Can you beat Final Fantasy IX with only Garnet?

[@tantacles]

I really had to use my noodle for this one.

[@ricosanchez5155]

That mischievous smile TantaSeas has will live in my heart rent free forever now. Such a good noodle that one :)

[@PlatinumAzure]

As they say at my local pub trivia: Use your noodle, not your Google

[@AaronW0885]

Saw the title and was thinking this is person must hate themselves to attempt this challenge lol

[@CmotDribbler]

Sounds like your boyfriend used the noodles not you.

[@popejoeii]

Thank you for taking the couch for the sake of the noodle gag. 😂 The disclaimer was great too.

[@SamsarasArt]

I think the idea of Zidane and co abducting Garnet only for them to die with she completing her abduction solo is funny.

[@DutchDread]

@@SamsarasArt "fine, I'll do it myself"

[@FloofboyeVOD]

Actually the whole reason why Brahne died is cause she made the lethal mistake of summoning Bahamut while she was on a boat. Made it hard to escape. Don't buy boats, kids. It might get your adoptive power-hungry mother killed.

[@tantacles]

YES! NO BOATS EVER!

[@TheArtInterviews]

Not her real mother, though. (So it's ok)

[@SkeletonSSBM]

Imagine being the incarnation of death itself, summoned in order to reduce the world to nothing, and then you get taken down by a traumatized 16 year old girl. Damn.

[@Epistolary8]

She may have been brave, but Garnet’s decision to try and reason with her unreasonable mother results in her Eidolons being stolen, which in turn results in the genocide of two civilizations and tens of thousands of deaths. No wonder she has a guilt complex.

[@gulusgammamon]

Okay real talk, the haircut CAN be a healing experience If you're having a really bad time, sometimes if you have long hair, cutting it can feel like a legit mood changer, even if you don't fix everything, because it shows you're making a step to change

[@lissalemonscrafts]

Yes!!! In Japan they have a habit of cutting hair as a huge symbol of change. I think it comes from the Edo era samurai. I’m not sure what the actual symbol is but people will like gasp!!! 😂 I’m thinking Sakura in Naruto and of course Garnet here. Epic moments they are ready for change and growth!

[@gulusgammamon]

​@@lissalemonscraftsyeah! I knew that funnily but it's also just so funny now having gone through my own rough period and suddenly haircut raised my mood!

[@SamsarasArt]

@@gulusgammamon yeah it can be symbolic of starting a new chapter in life

[@pikaporeon]

it also made her look way better

[@MrMizzow]

Hey everyone! First of all just want to say banger video. Editing team do an amazing job and I'm glad to see them getting a shout out. I was sent these challenge videos from a few friends asking if I was involved [I'm not] due to my background is Final Fantasy IX speedrunning, and more importantly, challenge runs. For context, I've created resources for FFIX challenge runs, including the "Solo Character Challenge" series, specifically that can be used to speedrun these challenges, or be picked up by anyone and followed to complete a playthrough. It genuinely brings me joy to see some points and strategies in these videos that originated from said resources [for example, the Phoenix Down/Life revive trick on Lich] along with some other key points that are specifically called out with "my chat told me". That overlap in communities, filled with people who want to help each other always brings me back to why I created these in the first place and makes me incredibly happy that I'm involved with such an amazing game and its fans. Looking forward to seeing more challenges! Please feel free to reach out to me if you and/or your community would like any assistance on FFIX challenge runs [more than just Solo Characters as well] as most of my notes are available, easy to follow and now that I know your channel is out there, looking forward to seeing any future playthroughs live! Small tip for Lich, Auto-Reflect protects you from Death and Stop [saving you the 4 magic stones on Locomotion] and you know how to deal with the Doom status now! Have a great day everyone! Mizzow out!

[@tantacles]

Thanks! Awesome to have a true professional looking out for me

[@LunalovaniaGaming]

What a frustrating challenge! The whole "Dagger can't concentrate" mechanic makes this challenge so much harder than it is imo. Thanks for the upload Tant! 💋✌️✨️

[@Lockirby2]

13:15: No, this boss just isn't designed very well. This happens whenever you use a regular physical attack on it, and it's intentional. Any character has a free win with just the Attack command here as long as you don't spam attacks.

[@timemonkey]

Can you imagine how much worse this run would have been if there weren't ghosts available in that first town? Great run! I always wondered if the game would really let her use her summons early on if you grinded enough to have the mp.

[@djarnelllim7299]

The edits, the pace and visuals have greatly been improved! Coupled by your always upper tier narration has made this channel so good!

[@tantacles]

Thank you!

[@nathanastle9322]

This is a GREAT video… love the breaking down of Sarahs character development.

[@Yasnaru1]

Start the video, 16 seconds in, noodles on your head, you know the video is gonna be amazing

[@SoManyHaystacks]

The Steven Universe names do my heart so well. It really helps that im working on a rewatch with a few friendos.

[@ricosanchez5155]

17:33 i loved this moment, finally the return of TantaSeas!!! FF9 is the only place for boats, even the airships look like boats.

[@TheSpiritualRiffologist]

how can this comment be 2 days old if the video was released 20 hours ago? (at the time of this comment) are you from the future? XD (Never mind i just saw the members first thing lol)

[@ledpryr]

7:00 was fully expecting you to call her Sarah since that is her real name.

[@gulusgammamon]

I was literally watching streams and I appreciate this challenge since she's one of my favorite and just in time with DT's earliest weeks too

[@mikeu9420]

Side note: I absolutely ADORE all the FFMQ music used in your videos

[@katyadade1041]

Is this a social consensus that everyone is renaming Dagger back to Garnet?

[@tantacles]

I don’t know… I named her Ronaldo. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@katyadade1041]

@@tantacles Yes, but you called her Garnet

[@Vivi0rnitier]

I always name her Sarah...mostly because of what the Eidolon Wall says...

[@frodofranz]

I was angry the first time I played since dagger was her name forever. Like she's just trying to not stand out. After the queen was dead she can go back to Garnet. But nope

[@Incidion]

In fairness, they never BOUGHT a boat - they built that thing from scratch. It was a good time to build a raft with a sail.

[@tantacles]

Truth

[@Bevtone]

Damn, I find this game to be painful playing normally so this is nuts

[@gui060804]

I was expecting more challenge from Garnet's command failed but seems like you still got through easily enough. As always, an amazing video! 😄

[@Alleroc]

I do have CPR training, but the rest of that section is valid.

[@kevinwilliams8042]

@@Alleroc came here to say this exact thing 😅

[@erikofskullisland3987]

TAKE THAT, WORM! I neglect her power so much when playing this game, but it really is as good as the game builds it up to be. Nice to see it shown full-off. And that trick of using a phoenix down on yourself at the perfect moment on Countdown, blows my mind, never knew that. Amazin'.

[@Furiaerose]

When first in Treno, and in controlbof Garnet, I found out she could summon Shiva with enough grinding. 10 year old me was so proud when i managed to do it but i couldnt do it again. I cant imagine the pain of playing just her!

[@TheJillers]

Was not expecting music from Lagoon! Im a newer follower and ive been enjoying these challenges and i think this is my favorite sonfar because of your breakdown of Garnet's character.

[@tantacles]

Thank you!

[@ihatethisgame6827]

And I heard the music from guilty gear!

[@glennrugar9248]

I always look forward to these challenges. You really make it entertaining

[@darakien2381]

You are amazing at what you do. I really enjoy your videos, you are very funny! ❤

[@tantacles]

Thank you so much! And thank you for the super chat!

[@Stryder467]

AND STEVEN! God, I love that show. Do plastic model boats count? I paint models, and some of those happen to be boats. Floating on dirigible units. With guns. That sounds cool enough to not be a boat, right? Have I bought a boat? Nice work. :D

[@KingNothing191]

You had me at The Hill Giggler xD

[@rpproductions6241]

Woot!! You used the timed Phoenix Down trick to avoid Doom I recommended!! 🥳

[@hamscoffer]

Enjoyed your thoughts on Garnets character/story

[@ramblingrasmus4420]

I was surprised you didn't get Ark for her, but clearly you didn't need it xD Great work as always!

[@apollolux]

Tantacles: (In this one instance) I'm glad they bought a boat. Zidantacles: Bring my beloved Don'tBuyABoat to me!

[@tommyjakobsen1686]

I'm so impressed every time I see you do one of those challenges runs. 👍

[@Yeaster]

The "WOW!" when Garnet did 800+ damage to that one enemy took me out 😂 But yes , Garnet is my favorite white mage in the series after Aerith

[@Murasaki_137]

8:15 Not only is she about to stand against a powerful army but against the person who swore to protect her. Beatrix is one of the strongest people in the world and yet Garnet shows so much determination to confront her if need be. You could argue that trying to convince her mother is also kind of naive but that she is willing to try shows that she has so much courage. (Really happy about you defending Garnet as a character, I think she has one of the greatest character arcs in FF history, even though I think gameplay wise she is inferior to Eiko lol. Still, one of my absolute favourite female characters of all time.)

[@rowanmorris2187]

Great vid once again, must've took some patience this one, especially early on.

[@knightky975]

Once again another fantastic video~ The beginning sure is rough

[@EvilXero359]

Once upon a time I used Vincent Valentine to solo Ruby Weapon I wasn't trying to do a rhyme it just happened

[@EvilCronos13]

According to the wiki: The chance of Odin causing Death is equal to: Chance = [ Ore / 2 ] + Level + [ Magic / 4 ] - Target's Level The damage calculation would require pasting a lot of text, so google that if anyone needs more clarification. Either way, editor was right, more ore = more death!

[@soulzzplaysgames]

Finally, someone to challenge Internet Historian in terms of spaghetti gags.

[@zerovolt1406]

Honest to god I adore the noodle bit. It was well worth the sacrifice!

[@retro8754]

what a great editing! Love to see boat guy beeing happy xD

[@craigfunk3453]

Can see the entire segment where 'garnet can't concentrate' giving you issues, but I see a required exception to the usual rules of 'only X character can be alive and attack' for the Black Waltz 2 fight, he doesn't attack her and if only garnet is alive in that fight it is an instant game over

[@tantacles]

Oooooo you’re gonna like that section!

[@derekminna]

My son is in second grade, and we are playing a Final Fantasy together. I let him look at the characters and gameplay of each game (1-10) so he could pick it himself. We are 5 hours into FF9. His favorite show is Steven Universe. The look on his face was priceless when I said, "hey buddy, one of my favorite youtubers is gonna try to beat FF9 with only Garnet... you have got to see what he named his characters!".

[@tantacles]

Your son has great taste in tv shows! 😀😀😀

[@daugbret]

Man I had a bad day and I was hoping for a Tantacles video and there it was.

[@Maxandmisty247]

I love how dramatic she dies just throws her head back lol

[@pullthatwigback5969]

You're so flamboyant and ridiculous and dumb in the absolute best way. Super fun to watch. Don't ever change!

[@tantacles]

THAT’S ME!

[@unusualdepths8213]

I love these so hard. Please never stop.

[@Kami7YT]

Amazing job as always 😁 I hope you didn't hurt your back too badly (the AFK scene was my favorite)😀

[@reloadpsi]

It's possible to have the Tiger Racket by Oeilvert. Eiko or Garnet is absurdly strong there

[@DuckAvenger]

Was just watching the first part and my God grinding till you can summon at Dali is insane. It's hard to do even at Treno!

[@Spikkle]

Every time you release a video you make me wanna play the game your running a challegne i XD

[@alexnboettger]

Spaghetti shots were worth it 😝

[@onernoa]

Oh no wet spaghetti torture. The part where you torture your boyfriend by making him noodle you on camera for 15 minutes!

[@onernoa]

Also chapter titles are fire

[@Kimberliearcher]

Story wise: Yeah, this is the worst time for a sheltered princess to came to term with the reality around her, too bad. Gameplay wise: No, Summoner is too OP of the class, let's just nerf her until disc 4

[@Ewyrick0]

Enjoyed your video!^^ I love Steven Universe and final fantasy ix so this is a nice touch! 🎉

[@Chaos0310]

First off I love your challenge series! Keep up the great work! Not to mention the persona 5 music is the best! Second the boat moment is top 5 moment of all time on this channel. Big fan of long payoffs 🤣🤣🤣 And finally I think I saw this on another channel. The big green danger noodle is forced to use its ATB bar to coil up when attacked. And then will auto-counter while coiled. But when its ATB bar refills it uses it to uncoil. Thus creating a cycle of coiling that makes it very easy to defeat. He’s just a big cuddle noodle at that point. No more danger.

[@tantacles]

I love that big cuddly noodle

[@fluffdafire157]

I could've sworn both snakes that attack the spider crickets were the same snake just evolved somehow

[@DrAngryMongoose]

Don't diss the power of a haircut for curing girls of depression. Like coral, we also spontaneously bleach when stressed.

[@vicopop3143]

Let's get this roast a cooking! (Laughs in Farrah Moan) 🤣😂

[@diiou]

Only Amarant next? Pretty please. He's my favourite FF character! ☺

[@tantacles]

Quina is next, but both their run and amarant’s run are already recorded so it’s just a matter of time.

[@dayphaser]

Here's a comment for the algorithm gods! Love the video!

[@djinsanity3575]

Normally i mess with you about a boat but i see tonberries...and my urge to destroy them rise...

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

21:59 ugh i hate when that happens.. hopefully your back held out for the rest of the challenge, because this one time i did it i wasnt sure which made it feel better: sitting, standing, laying down. Even driving was a nightmare

[@CidZero]

Using Steven Universe names is really clever. I love it. 17:24 excuse me wh0t?? 28:24 ???? 😂

[@ReliousFlareStar]

Primalliquid collaboration when!? I told him not to buy a boat, but he didn't understand!

[@PlatinumAzure]

I find it hilarious that you had to revive an ally for BW2, tying her hands just long enough to get into the menu and ready an ether, then you watch the ally get smacked, then you do it again... Vivi: Oh here we go again-- OW

[@lordofhyphens]

If you are a jump rope master you can actually get the Robe of Lords super early in Alexandria with Vivi's mini game with the kids.

[@Nevict]

@@lordofhyphens Not worth the torture.

[@blueythedragonknight3949]

Alternate Title: "Garnet wins by doing absolutely nothing", It takes a while but she eventually embodies the Luigi way.

[@oogabooga__.]

steven universe and ff9 being mentioned at the same time is a dream come true lol

[@TheArtInterviews]

Agreed with your opinion of Garnet, she's awesome

[@Wajulillo]

I had no idea Odin summon was that strong lol! Tbh always benched Garnet for Eiko cause she is better imo. But when I used Garnet, Atomos and Ark (obviously) were the stronger summons.

[@InsanityReborn]

Alright so.. her real name isn't Garnet. It's actually Sarah. That's.. Eidolon Wall in Madain Sari lore, but more importantly. The green snake thing, Ralvuimago, doesn't coil in response to wind damage, it's specifically physical damage. I'm not sure why it's coiling in response to the Multina racket which should do wind damage, but I think it might be just taking normal attacks as a physical classification. FF9's battle system is... SURPRISINGLY complex. And as an example, at the time of this comment I haven't quite hit a point on when or if it's mentioned, but the gems in the game will increase the damage of eidolons. Depending on the gem. They only need to be in the inventory. This will be the same with Eiko later on. Each gem works with a different summon. This includes Ore for Odin, and the Odin's Sword ability. It's worth looking it up, one of the more abusable things in case you opt to rerun these.. similar to the amount of enemies which happen to be classified as Birds for Bird Killer in the game. (Killer abilities add 50% damage, flat out, per classification equipped.) Which is quite literally everything floating. Hence the meme question "what is your favourite bird in FF9?" Because A LOT of enemies float. Ghosts, ladybugs, Kuja even. My favourite bird happens to be the Zombie Whale.

[@masterseal0418]

I think Garnet/Dagger is immune to trauma throughout FFIX's narrative. Even if her mother decimates countries with the Eidolons she owned, her life was on the line, or suffered in the hands of Kuja and other threats, she evens out and these horrific experiences do little on her mental state. In fact, Garnet/Dagger is the smartest character out of FFIX's entire cast, so if she could fail to save her kingdom, then take multiple vacations and get a haircut.

[@tysonsilvers4903]

I know you lokey did this (also I know ff union does this if you heard of their channel) but have you ever thought about doing a character analysis on ff characters? I really like the way you analyzed dagger

[@tantacles]

Love Union. Daryl makes amazing videos. I have a million ideas and not enough time to make them all sadly.

[@SakuraSamael]

Can confirm: chopping off twenty inches of hair absolutely improves mental health. About to do it again, actually! ......I probably should get therapy. 😆

[@tantacles]

See how the haircut goes first. But also ummmmm not medical advice 😅

[@HoshiiKun]

great video

[@tantacles]

I’ll let him know you rang

[@MyPisceanNature]

Hey! There's no evidence Jane BOUGHT a boat. It's entirely possible (even likely) that she just ... borrowed it when faced with the annihilation of her home! Also, you deserve to sleep on the couch for making me want spaghetti when it will be almost 2 weeks before I can actually make it! 😂

[@tantacles]

Maybe she summoned the boat and it turned into ark?

[@TacostandDj]

You really fried Kuja.

[@tantacles]

He tried 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@SamsarasArt]

@@TacostandDj Kuja is way too easy, especially his first boss fight. I think if that fight was at the Iifa tree at the end of Disc 2 it would have be much more challenging.

[@TacostandDj]

@@SamsarasArt Cool. I only said fried because Garnet is named after one of the Fryman.

[@itsnaku9447]

i didn't have a win for tantaseas on my bingo card

[@cronoluminara6911]

Hilarious as always bro

[@benshums]

Well played!

[@rickywood8805]

Say cool.... Now say whip..... Now say cool whip... Lol

[@SimplyJakeee]

Love these videos

[@Monkeyslinger123]

If you get two more levels for Garnet, making her reach 21, she can then summon Ifrit, which has a 1/15 chance of doing enough damage to kill Black Waltz 2 without needing to revive any other party members.

[@mikeu9420]

We would be amazing baby sitters. We can bounce babies like you do your cat, right? Y'know what you're right. Don't leave babies with us.

[@richterterraborn6546]

You know I've played and beaten ff9 many many times, I've even thought about testing my knowledge and blindfold guiding someone through the game, but I have never once fought tonberries in ipsens castle, they spawn there?!?!?

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

26:31 whoa, how else do you get the Lichs blue magic ability? Because thats where i always learned it

[@Laezar1]

One thing that makes me sad is that even in this challenge the damage formula for the summons don't matter. Like, the fact they're based off of number of gems and all. Why did they do something so obscure? T.T (technically you did mention it with odin I guess) Summons in general are weird, they feel super redundant with black magic, and while FFX summons are really busted they're also so much fun and more interesting. Honestly if I had to do a rework of FF9 I would change dagger's summons to always work like they do in trance, even out of trance and casting another one would just change the summon that keeps coming back. Of course they would deal less damage as a tradeoff, but having a white mage deal passive constant damage makes a lot of sense since she's also helping you stay alive for that damage to matter, and it would also justify the very high mana cost. I would also have eiko's summon work differently, where all of them can activate based on conditions being met like phoenix does and you *can't* cast them normally. It would really differentiate eiko and garnet where garnet would be more focused on damage with a side of healing while eiko is a dedicated healer who doesn't really control her summons and just gets some help from time to time. It fits both characters and differentiate their gameplay both from each other and from vivi. Would also mean having to rework the trance for dagger, but y'know, if I had to rework ff9 the trance system would be the first thing I'd change anyway =p

[@Galaxyhoppah]

The fact that Garnet isn't well, Garnet is criminal

[@Galaxyhoppah]

You missed a good opportunity to say the bandersnatch got banderwhacked

[@Galaxyhoppah]

Garnet is the epitome of turtle strats using her trance summons

[@Galaxyhoppah]

So multigemini got... moist

[@commanderuseless1685]

Ah yes. Garnet Ronaldo Dagger. A classic character.

[@gamingwithumi514]

Hey just a question. Her name is Garnet right but she's called Dagger? I thnik it's to cover up her name right. But does it ever change?

[@slowdown8at606]

Garnet is her real name but she calls herself Dagger after the ice cavern to cover up who she actually is. The plan doesnt really work out but she stays Dagger (or whatever you name her) for the rest of the game anyway.

[@gamingwithumi514]

@@slowdown8at606 Thank you that's good to know.

[@ramirez02727]

@@gamingwithumi514 Later in the game, there is a sidequest in Madain Sari that reveals her real name, as well as her mother's name. Sarah is her real name, but she never got to hear it. When she was rescued from the storm, she grew as Garnet in Alexandria Castle.

[@erikofskullisland3987]

Also, if you got the Namingway card in Kujas room (or earlier in the card tournament by playing against the hippo kid by not having Vivi leave Treno and visit Quan's Dwelling, beginning of disc 3), then you can show a guy at Daguerreo the card and he will change any of your party's names as much as you want.

[@ramirez02727]

@@erikofskullisland3987 I think that the developers could have added a final weapon for Garnet, with the name change card option. Although the Pearl Whisker and Racket found in the Chocobo quest are good, would have been cool to had a white mage rod with racket attack, made with all the Summon Stones, massive Str and MP boost!

[@rpproductions6241]

Watching this video again, I wonder what the game would do if Garnet was immune to sleep in the Black Waltz 2 fight. You'd have to hack it but I wonder if it's a special move particular to Black Waltz 2, or I'd the game ending ia triggered by just rhe action.

[@monstery8372]

Oh GOD! The editor skit!!! 😂

[@tantacles]

He’s fine. He likes it there.

[@PlatinumAzure]

Man, this game is all about boats getting destroyed, isn't it?

[@Spookybluelights]

The one mistake you made: Onion's dad is a fisherman. *HE OWNS A BOAT.*

[@tantacles]

I love sour cream. ❤️❤️❤️

[@monstery8372]

The auto fight was amazing.

[@jonathanjohnston1064]

Sorry you wound up on the couch, but good video