Final Fantasy IX - Black Mage Village | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@JessesAuditorium]

I'm not reading comments on FFIX videos until I'm done with the game!

[@grieveromega6060]

100 of 100 subscribers were impressed. Jesse were impressed too.

[@jakphannak817]

Oh yeah, Black Mage Village also known as Existential Crisis Village.

[@DownUFO]

That’s an interesting point you brought up about how much electronic and synthy sounds are present, in contrast to the magical setting. I like to think of it as a modern (for its time) adaptation of the “bleeps and bloops” of old chiptune game music, since this game was made as kind of a love letter to the series’ origins.

[@Harpsibored]

I think it's because even though the black mages are "magic," they are also a representation of advanced technology, which is why these funny synthy sounds make sense. Manufacturing black mages was something completely out of this world for Gaia, only possible with extremely sophisticated Terran technology. They're kind of like robots who became sentient, but unlike robots have the added tragedy of being organic creatures that have....a lifespan....😢

[@HappyBell92]

I believe the "Voice" part of the song is a instrument called Cuica which is a strange Brazilian friction drum

[@zelos666]

You're right. And it's actually a part of the standard general MIDI drum set - specifically notes 78 and 79.

[@Null_Experis]

@@zelos666 also known as "we thought that was the Pan Pipes and Sax patch"

[@pirraiyasennin457]

Yeah, you're partally right! It's called "Cuica"; it's like a drum with some kind of cord that you move or stretch trough the sound membrane and make that voice-like sound. Why I said "Partially"!? Well, bc the Cuica is an African instrument that Brazil takes as heritage sound. It's very good and interesting.

[@Orih9]

I used to have one. My family is partially from Brazil, and it's often described as sounding like a laughing monkey.

[@kinjiru731]

FF9 has a good soundtrack. I especially love "You Are Not Alone!"

[@JetBalrog]

It's good on its own but the scene it's from, replaying it gives me literal chills, man

[@crunchyfrog917]

I feel like that's one best experienced first in-game 😅

[@JetBalrog]

@@crunchyfrog917 absolutely!

[@zecendia]

@@crunchyfrog917 from think hes vaguely said on stream and the way people people vaguely replied on stream,i think hes heard it already and its just still stuck in patreon jail.

[@crunchyfrog917]

@@zecendia interesting. Ff9 is my favourite game, but whilst I would recommend anyone go in blind (even for music) Jesse's still gotta do his job. We'll just wait :)

[@garmdolf3413]

A part of this theme is quite similar to Conquest To Paradise - Vangelis. Specifically 1:53

[@Stormfall7]

This song is🔥 I don't know anyone who's played the game and doesn't like it. Since you brought it up Jesse, I hope you don't mind if I mention: Black Mages are actually a reoccurring staple for the series, though they don't show up in every game. The role they fill in gameplay certainly does in some fashion though through your typical elemental Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder spells, etc. They're basically the typical "wizard" or "sorcerer" of FF that use your usual offensive magic, though I realize that's probably obvious. And you are correct in that this is where the band The Black Mages, gets it's name from.

[@pirraiyasennin457]

Great! That "Some kind of voice" instrument is called "Cuica", a drum-like instrument from Africa and adopted by a lot of South American countries. This cuica have a cord you move or stretch trough a drum-like membrane and make that sound; it sounds distinct accord with the power and speed you pull the cord and it can sound even like dog's bark when you pull it strong and fast! Hahahaha!

[@DefenderX]

Taken from wiki: "In discussions with director Hiroyuki Ito, Uematsu was told "It'd be fine if you compose tracks for the eight characters, an exciting battle track, a gloomy, danger-evoking piece, and around ten tracks or so." However, Uematsu spent an estimated year composing and producing "around 160" pieces for Final Fantasy IX, with 140 appearing in the game." The tracks were so good but they would need 6 CDs to fit 160 tracks, so they were able to reduce to 140 on 4 CDs..

[@finestcustard5647]

Dang that’s insane. Woulda been cool if we got a release of the cut tracks as an album or something

[@Amitlu]

There was a soundtrack Plus release, mostly the missing cutscene tracks but it also had some unused music in there.

[@catblackburn7486]

Of all the tracks in FF9 catalog I was waiting to hear you react to, this one was at the top of my list. A personal favorite track from a personal favorite game in the franchise. You're absolutely right to feel the "zany" and magical influence on this game's soundtrack, as it really hearkens back to the old classic JRPG roots. The midi and synth instruments feel very much like a callback to Square and Enix's SNES era classics (Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire, Secret of Mana, etc). You've gotten into the perfect headspace to approach FF9, so now I'm very excited to dig into the VODs and hopefully catch you live one day for the rest!

[@immortalweapon]

I like imagining a Black Mage wandering through the forest and more join him as instruments come in.

[@pimentx3253]

It's weird because when you actually play the game, everything blends together thematically and it doesn't sound like they are different genres.

[@Arksimon2k]

This is such a wholesome track. Quite a popular one as well, just from the sound. I like how you picked up on the melody, I'm interested to see if you pick up on it again in your playthrough!

[@JudgeMazza]

This is not wholesome.

[@Arksimon2k]

@@JudgeMazza How so? The first time you hear this there's no sense of dread at all.

[@ZephyrFate]

@@JudgeMazza It is. The track is obviously light-hearted and bouncy, to match the vibe of the village when you visit it.

[@85bbenjaminfan]

Just to fill you in, the Black Mage Village theme is a retooling of Vivi's theme, who is the black mage character you get to play in the game. That melody towards the end actually is Vivi's theme, and as you play the game, you'll see how it all ties in. The only hint I'll give you is it all ties in to the story in a major way. Hopefully once you finish the game, you'll come back and read my comment and everything will make sense. This is one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack, along with You're Not Alone, Terra, Mystery Sword, Lindblum Castle, and many others. This game's soundtrack just hits hard, especially once you've played the game and understand where these songs fit into the game's events

[@ZAzhar101]

the weirdness and experimental work in this absolutely sick, OCR version is even more sick

[@efholtz]

1:49 it looks like a sound of a Brazilian instrument called Cuica.

[@alexandrert948]

I'm a brazier and I didn't know that the cuíca was a Brazilian instrument, hehehe

[@Malacite]

Trippiest town theme in the franchise, love it. Though the title is slightly spoilery once you get a little into the game. *EDIT: I know you won't read this until after you've played it but that is entirely deliberate that the tracks sound like they are from separate games because 9 is a tribute to the franchise and Nobuo kept that in mind when composing 9. Like I said before, 9 is the favorite of a large section of the fanbase for good reason.

[@mechamaya]

"Black Mage" is a class of spell caster in many final fantasy games. So The Black Mages is named after that. It's not necessarily evil magic, just more destructive than white magic which is healing.

[@nicholascunningham4439]

You hit on it a bit. 9 is the last one that Sagaguchi made. He wanted a return to high fantasy after 2 games of sci-fi influence.

[@JudgeMazza]

No such thing as high fantasy.

[@mikkaelmansbridge5154]

@@JudgeMazza It's been a thing for a long time.

[@applegeepedigree]

All the final fantasy games are high fantasy, but just means a completely made up world, while low fantasy is a book that uses our setting on Earth as a backdrop, like the Percy Jackson series. There's even a genre of fantasy in between high and low called a "gateway fantasy" were the character moves from our world into a high fantasy world. Harry Potter, Alice in wonderland, and Narnia for all examples of this. Similar to Secondary World fantasy.

[@budakbaongsiah]

No, the last FF with Sakaguchi's name in it was X-2 in 2003. Even the first expansion of FFXI had Sakaguchi's name on it (it was released in 2003 before X-2). If you want to be extreme, Sakaguchi's last FF was FFV.

[@FrenzVorstellen]

Vivi's trademark existentialist line "How do you prove that you exist...? Maybe we don't exist..." is slightly different in the original Japanese version, with "If you can't show proof that you're living/alive, it might as well be the same thing as being dead.*(生きてるってこと、証明できなければ 死んでしまっているのと同じなのかなぁ...)" Vivi always my favourite character from FF9, from his gullible, fear of his own existence to becoming more confidence, brave and finding resolve to use his power to protect his new friends.

[@Laezar1]

interesting I never knew that I played the game in french and it's closer to the japanese "vivre c'est prouver qu'on vit?" => "Is living proving that we're alive?"

[@patricklatham3897]

This song always gives me Donkey Kong Country vibes.

[@alexandrert948]

true

[@Harpsibored]

Oh look, it's the sound of me going broke on Disc 4

[@ZombryaTheDark]

FF9 is elite. I think its the best FF. I love 7, 8 is my personal favorite. 10 is amazing also

[@Stephen-Fox]

...How did I not spot that this shares a melody with Vivi's Theme ~ Alaxandria Theme when I was playing this originally? (Not a criticism, of course you make this theme share Vivi's theme's melody. For reasons you will find out.)

[@psycosulu]

And both are based on the Mysidia theme from FFIV.

[@noitora524]

FFIX is my favorite from the franchise

[@ShirokamiHichino]

this and "you're not alone" are my fav from ff9

[@zakimira69]

i cant listen to youre not alone without crying anymore XD such a insane segment lol

[@ShirokamiHichino]

@@zakimira69 ikr, the orchestral version of it makes me sob 100%

[@AT7outof10]

The irony that Jesse's first two Final Fantasies were the big departure from the original feel of the series, barely any of the staples, Moogles, Knights, Crystals, and yes, the iconic Black Mages. Nowadays FF really has dropped these things for good it seems, for the sake of some kind of "Realism" but I really HOPE Black Mages get to return in FF16, which is the first medieval setting for the mainline franchise SINCE FF9.

[@jelyse14]

I know he's only played 7 and 8, but I still find it crazy how someone playing a FF game doesn't know the classic black and white mages. He's definitely coming at it from a different angle.

[@xSHIELDBREAKERx82]

If you like this my reccomendation comes in two. First is Mount Gulug from FFIX and Festival of the Hunt from FFIX or Hunter's Chance by the Black Mages.

[@_Five_Knights_]

Black Mage Village reminds me of- AH WHAT WAS IT, The Goron theme from Ocarina of Time with those weird voice notes in it lmao

[@budakbaongsiah]

If this sounded weird to you already, I can't wait to see you listen to Gargan Roo's theme for the first time.

[@kelathos]

This one reminds me of Mannheim Steamroller.

[@Kitth3n]

Haha Ive always thought of this song as an intentionally cheesy early synth song

[@peggieschafer485]

My mom tortured the family with unending Mannheim Steamroller for years. Now, whenever I get a chance, I torture her with unending Distant Worlds, co-headed by a member of Mannheim. Revenge is sweet 🙂

[@saikanzen1762]

I love listening to your reactions and what you're noticing about the game based on just the few tracks you've listened to. I know it's already been said but FF9 is a return to the traditional FF and has a lot of tributes to the whole series; the only one that outdoes it is FF14.

[@aleksanderbaraniak6208]

Really enjoy your content and reactions. Should you get a chance try to treat yourself to live performance of Distant Worlds Tour

[@Noxerium]

No electric guitar so he hasn't listened to You're not alone yet.

[@thend4427]

Too bad u didn't hear this in game first but awesome song

[@ZeredHeizien]

Someone should really tell him, even if it is a minor spoiler, about the card tournament later in the game. I can seriously see that as being a potential playthrough ender. I dunno if he should look up at least basic information about how the card game works, or find someone he can trust and send his save file to them to do it for him, or whatever. If he does get to it completely blind I do see it as a playthrough ender especially since the game itself does a poor job explaining how it works.

[@kura2ninja944]

Eh, if the 12 yo me can finish the game without a walkthrough, I'm pretty sure he can handle it.

[@thend4427]

Last stream he said he's gonna try it out...but during his playthrough he will get cards from monsters

[@ZeredHeizien]

@@kura2ninja944 The thing is he specifically stated he doesn't like mini games when at the gold saucer in FF7. In fact, if I remember correctly, he said the gold saucer segment was the worst part of FF7. Tetra Master is significantly more difficult than Triple Triad, and he completely skipped Triple Triad. Being forced to do the Tetra Master tournament, especially the fact that you have to win the first two matches, could potentially make him drop the game if it pisses him off. I just don't want to see him drop the game because of a random mini game that's oddly forced on the player.

[@kura2ninja944]

@@ZeredHeizien that's fair. But I don't remember those matches were hard or anything. He should be fine.

[@Arksimon2k]

It's not that deep, he'll be fine.

[@dianahohimer1107]

I always liked the music, in ff9, but the game? My least favorite of the franchise