Final Fantasy IX tells the story of Zidane, the member of a team of theater actors who also happen to be a gang of thieves, and Garnet, the princess of Alexandria. Zidane and his buddies first plan to kidnap Garnet from her mother's palace. But shortly after the kidnapping, they realize the queen of Alexandria is up to something evil. Zidane, the princess, and other characters they encounter on their journey decide to join forces and to find out what can possibly drive the queen to commit her cruel deeds. Final Fantasy IX is set in a medieval environment and generally looks more similar to the first games of the series than to its two predecessors. It utilizes the classic ATB (active time battle) combat system, and revives the class-based gameplay of earlier Final Fantasies - each character belongs to a certain class and uses his/her own unique attacks. Weapons, armor, and accessories allow you to choose and to gradually learn various abilities (magic spells, immunity to certain status changes, etc.) by participating in battles while equipping them.
