Final Fantasy IX

Ninth installment in the long-running roleplaying series and the third for the Sony PlayStation. The game signals a brief return to some of the visual designs, gameplay elements and overall spirit of the 16-bit Final Fantasy games of the '90s. Monster encounters happen randomly, battles are turn-based, and the system of ability development follows the same line of descent from FFVI as the other PlayStation FFs. In this case, you acquire abilities from the items you equip, attaching those abilities to your character by way of a set of Blue Crystal slots, which you gain as you increase in level, and eventually getting to keep those abilities independently of the associated equipment. Character design by Yoshitaka Amano.