead found fulfillment in raising Vivi (established in a special cutscene with Vivi, Quina, and Quale)]], but yeah, it still counts big time.

** Freya. She has a focus during the Burmecia and Cleyra plotlines in disc 1, but after that she becomes almost completely irrelevant to the story, with her plot around Sir Fratley being left unresolved.

** "Chocobo Hot and Cold", a minigame in Chocobo Forest where you search for items and "Chocographs" pointing you to rarer items hidden in the field. These rarer items include some of the game's very best equipment. It's also mandatory to access the BonusBoss. Put in a few hours of work, and you'll have GameBreaker-level power. And that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rddoNmZUHIoto the music]] was catchy like nothing else.

** The spell Curse inflicts various status ailments and deals high damage. {{Bonus Boss}}es Hades and Ozma use this spell--without warning, in Ozma's case.

* EvilIsSexy:
** Lani, which Zidane points out, and Kuja, [[DudeLooksLikeALady albeit in a rather unconventional way]].
** Beatrix too - with her flattering outfit and perfectly styled hair. [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn The "evil" part doesn't last]].]]
** Maliris is also a CuteMonsterGirl and the most humanoid of the four guardians.

* FanPreferredCouple: Freya's official LoveInterest is Fratley, her amnesiac fiancé. However, most fans prefer to ship her with Amarant.

* FanPreferredCouple: Amarant with Freya, even though she already loves Fratley.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The Chocobo upgrading scenes. You open a treasure chest and suddenly a white mist consumes you. The next thing you see is your Chocobo walking through a field of stars to arrive at a planetoid topped by a temple full of various-colored Chocobos and ruled over by a giant Chocobo who grants him new powers, then suddenly the sequence ends and you and your powered-up Chocobo are back where you found the chest.

** Thanks to ''Creator/{{ProZD}}'''s use of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR9wLTJR9c0 Kuja's Theme]] for his parody villain [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Lysande]][[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII roth]], the comments for his video [[ParodyDisplacement have been completely eclipsed by Lysanderoth references]]. It even shows up as the first search result for "Lysanderoth Theme" or something similar.

** The Chaos Guardians. A FourElementEnsemble of bosses, each with their own elemental shrine in several cool locations; Kraken's is in a swirling whirlpool, Maliris in a volcano, Tiamat behind a tornado and Lich underground in a perpetual earthquake. One gets the impression they'd be unstoppable if they all fought together.

* TierInducedScrappy: It's important to note that unlike other examples, all of these party members ''can'' be good, they just require either specific setups or [[MagikarpPower extreme patience]]:
** Amarant's characterization is relatively popular; maybe not as much as Vivi or Steiner, but he has his fans. Gameplay-wise, not so much. Of course, it doesn't help that you get him [[CantCatchUp towards the end of Disc 2]], long after other characters have joined and learned plenty of abilities. His level is on par with everyone else's, but he'll have to learn abilities from scratch, making him easy to ditch.
** Eiko, a BrattyHalfPint combined with a SquishyWizard that in the long run isn't very useful. Of the two summoners in the game, Eiko has only half as many potential summons as the other option, [[TheLoad Dagger]]. Worse, Dagger has all the best summons, including the GameBreaker summon Ark (if you know how to get it), so Eiko doesn't even have quality over quantity. This also means that Eiko ''absolutely needs'' the Boost ability, which costs a whopping twelve ability orbs--and she has the lowest orb gain in the game (and, as result, the lowest overall orb total), which means setting Boost leaves her lagging in almost every other area. Even though she's the only character to get the [[BackFromTheDead Full-Life]] spell, there are plenty of easier ways to revive characters. Sure, Carbuncle can cast Haste on the entire party but you can also compensate by getting Auto-haste. The sequences where you are forced to use her are basically just so you ''will'' eventually use her, instead of ignoring her altogether. In all, her main problem is CripplingOverspecialization--you don't need ''two'' WhiteMage characters, unless you intend to use Garnet to nuke which many think just drags the gameplay on (as the main purpose behind Garnet's summon animation, aside from SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome, is to [[GoodBadBugs patch the entire party up with Regen and get ready to unleash a truckload of hurt.]]) Eiko is at least the only character who can learn the powerful Holy spell, which she's able to get on Disk 3.
** Freya and Steiner fall into this for some people, for similar reasons. Both spend a lot of time away from the party, during which they will not gain experience. As a result, it's not uncommon for them to be starved in levels and possibly abilities. That said, if you take the time to use them, they will indeed pay off--Steiner is easily the strongest character in the game in terms of raw physical power, and the late-game Sword Arts are nothing short of [[GameBreaker amazing]], and Freya is similar - her Jump ability allows her to avoid nastier enemy attacks if it's timed right (which makes her very useful in the fight against Necron).
** Quina is this to some - how useful s/he is depends pretty much entirely on one factor: How much work you put into them. Due to the gimmicky way to learn Quina's abilities and equipment (Going out of your way to catch frogs, eating every enemy you can). While you have plenty of time to build them up in disc 3, there's a good chance s/he may be left behind - especially if you did not obtain them in disc 1. S/he is only really mandatory for a few dungeons outside of disc 1, particularly being Zidane's partner for the fight with the Earth Guardian, meaning that like Amarant, s/he's very easy to ditch.

** Thanks to ''Creator/{{ProZD}}'''s use of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2spjqRmQGRA Kuja's Theme]] for his parody villain [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Lysande]][[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII roth]], the comments for his video [[ParodyDisplacement have been completely eclipsed by Lysanderoth references]]. It even shows up as the first search result for "Lysanderoth Theme" or something similar.

** The game, naturally, created a huge rift between the people who thought it was a good tribute to the old classical SNES-era games with its lighter tone, idealistic themes, and colorful world, and those who thought ''Final Fantasy'' should aim for mature audiences and saw ''IX'' as a big step backwards, though underneath its lighthearted atmosphere the game still treats very mature themes.
This is why the game was both VindicatedByHistory ''and'' suffers from HypeBacklash -- some who wrote it off for its art design and cliched setting have come to appreciate it for still being a good game, while others don't think it's worthy of the heaping praise its more die-hard fans give it.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The game might appear to be cutesy and sometimes silly with the colorful cast of characters with their quirky designs and personalities, but underneath it all is a much darker game, being one of the best examples of "Don't judge a book by its cover" in Video games; the game will not hold back showing scenes of murder, war, genocide, existential crisis among certain characters, and similar mature themes. The game is rated T for teen, but it's not unheard of for parents to have bought the game for their children thinking it was another cute game. Despite all this, this is one of the very few post-Nintendo mainline ''Final Fantasy'' games to get a CERO A (all ages; equivalent to an E rating or a lighter E10+ rating) rating in Japan instead of a B (12+; equivalent to a harsher E10+ rating or a lighter T rating) rating or higher, apparently some ValuesDissonance kicked in and CERO didn't mind the darker elements as much as western rating associations, which gave it a T or equivalent.[[note]]The only other one to get an A rating was ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', which was eventually rerated B once a previously-censored scene showing Penelo BoundAndGagged was restored for the ''[[UpdatedRerelease International Zodiac Job System]]'' and ''[[{{Remaster}} The Zodiac Age]]'' versions. Earlier releases of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' have also been re-rated to CERO B due to a scene showing Celes getting tortured while BoundAndGagged, though this scene would be censored in later releases starting with the [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Advance]] [[UpdatedRerelease version and all later releases]], netting the game a CERO A rating.[[/note]]

* AntiClimaxBoss: The penultimate final boss, Trance Kuja, is considered to be ''quite'' easy despite this being his OneWingedAngel form - even ''if'' the player didn't do anything like rush to get the Excalibur II or spend time grinding levels, abilities (like Shock), or maxing out Dragon's Crest & Frog Drop.
* AssPull: The FinalBoss Necron is often criticized for coming across as one. He appears suddenly after Kuja's final battle without real foreshadowing, and vaguely hints at his purpose as some sort of cataclysmic entity that's been roused by Kuja's actions. He's defeated, and the game just moves on in a BigLippedAlligatorMoment way like he never existed, and instead the finale returns to Kuja's role in the game. As such, he is one of the more controversial parts of the game.

** The game, naturally, created a huge rift between the people who thought it was a good tribute to the old classical SNES-era games with its lighter tone, idealistic themes, and colorful world, and those who thought ''Final Fantasy'' should aim for mature audiences and saw ''IX'' as a big step backwards. This is why the game was both VindicatedByHistory ''and'' suffers from HypeBacklash -- some who wrote it off for its art design and cliched setting have come to appreciate it for still being a good game, while others don't think it's worthy of the heaping praise its more die-hard fans give it.

* DisappointingLastLevel: The fourth disc. The story runs out of steam with the destruction of [[spoiler:Terra and Garland]], and descends into MindScrew territory with the final dungeon--Memoria, an odd pocket universe made of the accumulated memories of the world featuring numerous [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Giant Space Fleas From Nowhere]], including one of the most infamous examples (since he's the ''FinalBoss'' and all) in Necron. Also, the dungeon itself is just a [[NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom long corridor]] with {{Infodump}}ing and occasional side treasures and characters.

** Ipsen's Castle screws with the normal battle mechanics so that the stronger your weapon, the weaker your physical attacks are. The intention is to equip weak, early weapons, which unfortunately means your characters won't be learning any new abilities in this dungeon. However, this actually only affects the Fight command. You can use ''any'' of your other abilities--Zidane's Thievery, Freya's Jump, etc.--and the damage will be calculated normally, so you can just keep your recent weapons equipped and keep learning abilities.

** Necron is such an infamous case of ItWasHisSled that "pulling a Necron" has become fan speak for GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere final villains in general. Even beyond that, Necron's sudden appearance and lack of any explanation, tends to be brought up as a major sore spot for fans even years after the game came out.
* OlderThanTheyThink: People who came aboard the series later tend to overlook the fact that most of the older games (which this one homages) had some sort of twist or surprise final boss with little to no setup. The closest to Necron would probably be Cloud of Darkness, which appears after the seeming antagonist is defeated and announces she's going to turn the world to nothingness.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The game might appear to be cutesy and sometimes silly with the colorful cast of characters with their quirky designs and personalities, but underneath it all is a much darker game; the game will not hold back showing scenes of murder, war, genocide, existential crisis among certain characters, and similar themes. The game is rated T for teen, but it's not unheard of for parents to have bought the game for their children thinking it was another cute game. Despite all this, this is one of the very few post-Nintendo mainline ''Final Fantasy'' games to get a CERO A (all ages; equivalent to an E rating or a lighter E10+ rating) rating in Japan instead of a B (12+; equivalent to a harsher E10+ rating or a lighter T rating) rating or higher.[[note]]The only other one to get an A rating was ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', which was eventually rerated B once a previously-censored scene showing Penelo BoundAndGagged was restored for the ''[[UpdatedRerelease International Zodiac Job System]]'' and ''[[{{Remaster}} The Zodiac Age]]'' versions. Earlier releases of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' have also been re-rated to CERO B due to a scene showing Celes getting tortured while BoundAndGagged, though this scene would be censored in later releases starting with the [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Advance]] [[UpdatedRerelease version and all later releases]], netting the game a CERO A rating.[[/note]]

** Quina. Some enjoy his/her comic relief role and extremely powerful Blue Magic abilities, while others are annoyed by his/her odd appearance, irrelevance to the plot, and because s/he just doesn't shut up about eating.

** Necron's Grand Cross is similar to Curse--inflicting a variety of status ailments--but without damage. One of its possible ailments is Zombie, which will remove the afflicted from your control and cause White Magic to damage them. If it also lands Death on the same character, this means you can't revive them unless you use a Magic Tag first.

* AssPull: The FinalBoss Necron is often criticized for coming across as one. He appears suddenly after Kuja's final battle without real foreshadowing, and vaguely hints at his purpose as some sought of cataclysmic entity that's been roused by Kuja's actions. He's defeated, and the game just moves on in a BigLippedAlligatorMoment way like he never existed, and instead the finale returns to Kuja's role in the game. As such, he is one of the more controversial parts of the game.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound:
** "K-KWEEEHHH! Found a treasure chest!"
** "Choco says he can't find any more Chocographs here for now."
** As always, the victory fanfare.

* SignatureScene:
** Both the plays on the Tantalus, at [[BookEnds the very beginning and the very end]].
** Bahamut versus Alexander in Disc 3.
** The balcony scene in Alexandria Castle where [[TheHero Zidane]] saves Princess Garnet by [[BigDamnHeroes swinging in on a rope]].
** The YouAreNotAlone scene, where Zidane experiences a HeroicBSOD after discovering his origins and you play through a short battle gauntlet as the rest of the party reminds him of ThePowerOfFriendship.
** Kuja [[spoiler: attaining Trance and destroying Terra]] at the end of Disc 3.
** The assault of the Silver Dragons upon the approach to the Iifa Tree.

** The Blackjack mini-game after the end credits is a totally meaningless and yet addictive thing to throw in just for fun. You can basically play it forever; they give you a 1000 dollar payload to start.

** It's hard to find a neutral opinion on Beatrix. Many praise her for being smart, sexy, strong ''and'' capable, while others dismiss her for being kill-crazy or OP. She's the second-biggest obstacle to Zidane saving the world and is guilty of war crimes. But on the other hand, Beatrix does genuinely feel guilt for her actions, and proves herself a loyal ally. Even in her own way trying to apologize to Freya over the invasion of her home.

** Beatrix is an ''incredibly'' popular character within the fandom. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIXAlternateFantasy So much so that modders not only turned her into a permanently recruitable and fully-functional party member in the PC version, but also ''integrated'' her into the plot so that the game acknowledges her new modded role]]. To date, none of the other [[GuestStarPartyMember Guest Star Party Members]] have received this treatment.

** Eiko, a BrattyHalfPint combined with a SquishyWizard that in the long run isn't very useful. Of the two summoners in the game, Eiko has only half as many potential summons as the other option, [[TheChick Dagger]]. Worse, Dagger has all the best summons, including the GameBreaker summon Ark (if you know how to get it), so Eiko doesn't even have quality over quantity. This also means that Eiko ''absolutely needs'' the Boost ability, which costs a whopping twelve ability orbs--and she has the lowest orb gain in the game (and, as result, the lowest overall orb total), which means setting Boost leaves her lagging in almost every other area. Even though she's the only character to get the [[BackFromTheDead Full-Life]] spell, there are plenty of easier ways to revive characters. Sure, Carbuncle can cast Haste on the entire party but you can also compensate by getting Auto-haste. The sequences where you are forced to use her are basically just so you ''will'' eventually use her, instead of ignoring her altogether. In all, her main problem is CripplingOverspecialization--you don't need ''two'' WhiteMage characters, unless you intend to use Garnet to nuke which many think just drags the gameplay on (as the main purpose behind Garnet's summon animation, aside from SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome, is to [[GoodBadBugs patch the entire party up with Regen and get ready to unleash a truckload of hurt.]]) Eiko is at least the only character who can learn the powerful Holy spell, which she's able to get on Disk 3.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The game might appear to be cutesy and sometimes silly with the colorful cast of characters with their quirky designs and personalities, but underneath it all is a much darker game; the game will not hold back showing scenes of murder, war, genocide, existential crisis among certain characters, and similar themes. The game is rated T for teen, but it's not unheard of for parents to have bought the game for their children thinking it was another cute game. Despite all this, this is one of the very few post-Nintendo mainline ''Final Fantasy'' games to get a CERO A (all ages; equivalent to an E rating or a lighter E10+ rating) rating in Japan instead of a B (12+; equivalent to a harsher E10+ rating or a lighter T rating) rating or higher.[[note]]The only other one to get an A rating was ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', which was eventually rerated B once a previously-censored scene showing Penelo BoundAndGagged was restored for the ''[[UpdatedRerelease International Zodiac Job System]]'' and ''[[{{Remaster}} The Zodiac Age]]'' versions. Earlier releases of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI have also been re-rated to CERO B due to a scene showing Celes getting tortured while BoundAndGagged, though this scene would be censored in later releases starting with the [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Advance]] [[UpdatedRerelease version and all later releases]], netting the game a CERO A rating.[[/note]]