Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX is the ninth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, developed and published by Squaresoft. It was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019. It was directed by Hiroyuki Ito and co-produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Shinji Hashimoto, with Nobuo Uematsu providing the musical score. The title is a return to the series's roots, with gameplay features and references to the past games featuring throughout, as well as a medieval fantasy setting and cartoonish art style as a break from the sci-fi slant style of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII.

Gameplay
The gameplay features the Active Time Battle pseudo-turn based menu command system from previous games, and gives players control of up to eight characters in a party of four. Each character has access to two command abilities, of which at least one is a skillset that grants them access to a larger range of abilities. Abilities are unlocked by equipping certain weapons, armor and add-ons that grant abilities as AP is earned. Each character can use a unique Trance after taking damage that enhances their abilities. Aside from combat, the game features several different minigames and sidequests, with the most notable being Chocobo Hot and Cold, and the Tetra Master card game.

Plot
Taking place on planet Gaia, the story follows a thief named Zidane Tribal, a member of a thief troupe who is tasked to kidnap the princess of Alexandria, Garnet Til Alexandros XVII. He teams up with her and a team of allies to stop Queen Brahne and her ally Kuja from waging a war with an army of black mages.