I can’t stop watching these FF Retrospective videos. Even after years they’re still nice to listen to when I’m cranking out some levels in persona 4 or storyboarding comics.
Final fantasy 9 honestly has some of the most endearing and fascinating characters, ones easy to invest in, which makes it so impactful to see all the shit they go through. Vivi's plight was heartbreaking.
What if they made a Final Fantasy spinoff where we played as Gilgamesh and had to jump between the other games to fix events that had gone wrong from an external force messing with things.
FF9's marketing was pretty light. I clearly remember reading in an article that it was meant to be a celebration of the old Final Fantasy style before the series would go in a new direction on the PS2, so it was obviously something of an in-betweener for Square. Attention was moving toward the next generation of consoles and I suppose they didn't want to distract from that. I did read a pre-release article for it, though, so there was SOME buzz. - Lewis
Terra's transformation is officially called Trance, actually, ever since the FF6 Advance translation. And it might have been called that in Japanese; I think the Trance system was itself a reference to Terra's transformation. There's a neat moment in Dissidia NT's story mode where Zidane, Kuja, and Terra all Trance out at the same time in the same frame. - Lewis
Terra's transformation is officially called Trance, actually, ever since the FF6 Advance translation. And it might have been called that in Japanese; I think the Trance system was itself a reference to Terra's transformation. There's a neat moment in Dissidia NT's story mode where Zidane, Kuja, and Terra all Trance out at the same time in the same frame. - Lewis
This one is by far my favorite Final Fantasy. Between the references, the (in my opinion) excellent storytelling, the decent graphics and FMVs (especially transitions and hybrids between FMV and regular cutscene)...this one hit notes that the FF games to follow couldn't quite manage.
When this series began i started a marathon to play every FF game along with clement. every time clement releases a video of a game before i beat it but this is the first time i was able to finish the game months before you release the video So thank you clement for introducing me to some of my favorite games ever My favorites are FFV and FFIX
V and IX!? They're my favourites too! VI I found too easy but has a fantastic story. VII has a great atmosphere, but too serious for my liking. VIII was too much like a shoujo manga. They're not bad, but I have my preferences.
My first Final Fantasy game I've played and beaten the story mode in--about 40 hours to be exact, and talk about a great first impression! Even if you're not a FF fan already and miss out on all the callbacks and references, it still makes a good starting points for newcomers, I believe.
FFIX is my favorite. The characters, the story, their interactions, almost everything was perfect about it, with a few exceptions. The Trance System was dumb as hell with just how it worked. I can't even begin to count just how many times a trance got wasted before I wanted to use it. Beatrix I liked the idea of. I really wish they showed a bit more of her personal conflict before she turned on Brahne to rescue Garnet. Freya's story felt like a bunch got cut. Last but not least, the final boss, Necron comes out of fucking nowhere with no buildup unless you believe in fan theories requiring a bunch of mental gymnastics.
I agree with all you said especially with trace system and also battles take while to load on ps1. The steal rate geeezzzz 😑 yeah Necron was outta nowhere but damn his battle theme made it worth it
They really shouldn’t have done Freya like that she is such a beautiful character. I’m happy for the ending she got but there could’ve been so much more that could’ve happened with her during the main game.
Have you ever noticed how there always seems to be three of the main series game per generation? NES: I, II, and III SNES: IV, V, VI PS1: VII, VIII, IX PS2: X, X-2, XII (XI and XIV, in my eyes, are just Final Fantasy Online I and II) PS3: XIII, XIII-2, XIII-3 I'm thinking, due to the shear size of FFXV, this streak might get broken.
If you're counting X-2, XIII-2, and Lightning Returns as a main series, then you must also count, at a minimum, The After Years, Dirge of Cerberus (also the mobile game that's like a prequel or something), Before Crisis, and Crisis Core as main series games. Personally I'm in the camp that says all the expanded universe games are spinoffs and that XI and XIV do count.
Blaumagier None of those were pre-planned, and are therefore spin-offs. X-2, X-3, XIII-2, and XIII-3 were all planned ahead. X-2 and X-3 were fused into one game. Everyone sees things differently. There are still people who have their own Zelda timeline, despite Nintendo releasing an official one.
yeah and I have to agree with counting the spinoffs in the series. A friend of mine is streaming all the FF games and we just got to FF13-3 which will be the last one he does for a while as he already did 15 but he didn't have any of the dlc's at the time he did it just as it came out. So maybe in the future he might do some of those if I do an lp of that I will include them for sure as they are part of the story but they keep coming up with new things for that game all the time so glad i got the windows edition
i find the idea of a wizard being a mindless drone to be so fascinating. usually mage characters are assosiated with, well, being smart and having a lot of agency.
@@KOTEBANAROT 2 years late, but are you familiar with the witches from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia? They're essentially a hard hitting, magic-based enemy unit in the game, but how women become witches is rather horrifying: they offer their own souls to their god in exchange for great magical power, and in doing so turn into creepy, puppet-like husks. This is also relevant to a few of the characters, it's really disturbing but nevertheless pretty cool. The game in general has some really messed up stuff going, and it's mostly in the details. Phenomenal game overall, I must say, definitely give it a look if you haven't already!
Congratulations, Clement on a job well done! You deserve a good break. Looking forward to hearing your perspective on 10! That was my first Final Fantasy.
I always renamed Vivi to Jawa. I didn’t play the NES SNES games until later, so the Black Mage looked like a Jawa, which was probably an homage anyways, Sakaguchi was a star wars fanboy.
Ever since you started this retrospective, I've anxiously awaited this one. My second favorite in the series. Thank you, Clement. You delivered it beautifully.
OH GOD YES!!!! It has been 10 thousand years but we finally have it!!! Time to get me some drinks and pizza! After all this is my fav final fantasy and used to be my fav RPG until I met the trails in the sky games (or the entire trails series in general)
The PlayStation era of Final Fantasy was (with the exception of 8 being mixed for me at least) great! Now we move onto the divisive PS2 era. Really looking forward to seeing 10-2 get ripped apart!
Malik Reeves I think from a story point of view FF X-2 deserves the hate as well as the pointless mini-games and stuff, but the combat system was top notch imo.
yin yang Na if 13 weren't so linear so long and had town with npc's it be just fine. The lore, ost, battle system and graphics were great. FFX-2 was lacking or just cringeworthy in every area except for its graphics and battle system. Defend it all you want but even 13 wasn't that bad. Not to mention the platinum trophy requires multiple playthroughs...
The learning abilities through weapons and armor reminds me of Tales of Vesperia. For those of you who don’t know because this is a video about Final Fantasy, is a RPG that was originally released for the Xbox 360, you can now buy it for the Nintendo Switch. Buy the free DLC’s to, they are very cool and FREE!
Wonderful. Thank you for this. This was my first FF, and I believe I finished it in a month, which I thought was quick at the time! I think I was 16 years old (now 35). The Kuja OST is forever in my head.
I will always love this game as a Final Fantasy game. And I know my brothers love this game, as well because when it came to RPGs, this was the one they spent the most time on and I would watch them play it everyday. I wasn't into RPGs, at the time when they played this game and beat it, but later down the line when my interest for the genre would change, I was so happy to finally come back to this game and experience it for myself. Especially after going through the nightmare that was FF VIII, then immediately going straight to this game afterwards, for me it was literary a breath of fresh air.
As someone who started with 4 but fell in love with thanks to 10 I am excited to see your thoughts. Also thanks for doing this video as it's helped me understand things in the older games I was unaware of. Truth be told, it's kind of made me wanna give them all a shot again. Till next time!
This was my 2nd Final Fantasy game that I played back then (I’m 27 right now), and I loved it. Yeah the game may be 4 discs but in my opinion it was worth it - a lot of story plot twists, long side quests, the music, etc... If I could go back to play the game as if it was my first time on it, I definitely would. P.S. Zidane’s Emo moment.........period 👌
I named Garnet "Cortana" as this is the sword used to bestow responsibility upon the kings and queens of Europe. Obviously, only after doing some research. I think it fits her very well, especially once her responsibilities change later in the game.
I would like 9 more if the game wasn't frickin slow and other issues liked the Trance system being automated rather than an option and the pacing was better.
Oh hell yeah, it's finally here! Took me a bit to finish this video up. Great video once again, then again, you are The Great Glement. FF9 is still my favorite, but I won't lie, nostalgia has a big role in it. Waiting for FFX impatiently.
Man this video series is so amazing. You do such great content man, and going through all this videos again is a joy. I got inspired to play all the games my self, just started FF1. Cant wait for X-2 video.
While that is an interesting side quest, I don't think it's too relevant to mention, as well as not to relevant to Garnet herself. For a good chunk of her life she lived as Garnet, and for a very important period for her, she lived as Dagger, those are the names that have weight for her. Not to say she wouldn't like to know about her life in Madain Sari, or feel anything towards it, but, personally, I don't think she would relate much to it.
That's hella funny. I just posted a comment about this. I'm honestly not surprised since its kind of a hidden secret and not completely obvious that it's referring to Garnet, but honestly who else could it be. I always rename her Sarah every time I play this game.
I absolutely ADORE FFIX to this day, it was my FF I owned and finished. The OST, Characters, The Setting..did I already mention OST? D: Keep up the good work! :3
FFIX was my first and favorite FF game. I loved its unique charming style, the story, the characters, music. It had a lovely balance of comedy, adventure, romance and tragedy.
I think a good explanation for Necron showing up would be from the crystal getting shattered. Instead of it causing the end of all life, it causes the very personification of death itself to manifest. That would give Necron more justification as the game’s final boss. Was it really that hard for the writers to come up with a simple explanation for him showing up? If I can think of one, why couldn’t they?
Necron exists for a few reasons. 1. He's vaguely mentioned by Garland when he's giving his motivations and telling Zidane various info. It's when he mentions that the Soul Cage was only one part of the Iifa Tree, the physical aspect. Necron being the spiritual. 2. The game has themes regarding to Life and Death. Where the characters find their reasons for living. So Necron as the final boss relates to how the characters have to defeat or overcome the fear of inevitable death to live their lives. 3. Lastly, is the referential reasons. Necron not only looks similar to a boss called Necross in FFV, but the lead up is somewhat similar to FFIII against the Cloud of Darkness. The characters being defeated, then brought back by their friends. As the theme plays a haunting melody, it eventually ramps up.
Even so, this wasn't the first Final Fantasy game where an Final Boss came out of nowhere. FF1 & FF4 anyone? Another Final Fantasy reference. And unlike those bosses, Necron's " out of nowhere experience " makes sense since it's the life form that represents soulless, sadness or death.
Just found this series, and started off with watching my favorite of the series. I agree it's not perfect, but it's the only one I've ever come back to and finished multiple times. Now it's time to watch these all backwards.
I am honestly surprised that you never brought up Reis from FFTactics in your reference montage. Since her name was used for one of abilities in FF9 Reis Wind.
Man, I love FF9, so, so much. It was my first Final Fantasy, and it just...hits all the right beats for me. The unforgettable characters, the story, just...I love it. I'm not a fan of the comedic breaking of 6, 7 and 8 you can do since everyone can (mostly) do the same things. I'm not a fan of 10's sphere grid, and i'm gonna refrain on talking about 13 for as long as possible. I love this classic final fantasy feeling. Every character has their own class, own moves, own quirks in and out of gameplay that I miss so much in a lot of the games now. I adore 4 and 9 so much. While i do enjoy most of the games in the series on some level or another. none hit my heart like this one. The gameplay always felt nice, and while Trance being something you couldn't control was annoying, it made sense within the story, since it's all about a release of powerful emotions. And, if i'm honest, 9 is the game i want them to give an after years to, much like they did with 4. And yes, I know, after years isn't a terribly good game, but i still adore it. I'm not entirely sure what the after years of 9 would do, but i just...i want more time with these characters. i want to see what they've been doing since the end of the game... Also, while chocobo hot and cold isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, i had no problem sitting down and playing it for hours, even after i got all the chocographs, because i enjoyed it. And for that matter, all of the mini games you play throughout the game are all great moments. May it be getting rewarded for simple things, like getting Eiko to make good food, or selecting the right soldiers to do the right thing in Alexandria, it was always fun. And let us, never forget...the play. The play battle, which, if you want to impress all 100 nobles AND THE QUEEN, you probably have spent hours doing. And yet, I could sit there doing it simply because...it's such a memorable and fun scene. And I can say that about so much in this game. And while I'm not much of a musical person, I gotta say, I get filled with that nostalgia every time any track from 9 plays. Going back through the game when i'm older now and understanding all these small references, just fills me with so much love. It's a damn shame that...I don't have much positive to say after 9. While 10 is a good game in gameplay, and i do enjoy blitzball, the story, which, to me, is the most important part of an RPG, isn't up to snuff. But, i suppose that's for next time. I love the themes of 9. It's all about loss, in a way. Zidane tries to help everyone, running from the past he doesn't know. Vivi fights against the fear of a ticking clock and the realization that he's just a machine. Garnet fights with the destruction of city after city, the loss of her mother and so much more. Steiner fights with his faith towards the queen, trying to justify the unjust as to not shake his faith in her. Eiko fights the loneliness she had before the party came, and still feels alone in the party as, when she joins, she is the most perceptive of the bunch. Freya lost LITERALLY EVERYTHING. Amarant lost his good faith and everything else when framed by Zidane, and yet loses to his strong charisma and ends up following him in the end. Quina...Quina is hungry, just wants to lose that empty feeling inside the tum-tum. While one of these things is not like the other, the whole point of the story is...all of these characters, at one point or another...probably considered suicide. But they overcame that despair, and came out on top together, even beating LITERAL DEATH to save the world. Hope and despair. I feel like I ranted long enough. It was a nice video, Clement, and I'm glad you enjoy the game, even if it isn't your favorite.
Seth Xeider I enjoyed reading this as ff9 is my favorite final fantasy game. I wrote this about ff9 how I would fix just one character tell me what you think. My favorite final fantasy game, it’s a great game the only thing that always gets me is that amaranth story is the weakest. If I were to write his story it would be he would come from a dojo of great fighters but he would be the best he would be arrogant because no one can beat him except the master. The master would try to instill humility in amaranth but to no avail he would later be forced to leave until he finds someone to fight for other than himself. Amaranth would go around looking for a job until he finds one as a guard like the events play out within the game. Towards the end of the game amaranth can return to the dojo and face the master one on one the master would be strong with special moves from the monks from the different final fantasy games ex: 4,5,6,7,8 it would be a tough battle but these is where his should receive his ultimate weapon. Also after the credits roll we see amaranth running his master’s dojo and he also has an impatient student that he tells the same line he says in game about himself about how his past self was a loser. This is how I would fix amaranth.
Wow! Final Fantasy 9 looks like an RPG I could really get into. It reminds me of Eternal Sonata and Dragon Quest 8. I would love to play this game one day! ❤💖❤
Final Fantasy 9 is my absolute favorite. and i really like tetra master. I used a trick to make the system easier for me. I picked one suuuper weak card with as many arrows as possible. and everytime this card was taken over, i can just take it back and every other card it points to
The Garnet naming thing always struck me as odd. I like the idea of it; I guess keeping the name after is needed is supposed to reflect her growth as a character into someone new, but the default of ‘Dagger’ makes it way too silly to keep using as a moniker.
You're right on target, Lipm. I think the way they executed it was poor and it made a lot of players confused. And the name was not appropriate for the set up they already had. I think it could have actually worked out had they plotted out the character's change of wardrobe and hair style for the game. In the beginning of the game: as Princess Garnet, give the character a more formal royal look. She can have her bright orange look here or start her off with something dark like purple and black. Whatever you choose, it has to vastly contrast what she ends up wearing in-game. Then change her to a more casual and fan appealing design. This is the one she'll be on the cover as. Add a few extra quirks like a necklace or bracelet that look hand made and take away legit jewelry she had. Give her a weapon that looks cool. And voila. Personally, since she's a white mage, I would have given her a cool cloak, tied her hair up in a more battle ready bun, maybe give her a white bandana. Give her a cool staff or cleric mace and finish it off with a decent cleric sounding name. If she were a thief joining an underbelly thieves guild _then_ maybe I would have went with "Dagger." It sounds like the kind of name a naive upperclass princess would come up with last minute when confronted by a more ruthless street urchin. At any rate, I think too hard about stuff like this because I'm a fantasy novelist and am working on my own universe. This is a fun exercise and one that I appreciate you kicked off in my head. Have a great day my friend. 🙏
In the German version Garnet named herself Lili (because Zidane told her it‘s a Liliendolch/Lily Dagger). I grew up with her as Lili, so I was pretty shocked that she just named herself „Dagger“, when I grew up and look into other translations.
It's hard to trust the opinion of someone who claims FFVII and VIII are just graphics driven games. There's real substance behind the spectacle in both games, and it's kind of sad that you would see them as just that. I think a playthrough of both games is in order the near future :^)
This isn't my absolute favorite final fantasy game. But I will say, never in my life have I played a game that felt more true to itself than this one. This feels like the most final fantasy game ever
I call her Garnet as well, for basically same reasons. Also only ever managed to get to 111 on the jump rope mini game. Steam version FF9 you can use super speed on Hot'n'Cold which makes it easier it doesnt' affect the timer but you go super speed.
Congratulations on completing your FFVIIII look back! Was definitely worth the wait! 😄 In fact everything about this series of videos is worth the wait. Never feel bad about taking too long with these, we’ll always be waiting. 😉 Also, Pepsi is Coke Waifu AND Husbando. Coca Cola’s for the weak, WEAK I say! 😜🥤
Kept us waiting huh? Jk. I know these take time and worth the wait. I really love FF9 as much as 4 and 6 as all those are my favorite final Fantasy games ever.
Gotta admit, this series actually is what convenced me to get all the Switch HD ports of these games again, and I'm glad I did. I forgot just how good some of these games are. Now if only Square would give us 1-6 on the switch somehow....
Ah yes, FF IX, the wind waker of FF games. Hated originally because of it's cute exterior, but became more beloved as time went on.
DiscipleofPentagon oh my god youre right lol
And just like Wind Waker, it was the first game in the series I beat and made me fall in love with the franchise.
@@linkfreak404 the game is far from ugly you tasteless cow
It's honestly my favorite final fantasy game. It's so good
People hated it because they started playing final fantasy at 7. How could you not love this game?
I can’t stop watching these FF Retrospective videos. Even after years they’re still nice to listen to when I’m cranking out some levels in persona 4 or storyboarding comics.
SAME
Final fantasy 9 honestly has some of the most endearing and fascinating characters, ones easy to invest in, which makes it so impactful to see all the shit they go through. Vivi's plight was heartbreaking.
Vivi is a friend we'd ALL love to have!!
So true. Vivi is simply wonderful. ❤ It's a tragedy that he is one of those kind-hearted people who is just too good and wholesome for this world. 😢
I love that Active Time Events were a revolutionary new way to say "Meanwhile..."
FORGET WHAT I WAS JUST WATCHING!!!!
CLEMENT IS ON!!!!!!
I know!!!
Same
What if they made a Final Fantasy spinoff where we played as Gilgamesh and had to jump between the other games to fix events that had gone wrong from an external force messing with things.
Newt Train Hoping that the next leap... Will be the leap home.
@@weirdotzero7065 That was a good show.
FF9's marketing was pretty light. I clearly remember reading in an article that it was meant to be a celebration of the old Final Fantasy style before the series would go in a new direction on the PS2, so it was obviously something of an in-betweener for Square. Attention was moving toward the next generation of consoles and I suppose they didn't want to distract from that.
I did read a pre-release article for it, though, so there was SOME buzz.
- Lewis
I also remember a magazine calling Queen Brahne "Amidala before the lipsuction."
Terra's transformation is officially called Trance, actually, ever since the FF6 Advance translation. And it might have been called that in Japanese; I think the Trance system was itself a reference to Terra's transformation.
There's a neat moment in Dissidia NT's story mode where Zidane, Kuja, and Terra all Trance out at the same time in the same frame.
- Lewis
Terra's transformation is officially called Trance, actually, ever since the FF6 Advance translation. And it might have been called that in Japanese; I think the Trance system was itself a reference to Terra's transformation.
There's a neat moment in Dissidia NT's story mode where Zidane, Kuja, and Terra all Trance out at the same time in the same frame.
- Lewis
@@BrainScratchComms *( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)*
This one is by far my favorite Final Fantasy. Between the references, the (in my opinion) excellent storytelling, the decent graphics and FMVs (especially transitions and hybrids between FMV and regular cutscene)...this one hit notes that the FF games to follow couldn't quite manage.
When this series began i started a marathon to play every FF game along with clement. every time clement releases a video of a game before i beat it but this is the first time i was able to finish the game months before you release the video
So thank you clement for introducing me to some of my favorite games ever
My favorites are FFV and FFIX
9,6 and 7 are my favorites.
V and IX!?
They're my favourites too!
VI I found too easy but has a fantastic story.
VII has a great atmosphere, but too serious for my liking.
VIII was too much like a shoujo manga.
They're not bad, but I have my preferences.
Steiner always reminded me of Buzz Lightyear.
...Damnit now I'll never unsee it.
@RajunCajun34Right.. Ok
@RajunCajun34 So, Barett also is? U clearly don't understand the character at all, you probably like the always emo/pseudo-smart anime characters
Or Kronk. Or Shrek. : D
Anyway i adore this man
Oh no no no no no
Steiner look, an oglop!
The Switch version of FF9 made chocographs so much easier. Mostly because of the speed up in the game. THANK. GOODNESS.
Yeah but my dude, her name was never originally Garnet. That’s the name of the princess that died who she replaced.
My all time favorite RPG.
My first Final Fantasy game I've played and beaten the story mode in--about 40 hours to be exact, and talk about a great first impression! Even if you're not a FF fan already and miss out on all the callbacks and references, it still makes a good starting points for newcomers, I believe.
That's how I got started with the series & I still love it to this day.
My first Final Fantasy game as well and it may me an fan of the series.
This truly is one of my favorite games if just listening to the music brings tears to my eyes
I loved this one. It reminded me of my most beloved FF era (NES and SNES games)
FFIX is my favorite. The characters, the story, their interactions, almost everything was perfect about it, with a few exceptions. The Trance System was dumb as hell with just how it worked. I can't even begin to count just how many times a trance got wasted before I wanted to use it. Beatrix I liked the idea of. I really wish they showed a bit more of her personal conflict before she turned on Brahne to rescue Garnet. Freya's story felt like a bunch got cut. Last but not least, the final boss, Necron comes out of fucking nowhere with no buildup unless you believe in fan theories requiring a bunch of mental gymnastics.
I agree with all you said especially with trace system and also battles take while to load on ps1. The steal rate geeezzzz 😑 yeah Necron was outta nowhere but damn his battle theme made it worth it
They really shouldn’t have done Freya like that she is such a beautiful character. I’m happy for the ending she got but there could’ve been so much more that could’ve happened with her during the main game.
@@RabbitShirogane indeed
@@nicholasmorgan7609 honestly I’m still fucking depressed over it. We may not ever see her or a character like this ever again.
@@RabbitShirogane maybe not in Final Fantasy, maybe not in video games, but there's probably some in literature
I'm so glad that after all the trouble you went through, you finally got this done. You deserve a break.
9 is on XBOXOne now.
Its nice playing this masterpiece again :) always worth every penny.
Have you ever noticed how there always seems to be three of the main series game per generation?
NES: I, II, and III
SNES: IV, V, VI
PS1: VII, VIII, IX
PS2: X, X-2, XII (XI and XIV, in my eyes, are just Final Fantasy Online I and II)
PS3: XIII, XIII-2, XIII-3
I'm thinking, due to the shear size of FFXV, this streak might get broken.
SteveN Yep.
Of course that's not counting ports and re-releases, which even the PS1 got.
SteveN yeh XV still isn’t even finished yet so no chance of XVI, that does stop the numbers getting stupid high though
If you're counting X-2, XIII-2, and Lightning Returns as a main series, then you must also count, at a minimum, The After Years, Dirge of Cerberus (also the mobile game that's like a prequel or something), Before Crisis, and Crisis Core as main series games. Personally I'm in the camp that says all the expanded universe games are spinoffs and that XI and XIV do count.
Blaumagier
None of those were pre-planned, and are therefore spin-offs. X-2, X-3, XIII-2, and XIII-3 were all planned ahead. X-2 and X-3 were fused into one game.
Everyone sees things differently. There are still people who have their own Zelda timeline, despite Nintendo releasing an official one.
yeah and I have to agree with counting the spinoffs in the series. A friend of mine is streaming all the FF games and we just got to FF13-3 which will be the last one he does for a while as he already did 15 but he didn't have any of the dlc's at the time he did it just as it came out. So maybe in the future he might do some of those if I do an lp of that I will include them for sure as they are part of the story but they keep coming up with new things for that game all the time so glad i got the windows edition
"You're a black mage for crying out loud" Zidane says towards the beginning of the game. I don't think black mages only exist as golems in that world.
Wiseman Yeah it seems there are people who can use Black Magic normally but the Back Mage people are the only ones that live the way they do.
i find the idea of a wizard being a mindless drone to be so fascinating. usually mage characters are assosiated with, well, being smart and having a lot of agency.
@@KOTEBANAROT 2 years late, but are you familiar with the witches from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia? They're essentially a hard hitting, magic-based enemy unit in the game, but how women become witches is rather horrifying: they offer their own souls to their god in exchange for great magical power, and in doing so turn into creepy, puppet-like husks. This is also relevant to a few of the characters, it's really disturbing but nevertheless pretty cool.
The game in general has some really messed up stuff going, and it's mostly in the details. Phenomenal game overall, I must say, definitely give it a look if you haven't already!
*Wow*
It’s been awhile Great Clement...
definitely have watched this series about 10x now. never gets old, just makes me wanna play haha
Congratulations, Clement on a job well done! You deserve a good break. Looking forward to hearing your perspective on 10! That was my first Final Fantasy.
I always imagined Queen Brahne with a Roseanne voice
that's funny! I always heard Mrs. Doubtfire. lol
I always renamed Vivi to Jawa. I didn’t play the NES SNES games until later, so the Black Mage looked like a Jawa, which was probably an homage anyways, Sakaguchi was a star wars fanboy.
Ever since you started this retrospective, I've anxiously awaited this one. My second favorite in the series. Thank you, Clement. You delivered it beautifully.
I can't imagine how much work goes into making these so know that your hard work is very much appreciated Clement.
OH GOD YES!!!! It has been 10 thousand years but we finally have it!!! Time to get me some drinks and pizza! After all this is my fav final fantasy and used to be my fav RPG until I met the trails in the sky games (or the entire trails series in general)
One of the best retrospectives I've seen
I remember when I accidentally found out using life on the Iifa tree kills it instantly.
The PlayStation era of Final Fantasy was (with the exception of 8 being mixed for me at least) great! Now we move onto the divisive PS2 era. Really looking forward to seeing 10-2 get ripped apart!
Malik Reeves I think from a story point of view FF X-2 deserves the hate as well as the pointless mini-games and stuff, but the combat system was top notch imo.
Yeah, but if it meant having to sit through that story again than I don’t think the gameplay is worth it.
Malik Reeves Even the ost was lame.
Malik Reeves 13 is worse and clement hates that game.
yin yang Na if 13 weren't so linear so long and had town with npc's it be just fine. The lore, ost, battle system and graphics were great.
FFX-2 was lacking or just cringeworthy in every area except for its graphics and battle system. Defend it all you want but even 13 wasn't that bad. Not to mention the platinum trophy requires multiple playthroughs...
The learning abilities through weapons and armor reminds me of Tales of Vesperia.
For those of you who don’t know because this is a video about Final Fantasy, is a RPG that was originally released for the Xbox 360, you can now buy it for the Nintendo Switch. Buy the free DLC’s to, they are very cool and FREE!
Most underappreciated entry in the series, and the best of the PlayStation 1 era.
This game I played in senior year of HS so the memories are quite recent, but no less strong:D It's so wonderful to hear your thoughts!!!
This is great and being released on my birthday, another great video clement
Awesome video, this looks like another one i may get someday, the atmosphere alone is alluring to me, and it looks quite fun to play.
THAT BOI CLEMENT IS BACK!!
1 word to describe Final Fantasy IX…Beautiful!
It's here! Been really looking forward to this one
Wonderful. Thank you for this. This was my first FF, and I believe I finished it in a month, which I thought was quick at the time! I think I was 16 years old (now 35).
The Kuja OST is forever in my head.
Man I love this game. The characters were interesting and endearing and I like how everything felt so lively.
I think what Garland meant by "too far" was that he figured out Kuja was planning to use Alexander to rebel against him
I’ve waited a long time for this one!
1:24:02 I constantly hear how everyone godamn LOVES ffx so I'm super pumped for this!
I’m listening to this while playing FFIX on Steam, it’s my favorite entry in the series!!!
3:22 - I love the self referential line here. It's like the game's saying 'We're going back to old school Final Fantasy. Deal with it.'.
I will always love this game as a Final Fantasy game.
And I know my brothers love this game, as well because when it came to RPGs, this was the one they spent the most time on and I would watch them play it everyday. I wasn't into RPGs, at the time when they played this game and beat it, but later down the line when my interest for the genre would change, I was so happy to finally come back to this game and experience it for myself.
Especially after going through the nightmare that was FF VIII, then immediately going straight to this game afterwards, for me it was literary a breath of fresh air.
good job finishing this video, clement! enjoy your break!
As someone who started with 4 but fell in love with thanks to 10 I am excited to see your thoughts. Also thanks for doing this video as it's helped me understand things in the older games I was unaware of. Truth be told, it's kind of made me wanna give them all a shot again. Till next time!
I have also learned i can't type a heartwarming comment on my phone Lord lol
Oh my god, Clement's alive! Call off the search parties!
This was my 2nd Final Fantasy game that I played back then (I’m 27 right now), and I loved it. Yeah the game may be 4 discs but in my opinion it was worth it - a lot of story plot twists, long side quests, the music, etc...
If I could go back to play the game as if it was my first time on it, I definitely would.
P.S. Zidane’s Emo moment.........period 👌
I come back to rewatch this one every year or so :) well done Clement
I named Garnet "Cortana" as this is the sword used to bestow responsibility upon the kings and queens of Europe. Obviously, only after doing some research. I think it fits her very well, especially once her responsibilities change later in the game.
God I remember when you started the Remembering Final Fantasy stuff all the way back in December of 2016.
How time flies
The music, man, the god dang music. I was also 12 when it dropped and I still listen to the soundtrack! Subbed ❤️
When people say Quina Blu Magic is useless
*cough cough* LVL5 DEATH *cough cough*
Grand dragon genocide
Quina is potentially busted with those blue magic spells
Every blue mage is really useful/busted. Just depends on how much effort you're willing to go through in order to deck them out
Final Fantasy 9 is without a don't my favorite FF game EVER!
Getting to see the commercials is one of my favorite parts of these reviews.
I love both VII and IX, but IX just edges out VII as my favorite. Both great games.
I would like 9 more if the game wasn't frickin slow and other issues liked the Trance system being automated rather than an option and the pacing was better.
Oh hell yeah, it's finally here! Took me a bit to finish this video up. Great video once again, then again, you are The Great Glement. FF9 is still my favorite, but I won't lie, nostalgia has a big role in it. Waiting for FFX impatiently.
I actually remember this game and chrono cross getting commercials back to back a lot back in the day.
two of my fav games ever
Man this video series is so amazing. You do such great content man, and going through all this videos again is a joy. I got inspired to play all the games my self, just started FF1. Cant wait for X-2 video.
i really wish they bring Final Fantasy back to this old school system, I miss the good old turn based Final Fantasy
What? No mention of Garnet's real name being Sarah?
While that is an interesting side quest, I don't think it's too relevant to mention, as well as not to relevant to Garnet herself.
For a good chunk of her life she lived as Garnet, and for a very important period for her, she lived as Dagger, those are the names that have weight for her.
Not to say she wouldn't like to know about her life in Madain Sari, or feel anything towards it, but, personally, I don't think she would relate much to it.
Akkuseru I was referring to when Clement was talking about call backs since Sara was the name of the princesses in FF1 and 3.
Oh, fair enough, my bad
That's hella funny. I just posted a comment about this. I'm honestly not surprised since its kind of a hidden secret and not completely obvious that it's referring to Garnet, but honestly who else could it be. I always rename her Sarah every time I play this game.
kbowman772 I mean he could've mention Zorg(was it zorg?) in FF8, but only used him to point out how so much stuff is really insignificant
I absolutely ADORE FFIX to this day, it was my FF I owned and finished.
The OST, Characters, The Setting..did I already mention OST? D:
Keep up the good work! :3
"A woman named Garnet..." Amethyst, and Pearl, And Steven!
Chris Hanna & Knuckles
Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry Series
I LOVE FFIX,it's my second favorite FF after FFVII
Worth the wait, keen to see this one (and X next time since I’ve never seen that in depth)
FFIX was my first and favorite FF game. I loved its unique charming style, the story, the characters, music. It had a lovely balance of comedy, adventure, romance and tragedy.
Great job man! Keep em' coming!
I do the same thing with Garnet. I do something similarly with Red XIII by naming him Nanaki.
I think a good explanation for Necron showing up would be from the crystal getting shattered. Instead of it causing the end of all life, it causes the very personification of death itself to manifest. That would give Necron more justification as the game’s final boss. Was it really that hard for the writers to come up with a simple explanation for him showing up? If I can think of one, why couldn’t they?
Necron exists for a few reasons.
1. He's vaguely mentioned by Garland when he's giving his motivations and telling Zidane various info. It's when he mentions that the Soul Cage was only one part of the Iifa Tree, the physical aspect. Necron being the spiritual.
2. The game has themes regarding to Life and Death. Where the characters find their reasons for living. So Necron as the final boss relates to how the characters have to defeat or overcome the fear of inevitable death to live their lives.
3. Lastly, is the referential reasons. Necron not only looks similar to a boss called Necross in FFV, but the lead up is somewhat similar to FFIII against the Cloud of Darkness. The characters being defeated, then brought back by their friends. As the theme plays a haunting melody, it eventually ramps up.
Even so, this wasn't the first Final Fantasy game where an Final Boss came out of nowhere. FF1 & FF4 anyone? Another Final Fantasy reference. And unlike those bosses, Necron's " out of nowhere experience " makes sense since it's the life form that represents soulless, sadness or death.
I was thinking he was the very thing that was contained in the crystal.
Just found this series, and started off with watching my favorite of the series. I agree it's not perfect, but it's the only one I've ever come back to and finished multiple times. Now it's time to watch these all backwards.
I am honestly surprised that you never brought up Reis from FFTactics in your reference montage. Since her name was used for one of abilities in FF9 Reis Wind.
Holy shiit finally! Been waiting a long time for this one! Right on!
Been looking forward to this, let's do this
Man, I love FF9, so, so much. It was my first Final Fantasy, and it just...hits all the right beats for me. The unforgettable characters, the story, just...I love it. I'm not a fan of the comedic breaking of 6, 7 and 8 you can do since everyone can (mostly) do the same things. I'm not a fan of 10's sphere grid, and i'm gonna refrain on talking about 13 for as long as possible. I love this classic final fantasy feeling. Every character has their own class, own moves, own quirks in and out of gameplay that I miss so much in a lot of the games now. I adore 4 and 9 so much. While i do enjoy most of the games in the series on some level or another. none hit my heart like this one. The gameplay always felt nice, and while Trance being something you couldn't control was annoying, it made sense within the story, since it's all about a release of powerful emotions. And, if i'm honest, 9 is the game i want them to give an after years to, much like they did with 4. And yes, I know, after years isn't a terribly good game, but i still adore it. I'm not entirely sure what the after years of 9 would do, but i just...i want more time with these characters. i want to see what they've been doing since the end of the game...
Also, while chocobo hot and cold isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, i had no problem sitting down and playing it for hours, even after i got all the chocographs, because i enjoyed it. And for that matter, all of the mini games you play throughout the game are all great moments. May it be getting rewarded for simple things, like getting Eiko to make good food, or selecting the right soldiers to do the right thing in Alexandria, it was always fun. And let us, never forget...the play. The play battle, which, if you want to impress all 100 nobles AND THE QUEEN, you probably have spent hours doing. And yet, I could sit there doing it simply because...it's such a memorable and fun scene. And I can say that about so much in this game. And while I'm not much of a musical person, I gotta say, I get filled with that nostalgia every time any track from 9 plays. Going back through the game when i'm older now and understanding all these small references, just fills me with so much love. It's a damn shame that...I don't have much positive to say after 9. While 10 is a good game in gameplay, and i do enjoy blitzball, the story, which, to me, is the most important part of an RPG, isn't up to snuff. But, i suppose that's for next time.
I love the themes of 9. It's all about loss, in a way. Zidane tries to help everyone, running from the past he doesn't know. Vivi fights against the fear of a ticking clock and the realization that he's just a machine. Garnet fights with the destruction of city after city, the loss of her mother and so much more. Steiner fights with his faith towards the queen, trying to justify the unjust as to not shake his faith in her. Eiko fights the loneliness she had before the party came, and still feels alone in the party as, when she joins, she is the most perceptive of the bunch. Freya lost LITERALLY EVERYTHING. Amarant lost his good faith and everything else when framed by Zidane, and yet loses to his strong charisma and ends up following him in the end. Quina...Quina is hungry, just wants to lose that empty feeling inside the tum-tum. While one of these things is not like the other, the whole point of the story is...all of these characters, at one point or another...probably considered suicide. But they overcame that despair, and came out on top together, even beating LITERAL DEATH to save the world. Hope and despair.
I feel like I ranted long enough. It was a nice video, Clement, and I'm glad you enjoy the game, even if it isn't your favorite.
Seth Xeider I enjoyed reading this as ff9 is my favorite final fantasy game. I wrote this about ff9 how I would fix just one character tell me what you think. My favorite final fantasy game, it’s a great game the only thing that always gets me is that amaranth story is the weakest. If I were to write his story it would be he would come from a dojo of great fighters but he would be the best he would be arrogant because no one can beat him except the master. The master would try to instill humility in amaranth but to no avail he would later be forced to leave until he finds someone to fight for other than himself. Amaranth would go around looking for a job until he finds one as a guard like the events play out within the game. Towards the end of the game amaranth can return to the dojo and face the master one on one the master would be strong with special moves from the monks from the different final fantasy games ex: 4,5,6,7,8 it would be a tough battle but these is where his should receive his ultimate weapon. Also after the credits roll we see amaranth running his master’s dojo and he also has an impatient student that he tells the same line he says in game about himself about how his past self was a loser. This is how I would fix amaranth.
I'm probably the one person who enjoys chocobo hot & cold itself every time I play the game.
Wow! Final Fantasy 9 looks like an RPG I could really get into. It reminds me of Eternal Sonata and Dragon Quest 8. I would love to play this game one day! ❤💖❤
FF9 is my absolute favorite ff game
Its soooo good
Such a wonderful FF.
I used to play it yearly/biyearly after my first playthrough.
Been a while since I've played it again...
Another great video, will be sad when this series is finally over
Final Fantasy 9 is my absolute favorite. and i really like tetra master. I used a trick to make the system easier for me. I picked one suuuper weak card with as many arrows as possible. and everytime this card was taken over, i can just take it back and every other card it points to
a movie length remembering :O
Nurse Valentine better than any movies I ever watched
The Garnet naming thing always struck me as odd. I like the idea of it; I guess keeping the name after is needed is supposed to reflect her growth as a character into someone new, but the default of ‘Dagger’ makes it way too silly to keep using as a moniker.
You're right on target, Lipm. I think the way they executed it was poor and it made a lot of players confused. And the name was not appropriate for the set up they already had.
I think it could have actually worked out had they plotted out the character's change of wardrobe and hair style for the game.
In the beginning of the game: as Princess Garnet, give the character a more formal royal look. She can have her bright orange look here or start her off with something dark like purple and black. Whatever you choose, it has to vastly contrast what she ends up wearing in-game.
Then change her to a more casual and fan appealing design. This is the one she'll be on the cover as.
Add a few extra quirks like a necklace or bracelet that look hand made and take away legit jewelry she had. Give her a weapon that looks cool. And voila.
Personally, since she's a white mage, I would have given her a cool cloak, tied her hair up in a more battle ready bun, maybe give her a white bandana. Give her a cool staff or cleric mace and finish it off with a decent cleric sounding name.
If she were a thief joining an underbelly thieves guild _then_ maybe I would have went with "Dagger." It sounds like the kind of name a naive upperclass princess would come up with last minute when confronted by a more ruthless street urchin.
At any rate, I think too hard about stuff like this because I'm a fantasy novelist and am working on my own universe. This is a fun exercise and one that I appreciate you kicked off in my head.
Have a great day my friend. 🙏
I dont know… it seems to fit her. Its like a little nickname or codename!
12 hour speedrun of this dialogue heavy game for the super weapon is crazy. But what's even crazier is that people have done it
Blank being petrified in evil forest was terrifying when I first saw it. That was before I got into the series.
Holy frick, you released this the day of my birthday?
So far, greatest birthday gift ever! And it's of my favorite final fantasy too!
Happy Birthday
In the German version Garnet named herself Lili (because Zidane told her it‘s a Liliendolch/Lily Dagger). I grew up with her as Lili, so I was pretty shocked that she just named herself „Dagger“, when I grew up and look into other translations.
I spent all day watching your videos about FF
IX was a brief return to the glory for the series... VII and VIII just don't hold up, graphics-driven games never do. But IX is still a masterpiece.
It's hard to trust the opinion of someone who claims FFVII and VIII are just graphics driven games. There's real substance behind the spectacle in both games, and it's kind of sad that you would see them as just that. I think a playthrough of both games is in order the near future :^)
And yes, IX is an absolute masterpiece, one of the finest games ever made, but so are VIII and especially VII.
Not Alone is probably my favourite video game anthem of all time.
I remember when these were 30 minutes.
I'm so glad this was uploaded right after I got off work. I'll gladly miss an hour of sleep for this.
This isn't my absolute favorite final fantasy game. But I will say, never in my life have I played a game that felt more true to itself than this one. This feels like the most final fantasy game ever
9 got a release on PS4 before 8 because they were working on a remaster of 8 and wanted to release that.
I call her Garnet as well, for basically same reasons. Also only ever managed to get to 111 on the jump rope mini game. Steam version FF9 you can use super speed on Hot'n'Cold which makes it easier it doesnt' affect the timer but you go super speed.
Congratulations on completing your FFVIIII look back! Was definitely worth the wait! 😄
In fact everything about this series of videos is worth the wait. Never feel bad about taking too long with these, we’ll always be waiting. 😉
Also, Pepsi is Coke Waifu AND Husbando. Coca Cola’s for the weak, WEAK I say! 😜🥤
Kept us waiting huh? Jk. I know these take time and worth the wait. I really love FF9 as much as 4 and 6 as all those are my favorite final Fantasy games ever.
Gotta admit, this series actually is what convenced me to get all the Switch HD ports of these games again, and I'm glad I did. I forgot just how good some of these games are. Now if only Square would give us 1-6 on the switch somehow....
And Tactics.
Same here.