Quote Originally Posted by Nalien View Post
Where are my IX references, SE!?
Even though IX is by no means a bad game, its timing and setting was too off to be well-remembered. It came out only a year before X and a year later was XI, both of which pushed the franchise forward leaps and bounds graphically and systematically, while IX was a throwback to the franchise's roots.

IX: franchise throwback in every sense (medieval setting, 4-party combat, loosely-defined classes, etc).
X: franchise advancement (voice acting, new battle system, better graphics, weapon customization, more Eastern-influenced setting, etc).
XI: first MMO in FF history. Pushed everything forward as you'd expect, or at least spun it in an MMO direction (to the extent XII took some cues from its battle system and XI vets can't stop pining for stuff from it).