Final Fantasy IX is an RPG, released for the PlayStation in 2000. On the heels of Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Final Fantasy IX saw less commercial success due to the advent of the PlayStation 2, and the game's difficulty to market; IX represented something of a return to form for Final Fantasy, a revisiting of the more medieval and fantastical settings of the earlier games which the series had been drifting away from for some time now. Yet, despite the bright colors and adorable characters, the story was in many ways deeper and darker than anything that had preceded it.
The leading character is Zidane, a thief who is a member of a performing theater troupe called Tantalus. Tantalus is given the assignment to kidnap Princess Garnet of Alexandria--why they have been given this task is initially unclear, but it is eventually revealed that Garnet's uncle Cid was concerned about Garnet's safety amidst her mother Queen Brahne's increasingly erratic and violent behavior, and so he ordered the kidnapping, although Garnet had been devising a way to escape for some time. Along the way back to Cid's kingdom of Lindblum, they meet Vivi, who is a small, young Black Mage; he is very compassionate and wise beyond his years, but also shy, worrisome, and frequently full of self-doubt. The rest of the plot is essentially the group's journey to discover what was behind Brahne's sudden violent streak, which turns out to be a maniacal plot conceived by characters named Kuja and Garland which involves the destruction of Gaia, the home planet of all the main characters.
At its core, the game is about self-discovery and finding a place to call home. Each of the three most primary characters--Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi--has a mysterious past, and they frequently struggle with their own identities. Zidane, despite his happy-go-lucky, joking demeanor, is eventually revealed to be a genetic weapon created by Garland to destroy all life on Gaia. Vivi, meanwhile, is one of many Black Mages created as Alexandria's makeshift army with which they conquer many sovereign nations, a plan he never subscribes to. Garnet was born into a summoners' tribe, but her true mother died at a very early age, and so she was raised under Queen Brahne. Each of the three struggle with their pasts throughout the entire game; Zidane can remember no childhood or family beyond his friends in Tantalus, and despite his best efforts to live in the moment, this uncertainty tears away at him from inside. The same could be said for Vivi; in the aftermath of Alexandria's Black Mage killing sprees, almost every town the group goes to sees the kind and innocent Vivi as a monster, and he is only left to wonder why. Zidane acts as a big brother figure to Vivi, helping him sort through his worries and self-confidence issues. This is eerily reflective of their roles as soldiers; Zidane, destroyer of worlds is instructing Vivi, a mindless soldier. Vivi's mortality is an issue he struggles with frequently, as it is revealed that all Black Mage soldiers die after a predetermined period of time. However, Vivi is a prototype, meaning his life span is uncertain; overall the plot is full of this ambiguity and uncertainty.
This comes to a head at the very end of the game; Kuja and Garland have been defeated, but it seems that the main group has been annihilated as well; however, the absolute final boss of the game is Necron. He comes from absolutely nowhere, has no prior mention in the storyline, and is bar none the hardest of the primary bosses. However, the game hints that this is not a literal fight, but a struggle within the characters to hang on to their will to live, despite the fact that they have every reason to be frustrated and fed up with their horrible backgrounds. This is why this fight is the hardest; it represents Zidane's struggle to live normally with the knowledge that he was created to be an angel of death, Vivi's struggle to maintain a positive attitude despite his own impending death, and Garnet's struggle to hold on to those she loves even while forced into a royal agenda.
The epilogue is where the story comes to a head; it is a speech delivered by an unseen narrator, thanking his friends for everything they have taught him. However, the fact that the scenes which play under the speech exclude one character, as well as the kindly nature of the words leave only one conclusion: Vivi has died. The game leaves you feeling inspired to live your life while treasuring every friend you have; it has a fantastic narrative quality and, for me playing it as a kid, it had a profound effect.
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