Final Fantasy 9 - For Better or Worse - VZedshows

Final Fantasy 9 is often held up as the pinnacle of the Final Fantasy series. Often cited as some of Squaresoft's best work, you'd be hard pressed to find anybody who actively DISLIKES this game, and just about everyone admits that they love this game to one degree or another. I played it long ago, and to be honest, i'm not sure if i walked away from it with a solid opinion, so on this installment of For Better or Worse, i try to get down to the details to find out what makes this game so special.
All music selections taken from the Final Fantasy 9 original soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu
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[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

You did one of my favorite games justice.

[@VZed]

Will admit, i was nervous about this one leading up to release. I'm glad people seem to be liking it.

[@richmahogany1710]

Two bits of info the music of FF9: 1) It had by FAR more tracks than any other Uematsu work 2) Uematsu has gone on record saying it was his best work So he definitely wasn't "saving his best" for FF10. Especially considering he only partially contributed to FF10's soundtrack. Personally I can't pick a favorite between 7,8,9 in terms of music, but I would not say 9 was any better/worse than the former two. I think it's more a preference of style.

[@VZed]

Over the course the long ass edit this video wound up having, i will say i've softened my stance on the soundtrack, but in the end i think it has more weak points than the games surrounding it (that's an issue of volume then that explains a lot) but the strong points it has should definitely be at the top of Uematsu's resume. As far as FF music goes, 8 is still my favourite. As far as theming and instrumentation i think it's the best constructed OST in the series. It's also just got some unforgettable melodies that get stuck in my head more than almost anything else.

[@Skyehoppers]

You used to talk so much faster haha. Fun retrospective! FF9 really felt like old-school Square at its most confident and refined, something I dont think the ff series has really mastered since. I think the strongest moment in the game for me personally was the destruction of Cleyra. Really set the tone of the rest of the game as a story where terrible things could happen, and it coalesces into some sort of message that Id have to do my own full analysis to fully grasp

[@VZed]

Haha, yeah, the old meta used to be short videos, so I literally was just trying to speak fast so i could get all my thoughts into a video. But then I kept it up when I said screw it and started making longer videos like I wanted. My reading speed was a weird habit to have to try to break in the last few years. Still creeps into my recording these days even. I think a lot of the weight of this game gets overshadowed by the whimsical tone people put onto this game, and the kind of out of nowhere ending run it goes on. FF9 is a really heavy story that covers a lot of ground. Love this game.

[@gregsorrell668]

That PS4-release clairvoyance. Great video, my man!

[@VZed]

lol, it came to me in a dream! Thanks for the kinds words. More coming, i promise!!!

[@TheCompletionist]

I think of the greatest things about this video is you kept spoilers to an absolute minimum and I appreciate the attention to detail that you went into when it comes to singing this games praises while still keeping it a mystery to those people that want to play it. This game is usually number 1 or number 2 when it comes to people's favorite final fantasy game of all time. I haven't even played it yet despite getting immense pressure to do so. I just need the free time to get into a game like this. I know enough about the game to know its good, but I don't know major plot points or character arcs which is goof as well. Despite not playing the game, I am pretty familiar with the final fantasy 9 soundtrack since I played theatrhythm quite a lot and to be honest I'm not really fond of the soundtrack minus a few tracks. Still you did an amazing job with this video and out of curiosity since you love castles - what is your favorite castle design in the game. I look forward to giving this masterpiece of a game a try.

[@VZed]

Yeah, i tried to keep spoilers to a minimum, i'd say i sort of give away about 40% of what the story has to say, but i tried to make it enticing to people who haven't played the game yet. this is the most likeable RPG i think i've ever played. Accessible and memorable. As for the castle question, i really like Castle Alexandria for reasons... i won't go into until you play the game.

[@AwfulPossum]

Alec, ALEC MY DUDE. You knocked it out of the park.This was SOOO worth the wait! I'm super excited for what's to come with the channel my dude!

[@VZed]

holy shit, me too. Mostly just cause i'm curious to see if i can pull any interesting off anymore. I'm glad you liked the vid :D

[@Clbull118]

Final Fantasy 9's soundtrack was awesome. Vamo Alla Flamenco is by far one of the best tracks produced for any FF game.

[@FandeREvil]

This is a great video! Keep up the good work!

[@occamsbeatinstick.3076]

Damn it's good to see you back!

[@WritingOnGames]

This was really great man. Made me want to finally get around to playing the game.

[@VZed]

Thanks so much for watching! This is honestly the most likeable game i've ever played (assuming you like JRPG's). I can certainly recommend. It totally holds up.

[@josealejandroserranomurcia8900]

Chrono cross is my favorite game of all times!!!!!!!

[@LucasWolfGanondorf]

The first time I played this game, around 2011 or so, I thought it was cool, but not amazing. After replaying it about a year ago though, I like it a lot more, so much that it's my FF now. I'm not sure what clicked this time, but everything was really nice. The characters, the music, the atmosphere, the pre-rendered art, it was all excellent. My biggest issue with this game is that the battles just go so slowly. I guess the short version is that I agree with most of what you said. Great video, man, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you have in store next.

[@VZed]

lol, yeah me too. Been focused on this vid for so long i gotta reset the brain and start something big again. Thanks for watching, i'm super glad i revisited it, cause this one "clicked" for me in a big way this time around.

[@TheBeird]

Goddamn, I missed a lot of content in this game! Been nearly fifteen or so yrs since I played FF9. Might have the motivation to go back

[@VZed]

I mean, it's not as much as Final Fantasy 12, but god damn this game is immense.

[@BratKat]

Tetra Master suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. This video was great dude! Really made me think twice about the character development. Happy I stumbled upon it!

[@VZed]

Well thanks much! i've got big irresponsible plans to try and cover most if not all of the Final Fantasy series this way, so here's hoping i don't go all Howard Hughes trying to do so.

[@rerunx5]

Very well done video. Great work

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

Man, I am way behind in Final Fantasy, but I'm glad to watch this video. Now I'll know what to expect in this game once I play this game.

[@VZed]

And i've only spoiled about the 40% of the story in the vid. I definitely recommend this one if you haven't played it already. Definitely the most likeable of the FF games.

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

Truth be told, I've only played like a few hours of it nearly 15 years ago, and that's it. But I look forward to playing this, and all the other FF games, except 13.

[@HeyFella]

There’s absolutely no better way to play this masterpiece than with the speed up feature for battles and Chocobo Hot & Cold with the PS4/PC versions. Also 9 and 6 are my favorites in the series as well as both having my favorite soundtracks in the series.

[@Zezlemetkun]

Thought for sure you bring up how out of left field the field the final boss comes out of it might as well different stadium

[@VZed]

Yeah, bringing up the final boss would've been a bit more spoilery then i was aiming for, but i definitely agree. the ending elements of the game are a little all over the place. I might do an addendum video to quickly chat about things i left out of this video.

[@Zezlemetkun]

True

[@skuarf]

There is an explanation about why Necron/Darkness of Eternity is and shows up. They done fucked it up big time when the crystal is destroyed and Death itself manifests to kill everything and everyone. The big problem is there is no mention nor build up to it or him in the game. Even in hindsight when you understand the symbolism of the battle: willing to live vs giving up on life, the intention is mostly lost due to lack of investment.

[@trautsj]

FF9 was and I guess at this point given how the franchise has turned into an action rpg that I don't really dig, always will be my favorite FF game. Also A place to call home is only 2nd to; To Zanarkand as my all time fav FF music piece :D

[@SnoopingTurtle]

Fantastic video dude, really need to go back and replay ff9 at some point, despite having no nostalgia towards it ff9 still managed to become one of my favorite titles in the series. Shits gooooooooood. Cant wait to see what you do next :)

[@VZed]

The last hours of the game really do kind of go off the rails somewhat, but the actual ending of the game is the best way to finish such an emotional story.

[@adesignersperspective]

also, always good to see new videos from you 👍 for some crazy reason i've never played any FF games after FF8. i should probably change that one of these days. also i like that that evil hand guy at the end watching you has an old school tube tv.

[@VZed]

I love the whole Final Fantasy series with it's ups and downs, but i must say, FF9 is a huge up as far the whole series goes. and... what evil hand guy? what are you talking about? i don't remembe an evil hand guy?

[@TheRedGuy]

Hey nice video, I'm not a fan of RPGs in general so I can't really add anything to this though.

[@deralmighty8011]

I think the Black Mage army perfectly sums up my opinion on your lack of appreciation for this game's soundtrack: "KILL!"

[@VZed]

Well, i've come around on it a lot since posting this video. Keep thinking I should do some more stuff on Final Fantasy and maybe that's a good place to start.

[@Katzumix3]

Is there any chance you could review Conker’s Bad Fur Day?

[@llazy7781]

its not the last jrpg world map tales games that came out after this had world maps look at tales of Symphonia

[@SkipToGame]

I knew next to nothing about FF9 before watching this, and now I feel like this is a game I could really enjoy, for the story at least. Great work, man! Also, that ending tho!

[@VZed]

well i'm very happy to say that all things considered i only spoiled about 40% of the game in this vid (intentionally, i will say) so there's still a whole lot you can get out of this game! I recommend it! also, what do you mean? what ending? i don't know... what?

[@Chelaxim]

Chrono Cross sigh you tried :(

[@adesignersperspective]

first?