Long-running franchises generally tend to have that one special title that encompasses everything people love about the series while simultaneously breathing fresh air into the series as we know it.
In the case of the Final Fantasy series, one can argue that pretty much every game in the series — barring some obvious exceptions — has constantly strived to innovate upon existing mechanics and formulate new ones, all while keeping that distinct Final Fantasy charm.
It’s pretty evident as to why Final Fantasy 9 acts as a bit of a love letter to the entire series as a whole. It harkens back to a simpler time when technology wasn’t a major focus of the Final Fantasy series and provides gamers with nostalgic glimpses into the reasons why the series has become so iconic to begin with.
Keeping this in mind, it’s high time we get down to brass tacks and rank the strongest party members in this game.
However, as with any RPG, every character has their strengths and weaknesses. Which characters are strongest in FF9 and which ones need a little help from their friends?
12 Cinna (Tantalus)
The group that Zidane finds himself a part of in the early goings of Final Fantasy IX also happens to feature as party members in the initial moments of the story. However, none of them are particularly strong — or memorable — enough to warrant a strong mention, to be perfectly honest. Cinna, unfortunately, ranks the lowest in that initial trio. This slow brute wields a hammer that allows him to access the highest attack power, but at great cost to his defense.
What’s more: his HP is significantly lower than that of Blank’s or Marcus’ even after the events of disc 1. Of course, Cinna can’t even hold a candle to the other members of this list for obvious reasons.
11 Blank (Tantalus)
Blank garnered lots of fans thanks, in part, to his brave sacrifice in the Petrified Forest that allowed Zidane and the party to escape. But his swagger was undeniable from the beginning and he clearly has a deep relationship with Zidane and the rest of the Tantalus Theatre Troupe.
It’s a real shame that he doesn’t have more abilities and can only attack and steal during the game. If he ever got a prequel or sequel title, perhaps Square Enix could develop his very limited battle powers.
10 Marcus (Tantalus)
When it comes to impressions characters make from their time in your party, Marcus doesn’t leave much of one. He attacks using a broadsword and steals, but not much else. However, he is very useful for the parts of the game where he is a character thanks to his high speed and reasonably decent physical attacks.
If he had been given the full party member treatment, perhaps Marcus could rank higher on this list. But as he appears in the game, he is fairly weak and limited in battle.
9 Quina Quen
It’s almost a trend at this point for the Blue Mage of any Final Fantasy game to be laughably weak for some reason or the other. In FF9, the role of Blue Mage is adopted by an optional party member who is technically a chef by training and lineage.
Let’s be clear that Quina is not useless. In fact, if utilized correctly, they can actually prove to be an incredibly valuable party member. However, their base power isn’t all that great, and the grind required to make them a halfway-decent participant in battle is something that most people might not opt for.
8 Freya Crescent
Fulfilling the role of the Dragoon in the party, one might expect Freya to be a force to be reckoned with. While, for the most part, she manages to fulfill this role, the fact of the matter is that keeping her as a permanent member of your party isn’t recommended in the slightest, unfortunately. Her Dragon abilities are really neat but falls short of her fellow party members at times.
From a lore perspective, however, Freya is much more powerful than she appears to be in the game. But it’s also unfair to put her just one position above Quina as Freya is a powerful warrior while Quina is…a chef.
7 Amarant Coral
Amarant is a very cool character who provides some much-needed depth to the caricatures present in FF9. His undeniable cool demeanor and design makes him very alluring for many players. However, when it comes to actual battle prowess, Amarant falls well below the mark of what he portrays himself as.
Fulfilling the role of the Monk class in FF9, Amarant can actually dish out some pretty decent damage if he’s built up nicely. However — as is the case with Freya — he just becomes a throwaway character as the game progresses which is sad. Looking at his abilities from a lore stand point doesn’t position him much better either.
6 Eiko Carol
Eiko is one of the two White Mages in your party that dishes out a fair bit of damage if need be along with healing others. Again, her power is limited by her MP pool, but one can’t deny the fact that Eiko can easily become a stalwart member of your party thanks to her powerful eidolons and spells like “Holy”.
However, Eiko falls short in the strength category and can be quite brittle in battle. Her tender age also means that she could stand to have more training and become more powerful. But we’re just dealing with Eiko as she appears in the game.
5 Adelbert Steiner
The Knight or Warrior of any Final Fantasy game is known for being an absolute rock from both an offensive and defensive point of view. Steiner fits this and his kit and damage output can change depending on his equipment and junctioned abilities. But, in terms of raw power, Steiner offers great physical prowess and command of swordplay.
His abilities can mean the difference between a good boss fight and severe frustration. Of course, one can’t talk about Steiner without mentioning the excellent partnership he shares with Vivi, allowing him to access his Spellblade skills and deal devastating damage to his enemies. While this partnership is great in battle, it does mean that Steiner, by himself, is a little lacking in the power department.
4 Zidane Tribal
The game’s main protagonist and Thief finally makes his way into the list at a respectable No. 4 position. Zidane’s perfect combination of speed and power make him a party regular for most FF9 players. He puts out consistent damage, has useful abilities, and offers excellent Trance abilities on top of that.
Couple this with the fact that his speed makes him the perfect member in a tough situation and he has Flee for dire straits.
3 General Beatrix
General Beatrix has some of the most imposing moments in the entire game as an adversary for the player’s party. The party faces her three times in the title and Beatrix completely wipes the floor with them all three times.
Ideally, this should be enough for Beatrix to take the top spot on this list. However, points need to be deducted since her actually use in the party when she teams up with Steiner — while impressive — is lacks in comparison to her performance outside of how she performs as a playable character.
2 Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (Dagger)
A lot of you might understandably be fuming as to why Garnet is considered to be more powerful than Eiko. For the most part, both mages have power levels that are fairly equal. However, Garnet edges out Eiko because her summons are just a tad more powerful — albeit expensive. Garnet’s usefulness in battle can’t be denied.
But beyond that, her eidolons were powerful enough to wipe out entire cities and cause mass destruction and chaos. Being able to harness this energy and control it means that Garnet packs some serious discipline on top of her magical prowess.
1 Vivi Ornitier
The Black Mage that everyone loves is also one of the best members to have on your team for obvious and non-transparent reasons. For starters, Vivi is the only pure Black Mage in FF9 making it imperative for you to use this character in your party basically at all times. His Trance ability to double cast is also incredibly useful in boss fights.
But more than just his basic abilities is Vivi’s synergy with other team members like Steiner. It’s difficult to deny how powerful Vivi is which makes his short life span all the more tragic.
NEXT: Meet The Team Working On A Final Fantasy 9 Remake You’ll Never Get To Play
