June 30th, 2000 - Japan's largest and most respected gaming publication Weekly Famitsu, has reviewed Final Fantasy IX in their latest issue - and you it's a gooden; the four Famitsu reviewers gave it 10, 10, 9, 9 meaning an overall score of 38/40 - an extremely high score considering the notoriously harsh Famitsu review system (Incidentally, Final Fantasy IX's score of 38 is one more point than Final Fantasy VIII last year).

Here's what psx.ign.com's Japanese correspondant had to say about it:

"The first reviewer really liked how the game moved along, sucking you into the first eight hours without even noticing it. He claims that it's the kind of game that you just can't put down. He also loved the characters and was just plain happy.

The second reviewer claimed that the game combines all of the good parts of the FF series. And that while there's no real sense of evolution in the game, there is a high degree of polish. He went on to say that the game has beautiful graphics, enough meat to keep you busy, and gameplay that will just draw players in.

The last two reviewers both were very pleased with the game, the minigames, and its similarity to older FF games and thought it was a terrific role-playing experience. Of all the reviews, only the last reviewer had anything bad to say about the game, stating that he was disappointed that there wasn't really anything new that was brought into the series. However, he added that he loved the game anyway. So there you have it. The rest of the gaming public will get the game next Friday here. We'll have all kinds of first impressions and media for you then."

And there you have it - Final Fantasy IX's only flaw (that the Famitsu reviewers could see) was that there was nothing revolutionary in the game to speak of, something that we at Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart are quite happy about... we'll leave the revolutionising to Final Fantasy X and XI. ^_^

Final Fantasy IX Takes Over Japan
As was to be expected, Final Fantasy madness has gripped the land of the rising sun once again - only a year and bit since it last did with Final Fantasy VIII. Total pre-orders have surpassed 1.1 million, while Square shareholders and their families even had the chance to play Final Fantasy IX.