Final Fantasy Should Bring Back FF9’s Active-Time Event System

The Final Fantasy series has seen a countless number of changes over the last two decades, from the jump to 3D in Final Fantasy 7, to the series’ first foray into online with Final Fantasy XI. Each Final Fantasy game tries to bring something unique to the table, and Final Fantasy 9 is no exception.

After the more sci-fi elements of Final Fantasy 7 and 8, Final Fantasy 9 was a return to the series’ classic roots. Despite that, it tried plenty of new ideas in the gameplay department, like the innovative equipment system tied to progression. The most interesting idea in Final Fantasy 9, however, came with Active-Time Events.

The ATE system allowed players to view optional events as the story progressed, and it helped gives a sense of scale to the overall story and world. Strangely, Final Fantasy has never used something similar in subsequent entries, and with Final Fantasy 9 celebrating its 20th anniversary, the series by all means should.

Final Fantasy 9’s ATE System Did Wonder For World-Building

Active-Time Events were separated into two different categories, mandatory ones that players had to watch and optional events. Many Final Fantasy games, and JRPGs in general, have a sort of laser-focus on the main party and events that happen to them. Oftentimes side characters get forgotten about until they’re made relevant to that main narrative again. Final Fantasy9 took a different approach, however, and made an effort to chronicle the events of side characters and make sure they weren’t forgotten. The marker for ATE would pop up on-screen as players wandered through towns or dungeons, and players can simply hit the select button to jump into the scene. These scenes don’t last overly long, as each one is only a few minutes.

Final Fantasy 9 opens with the main character, Zidane, planning the abduction of Princess Garnet alongside the other members of the Tantalus Theater Troupe. As Zidane meets the other party members he leaves Tantalus behind, but they aren’t forgotten. There’s an entire series of ATE that shows exactly what Tantalus is up to during the events of the game, and there are points that this intersects with the main story. Some of the optional ATEs would open up further scenes, or even alter some of the dialogue in the game. The thing that makes ATE so great is that these are quick, focused scenes that hone in on specific characters or locations.

Modern Final Fantasy Could Benefit From Active-Time Event

Final Fantasy games have always been story-heavy, but it’s disappointing to see that Final Fantasy 9’s ATE has never been implemented again, especially since some recent games could really have used it. Look at Final Fantasy XV, for example, a game that has some serious problems in terms of storytelling. The biggest problem that XV faces, as stated earlier, is that the game has an intense laser-focus on the main party. This means that any world-building and narrative development is only seen if it’s happening to the main party, for the most part. A system like ATE would have significantly helped flesh out the world of Eos and could have provided more insight into the Niflheim Empire, the city of Insomnia, Lunafreya’s pilgrimage, and much more.

The problem, of course, is that modern Final Fantasy games come with detailed animations and voice acting, something Final Fantasy 9 didn’t have. Using a similar system would, of course, require more work and time, but keeping the scenes short and sweet would help. Optional scenes would still let players keep control of their experience, and if these scenes influenced the main story, it could make for an interesting Final Fantasy experience that works with player choice.

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