Moguri is a must have. I'm not a huge fan of the arranged OST, just a personal preference thing, but you can choose not to install it or easily uninstall it.
I hope SE goes back and does a full remaster for 9 like they're doing with 8. Hell, do a remaster of 7 too. Not everyone is going to be happy with the full remake they did.
People dump on the PS1 remakes of IV, V, and VI, and yes the load times are abysmal. But their advantage over the GBA and DS ports is that they allowed multiplayer. That was how I taught my little sis to play RPGs. We played FF4 on PS1, and I would train her on one of the less important characters before bumping her up to an easy one, before bumping her up to a harder one.
It has been my favorite game (not only FF) for a long freaking time. (since i was around 13 and i'm 23 right now) and i just fucking learnt that the fucking masterpiece had multiplayer!!! I've literally played the game like 7 times!!! Fuck's sake !!
Definitely not. That battle system drives most people insane, among other things. Shouldn't have any difficulty recommending FF13 then. The remasters can only do so much, yet they still hardly accomplished anything.
Maybe. I don’t like the way it returns to the painfully, awful, horrifically, ungodlily overused mediaeval fantasy setting with magic and all that, especially after the lovely Sci-fi-ish feel of VII and VIII.
@@justanotheryoutubechannel that is the problem, on sci-fi when you can get laser, pistol and so on, some of them chose to fight using whip? knuckle? nunchacku? lol it just doesnt feel right to me
You can still do that on the rereleases (or atleast the Switch version). I wasn’t sure if it was only accessible with the code or you got it for free so I input it just incase and it worked.
@@schlarfblrfsch on Ps4, once I beat the game, I was able to click the poker game from main menu any time I desire, as long as I have the game data.on it, for it unlocked fir free
AustinSV: "The PSX version also had multiplayer" Me: *spits* *out* *coffee* SAY WHAT! IT HAS MULTIPLAYER!?? Also me: Yo sis! Get in here, we're playing Final Fantasy 9 again! Sis: Ok cool. I played last time, so do you play this time or do we take turns? Me: yes.
A E Me too, it’s crazy that we live in a world where AI upscaling can produce such detailed artwork. Of course, it helps that the PlayStation 1 artwork is so low-res it’s hard to make them look worse, and more importantly that Final Fantasy IX uses a more cartoonish style, which works well with AI upscaling since the process tends to create a painted, almost cell-shaded look.
@@justanotheryoutubechannel open and close the disc tray should do it. Trick should work with any FMV iirc, and is VERY useful when replaying FFX on PS2.
That's because these "skilled, highly paid programmers" just want to make money and they know that people will buy it regardless. The fan wants a good game and will put work into making something they are pleased with instead of doing the bare minimums to push the product out the door. The former is motivated by money, the latter is motivated by a love for the game. That, and I honestly think the programmers responsible for doing these ports are entirely out of touch with what people really want out of their game, and/or they don't understand that some people want the option to have a faithful experience. That, and you know, minimum effort maximum profits, again. That's why we get phone ports on PC, instead of an actual remastered version.
@@Dhalin They also have their own schedule to abide by. It's not any one person's fault that the community has to be left to do these enhancements. Payroll and time constraints are things that exist. Square probably had a very very small team work on the ports.
@@Astaticembrace That's the thing, though, they are selling $20 games that sell hundreds of thousands of copies. They could afford to assign more people to these and put more effort into them.
my opinion is that they scrapped it after the release of newer final fantasy series...its like a junk that they dont know that ff7 8 9 are a legends and far superior of the entire series..its like a thesis that after passed and graduated they are already a junk to be thrown...
@@Dhalin possibly, but I think it's more of an issue of whoever is making the decisions of assigning this person to that project or what he/she has in terms of budget to allocate. these devs answer to a boss who answers to another boss who answers to another boss and so forth. im right there with you, gaming dev/port is in a sad state but what makes it great is other fellow people outside of the company who take the time to do what these devs want to do but cannot because their hands are tied while working for the company.
August 6, 2020: the music loop bug has been fixed on EVERY platform EXCEPT for the Microsoft Store version. Additionally, the UI has been updated like the Switch and PS4 versions to match the Switch versions. It's also been brought to my attention that the Switch version has audio balancing issues, sound effects are significantly louder than they're supposed to be. Comparing no-commentary gameplay between versions shows this
Playing it on Switch right now and am enjoying it immensely. Hasn’t crashed yet. The only complaint I have are the weird backgrounds compared to the character models. It makes navigation a bit of a chore. Other than that, though, I’m loving it.
I emulated it and the models looked so bad in high res that I went back to the original resolution and gave it maximum anti-aliasing instead. Those PC version mods look fantastic though.
Tbh I do see why people would see the background vs character quality as an issue, though I dont mind it tbh. I also see it as me walking on a picture when I see the OG footage, not that I don't like that anyways. I find it quite charming tbh, like ur able to walk on a nice painting
I finished playing ff9 on my switch a little over a year ago and I don’t remember it crashing a single time. Although ff10 crashed liked 4 times, including the final cutscene, and soft locked once.
I've been hearing both reports of crashing & no crashes at all. It may just be caused by something people are specifically doing or another factor like where they install the game. Either way, hopeful for a patch for the people that do see crashing.
Thats only because its a small screen. Like he said, the game was made for CRT TVs, not pixel perfect LCDs. If you connect your vita to a TV with FF9 emulated, it will look terrible.
@@Deffine No, not "only" a small screen. Vitas screen is pixel perfect scaling of PS1 and PSN game resolution, that is bug part in why PS1 games on Vita looks great.
As a developer I don't think I could work without version control. I'm so used to knowing that if I make a huge mistake I can easily go back to a previous working state. Compared to them I'm a spoiled child!. This FF is also my favorite, could never get into 7 but I couldn't stop playing this one. Vivi was the best!
It's funny how that happens, I got into 7 as a kid but I played 9 for like 30 mins and never touched it again. curious how some games just do or don't resonate with some people. I was gna pick up one of the 7 ports but i figured il wait for the remake on ps4 instead so, perhaps il try 9 sometime until then. (im not gna rant about how the entire combat system of 7s remake is changed and to me therefore is not really 7 anymore as thats 90% of the gameplay but im curious to see if they do the same to 8 and 9 too)
Your "Which version should you play" series is amazing and thorough. I have a PC and a Switch and I often wonder on what plateform I should play... thanks for your vids!
@Kurt Rustle Another brainless 7 fanboy lol... "FF9 barely even has a story at all" biggest joke I've ever heard. You can argue that people disliked 9 because it went back to the medieval settings but "barely even has a story at all"? Hahaha.... yes sure. Pretty sure you are another clueless sheep jump on the 7 bandwagon just because remake came out. "Oh guys! This look soooooooo cooool! Final Fantasy 7! I know that game! That is the best FF and everything else sucksssssssssssssssssssss"
@@zentumaisle5925 About the same amount of insight as "You don't like FF9 because you're a brainless FF7 fanboy". But only a gigantic fucking moron would make that argument, right? =]
I never played the original version and just got the switch version. I fell in love the backgrounds and how beautiful the art was. I love ff9 so don't worry. This is not a bad version and your favorite final fantasy game is being loved by a switch player like me.
Hmm...Moguri isn't perfect. But I like how it takes on a kind of painterly quality to the background. It looks like someone made paintings of each location.
Thanks so much for everything you do, Austin. Every video is so informed and well-researched, and as someone who tries to play the best version of every game that I can, your channel has been a godsend. You're the man.
FF7 was pretty dark too lol. It had a scene where two people commit suicide and another scene with the blood smeared after Sephiroth's carnage. Great stuff.
What's weird is sometimes they do really good ones. The PSX ports of I, II, IV, V, and VI are all really good with redone music and sprites in the PSX's system. Similar story with the PSP ports for I, II, DS port of III, and IV complete collection. Their KH ports on PS3 are probably some of their best, even better on PS4 with 60 FPS. Same with the FF X/X-2 port. The PS4 verison of X/X-2 and XII are good. Especially XII, it's like they rebuilt the game altogether. The rest are just about phoned in. I don't wanna play any of the NES games on smartphones.
@@CardCaptorDeadpool They outsourced a lot of those ports, didn't they? I suspect that has some impact: the ports that went to devs looking to make a quick buck were sloppy, the ones that went to devs who cared about the product were better. I know they tend to get some key members of the original team involved as available, but that's not necessarily the same as having their current best development team work on it they way they were doing back in the day when the 2-3 year FF release cycle was their bread and butter. (FF7R is what you get when you sic the modern dev team on the game with backing from key members from the original dev team leading them, and there's exactly 1 FF port that's gotten *that* level of treatment.)
FFVIII, black sheep of the golden era: gets a “remaster” FFX&X-2, X was great, but X-2 wasn’t as good, but either way they both have held up much better: gets a full hd remaster with new textures, widescreen, new soundtrack, additional features seen on the international version, with a short film and audio drama, and gets released on like everything FFVII, seen by many as the best in the series: gets shat onto a couple of platforms. FFIX, Kitase’s and Uematsu’s ideal FF game: gets treated like shit when ported. Something ain’t right here
Thank you for making these videos. They have helped me decide to make 2 new port purchases so far. There will be more buying I am sure. These videos are arguably one of the best FF resources I have seen in the 3 decades I been playing FF games.
I know that these take a lot of effort to do. I for one am really happy that you have done these videos. I care a great deal about the development process and all the work that goes into making games, so whenever I see ports come out I'm often bemoaning the changes to texture filtering, shadow rendering, fonts, or music being replaced/downsampled. This and your FF7 video give a lot of insight for the layman into what the actual process of porting classic games that would otherwise be lost with obsolete technology. Thanks!
FF IX PC port recently had update on august 2020. Now UI looks exactly the same as PS4 and other console, (which looks much better) with some minor bug fix as well. PC version with Moguri mod is definitive way to play this game.
@@deavonw Well, they just didn't keep the code. Why would they? Games couldn't be patched once released and they probably didn't think they would want to remake/remaster the games in the future.
@@Malus1531 Well, yes, but actually no. FFVIII is in the same boat as VII was, with the source code being lost, and only having an inferior PC port to go off of. For VII, they had to reverse engineer the entire game, which takes about as much effort as making a new game. They put the effort in for VII because it's such a beloved classic, but, from what I've seen and read, VIII seems to be a lot more devisive among fans, so they are probably very apprehensive about going through all the trouble to port the game. I've never played any of these older games until they released on the Switch (frickin' love FFIX), and I must say that I really want to give VIII a shot.
Hmm, this comment did not age well. Thanks to the remaster announcement from this year's Nintendo Direct of course. And by the way, it is going to be on not only the Switch, but also PS4 and Steam/PC. I'm going to say this though, the Legend of Mana remaster will be developed by non-other than M2. The guys behind the Sega Ages stuff and other emulation-based ports. So, it should be in safe hands.
Amazing video, I love videos like these since I'm a bit picky when buying a multi-platform game, specially a port. Would love to see that "Moguri mod" on "The Legend of Dragoon"
@@astrius4125 I do agree that 7 is overrated. 9 should get more attention than it does but too many people say 7 is the best game of all time and they don't even consider other final fantasys.
@@mawweeentertainment784 Well I think 9 is fine as it is. I mean, many people are asking for a remake of 9, and I'm always like "what for? It's already perfect". For me it's like that valuable perfect piece of art that if anyone touches it, it'll be ruined.
@@astrius4125 Yeah I don't know if they'll do a good job if they were to remake 9, I don't really like the look of the remake of ff7 and I don't think it'll be as good as the original but I'll try it out of the reviews are good when it eventually releases, if it ever does. I do kinda miss turn based rpgs but the only recent ones are indie games and octopath traveler, which tbh I'm not into the look of octopath traveler but I'm still interested in it, maybe i'll get it when my income is more stable.
WHAT THE HELLLLLLL!!!! I had no idea there was a mod that fixed the FF IX backgrounds :') Oh I'm so happy. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!! I've been waiting for this for years and actually didn't expect it to happen anymore.
@Jonny Croxville am I to blame that you hit your toe on the side of the bed this morning? Fuck off In fact, do know that I have 3 different copies of FF9, oficial walkthrough and other merch. Don't dump on me your life frustrations.
The Pc version now has an official patch for the scaled battle ui, so now we don’t have to wait for tehmighty to update his mod to be compatible with moguiri every time a new update is released
I read some time ago that there were in fact high res versions of the backgrounds. But somehow Square managed to loose them. Some ended up on the internet at one point, and they look gorgeous. It’s so sad they didn’t put enough resources into the remaster to draw the backgrounds from scratch in hd.
Personal I use duckststion. I upscale it and then downscale it to 1x. Then, I select the options that reduce the PS1 wobbling. For good measure, I use the crt lottes shader. Also, I have the capture button on the switch controller to fast forward and mute, so I dont have to deal with long load times.
I remember being so excited that IX was coming to PC. Then I bought and played it and thought "what the hell happened?" Lazy. Square just didn't have any interest in fixing the horrible Android port issues (Sound and UI mostly). I still bought it though because IX is my favorite FF and I knew modders would come in and fix all the crap Square didn't care about fixing. The PC version with mods is hands down the best way to play this game. Although, someone is working on modding the Switch version of VII, so I assume someone will do that for IX as well. And if your a fan of FF VIII, well, sorry guys. Seems Square has every intention of ignoring that game for some reason.
Sadly, with FF8 they lost the code. With FF7 and 9 the newest ports you see are from older PC ports amd code they could find of these games. FF8 code is still lost
Im glad you didnt just make the switch version goat because its mobile. You actually broke down the game with previous experience and current status. Thank you for making content for gamers instead of extreme fans. Im subbing and turning notifications on. Looking forward to the future content
I'm in my 40s and played all versions on release and I gotta say the Switch version looked absolutely wonderful to me in portable mode. Maybe it's the bi-focals , I dunno haha
Its pixel density. The smaller the screen, the better it will look because of lower pixel density. Same goes for gaming in general. I would not play games in 1080p on any screen higher than 22", it just looks bad. Anti-aliasing can ofc circumvent some of that.
Kinda shocked that you didn't pointed out the removal of the concentrate that the characters used to do while casting a spell or ability, closing their eyes. That is completely removed on HD versions.
This is my favourite game of all time! Although the sprites and the menus (with exception to the pre-update battle menu) look much nicer, I find the original PS1 game to be the most pleasant to play. I would recommend the original version for people who have not played before and the port for fans of the game.
@@aapplethi3931 one thing that makes the original the most pleasant to play is the fact your character can move in 16 directions. The modern ports only have your character moving in 8 directions and it's a noticeable difference
Haha ! I will use this interjection on the actual Moguri (yes he is a person and the mod was named after him because he inspired ZePilot to make it) I'm sure he will love it !
i remember playing through this on the original playstation. such an amazing game. i was excited when i came across a port on android and absolutely fell in love with it. i had no problems with it crashing and was even able to use my ps3 controller with it. 👍
Finally a "which version should you play" series that is actually a bit more critical. The original and or the Moguri Mod versions look like the way to go.
there is also the option of playing the original ps1 version through emulator. pcsxr-pgxp for example eliminated the polygon warping and on a 4k screen running 4k internal resolution it looks and runs very very good.
So just get PS1 version on PS2 with faster load times enabled on a CRT (with the highest quality connection the tv can accept of course) or the PC with mods
For what it’s worth, I played it on the Switch when it came out last year and had a great time with it. The load times never bothered me, and the game never crashed on me once.
The Vita is the best way to play PS1 games if you don't have an original or want portable. The Vita doubles native resolution to 640x480 to fit the screen nicely with pixel perfect ratios, amazing on the original model oled screen.
I downloaded the psx rom... heard about moguri mod... and now im just waiting for a steam sale. 100% going to buy it and play with the moguri mod. Looks INCREDIBLE
Personally i don't like how AI upscaling makes images look. It gives this plastic like melted look to a lot of the images. And they seem to lack depth making images look very flat. I really wish Square would stop making half assed products of such beloved classics.
FFIX is not only my favorite FF game but my favorite jrpg ever so I am extremely nitpicky when it comes to the ports. So far, the PS4 port is the one I tolerate the most but it's still not enough for me to enjoy it. Best way to play it, imo, is emulate it on a PSP if you don't have a PSOne. The only issue is that battles inside forests are a bit laggy but overall, it feels the closest to the original version.
Its annoying as fuck when you stop and think about what version of a game you want to play. I first learned that some versions of a video game can be VERY different like Final Fantasy X. i played the regular NTSC version first than i played the game years later on emulator without realizing i was playing the international version of it. I was playing along in the game and "dark shiva" attacked me randomly in one of the towns dealing 99 999 damage to me and i was like WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK is this?? turns out theres ALOT of extra content in the international version of FFX that i had no clue about. which thats the best version to me but it still sucks having to research if there is extra content in a video game or not so it can be confusing and cumbersome.... which sucks
The problem with the remaster is that the original game is designed (models, textures, UI etc) with lower resolution in mind. This is especially an issue when they try and 'HD' the pre-rendered backgrounds, which usually leaves them looking like they've been run through a bunch of bad photoshop filters. I also can't stand the ultra sharp text. There were similar issues with the SNES era FF remasters. My preferred way to play is the Moguri Mod for the PC version or on an emulator for the PS1 version with custom settings
I played through the playstation version around 7 times all the way through, and recently the PS4 version, which I really enjoyed the graphics on, honestly it was like playing it again for the first time
don't feel like reading the comments so idk if anyone said this, but the poker game is there because on the psx version when you beat it and are at the end screne, you could enter a code and play the poker game.
Also want to mention, the original PSX version is available on both PS3 and PSVita stores as both those consoles are fully backward compatible with PSX, with the addition that PS3 will read the original PSX disks.
And PC wins again! Hail the modding community! On the other hand it is really sad that Square-Enix is a AAA company and fans end up having to make their own game(s) look better.
Was watching someone who played this with the mods and the music was so terrible he went back to the original...which caused a lot of bugs and he ended up starting over.
Here in 2024 the game looks and runs incredibly on my Ipad 9 with full touchscreen analog. ive been in love with it on my Ipad and have played through it a few times since i picked it up for 15$
@@ZeroWolf2322 there is only the digital version. A physical would be cool though. Also have been playing it for at least 10 hours, no crashes or performance issues.
@@Roksana-gy1ek Wait what? That's exactly why PC is better. Why not make it a better experience with mods? And you can always play the vanilla version, so you lose nothing.
@@Roksana-gy1ek How is modding considered cheating, lmao? You're only altering the visuals of the game or certain aspects you don't like, or adding additional features. I'm not talking about trainers and hacks. Ironically, the "HD" versions offer a bunch of actual cheats.
8:54 So your telling me when in films and TV people are looking through CCTV etc and say "zoom in on section A3" and "Enhance that" thats actually real? ....Mind blown..
This is my favourite FF too, even better than the 7 remake! I guess part of the reason is this is the first FF I finished 20 years ago, it just carved right into my mind.
Wow that moguri mod got me really interested in playing the PC version.
Same
Moguri is a must have. I'm not a huge fan of the arranged OST, just a personal preference thing, but you can choose not to install it or easily uninstall it.
me too
I hope SE goes back and does a full remaster for 9 like they're doing with 8. Hell, do a remaster of 7 too. Not everyone is going to be happy with the full remake they did.
@@solblackguy they already did with 7, and 8 HD is a cash grab.
Today I learnt FF9 had multiplayer.
It wasn't the first game in the series with that feature either.
People dump on the PS1 remakes of IV, V, and VI, and yes the load times are abysmal. But their advantage over the GBA and DS ports is that they allowed multiplayer. That was how I taught my little sis to play RPGs. We played FF4 on PS1, and I would train her on one of the less important characters before bumping her up to an easy one, before bumping her up to a harder one.
Sick
wtf
It has been my favorite game (not only FF) for a long freaking time. (since i was around 13 and i'm 23 right now) and i just fucking learnt that the fucking masterpiece had multiplayer!!! I've literally played the game like 7 times!!! Fuck's sake !!
It honestly doesn't matter which version of 9 you play. The game is still fantastic. I definitely recommend it for those who never played it.
Definitely not. That battle system drives most people insane, among other things. Shouldn't have any difficulty recommending FF13 then.
The remasters can only do so much, yet they still hardly accomplished anything.
it actually the most beautiful final fantasy . the atmosphere the story the characters and so on..
Maybe. I don’t like the way it returns to the painfully, awful, horrifically, ungodlily overused mediaeval fantasy setting with magic and all that, especially after the lovely Sci-fi-ish feel of VII and VIII.
@@coolguy02536 Buddy, have you even played the game? You must be pretty young to just be locked in on FF13. Graphics =/= Artwork/Inherent beauty
@@justanotheryoutubechannel that is the problem, on sci-fi when you can get laser, pistol and so on, some of them chose to fight using whip? knuckle? nunchacku? lol it just doesnt feel right to me
The poker game was on the playstation version as well, but after beating the game, you had to push, or hold a combination of buttons to enter it
I was gonna comment exactly this
Yeah, sorry I beat you to it, but glad some one else knew this as well
The cutscenes were skippable too if you open and close the disc tray.
You can still do that on the rereleases (or atleast the Switch version). I wasn’t sure if it was only accessible with the code or you got it for free so I input it just incase and it worked.
@@schlarfblrfsch on Ps4, once I beat the game, I was able to click the poker game from main menu any time I desire, as long as I have the game data.on it, for it unlocked fir free
AustinSV: "The PSX version also had multiplayer"
Me: *spits* *out* *coffee* SAY WHAT! IT HAS MULTIPLAYER!??
Also me: Yo sis! Get in here, we're playing Final Fantasy 9 again!
Sis: Ok cool. I played last time, so do you play this time or do we take turns?
Me: yes.
Did you play it?
Perfection.
@@cheeseboi588 He's lying
@@Walamonga1313 How
@@tmcttf8087 Creep
Im super blown away with how well those AI enhanced backgrounds look
A E Me too, it’s crazy that we live in a world where AI upscaling can produce such detailed artwork. Of course, it helps that the PlayStation 1 artwork is so low-res it’s hard to make them look worse, and more importantly that Final Fantasy IX uses a more cartoonish style, which works well with AI upscaling since the process tends to create a painted, almost cell-shaded look.
Looks better than the hd remaster ... Wish I had just gone for it on pc
I feel like we need to revisit it again now with advancements that have been made!
PSX version:
You can skip the FMV by opening and closing the lid. :)
JR - KPOP What if you are using a PS2 like me?
@@justanotheryoutubechannel open and close the disc tray should do it.
Trick should work with any FMV iirc, and is VERY useful when replaying FFX on PS2.
What if I’m playing on a Vita?
@@stoppilfering268 what if i playing it on new 3DS
@@WateryMind what if i playing it on android
Very pathetic that a company with a team of skilled, highly paid programmers can't compete with a fan at making a good-looking port of their own game.
That's because these "skilled, highly paid programmers" just want to make money and they know that people will buy it regardless. The fan wants a good game and will put work into making something they are pleased with instead of doing the bare minimums to push the product out the door. The former is motivated by money, the latter is motivated by a love for the game. That, and I honestly think the programmers responsible for doing these ports are entirely out of touch with what people really want out of their game, and/or they don't understand that some people want the option to have a faithful experience. That, and you know, minimum effort maximum profits, again. That's why we get phone ports on PC, instead of an actual remastered version.
@@Dhalin They also have their own schedule to abide by. It's not any one person's fault that the community has to be left to do these enhancements. Payroll and time constraints are things that exist. Square probably had a very very small team work on the ports.
@@Astaticembrace That's the thing, though, they are selling $20 games that sell hundreds of thousands of copies. They could afford to assign more people to these and put more effort into them.
my opinion is that they scrapped it after the release of newer final fantasy series...its like a junk that they dont know that ff7 8 9 are a legends and far superior of the entire series..its like a thesis that after passed and graduated they are already a junk to be thrown...
@@Dhalin possibly, but I think it's more of an issue of whoever is making the decisions of assigning this person to that project or what he/she has in terms of budget to allocate. these devs answer to a boss who answers to another boss who answers to another boss and so forth. im right there with you, gaming dev/port is in a sad state but what makes it great is other fellow people outside of the company who take the time to do what these devs want to do but cannot because their hands are tied while working for the company.
August 6, 2020: the music loop bug has been fixed on EVERY platform EXCEPT for the Microsoft Store version. Additionally, the UI has been updated like the Switch and PS4 versions to match the Switch versions. It's also been brought to my attention that the Switch version has audio balancing issues, sound effects are significantly louder than they're supposed to be. Comparing no-commentary gameplay between versions shows this
No news on the updates?
Looks like the UI in the Steam version just got updated about a month ago.
Playing it on Switch right now and am enjoying it immensely. Hasn’t crashed yet. The only complaint I have are the weird backgrounds compared to the character models. It makes navigation a bit of a chore.
Other than that, though, I’m loving it.
I went with the Switch version to avoid the trophies, it is more fun without them as my OCD does not kick in.
I emulated it and the models looked so bad in high res that I went back to the original resolution and gave it maximum anti-aliasing instead.
Those PC version mods look fantastic though.
Tbh I do see why people would see the background vs character quality as an issue, though I dont mind it tbh. I also see it as me walking on a picture when I see the OG footage, not that I don't like that anyways. I find it quite charming tbh, like ur able to walk on a nice painting
I finished playing ff9 on my switch a little over a year ago and I don’t remember it crashing a single time. Although ff10 crashed liked 4 times, including the final cutscene, and soft locked once.
@@jackmrsich3178 would you recommend the switch version? I plan to play it mostly on portable mode on my bed.
I played the whole thing on the switch and it never crashed once.
I've been hearing both reports of crashing & no crashes at all. It may just be caused by something people are specifically doing or another factor like where they install the game. Either way, hopeful for a patch for the people that do see crashing.
Same
In my case only once when I entered Alexandria's Inn with the x2 mode ON
I have constant crashes every other day......
have the game on a class 10 micro sd card.. havent crashed yet.. but then again, i only be 5 hours into it
My FBI agent must be really good at his job because i randomly decided to play FFIX today and just a few hours later i get this on my recommended.
Big brother is watching you
I actually recently started to play FF15 and the next 2 hours I get FF15 videos in my recommended.
The same agent must be watching me now...
Damn I was just thinking about FFIX ... and they recommend this video on youtube.
The psx version works incredibly well when transferred to the psvita.
Thats only because its a small screen. Like he said, the game was made for CRT TVs, not pixel perfect LCDs. If you connect your vita to a TV with FF9 emulated, it will look terrible.
@@Deffine No, not "only" a small screen. Vitas screen is pixel perfect scaling of PS1 and PSN game resolution, that is bug part in why PS1 games on Vita looks great.
@Psydrre That may be true. It still lacks the CRT scanlines and pixel geometry that makes low resolution games look so good on old CRT TVs.
@@Deffine You can add a crt filter with emulators on vita iirc
@@largefam3109 filters can never compare to the real thing
As a developer I don't think I could work without version control. I'm so used to knowing that if I make a huge mistake I can easily go back to a previous working state. Compared to them I'm a spoiled child!.
This FF is also my favorite, could never get into 7 but I couldn't stop playing this one. Vivi was the best!
It's funny how that happens, I got into 7 as a kid but I played 9 for like 30 mins and never touched it again. curious how some games just do or don't resonate with some people. I was gna pick up one of the 7 ports but i figured il wait for the remake on ps4 instead so, perhaps il try 9 sometime until then. (im not gna rant about how the entire combat system of 7s remake is changed and to me therefore is not really 7 anymore as thats 90% of the gameplay but im curious to see if they do the same to 8 and 9 too)
@@Auron710 Well... did you get into 9?
Your "Which version should you play" series is amazing and thorough. I have a PC and a Switch and I often wonder on what plateform I should play... thanks for your vids!
Arguably GOAT of FF series. The ending is a true masterpiece with great closure with brilliant and fitting music. I almost cried
i cried evritiem
@Kurt Rustle Another brainless 7 fanboy lol... "FF9 barely even has a story at all" biggest joke I've ever heard. You can argue that people disliked 9 because it went back to the medieval settings but "barely even has a story at all"? Hahaha.... yes sure. Pretty sure you are another clueless sheep jump on the 7 bandwagon just because remake came out. "Oh guys! This look soooooooo cooool! Final Fantasy 7! I know that game! That is the best FF and everything else sucksssssssssssssssssssss"
@@zentumaisle5925 Nah, 9 is dogshit. Somehow even worse than 8. At least they redeemed themselves with 10.
@@JabbyMayo "9 is dogshit" *insert zero reason* (thanks for the insight.)
@@zentumaisle5925 About the same amount of insight as "You don't like FF9 because you're a brainless FF7 fanboy". But only a gigantic fucking moron would make that argument, right? =]
I never played the original version and just got the switch version. I fell in love the backgrounds and how beautiful the art was. I love ff9 so don't worry. This is not a bad version and your favorite final fantasy game is being loved by a switch player like me.
It will look terrible on a big screen with switch version.
@@Deffine It does.
Hmm...Moguri isn't perfect. But I like how it takes on a kind of painterly quality to the background. It looks like someone made paintings of each location.
Does the overworld music reset after battle encounters on PC? Does Moguri fix that?
Oh god I hope so
"Couldn't steal anything!"
They removed the most iconic of sound effects?! What were they thinking!!!!
Thanks so much for everything you do, Austin. Every video is so informed and well-researched, and as someone who tries to play the best version of every game that I can, your channel has been a godsend. You're the man.
Despite the cute chibi character designs, ff9 was most dark ff game. It still my favorite game, especially because of Vivi.
"Was most dark ff game"
Final fantasy Type 0: Hi
FF7 was pretty dark too lol. It had a scene where two people commit suicide and another scene with the blood smeared after Sephiroth's carnage. Great stuff.
one thing i've learned is SE is kinda lazy with their FF ports.
*Especially* FF6 and FF5.
What's weird is sometimes they do really good ones.
The PSX ports of I, II, IV, V, and VI are all really good with redone music and sprites in the PSX's system.
Similar story with the PSP ports for I, II, DS port of III, and IV complete collection.
Their KH ports on PS3 are probably some of their best, even better on PS4 with 60 FPS. Same with the FF X/X-2 port.
The PS4 verison of X/X-2 and XII are good. Especially XII, it's like they rebuilt the game altogether.
The rest are just about phoned in. I don't wanna play any of the NES games on smartphones.
@@CardCaptorDeadpool Exactly!
@@CardCaptorDeadpool They outsourced a lot of those ports, didn't they? I suspect that has some impact: the ports that went to devs looking to make a quick buck were sloppy, the ones that went to devs who cared about the product were better. I know they tend to get some key members of the original team involved as available, but that's not necessarily the same as having their current best development team work on it they way they were doing back in the day when the 2-3 year FF release cycle was their bread and butter. (FF7R is what you get when you sic the modern dev team on the game with backing from key members from the original dev team leading them, and there's exactly 1 FF port that's gotten *that* level of treatment.)
FFVIII, black sheep of the golden era: gets a “remaster”
FFX&X-2, X was great, but X-2 wasn’t as good, but either way they both have held up much better: gets a full hd remaster with new textures, widescreen, new soundtrack, additional features seen on the international version, with a short film and audio drama, and gets released on like everything
FFVII, seen by many as the best in the series: gets shat onto a couple of platforms.
FFIX, Kitase’s and Uematsu’s ideal FF game: gets treated like shit when ported.
Something ain’t right here
Thank you for making these videos. They have helped me decide to make 2 new port purchases so far. There will be more buying I am sure. These videos are arguably one of the best FF resources I have seen in the 3 decades I been playing FF games.
I know that these take a lot of effort to do. I for one am really happy that you have done these videos. I care a great deal about the development process and all the work that goes into making games, so whenever I see ports come out I'm often bemoaning the changes to texture filtering, shadow rendering, fonts, or music being replaced/downsampled. This and your FF7 video give a lot of insight for the layman into what the actual process of porting classic games that would otherwise be lost with obsolete technology. Thanks!
Thank you for calling out the bugs. Hope Square patches the recent ports soon 🙏
U know they don't patch pc ports only console. Ff 4 still has the ui taking half the screen bug when it was patches within a week on console
The lack of analog movement and the slow menu immediately made me drop the PS4 version in favor of the ps1 classics version on the vita
I'm thinking about it too...is the vita version worth it? Are the loading times slow? Thx!!!
FF IX PC port recently had update on august 2020. Now UI looks exactly the same as PS4 and other console, (which looks much better) with some minor bug fix as well. PC version with Moguri mod is definitive way to play this game.
If they created it from scratch then Final Fantasy VIII could happen maybe (even though they lost the source files)
They lost the source? How could that happen!
@@deavonw Well, they just didn't keep the code. Why would they? Games couldn't be patched once released and they probably didn't think they would want to remake/remaster the games in the future.
Considering how the source files for Final Fantasy VII were also lost, it could happen, Square just doesn't seem to want to do it.
FF8 is on PC already though, so they must have some type of code to work with right?
@@Malus1531 Well, yes, but actually no. FFVIII is in the same boat as VII was, with the source code being lost, and only having an inferior PC port to go off of. For VII, they had to reverse engineer the entire game, which takes about as much effort as making a new game. They put the effort in for VII because it's such a beloved classic, but, from what I've seen and read, VIII seems to be a lot more devisive among fans, so they are probably very apprehensive about going through all the trouble to port the game. I've never played any of these older games until they released on the Switch (frickin' love FFIX), and I must say that I really want to give VIII a shot.
Great video - I have a PS3 and heard Square was messing with the ports so I didn’t bother picking it up. That mod makes this game look beautiful!
James Chris would you even recommend playing it on PSP, or should I just get the Switch port?
God damn the music from this game was spectacular!
There's hardly ANY song on the game that you don't bop your head to!
Now just wait until you hear the other games!
Its good but i would Never Call it that Way. More then 20 Songs Are very borring
Oof the no backups thing.
IS this why my love Legend of Mana is gonna die in obscurity?
Don't play with my feelings like that. They can't have lost the LoM assets.
Ahhh shit. Didn't even think about that; me and my bro used to play that all the time after school.
Hmm, this comment did not age well. Thanks to the remaster announcement from this year's Nintendo Direct of course. And by the way, it is going to be on not only the Switch, but also PS4 and Steam/PC.
I'm going to say this though, the Legend of Mana remaster will be developed by non-other than M2. The guys behind the Sega Ages stuff and other emulation-based ports. So, it should be in safe hands.
Amazing video, I love videos like these since I'm a bit picky when buying a multi-platform game, specially a port. Would love to see that "Moguri mod" on "The Legend of Dragoon"
Dude those background enhancements are insane!
My favorite FF game too! I love 7 but i'm just into the medieval fantasy theme more.
9 has always been my favourite. I liked 7 until I started stumbling upon annoying FF7 fans blindly overrating it everywhere. Now I hate it.
@@astrius4125 I do agree that 7 is overrated. 9 should get more attention than it does but too many people say 7 is the best game of all time and they don't even consider other final fantasys.
@@mawweeentertainment784 Well I think 9 is fine as it is. I mean, many people are asking for a remake of 9, and I'm always like "what for? It's already perfect".
For me it's like that valuable perfect piece of art that if anyone touches it, it'll be ruined.
@@astrius4125 Yeah I don't know if they'll do a good job if they were to remake 9, I don't really like the look of the remake of ff7 and I don't think it'll be as good as the original but I'll try it out of the reviews are good when it eventually releases, if it ever does. I do kinda miss turn based rpgs but the only recent ones are indie games and octopath traveler, which tbh I'm not into the look of octopath traveler but I'm still interested in it, maybe i'll get it when my income is more stable.
Dude your port comparisons are hella enlightening man.
I'm glad I ran into your channel!!
WHAT THE HELLLLLLL!!!!
I had no idea there was a mod that fixed the FF IX backgrounds :')
Oh I'm so happy. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!
I've been waiting for this for years and actually didn't expect it to happen anymore.
@Jonny Croxville am I to blame that you hit your toe on the side of the bed this morning? Fuck off
In fact, do know that I have 3 different copies of FF9, oficial walkthrough and other merch.
Don't dump on me your life frustrations.
@Jonny Croxville You're telling people on youtube comments which games they should spend money on... tell me again who's wasting what?
@Jonny Croxville the point just flew over your head ...
@@dani4ever It looks like Jonny liked his own comment.
What a Joker
I grew up with the ps1 version but the pc version with moguri mod is king for me.
The Pc version now has an official patch for the scaled battle ui, so now we don’t have to wait for tehmighty to update his mod to be compatible with moguiri every time a new update is released
Thank you for going so in depth with this, and calling attention to some great ways of enjoying this masterpiece of a game. Kudos!
I read some time ago that there were in fact high res versions of the backgrounds. But somehow Square managed to loose them. Some ended up on the internet at one point, and they look gorgeous. It’s so sad they didn’t put enough resources into the remaster to draw the backgrounds from scratch in hd.
Personal I use duckststion. I upscale it and then downscale it to 1x. Then, I select the options that reduce the PS1 wobbling. For good measure, I use the crt lottes shader. Also, I have the capture button on the switch controller to fast forward and mute, so I dont have to deal with long load times.
i feel obligated to note those enhanced backgrounds look like an over-sharpened mess but it does actually work for 9's aesthetic in this case.
I really appreciate you breaking this down, thank you.
I remember being so excited that IX was coming to PC. Then I bought and played it and thought "what the hell happened?" Lazy. Square just didn't have any interest in fixing the horrible Android port issues (Sound and UI mostly). I still bought it though because IX is my favorite FF and I knew modders would come in and fix all the crap Square didn't care about fixing.
The PC version with mods is hands down the best way to play this game. Although, someone is working on modding the Switch version of VII, so I assume someone will do that for IX as well. And if your a fan of FF VIII, well, sorry guys. Seems Square has every intention of ignoring that game for some reason.
Yo i've got a question, how good the ff 8 pc port is compared to the original version?
It's considerably worse and takes some heavy modding to get up to a good standard. Including replacing the whole OST.
Sadly, with FF8 they lost the code. With FF7 and 9 the newest ports you see are from older PC ports amd code they could find of these games. FF8 code is still lost
@@ranearia @Acrophis that's a damn shame, thanks for the heads up, i'm gonna try to mode it to get most faithful version as i can
@SageNemisis is there any way to run the witch mods without hacking your switch or na? Thanks
Grew up with the original, am loving the switch version. Never crashed, and it looks fine to me
Im glad you didnt just make the switch version goat because its mobile. You actually broke down the game with previous experience and current status. Thank you for making content for gamers instead of extreme fans. Im subbing and turning notifications on. Looking forward to the future content
Awesome Review! Thanks for the info and overview!
Thank you for the info about the mod on PC!
5:45 that's blackjack not poker haha. Besides that great videos man keep em up!
I'm in my 40s and played all versions on release and I gotta say the Switch version looked absolutely wonderful to me in portable mode. Maybe it's the bi-focals , I dunno haha
Its pixel density. The smaller the screen, the better it will look because of lower pixel density. Same goes for gaming in general. I would not play games in 1080p on any screen higher than 22", it just looks bad. Anti-aliasing can ofc circumvent some of that.
Kinda shocked that you didn't pointed out the removal of the concentrate that the characters used to do while casting a spell or ability, closing their eyes. That is completely removed on HD versions.
FFIX… the first FF game I ever played. Got up to about a little into Disc 3. Really enjoyed the story, the best story in the whole series IMO.
You could play poker (blackjack, actually) in the original psx version too, right after the ending.
This is my favourite game of all time! Although the sprites and the menus (with exception to the pre-update battle menu) look much nicer, I find the original PS1 game to be the most pleasant to play. I would recommend the original version for people who have not played before and the port for fans of the game.
Most pleasant isn't a thing. There's no reason to play the original outside of nostalgia
@@aapplethi3931 one thing that makes the original the most pleasant to play is the fact your character can move in 16 directions. The modern ports only have your character moving in 8 directions and it's a noticeable difference
5:45 You could always play poker at the end of FF9, or maybe it was black jack. You had to enter a cheatcode at the fin screen to do it.
Is there a mod that fixes the music looping issue as well? If there is, that would fix basically every issue the game has.
Its fixed on switch
Holy Moguri! I never knew this existed! I am gobsmacked by the potential!
Haha ! I will use this interjection on the actual Moguri (yes he is a person and the mod was named after him because he inspired ZePilot to make it) I'm sure he will love it !
i remember playing through this on the original playstation. such an amazing game. i was excited when i came across a port on android and absolutely fell in love with it. i had no problems with it crashing and was even able to use my ps3 controller with it. 👍
Finally a "which version should you play" series that is actually a bit more critical. The original and or the Moguri Mod versions look like the way to go.
“You gotta wait........ this long until the fight.” 🤣🤣👍👍
Same but still my fave game man.
Thanks for sharing! Very informative and concise. And entertaining!
PSX version with a PS2 and smoothing enabled from the ps2 menu.
That looked AMAZING in 2001. A little less so now, but still one of the best PS2 smoothing effects on any PS1 game.
there is also the option of playing the original ps1 version through emulator. pcsxr-pgxp for example eliminated the polygon warping and on a 4k screen running 4k internal resolution it looks and runs very very good.
You can play good graphic in psx version using emulator and screen filter effect
I feel you man, i also certain that back in the day Final Fantasy background was amazing and sharp on the old TV
So just get PS1 version on PS2 with faster load times enabled on a CRT (with the highest quality connection the tv can accept of course) or the PC with mods
For what it’s worth, I played it on the Switch when it came out last year and had a great time with it. The load times never bothered me, and the game never crashed on me once.
Does the Moguri mod fix the "looping music after every battle" issue?
Square patched this on switch idk about pc
Downloaded the game yesterday on steam, I was almost giving up on it until I discover this Moguri Mod here, it’s a game changer.
How about the Vita psOne classic?
Thats what i play on =D no black bars
The Vita is the best way to play PS1 games if you don't have an original or want portable. The Vita doubles native resolution to 640x480 to fit the screen nicely with pixel perfect ratios, amazing on the original model oled screen.
I feel like I was one of the few kids that found FFIX had multiplayer but I never had anyone to play it with.
I played the ps1 classics version on my vita. The frame rate during pre rendered cutscenes was awful
That's not happening for me
@@supersentaipepsi3736 it was worse later in the game but maybe some update came out at some point
I downloaded the psx rom... heard about moguri mod... and now im just waiting for a steam sale. 100% going to buy it and play with the moguri mod. Looks INCREDIBLE
Thank you for this video it has vindicated me for wanting that original experience. I do need to set up a new crtv though for my retro games though
You need more recognition! I hope you get it!
Personally i don't like how AI upscaling makes images look. It gives this plastic like melted look to a lot of the images. And they seem to lack depth making images look very flat. I really wish Square would stop making half assed products of such beloved classics.
This was the video I was waiting on all UA-cam since the switch release. Thank you so much!
FFIX is not only my favorite FF game but my favorite jrpg ever so I am extremely nitpicky when it comes to the ports. So far, the PS4 port is the one I tolerate the most but it's still not enough for me to enjoy it. Best way to play it, imo, is emulate it on a PSP if you don't have a PSOne. The only issue is that battles inside forests are a bit laggy but overall, it feels the closest to the original version.
You can play FFIX on the PSP as a PSOne Classic, if that's what you mean.
@@azoth7756 yeah, as long as you play the usa version though. the pal version runs slower on psp.
@@azureflame125 Oh, I didn't know that. But yeah, I was referring to it on PSN.
I just got it on switch. Haven't played the game ever really. I'm enjoying it a lot!
You miss 1 thing, reshade
Moguri + reshade will boost graphic experience,
Especially the bloom
Steam + moguri mod, after few update there'll be added ui scale fix and minors glitch fixes
Its annoying as fuck when you stop and think about what version of a game you want to play. I first learned that some versions of a video game can be VERY different like Final Fantasy X. i played the regular NTSC version first than i played the game years later on emulator without realizing i was playing the international version of it. I was playing along in the game and "dark shiva" attacked me randomly in one of the towns dealing 99 999 damage to me and i was like WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK is this?? turns out theres ALOT of extra content in the international version of FFX that i had no clue about. which thats the best version to me but it still sucks having to research if there is extra content in a video game or not so it can be confusing and cumbersome.... which sucks
The problem with the remaster is that the original game is designed (models, textures, UI etc) with lower resolution in mind. This is especially an issue when they try and 'HD' the pre-rendered backgrounds, which usually leaves them looking like they've been run through a bunch of bad photoshop filters. I also can't stand the ultra sharp text. There were similar issues with the SNES era FF remasters.
My preferred way to play is the Moguri Mod for the PC version or on an emulator for the PS1 version with custom settings
Did they patch the music bug on the switch?
I played through the playstation version around 7 times all the way through, and recently the PS4 version, which I really enjoyed the graphics on, honestly it was like playing it again for the first time
Very helpful. I really wanted to try it because I saw it on switch. But there's no reason I can't just play it on PC.
don't feel like reading the comments so idk if anyone said this, but the poker game is there because on the psx version when you beat it and are at the end screne, you could enter a code and play the poker game.
8:59 that ai ascaling looks horrible :S
I think we needed updated version of this love ff9
The modern version has different menu character sprites and that's the only problem for me
Also want to mention, the original PSX version is available on both PS3 and PSVita stores as both those consoles are fully backward compatible with PSX, with the addition that PS3 will read the original PSX disks.
And PC wins again! Hail the modding community!
On the other hand it is really sad that Square-Enix is a AAA company and fans end up having to make their own game(s) look better.
Was watching someone who played this with the mods and the music was so terrible he went back to the original...which caused a lot of bugs and he ended up starting over.
@Truth You didn't watch the video did you...?
@@LuluBanzai thing is that ps4 has same stuff but no modding the mods and still really it is easier and nicer
Here in 2024 the game looks and runs incredibly on my Ipad 9 with full touchscreen analog. ive been in love with it on my Ipad and have played through it a few times since i picked it up for 15$
Never had it crash once while playing on Switch
It’s out for Switch? (Physical Copy, not downloaded.)
@@ZeroWolf2322 there is only the digital version. A physical would be cool though. Also have been playing it for at least 10 hours, no crashes or performance issues.
@@Mitchlett Aaaah, okay. I'm more into the Physical Copies than digital ones.
I hope it comes out on the Physical Copy soon. Lol.
Criminally underrated game in the franchise. It's one of my favourite FF, with VII and X
PC has the alternative fantasy mod, which makes Beatrix a playable character, so PC version wins.
I love that mod, it kicked my ass so hard, but I love it.
It is a mod so because of that pc is not the best
@@Roksana-gy1ek Wait what? That's exactly why PC is better. Why not make it a better experience with mods? And you can always play the vanilla version, so you lose nothing.
@@VergilHiltsLT well cheating makes people feel guilty
@@Roksana-gy1ek How is modding considered cheating, lmao? You're only altering the visuals of the game or certain aspects you don't like, or adding additional features. I'm not talking about trainers and hacks. Ironically, the "HD" versions offer a bunch of actual cheats.
8:54 So your telling me when in films and TV people are looking through CCTV etc and say "zoom in on section A3" and "Enhance that" thats actually real? ....Mind blown..
This is my favourite FF too, even better than the 7 remake! I guess part of the reason is this is the first FF I finished 20 years ago, it just carved right into my mind.
I really like these comparison vids. ^_^