Hell, Square Enix still hadn’t put it into the main Final Fantasy games and it merged with the company that began using it first in JRPGs.
None of the games really brought anything new to the table innovation-wise, worked with a fantasy storyline, and ran the same two main characters in different settings each game for some reason.
Now, Final Fantasy IX is one of the FF games that is appreciated but tends to get overshadowed by Final Fantasy VII and VIII from the franchise’s PlayStation era.
The story is solid, it’s not particularly different from other DQ games or other fantasy-oriented JRPGs in that you meet party members along the way—most of which won’t be regularly in your party.
One significant thing that Dragon Quest VIII had over Final Fantasy X-2 from 2003 or even Final Fantasy X is that the game is open and doesn’t feel linear in play even though the story is very linear.
