Final Fantasy's Most Evil Side Quest

FF9 may have the hardest side quest of the Final Fantasy series. Steiner's ultimate weapon, Excalibur 2, is incredibly difficult to obtain without a guide, and maybe impossible. The player must reach the end of FF9's final dungeon, Memoria, in under 12 hours in order to receive it.
One of Square Enix’s masterpiece JRPGs for the PS1, Final Fantasy 9 was guided by the genius Hironobu Sakaguchi, while Tetsuya Nomura focused more on Kingdom Hearts. With classic video game music by Nobuo Uematsu, this PS1 game is one of the greatest games ever made.
Featuring footage from FuzzfingerGaming:
• Final Fantasy 9 EXCALI...
#finalfantasy #ff9 #squareenix #jrpg #ps1 #classicgames #restrospective #videogameretro

[@gfkgrgrkm]

and then after this game they made you dodge lightning 200 times in a row to get another ultimate weapon, the developers are psychos

[@michealforguson5317]

I wish it was cumulative rather than in a row.

[@metiscus]

Chocobo racing.

[@madcityy269]

That was pretty easy, but boring.

[@FrogofWarRS]

Don't forget that in the game after that, one of the best weapons in the game is locked in a high level optional area and will disappear if you open any of the excruciatingly specific treasure chests tied to it somehow (in a game that's littered with them)

[@SH-cl7cc]

it wasnt that bad in my memory. just have to completely focus yourself for around 8 minutes. wearing armor that disables random fights is definitely required. its a joke compared to the blitzball giga grind for Wakkas solaris weapon

[@ShaneC1991]

Most evil thing is that it forces you to skip on experiencing such a beautiful game.

[@koro527]

and by the time you get it, you can't really do much with it.

[@JeffPenaify]

it was clearly designed for replaying the game. youre not supposed to obtain it your first playthrough lol

[@alexandremontesinos7876]

@@JeffPenaifyit still forces you to skip having fun with the game

[@franciscotelles-leon3641]

Yeah, it feels like they're basically trolling you. Oh, here's one of the strongest weapons in the game, but you can only get it in the final dumgeon, and forced to fight one of the more difficult bosses, and basically speed through the game, which makes for a dull playthrough. It's not even worth it unless you just want to say you got it, but it's not even worth it since you can easily beat the game without it. It would make more sense if they had a new game plus where you could carry over equipment. ​@koro527

[@alexandremontesinos7876]

@@franciscotelles-leon3641 yes, it was hard for me to believe this game didnt have ng+ when i realised a bunch of stuff was missable including this powerful weapon, same deal with ffx but to a lesser extent.

[@umbranoctis4348]

Really feels like someone at Square Enix is obsessed with putting in items that you'll only find by following a guide.

[@gazza7693]

ive acutally heard this was intentional by the devs to incentivize the players to buy the official strategy guide which would make square enix a little extra profit and it clearly worked lol, pretty genius tbh if its true

[@umbranoctis4348]

@@gazza7693 Considering Zelda TotK's strategy guide dominated the sales charts here, just like BotW's, it's not at all far fetched.

[@flapjackpancake5486]

@@gazza7693thank god everything piece of information about a game is on the internet nowadays.

[@gios4ma]

thats a big reason why we play final fantasy. to torture ourselves on treasure hunts.

[@umbranoctis4348]

@@gios4ma I do like treasure hunts, preferably if you can expect to complete them on your own though.

[@Ghaleon2459]

I have one word that describes what happened to the sword. Gilgamesh.

[@yujiandou4658]

*Muffled battle on the big bridge in the disatance.*

[@bayardkyyako7427]

Which makes you wonder, why does he bring it back to the same spot after two years?

[@crowhaveninc.2103]

@@bayardkyyako7427 Knowing Gilgamesh, he probably got bored. Wanted to see what would happen if someone else picked it up

[@seandonaghy4679]

He knew it would be a fun hit show.

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

THIS AIN'T MY EXCALABUR! THIS IS EXCALAPOOR!!

[@j.a.styles547]

Got it , thank you GameShark.

[@dashopepper-ge1zq]

Gameshark is the way.

[@kupoe]

yep. thank you cheat engine.

[@fgrnb353]

this is the way

[@fwobebe5164]

I got 99 of them, anyone want any??

[@EndSus]

yep xD

[@turtlecantalkgaming128]

the biggest challenge without tricks in FF9 is the goddam jumprope. to this day, I've never obtained the card won from those damn children.

[@BitsuArtcrest]

I did, it took me the entire day. I managed to memorized the timing and correct tempo to tap the button.

[@zeroresistance7203]

i was so happy when i managed 100 jumps just to realized there's one locked behind 1000 jumps.

[@BitsuArtcrest]

@@zeroresistance7203 I didn't know that, but I just checked its actually useless, just a title of king of jump, not even worth

[@plutonias9299]

@@BitsuArtcrest i did the 1000 jumps, at one point ive got the feeling i was just smashing the button, but also my jumps counted 2 or 3 times, so i guess at some point the game gives you more jumps then you actually do

[@BitsuArtcrest]

@@plutonias9299 Is it worth the price?

[@cooltrainerjay8880]

Steiner is so powerful by this point in the game that I never even stressed not getting the Excalibur2 legit lol

[@gnosis_gaming]

Seriously 🤣 it's even more evil because of the fact that he doesn't even need this weapon to be OP

[@joelbell6075]

You don't do it for the power. You do it for the gamer cred.

[@Zafire063]

I always felt the same. Steiner never had an issue hitting for 9999

[@stephhanley3167]

@@Zafire063 Who is even using Steiner when playing this game?

[@makisbizarreadventure4669]

@@stephhanley3167Me

[@Pluveus]

Aww, the note is a message from Enkidu to Gilgamesh, that's nice.

[@user-zy1rv5jr5x]

only just noticing on this day in 2024 that the excalibur ii is a moonlight greatsword

[@shanehudson3995]

More like the moonlight greatsword is an Excalibur II.

[@user-zy1rv5jr5x]

@@shanehudson3995 nah, from's been making moonlight greatswords since 1994

[@mrsgamer9218]

Ahhh my true mentor.... you were by my side all along....

[@kupoe]

@@user-zy1rv5jr5x yepyep. my first moonlight weapon was on armored core 1.

[@DynoSkrimisher]

Now I can picture Steiner throwing moonlight waves while Vivi is questioning "HOW?!"

[@MCocchiola10]

I never saw the point of getting this sword. You would rush through the game with no enjoyment to get one weapon that you would only be able to use for a few fights before the game ended.

[@endymionisrafieldeios7362]

Yeah, I don't think it's worth it. I want to enjoy the story and the exploration aspect.

[@Cerenduil]

yeah its just a anti-RPG enjoyer quest tbh

[@snailthelostcow63]

Well it's definitely not for first time player, so in a way, it's actually a reward for players who knew every nook and cranny of the game

[@diogenes3300]

@@Cerenduillol anti-RPG side quest 😅

[@diogenes3300]

@@snailthelostcow63yeah but it sort of makes the game impossible to 100% without speed running it

[@Zero_Tester]

After all these years,FF9 still amazed me with how beautiful the background was rendered,miss those kind of stuff

[@cartoonhead9222]

It's criminal that they let the original models and scenes just get deleted.

[@Ricardo__Milos]

Yeah, the game was so beautiful! And the musics too! Masterpiece.

[@Davethawave1999]

Ans ff 9 remastered messed it all up.

[@Retax7]

Moguri mod scales them for 4k and they look amazing.

[@ZIGZAG12345]

There's a great vid kicking about YT on that very topic, mourning the loss of pre-rendered backgrounds in modern games.

[@hafurg]

A quick note: about the text you read when finding Excalibur II, it is signed by Enkido. In other games named Enkidu, it is always the companion of Gilgamesh, which in almost every instance of the game is an epic sword wielder and collector, showing up epic swords from the franchise usually. In FF IX Gilgamesh is a character which name you discover when getting a bunch of secrets done (getting all chocographs, defeating ozma, etc) because he is a tier S adventurer and won't tell you his name until you earn his respect in the matter. So it makes sense that his "bro" found a sword for him and is again another wink to the whole franchise with just a little block of text. It is romantic and beautiful while at the same time horribly painful to get the damned thingy.

[@crimsonhunter]

Cries in PAL

[@gnosis_gaming]

🤣

[@WoobertAIO]

iirc you can also reset the game's clock by playing for more than 100 hours, which should spawn the Excalibur 2 again, provided that you didn't enter its room before during that playthrough.

[@wmen48]

The worst part is finishing it like that feels really bad. When you kill the hardest enemy for the best weapon it's ok but what's the point? When you skip most of the game to get it just feels bad.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Yup! That's why I think this side quest is pure evil 🤣 almost sadistic, in fact...

[@NoName-hj6cs]

It actually shows how well developed the game is, if you are familiar with the game you should be able to finish it with zero grinding plus it's true to its thesis on how everything ends... In this case speed runs

[@SamsarasArt]

I consider it more of a trophy for speedrunning the game than an actual weapon. Because you're right, you only can obtain it when almost every boss in the game has already been defeated so there's hardly any use for it.

[@ozylocz4078]

This isn’t something meant for regular players playing for the first time. It’s a challenge run the player accepts, likely after beating the game multiple times. I think this weapon is more than fine and is an awesome challenge/addition to the game. Especially for its time. Normals players don’t miss anything and “veteran” players could at least get another 10 hours out of their favorite game. Getting the sword is the whole point, by then you likely know the game and story well so it doesn’t matter that you skipped stuff.

[@homerman76]

@@NoName-hj6cs Except that nobody likes pointless rewards and being forced to bend over backwards to get something like this. It really just emphasizes the fact that sometimes devs just don't get what makes for an appropriate reward for such things. An actual trophy acknowledging your achievement would feel better than a super powerful weapon that has lost all meaning and value

[@XEndlessSteelX]

I remember reading about Excalibur II in a "Tricks, Codes and Cheats" book as a young teen. I genuinely took it as one of those "Mew under the truck" stories and moved on, only to several years later, learn that it was indeed, real.

[@vevi457]

nearly finishing ff9 in 12 hours is crazyyyy

[@diogenes3300]

for real

[@JohnDoe-td3xx]

Alot easier on the Switch port. If you push pause and enable turbo mode, it's increase the game speed by about x4-5, but it doesn't speed up the game clock. Makes an Excalibur 2 run through super easy. It also makes chocobo hot and cold alot more fun. I I was able to farm out 5k points in about 30min

[@stopasking968]

I'm doing a playthrough right now and I'm at like 10 hours and just hit the end of the first disk. Damn.

[@seguuro]

​@@stopasking968I think we can safely assume this is not an Excalibur II run haha 😜

[@mattgreen7692]

I remember me and my best friend did this. We'd open the lid to the disc tray to skip cutscenes and save time.

[@imnotlikeanyone]

FF9 is my favorite game since the PS1 days and not even once I felt like doing this side quest, I just can't imagine rushing this game like that. And this weapon doesn't even have much value since by this point in the game you can easily make steiner hit 9999 damage every turn

[@leargamma4912]

Wait you can? I struggle with finding out how to manage tetramaster

[@DieKao]

So use a savegame editor or whatever to modify the timer.

[@imnotlikeanyone]

@@leargamma4912 yeah, when steiner is level 50 or 60 he always will hit 9999 damage with shock, and you also can farm levels pretty easy in this game killing grand dragons with a couple of coral rings

[@paddyhopper]

You can use limit glove to kill grand dragons and Garudas on a cliffside on disc 1 and blow up your levels like crazy.

[@magicfrae]

Missing it by a few minutes 💀my heart goes out to you bro

[@JohnDoe-td3xx]

It seems like it's there to help speed runners beat the last bosses. Would be nice to get it, finish the game, and start a 'New Game+' mode where Stiener already has Excalibur 2.

[@diogenes3300]

Interesting theory. A new game plus would make it a lot less ‘evil’ lmao

[@bayardkyyako7427]

​@@diogenes3300which is likely why they did it that way.

[@LeviathanRX]

Then he could just 1 shot Beatrix

[@bayardkyyako7427]

@@LeviathanRX Hell, he already could if you got the blood sword and grind on the soldiers before her.

[@michealforguson5317]

Or a New Game+ where he starts with Excalibur, and when you reach the point where players would normally get Excalibur, it gets upgraded to Excalibur II.

[@Andre-gj6ny]

I remember as a kid just letting the playtime timer hit 99 hours than it resets the playtime and you can fight hades

[@Bask3tChase]

Between this and the 18 hour FFXI boss fight, there was obviously someone at Square that was a spite filled homebody. Not even Yoko Taro would do something as heinous as this challenge.

[@GUNDAMURX73]

I dunno, the fade to black in the final boss of Drakengard 1 definitely exists

[@gnosis_gaming]

🤣

[@alexfpower]

Dudeee, yea 18 hour ffxi boss fight? Imagine the original ffxi pandemonium warden, that one was DAYS long, it was so hard, and long players were taking shifts against it to finally beat it and win loll.

[@llendar]

That's been patched a LOOOONG time ago.

[@erogames3883]

as someone who dabbles in writing, it always makes me happy to see when creators are able to rope themes into the mechanics of their medium. here, ffix's story is largely one of purpose and turning over granted perspective to find value. this questline is an example of this in practice. you, the player, are granted the perspective of "gamer" or "player" so of course the usual course of action is to treat the game as a game and try to achieve everything you possibly can. but as we see throughout the game's story, it is becoming aware of initial framing and stepping outside that that gives purpose. by locking into the "gaming" aspect of the game to obtain excalibur 2, you effectively lose all meaning of playing the game in the first place, necessarily needing to skim through the story and any honest understanding of the creative piece in front of you. also, at the point in the game you can obtain it, steiner is already maxing out, making the weapon itself redundant. you have effectively wasted your time by not taking a step back to realize what you are missing. as another note, if you divide the sword's attack power by the hours you are allotted to obtain the weapon, you get nine. 108 / 12 = 9. FF9

[@gnosis_gaming]

interesting tension between gameplay experience and narrative experience

[@Dizerfullpower]

108 is also the number of vices in Buddhism

[@gaminggoddess85]

I thought it was going to be that undiscovered-for-13-years sidequest where you have to go from the final dungeon back to Lindblum a zillion times for a bunch of short cutscenes.

[@sir.raphimrevelator8644]

Only to get a protect ring😂

[@mariocepeda9420]

That and the jump rope questa were the most diabolic quests ever!!

[@DutchDread]

This has been my favorite game for over 20 years, I've played it dozens of times....and yet I still have never done the excalibur 2 quest, it's on my bucket list.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Everytime I thought of doing it, I always stopped because the game is so good, I just want to sink into it again

[@forevergogo]

When I realized I would have to speed run to get it, I just turned on the gameshark and cheated it into inventory.

[@zephodb]

You do have to remember, about FF9: It was meant to be a 'Genuinely Hard' Final Fantasy game, they felt FF7 and FF8 were 'too easy', so they went back to the older-school difficulty of the game as a whole.

[@joshherrera9034]

They were pretty easy. Especially 8. Probably the easiest in the series

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

Oh i dunno... i thought ff9 was easier than most, in fact it remains the only game ive beaten (as in start to beat final boss) without a guide

[@joshherrera9034]

@adventureoflinkmk2 did you play 8 by chance? People literally beat without leveling because you beat all the bosses by farming spells

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@@joshherrera9034 many times.. however... at times I did use a guide

[@si-level]

Nah they just want old school JRPG but modern experience. IT just the same sht they do even today

[@xerxBreak]

Only learned years later that the clock resets to 0 after 100 hours or so So never needed to do all that rushing to get it in the first place

[@gnosis_gaming]

The overflow glitch happens only after it resets many times over. The internal system will continue keeping track of the time until the number gets too large and causes it to glitch to true 0

[@BrendonLee]

This along with the chocobo balloon minigame in FFX is one of my most hated ultimate weapon quests.

[@michealforguson5317]

Those birds' hitboxes are something else....

[@MoniqueBoulangerMSG]

The god damn thunder plains always get me...

[@hariman7727]

ALL FFX ultimate weapons are stupidly insane to get.

[@ppeeb417]

Just listening to the soundtrack of this was magic, thank you man

[@gnosis_gaming]

My pleasure! Any music connected to Quina is awesome.

[@WingsTM]

What’s the song playing after 5:30? And I agree, great music choices :)

[@ThePageofRage]

No... no... dodging 200 lightning strikes in a row while counting in your head is way worse.

[@coreygarrett9545]

I actually did that one back in the day heh

[@SH-cl7cc]

it wasnt that bad in my memory. just have to completely focus yourself for around 8 minutes. wearing armor that disables random fights is definitly required. its a joke compared to the blitzball giga grind for Wakkas ultimate weapon

[@YoutubeAccountok]

@@SH-cl7cc give the ball to brother, win every time. If you cuck the other teams by never letting them get the ball, they never level up either and it becomes laughable. I don't remember how long it took though, but most of it I remember enjoying pummeling everyone so hard

[@ranmaster27]

No, it's not that bad, because you can restart the count when you fail right away, and get it within 30 minutes. This Excalibur II was made for maniacs or maybe even... Speed Runners. But I digress, having such a sword like that near the end of the game is pointless, because 9999 isn't even that hard to dish out at that point... Unless it somehow broke the 9999 damage limit, then maaybe the rewards in getting it would have sufficed the effort.

[@Kotake10]

After doing both, 1000 jumprope is far, far harder

[@michaelfox8309]

The jump rope challenge is the most difficult trophy to obtain in Final Fantasy 9. It’s the only trophy keeping me from getting platinum for the game

[@henio719]

Killing 10000 monsters for getting bloodlost trophy is hard and time consuming too.

[@Vykerocha]

If you play the pc version just use an auto clicker. 0.5ms and goodluck

[@clarkymark1042]

​@@henio719that's not hard. Just extremely time consuming and tedious.

[@clarkymark1042]

That is the trophy that is keeping me from starting this games plat. I may end up eventually just doing the auto script. Cheating I know but I don't have the patience for jump rope

[@kirinoa]

play the ps1 version. no silly trophies there lol

[@atomaraffe]

0:01 WAIT! This is the Moonlight Sword! …you were all along at my side, my guiding moonlight! 🌕

[@thrillhouse4151]

I’ve never considered getting it cause it would mean rushing through my favorite FF game and missing lots of other things. 2:06, I discovered that FMV skipping trick with opening the disc port as a kid not for speed purposes, but because certain FMVS would get stuck cause the discs had so many scratches on it.

[@Donrickytheonlyone]

Me and my friend were stuck on disc 1 forever because of scratches until one day when i randomly tried opening and taking out the disc and putting it back in when it Got stuck and just like magic it worked and we could finally continue the game

[@theflashgordon193]

I was stuck for more than 1 years on disc 2 because of that. This trick help me finished the game

[@Trixbeat]

​@@theflashgordon193I was stuck in the ending cutscenes but later discovered the trick and finally got to see the ending

[@theflashgordon193]

@@Trixbeat 😯 wow sound so frustrating to not be able to just finished the game

[@Forever18or21]

This should be put in resume as an achievement, for the amount of work and dedication needed to get that.

[@gnosis_gaming]

I’d hide that person ASAP

[@cajunmane7272]

7:02 "Gun-Damn" Lmfao

[@swordcoheir9186]

I made the attempt for it a few times back on the PS1. I remember replaying FF9 a few dozen times in succession and remember getting my play time down to a respectable 20 hours average doing EVERYTHING. When I found out about the Excalibur II I tried it without worrying about missing stuff, and got it with time to spare, but my second run grabbing all the miss-able stuff I do recall missing it by at least an hour maybe hour and a half.

[@adad19856]

I got it in under 9 hours. My tactic was to forge the coral ring on disc 1 and to get a bunch of phoenix dawns and to get to this plateu and fight this dragon thing (i think on early disc 2) that was about dozens of levels higher than my group. after fighting a few of them and jump leveling to level 40 or 50 i rushed to the end and got the sword.

[@diamondmetal3062]

You know it’s gonna be hardcore when the guide sites have ASCII art.

[@GURGLEGUY12345]

Those were the days.

[@silverfox97480]

I remember using my good ol PS Hacker and get every single piece of equipment without any efforts 😂😂

[@KingCollossuss]

One of the funniest things I found about it is that it requires an inordinate amount of effort to obtain the Excalibur II, and you need to sacrifice the unique Hammer for the Tin Armor, to give Steiner the best weapon and armor in the game, but he's the worst character in the game. He's great for attacking, but he can't heal, he can't cure status effects, he can't revive characters, he can't cast protection on the party, he can't recover MP, he doesn't have AOE. He's the worst character that requires the greatest sacrifices to get his best gear.

[@gnosis_gaming]

He does pack a hell of a punch tho lol

[@KingCollossuss]

@@gnosis_gaming He does lol. But the 9,999 cap means so does everyone else, Zidane, Freya and Quina consistently hit quad 9s and from the back row giving them a 50% melee damage reduction and at a much lower MP cost than Shock with a greater MP pool in reserve. His trance allows him to hit 9,999 consistently in melee but compared to Amarant or Eiko's awesome Trances he's essentially missing out an abilities that other characters have. Love the guy and he's the best character in Dali and Treno but then he drops off sharply.

[@VDL]

That's the amazing thing with FF9, the various strategies and preferences can make any character seem the worst to a player. With that logic, Vivi is the worst character for only having black magic but can't heal, throw a punch, cast protection. Steiner is more of an asset to the party than one who can stand alone as he's meant to be a pure Tank. But pair him with Vivi and he's incredibly useful. Probably the mistake was the time spent with other characters leaves his level so low by the time Beatrix is temporarily playable. Without notice, he's left K.O and she can handle things herself. The same mistake applies to Freya after the events of Cleyra, the cast can function without her there and it takes serious effort to raise her stats up, especially when the plot moves on with her most physically present than active.

[@alexandereakins8917]

thoroughly disagree because items are still a thing, but he do be looking like a dud.

[@27Bayleefs]

@@KingCollossuss My Issue with your argument is Steiner can easily hit the 9999 cap, can cover allies with ease, and zidane,freya,and Quina take a lot of prep and I mean A LOT of prep to hit the numbers steiner can naturally. not to mention Steiner with Vivi has access to elemental damage via sword magic so he can Nuke a lot of bosses as well. His cover is extremely useful and his trance, while not as flashy, he's gonna be dishing a lot of damage quick. utility doesn't necessarily make someone better. Hell I'd argue Garnet is the worst. Her summons require ludicrous amounts of gems, her white magic...I mean it just pales compared to Eiko, and theres even a section she can FAIL TO ACT which has a story reason but can screw the player over.Point being. All characters in the game are usuable.

[@HYDRAdude]

If you follow the speed run route it's pretty easy to get the sword within the time limit.

[@homerman76]

But can you easily do so while also getting the other missables in the game, or must you sacrifice completion to do so 🤔

[@LunaP1]

I didn't know it even existed. I was more invested in the story.

[@michealwatts7469]

"It may be the hardest weapon to get in any final fantasy" I will never deny this weapon being VERY difficult to get. I would only counter with Mythic weapons from FFXI..

[@aka.radstatic]

Get Excalibur II in 12 hours or spend 60 hours getting Thievery to 9999 damage?

[@sydney_losstarot]

Definitely Thievery with 9.999 damage per hit, or Frog Drop with Quina or, still, Dragon Crest with Freja....all these Skills deals 9.999 hp if certain conditions are met

[@27Bayleefs]

Honestly I went in blind as I just beat the game for the first time ever a few weeks ago but...Steiner despite having regular exaclibur hit damn near close to max damage with climhazzard. I'd rather just use thievery,frog,drop, and Freja and have 4 characters doing 9999 damage then stress over a sword that don't really mean much.

[@ErnestJay88]

Good thing FFIX PC (Steam) edition, PS4, Xbox One, and Android version have "Fast Forward" and "No Encounter" button, makes casual player easily can obtain Excalibur II. Imagine in the original PS1, you can't skip the cutscene (except FMV by opening - closing PS1 disc tray), some dialogue cannot be skipped by mashing (X) button, even the most experienced player are lucky if they get to Memoria in 11 hours 35 minutes, and you still have fight so many random battles and boss like Maliris, Tiamat, Kraken, and Lich before you enter "Excalibur II Room" Some people literally let their PS1 on for months just simply because they want the timer to reset towards "00:00" before going to Memoria to obtain Excalibur II

[@MrVariant]

Modern hardware does have faster load times as well. I remember it taking about 30 seconds to load a battle on my xbone and it sucked that fast forward made you pause it. Still, seems to be for speedrunners over torture like fft stealing elmdor's genji gear (which war of the lions banned, so I would say disorder in the order theft/nelveska Treasure hunter for escutcheon/javelin 2 while risking common ones on columns that need you to kill/crystallize a tough monster while climbing one of yours). Even inviting monsters under 30% success can be a pain but worthwhile if lucky with a dark behemoth like with luso. Arcane strength helps too, but it's unintuitive as the game won't tell you Speechcraft is buffed by magic and orators have low magic attack, so they usually miss outside maybe group effect sleep on human bosses, mimic darlavon.

[@MusashiDamacy]

There's also just a mod you can find online that you can install in the Memoria Engine that turns off the flag for the clock, so you can just take your time.

[@krisnantoprayogosantoso4033]

This is just a side quest. Imagine if you have to go this process to see the true ending (just like Drakengard 1 and 3)

[@thegoodgeneral]

4:38 I just love that the note is from "Enkido," clearly a reference to Enkidu, the best friend and companion to Gilgamesh in "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The name "Gilgamesh" is used frequently in Final Fantasy games, and even here this Enkido fellow starts his letter off with "To Brother Gil." (Gil being short for Gilgamesh.)

[@diogenes3300]

Don’t feel bad, I also tried and failed 😂

[@Blueknightsoul84]

I remember ff10 having some bs quests for their ultimate weapons. Titus’s Chocobo quest can go to hell. Had a friend talk me into doing it for him back in the day. Haven’t played ff10 since.

[@bassosaurusrex9744]

pretty much where I stopped too

[@kaitlyngarner740]

I've done it twice. The first time took me 8 hours and the 2nd time I got it on the 3rd try. It's a mix of luck and a small amount of skill. You need a good balloon spread that favours the best route to take and also you need a bit of luck in how the birds fly at you and when. I've managed to get sub 0.0 seconds with 2 bird strikes just because I got so many balloons thanks to the favorable spread

[@GURGLEGUY12345]

That one is bugged all to hell, has to be. You can't even control the damn things.

[@jin5558]

lightning dodge is far worse imo

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

There's one I never did by myself, that damn mini game with the butterflies, the others I did fine or at least with some effort or annoyance but I cannot see those butterflies without seeing red due the sheer hatred I have got towards that mini game which obviously makes even harder to actually do the damn thing.

[@PerfectScrewUps]

The frog side quest is so frustrating too! The rope jump is worse. This game has nightmarish shit that not so many know about. The challenges make Souls games look so easy.

[@metastase895]

Keep in mind that stuff like the Excalibur 2 were included in these games because the game companies wanted to double dip players by selling them guides.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

If I had a nickel for every Playstation JRPGs with extra content hidden under a time limit, I would have 2 nickels.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Where's the second nickel coming from?

[@nisbahmumtaz909]

@@gnosis_gaming Koudelka. You're in for a hell of a treat if you go down the rabbit hole, cuz it leads to a sleeper treasure hit in Shadow Hearts 2.

[@diogenes3300]

@@nisbahmumtaz909I’ve wanted to play koudelka for a long time

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

@@nisbahmumtaz909 Three nickels, then, uh? I was thinking of Suikoden II. Clive's Quest.

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@nisbahmumtaz909 I've heard great things about Koudelka

[@tempestwolf067]

Haha Isn't it funny that I'm immediately like: "I need to get an FF9 rom and acquire the Excalibur II!!!" but then I was like: "Wait ... no I don't. I never even finished FF9. Maybe I should do that first"

[@gnosis_gaming]

🤣An Exalibur 2 run is definitely not an ideal way to experience FF9

[@tempestwolf067]

@@gnosis_gaming Buuuut I could be unnecessarily powerful while I impress all the people I never show with My rare and fancy wall mount! I Hear Ya GG. Slow and Gentle It Is Then.

[@seguuro]

Haha, yes, piracy is reeeeeally funny ☠️

[@tempestwolf067]

@@seguuro mmm … hardly. It’s an old game on an obsolete system. I got the steam version and downloaded the third party mod to fix it but … piracy? Nah. And even if it was then yeah, Pretty Funny. Maybe square-enix should hunt Me down for My Chrono Trigger rom. Hey! I got an nes FF1 rom instead of buying a switch and downloading whatever star wars style improvements they’ve pushed out for more free cash from chumps like you that’ll never see a penny from the multibillion dollar corporation you’re protecting. Good little doggo, have a treat, go back to your cage.

[@vegas3352]

​@@seguuroWhen it's Nintendo it's reaaaaaaaalllyyy funny

[@novelezra]

Why is this game so abso-fuckin-lutely beautiful? Like, it's probably the closest game Id consider to be magical through and through. It had an intangible air to it that I can't describe. Id imagine a large part is the music which is absolutely his best

[@gnosis_gaming]

I love the style of this game too

[@holschermarc]

Those side quests are the stuff that brings communitys together in search of it. At least it used to do that. These days people would probably just cry about "I payed for the game so the game shouldnt block content from me" instead of embracing the challenge

[@lucid8nightmarelucid8night88]

Too addicted to the card game. Too in love with the story and characters. Can't bear to steam roll over it.

[@chisaten]

I am so glad to find someone else who likes the card game! I enjoyed it so much that I worked on getting every singe form of card just for the sake of it.

[@GeebusCrust]

I hated the card game. The unavoidable rng, and the fact that it has no practical effect on the rest of the game.. I vastly preferred Triple Triad in 8. It didn't need to be game-warping like in ff8, but I would've preferred if I got actual valuable helpful things for indulging in the cards more than was absolutely necessary, even if it's just random older/rarer equipment to pick up missed skills or something.

[@chisaten]

@@GeebusCrust i understand where you are coming from. The thing is my gaming tastes vary. I have enjoyed everything from sudoku and Brain Age on the DS to serious stuff like MGS4. It depends what kind of gameplay I am in the mood to do.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Tetra Master is the best card game

[@DioTheKnife]

I'd put the Zodiac Spear on par with the Excalibur II in terms of difficulty acquiring them.

[@RealFabz]

Nah not even close

[@thomasbortels8966]

I learned about Excalibur II after I already completed FFIX 2 times on my PS (EU Version). After that I wanted it, no matter what! It took me more than 6 month, with at least 1-2 try every week. Every try I started the game and played every time to the point of Ex II even if I was over the time, just to imprint the route into my brain. But I got it, and I still have the memory card with the sword on it! It still, after so many years, feels so good to have accomplished this. *Proud gamer moment*

[@nerdynord4315]

As much as I'm tempted to try and get this sword, the effort to do so surmount to very little, since by the time you get it, you're pretty much at the end game. After getting the sword, there are seven more screens to get through, at least three have no random encounters at all. In the final screen, you'll have a chat with Kuja before the final boss rush of Deathguise, Trance Kuja and, finally, Necron. To me, it seems like a lot of hardworking to get a sword that you'll hardly end up using.

[@davidklein8608]

I'd say this side quest is absolutely genius and more games should have something like it. The sword strikes the perfect balance of being legendary so that it is a great reward in a speedrun and encourages people to try a speedrun but being redundant enough that you won't feel bad about missing out on it if you decide to do a thorough play of the game as you can get the abilities of excalibur 2 from other equipment and the quad 9 damage from spending time gaining exp.

[@Sabin184]

I just love they did something this mad in a video game

[@mehdidelteil3672]

I did it, and with a perfect game run, level 3 or so (there is only one phase of the game where you are force to gain experience) and with all missable items. It was exhausting, and I finish it only because of emulator and quick saves. You need bascally a crazy amount of luck on certain part the game, like an almost no encounter dungeon or to land multiple times the Stop magic in order to not gain any experience (low pourcentage even for one, so imagine for 2 or 3 in a row ...). I used the GameShark guide you showed in your video, it's very complet, and I even gain a time since I wasn't force to use in game save (but rather the emulator ones).

[@atomicgrave4340]

"Leave the game running for 2 years" and then blackout happens on the last second or so. Pain.

[@catnipfatty4193]

I got the Excalibur II back in 2002 on original NTSC hardware. Using a gameshark lol Honestly, every time I've tried (probably made 2-3 attempts), I feel too bad for blazing through all the dialogue, cutscenes, etc. and give up around Disc 2. I usually just start over and play through normally, I just love FFIX too damn much to rush through it!!

[@gnosis_gaming]

Yeah, I think that's why I failed as well. The story and world are just so good, I can't help but slow down and soak it up.

[@Kinda_ANastyDood]

I made a few attempts for Excalibur 2 back on the PS1 version and never managed it. Playing on the PS4 with all the enchantments make this so easy. Now if only the jump rope game could be made easier i could get my platinum trophy.

[@notme9976]

I will never think about the chocobo race in ffX as an accomplishment ever again.... thanks for that.

[@darkwhisper6714]

I love the heavenly power of mods who allows to just reset (or freeze) the game's clock... Such a wonderful invention :)

[@melchess8599]

Despite be so merciless, it is somehow a trophy for someone who managed to pull off a speedrun, the fact that someone thought in something like that in 2000 and for PS1 is kinda cool.

[@gabrielhagetv]

You acquire the weapon at a point when there’s practically no worthwhile content left to use it. This makes the whole saga to obtain it feel unsatisfactory. If it could be carried over to a new game plus, this challenge would make more sense. Regardless, FF9 is incredible. The game’s soundtracks chosen for this video remind me of moments spent with my parents and grandparents in the bedroom and living room from my 2001 old house.

[@alexandereakins8917]

I think the main reason I wanted it was for Ozma but after I got it I still didn't even kill Ozma. By that time, with the difficulty of the perfect run, and missing perfect because I missed a missable treasure, I still to this day have never beaten Ozma.

[@SlamifiedBuddafied]

As a kid on PS1 I managed to get it over the summer of 2001. Took several runs, can't say for sure how many. A few years ago on Steam I managed to do it again. Mostly for the achievement. All that said, the *true* most evil side quest is 1,000 jump rope jumps. I've done it on both PS1 back in the day and as an adult and I can tell you one thing for a fact: I will never do that again.

[@Nikolai508]

I’ve played this game a few times and I’ve only ever done slow runs, when I play this I love to just take my time and enjoy every moment.

[@linforcer]

I wonder how fast my pc could emulate the game to speed up that game 2 and a half year wait

[@gnosis_gaming]

Could be an interesting experiment

[@DieKao]

Just change the ingame timer at that point.

[@reverv5211]

Not only have I gotten it, I've done it in the fastest recorded time in history with the original disc version of the game at just over 7 hours and 35 minutes - without skipping FMVs. Speedrunning challenges certainly aren't for everyone, but for some of us, it can be everything. I started speedrunning the game purely out of wanting to finally beat the ultimate challenge in my favorite game of all time, which resulted in falling in love with a new way to play.

[@SamsarasArt]

Would you consider taking all the individual segments and combining it into one big video?

[@SBaby]

This is not only the worst side quest in video game history because of the time limit, but it forces you to skip pretty much all of the other optional content in the game so that you can get there in time, as well as rushing through the scenes. And the worst part of this is there was no gameshark or codebreaker code to get around this time limit, because it was separate from the in-game timer. It ran concurrent to the timer, but it was a separate clock that was hard coded into the game and couldn't be sharked out. Once that door locked, you could never get into it. People constantly claimed there was, but I'll tell you right now that any code that claimed to keep that door open was fake. Why do I get the feeling that this sidequest inspired Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter?

[@IDidntWantAHandleYouTube]

It’s just meant to be a fun trophy item for veterans of the game who want to push themselves with a challenging run. So many people whine because they’re salty that they can’t get it, but if you don’t find speed runs fun, then it’s not meant for you. Not every single shred of content in every single game needs to be geared towards the lowest common denominator. And if you’re the type of player who loses sleep unless you’ve completed every single thing, including things that you genuinely find un-fun, well that’s a you problem.

[@chanwantai6125]

old RPG games (especially JRPG) often hide these kind of secrets which you won't be able to access with your first (or even many) playthrough. This add some good favors to the games, cause you know, you don't actually need this sword to finish the game. It's just an ultra challenge for die hard players.

[@polyman6859]

Shout out to games that give you the ultimate weapon when you're good enough to not need it!!!!111!!1!

[@maestergiguruzugi404]

they better change this for the remake

[@MrSharkings]

i hope they don't lol

[@thephilosophercactus]

No challenge will ever be as evil as jump rope. I still get flashbacks.

[@gnosis_gaming]

😂

[@burge117]

FF9 is my favourite FF game and one of my favourites ever. I dont think I could push myself to rush through such an amazing experience. ❤

[@hydro_storm4527]

I did this back in the day on the PS1. It's tough, but a fun challenge. Took 5 attempts iirc, and when I got it, I want to say I had like 3 minutes to spare. Also, for everyone saying this sort of run "ruins" FF9 because you skip over most of the game, I disagree. No one is going to be able to get the Excalibur II on their first playthrough unless they're following a guide.

[@rd6416]

I'd still rather replay FF9 to get the Excalibur II than sit their trying to dodge 200 lighting strikes over and over to upgrade Lulu's Onion Knight

[@edge6441]

Very interesting i remember my old friends from bk in the day mumbling smth about this sword though personally i never paid much attention FF9 also had those pumice pieces that were easy to miss...as for any other ff game with hard to obtain weps dont forget ff12 with the zodiac if i recall correctly and ff7 with the weapons ff8 had the omega weapon also hard to beat and ff10 the magus sisters if i recall correctly and pennance also its been a helluva time since i touched any of these games and still here i am recalling these names in split secs....what an era what games these games sure were making an impact in our lives bk then!

[@tehdarkswordsman6863]

I actually tried to run out the clock, I got to red numbers at 58 hours before my playstation, memory cards and the game itself was stolen, alongside nearly 50 other games for Playstation, SNES and the N64, tens of thousands of dollars worth of magic cards, all my RIFTS sourcebooks, and a bunch of AD&D books and other stuff.

[@gnosis_gaming]

😢 oh no. That’s awful

[@dimwarlock]

I thought the quest would have narrative relevance and the evil was in-universe, not something masochists do once they've already experienced the game, lol. But I mean, the Gilgamesh easter egg is a cute addition for the trouble, I consider it more valuable than the actual sword.

[@TheArtInterviews]

I play the original PAL version FFIX in my PlayStation, I've finished the game about 5 times, last 3 times with almost everything 100% completed, but there's 2 things I've never done: getting all of the 100 cards of Tetramaster, and getting the Excalibur II. I don't know which one of those sidequests is crazier to complete. The closest I've been of getting all the cards is 97, and I've never even attempted to get the Excalibur, I just love the animations and the dialogues too much to skip them

[@novapophis]

This challenge had been in the back of my mind since I was a kid. During covid I took on the grind and it's now my biggest gaming achievement. For anyone thinking about doing it, give it a try, learning all the details of the game made me appreciate it even more

[@TheUnapologeticGeek]

At least it doesn't make you dodge 200 lightning bolts in a row.

[@kid111775]

Chicken lady in Gongaga: Hold my Pippily

[@andrija4072]

One important thing to factor in is that the random encounter rate was lowered on the Steam version of the game, making this challenge a lot more bearable. Though I assume a lot of people just turn off the encounters altogether when they do the challenge.

[@CAPCOMhead]

This one is indeed crazy, but I'd say the Seitengrat from FF12 is the most insane one, getting that weapon without exploits is pretty much impossible.

[@xarfiz]

The dagger?

[@CAPCOMhead]

@@xarfiz The invisible bow.

[@xarfiz]

@@CAPCOMhead wait it that on the lieasen board?

[@CAPCOMhead]

@@xarfiz On the Skyferry in an invisible box, it has a 1% spawn chance and a 20% chance of actually containing an item, and a 5% chance it's the Seitengrat. So.. 1% * 20% * 5% = 0.01% chance.

[@JeffisWinning]

Thank you for saying P A L instead of "PAL." I thought I was the only one.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Haha I had no idea there was another way to say it until making this video

[@gustavohal2401]

Well, I've completed thie Excalibur II sidequest twice in my life, going for a perfect game with combined stats. That's basically the hardest challenge you can get in FF9. The challenge is not for everyone. You must be patient and a hardcore perfeccionist. If you are both, then you will problably have lots of fun. It requires some skill, specially when it comes to menuing, and practice, but not so much. What you REALLY need is LUCK. Pretty much EVERYTHING in FF9 is RNG dependent, in particular battles. The first moves an enemy/boss uses against you are decided at the beggining of the battle. That means that no matter what you do, there's no way to manipulate the enemy's actions. If you manage to get a good RNG, you may have a chance to beat the enemy/boss and go on. If not, just forget and try again. Most battles are decided with a 10% chance petrification or stop, some places in the game require GODLY RNG, though. Against Arc, for example, you must steal Holy Lance and pretty much hope that the boss does not attack you for four turns. Red Dragon's twistters are insta kiils, same for most Meltigemini's attacks. Against Kraken in Memoria, any counterattack (50% chance each) is game over. Nevertheless, the strategies are pretty refined and work, IF AND ONLY IF you are lucky to obtain the appropriate winning scenario thanks to a good RNG. You don't need to get the 1000 rope jumps within the time limit, BUT you must complete some other sidequests along the way, like Hippaul's races and the ENTIRE Chocobo Hot and Cold minigame. Getting good times in Chocobo's Sky is insanely difficult, btw. Oh I read many comments here saying that the Excalibur II sidequest kills the gaming experience. I think exactly the opposite. It adds many layers to the replay factor for me, because it motivates me to be better and beat my own times again and again. Remember, guys, this is a pro challenge, that is meant to be done by hardcore players that have already beaten the game at least once.

[@mcrews77]

Don't think I'll ever even try for Excalibur II but now I feel like enjoying another FF9 playthrough; it's been too long. Thanks

[@conradpham]

FFIX perfect save: *Excalibur 2. *Get all missable items. *No level up. *Ozma down.

[@SoulOfSorin]

Tip for anybody who would attempt a run on an original ps1. Do NOT skip the curscenes via opening the lid. Yes it does skip the FMV, but it also can mess with the internal clock, wich can go up by several HOURS via bugs caused by opening the lid. You can try using a PS2 by enabling the "fast load" option to gain a bit of time.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Interesting !

[@livecoilarchive1458]

I never even tried, and I've been playing this game since I was a little kid. I would've if you had to obtain the sword in, say, 25 hours, or maybe even 20. Even then, after a single failed attempt, I probably wouldn't have tried again lol. I simply am not fond of the idea of mashing through all the text, skipping the cutscenes, or leaving the sidequests unfulfilled. Whenever I replay FF9 - every couple of years or so, with the latest revisit back in winter 2022 - I play it for the story, the characters, the music, and just everything about the game that makes it not only the best FF, but one of the best experiences gaming can offer. It was my number one favorite game until Metal Gear Solid 1 dethroned it when I was a teenager, but it's still up there to this day.

[@windycityheat9]

I've just found your channel. Your FF9 videos are amazing. Please more. I love that game!

[@gnosis_gaming]

Welcome to the channel!

[@ShockerTopper]

I wouldn’t call it “evil” as much as “most unfun”…it is what you said an Excalibur 2 play through. I did it once and I had zero fun playing it. It’s honestly, and at the time didn’t seem as hard it seemed. But what’s the point? It doesn’t have any exclusive abilities, you can’t get otherwise. The “always 9,999” isn’t as big a deal as it sounds…especially by that point because then it’s just a speed run with one character bumped to be a glass canon. Edit: now trying to beat Ozma on a “speed run” and fighting him as soon as humanly possible…that is impossible. Or would require crazy luck he doesn’t use doomsday even ONCE! But with such weak attack stats…that would almost require a glitch to avoid a 99% instant death. I don’t get people that didn’t play the classic FF Games (all through X) and focus on 100% maxing out at least 3 characters if not 4. We all know that each game had “that” completely useless character…I’m looking at you Selphie, Cait Sith (they’re very similar), Amarant, Kimari, 40% of FF6 characters, and any blue mage type character in the others. Class-wise: knights, white/black mages, thieves (yes), and samurai’s have been almost completely hit. In Tactics this for sure applies…until all the work grinding is mostly for nothing when you get OP characters like Beowulf, Orlandu, and Agrias (lesser so). Honestly GameShark made that game so fun on replays after you’d spent 2-3 games completely maxing out every level/job for 4 characters and ramza and obtained all the hidden weapons. Once very last thing…who’s idea was it to make Cloud AWFUL as a character despite him being the one guest character that should have been OP…don’t get me started on the “materia blade”, which just gives him interesting/cool looking attacks that don’t do ish even at lvl 99.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Yeah. For me, it feels 'evil' because it purposefully 'ruins' the game.

[@danryder3865]

Ff14 said hold my beer. Seriously go get the realm reborn relics.... such a slog fest. The definitely fixed drop rates but still brutal. When they first dropped it took me 2 weeks to get my lovely axe. Insane grind seriously!!! Edit: if you really want a challenge fly ff14 and go through palace of the dead as a black mage!!!