Developed by Square Enix, Final Fantasy IX is a solid title in the Final Fantasy series. Much like other games in the series, it is a JRPG that is split into three game modes, world mode, field mode, and battle mode. Breaking the trend that started with Final Fantasy VI, IX does not feature science fantasy elements, instead opting for a more classic, medieval fantasy setting of the first five Final Fantasy games. Gameplay is very similar to other games of the series, but, of course, with plenty of changes to keep the game interesting. A new “Trance Mode” is introduced, which activates when a character takes a certain amount of damage, and changes their moves. Characters also don’t just take turns one after another, rather, the order of moves now depends on their agility stat. The story begins with a kidnapping of a princess named Garnet – in a twist, the band of protagonists is the one doing the kidnapping. That doesn’t mean we’re playing as the evil guys this time – the princess intended to flee either way, to escape the queen’s strange aggression. A novel system called Active Time Events enhances the story by occasionally letting the player experience the events from a perspective of other characters, providing more facets both to the characters featured in ATEs and to the story itself. Owing to the game’s popularity, it received plenty of ports – Final Fantasy IX can be played on PSX and PS4, iOS and Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Windows. It can be played on Mac as well, though you’ll need to read the guide below to discover how, as the game doesn’t have a Mac port.
Play Final Fantasy IX on Mac with Parallels
If you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is an application that allows for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. In simpler terms, what this means is that it allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with just a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. So you will be able to run Windows, install Steam, and enjoy the Final Fantasy IX game on Mac just like on a regular PC.
Note: Recommended devices to run resource-demanding games: MacBook Pro (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac Pro (all versions are suitable), Mac Pro (all models are suitable). Parallels on Mac computers with M1 (M1 Pro, M1 Max) chips may not support recent games. Games that require DirectX 12 and later are currently not supported by Parallels.
Play Final Fantasy IX on Mac using Bluestacks
Among the variety of Android emulators, Bluestacks is the most advanced one. Firstly, it is available for both Windows and Mac with full functionality. Secondly, it allows effortless automatic transition to PC game controls, convenient hot-keys, that you are used to from any regular PC game. It provides high performance and graphics in any mobile game even on a relatively weak PC or Mac, as computer processors are usually more powerful than smartphone ones. To run Final Fantasy IX on Mac you need to perform these easy steps:
- Download latest version of Bluestacks for MacOS.
- Open Play Store and sign-in with your Google account.
- Download Final Fantasy IX from the catalog and run it.
- Bluestacks may offer you to run better engine for this game.
- Install the game and start playing!
You can also emulate PSX instead – read our guide on emulation on Mac if you’re interested.
Play Final Fantasy IX on M1 (M2, M3) Mac
As you may already know, M Macs (latest Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Mac Mini, iMac) are able to run many iOS apps and games on MacOS. If for apps it can be useful because many iPad and iPhone apps are very advanced and suitable for desktop usage, in gaming this is just magic. M chips (especially M Pro, M Max, M Ultra) are much more powerful than iPhone and iPad chips, in many types of games (shooters, racing) keyboard and mouse (trackpad) controls are much more useful than touch.
To download and play Final Fantasy IX on M1 (M2, M3) Mac do the following:
- On your iOS device download Final Fantasy IX.
- On your Mac go to Mac App Store and click on your profile in the bottom left corner.
- Under account click iPhone & iPad Apps.
- Download Final Fantasy IX on your Mac device and start playing!
Play Final Fantasy IX on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run Final Fantasy IX on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play Final Fantasy IX on Mac by installing Windows. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. This is an application that allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you want to switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, in the end. And while newer Macs have their own special Apple Silicon chips that cannot run Windows, older Macs are very much similar to computers that run Windows, they have Intel processors, compatible RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on an older Mac by allocating no less than 64 GB of disk space (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games) and following these steps:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 or later
For MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create a bootable Windows USB.
- Download this Windows ISO file.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities).
- Define the Windows partition size and choose the Windows ISO file you’ve downloaded.
- Format the Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps.
- When Windows boots for the first time, follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)