Final Fantasy IX comes closest to what fantasy is for me.
When I first bought my PS back in 2000., I was a beginner as a gamer and was more into games like Tomb raider and Tekken. I had heard of the RPG genre but didn't really know what it was. Since gaming still wasn't that widely spread in my country then, I was happy when my mom told me she could get me some games from a friend from work. When the games finally came, among all the Tomb raider, Crash B., Need for speed and similar games I immediately spotted four cds with the same beautiful cover which said Final Fantasy IX. I took the first cd and started the game. I noticed the great intro credits music, but the game itself... and now I beg all of you FF fans out there not to be angry lol... the game itself didn't really get me hooked, I played for the first 10 minutes and stopped (what can I say except what an idiot I was...). I had also heard from a friend that the FF games are long and boring, so for some time I ignored FF9. Then when summer holidays came, one day I was sitting in the garden of the little house at the sea we own bored as hell because it had been raining for 10 days (today I thank God for that rain:D), and then I decided to put that FF9 disc 1 back into my PS. And this time I played more than the first 10 minutes:). I realised then what RPGs really are and at that moment the RPG genre became my favourite. I fell in love with the story, setting and characters and couldn't stop playing. FF9 is really all that I can remember about that summer. Since then I've played most of the games from the series and have spent many summers enjoying the Final fantasy series and although I liked all the games, I somehow always liked FF9 best.
In my opinion, FF9's story and setting are the most fantasy-like from all the games, featuring beautiful castles, flying ships, a princess teaming up with a thief, magic and so on. I really got attached to the characters (especially Vivi) and remember even crying of luck lol when I finally defeated a boss after about 40 tries, because as the beginner that I was back then I wouldn't spend time leveling up when a boss was too hard, but would just try to beat him over and over again. The graphics are some of the best from the PS era and the great artwork really helps, too. I would especially like to point out the magic effect, which are a sight to behold from an artistic point of view. The music is something truly magical, I listen to ''Melodies of Life'' even today. The active time battle system fits really nice and makes the fights more exciting. I remember being dazzled by the series' trademark summons, which are amazing. There are a lot of interesting places to explore and characters to talk to and the story is really pretty long and very, very interesting.
Anyone who hasn't played this game should play it, because you are really missing out on something special. The amazing adventures of Zidane and his friends, filled with love and friendship, changed me as a person and made me appreciate the people around me more. I also began reading a lot back then, which has today lead to me writing poetry. Although not everyone likes this installment in the series best, it is the best for me because it has marked my childhood and everytime I hear ''The place I'll return to someday'', it's like I'm 10 all over again.