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Title: Final Fantasy IX Official Strategy Guide by Dan Birlew ISBN: 0-7440-0041-6 Publisher: Brady Games Pub. Date: 08 November, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 1.48 (183 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: New Web link makes this half a book
Comment: To push registrations to their new website, Playonline.com, Square and Bradygames have made this hint book link to "additional" hints on the playonline website. Now that'd fine and dandy if it wasn't for certain things:
1) When I buy a hint book, it's expressly so I DON'T have to go to websites to collect up all the hints and tidbits to complete a game. There's not a page that goes by in this guide that doesn't have a callout box suggesting you go the website and learn an even BETTER way to defeat this monster, or where the last of the umpty-umpth Magic Thingy is hidden. I bought the book to learn these things;
2) as of the moment (either from overload or over-fancy design, I can't tell yet) the website you're supposed to link to is DEAD slow. And there's no easy way to collect all the hints at once; yu have to enter these search codes listed in the book, resulting in a LONG visit to the site, racking up lots and lots of hits for Square to crow about.
Now, what's IN the book is choice as always. The walkthru is easy to follow, and doesn't ruin the twists of the plot any more than a walkthru has to. The monster and item guides are well laid out, if a bit incomplete (see above) There's a nice selection of original concept art peppered throughout the book, the kind of stuff you only see in the imported Japanese art books at a premium price. So it's still worth getting but...
I feel like when you used to look at the pictures of all the things you could build with Legos, and once you got the set, the small print said "items on box require more than one set to build". Yeah, I can play with what I got, but I was expecting a more complete experience that wouldn't require more of my time.
Rating: 1
Summary: A waste
Comment: After playing FF8 with the excellent strategy guide for it, I expected the same to happen with FF9. However, this guide does very little to help you. As a matter of fact I don't even see why this guide was made.
To start off, the walkthrough section is just horrible. It only touches on the basic objectives of each area and then tells you to go to playonline.com for the in-depth strategy guide. Didn't these idiots know that the reason most people buy these guides is so that they don't have to run to their computers for a strategy guide? Trust me, you'd be better off without any guide at all than this one. The bestiary is incomplete and the guide for accessories/abilities is lackluster. If you've used any of the other guides then you would know why I say this one sucks.
Overall I don't recommend this guide AT ALL. There should be no reason at all for you to buy this guide. You would be better off to just go to playonline.com and save your money.
Rating: 3
Summary: Shallow guide for a deep game
Comment: I probably should have reviewed this game guide before now and saved some people their money and a bit of anguish, though it looks like most people are in agreement over this one.
What this guide DOES have:
Excellent workups of the characters, weapons, magical abilities and the Tetra Master card game. A decent but not thorough walkthrough. An accurate world map.
What this guide does NOT have:
Complete side quest information, information on how to increase the characters' special abilities. Game secrets' clues.
So, all in all it's not as dismal as it might first appear. If you want a color guidebook for this game, buy the book. It'll be frustrating, but it's still worth owning. However, you're still going to have to find some of the side quest information on the web (though don't go to the site provided in the book, unless you want MORE frustration.)As for the walkthrough, if you get stuck, just be persistent. The first time I played the game I stayed stuck in one location for months because I couldn't find one candle to light. I asked my friends, and they would just laugh at me and say to keep looking. So, what I'm saying is, you don't necessarily NEED the walkthrough to finish the game.
I have played FFIX around 10 times and have basically found everything there is in it. The main failing of this guide is as I mentioned, the lack of providing information on the complex side quests such as Chocobo Hot and Cold (which lets you travel all over the world map to visit areas and discover treasures) and Mognet Central (which has you deliver letters for valuable rewards.) There is no way you would be able to complete Mognet Central without help or trying the quest on your own at least a dozen times.
There are also two mini games "Racing Hippaul" and "Jump Rope" that look like they're very small things to do while you walk around town, but they're actually kind of important for collecting items. You would never know this from this guide.
Re: Special Abilities. Everyone knows about Quina's special ability "Frog Drop" and how the more frogs you catch in the marshes the stronger it gets. But, did you know that Zidane and Freya ALSO have their own special abilities you can make stronger by completing other tasks? This is another thing not covered in the guide.
One of the stupidest things I have ever seen in a print publication is in this guide. Now and then, when you encounter a problem the guide says "Log on to our website and enter code gobbledegook!" (or whatever) Who is going to pause their game and log on to the net? This tactic is used especially with game "secrets"; essentially fun trivia, but still part of the game you'd like to know!
I could go on and on, but my point is, if you're deciding to get this guide so that you can get all you can out of an old favorite, this is SO not the guidebook for you. Head to your fave search engine and do your thing. If you haven't played the game before, this guide will be helpful, and it does have a lot of pictures. If you know the Bradygames guide to FF VIII, this one is half the size in weight and content. The Piggyback gameguide has the same "log on to our website" problem, though it may be a better guide.
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Title: Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide by David Cassady ISBN: 156686903X Publisher: Brady Games Pub. Date: 31 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide by David Cassady ISBN: 1566867142 Publisher: Brady Games Pub. Date: 28 August, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Final Fantasy X Official Strategy Guide by Dan Birlew ISBN: 0744001404 Publisher: Brady Games Pub. Date: 17 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title:Final Fantasy IX ASIN: B00004Y57G Publisher: Electronic Arts Pub. Date: 17 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $39.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $19.99 |
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Title: Final Fantasy Chronicles Official Strategy Guide by Dan Birlew ISBN: 0744000734 Publisher: Brady Games Pub. Date: 02 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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